opcode Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 Hi everyone! I would like to let all of you know about the current status of my little project... Space Invaders Collection Pack will be sold as a 24KB ColecoVision cartridge (complete with box and manual). The finished pack will be comprised by two different games and a small variation: Space Invaders (the original arcade game by Taito) in two flavors, color and black&white (no significant difference beside color) and Space Invaders Part II (the follow up arcade released by Taito in Japan and renamed Space Invaders Deluxe in US, just in color mode). Also included is a opening/selection screen and a surprise "boot" screen which I think ColecoVision fans will love. I am not sure about the final price yet neither about a release date, but I am estimating finishing it close to this year's end. Cost is difficult to estimate right now cause I am planning to make the carts here in Brazil. Completation status is as follow: Opening sequence: 99% done, just some small tweaks left. Space Invaders : 90% done, still need some small tweaks on sound. Space Invaders Part II: around 50% done, maybe more. On the technical side, the game was made 100% Z-80 machine language and includes every feature from the original arcade games, ever the same bugs (some quite famous). Some hidden tricks from the originals are included too, as are a few new ones... I has created a small web site to post news about the project and mostly screenshots (and a playable demo too). You can view it going to www.geocities.com/vgbelloq. Please note it is a modest site, since I don't have the time to polish it. I have posted some news screenshots there this week, including this opening screen http://opcode.20megsfree.com/title.gif Thanks for the interest! Eduardo Mello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Asmo Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 What are you using for the cartridge shells? Are you cannibalizing old Donkey Kong carts, or are you making your own? I'm looking forward to seeing your new game.. I'm a HUGE Colecovision fan. Cheers, KA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted June 21, 2002 Author Share Posted June 21, 2002 Hi, Sacrificing old carts to build new ones just doesn't look right to me (I think it's against Bira Bira commandments... ). I am planning to manufacture the shells. In the first it's going to cost a lot cause I will need a "matrix" for the plastic, but after that the production costs will be minimal (a few cents per case I think). I am still researching about the whole thing... Eduardo Mello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerthehun Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 I've got 5 Donkey Kong carts to add to the cause. I'm very interested in seeing your game! Any thoughts on prices yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 This looks pretty cool, I look forward to seeing the completed game! Thanks for passing this along! I can understand your not wanting to cannibalize existing ColecoVision carts, although I probabl have tons of duplicate Donkey Kong carts myself. With the 2600 this isn't as much of a big deal since there are many common titles available in abundant quantities. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 I'm just glad that there's someone else out there who remembers and KNOWS the difference between Taito Space Invaders Part II and Midway Space Invaders Deluxe! (Cabinet and artwork differences notwithstanding of course) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Asmo Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 I'd be willing to trade 50 common Colecovision carts for one copy of a homebrew Colecovision game. I'm sure there are others who'd be even more generous (my darn Scottish upbringing ) KA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 Go and visit Good Deal Games. They are planning on producing new Colecovision cart cases. I wish they would take on the Atari and produce new cases for it too Read http://www.gooddealgames.com/Publishing_Co...lecovision.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Asmo Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 I wonder what the per-case price of the cart shells is going to be? Will it really be that much more economical to use new cases? I'd be interesting in finding out the numbers. KA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Slocum Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 I reasearched doing Atari 2600 cases, and I couldn't find anything that was very economical. Once the mold is done they're only 50 cents or so, but the cost of the mold was in the thousands. If anyone finds a cheap way to do it, let me know. -Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubersaurus Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 I can see it now... "Save the carts! Donate towards an atari casing mold!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Asmo Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 50 cents is still rather expensive, when you consider you can probably buy bulk Combat carts for $30.00 per 100. KA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Slocum Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 But consider that you have to spend time removing the labels and cleaning those Combat carts which takes a lot of time with 100 carts. And that with a mold, cartridge cases can be produced in ANY color. I think 50 cents or even $1 is a nice deal. I actually had some people willing to invest in getting the mold made. Maybe I'll look into it more after CGE. -Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Asmo Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 50 cents or a $1.00 isn't bad.. except you have to pay for the mold. Say it does only cost you $.50 each. But how much is the mold going to cost.. $2500? Then you have to produce 2500 games just to get the per-unit cost down to $1.50. Seems expensive to me. I think what really needs to be done is somebody coming up with a really fast, really cheap way to get the labels off without a whole lot of effort. Some sort of chemical bath, maybe? KA Hot pink or snot green cases would be funky, tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Slocum Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 True, but the CGE guys sell several hundered carts each year with their exclusive releases. If they cut costs a bit on other packaging, they could probably break even on the mold in one CGE weekend, then sell cases to other homebrewers for a profit over time. I was going to try to do that this year with Marble Craze, but just haven't had time or money to mess with it. -Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Asmo Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 You're probably right. I suppose it depends which way the numbers run. If it's about $1500 for the mold, and $.50 per cart after that, then it probably would pay for itself in no time at all. If it's closer to $5000 and $1.00 per, then I'd begin to wonder. At any rate, I'd love to find out how the numbers run if somebody does find out. KA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Slocum Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 I talked to a guy at an injection molding place a while back on the phone and his rough guess was $2000-$2500 for a two piece case. -Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 I talked to a guy at an injection molding place a while back on the phone and his rough guess was $2000-$2500 for a two piece case. Once a mold is done, how long can it be used for? I presume it can be used to make many tens of thousands of cases? Given the relatively low demand for 2600 cartridge shells, one would hope that creating one mold would last indefinitely. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 I remember Junie metioning doing a 2600 cart case the end of last year. We both got our hopes up when I met someone at a company party that said they could produce a CAD drawing of the cart cases for us. Later I found out that he had just a little too much to drink. Junie said if he can get a CAD drawing of the cases, he can get them produced. Anyone able to do one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Slocum Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 The guy I talked to said it would probably be possible to make a copy of an existing cartridge case, which might bypass the need for a CAD design. BTW: I meant to say this earlier, but your Colecovision Space Invaders looks fantastic. -Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted June 24, 2002 Author Share Posted June 24, 2002 Hi again! Prices will depend on cost to manufacture the entire package. I hope it isn't going to exceed the $30~35 range, otherwise the whole thing wouldn't be viable... Space Invaders Part II does have some differences from Deluxe, mostly invaders round formation and scoring. And there are some hidden differences too... Hey Dennis, here in Brazil there is a plastic company that does produce Atari VCS cart cases. You can visit www.patola.com.br and take a look (the page is in Portuguese). I am not sure about how much they cost but since US dollars/Real ratio is 2.80 right now, it would be pretty cheap. I was planning on using this exact same company to produce the ColecoVision cases. But I still need to find how much the mold will be here. Obviously I would be interested if someone start producing these cases elsewhere or about forming a consortium to produce them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 Hi again! [snip] Hey Dennis, here in Brazil there is a plastic company that does produce Atari VCS cart cases. You can visit www.patola.com.br and take a look (the page is in Portuguese). I am not sure about how much they cost but since US dollars/Real ratio is 2.80 right now, it would be pretty cheap.[snip] Yeah, someone on the StellaList mentioned this company and was going to buy cart cases for members but I haven't heard from them since (I tried to contact them recently). If you could be a contact to this company that would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted June 24, 2002 Author Share Posted June 24, 2002 Hi, Yeah, someone on the StellaList mentioned this company and was going to buy cart cases for members but I haven't heard from them since (I tried to contact them recently). If you could be a contact to this company that would be great. Surely! A few minutes ago a sent an e-mail to Patola's (that's a strange name ) sales department asking for these Atari cases. I will let you know about any news as soon as they reply me. I asked about the possibility to produce CV cart cases too. Uhm.... I think I know who is this missing guy from StellaList you are talking about... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Slocum Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 I saw that a while back, but they didn't look like Atari cases. But I just realized that if you go to the next item there really is an Atari case. I'll be interested to see what they say. If they do have them, I hope they fit a standard Atari circuit board so the standard homebrew boards will fit. -paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted June 24, 2002 Author Share Posted June 24, 2002 Hi, Probably the first cases you saw were MSX cases... (a very popular computer here, and very similar to CV) I think the cases will fit with no problem since several Brazilian VCS cart makers (aka pirates ) use them, and most of them buy their game boards from Taiwan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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