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OPCODE GAMES announces: IntelliXpander - Castlevania & Goonies! RESERVE NOW


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Interesting ... I'm torn on this.

 

It's almost like cheating. You have an old system and you want to make a game for it. However, the system has limitations that you can't get past ... so what to do? Just update the hardware.

 

Programming with the existing limitations of the system is what impresses me the most when a new game comes out. Take for instance D2K. What Carl was able to accomplish with the existing limitations of the Inty is nothing short of incredible. That's why the idea of Defender of the Crown is so impressive as well ... a big game programmed on a little system.

 

Also, PLEASE consider making new games as well. If I want to play Castlevania, I can play it on the NES. That's where the nostalgia is for me with that game, not the Inty. You can make fun, unique games for the Inty using the original system ... look no further than Christmas Carol for a great example! Also, three letters ... RPG :-D.

 

Don't get me wrong, happy to see you guys entering the arena and I'm definitely interested in the product and seeing what it can do.

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The CoolCV emulator emulates the SGM.

 

The same question can be asked about Intellivision hardware accelerators. RAM might be addressed in the CFG file. Does Jzintv support LTO cart acceleration? What about Groovybee cart acceleration and now Opcode's?

 

Considering that the LTO cartridge is the only one you mention that is being employed with games right now, we don't know what Jzintv will support in the future, but right now, it does indeed work with games written for JLP cartridges.

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Interesting ... I'm torn on this.

 

It's almost like cheating. You have an old system and you want to make a game for it. However, the system has limitations that you can't get past ... so what to do? Just update the hardware.

 

Programming with the existing limitations of the system is what impresses me the most when a new game comes out. Take for instance D2K. What Carl was able to accomplish with the existing limitations of the Inty is nothing short of incredible. That's why the idea of Defender of the Crown is so impressive as well ... a big game programmed on a little system.

 

Also, PLEASE consider making new games as well. If I want to play Castlevania, I can play it on the NES. That's where the nostalgia is for me with that game, not the Inty. You can make fun, unique games for the Inty using the original system ... look no further than Christmas Carol for a great example! Also, three letters ... RPG :-D.

 

Don't get me wrong, happy to see you guys entering the arena and I'm definitely interested in the product and seeing what it can do.

 

Unlike Carl, I have no qualms about updating the hardware on an Intellivision (to a point). I mean, if this was about making a STIC chip replacement or somehow modifying the system to allow for better graphics and still keep the feel of the Intellivision and have backward compatibility, I'd be all for it.

 

However, this project seems to be re-inventing the wheel. Defender of the Crown is INDEED taking advantage of the extra RAM and FLASH RAM in the JLP cartridge. I don't know if the programmer is using the hardware math in the cartridge, though. However, I know for a fact that Mike Hayes is going to use the hardware math routines in his update of his game FUBAR.

 

As you know, LTO has been reluctant to put blatantly infringing products on the JLP. And, a lot of these products have been hacks or straight copies of games that were never released back in the day. So, the features in JLP would have been lost anyhow. Development targeting the JLP features has not been as high as it might have been. That will presently change with the imminent release of LTO Flash! which supports JLP cartridges exactly.

 

I'd hate to see a lot of duplication of effort and all that results is a fragmentation of the market. As I've said, this expansion module doesn't seem to bring anything new to the table that we don't already have.

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You didn't answer my question. JLP offers expanded Ram, flash ram and math subroutines.

 

The ECS has an extra sound chip and the Intellivoice supports the voice. What more does it bring?

1) it seems to me most people in this thread are curious about the specs, yet they aren't demanding answers. We will reveal when we are ready to reveal; publicly challenging us isn't going to help you with that

2) from my experience, care less about what others are doing and focus more on your own thing.

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1) it seems to me most people in this thread are curious about the specs, yet they aren't demanding answers. We will reveal when we are ready to reveal; publicly challenging us isn't going to help you with that

2) from my experience, care less about what others are doing and focus more on your own thing.

 

I didn't mean to come off as 'demanding answers'. We've been 'doing our own thing' for quite a while now and since you seem to be new to doing stuff on the Intellivision, I thought I'd try and warn you that by all your indications, you are duplicating what exists already.

 

Obviously, you are well aware of that now.

 

You are certainly free to do whatever you want, and I can only speak for myself, but if whatever you DO come up with is not compatible with JLP cartridges and LTO Flash!, I will be taking a pass.

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I didn't mean to come off as 'demanding answers'. We've been 'doing our own thing' for quite a while now and since you seem to be new to doing stuff on the Intellivision, I thought I'd try and warn you that by all your indications, you are duplicating what exists already.

 

Obviously, you are well aware of that now.

 

You are certainly free to do whatever you want, and I can only speak for myself, but if whatever you DO come up with is not compatible with JLP cartridges and LTO Flash!, I will be taking a pass.

We are surely aware about the existing techs available, but we prefer to come up with custom solutions that better suit our needs and vision.

So we appreciate your concerns but no need to worry about us.

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As you know, LTO has been reluctant to put blatantly infringing products on the JLP. And, a lot of these products have been hacks or straight copies of games that were never released back in the day. So, the features in JLP would have been lost anyhow. Development targeting the JLP features has not been as high as it might have been. That will presently change with the imminent release of LTO Flash! which supports JLP cartridges exactly.

 

Maybe your answer is contained above. LTO is well within their rights to not provide boards if they feel they could be guilty by association on a potentially infringing or even inappropriate (pornographic/racist etc) release. However, they are the only source of Flash saving/Extra RAM boards. A stand alone SGM style module provides me one more option and removes that gate from being kept.

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"more diverse and complex graphics and animations, and arcade realistic sounds (even including voices and other highly advanced effects)"

 

Sounds like it adds a sound processor capable of playing digitally recorded audio/speech through the cartridge port audio input. Havent heard anyone advertise improved graphics since Mattel's "supergraphics" and others went to 60 Hz.

 

I'm guessing you still need an Intellivoice to play B17 Bomber properly.

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I think the Intellivision SGM/SEM/IntelliXpander will be a tougher sell than the ColecoVision SGM. The ColecoVision SGM brought quite a few MSX conversions, and I think just a few "new" games (not ported directly from other consoles/computers). The ColecoVision has many "cousins" that share microprocessor and video and/or audio chips, so conversions are very common. I'm not aware of any cousins of the Intellivision, so I'm guessing conversions would be more difficult, and therefore the number of games would be fewer. Of course I don't know what this thing does yet, so who knows, really?

 

Ah, who am I kidding... everyone will buy 3 anyway. ;)

 

I'm not too familiar with the internals of the ECS, but an ECS/Intellivoice/RAM/EEPROM all-in-one expansion unit might be useful.

 

At the same time, I like the concept of the planned SGM2 for the ColecoVision, where it's not required above and beyond the SGM1, but has some advantages that people might enjoy.

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Good point, 5-11inder. We surely will collaborate with developers to get a fair number of games available for the IntteliXpander. But as "owners" of the module, it is up to us to make it interesting and in the hands of as many Inty users as possible. That said, you might be right about the IntelliXpander possibily not getting as many games as the SGM, but you know, I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. A couple of pros:

 

1) not having a cousin platform to borrow games from means that no matter what we release, it is going to be new code, even if it is a port of some existing game. And new code means we can differentiate and add new stuff to the game, as we plan to do with some of the upcoming titles

2) we are a very niche space, so flooding the scene with new games (like has been happening with the Colecovision) isn't necessarily good. It makes each new game less special, makes it hard for even the most hardcore fans to keep up, etc. I personally like the current state of things in the Inty scene, the fewer number of new releases gives people a better chance to actually check and play each new game. And that is the reason we make those games after all, so people can enjoy them

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I'm all for a Castlevania style game or even Super Mario Bros, but it would be much more enjoyable for me if they are clones with different names and stages, with the gameplay balanced for Intellivision, but not limited too much just to accomodate stock controllers.

 

Custom controllers are accessible for everyone today, so at the very least I'd like to see games only tweaked just enough to be playable with stock Intellivision pads, but handle like an 8-bit+ gen game when using an 8-bit+ gen controller.

 

A good example of everything I've mentioned is Princess Quest.

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I'm all for a Castlevania style game or even Super Mario Bros, but it would be much more enjoyable for me if they are clones with different names and stages, with the gameplay balanced for Intellivision, but not limited too much just to accomodate stock controllers.

 

Custom controllers are accessible for everyone today, so at the very least I'd like to see games only tweaked just enough to be playable with stock Intellivision pads, but handle like an 8-bit+ gen game when using an 8-bit+ gen controller.

 

A good example of everything I've mentioned is Princess Quest.

 

We're all for new content and we're surely listening...

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I've been thinking of getting the Colecovision SGM. Is there a definitive list of titles available?

 

Will those titles for SGM work on a Pi? (If the ROM is made available by publishers)

 

Opcode mentioned 700 sold??? Wow. Thats a lot!

you do have one sgm game on the pi. Princess quest for the coleco
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Interesting ... I'm torn on this.

 

It's almost like cheating. You have an old system and you want to make a game for it. However, the system has limitations that you can't get past ... so what to do? Just update the hardware.

 

I feel the same way. At what point does the original system just become a power/controller pass-through for the new add on?

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I feel the same way. At what point does the original system just become a power/controller pass-through for the new add on?

 

This is basically what the Mattel's System Changer did to allow Atari 2600 carts/games to be playable on the Intellivision. The Intellivision is basically power and a pass-through for this add-on peripheral.

So I am in both camps. It's been done in the past, so why not in the future?

Should we only allow new "system changers" only to allow systems of the same generation? Or is it OK to allow "system changers" to get newer system games to be played through the Intellivision?

But from reading through these many posts, the IntelliXpander is not a true "system changer" in that it will not allow NES carts to be plugged in and played through the Intellivision the same way the System Changer allowed you to plug in Atari carts.

It sounds like this device will add functionality/capabilities to allow programming of new games that will be of similar game play, and look, as the NES games that they are mimicking. But hey are newly created games, so the device is not a true "system changer" as we are already use to.

 

All that being said, I don't know if I would purchase one of these due to the fact that NES doesn't interest me, and if I were interested in NES games then I'd get an NES.

 

If this IntelliXpander device had interesting original titles, then I may be more interested in purchasing it.

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We are not replacing anything, we are adding new functionality.

Think about the Super Game Module, we surely could have added extra RAM and a sound chip inside each cartridge, but then we would need a larger case and in turn each game would be more expensive.

Another example, the IntelliVoice. Technically Mattel could have released all the IntelliVoice games with the voice chip builtin, but would that have been a good business decision?

So we can go on with this discussion forever, and I understand some concerns, but truth is, I understand we can add extra RAM, bank switching ROM and a number of advanced functions to a cartridge, that is all technically possible, but I have a hard time believing that would have been possible back in the early 80s simply because such an advanced cartridge would have cost a lot, not to mention that it would be really hard to fit all of that inside a regular sized cartridge due to the technology of the time. So that is why we prefer expansion modules, because they are a more realist solution if you work with the same technology constrains (size and price) of the 80s.

I would list as advantages: 1) paying once for the tech, 2) you can fit more stuff or more advanced functions than would fit inside a cartridge, 3) depending on the tech, it is more realistic when considering what was possible or feasible back in the day, 4) games could potentially cost less (though tech inside the cartridge is just one component)

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Should we only allow new "system changers" only to allow systems of the same generation? Or is it OK to allow "system changers" to get newer system games to be played through the Intellivision?

 

No one should be in charge of 'allowing' anything. If someone wants to hook a Core i7 into an Intellivision and people want to buy it, then all power to them. I was just stating my person philosophy on this (and on most new add-ons to be honest).

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No one should be in charge of 'allowing' anything. If someone wants to hook a Core i7 into an Intellivision and people want to buy it, then all power to them. I was just stating my person philosophy on this (and on most new add-ons to be honest).

 

"allow" wasn't quite the correct wording to use. Maybe more like "what would be more acceptable as an add-on", and I think we've basically expressed the same opinion. People can make whatever, but that doesn't mean we need to buy it.

 

For me, I'll wait until it is released to see what exactly is offered

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Even though it's pretty much inaccessible to me living in 60Hz land, I really like the approach that Philips took with the G7400/Odyssey^3: adding a layer of hi-res graphics to complement the existing Odyssey^2 graphics hardware.

 

I hope that the graphical assets added by this expansion unit will be similar, i.e. recognizably "Intellivision" graphics floating atop improved backgrounds (or vice versa).

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I am going to sell off a bunch of stuff for my other systems anyway, so this works perfectly for me as the Intellivision will be my last system in my house.

 

I am moving forward and looking ahead to the great finished projects and games! :)

 

Intellivision has always been the only console in my house. While I have given thought to ColecoVision in the past, this IntelliXpander actually adds a reason not to for me. As a steady stream of Intellivision games keeps coming in I have no reason to try and go after other classic consoles which won't fit into my budget anyway. As I own a System Changer I will be attempting to get all the M Network Atari games CIB but between the continuing homebrew releases and now the games that will be coming out for this expander, I feel there will be enough classic games to satisfy me well after I complete my 125 set.

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