Official Super Game Module thread (thoughts & reviews about SGM and games)

[Pixelboy]

The truth is I would love to purchase those 2 games, but I would much prefer loose carts to CIB items, even perhaps at a slightly discounted price if possible, because

I just don't have the interest nor the space for boxes and manuals in my ColecoVision collection. However, nowhere on your site is that presented as an option.

 

That's right, I sell CIB only. Sorry if that's an inconvenience for you.

 

 

Lastly, one of the main reasons I had for purchasing the device was out of fear and logical assumption that it will eventually become "required" for all the future games

that are made for Coleco Vision, or at the very least, some future releases that I may really want badly might only be released in that format. So your almost forced to buy

this thing, or you may find yourself out of luck in the future.

 

As an example, what will happen to the remaining "vapor ware dream games" as a result of this modules existence?

Games like: Mr. Turtle, Rip Cord, Destruction Derby, Skiing, Horse Racing, etc.

 

And what will become of the "most likely would have been made games" as a result of this modules existence?

Games like: Donkey Kong 3, Time Pilot '84, Super Zaxxon, Timber, Mr. Do's Wild Ride, etc.

 

On the one hand, the module is great, a wonderful piece of hardware finally realized and made available to the fans with amazing graphical capabilities!

On the other hand, will its' existence now kill the creativity and motivation for programmers to push the envelope on regular Coleco Vision cartridges

and just get lazy and take the easy way out with the extra memory and such and make everything on SGM cartridges?

 

I think you have the wrong idea about the CV homebrew community. You'd be surprised how many CV homebrewers want to actually avoid making games with the SGM as a requirement, simply because they want to challenge themselves to make their games fit in 1K of RAM.

 

Of the first set of games you listed, only Mr Turtle is truly open to interpretation and could possibly be designed as a SGM game. For the others, I can't imagine a programmer using the SGM for those. As for your second list, use of the SGM depends on who is programming the game. If Eduardo tackles Donkey Kong 3, for instance, he will likely port the disassembled arcade ROM and use the SGM for the required extra RAM. If someone else than Edurado did the DK3 port, he could decide to use a MegaCart to make sure he has enough cartridge ROM space to reproduce all the features of the original game, but still work to make his game fit in 1K of RAM, so the SGM would not be required. It's really a case-by-case thing.

[retroillucid]

Here is two games I will make for the SGM

 

- DK3

- Mr Do's Wild Ride

 

Obviously, more will come!

[Manoau2002]

 

Lastly, one of the main reasons I had for purchasing the device was out of fear and logical assumption that it will eventually become "required" for all the future games

that are made for Coleco Vision, or at the very least, some future releases that I may really want badly might only be released in that format. So your almost forced to buy

this thing, or you may find yourself out of luck in the future.

 

 

I felt much the same way myself when I first heard about the SGM and considered buying one. But I changed my mind. You are still playing the games on the Colecovision itself using controllers connected to the Colecovision and utilizing its hardware. The SGM reminds me a lot of the expansion pack for the Nintendo 64. It doubled the amount of memory allowing people to play newer games on the system toward the end of the N64 life. (Games like Perfect Dark and one of the Zelda games) But in the end it was still a N64. Second Coleco was developing an SGM themselves for the system prior to the crash. So it seems like what Coleco would have wanted. I still have some concerns surrounding the Colecovision 2 but I have stated them before in the appropriate thread.

[Supergun]

Wow, now I have seen everything.

 

I understand if you are a programmer and you want to stick to the confines of the original colecovision spec but for an end consumer to demand that is really crazy.

Also for you to consider a programmer lazy when they want the extra memory or better sound to make his game come from his dreams to an end product is really unacceptable.

 

Then you state that you are going to throw away the boxes because you don't have room, really. You are going to spend all this money and then lose most of the value for the future if you ever want to sell it to make more room in your house. Now because you have no box you missed out on 50 - 70 percent of the resale value, I hope you are not in any kind of financial or accounting background because you will not be good at your job.

 

Another thing if you kept up with the forum you would know that the SGM is fully licensed and therefore there was no way the pack-in-game you wanted could be added and it was not done to steal more money from you.

 

Finally, everybody here creates CIB games so I guess you bought the system for no reason if you are never going to buy a CIB game.

 

Your twisting my words around and taking my statements out of context in your reply here.

The bottom line is that I was giving my opinion, which I am entitled to, same as you.

 

Accomplishments like what Dennis Debro did with the Atari 2600 Pac-Man 4K cartridge are along the lines of what I was referring to above.

 

In addition, yes, we are collectors and as such we take care of our stuff, but why exactly did you buy the module my friend? I bought it to USE it and to PLAY it, not to store it in some dumb ass box collecting dust on a shelf. I could care less what percent of its value it may or may not lose by my discarding the box because since I don't plan to ever sell it anyhow what does it matter to me? Oh and yes, I'm not alone, not everybody collects CIB, but since when the hell is collecting loose carts a crime around here? And for your information, most sellers DO offer BOTH. As an example, I contacted the seller of Side Trak, and he sold me a loose cart, and discounted as well for that matter.

[ColecoDan]

Your twisting my words around and taking my statements out of context in your reply here.

The bottom line is that I was giving my opinion, which I am entitled to, same as you.

 

Accomplishments like what Dennis Debro did with the Atari 2600 Pac-Man 4K cartridge are along the lines of what I was referring to above.

 

In addition, yes, we are collectors and as such we take care of our stuff, but why exactly did you buy the module my friend? I bought it to USE it and to PLAY it, not to store it in some dumb ass box collecting dust on a shelf. I could care less what percent of its value it may or may not lose by my discarding the box because since I don't plan to ever sell it anyhow what does it matter to me? Oh and yes, I'm not alone, not everybody collects CIB, but since when the hell is collecting loose carts a crime around here? And for your information, most sellers DO offer BOTH. As an example, I contacted the seller of Side Trak, and he sold me a loose cart, and discounted as well for that matter.

 

That was very generous of him to sell just cart as all the developers for colecovision now adays are selling CIB so congrats to you for convincing him to sell you one.

I buy everything for the ability to play as well and never plan on selling anything either.

However to not look ahead when possibly a rainy day comes along and you had bought a boxed copy that you threw away and could have sold that boxed item for twice the value and saved yourself from that rainy day is not financially responsible. To each his own I guess.

 

I understand the context of jamming as much in that the specs allow and making a great accomplishment that past coleco programmers didn't have time to figure out but your first post made it seem like if programmers didn't do that then you considered them lazy and their product not worth your purchase, if that is not what you meant then I am sorry for the misunderstanding but that is how it read.

[tomjscott]

I also have my Colecovision Adam to use and to play and don't ever plan to sell it and don't care what value it has when I do ever decide to stop using it. When that day comes, I'll just give it to my kids or their kids someday. I think it's really not necessary to attack someone for their opinion here and it is a little bit of an annoyance to see some people treated badly for no real reason. I don't agree with everyone here, but that doesn't mean we can't be mature about our differences.

[goldenrod]

Just received my SGM and for anyone still waiting for it, simply... it's everything you never thought it could be! It IS - really! From the packaging right down to the very last detail. In fact, it's the details that should put this in the 'Homebrew Hall of Fame'. Kudos, Eduardo!

 

But speaking of packaging... upon arrival, I noticed the box had been damaged due to shipping. I totally understand how this could happen and don't hold Eduardo accountable. What I was wondering is, Eduardo, can you make additional SGM boxes FOR SALE separately? It would be a win-win for everyone. They've already been created, so just another run would need to be produced. It could generate a decent amount of additional revenue for Opcode, because I bet people other than me would like to have one. Whether to replace one damaged during shipment or to give your already well-used SGM a like-new look, they could be packaged and shipped inexpensively, FLAT, and assembled more easily at home. And since it's for an item currently in production, it wouldn't degrade the original, like, say, a repro game box, because it WOULD BE an original box from the original producer. Anyone else on board with this idea? Boxes for us = cash for Eduardo!

[Jaymiester]

Supergun has one he may be throwing away. You should PM him and see if he is willing to sell/donate it to you.... rather than the trash can. It would be win win for you both as he needs the room and you need the box.

[opcode]

Just received my SGM and for anyone still waiting for it, simply... it's everything you never thought it could be! It IS - really! From the packaging right down to the very last detail. In fact, it's the details that should put this in the 'Homebrew Hall of Fame'. Kudos, Eduardo!

 

But speaking of packaging... upon arrival, I noticed the box had been damaged due to shipping. I totally understand how this could happen and don't hold Eduardo accountable. What I was wondering is, Eduardo, can you make additional SGM boxes FOR SALE separately? It would be a win-win for everyone. They've already been created, so just another run would need to be produced. It could generate a decent amount of additional revenue for Opcode, because I bet people other than me would like to have one. Whether to replace one damaged during shipment or to give your already well-used SGM a like-new look, they could be packaged and shipped inexpensively, FLAT, and assembled more easily at home. And since it's for an item currently in production, it wouldn't degrade the original, like, say, a repro game box, because it WOULD BE an original box from the original producer. Anyone else on board with this idea? Boxes for us = cash for Eduardo!

 

Please send me a picture of the problem and I will be glad to send a free replacement.

[phattyboombatty]

Got to level 5 on King's Valley this morning. Lots of fun, requiring thinking and strategy! I really appreciate this about the game! The animation is terrific for all the characters: Vick, the mummies, and even the way the knife is thrown and bounced! The music is of course great too! I very much like the A.I. of the different mummy characters. The game is a true adventure and I look forward to making my way through the map!

 

On the fritz: Noticed some major garbled character anomalies this morning while using the Super Action Controller. Vick, while at the bottom of the screen, can wind up having a purple ghost of himself mirrored at the top of the screen. The mummies flash in-and-out as well during this time. Haven't troubleshot enough to find out if the SAC is making a diff. Anyone else experience this? Thanks!

[opcode]

Got to level 5 on King's Valley this morning. Lots of fun, requiring thinking and strategy! I really appreciate this about the game! The animation is terrific for all the characters: Vick, the mummies, and even the way the knife is thrown and bounced! The music is of course great too! I very much like the A.I. of the different mummy characters. The game is a true adventure and I look forward to making my way through the map!

 

On the fritz: Noticed some major garbled character anomalies this morning while using the Super Action Controller. Vick, while at the bottom of the screen, can wind up having a purple ghost of himself mirrored at the top of the screen. The mummies flash in-and-out as well during this time. Haven't troubleshot enough to find out if the SAC is making a diff. Anyone else experience this? Thanks!

 

The nice thing about King's Valley is that it is finish-able I think at some point I got to stage 10 or something. A friend of mine could finish the game easily though.In fact he did so during a demoing session of the SGM version years ago.

 

About the garbled graphics, did you try to use the spinners. The spinners are usually a source of trouble with some MSX ports. Could you please give more details, like how many times you tried the game, for how long, did you use reset, did you try to reinsert the cartridge, etc.

[Pixelboy]

The nice thing about King's Valley is that it is finish-able I think at some point I got to stage 10 or something. A friend of mine could finish the game easily though.In fact he did so during a demoing session of the SGM version years ago.

 

Actually, there are 15 stages. Once you finish the 15th stage, you earn 10000 bonus points and are returned to the first level so you can keep playing. If I remember correctly, the mummies in the "revisited" first level are all red, but my memory is fuzzy about whether the mummies in the following "revisited" levels are of different colors. As you can see, I did beta-test the game thoroughly.

[phattyboombatty]

About the garbled graphics, did you try to use the spinners. The spinners are usually a source of trouble with some MSX ports. Could you please give more details, like how many times you tried the game, for how long, did you use reset, did you try to reinsert the cartridge, etc.

 

Thank you for the awesome responsiveness Eduardo!

 

I'm kind of sloppy as a troubleshooter lately (lazy, and too busy trying to multitask with things around the house)!

 

So, I completely took apart, cleaned, and reassembled my SAC #1, I reseated the cartridge AND the SGM. Now everything's working fine. I realize that I should have done each thing one by one to give you an accurate answer, but I really believe it was reseating the SGM that did it. I have yet to clean the EM's contacts, and I have had to reseat occasionally when the machine is moved or bumped.

[phattyboombatty]

If I remember correctly, the mummies in the "revisited" first level are all red, but my memory is fuzzy about whether the mummies in the following "revisited" levels are of different colors.

 

...And it's the red mummies that haul ass down the stairs to mess you up!

[tomjscott]

I received my SGM yesterday, but due to a crazy schedule of events I didn't even get to open it until shortly before rushing off to work this morning. I managed to plug it into my Adam and try out both King's Valley and Thexder for a very brief time. My general impressions of the SGM and games is that they are all fantastic and top notch quality.

 

I won't go into a detailed review just yet because I need far more time to play with it. However, there is one thing I want to note about King's Valley that was frustrating for me. I found a place where I got stuck and couldn't continue until a bad guy killed me. On the first level there is a gem in the lower left corner. It's difficult as it is to jump out of that space and continue, but if the sword happens to be on the left ledge then it seems impossible. Every time I jumped up to get out of the hole, it simply grabbed the sword and I fell back into the hole. I'll be careful not to get into this scenario again, but I thought I'd mention it.

[sega_SHARK]

On the first level there is a gem in the lower left corner. It's difficult as it is to jump out of that space and continue, but if the sword happens to be on the left ledge then it seems impossible. Every time I jumped up to get out of the hole, it simply grabbed the sword and I fell back into the hole. I'll be careful not to get into this scenario again, but I thought I'd mention it.

Tap right so that you don't fall back in, throw sword right. Jump over the hole. Jump over BLOODTHIRSTY mummies and run like hell.

[san-d-2000]

Package looks ace, great product thanks for making this happen!

Quickly tried the 4 games, Dragons Lair and Thexder just show scrambled graphics,

I guess it's time to look for a power replacement (Lord of the Dungeon also never worked on my system so that was already an indication). I did notice these games use different boards than the other two SGM Games, do these require more power?

 

Overall very happy, keep it up!

Edited May 8, 2013 by san-d-2000

[Pixelboy]

Package looks ace, great product thanks for making this happen!

Quickly tried the 4 games, Dragons Lair and Thexder just show scrambled graphics,

I guess it's time to look for a power replacement (Lord of the Dungeon also never worked on my system so that was already an indication). I did notice these games use different boards than the other two SGM Games, do these require more power?

 

Overall very happy, keep it up!

 

I don't know anything about that. Eduardo or someone else may be able to answer that question.

[+nanochess]

Package looks ace, great product thanks for making this happen!

Quickly tried the 4 games, Dragons Lair and Thexder just show scrambled graphics,

I guess it's time to look for a power replacement (Lord of the Dungeon also never worked on my system so that was already an indication). I did notice these games use different boards than the other two SGM Games, do these require more power?

 

Overall very happy, keep it up!

I would recommend you to use this test ROM http://atariage.com/forums/topic/211871-sgm-test-rom/#entry2748035

 

It would be interesting if it uncovers some failure in RAM.

[sega_SHARK]

King's Valley may contain crack. It's impossible to put down.

[opcode]

Package looks ace, great product thanks for making this happen!

Quickly tried the 4 games, Dragons Lair and Thexder just show scrambled graphics,

I guess it's time to look for a power replacement (Lord of the Dungeon also never worked on my system so that was already an indication). I did notice these games use different boards than the other two SGM Games, do these require more power?

 

Overall very happy, keep it up!

 

As far as I know Zaxxon Super Game and Dragon's Lair use both the same cartridge board...

Run the tests. If it doesn't detect anything, then the problem is somewhere else in your system.

[Arjak]

King's Valley may contain crack. It's impossible to put down.

 

It's definitely fun and unique. I showed off my ColecoVision to some friends recently, including the SGM, and when I talked to one of them a day or two later, they asked if I had played any more King's Valley! I had shown them several games, but that one we played the longest, and I guess was the one that made the biggest impression.

[opcode]

Interesting. Good to see King's Valley is getting some love. Konami is always great.

How about Thexder? How far have you guys gone.

[phattyboombatty]

Interesting. Good to see King's Valley is getting some love. Konami is always great.

How about Thexder? How far have you guys gone.

 

Thexder is difficult to master thus far. I find it difficult to gain control over your character. Pressing down transforms Thexder in and out of "ship mode". If you have to fire in a downward direction, this makes it kind of hard! Once I can figure out how to master the transformation, I'll have a better game-play experience. Any other experiences along this line? Any suggestions?

[phattyboombatty]

About the garbled graphics, did you try to use the spinners. The spinners are usually a source of trouble with some MSX ports. Could you please give more details, like how many times you tried the game, for how long, did you use reset, did you try to reinsert the cartridge, etc.

 

As a follow up to this, I discovered the following:

 

I have a faulty Super Action Controller #2. When SAC #2 is plugged in to its port, I get majorly garbled graphics. My spinner magnets are weak, or the reed switches are faulty, so goofy data is being sent through on Controller port #2. Thanks for the heads' up on the Spinners situation Eduardo. I've noticed that they cause freezes on just about all other Sega ports as well.