Yikes. Way more info regarding RVGS in that single kevtris post than probably everything else put together.
His comments regarding adding stuff in left and right is exactly how it looked from the outside.
'overzealous' seems a good term for the developers. In over their heads.
Wow, I didn't even realize a second thread was started!! And to think someone in the original thread said I'm one of the main sources of brewing discontent with the RVGS. Yeah right, I just found this new thread an hour ago and look how people have been responding to this without my input.
Well, on the AtariAge forums, Kevtris (the now ex-member of the RVGS team) made another detailed post which shines some light on RVGS operations.
Anyone still wondering about bug control for their games?
Don't worry, they will have "a mechanism in place" for that. Developers will be ordered to give bug free games. If a bug is discovered, a massive recall will ensue (no word on who pays shipping to and from). "Simple as that."
Yikes. Have these guys really worked in the industry? Nintendo has a massive internal QA branch and they still miss bugs from time to time and have to issue patches.
Not sure what's unclear about it. The higher cost of games should in theory pay for the extended QA phase. If the developer is confident about his game and wants to pay it upfront, he'll get his money back from the higher price tag of his game.
This part kind of bothers me:
Yikes. Have these guys really worked in the industry? Nintendo has a massive internal QA branch and they still miss bugs from time to time and have to issue patches.
Mike posted an update on the campaign page
This part kind of bothers me:
And, just quickly, I wanted to address the negative chatter that has been swirling out of control. Please don't let the opinions of people that are misinformed come between you and a product you want. I can tell you, as a gamer myself, that I am thrilled and lucky to have two proven, game industry veteran software and hardware engineers working on this product.
Steve Woita and John Carlsen have been producing real software and hardware products for over 25-years for companies like Atari, Sega, Tengen, Apple, Nintendo and Sony. They have been putting a lot of time and effort bringing you a piece of hardware that you will be proud to own and display next to the other great gaming consoles in your collection.
....
I'm not really a fan of being called "misinformed" because I'm wary of this project. I've been following it since the beginning and can confidently say I'm pretty up to date on the whole thing. People are negative towards the Retro VGS because it has very quickly become something it wasn't originally pitched to be and the project seems to lack a cohesive vision outside of "we're making a Retro box!!!". The lack of a prototype after six months of marketing the crowdfunding campaign throughout the retro community was the last straw for me personally. Well, that and the $300 price, double what they originally said they were going for ($150).
Anyone still wondering about bug control for their games?
Don't worry, they will have "a mechanism in place" for that. Developers will be ordered to give bug free games. If a bug is discovered, a massive recall will ensue (no word on who pays shipping to and from). "Simple as that."
Of course it's unrealistic. They don't even check their own shit. Even with video production they make obvious mistakes they don't catch.
In the RVGS YouTube pitch video the 3D render freezes at 6:16
There is no momentum behind Retro VGS - the campaign is dead.
Out of curiosity, is impossible build today the same chip of NES/SNES? The Analogue Nt used old parts, right?
Interesting enough the fan site retrovgsclub.com has deleted its twitter and website. Pretty well run fansite by someone who seemed like a giant fan but I guess even they lost interest in it all quick.
Chris from Retro VGS club and his site, Twitter and Facebook are down. I don't know why. I am trying to find out but I have no way of talking to him. I hope he is not having issues and come back as I want to continue work.
This pretty much sums up my thoughts exactly.This whole fiasco saddens me as I was very much sold on the original concept of an inexpensive system that plays retro-styled games on long lasting cartridges. However, the development team went overboard with their design, and feature-creep has made this system DOA.
They need to really pare down the features, bring the price back down to the original amount they kept stating ($150- $200,) get rid of the ability to play cartridges from other systems, not insist that it be made in the US, have actual hardware before they ask for money from the public, and start fresh. Stop the current Indiegogo campaign, possibly rebrand, and start again. Hopefully they haven't killed off all interest, and goodwill.
Addendum: If they do choose to start again, please get someone with experience running an Indiegogo/Kickstarter campaign as their current one is a bit of a joke. Their video is too long, seems a bit cheap, doesn't feature any actual hardware, and there is no sizzle. They also need to be as vocal as they can be, get on Twitter, contact gaming websites/blogs/etc. and let people know that it is coming, but not just a couple of days beforehand. Kickstarter also seems to much more respected, and trusted than Indiegogo.
Update from Facebook
First off, as a gamer myself, I have to say that it's amazing to have two tried-and-true game industry veterans working with me to bring RETRO VGS to life. Unlike many of the people who are infesting this project with negativity, people who have never written a line of code or developed any marketable hardware of any sort, Steve Woita and John Carlsen have been actually making successful and fun gaming software and hardware for a few decades for companies like Apple, Atari, Sega, Nintendo, Tengen, Activision, Iguana Entertainment, etc. We have all previously enjoyed the fruits of their labors and will continue to do so if RETRO VGS becomes reality.
In what are typically slow crowdfunding days, to hit $50K in our first 24-hours was amazing.
The bolded is really frustrating. People are not going to support the project if this is going to be the attitude of the man behind it. Even if they relaunch with more realistic ambitions, the damage will have been done. You cannot treat your potential backers like this. A lot of the negativity is coming from people who are actually interested in this console!
they definitely are lmaoI thought the first and last few days are when most Kickstarters make most of their money?
Also, yeah, it's never a good sign when you have to spend the majority of your time trying to talk down the naysayers.
That has absolutely been the case in every Kickstarter I've seen. Granted, I haven't seen a whole lot.I thought the first and last few days are when most Kickstarters make most of their money?
Well, on the AtariAge forums, Kevtris (the now ex-member of the RVGS team) made another detailed post which shines some light on RVGS operations.
What is this crap assumption? I've done both written code and worked on new gaming hardware platforms. How does he explain someone like me? He needs to stop talking down and making assumptions on the people who raise questions and criticism.
Why do they need to hold on to our cash like that, are they investing it in the stock market or are they just scared the pledges aren't real or what?How is IndieGoGo different than Kickstarter for pledgers?
There's two big differences: First, pledgers can choose to use PayPal. Second, when you make a pledge, you are charged up front for the amount, rather than at the end of the campaign. You can still raise your amount to move up to different pledge tiers, but to move down to a cheaper tier, or to cancel your pledge altogether, you have to fill out a customer service form, they say they'll process the refund in one business day. If the campaign fails to reach their goal, all pledgers get their money automatically refunded within 5 days.
PSA:
Kevtris is now conducting a poll on AtariAge to gauge public support for an FPGA gaming system of his own design. Nothing confirmed, he's playing it safe and smart by just seeing if there's even enough support for an idea like this.
Link: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/242970-fpga-based-videogame-system/
For those who just see his name in passing- this guy is quickly earning a name for himself in the retro gaming community. He made the NES HDMI kit which basically saved Analogue's ass just recently and he tells us he has many working FPGA emulation cores. Then he was jerked around by the RVGS team as you may have read here.
Just follow the link above for more info about his ideas right now.
THAT is the system we wanted and that makes sense today. I hope he sees that people would support his vision, especially because he has earned the respect people are giving him by showing tangible results from his hard work. Not by buying Atari tooling and e-begging. I'm just hoping the Retro POS doesn't poison the well if he tries crowdfunding.
Even his screen name was made for a console! Which would you rather buy? The Retro VGS or The Kevtris!
I think alot of the negativity is because of what this could have been.
I think alot of the negativity is because of what this could have been.
I'd be really cool with Kevtris' system if it included some kind of developer interface (which the VGS intended to do).
I don't recall reading that, do you have a link? With the quotes I've seen recently regarding their concerns of piracy (...) I can't imagine the two could be reconciled.
Or maybe, similarly to the cart recall procedure, they have a plan in place to vet every potential developer and have them prove their credentials and intentions.
The indie developer would use a regular RETRO VGS out of the box, with a USB cable & free downloadable software that could be downloaded from the RETRO VGS's website. The plan has always been from day one to support indie game development and what I mean by that is that if you're a game developer you'd have as much info, tools and help as possible and not be closed out of the system. This is not a closed console, meaning If you make a game for the RETRO VGS, and you wanted to order 50 copies of your own game to take to PAX and sell them on your own, you could! The plan is to be able to submit your box, cartridge & manual artwork, game code (for the cartridge), instructions and how many you'd like to order and you'd get your 50 shrink wrapped plastic cases with your awesome game cartridges all professionally packaged and sent to you. That still is the plan.