AtariBrian Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 If you want Boulderdash you could hope they finish the Intellivision one that they are planning on making and buy that . There is a 5200 homebrew you could buy also . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 There will never be a second run. Sad but true. I also believe that Boulderdash has one of the most convoluted bank switching schemes ever realized for the VCS, and would be extremely difficult to dump for public release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Sad but true. I also believe that Boulderdash has one of the most convoluted bank switching schemes ever realized for the VCS, and would be extremely difficult to dump for public release. Boulder Dash has already been dumped. So much for snazzy protection schemes! The bankswitch scheme isn't that convoluted... honest! Cheers A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Nevermind. I guess pirating for pirates sake is all the reason it takes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mika73 Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Never say never... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Even if it got dumped, the ROM will not work on Harmony, and the necessary hardware to repro it is almost nonexistent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discoball78 Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Boulder Dash has already been dumped. So much for snazzy protection schemes! The bankswitch scheme isn't that convoluted... honest! Cheers A Even if it got dumped, the ROM will not work on Harmony, and the necessary hardware to repro it is almost nonexistent. Hopefully someone out there works out how to get this running on stella (if someone makes a dump of the binary public) or how to even make their own working cart version. An effort as cool as this deserves to be played by more than just 250 people. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Manhattan Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 An effort as cool as this deserves to be played by more than just 250 people. Definitely agree with this part. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Hopefully someone out there works out how to get this running on stella (if someone makes a dump of the binary public) or how to even make their own working cart version. What, and to hell with the wishes of the copyright owner or programmers? It took ages and ages for us to sell those 250 copies, and everyone had a chance to buy. We prevented sales of multiples so that there would be no hoarding, and that as many people as possible could get a copy. And yet, it didn't sell like hotcakes. 250 was a good number; everyone had almost a year in which to make their purchase. Now it's sold out, your options are to play the free demo, or find a cart for sale and buy it. Promoting the dumping and/or piracy of something I spent a long long time on, for very little return, is rather rude. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discoball78 Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Apologies for any such suggestion, personally speaking as an often hibernating 2600 gamer (and not really a forum frequenter), i've recently come out of hibernation to see this game announced, come, and gone. Any later copies will definately be out of my financial reach as the original price would probably have been the highest that I would be prepared to pay, can't really forsee the value of the cart decreasing over time. What, and to hell with the wishes of the copyright owner or programmers? It took ages and ages for us to sell those 250 copies, and everyone had a chance to buy. We prevented sales of multiples so that there would be no hoarding, and that as many people as possible could get a copy. And yet, it didn't sell like hotcakes. 250 was a good number; everyone had almost a year in which to make their purchase. Now it's sold out, your options are to play the free demo, or find a cart for sale and buy it. Promoting the dumping and/or piracy of something I spent a long long time on, for very little return, is rather rude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Hopefully someone out there works out how to get this running on stella (if someone makes a dump of the binary public) or how to even make their own working cart version. An effort as cool as this deserves to be played by more than just 250 people. The free demo uses an identical bankswitching scheme to the full game. A proper ROM dump will work in Stella. If it doesn't work, then it's a bad dump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Thanks again Andrew and Thomas for making this great game!! I only hope that everyone enjoys their copy of BD as much as I did and still do!! Although I am not good at it... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberpunk Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 i'm not going to lie, i suck at this game. but i LOVE it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 What, and to hell with the wishes of the copyright owner or programmers? It took ages and ages for us to sell those 250 copies, and everyone had a chance to buy. We prevented sales of multiples so that there would be no hoarding, and that as many people as possible could get a copy. And yet, it didn't sell like hotcakes. 250 was a good number; everyone had almost a year in which to make their purchase. Now it's sold out, your options are to play the free demo, or find a cart for sale and buy it. Promoting the dumping and/or piracy of something I spent a long long time on, for very little return, is rather rude. While I certinaly understand and respect your position, and I don't have a personal stake in any of this (I play my 2600 games through emulation since I'm a gamer, and not a collector), I've always personaly STRONGLY disliked games (and books, and movies, and things of that nature) that are made in VERY small, limited, 'get it now or your screwed' runs. Something like this should have the chance to be enjoyed by anyone who wants. I'm certinaly not saying you should give it away, but trying to see if the ROM could be sold would allow those who missed the game to be able to experience it. Games, like information, should be available for the masses without having to hock a liver for it (and we all know that given time this game is going to command a HUGE amount on EBay and the like, and you won't even see any of that money!) Pity the poor person who gets into 2600 gaming for the first time in a few years, comes on here, hears about the game, and wants to play it without giving up their first born for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariBrian Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 While I certinaly understand and respect your position, and I don't have a personal stake in any of this (I play my 2600 games through emulation since I'm a gamer, and not a collector), I've always personaly STRONGLY disliked games (and books, and movies, and things of that nature) that are made in VERY small, limited, 'get it now or your screwed' runs. Something like this should have the chance to be enjoyed by anyone who wants. I'm certinaly not saying you should give it away, but trying to see if the ROM could be sold would allow those who missed the game to be able to experience it. Games, like information, should be available for the masses without having to hock a liver for it (and we all know that given time this game is going to command a HUGE amount on EBay and the like, and you won't even see any of that money!) Pity the poor person who gets into 2600 gaming for the first time in a few years, comes on here, hears about the game, and wants to play it without giving up their first born for it. Very well put . Or if someone couldnt afford it and maybe now they could . I know it was a forced limited run so thats just the way it is as far as the carts go and I believe the rom also . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberpunk Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 you could always "Little Sibling" yourself: pull up a gameplay video via YouTube, make it full screen, put a joystick in your hands, and "play". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mika73 Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Still looking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killersquirel Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Thanks to Thomas and Andrew for making this amazing game! I know that there was talk when this was made of potentially making a sequel with different levels. I hope this happens, and it will allow those that missed the first release to enjoy the amazing work that you guys did on this game. -mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Thanks to Thomas and Andrew for making this amazing game! I know that there was talk when this was made of potentially making a sequel with different levels. I hope this happens, and it will allow those that missed the first release to enjoy the amazing work that you guys did on this game. -mike Yes, who knows; that might be possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidLikesIntellivision Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Yes, who knows; that might be possible. And after some analysis on your avatar I can say you really need another project. When I met you you were a nice and happy guy. After completing Boulder Dash you got some relief and everything was nice. Now, look at your face! I'm sure you need to get something to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Why can't First Star carry on releasing the game for VCS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Why can't First Star carry on releasing the game for VCS? Why can't any company do anything without making things 5 million times harder than it should be? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 (edited) Why can't First Star carry on releasing the game for VCS? Lack of interest is my guess. In order to do it right they would have to license the code that isn't already under their jurisdiction, find someone to make the hardware for them, have the lawyer-types draw up contracts for royalty and profit distribution, then figure out how to distribute the games. That's probably more effort than they feel is worth investing, just to sell another couple hundred games at best. Yeah, I know, we already have all that here at AtariAge and realistically all they'd have to do is pick up the phone, talk to a few people and get it done in half an hour with no fuss, no muss. I know that, you know that, lawyers don't know that and corporate types are afraid to do anything without involving lawyers. And that's not to say I blame First Star for not wanting to do things the "easy" way. Companies have been burned before for doing things the "easy" way, and it's hard to know who to trust. Hiding behind lawyers isn't always a bad thing, even when it shouldn't it be necessary. Edited September 15, 2013 by FujiSkunk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 i'm not going to lie, i suck at this game. but i LOVE it. +1 I suck at it too, but I love it too much to let go of it. While I certinaly understand and respect your position, and I don't have a personal stake in any of this (I play my 2600 games through emulation since I'm a gamer, and not a collector), I've always personaly STRONGLY disliked games (and books, and movies, and things of that nature) that are made in VERY small, limited, 'get it now or your screwed' runs. Something like this should have the chance to be enjoyed by anyone who wants. I'm certinaly not saying you should give it away, but trying to see if the ROM could be sold would allow those who missed the game to be able to experience it. Games, like information, should be available for the masses without having to hock a liver for it (and we all know that given time this game is going to command a HUGE amount on EBay and the like, and you won't even see any of that money!) Pity the poor person who gets into 2600 gaming for the first time in a few years, comes on here, hears about the game, and wants to play it without giving up their first born for it. I understand your POV. I got into Atari collecting in 2012 and Bouderdash was just released. I sat on the fence for several months before I finally buckled down and bought one. They sold out a few days later. I heard from several people who posted already that they barely missed the boat on Princess Rescue before it got pulled. It's really a pity. Totally different circumstances, but I would rather see a game slowly accumulate sales over a period of years than to produce one batch and then sell out forever. Retro collecting can be a cutthroat world sometimes, and it shouldn't have to be, especially when it comes to homebrews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 (edited) I would rather see a game slowly accumulate sales over a period of years than to produce one batch and then sell out forever. I can assure you that I prefer it that way by far too. But circumstances do not always allow that. E.g. when you know that you have a time limited and quantity based license, then you to make a very careful calculation, how many games can be sold within that limited time. Else you risk ending with a lot of unsold stock which you still have pay license fees for. Boulder Dash took one whole year to sell out the 250 copies we agreed on, with more and more declining sale numbers. In the beginning we had limited the number of allowed copies per person to one, so that as many people as possible got their chance. After some months with still a solid number of unsold stock left, we eased that restriction to reduce our risk. In hindsight we may have been able to sell another 50 copies. Or maybe just 20. Which means our calculation was pretty good. So even with all hindsight we have now, I would opt for 250 copies again. A 2nd run of BD is extremely unlikely for those reasons. This time we would have to first sell the game to know the exact number. People would have to deposit the money somewhere in advance. And that number would have to be high enough to bother FSS and us going through the whole licensing process again. And even then it still would be unfair those who only paid the price based on the original limitations. So while I absolutely would love to see this happening and I usually never say never (see Boulder Dash development history), this time I have to. There never will be a 2nd run of Boulder Dash. Sorry. Edited September 16, 2013 by Thomas Jentzsch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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