Alien Abduction, a new 2600 game from John Van Ryzin - (in VCS Store)

[zzip]

13 minutes ago, zzip said:

I've installed secure-boot compliant Ubuntu as I worried that Atari might enforce secure-boot in the future.  So I assume I would be safe?  Some of the people are acting like Atari's going to kill PC mode altogether.

 

Someone here said you can install some packages on Ubuntu or Debian and get the same functionality as Batocera (Emulation Station I think?).   Might be a viable workaround for anyone concerned about Batocera.

But as I read back through that thread, it seems that enforcing secure boot or other BIOS changes have been ruled out, so I don't want to start any rumors.

[killersquirel]

23 minutes ago, zzip said:

I've installed secure-boot compliant Ubuntu as I worried that Atari might enforce secure-boot in the future.  So I assume I would be safe?  Some of the people are acting like Atari's going to kill PC mode altogether.

 

Someone here said you can install some packages on Ubuntu or Debian and get the same functionality as Batocera (Emulation Station I think?).   Might be a viable workaround for anyone concerned about Batocera.

You will be fine with that version of Ubuntu.  They are aware that people use Batocera on the VCS and they are working to find a solution to be more secure for their developers and still have the things that the users want.  

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

So if it wasn't the guy who made the video that posted the ROM online it still doesn't really matter, its been distributed online which in my opinion is disgusting. The guy that posted the video really should have thought about what they where doing though. In a way its been a blessing as Atari can stop this from happening in the future with the other games coming in the future. It only takes one person to destroy a good thing and Alien Abduction 2600 was the best thing to happen to the VCS thus far in my opinion, suddenly we have this game on our platform and people are now interested in the VCS and hacking it for the games essentially.

[ColecoGamer]

1 hour ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

So if it wasn't the guy who made the video that posted the ROM online it still doesn't really matter, its been distributed online which in my opinion is disgusting. The guy that posted the video really should have thought about what they where doing though. In a way its been a blessing as Atari can stop this from happening in the future with the other games coming in the future. It only takes one person to destroy a good thing and Alien Abduction 2600 was the best thing to happen to the VCS thus far in my opinion, suddenly we have this game on our platform and people are now interested in the VCS and hacking it for the games essentially.

I agree about it being a disgusting act, @Atari_JaguarVCS! We have this new, incredibly original game on the VCS and we can’t even play it, thanks to the actions of this person. 
 

I was hoping for an original 2600 cartridge release from Atari, too. Now all of this seems in jeopardy thanks to this person.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

According to Discord, the video told nothing new. But what do I know.

[r_type2600]

It's a huge shame that the advent of this marvelous new game for the 2600 has been torpedoed by some despicable rat(s).

I trust that genuine 2600 aficionados will still purchase the game anyway (especially as a physical release) in support of the programmer, but the true economic potential of the game has likely already be compromised by this theft.

Hopefully Atari finds an adequate remedy to this very annoying issue.

Maybe they could then relaunch it with a substantial amount of additional levels (perhaps 10, 20) so to give enough incentive for most, casual, gamers to still buy it.

 

[zzip]

3 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

According to Discord, the video told nothing new. But what do I know.

People have been poking around the VCS eMMC drives since day one.   I haven't seen the video in question, but I'm sure the info in it has been known for a long time.

 

I think what's different is the fact that the VCS has a new exclusive 2600 title from the creator of H.E.R.O makes it way too tempting for someone to leak it online, and the video may have helped spread the knowledge on how to do it to a larger audience.    And I'm sure Atari has plans for this game beyond VCS release, 

 

 

 

 

[+wongojack]

Just found this - would love to play this game . . . somewhere other than the VCS.

 

Following

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

There's a new update available for the game now and the game is fully playable again! Atari took care of this quickly so here's hoping we don't see a repeat and the developers still support the device.

[Mockduck]

Yeah, can confirm it is working great.

[MrMaddog]

On 5/11/2023 at 3:55 PM, wongojack said:

Just found this - would love to play this game . . . somewhere other than the VCS.

 

Following

 

Would be nice if Atari offer a way to play this and other 2600/7800 based VCS games not available on Atari 50 for other systems.

 

And I agree that downloading a free ROM while the game is still commercially support is a scummy thing to do.  That's why I try to buy such games off Steam, like Rikki & Vikki, to support the developers.

 

[Mockduck]

My Guess: From the Atari XP line, but probably not branded Atari XP or maybe? Maybe just Limited Run Games presents? Includes the Rom at $99?  Would love to play the original cart, I'd love a simple boxed w/cart version for like $50 but I fear those days may be gone. Game is real good, tho.

[Gunther]

If a legacy game is a popular game that can be purchased cheaply on cart, ATARI XP will not release a standard edition.

That's why the A50 box-set didn't feature standard editions.

What ATARI should've done for the A50 Collection, was to remaster each game (32kb) with updated presentation

Take Yars' Revenge for instance, a 32kb cart could be used to add new high-quality artwork to the game from the comic, woven into the original game.

That way the game can feature an intro, story progression throughout the game (every 5-levels for example), and rewards the player with an end-sequence/cliff-hanger for the next game.

It would add a whole new dimension to playing Yars' Revenge whilst retaining the gameplay of the original game.

Then for the purists, add the original rom, selectable from the options menu.

Atari Age's Strike Club features excellent graphics and presentation, so any new artwork for Yars' Revenge could be of a very high-standard.

Had ATARI XP done this with the A50 collection, then a standard edition would have been possible, and new roms for the VCS Store.

 

*If* Bezerk gets an ATARI XP release, it would get a standard edition as the rom has been slighlty altered from the original (Dennis Debro reverse-engineered the rom), and the same goes with Alien Abduction because it's a new game.

 

This is why the first-series featured standard editions.

 

 

 

[John Van Ryzin]

Wow that sucks, was not expecting to get rich from my H.E.R.O. like game, but I did not think it would get stolen so quickly.

 

Video game business was always hard, constant new technology to learn, lots of business success/failure ups and downs and lots of winner/loser game projects.  But getting my game stolen before buyers can even discover it is quite ridiculous.

 

Thinking I should go back to being retired.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

1 hour ago, John Van Ryzin said:

Thinking I should go back to being retired.

Or forget any money involved, and get your motivation from the people's feedback. Programming for the Atari 2600 ist nothing to make a lot of money with anyway. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Thomas Jentzsch

[Dionoid]

1 hour ago, John Van Ryzin said:

But getting my game stolen before buyers can even discover it is quite ridiculous.

Hi John, great to see you on the AtariAge forum! The release of Alien Abduction on the Atari VCS 800 was a real surprise for me, and it’s amazing to see game designers from back in the day express their love for the good old ‘2600. Besides that, Alien Abduction is a really fun game to play.

 

I don’t think your game was stolen. AFAIK, someone posted a video about backing up the ROM, and soon after that, Atari took measures to protect/encrypt the game. I’m pretty sure this won’t affect the sales of your game at all; I found that most retro gamers actually want to buy a game (either digitally or on actual cartridge) because they can afford it and want to support programmers of new games for their beloved console.

 

…and like Ozzy Osbourne used to say: “Retirement sucks!” (until his health conditions forced him to)

[zzip]

On 5/13/2023 at 10:26 AM, MrMaddog said:

 

Would be nice if Atari offer a way to play this and other 2600/7800 based VCS games not available on Atari 50 for other systems.

 

And I agree that downloading a free ROM while the game is still commercially support is a scummy thing to do.  That's why I try to buy such games off Steam, like Rikki & Vikki, to support the developers.

 

They've hinted at doing DLC for Atari 50,  maybe they had things like this in mind as well as Berzerk/Frenzy

[+wongojack]

10 hours ago, John Van Ryzin said:

Wow that sucks, was not expecting to get rich from my H.E.R.O. like game, but I did not think it would get stolen so quickly.

 

Video game business was always hard, constant new technology to learn, lots of business success/failure ups and downs and lots of winner/loser game projects.  But getting my game stolen before buyers can even discover it is quite ridiculous.

 

Thinking I should go back to being retired.

Hoping this is not a joke account!

 

I know there are a lot of (new) VCS haters on this site.  I respect the device, but I do not own one.  This is the FIRST thing that has made me seriously consider getting one!  Honestly within the world of classic Atari fans, a new John Van Ryzin game is bigger than the VCS. Your fans are everywhere but definitely here on AtariAge.  Don't know what your agreement is like with "Official" Atari, but if you can offer the game through this site, your fans will buy.  Even if that is a few years from now.

Edited May 15, 2023 by wongojack

[MrMaddog]

38 minutes ago, zzip said:

They've hinted at doing DLC for Atari 50,  maybe they had things like this in mind as well as Berzerk/Frenzy

 

So...sell them as seperate games on the VCS but make them DLCs for other systems??

[zzip]

Just now, MrMaddog said:

 

So...sell them as seperate games on the VCS but make them DLCs for other systems??

Who knows, the DLC could be separate games?   It's speculation on my part.    All I know is Wade Rosen said he wants to do more with the Atari 50 platform, but gave no details.   And I find it hard to believe Alien Abduction will stay exclusive to VCS.   I think they will want to distribute it other ways, whether it be physical carts, store download, or DLC.

[Albert]

42 minutes ago, wongojack said:

Hoping this is not a joke account!

I can confirm this is not a joke account.

 

 ..Al

[+jeremiahjt]

11 hours ago, John Van Ryzin said:

Wow that sucks, was not expecting to get rich from my H.E.R.O. like game, but I did not think it would get stolen so quickly.

 

Video game business was always hard, constant new technology to learn, lots of business success/failure ups and downs and lots of winner/loser game projects.  But getting my game stolen before buyers can even discover it is quite ridiculous.

 

Thinking I should go back to being retired.

I hate that your game may have been stolen, but I would like to say welcome to AtariAge. It is always nice when industry people from back then show up.

[John Van Ryzin]

Yes I am really John Van Ryzin.  Thanks for all the kind words.  It is only "digital exclusive" to Atari for a few months.  I do not think they have any interest in building cartridges of games made by former Activision employees (for whatever reason).

[RollOut]

12 hours ago, John Van Ryzin said:

Wow that sucks, was not expecting to get rich from my H.E.R.O. like game, but I did not think it would get stolen so quickly.

 

Video game business was always hard, constant new technology to learn, lots of business success/failure ups and downs and lots of winner/loser game projects.  But getting my game stolen before buyers can even discover it is quite ridiculous.

 

Thinking I should go back to being retired.

I can't speak to the rom being stolen myself (I am I think most people are very happy to get this release from the VCS store), but I can say that Alien Abduction has been a very welcome addition to the VCS console. As much as I love the VCS, the machine has had a bit of an identity crisis from the beginning (a lot of folks saying "why should I buy this exactly?). Alien Abduction has gotten a lot of praise from the community, and I've been hearing more people saying "I'm looking into the VCS now" because of this release. I'm not saying that the console's fortunes are reversed or anything, but I think it's a good step towards finding it's niche. Atari should be supporting more output from classic game developers such as yourself.

[_The Doctor__]

Haven't seen possible to be stolen game anywhere, so I'd suspect if it is out there, it's extremely limited to some person(s) who have the knowledge and time to do these sorts of things. It'd be cool to buy it for the VCS800 and if they won't do real physical release on cartridge, being able to buy it for the VCS800 and then run it on an original 2600 would be awfully cool. In the world of video game rule and legal delineation it all can give a person a headache. If the goal is to only allow it on the VCS800 to sell VCS800's I guess it would be an issue. If a person buys it on their VCS800 but plays it on the 2600 then John will still get paid. In any event I haven't found it out there since reading about it.

 

I had stopped buying AtariVCS800 titles for another reason, but now I think I will make and exception and buy this one just to support John.