New Neo-Geo shmup -- Last Hope [also for DC]

[LoneSage]

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthrea ... ost1760814

For a homebrew Neo game, I'll say it's the best looking one by far. Definitely seeing some R-Type inspiration, but with more vibrant colors. Looks amazing.
Too bad the price will no doubt be above $200, just my guess.



Thread title edited to mention Dreamcast port at long last. -inc.

[dave4shmups]

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthrea ... ost1760814

For a homebrew Neo game, I'll say it's the best looking one by far. Definitely seeing some R-Type inspiration, but with more vibrant colors. Looks amazing.
Too bad the price will no doubt be above $200, just my guess.

That does look nice, but why don't people, like these folks, and Songbird Productions, develop games on CD?? It would certainly be much cheaper.

[ROBOTRON]

GREAT. Looks hot.

Finally, some AES love.

I'm buyin' it for sure.

[GaijinPunch]

What the fuck? Good news, but why not 1 thread?

[M0nk3y]

Cos I'm blind Sorry

Anyway, this is great news. Hope it does get an MVS release. Some CD love would be a lot easier and cheaper for everyone though.

[Ganelon]

Geez, 3 almost identically named threads? What were the chances?

Anyway, the game looks good but how's the gameplay? Looks like it could just be an R-Type clone, although that wouldn't be too bad. And I shudder at what the price might be...

[M0nk3y]

Yeah, I'm wondering about the cost too. No idea if the guy is going on an ultimate mission converting carts, or getting new ones made. I'd say that a mass cart conversion project isn't easy, so he's probably getting new AES cart PCBs made?

Hopefully more info will be available soon. But it'd be a git if the game only came out for 1 of the 3 Neo systems. I want an MVS version!

[Nate]

The shape of the ship is reminding me of a mix of the one in Andro Dunos and the one in Blazing Star (Naomi's ship - Dino 126? I think?). The pix are blurry, but they kind of tell the tale...I can't help but think that all charge shot-based horzies must answer to Pulstar...I wonder if it'll have anything that Pulstar doesn't. My opinion is that if it's half as good then it'll be worth throwing down a LITTLE over $100 for.

If this is really coming out that soon then...

I...think...I'm ready to fork. Hmm. Maybe I could submit my first review here...?

What to sell?...What to sell?

[Howdoin]

The dev. says it will sell for $700 I sincerely doubt they'll get many sales at this price, it is most likely calling for a dump and for everyone to make their own conversion.

Too bad as I agree with Lonesage, at $200 they would sell many of those, probably more than 3 times than at the $700 price tag... I know it does not make much difference for the developpers between selling 30 games at $700 or 100 at $200, but at least they would gather more support and respect.

It is easy to find out - how many of you would purchase the game at $700? how about $200?

I'd definitely be up at a price <$200 (or $200 top) but $700, no thanks.

I understand that these guys need to recoup some costs but how much could it really cost to manufacture?

[iatneH]

At $200 even I might consider buying it, and at $150 I may almost certainly buy it. But not a iatneH's chance at the prom would I buy it for $700.

I'm wondering if the hardware production costs are really that prohibitively high. Then again, they have to pay up the money before the production can begin, but I don't see how much harder it would be to get a production cost quote and then ask for pre-order deposits..

[gameoverDude]

It is easy to find out - how many of you would purchase the game at $700? how about $200?

I'd definitely be up at a price <$200 (or $200 top) but $700, no thanks.

I understand that these guys need to recoup some costs but how much could it really cost to manufacture?

$700? Nope. Under $200 would be best.

If I were the developer, I'd be selling the a PC version for $30 as well- which would be basically the Neo ROM with a dedicated emulator. This would work like the Capcom Coin-Op Classics Vol.1 pack that came with the HotRod controller (Capcom had gotten a special deal with MAME Team to use a customized limited version of MAME).

A Neo-CD version wouldn't be bad either.

[ROBOTRON]

GREAT. Looks hot.

Finally, some AES love.

I'm buyin' it for sure.

$700...f*ck that....

$200...I would...$700 no way.

[LoneSage]

Yeah, shit, they're selling it for around $700, with only roughly 30 carts in production is what the guy said.

They need to be realistic; $700 would have flown a few years ago with the Neo kids, but now because of ROMs...not so much.

[ST Dragon]

A brand new NEOGEO AES console isn't worth 700$, let alone a single cart!

[Fighter17]

Too fucking much for a $700 cart!

[Fighter17]

From the developer of Last Hope (from the Neo-Geo fourm):

The official Last Hope website is open now lasthope.ngdevteam.com.

On Saturday we will release a movie with original music and gameplay footage.

Business plans:

Yes, we have to consider our strategy and pricing new. I hope it's not too late to do that, as damage seems already to be done. We now consider the release in early 1Q 2006.

It would be nice if we could get feedback from NEO GEO/Shmup collectors. Who are the main target for *this* release (you can send a mail to info@ngdevteam.com).

I have read many recommendation now, you can bet we thought through this things too. But most of them don't work for several reasons.

I don't want to go here much into details:

We contacted SNKP, they didn't even bother to answer.

We contacted Shawn, he have had an early prototype in his hand and has beta tested it back in 2004. He definitely was impressed by the game and wanted to help us. But it never worked out.
Does someone in the forums have steadily contact with him? Its not easy to get him answer your mails. Maybe people should show him interest in this release.

We contacted Vektorlogic, Jeff wanted to send us his NDA, he never did.

We cannot pay Vektorlogic yet to develop AES pcbs and a new cartshell. Pcbs alone yes, but the cartshell costs are >20k. After this initial release we probably could think about it. Having both MVS and AES custom pcbs and shells would be a great benefit for the community (no need for sac carts anymore).

Carts:

Of course they are in very good/new condition.

Paperworks:

- Offset printed shock box size insert/if nessesary we can do a new style insert too.
- Offset printed CD-booklet manual with baggy.
- Digital printed and factory cutted sticker


We are definitly looking for trustworthy selling partners in the US.

And there will be of course a public review on onleast one NEO GEO related site/maybe on shmups.com too.

[Sundance]

GREAT. Looks hot.

Finally, some AES love.

I'm buyin' it for sure.

I'm gonna have to fork even more out to have a member convert it to an MVS if i ever wanna get some love

Too fucking much for a $700 cart!

I'd go as high as maybe $400 but no more. Esp not w/ the rom so readily availbe. Granted i really would rather have the arcade experience on my Stand Up...but hell i'd just as soon buy a stick or converter for a console stick and play the rom.

[BUHA]

What if the game sucks?!?! I feel bad about spending 50 on a game that isn't gonna keep me busy for over 100 hours.

[Ganelon]

They should really just hold an auction for the copies IMO, either closed via PM or open on the boards (for no Ebay fees). That way, the natural market prices should be revealed and nobody can complain about price gouging.

[Neo Rasa]

Aaah sac carts. Now every time you play you can think "$700 to take another Fatal Fury 3 out of circulation."

[M0nk3y]

In short:

Price is down to 550USD.

A Last Hope video is now available on our homepage.

Here is a snipset from our new FAQ:

F.A.Q last changed 2005-12-10

* Which platform do you release this game?

Currently NEO GEO AES/NGH only.

* How about the pricing?

The final price is not fixed yet.
Pricing depends heavily on production, number of copies and future ports.
We are currently thinking about a mixed strategy which could result in a good price cutting. E.g. down to 550USD considering a shockbox release.

* How many copies will be created?

Limited release 30-40. Not fixed yet.

* Is a MVS/NGCD/DC release planned?

Yes MVS,NGCD and DC versions are technicaly no problem and will be considered in future.
The MVS version would be for home use only. Coin support would be not included/commercial use prohibited.

* Paperworks

- Offset printed shock box size insert/classic english snap case insert.
- Offset printed CD-booklet manual with baggy.
- Digital printed and factory cutted sticker

* Casing

- Currently shockbox/maybe snap case (depends on neostore.com)

* Does this game use the memorycard?

Yes. Game progress, options and score is saved.

A few posts later in the N-G.com thread, matey from Vektorlogic has posted. He's basically saying that he's had no trouble using his games in arcades as his MVS carts are original and they also have security protection.

So, I think there's still some sorting out to be done. Vektorlogic is ready to go to produce a run of MVS carts, but NGDev matey still seems intent on doing a run of 30 AES conversions.

However, there'll definately be an AES and MVS release with a good possibility of NeoCD and maybe DC. Maybe after the initial limited AES run there'll be a price drop for the MVS version.

Good news though. And check out the video, it looks very good.

[visuatrox]

The video looks stunning/pulstar quality . Too bad that I don't have a NeoGeo anymore, the games just got too expensive for me .

[al138]

If they release it on CD, I will likely buy it provided that its around $50. While I think people who develop shooters deserved to be compensated for their hard work (and this title looks pretty good), I fear that they are pricing themselves out of the market. Sure, they might sell a few at $550, but how long will it take for someone to decide to dump the ROMs and have them released? At that point it would only be a matter of time before someone tweeks an existing emulator to run it...provided it doesn't already run from the beginning. That would be sad, especially when it wouldn't be hard to make this title more accessable for those of us willing to pay a more reasonable price.

[visuatrox]

^ maybe the developers should just release the roms themselves, and sell them for a small amount of money

[icepick]

I just saw the movie; This game looks fantastic! I can appreciate it from a speculative position, and even if I don't ever get to play it, then, well... we can't have it all, lest we become spoiled and without anything to yearn for... right?

If they produced everything by hand (which I'm under the impression that they have), then I believe that they have every bit of understanding from me for pricing the product according to what they believe that it is worth. They've obviously poured their heart, soul and blood into this title, and it shows. Not that it matters, but my opinion is that $30 for a PC title would be far too little, and $50 for a pressed CD release would be good only if very large quanities were sold. I would respect them if they decided to keep things the way that they are for the next two years, and then consider pursuit of additional venues.

Hopefully, they'll be allowed (financially and otherwise) to grow in experience and capability to the point where the average STG consumer will be able to purchase and enjoy some of their works.

^ maybe the developers should just release the roms themselves, and sell them for a small amount of money

Bad, bad idea. I'm sure that you were probably joking, but I wouldn't be surprised if some organized egotistical freeloaders were already pooling funds to purchase and pirate this game. If not, then I hope that those of whom with tickets to obtain this title have the security and decency to keep it from "falling into the wrong hands."

[M0nk3y]

Looks like things are changing for the better. Now Jeff from Vektorlogic is involved it seems there may be an initial MVS release (along with a run of Super Bubble Pop and Manic Panic) and then an AES release.

Still no news on any further price reduction, but this is certainly good news and should help to get the price down a decent amount.

[Marc]

Insane Noble and commendable, but utterly insane. Looks like a great game though.

[jp]

I think they lowered it to $550.


Will I buy it? I don't know. I haven't wasted any massive amounts of money on some random videogame purchase lately (mainly because no one is throwing copies of Derisoba Deluxe, Eyeful Home, or Heim Waltz at me), so... maybe I'm due?


If it turns out to be really good (downloading the video now), I might just buy it.

[ckm]

bump.

latest news is price not fixed (for AES),

and will be also released on DC and NGCD.


http://www.ngdevteam.com/lasthope_faq.htm

[Ceph]

A Dreamcast Version? Wow, sweet!

Even though I have a NGCD, for the sake of loading times I would much prefer a DC version. Hope they'll really get around to making one.