Pier Solar discussion (that Genny/MD indie RPG)

[Barry the Nomad]

Naw, what I do is I film, talking loosely, usually messing up and speaking nonsense. Then I import all the videos into iMovie and I mute all the videos and then re-record myself while sitting in front of the computer. Sort of like doing a commentary track. Since I already know whats coming up on screen, I can better articulate what I'm trying to say.

The original audio had me accidentally saying "Dreamcast Junkyard" and I didn't know the dev time off the top of my head. It's less "spur-of-the-moment", but there's far less mistakes and the audio quality is better.

[cube_b3]

So it is rehearsed, I think that is probably the right way to do it.

[Barry the Nomad]

Something very very cool that I discovered about Pier Solar:

[spoiler:2l8xv4d0]Within the game, you come across Mega Drive carts for Alien Soldier and Phantasy Star 4. They don't appear to do anything in the game, however if you exit to the main menu, you'll discover that they unlock non-RPG mini-games with 2 player support. I heard one is a shooter, one is a puzzle game and another is like Bomberman. Cool stuff![/spoiler:2l8xv4d0]

[crackdude]

Is this game expected to ever run out? I'm very very curious about it, but it's a quite steep price for a MegaDrive game these days..

[Barry the Nomad]

$45 is a great deal, when you consider all the unpaid volunteer hours, the fact that they made their own case and cart (it's not repurposed SEGA branding) and all the bonus items.

Though if you aren't into RPGs, I'd get if you'd pass on it.

[cube_b3]

Man, I don't know when/if I'll get around to those games but these guys had serious love for SEGAMD/GENY, with the Dreamcast it is ports or games that developers plan on porting.

Dreamcast is often used for coders to show off their abilities, and get themselves acknowledged by the game industry but this is pure love for the system, no strings attached.

[crackdude]

$45 is a great deal, when you consider all the unpaid volunteer hours, the fact that they made their own case and cart (it's not repurposed SEGA branding) and all the bonus items.

Though if you aren't into RPGs, I'd get if you'd pass on it.

But that's the whole thing.. I admire their love for the Mega, truly. But I could totally miss out on all that personally. If I could, I would probably only buy the cartridge, print out the cover and use the old Super Wrestlemania black box.

I'm not so keen on details you see, so I feel like I'm paying premium for things I won't appreciate all that much.

Would love to get a soundtrack though. Love those things.

[crackdude]

And also, with so many DC releases...why no story driven game? It doesn't have to be an RPG, but some action adventure thing?

And is 3D still possible?
Sometimes I wonder if anyone is someday picking up some dev tools and dig deep into the system.

[Barry the Nomad]

$45 is a great deal, when you consider all the unpaid volunteer hours, the fact that they made their own case and cart (it's not repurposed SEGA branding) and all the bonus items.

Though if you aren't into RPGs, I'd get if you'd pass on it.

But that's the whole thing.. I admire their love for the Mega, truly. But I could totally miss out on all that personally. If I could, I would probably only buy the cartridge, print out the cover and use the old Super Wrestlemania black box.

I'm not so keen on details you see, so I feel like I'm paying premium for things I won't appreciate all that much.

Would love to get a soundtrack though. Love those things.

In that case, I'd advise seeking out reviews: http://sega-16.com/review_page.php?id=2 ... Architects
and buy the game based on how good it sounds. Personally, I'd say it's one of the best turn based RPGs I've seen on the Genesis. Only falling behind Phantasy Star titles (again, in terms of turn based RPGs, can't really compare it to Shining Force). Also, the SEGA CD soundtrack really makes you feel like you're taking advantage of all the hardware (assuming you have a SEGA CD). Besides Sonic CD, I hardly used my SEGA CD, so it feels great to have a good game taking advantage of it.

[cube_b3]

@ CrackDude: Well Said. While it is always nice to have a deluxe edition, a standard/regular edition should always be kept in mind.

Although a little off-topic news: It is unlikely that RSG/GSP will ever release multiple editions of a game. We will get a single edition, with soundtrack and the extra stuff like stickers in the Regular Edition.

As it is uneconomical to release a low price edition for the developers, maybe it is the same for Pier Solar. They might not be charging you a premium for the extra bell's and whistles, they may choose to sell the cart alone for that much.

[Barry the Nomad]

The reprint edition is the standard edition, so don't expect them to release a cartridge-only.

The original release, now sold out, was in a deluxe cardboard box that had a full color booklet attached to the outer cover (separate from the full color manual found inside) as well as an officially pressed CD with full color printing on the disc (lots of full color). They also made three designs, so you could have a copy that matched the region you lived in (or preferred): JP MD, Euro MD, USA Genny. In fact, they discovered that they were losing money with the orignal edition (priced at $35/40, forgot which), so they had to bump up the price of the reprint so that they weren't at a loss. I'm not sure how much of a profit they're making per copy, but it surly isn't a lot.

[cube_b3]

There you go CD (CrackDude).

[crackdude]

There you go CD (CrackDude).

Brilliant!

@Barry
poor dudes.. such passion!