This topic is an off-shoot that was cut from Kobayashi Maru - Final - Released. In order to preserve clarity in both threads the beginning is quoted & some editing was involved.
------------------------------------------sh3-rg wrote:Cartridges are best left to the kinds of games that require them - ie larger than 2mb single-load titles and those that benefit from the ROM space. KM:F is a single-load, <2mb binary and runs from memory alone - that's how it was designed so it could be played by anyone with a BJL, Jaguar CD, skunkboard, etc. We won't throw such a game onto a cart just because we can, it makes little sense - the CD medium is the perfect and most cost-effective for this one. What is also does is allow for better music and that's something we'll explore in future releases.grimm wrote:I would consider it, had it been a cartridge release.
Also, it should be pointed out Kobayashi Maru:Final is actually a slight remix of a game that (like all our other game releases for Jaguar and Falcon) can be freely downloaded and played with a flash device or Jag CD. Buying our games supports our Jaguar activities, everything we have ever made from selling Jaguar games (which isn't exaclty loads!) has all gone directly back into our Jaguar game making... for instance, our SFDX release and small ejagfest releases paid for a JagCD unit for CJ and 500 carts chells for future games... the CD Unit CJ bought in turn lead to us making improvments to the Jagtopia free boot CD and memory track support...
That's a big part of it. We have a 4mb flash cart design and have produced prototypes to be sure they work as intended. You're right though, they're not cheap (around 25 euros a piece as long as we purchase sufficient quantity at the price point)... then there's boxes, stickers, manuals, overlays, box inserts... it all adds up quickly. Our first cartridge game will be Rebooteroids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dwlr4wHDXE One of the reasons we're going to be producing these CD games over the coming months is to try to raise a little cash to help fund the initial cart release.sneth wrote:I think the limitations on carts is price. There has been some huge progress on this front, but it's still not very friendly on the wallet.
Kobayashi Maru:Final is supplied on a glass mastered/metal stamped real CD, not a CD-R. As I said earlier, if the game requires a cart that's fine, if not, CD is far less of a financial risk or burden for all involved... if there were more Jaguar fans and more willing to buy CD games, they could be sold at a much, much lower price point, when you glass master a game you have to take a minimum quantity that is far more than you could ever hope to sell but you have to base your end price on what you will see back in sales... all the kind of stuff we hate to be involved with tbh, that's why we've teamed up with RGCD.co.uk to make this happengrimm wrote:Actually, id pay the higher price for a cartridge release any day compared to a cd-r release.
It's actually fairly straight forward to replace a Jaguar CD mech, I've done it twice using LinkoVitch's guide.grimm wrote:and the laser unit in that would be difficult if not impossible to replace once the cd-r has worn it out prematurely.
So i take it the cd mech unit in the jaguar cd is readily available then? I was under the impression the company producing it used a particular cd unit for this cd player, Philips was it? If im wrong and you can find a replacement easily thats just great, but if it means butchering another jag cd to cannibalize the cd unit itself, then yes, it IS difficult to replace. I wasnt talking about the skillset needed. i was talking about acquiring the parts
As for cartridges vs cd, pressed or otherwise, its not "best left" one way or the other. Sure, a soundheavy game benefits from the cd media, but if people want this game on cartridge, and are willing to pay for that, i dont see why "its best left on cd". Many collectors of retro games, like myself, prefer cartridge for the obvious benefits that format provides on small retro-size games like this, and they are also more collectible and gives an entirely different feel from a cd... A cd is bland and boring, a physical cartridge gives a lot more character and is nicer to display.
I also never stated this particular game was cd-r or pressed or whatever. But most homebrew releases for consoles ARE cd-r. And my comment about those were generic. No where can you see i was talking about this game in particular. If your game is pressed, good for you. then you, unlike many others, made the better choice for cd media.
As for "rip-off", dont read more into it than you have to. Street Racer on snes, is a blatant rip-off off Super Mario Kart, but is a great kart racer on its own still. Or Atari Karts for that matter. Rip-off doesnt automatically equal bad. its just a rip-off. Im not a great fan of the really early arcade stuff, but your game reminds me of so many different shooters of this style from the early 80s. For me, that does nothing for me, but for someone who loves those types of games, thats a great thing. So again, dont read more into it than what was there. Substitute it for "clone" if you like that word better. To me its the same thing.
And like Austin, i welcome you to the forum.