Retroblox

[keepdreamin]

There is just no end to this crap, is there?

 

Even if this system is real, did they give any thought to that name (Seedi)? Seedy shenanigans indeed....

Shelf Space to fill. The endless quest of the collector.

[godslabrat]

I always get suspicious when a company that's been planning for crowdfunding decides out of the blue that they're now going to avoid that whole mess and instead accept "preorders" when the project is "finished."

 

Okay.

 

Congrats... ??? ... I guess??

 

Why do they need to announce that? If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to wait until it's ready and then make the big announcement that "we're not going to KS! It's on sale now!" to ride that wave instead of continuing with this drip feed of information?

 

I don't think they're sincere about turning away from crowdfunding, I think that move is purely it's strategic. They know that having crowdfunding in every press piece isn't working well for them. It's only adding to the suspicion that these guys don't know how to make this. So now that they've disavowed that, declared that all the emulation is their own in-house software and announced their shiny new office in Dallas of all fucking places, it's letting them rewrite the narrative. Now most news stories won't mention crowdfunding but they're under no obligation to keep to that promise.

 

Mark my words: they will go to crowdfunding

 

Agreed. I'm also really suspicious when a project gets launched and the PR people can't try hard enough to get the word into every blog, feed, and channel on the internet, sucking up publicity like a vacuum cleaner over a misplaced sock. Then, the second the hard questions get asked, everything goes super secret and the public faces can't be quoted at giving you the proper time of day. It instantly kills my trust and confidence in the project, because we've seen how easily *competent* innovators can get sidetracked by unforeseen complications. When you realize that at least 90% of these ideas are pie-in-the-sky dreams of fanboys, you learn to distance yourself from the hype.

 

The list of internet announced vaporware is long and glorious, but not every example was as amusing as NES ROM Maker or Knight Rider 2600. When a project hits Coleco Chameleon or RetroEngine Sigma proportions, people lose money, credibility, and even jobs. That's why, much as I love watching the dumpster fire that is PolyMega, I keep hoping a voice of sanity can address the more glaring concerns here. Because we're rapidly approaching the point where the price is going to be a lot higher than some wasted bandwidth.

[Flojomojo]

I think that move is purely it's strategic.

If "stalling for time" is a strategy, sure.

 

Here's a link to the thing that Aaron posted, note that the topic is "why no news": http://polymega.com/forums/topic/why-no-news/

 

First, a shilly says:

Well technically yes, there’s been no new “News” for the news section, however, development is still underway. If you checked the Twitter account, Polymega recently posted a job posting for a Senior Electrical Engineer position in their new Dallas location. So it seems the team is heavy at work and actually been expanding. I know, many of us have been hoping to hear more, but like all projects, things take time.

Hang in there my fellow gamer!

 

Then the site admin pipes in to say "that's exactly right."

In contrast to many retro-gaming oriented products on the market, we are taking the less trodden path for development that does not ride on the backs of the open source community (apart from Linux). Use of popular open source frontends and emulator APIs makes it very, very fast to get to market with a retro game console product, and we’ve all seen many of them pop up on crowdfunding platforms every month or two for this reason, sometimes to the chagrin of some of the original open source developers. If we had gone this route, POLYMEGA probably would have been in your hands already earlier this year.

However, for us there are very good philosophical and business reasons to invest in our own technology, and we’re in the very fortunate position of already having a strong development warchest without additional kickstarters, indiegogos, or patreons. This has enabled us to grow our team and partnerships behind the scenes, and the new Dallas development office is a product of that expansion.

We will continue to be active on this board to answer relevant questions as usual, but as previously stated – everyone on the team (including your humble forum admin) are putting in around the clock effort to make this product the best it can be. When the project is finished you can believe we will be back in the news daily, guns blazing, with a countdown to a pre-order link ready to go.

 

Maybe I have a sensitivity to advertising language, maybe I can just smell bullshit, but this sure sounds like "we are delaying the Kickstarter to make it even better!" to me. Let's count the ways:

 

1. "In contrast to many retro-gaming oriented products on the market," meaning "save your money for the Ultra 64, kids!" It seems to be working on at least one true believer:

 

I’m in the camp of don’t rush this. I really want this to be a premium retro console. If I wanted a quick and dirty console that could play retro games… wait, I do, it’s a Retro Pi. I’ve accepted that this is going to come with a price tag on it, that the expected launch window is sometime 2018, and that I’m going to order/pre-order/etc. this console and almost all the modules that release for it. It will be nice to use my retro library once again.

Dude, if you really want to use your "retro library once again," and you're waiting for this, maybe you don't like old games as much as you think you do.

 

2. "we are taking the less trodden path for development" because everybody loves an underdog! Especially one that does not

 

3. "ride on the backs of the open source community." Is this because of altruism, or because there's no money in it?

 

4. "sometimes to the chagrin of some of the original open source developers" as if MEGACOLONPOLYP cares about such things

 

5. "we’re in the very fortunate position of already having a strong development warchest without additional kickstarters, indiegogos, or patreons. This has enabled us to grow our team and partnerships behind the scenes, and the new Dallas development office is a product of that expansion" meaning "we have enough of Other People's Money at the moment without needing yours, and the transparency and accountability that would create.

 

6. "everyone on the team (including your humble forum admin) are putting in around the clock effort to make this product the best it can be," meaning signing in to make up answers to the "community" on an ALMOST DAILY basis!

 

7. "you can believe we will be back in the news daily, guns blazing" ... at best, a terrible choice of words, at worst, a chilling portrait of things to come. Don't shoot me, POLYMEGAMEATAVEGEMAN!

 

8. "with a countdown to a pre-order link ready to go" Why does a pre-order need a countdown? This isn't the iPhone X, this is 2017 Amateur Vaporware Console #43.

 

I think it's cute that they allow shilly to portray recruitment of a senior electrical engineer from a month ago as evidence of progress, rather than an indicator that they haven't actually done anything. Here's the advertisement, for posterity:

 

 

Senior Electrical Engineer

Playmaji, Inc. - Dallas, TX

Sr Electrical Engineer

Playmaji Inc, creators of POLYMEGA™ (www.polymega.com), the worlds first HD modular video game console have a great opportunity for an experienced Senior Electrical Engineer to join our new Dallas-based development team.

About Playmaji, Inc.

Playmaji, Inc. is a California-based specialty developer, producer, and manufacturer of next-generation video game products for new and retro game consoles.

Job Qualifications

Candidates interested in applying for this position should possess the following qualifications in addition to traditional electrical engineering experience:

• 8 years or more of professional FPGA/CPLD programming experience
• One or more projects completed integrating a FPGA/CPLD with a consumer CPU
• One or more projects completed releasing a consumer electronics product
• Experience in extreme low latency applications
• Well versed in Linux
• Thorough knowledge of modern CPU architecture
• Excellent communication and leadership skills
• Ability to be a team player

Bonus Qualifications

• 4 years or more professional experience in C
• A love for retro/classic gaming

Job Type: Full-time

Job Location:

• Dallas, TX

Required experience:

• Electrical Engineering: 8 years

Required language:

• English

30+ days ago - save job

 

I am a little skeptical. This is why you build first, and show later.

 

Here's LinkedIn for Playmaji.

 

 

New office building looks nice enough.

 

 

It's called the Summit and it's in McKinney, Texas. I guess 30 miles from the center of Dallas is kind of like being in Dallas, right?

 

[godslabrat]

If "stalling for time" is a strategy, sure.

 

Here's a link to the thing that Aaron posted, note that the topic is "why no news": http://polymega.com/forums/topic/why-no-news/

 

First, a shilly says:

 

Then the site admin pipes in to say "that's exactly right."

 

Maybe I have a sensitivity to advertising language, maybe I can just smell bullshit, but this sure sounds like "we are delaying the Kickstarter to make it even better!" to me. Let's count the ways:

1. "In contrast to many retro-gaming oriented products on the market," meaning "save your money for the Ultra 64, kids!" It seems to be working on at least one true believer:

I’m in the camp of don’t rush this. I really want this to be a premium retro console. If I wanted a quick and dirty console that could play retro games… wait, I do, it’s a Retro Pi.

Dude, if you really want to use your "retro library once again," and you're waiting for this, maybe you don't like old games as much as you think you do.

 

2. "we are taking the less trodden path for development" because everybody loves an underdog! Especially one that does not

3. "ride on the backs of the open source community." Is this because of altruism, or because there's no money in it?

4. "sometimes to the chagrin of some of the original open source developers" as if MEGACOLONPOLYP cares about such things

5. "we’re in the very fortunate position of already having a strong development warchest without additional kickstarters, indiegogos, or patreons. This has enabled us to grow our team and partnerships behind the scenes, and the new Dallas development office is a product of that expansion" meaning "we have enough of Other People's Money at the moment without needing yours, and the transparency and accountability that would create.

6. "everyone on the team (including your humble forum admin) are putting in around the clock effort to make this product the best it can be," meaning signing in to make up answers to the "community" on an ALMOST DAILY basis!

7. "you can believe we will be back in the news daily, guns blazing" ... at best, a terrible choice of words, at worst, a chilling portrait of things to come. Don't shoot me, POLYMEGAMEATAVEGEMAN!

8. "with a countdown to a pre-order link ready to go" Why does a pre-order need a countdown? This isn't the iPhone X, this is 2017 Amateur Vaporware Console #43.

 

I think it's cute that they allow shilly to portray recruitment of a senior electrical engineer from a month ago as evidence of progress, rather than an indicator that they haven't actually done anything. Here's the advertisement, for posterity:

 

 

I am a little skeptical. This is why you build first, and show later.

 

Here's LinkedIn for Playmaji.

 

playmaji linkedin.png

 

Agreed, and the whole notion of having an office in Dallas when your corporate headquarters is an apartment in Los Angeles just screams "tryhard". I haven't been able to locate the Dallas office yet, but even a single-room setup in a professional complex going to be costly. Why add that overhead? It's another Mike Kennedy method of creating a company before you even have a product. Also, note that Bryan's (the CEO) credentials are mostly marketing, with some QA-level testing on the fringe. His CIO is mostly a software guy. This, again, begs the question of how this magic prototype came to be when neither of them consider hardware to be their primary skillset. Beyond that, it's worth asking how one could design a radical new approach to low-level emulation without being REALLY into hardware.

[Flojomojo]

Agreed, and the whole notion of having an office in Dallas when your corporate headquarters is an apartment in Los Angeles just screams "tryhard". I haven't been able to locate the Dallas office yet, but even a single-room setup in a professional complex going to be costly. Why add that overhead? It's another Mike Kennedy method of creating a company before you even have a product. Also, note that Bryan's (the CEO) credentials are mostly marketing, with some QA-level testing on the fringe. His CIO is mostly a software guy. This, again, begs the question of how this magic prototype came to be when neither of them consider hardware to be their primary skillset. Beyond that, it's worth asking how one could design a radical new approach to low-level emulation without being REALLY into hardware.

 

Yeah, every time someone puffs themselves up to be bigger/better/badder than they really are, they're just setting people up for disappointment.

 

I thought the same thing about Dallas real estate. I did a reverse GIS on the building image they posted to Twitter, and edited my post above with the information I found while you were writing this. Their new building is not in Dallas, it's in a distant exurb called McKinney. Anyone wishing to live in the city will have a hard time getting home, the fun starts just as you hit the outer beltway, the President George Bush Turnpike.

 

[godslabrat]

 

It's called the Summit and it's in McKinney, Texas. I guess 30 miles from the center of Dallas is kind of like being in Dallas, right?

 

30 miles from dallas.png

 

@Flojomojo - My apologies, I hadn't noticed you'd found the Dallas office. Thanks. To be fair, the DFW area is one GIANT urban sprawl, and there are some logistical advantages to not being right in the center of downtown. It's a heck of a lot easier to shuttle around McKinney and Plano in traffic, for example. (source: experience)

 

That said, here's the rent:

 

 

Looks like this is kind of a pay-as-you-go kind of place, not a dedicated workspace just for them. However, I'd have to ask why even these low prices are a good use of "investor funds" when we can just use Skype and Google Drive. You'd think a TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, of all people, would cut costs there.

[derFunkenstein]

 

Looks like this is kind of a pay-as-you-go kind of place, not a dedicated workspace just for them. However, I'd have to ask why even these low prices are a good use of "investor funds" when we can just use Skype and Google Drive. You'd think a TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, of all people, would cut costs there.

 

Yep, that's what my employer did. We have about 4,000 employees in many states (as the company acquired smaller companies) and lots of these smaller offices were sold off and closed. I've been a full-time telecommuter for nearly 5 years in a tech industry where Skype and GoToMeeting mean never having to go anywhere. Adding on extra expenses for a startup like this seems like the opposite of good fiscal planning.

[Flojomojo]

Cool, it's like a Love Hotel!

[PikoInteractive]

Seems like those "Virtual Offices" buildings. After 5 years of opperations and sales, We are barely looking into a small office/shop. We've been going from garage to large storage unit with AC to garage back to storage unit lol. So it seems pre-mature to have an office if you have no product yet. Just look at what happened to Watermelon =(.

 

Although Industry rumors tell me that they secured 1 Mill+ in funding. This is from good sources.

 

When I inquired about having our games bundled (DOS/Amiga games). They said they were only going to be sort of a virtual console store where you can list your games for sale. Which made me lose 300% my interest. I don't think it would be worth it unless they sell 5+ Million units that would convert to potentially a few thousands download sales. But At MOST (this is if the polymega is super successful) I see it selling no more than 10K units.

[Tanooki]

 

Yep, that's what my employer did. We have about 4,000 employees in many states (as the company acquired smaller companies) and lots of these smaller offices were sold off and closed. I've been a full-time telecommuter for nearly 5 years in a tech industry where Skype and GoToMeeting mean never having to go anywhere. Adding on extra expenses for a startup like this seems like the opposite of good fiscal planning.

That's my position for better or worse too going on most of a decade now. People sometimes private or not ask how I can be online (active or not) so much and write as I do. I work at home and I get bored. The work I do isn't super stimulating so I have a lot of time where I need to engage in something more between or around tasks so I don't zone out or worse pass out. My company has been moving more and more towards just work at home because not only is it easier not having more office space, but each space also comes with insurance costs, power, net services, you name it. It's a huge savings when you can just have dial in meetings and maybe just end up going in just once a month or quarter.

[derFunkenstein]

That's my position for better or worse too going on most of a decade now. People sometimes private or not ask how I can be online (active or not) so much and write as I do. I work at home and I get bored. The work I do isn't super stimulating so I have a lot of time where I need to engage in something more between or around tasks so I don't zone out or worse pass out. My company has been moving more and more towards just work at home because not only is it easier not having more office space, but each space also comes with insurance costs, power, net services, you name it. It's a huge savings when you can just have dial in meetings and maybe just end up going in just once a month or quarter.

Yeah, and this week is my week, which is a bummer.

 

But basically everything you said applies to me, too. Instead of standing around talking to coworkers, I'm sitting at my desk talking on forums. In a way I like it better since the forums are for shared interests like this one.

[Flojomojo]

I work at home two days a week, which is just enough to loooooove the break from people, traffic, and parking, but not enough to feel isolated. I often tell people the logical next cost-saving step would be shared office spaces, especially when they're so underutilized.

 

I can think of exactly one person at my workplace who even knows about Retroblox, and that person doesn't have a great impression of it.

[Keatah]

Why spend all this time and energy making noise when real development work should be getting done? I don't give a shit if you live in a trailer patched with cardboard. If you make good stuff you'll get 1up from me.

[dj_convoy]

Hybrid emulation in a hybrid workspace.

 

Hybrid.

[godslabrat]

Hybrid emulation in a hybrid workspace.

 

Hybrid.

Because cartridges.

[godslabrat]

More funny updates from Chameleon 2.0...

 

 

"Yep! Make sure you buy directly from us, to avoid the evil scalpers! "

 

 

Sorry, gang... we're not rolling in money! By the way, we still need to hire someone to design this thing, hopefully before we start pre-orders. But if not, no big. The right guy can whip one of these up in like, a week, right?

 

 

This was referencing the failure of Seedi's crowdfunding campaign. Really sticking your neck out considering it's 99.99% likely that's exactly what the "prototype" at SoCal was.

Edited November 2, 2017 by godslabrat

[Greg2600]

Seedi IMO is no different than Polymega. Once you get into crowdfunding, you're as flimsy and flaky as a MK project.

[Flojomojo]

I wonder if the topic title should be edited (an admin can do it) to reflect the name change? I usually don't care about search engine optimization, but in this case, it seems like it would be in the public interest for this discussion to be searchable.

 

I'll do my part:

It was called Retroblox but now it's called Polymega and even so it sure smells like a scam at worst, a dream at best. Scammity scam scam yes polymega is a scam

 

If I were http://polymega.se I would unleash every single Swedish lawyer I could find on them immediately.

[+save2600]

I wonder if the topic title should be edited (an admin can do it) to reflect the name change? I usually don't care about search engine optimization, but in this case, it seems like it would be in the public interest for this discussion of dick to be searchable.

Fixed.

[godslabrat]

I wonder if the topic title should be edited (an admin can do it) to reflect the name change? I usually don't care about search engine optimization, but in this case, it seems like it would be in the public interest for this discussion to be searchable.

 

I'll do my part:

It was called Retroblox but now it's called Polymega and even so it sure smells like a scam at worst, a dream at best. Scammity scam scam yes polymega is a scam

 

If I were http://polymega.se I would unleash every single Swedish lawyer I could find on them immediately.

Oh brother, now they can stall for another six months and do another rebranding.

[godslabrat]

 

Its gonna happen, guys! I heard someone say it on Facebook, so this is really really for reals gonna happen!

[Newsdee]

And why is the team itself quiet? Too worried of committing to anything concrete?

[cybercylon]

Hard to be worried about something concrete when there is nothing concrete to begin with.

 

Anyway, I am hungry for tacos... so....

[Keatah]

Nonsense! It's MADE out of concrete. And as stupid as that guy that cemented his head in the microwave.

 

Police and fire didn't like that. But he has other plans like being a youtube star! Gonna make millions!

[Flojomojo]

Oh "Camden Mitchell," I love your work on Modern Family! You are a funny couple of guys.