Elite Systems and our Ultimate apps.
As many of you know we are publishing the Ultimate games on Windows Phone and Windows 8 but last Friday an Ultimate app not done by us magically appeared on another platform...
Many of you have PMed me to ask what's going on, what's the gossip...
Well here is our response...
Those apps by Steve Wilcox
As always it's on WoS first!
Many of you have PMed me to ask what's going on, what's the gossip...
Well here is our response...
Those apps by Steve Wilcox
As always it's on WoS first!
Post edited by Korinel on
Comments
I hope it all gets worked out in your favour, Korinel.
generally speaking if a big company wants to flex it's muscles.. it will and will get their ace team of legal eagles to twart smaller folk, regardless of the country. you might find the ultimate IP's were refreshed when the games were hidden in a n64 title rare did under *US* law..
proving who owned what and when.. you'll find the stampers in crash pre MANY moons before this also in crash etc.. and of course numerous adverts etc etc.
True!
Am I right in thinking Microsoft now owns the IP to Ultimates stuff...
Windows phone/8 app store aside, there is no legal way to own *any* digital copies of Ultimate games let alone the whole collection, and I would speculate that should an app of Ultimate:The Collected Works be released across mobile platforms, it would sell like hot cakes.
I would pay hard cash for a legit iPad app of Ultimate:The Collected Works (plus Underwurlde). But why stop there? How about an android version? Hell, a Steam version and while we're at it, a version for Xbox live! (I'd probably buy on all platforms!)
I don't care who does it, be it LiveWire, Elite or someone else ... but whoever does do it gets my money.
LiveWire have made something possible that I didn't think was... I'm actually a tiny bit jealous of Windows 8 users. :D
I don't like Win 8 apps as it means using that horrendous Win 8 start screen and all its limitations, but in this case I made an exception. Well, the Win 8 Jetpac is excellent - you can even use the original keys 1,Q,A,Z,X if you want. :) The sound - I gather it was a pain in the bottom to emulate while not perfect is excellent (although the pick-up item beep sound is just one beep instead of two beeps close together at different pitches and the take off and landing sound isn't quite right and too clean). Gamplay-and-gfx-wise though, spot on.
Can we have a scanline on/off toggle in the app to simulate an old tube TV? That would be the cherry on the icing on the cake!
If the game is near enough identical then what is the point?
Exactly - that what I'm thinking too.
I honestly can't be bothered much about emulated Spectrum games on my phone. Sure, I think it's interresting from a technical viewpoint, but there is NO Spectrum game EVER that I'd be so desperate to play on my phone that I wouldn't rather just wait until I got home. I have plenty of other games on it that I can play when I'm out and about.
My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation, SQIJ.
Twitter: Sokurah
Well there are these "true" Sinclair fans who absolutely must always have a few spectrum games at hand at all times otherwise they start twitching and convulsing.... :)
I'm still not sick of playing JetPac on my phone and I've been playing it solid for three years, ideal for short sharp bursts, angry birds, FIFA,teh FPS shooters are quite dull by comparison.
Playing JetPac with the accelerometer I really do enjoy, something you can't do on a desktop.
Given I created both Windows 8 and Phone apps, I personally prefer the phone apps...
I'd definitely pay for that, either as a cart or a download from the 3DS store.. Not so much interested in playing them on Android etc, whereas a 3D reboot would be a new spin.
Yes, you are (missing the point). This isn't about which platform is preferable to play spectrum games. This is about Elite apparently using Rare's IP to sell games without taking permission from MS and Rare. In a cheating bast sort of way.
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
For many people, it's just so they can legally own them, even though no one will ever really know (or care) that they do. As a kid, you don't mind pirating games, but when you're an adult, with (a) more money to pay for the games you play (and less time to play games, sadly), and (b) the knowledge of what hard work is and the realisation that people who make the games you play(ed) deserve to be paid for their hard work, you're more likely to want to pay for the game.
For that reason, lots of people buy PC games on Good Old Games (gog.com) or Steam that they've had (as a working pirate copy) for years, just to assuage their conscience (and on a tangent, isn't Good Old Games brilliant? No DRM so you can put the games on any PC/laptop you own, plus they even got System Shock 2 a while back, so those of us with only pirate versions could buy it. Then Steam got it, but it was GOG who did it first, allowing us to legally own the game. I and many others are hoping they do the same with System Shock 1, but apparently it's in a legal mess at the moment).
Sadly I too hate touchscreen controls. I'd love to get used to them for games, but I just can't.
Yep. Do it for the iPhone, Android, Windows XP/7/8/Vista, etc. Bung in all of the Ultimate Spectrum games (even Sabre Wulf), scans of the covers/game manuals/adverts/etc (really go to town on the package) and (and this would be fantastic, considering Ultimate's persistant attitude of silence about their games) add information about the making of the games, beta graphics, things that were cut from the games, bugs that were found or still remain, etc. Us Speccy fans would love to see all of this in one package.
Yes, they'd have to include Underwurlde, as it's my favourite Ultimate game (so it deffo belongs in there :smile:), but maybe they could include all non-Spectrum games too. I'm not really bothered, but it would be interesting to see how the BBC or other versions of Jetpac and others were. Not a deal breaker for me, as I'm really only interested in the Spectrum games, but it would add to the appeal of the overall package.
I'd actually like it on XBox Live! too (my 360 isn't modded, so I can't play it on a 360 Spectrum emulator, if one even exists).
For me to fork out, I'd be expecting something 'extra' thrown in, perhaps the choice of 'classic' or a 'deluxe' version with improved graphics and sound.
That reminds me. I really should get around to doing a ULAplus palette pack for the Ultimate games. Obviously you'll have to provide your own copy of the game.