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R-Type III came out for GBA recently, and I had the chance to play it. It's basically supposed to be a port of the SNES version which happened to be a really good game. Well, the GBA version wasn't. The scoring was off (the same enemy was worth different points depending on which level you were on), the 'Force' didn't seem to work properly, auto fire was more like somewhat-semi fire, the game intro was missing, and worst of all was that the collision detection was way off.
First, I'm not sure how Nintendo even let this through their rather strict QA (I guess it is R-Type), but this game is just plain bad. It was ported by a developer I'd never heard of from Italy named Raylight. I had just figured they totally botched this port, until I read a thread about it at shmups.com. One of the developers posted some info about the port process...
I read your comments on RtypeIII and would like to explain couple of things on the development of the title.
First we closed an agreement with Phantantagram interactive which went bankrupcy during the development of the game and didnt pay us. then we found DS that paid very low and wanted the game in very few weeks.
Please consider we get no reference art or source code or any kind of support from Irem Software, the only reference was the Snes game. You all can understand we rewrote the code from breginning and ripped the graphic from the snes emulator. also we had not enought time to work around many details as point system, collision, R-90 zooming intro and so on. last...the game was finished months ago, we still owe money from pubisher.
it seems that Irem lost [the source code].
yeah, we started very good and with very good intention...we also made a CG movie for the intro (presented at E3 2002, maybe you can download somewhere on the internet) and other cool staff, but Phantagram bancrupcy and DS low money and very few development time had a very bad influence on our work.
many times behind a bad game there is the hand of marketing, few money and time.
PS we have the zooming intro sequence ready, but not enough time to put in the game, as other things, sorry.
This just shows the sad state of the industry at times. Everyone thinks it's all fun and games (no pun intended) but when it comes down to it, the industry can be downright shady and repulsive. The fact that a company like Raylight got zero support on this title and now has to take the brunt of the criticism for it is a really sad state of affairs. Unfortunately this sort of thing happens more than people realize.
And Irem lost the source code to R-Type III? This concerns me even more, and really helps drive home the point I made recently about preserving game history. As we can see first hand, not only does ignorace to it severely threaten our ability to archive gamings past, but it also undermines a developers ability to port existing games to new platforms!
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I was just about to reference your previous post. Being involved in tracking down unreleased Jaguar games myself and brokering hardware redevelopment (like a Jaguar Flash Cart -- my current project), it's truly sad to see just how many companies have "lost" source code and hardware schematics.
Many times we're lucky enough to come across a former programmer that just happens to have source code on an old hard drive or tape backup, or we find through liquidation of companies that we can obtain items to help us out, but more often than not, as time passes, so does the opportunity to retain the history of our beloved systems.
The best find yet, to this day, was finding three intact Jaguar VR systems in various stages of development from Virtuality. One actually works, and is kept by a prominent collector in California who's been releasing betas and prototypes of games to the community in special "Hardcore Collector" sets, ensuring that the rare, obscure, and hidden-from-view get saved indefinitely by a wide audience in the collecting community.
It almost makes me wish there were an alliance of collectors whose sole purpose was to find developers who were liquidating in order to snap up source code and other ephemera, just to preserve it. As much as I know this isn't the most feasible thing due to IP issues (such as other developers swooping in to buy all the IP from said company in one grab), it's a thought worth mulling.
The only thing I worry about with collectors grabbing everything is hoarding. Most collectors like to share, but there are just as many who just want things for themselves and don't want anyone to have a copy.
Given that games (and most digital media) have the advantage of being able to make unlimited copies, I think that the only real way to properly "archive" them is to share them. I guess a collector hoarding something is better than losing it altogether, but the result basically ends up being the same, in that nobody gets to experience it. In the end, to me, that's what it's all about, allowing people to experience a past they may have never otherwise been able to.
I think this is a lot harder on the hardware side though, as it's hard to give open access to a frail and rare physical object that you want to maintain in working condition. I think this is the biggest obstical for archivers.
In agreement. The problem with collectors is just as you mentioned -- hoarding. There are definitely some I've seen out there that would rather sell what they have at an outrageous price (ref: Propeller Arena GD-R sale) than duplicate and distribute. In the example of Propeller Arena, the person with the GD-R made about $1,500.00 and what's the person who bought it going to do? Rip, crack the encryption, and SELL the GD-Rs at $25/pop. To me this is an example of the greediness of the collecting community at its worst. (Not to mention Sega will be on their backs as soon as they catch wind of the 9/11/01 final GD-R having escaped -- yes, 9/11/01).
Collecting should be about sharing. I actually have many ROMs that aren't even on the GoodJag list, as they're betas and unreleased items. But would that stop me from sharing with someone, should they ask for a copy? No, not really. Elitism in the collecting community, especially with something as fleeting as a ROM image, is ludicrous. (In fact, PM me your email address and well, you know... :))
Now, let me just say that I have no problem with owning what might be considered a one-of-a-kind game, or even a piece of equipment, but if at all possible, I think sharing and distributing is the best way to preserve the history and legacy of many of the same systems we've enjoyed through our lives.
If you own schematics, PDF and distribute them. (Lord knows this has been a godsend in communicating with Hong Kong as of late.) If you have a one-of-a-kind game, consider distributing the ROM if possible. If it diminishes your "return" on investment, then perhaps either it wasn't worth the price to begin with, or you're definitely in the wrong area to invest.
The best example I can think of is that which I'm doing, though I -hate- tooting my own horn. Flash carts for the Jaguar used to be somewhat easy to find a couple of years ago, when Atari's assets were liquidated and truckloads were gone through (which also yielded a LOT of source code). Now they frequently go for more than $300 a pop.
Enter Tototek, makers of flash carts for MANY Japanese systems. I've been in contact with them for the past week, convincing them to start production on a Jaguar flash cart in order to encourage development and replenish the supply to meet demand for these little rarities. In the process, not only have I convinced them tentatively to start production, but I've also stirred the actual interest of them in the Jaguar as a system; in Hong Kong, most have never even heard of them, much less seen one.
Because of the community of sharing specs, I was able to feed him and his engineer full cartridge schematics, IC specs, and give him a real good idea of what would be involved in producing them. In a couple of weeks, we'll be sending them a system and a Flash cart to reverse engineer, and hopefully, within 6 months or so, we'll see a whole new generation of flash cartridges for developers and fans alike to enjoy.
(Next, to convince them to make one for the Lynx! There's been considerable demand lately for one...)
Sounds like the whole affair with Marble Madness 2. Who knows if anyone will ever see those ROMs in their lifetime. At least the one guy who hacked copy together shows it off at CA Extreme every year.
Let me know the progress on the flash cards. Sounds like a good deal.