crc_73

Yep, and they sell a lot of stuff through eBay under the username "telegamesuk".

BTW, in the original auction link, does anyone recognise the symbol in the lower left corner of the sleeve:

I saw a similar picture before, but couldn't find it again. The picture in the [DC] auction appears to have a 2 in it, so maybe it's a bootleg/pirate of the homolgation version - might be hacked or whatever to run directly on PAL hardware (I *think* the homologation version was JAP only - or was it?). I was also thinking that the CD case doesn't look like a standard European case though - it looks more like a cut down DVD case, with an outer slip-sleeve, which has the cover inserted into. I had asked the seller for some closer pictures after the auction, but haven't heard back from him, yet. Pity I didn't have the time before the auction.

Here's the most solid text I've found on it: http://www.konsolen-world.de/forum/konsole...rum=1&topic=449 Roughly translates as Sega GT 2, not released (no appearance). Sega GT 2002 came on the X-box. Anyone with any other info?

You would imagine that there would be something somewhere on the net about it, even if was only being speculated that it was being made or planned to be made. I've found nothing about it. The only mention I've seen about it is the X-box version, where it's WIP name was Sega GT 2, renamed then as Sega GT 2002.

Has anyone ever heard of this release in any shape or form (platform, region, language). I'm a bit confused after seeing this auction: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...me=STRK:MEWA:IT

Funny reading the description - so much has been changed, it's like is there anything original left in there at all... j/k A bit like when Trigger said that he had his street sweeping brush for years; it had a few new heads and a few new handles in that time, but was still the same brush.

Saw this one on UK eBay, and it looks like the guys got carried away with their bidding war: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...8169506447&rd=1 Pity they didn't check out Telegames first: http://www.telegames.co.uk/teleg_15.html Same game can be had for £9.99 from there. Nice score for the seller though.

Forget that above I re-read the KLOV entry, and it refers to "pirates" in the gameplay section. Chances are that the instructions are the same - maybe the only difference might be between the use of the words "pirated" and "ripped off".

Well, I'm guessing the plexi with the name change was probably the only difference between it and Rip Off - the innards and the rest of the cabinet were probably the same. I think it was rare to have side art or control panels with game names back then, so it wouldn't have been a big issue to make the name change. I'd be interested to discover if the instructions for Rip Off are the same as on the plexi I have, meaning if they refer to the enemy as "pirates".

This page has a reference of Space Pirates (from Zaccaria) as being a clone of Rip Off. Doesn't say whether they were official or bootlegs. No pictures either unfortunately. http://www.tilt.it/deb/i-zaccaria.html

Is it possible that the name was changed for the UK and Ireland (where it was found) markets? Maybe Cinematronics thought that the name Rip Off wouldn't strike a chord over here, being a strongly American term, and though that the idea of pirates flying around in space would provide a better backdrop. I dunno.... just speculating.

Does anyone remember how to get through Secret Island, specifically the area where there is a big rocket launch pit, that has some type of jump jet hovering in the centre (the horrible little man is inside)? You enter as Tweek. I've worked out that you need to shoot out the jump jets rocket launchers, underbelly laser, and side thrusters, but after that I'm at a loss of what to do. The walkthrough on the net conveniently omits directions for Secret Island. Thanks for any help.

Apologies Forgot to resize the copyright one - I hate skewing the page - maybe a mod can resize it.

Here are a couple of pics - camera used didn't have a flash, so they're not great, but should illustrate.

Sorry, "Cinematronics, 1980".

Maybe. Did Zaccaria distribute stuff in Europe for manufacturers from the US or Japan? This plexi definitely has Cineamatronics, 1980 on it though. Could it still be a bootleg, if it has this on it?

No, it's nothing like that. It's almost identical to the Rip Off one at KLOV, except that it says "Space Pirate" instead if "Rip Off", and is more centrally placed on the plexi, with the game instructions pushed over and squashed to the right hand side, running further down than the ones on the "Rip Off" plexi.

I have a front plexi for a game named "Space Pirate", Cinematronics 1980, but have been unable to find any info on it anywhere. The plexi is very similar in design to the one for "Rip Off", except that it says "Space Pirate" instead, and the game instructions are tighter to the right-hand side of the plexi. http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter...r=&game_id=9326 It's difficult to say from the picture up there, but it looks similar with the two vertical yellow bands which should have sketches of the opposing ships and their point value on them. Also, the instructions printed on the plexi concur with the gameplay of Rip Off in MAME. I suspect that the game is probably the same as Rip Off. Is this something that may have been bootlegged for use in Europe (where it was found)? Or is it possible that it's an official product?

Super fun. There were a few games around that era that had the same type of 'clean', cartoony type graphics, with loads of detail - Xenophobe and Rampage instantly spring to mind - both excellently ported to the Lynx.

Thanks for the info and links - think I've read them already though. They're not very specific about what will actually cause your demise though, unless I'm not reading carefully enough. I'll keep playing it though, maybe things will fall into place. Right now, it just doesn't appear consistent, but maybe I just gotta keep looking at the state of the mech and whats happening with the neutrino gauge. To quote the guy at SHMUPS!: I feel like that sometimes! It's not as 'black-and-white' as Ikaruga, thats for sure.

Recently got this game, looks and sounds great, but the whole "buzz" thing is a little confusing to me. I've searched online for some good info, but any info there is sketchy to say the least. Babel-fishing any Japanese text just seems to confuse things even further. Anyway, the problem is with soaking up the bullets - doesn't matter on colour or shape or size, sometimes I can take them fine, I'm buzzing away, then "boom", life lost. I *think* I've worked out that you need to be spinning to be able to take the hits, and often if I'm spinning, but moving horizontally or vertically, it seems that I loose a life more often than if moving diagonally. I dunno, things seem to be a bit inconsistent, but I'm sure there is a rigid logic to staying alive and loosing a life. Anyone care to enlighten me with their wisdom? Sometimes it feels like I have to use some sort of psychic abilities to know when to stop buzzing!

That dude must have been riding by on a motorbike taking those photos - he had to make 3 or 4 passes to get the composite of this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...4&category=6763

Ok, this info may be of use to someone: After extensive testing and transplanting, I've come to the conclusion that my non-working unit is faulty due to a DEFECTIVE POWER BOARD. Switching in a good power board from my good unit made the defective one function perfectly, it was able to read and run GD-ROMs, CD-R's with emulators, Audio CD's and backups, and to boot, the fan sounded and felt as noisy and "air-volume-displacer" as it should be. Just to refresh, the faulty unit was starting up, going to the main screen with the four icons, tried to check a disk when the lid was opened and closed, but then asked me to "please insert a disk" or words to that effect, with an without disks inserted. This should be something to bear in mind if you're experiencing similar problems. Just because your unit is not reading disks, this doesn't mean that your GD-ROM unit is at fault, so if you can, test all the boards individually before messing with the laser calibration potentiometer fix thats available. As for my problem, there probably isn't much I can do, except retain the unit for parts when/if the need arrives. For some reason, one or more of the components on that board is probably bad, causing incorrect DC voltage getting supplied to the other boards (the reduced velocity/noise of the fan should have been a good pointer in this case), and I haven't the expertise to go into investigating this. Given the nature of the board, it's probably best not to go messing with this board - might fry something good in the rest of the unit, or myself! Just to complete the info, both units are PAL, one made in Japan early 2000 (good unit), the other made in Indonesia 1999 (bad unit).