Retro Software launch: The Krystal Connection

[Samwise]

Hey, Hey, STH guys!

As you should all be well aware, the Retro Software publishing label is going from strength to strength. We have a wide range of retro titles in development, even more useful tools and docs, plus we already have one title officially released, and under our belt.

The hard work has continued unabated - the RS forums are now a focussed resource for 8-bit Acorn development, and we're beginning to steadily build up our publishing infrastructure behind the scenes.

At this past weekend's Acorn World show in Huddersfield, we were very pleased to show off lots more works in progress and also had two of our titles available for purchase. That's right, two! Joining the classic shoot-'em-up Zap!, we officially launched The Krystal Connection by Stephen Smith for the BBC B/B+/Master and Master Compact.

You'll find more details and screenshots, on The Krystal Connection page: http://www.retrosoftware.co.uk/krystal

The online shop hasn't yet been launched but, for now, you can order your copies of both Zap! and The Krystal Connection through eBay, in the following formats:

- BBC Micro Cassette (£1.95)
- BBC Micro 5.25” Disc (£2.95)
- BBC Master Compact 3.5” Disc (£2.95)

An SSD version for emulator users will be available soon (on CD-ROM) priced at £1.95. Until it is, SSDs can be provided manually - full details on the Retro Software pricing page: http://www.retrosoftware.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Prices

If you'd rather not sign up for an eBay account, you can also PM DaveM/Arcadian via the Retro Software or STH forums for details on how to purchase the game directly.

We hope you'll check out The Krystal Connection and consider placing an order to encourage all of our hobbyist developers to stick through to the end of their projects. It's reminiscent of the early Acornsoft arcade platformers, like Boxer, and has gone down very well with everyone we've seen playing it so far.

Remember, Retro Software is wholly a not-for-profit organisation and the cover price of each release is split between the cost of production, royalties to the author and, if there's anything left, into a fund for advertising Retro Software.

So there it is. Get the both titles from the Retro Software label here ...

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/dllm

Keep an eye on http://www.retrosoftware.co.uk/ for further titles in the future - and, please (can't stress this enough!), do leave us some feedback on this title over at the RS forums:

http://www.retrosoftware.co.uk/forum/

Many thanks,

Sam.

P.S. The Retro Software community welcomes volunteers who'd like to get their hands on early releases to do some beta playtesting ... plus, as well as needing graphic artists, musicians etc. if anyone out there is of the art persuasion, we have plenty of cover-art and poster work to do as more of the projects get closer to completion. If you're interested, head over to the forums and join in!

[Arcadian]

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the eBay listings done until several days after Samwise made the above post, but The Krystal Connection is finally available to purchase via the following link:
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/dllm

The introductory offer of £1.95 for the cassette and £2.95 for the disc versions will last until 16th November. And remember, if you buy a copy on cassette and/or disc, you can also request the respective emulator images(s) at no extra cost.

Please support the release of new BBC Micro games by grabbing yourself a copy
(and besides, it really is a very slick, not to mention addictive game!)

Lastly, here are some photos of the lurvely packaging (which features Kecske Bak's great artwork) plus a couple of screenshots and a vid ...

Inlay for BBC Micro Cassette version (front)

(Click image to enlarge)

Inlay for BBC Micro Cassette version

(Click image to enlarge)

Media for BBC Micro Cassette version (back)

(Click image to enlarge)

Inlay for BBC Micro 5.25" Disc version (front)

(Click image to enlarge)

Inlay for BBC Micro 5.25" Disc version (back)

(Click image to enlarge)

Media for BBC Micro 5.25" Disc version

(Click image to enlarge)

Inlay for Master Compact 3.5" Disc version (front)

(Click image to enlarge)

Inlay for Master Compact 3.5" Disc version (back)

(Click image to enlarge)

Media for Master Compact 3.5" Disc version

(Click image to enlarge)

Launch @ Acorn World 2009/Retro Reunited

(Click image to enlarge)

Screenshot #1


Screenshot #2


Video (Level 1)

[Garrettimus]

I would still like to buy The Krystal Connection on tape...

[Arcadian]

The Krystal Connection now available as a free download at the Complete BBC Micro Games archive (thanks Lee!).

Link:
http://www.bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=2347

Retro Software's first release (Zap!) also available to download.

Merry Xmas!

[Arcadian]

Now that the Retro Software website is back up and running (thanks Richard Toohey!) I've updated the Krystal Connection page with downloads for all three formats that the game was originally released on:

• BBC Micro DFS (.ssd)
• BBC Micro Tape (.uef)
• BBC Master Compact ADFS (.adf)

So you can now grab the Tape and Master Compact versions in addition to BBC DFS ...