Star Odyssey - Official Thread

[Phosis]

I need to join said mailing list. No other SFT project has captivated me as much as Star Odyssey has

I agree! I'm getting more and more excited about this the more I read up on it.

[old man]

Done with my extra work. Will leave any announcements regarding such up to Brandon.

Maybe should just keep it a secret till it ships to really surprise everyone who saw the demo

Thanks for all your hard work D--. This stuff wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you and Brandon. I'm sure everyone here appreciates that.

[darkwingduck13]

I'm getting pretty psyched about Star Odyssey after reading some of DA's comments in the DP thread about Nightmare Busters. He seems to be dissatisfied with the $40 price point that some "reproductions" go for...if SFT can beat that price with their newer releases, I know some people (like myself) will be more willing to take the risk on purchasing a game from them. It sure would've made the situation with Beggar Prince getting bugfixed releases a lot less infuriating had it been cheaper to begin with.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=149587

[Christuserloeser]

IIRC Beggar Prince was $35 ?

[darkwingduck13]

I thought I remembered it being $40. Wikipedia seems to back that up, but of course it can always be wrong...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beggar_Prince

[Zebbe]

IIRC Beggar Prince was $35 ?

Beggar Prince costed $40, just google the name and both numbers and you'll see (I think you are thinking of the new upcoming RPG for the Mega Drive/Genesis ).

[darkwingduck13]

If they only drop the price on Star Odyssey to $35 despite not having to do a full translation, the game being more or less complete, etc etc, I'll be a little disappointed. Considering the number of releases they've had now, the process should be ironed out, connections should be made, etc etc. $30 would be more in line with my expectations for this title, where something like Nightmare Busters that is even less work and less in demand would be something like $20.

[djshok]

If they only drop the price on Star Odyssey to $35 despite not having to do a full translation, the game being more or less complete, etc etc, I'll be a little disappointed. Considering the number of releases they've had now, the process should be ironed out, connections should be made, etc etc. $30 would be more in line with my expectations for this title, where something like Nightmare Busters that is even less work and less in demand would be something like $20.

Are you seriously complaining about $40 for a new game

They had to put a lot of work into that game and basically retranslate it from scratch because that original translation was apparently garbage, plus the game was buggy as hell and a lot of time had to be spent debugging and reprogramming it. All that aside, making the cartridges, having new clamshells made, printing high quality box art and manuals costs a lot.

I'm actually surprised that SFT ONLY charges $40 for their games, considering the quality of their work and the fact that they're a small company I'm actually very impressed with the fact that they can charge so little for their product and not bankrupt themselves.

$40 is a fair price for a regular repro ie: putting Pulseman on a recycled cart. SFT deliver a lot more with their products than just rom burning (quality packaging, solid cart build, retranslations that make sense + bug fixes, just to name a few). So their prices are much better than just fair.

[Phosis]

Are you seriously complaining about $40 for a new game

They had to put a lot of work into that game and basically retranslate it from scratch because that original translation was apparently garbage, plus the game was buggy as hell and a lot of time had to be spent debugging and reprogramming it. All that aside, making the cartridges, having new clamshells made, printing high quality box art and manuals costs a lot.

I'm actually surprised that SFT ONLY charges $40 for their games, considering the quality of their work and the fact that they're a small company I'm actually very impressed with the fact that they can charge so little for their product and not bankrupt themselves.

$40 is a fair price for a regular repro ie: putting Pulseman on a recycled cart. SFT deliver a lot more with their products than just rom burning (quality packaging, solid cart build, retranslations that make sense + bug fixes, just to name a few). So their prices are much better than just fair.

THANK you.

My fucking god.

If you cannot afford 40 measly dollars for a brand spankin' new game, you honestly need to take up another hobby. I remember when these fucking things were 80 bucks a pop. Could you imagine spending that and ending up with a piece of shit like Fatal Labyrinth? (I mean, it's a piece of shit to you guys, I actually like that game.) If these friggin carts went for twenty, there would still be some idiot who would complain about the price point.

A personal appeal from Phosis to Super Fighter Team: Start charging eighty dollars a game. I will pay it. And you guys deserve it.

[Zebbe]

Those Famicom pirate boxes for BP and LoW are very cheap, you can probably get 300 for $30 or so. Manuals/inserts are a few dollars each and the carts a bit more. If anything costed making the game it would have been the license from Star-Fish and maybe the Chinese workers (but they are quite cheap too, $1000 can be a yearly salary for a Chinese). I'm not complaining at the price or anything (just stating what I know of this from my own experience), I'll gladly pay $40 for Star Odyssey. Maybe they can earn some bucks for a future investment (companies usually aim for profit so they can expand, you know ).

[darkwingduck13]

Wow, I somehow inadvertently managed to turn this into a war about the price by doing nothing other than expressing my own personal opinion. :O

Thankfully, Zebbe seems to be seeing the lines I'm thinking along at least in terms of the cost to do those things. Most of the costs associated would seemingly be with the license, and if someone paid too much for the license to a Hot-B RPG from 1991, well...I don't know what to say other than "Ooops."

I'm not saying that people won't pay $40 for it. I'm not even saying that I won't pay $40 for it, if I break down. I'm just saying that I think it's a bit on the high side.

They've had plenty of chances now to iron out the arrangements for all the high-quality carts/cases/inserts that you're referring to, and after having to make three print runs of Beggar Prince vs however many of Wukong, they should have a good idea of how many copies they need to make. They should be able to avoid crazy mishaps like the bugs and bad box art. All those problems should be worked out by now to help stabilize the whole issue of production cost.

Anyway, $40 for something like Star Odyssey is arguable to me.

$40 for something like Nightmare Busters? I'm sorry, but that's laughable to me. Nightmare Busters should just be a "gimme" in terms of return on investment for SFT, even at $20, assuming they manage to intimidate all the repro-producers into ceasing to provide the game.

Anyway, this is just my opinion. I don't care if someone else is willing to pay more. Heck, I don't care if Phosis wants to send in $40 for the game and then an extra $40 just because he/she is so jazzed about it. I'm just saying that this is what I think.

[Phosis]

Wow, I somehow inadvertently managed to turn this into a war about the price by doing nothing other than expressing my own personal opinion. :O

Thankfully, Zebbe seems to be seeing the lines I'm thinking along at least in terms of the cost to do those things. Most of the costs associated would seemingly be with the license, and if someone paid too much for the license to a Hot-B RPG from 1991, well...I don't know what to say other than "Ooops."

I'm not saying that people won't pay $40 for it. I'm not even saying that I won't pay $40 for it, if I break down. I'm just saying that I think it's a bit on the high side.

They've had plenty of chances now to iron out the arrangements for all the high-quality carts/cases/inserts that you're referring to, and after having to make three print runs of Beggar Prince vs however many of Wukong, they should have a good idea of how many copies they need to make. They should be able to avoid crazy mishaps like the bugs and bad box art. All those problems should be worked out by now to help stabilize the whole issue of production cost.

Anyway, $40 for something like Star Odyssey is arguable to me.

$40 for something like Nightmare Busters? I'm sorry, but that's laughable to me. Nightmare Busters should just be a "gimme" in terms of return on investment for SFT, even at $20, assuming they manage to intimidate all the repro-producers into ceasing to provide the game.

Anyway, this is just my opinion. I don't care if someone else is willing to pay more. Heck, I don't care if Phosis wants to send in $40 for the game and then an extra $40 just because he/she is so jazzed about it. I'm just saying that this is what I think.

No one is warring with you. Your opinion is wrong because you have absolutely no clue about the effort it takes to complete massive projects like this. I barely have a clue, yet I have read every interview with Brandon from SFT, and have read about many of the grueling steps he had to take just to begin to THINK about getting games like Beggar Prince out the door. It's a lot of work, regardless of what YOU think the value of something is. I think most people are spoiled and used to underpaying for just about everything that it's difficult for them to imagine spending the value of what something is worth to obtain it. I wasn't aiming for your head specifically, I just hate that attitude, especially considering EVERYTHING apart from food and shelter is a novelty, a privilege to obtain. People are pretty damn spoiled especially when it comes to retro games; "Urrrrrrgh fuck that, it isn't worth it! I'll just download it." I think of that, and then I think of my asshole kids who will one day say "What the fuck, Dad? They are making new PS3 games (ancient, rite?) but they are charging, like, sixty bucks for them! What a ripoff!" Right before I smack him upside the head and tell him to "eat his goddamn vegetables" even though dinner ended like an hour ago.

So what you think is entirely based on your own selfishness and ignorance about what it takes to accomplish something like this. I grew up with these games, payed thousands of dollars for them, and would be more than happy to do it all over again if they caught on in the homebrew scene because I MISS that era, because I love that era, and because I support the people who feel the same way, and who are willing to bust their balls and even their wallets to make an incredibly small return, all for the love of hobby, so that they can put that profit back into another project, only to go through the same grueling process all over again.

[darkwingduck13]

By definition, my opinion can't be wrong. Where's Joe with the witty remark when you need him? :P

For some reason, you seem to think your experiences are necessarily different and more relevant than my own, and your comments seem to consistently display a combative tone.

My decisions tend to be based less on my own selfishness and ignorance than they are based on my budget, research, and planning.

I understand that you're willing to pay more for the game. That's totally cool. Go ahead, nobody's stopping you. I'm sure DA would appreciate a donation since you feel so strongly.

If you really want to support their work, buy 2 copies of the game and ship one to me for Christmas. You can feel good about increasing SFT's sale count of the game and about helping out a fellow gamer who suffered through the days of expensive cartridges (and is glad he doesn't have to any more, thanks to all the choice of games and price points available these days).

[Phosis]

By definition, my opinion can't be wrong. Where's Joe with the witty remark when you need him? :P

For some reason, you seem to think your experiences are necessarily different and more relevant than my own, and your comments seem to consistently display a combative tone.

My decisions tend to be based less on my own selfishness and ignorance than they are based on my budget, research, and planning.

I understand that you're willing to pay more for the game. That's totally cool. Go ahead, nobody's stopping you. I'm sure DA would appreciate a donation since you feel so strongly.

If you really want to support their work, buy 2 copies of the game and ship one to me for Christmas. You can feel good about increasing SFT's sale count of the game and about helping out a fellow gamer who suffered through the days of expensive cartridges (and is glad he doesn't have to any more, thanks to all the choice of games and price points available these days).

You might be right, I was a little annoyed. I was annoyed because you seemed to come across that you were the perfect judge for these things. I would like to see you do what these people have done, and claim that your hard work and effort was only worth "maybe 20 dollars". I'm just not a fan of critics, especially critics who also happen to be cheapskates. If it's too expensive, there is a solution; don't buy it! Not so much yourself, but many others seem to feel OBLIGATED to have everything easy, and cheap. These people come across to me as leeches, especially some, like the fucking asshole who was begging for roms of these games, and didn't understand why SFT wouldn't deliver.

I think the company has every right to charge whatever the hell they want, and you as the consumer, have every right not to purchase it. I don't think anyone has the right, however, to tell anyone else what something should be worth, especially when it is something they do not actually NEED, like a video game. I think blu-rays are too costly, but I am not asking for a price drop, or telling them what they should charge; I simply don't buy them.

Again, you are taking this out of context; the argument is not really directed toward you as such, but more specifically, at the kinds of people who feel they deserve this shit for free, or for much cheaper than it is worth. I say, the company has the right to charge whatever they want, and the consumer has the right to shut the fuck up and either cough up the cash or stop bitching. If SFT charged 80 for their games, I'm sure they would still sell, because the demand for new software is there, even if it is only among a core group of people. I was exaggerating of course; 80 dollars is obviously excessive, especially compared to the rest of the homebrew scene, but to whine that something is a measly fourty bucks? I don't care about your research, or your planning; fourty bucks is a steal for something like this, and you should be grateful you can get anything like that at all. I just think it's in pretty poor taste to go into the company thread, and whine about the price. It's a simple question of MANNERS. If you have a complaint, why don't you voice it with them directly, instead of trying to put egg on their face in a public forum? Whether or not it was intentional, that is how it came across, and I think anyone who does that deserves a virtual bitch slap.

[synapse]

It's a simple question of MANNERS. If you have a complaint, why don't you voice it with them directly, instead of trying to put egg on their face in a public forum?

A public forum is supposed to serve that purpose.

No one is warring with you. Your opinion is wrong [...]

So what you think is entirely based on your own selfishness and ignorance

Talk about manners...