New NES game from RetroUSB: Glider

[rbudrick]

http://retrousb.com/index.php?productID=156

Apparently, it's based on a 1989 game by John Calhoun? For what system? Anyone know? The pics are in black and white. Hmmm...

-Rob

[Gapporin]

Apparently it's an old Mac game (hence the black and whitessnish):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calhoun_%28software_developer%29

[blue lander]

Yup, it's an old mac game. I used to play it all the time, it's pretty fun. You're a glider, pushing forward makes go faster, back makes you slow up. You have to fly over vents to get an extra lift, otherwise you'll eventually smack into the ground.

[MrRoboto19XX]

Oh man, this is awesome! Glider is a great game as it is, and as this is "flashable" the replay value could be great.

[InsaneDavid]

I remember a color version being released for the PC. I remember it also being bundled in some kids aviation history CD-ROM as a hidden game.

[strassy]

that looks cool...but i think it should have been updated to be in color

[bunnyboy]

that looks cool...but i think it should have been updated to be in color

There's color restrictions on the NES for why it can't be in color, read below for the full nerd explanation.

NES can only use 4 colors in any 16x16 aligned area. That is the size of one SMB block. It is not possible to add green to the question mark block because thats 16x16 area is already using 4 colors. In Glider objects like the tables and cabinets can cross those 16x16 borders so the whole screen must use only 4 colors. Grayscale looks the most natural and true to the original game, but there is an option for redscale, greenscale, etc.

[Vectorman0]

Cool, I am a big fan of the original, and I just may get this. Did you get the rights and everything from the original programmer? Also, is this more expensive than Airball because of the flash ability of the cart?

That's also interesting about the NES color limitations, I never knew about that.

[thetoxicone]

Why do these things always come to tempt me when I need to focus my money on other things?

[ice1605]

That is really cool! I love Glider (especially Glider PRO). If you have a Mac, you can get PRO for free from Calhoun's website.

[Mason P.]

i don't understand why the price it so high? $42 seems a little much. Sodoku they sell for $20 and it's fairly priced. I do understand it comes with box and instructions but doesn't seem to make up the other $22 extra they are charging.

They could offer a cart only option for less monesy.

[skaar]

Might be because of the flash/rewritable memory requiring different manufacturing techniques/parts?

[bunnyboy]

Cool, I am a big fan of the original, and I just may get this. Did you get the rights and everything from the original programmer?
Yups its all legal! John Calhoun has played the beta versions and still holds the copyright on game name. There is more about it in the NintendoAGE ezine.

[strassy]

i don't understand why the price it so high? $42 seems a little much. Sodoku they sell for $20 and it's fairly priced. I do understand it comes with box and instructions but doesn't seem to make up the other $22 extra they are charging.

They could offer a cart only option for less monesy.

i imagine that Glider took a lot more time and effort to program than Sudoku. I hate Sudoku and the only reason I would be that would be for novelty. Even if I were a fan, is there really a point? You could buy a book of Sudoku puzzles for $5 and achieve the same effect.

This game actually looks fun.

[aaron7]

How come everything on their site is always unavailable?

[bunnyboy]

i don't understand why the price it so high? $42 seems a little much. Sodoku they sell for $20 and it's fairly priced. I do understand it comes with box and instructions but doesn't seem to make up the other $22 extra they are charging.

They could offer a cart only option for less monesy.
Sudoku is awesome, but this release adds box, manual, insert, battery backup, extra sram, flash chips instead of eproms, custom board for flashing, royalties, and a few more months of programming. With all those added the total profit after parts for the two products is pretty close and far less than repros using donors.

[Ed Oscuro]

This game looks pretty cool - I should see about getting the original game and playing it on one of my many Macs.

But the NES version looks very cool, and I especially like that they didn't harm any cartridges. Are they distributing the ROM?

[Tep]

But the NES version looks very cool, and I especially like that they didn't harm any cartridges. Are they distributing the ROM?
I was wondering the same question. I don't have a Mac, or $42 right now.

[Ed Oscuro]

Heh, I'd sell you one of my Macs, but then I'd feel guilty as most all are horribly crippled ones (seriously, most of my Macs rate amongst the worst models ever produced - 6290CD, Mac TV, LC, etc.)

[rbudrick]

Hmm, with the color restrictions of the NES, I just wanted to point out that no other NES game was ever released in black and white due to this restriction. So, I'm just curious as to why it couldn't be worked around like every other NES game managed to do. I'm not being a butthole, I just want to understand. B&W is cool by me, honestly.

-Rob

[aaron7]

Hmm, with the color restrictions of the NES, I just wanted to point out that no other NES game was ever released in black and white due to this restriction. So, I'm just curious as to why it couldn't be worked around like every other NES game managed to do. I'm not being a butthole, I just want to understand. B&W is cool by me, honestly.

-Rob


Time probably. Time = money, and people are still buying it in black and white for over $40...

[ShinobiMan]

I used to play this game as a kid on my Macintosh Performa (circa '93). It is a very fun game, one that actually occupied many hours of my life. As much as I like the idea of it being the NES, I don't think I'll be picking this up. It just wasn't made for this platform, and to me, that takes away from it.

Plus, I don't really have the money, and thats the REAL reason. :bigmac:

[Ze_ro]

NES can only use 4 colors in any 16x16 aligned area. That is the size of one SMB block. It is not possible to add green to the question mark block because thats 16x16 area is already using 4 colors. In Glider objects like the tables and cabinets can cross those 16x16 borders so the whole screen must use only 4 colors. Grayscale looks the most natural and true to the original game, but there is an option for redscale, greenscale, etc.
Back in the days, programmers probably would have moved the obstacles around to match the 16x16 tiles so they could get the colour in there... though then you wouldn't have the "real" levels from the original, which I assume was the goal here (Plus, you'd have to playtest the hell out of it to make sure you could still get past everything).

--Zero

[jb143]

i don't understand why the price it so high? $42 seems a little much. Sodoku they sell for $20 and it's fairly priced. I do understand it comes with box and instructions but doesn't seem to make up the other $22 extra they are charging.

They could offer a cart only option for less monesy.

I've been looking into the cost for producing a gameboy game and it's not cheap. With the box and instructions, $42 seems about right for something like this.

They probally could offer a cart only option but I'd image to get the manuals and boxes made for any reasonable cost they had to have a pretty high minimum order quantity. Also, I'm wondering...did they buy the righs to the game? How's that work? Sodoku wouldn't have that issue.

Edit- I should have read all the above posts. These questions were already answered :-)

[DefaultGen]

.....

[TheRedEye]

bunnyboy, could you theoretically make a one level demo ROM?

[Vectorman0]

bunnyboy, could you theoretically make a one level demo ROM?

I think this is a great idea if it's doable and okay with the IP owner.

[bunnyboy]

I've been looking into the cost for producing a gameboy game and it's not cheap. With the box and instructions, $42 seems about right for something like this.

GameBoy games, like Atari, are so much cheaper to produce than NES :) No lockout chip, usually 1 memory chip instead of 2-3, no real mapper hardware, smaller pcbs and smaller plastics. A $20 Atari homebrew will have more profit potential than a $20 NES game.


Also, I'm wondering...did they buy the righs to the game? How's that work? Sodoku wouldn't have that issue.
John Calhoun gets a small royalty fee from each cart sold and he keeps his copyright on the game name and concept. For Sudoku the royalty gets paid to Al Bailey, the NES game programmer.


I considered a demo rom but the custom mapper would need an ines number picked and then support written into each emulator. Still may be an option tho.

[slapdash]

Um, this ISN'T an April Fools gag?

[bunnyboy]

A few limited edition carts are now avail on ebay, these have cool LEDs inside to glow out the clear plastics. At least check out the awesome picts at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220221887738

Normal ones are almost ready...

[strassy]

how easy/hard would it be to change the battery so that the LED can be recharged?

[DeputyMoniker]

Um, this ISN'T an April Fools gag?

I thought the same thing.
Fast forward 8 days and here we have a story on Kotaku:
http://kotaku.com/377335/now-they-want-dlc-money-from-the-nes

For those who want to experience the fun of downloadable content but refuse to play on any system but their vintage NES, the impossible has happened. RetroZone has released the game Glider for the NES. For $42, you get a quirky flying game (in which you navigate a miniature glider through a house) complete with additional downloadable levels that can be added by flashing the cartridge's built-in memory. And the DLC updates are actually free.

The only catch is that to download new content, it appears you need to first mod your NES with RetroZone's $70 USB CopyNES. So what could have been a fun afternoon quickly escalates to a part-time hobby investment.

[bunnyboy]

After an unusually high number of customs and manufacturing problems, Glider for NES is now shipping from http://www.retrousb.com! The awesome guys at http://www.retrowaretv.com made a commercial with some game play. Check out their site, watch the video, then buy the game and their dvds!