86 replies to this topic

[Albert]

It's been a long time coming, but Turbo will be released at the Classic Gaming Expo on July 31st! We've put together a special release of the game with a professionally printed box, box insert for the cart, manual, and the game in a Coleco cartridge shell and label:



Thanks to the efforts of several AtariAge members (in particular, Thomas Jentzsch, Nathan Strum, Fred Quimby and Dennis Debro), we've taken the original prototype and made a large number of changes to make the game more enjoyable to play, as well as squashing a large number of bugs. On top of that, we've created an on-screen menu that allows you to select between the original, unmodified prototype, and the "Turbo Enhanced" version.

The box, manual and cartridge label all follow the classic Coleco packaging style and everything looks top notch! These are chipboard, offset printed boxes as we've done for releases in the past, and this time we have a box insert so the Turbo cartridge will not rattle around loose inside the box (this also helps keep the box from getting crushed).

We'll also have other new games available for sale at the show (including several homebrews, such as the magnificent Duck Attack and K.O. Cruiser games), and a slew of hardware and software demos. And we're debuting Atari 2600 Cartridge Magnets at the show, adorned with rare and prototype labels. Plus new AtariAge t-shirts (finally!)

You can learn more here:

AtariAge at CGE2010 Preview

..Al

[tremoloman2006]

That looks AWESOME! Man, I wish these classic gaming expos were held near me so I could score one of these! Hats off to all who made this a reality!

[SoulBlazer]

About time you admitted that's what you needed the white Coleco game shells for, Al!

[Parrothead]

Turbo looks spectacular, Al. I will def be adding one to my collection Thanks for the heads up and I look forward to seeing you again in a couple weeks.

[Atari Joe]

Nice post Albert, I am very excited for Turbo! Also Dennis Debro is my favorite 2600 programmer of all time. So special thanks to Dennis and the entire team of geniuses who contributed their time and creative brilliance to making Turbo a reality!

[lucifershalo]

and when are they going to be available in atariage store?

[lucifershalo]

We're also going to have a surprise homebrew release at the show and will only have a limited number of copies available!

not fair for people that can't go to CGE

[lucifershalo]

but great news!
I dont want to sound like a whiner....

[Nognir]

Really nice! Looking forward to get the games in the future. I should emigrate to the US to attend the shows

[DEBRO]

Hi there,

Atari Joe, on Mon Jul 19, 2010 12:18 AM, said:

Nice post Albert, I am very excited for Turbo! Also Dennis Debro is my favorite 2600 programmer of all time. So special thanks to Dennis and the entire team of geniuses who contributed their time and creative brilliance to making Turbo a reality!

Really?! What have I done to deserve this honor?

I didn't contribute much. The bulk of the work would be from Thomas, Nathan, Al, and Fred. They have taken care in producing a quality release for you! I don't think anyone will be disappointed.

[seemo]

Albert, on Sun Jul 18, 2010 10:53 PM, said:

Thanks to the efforts of several AtariAge members (in particular, Thomas Jentzsch, Nathan Strum, Fred Quimby and Dennis Debro)

YOU GUYS RULE !!!

[TrekMD]

This looks awesome! How can those of us who are not attending this event get this and the other two 2600 releases?

[GrizzLee]

Great news Albert.

I thought I was going to save my cash for other things. It looks like you are going to get some bussiness from me.

Good work guys.


-Lee

[Atari2600Lives]

Incredible!

[BDW]

Damn sexy

[bfstats]

Now THAT'S more like it, Albert. Historic, enhanced (read: finished), and BOXED!

My only question is, will there be enough to go around? This particular CGE is a HUGE deal and the entire planet seems to know that. The comment was made that those not attending CGE will lack a fair shot at getting the game, and I agree. But what if many who DO attend miss out because not enough are made? There might be a stampede, Al, and YOU'D be trampled!

Whatever happens, congratulations and THANK YOU to those who are making Turbo happen. A MAJOR contribution to the hobby! I second the previous comment: YOU GUYS RULE!!

[Lord Helmet]

This is great news. Wish I was going.

[Cebus Capucinis]

Thomas is involved so you know Turbo is just going to be an AMAZING GAME! Everything he programs is like solid gold!

Cleaning those Coleco carts royally SUCKED!

[Rick Weis]

Cool, one more thing to add to my list to buy.

Thanks to all involved!

Rick

[Albert]

Cebus Capucinis, on Mon Jul 19, 2010 11:51 AM, said:

Thomas is involved so you know Turbo is just going to be an AMAZING GAME! Everything he programs is like solid gold!

Well, I don't want to set expectations too high--the original prototype isn't terribly fun to play. This is why I did not want to sell a fancy reproduction version of the game with the original game, which is just a money grab at that point for collectors who like to have these nice, shiny, reproductions. I wanted to add some value to the package, so we set out to take the original binary and improve upon it without rewriting it entirely (at which point it would have become an original "homebrew" only sharing the title "Turbo").

The goal here was to make the game more enjoyable than the original proto, and follow a possible evolution that the original may have taken. The "Enhanced" version is truer to the arcade in several aspects, but it's not as good as an original, from scratch "Turbo" homebrew would be, especially if written by an experienced 2600 coder such as Thomas. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if there were nearly 100 different elements of the game that were improved upon/changed--we only hit upon some of the major items in the manual, and many of those encompass several changes. Therefore, the Enhanced version is significantly better than the original, and I feel much better about offering it (together with the original) in physical form.

At any rate, it's a fun package and I'm glad we were able to do more than just shovel the raw prototype binary onto cartridges.

..Al

[save2600]

whistles a cat call for the package! Looks great, too bad the game apparently doesn't live up to its packaging

[Albert]

bfstats, on Mon Jul 19, 2010 11:38 AM, said:

My only question is, will there be enough to go around? This particular CGE is a HUGE deal and the entire planet seems to know that. The comment was made that those not attending CGE will lack a fair shot at getting the game, and I agree. But what if many who DO attend miss out because not enough are made? There might be a stampede, Al, and YOU'D be trampled!

Whatever happens, congratulations and THANK YOU to those who are making Turbo happen. A MAJOR contribution to the hobby! I second the previous comment: YOU GUYS RULE!!

I'd be happy to sell out of the copies I am bringing to the show. The number I'm bringing is more than 100 but less than 200. I will say up front that there WILL be copies available after CGE even if I do sell out, but they may not be available for another month or so afterward, as I have to acquire and prepare another batch of Coleco carts. I expect the "second" batch (available online) will sell fairly quickly, so if you're interested and you're attending CGE, I'd try to get my hands on a copy there.

..Al

[Albert]

save2600, on Mon Jul 19, 2010 12:05 PM, said:

whistles a cat call for the package! Looks great, too bad the game apparently doesn't live up to its packaging

The gameplay of the original game isn't great, but the enhanced version is much better, and frankly, probably better than what Coleco would have ultimately released given their history on the 2600. I'm just trying not to set expectations to the level of, say, Lady Bug, Medieval Mayhem or Thrust+ Platinum. As far as prototype reproductions goes, this will probably be the most polished since many of these releases are of unfinished games. And it's the first one I'm aware of that has both the original and an improved version of the prototype on the same cart.

..Al

[save2600]

Oh, oh oh.... missed the "enhanced" bit. I'll have to look into that more carefully as I was unaware. Thought the original prototype was going to be it. Two versions on one cart, how cool! Looking forward to this now

[Allan]

So what is the story with Tempest? Is it finished and you just need time to make the carts, manual and boxes? Who did the artwork. Would you consider making a poster?

Allan