Classic Arcade Graphics Price Drop THREAD IS NOW: GROUP PURCHASE N0:2

[Fozzy The Bear]

Guys!!
              Classic Arcade Graphics. Have finally seen the light, that nobody was going to pay them $7000 for their formerly on line collection of arcade artwork. http://www.classicarcadegrafix.com/sunshop/

It seems they couldn't sell it. Just as predicted here.

The price for the entire arcade art collection has now dropped to: $999 USD.

I think now would be a very good time to start a fund so that this forum acquires a copy of all the material they have and makes it available to everyone on here.

Saint!! Please Please Please could this be organised. For the sake of preservation and access to this material in the future for all the members.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[headkaze]

You must have missed the thread that already raised the money by BYOAC members to buy the collection, but Mame Marquee's beat us to it and has bought it already.

[Level42]

Hey Fozzy, I don't know where you've been the last couple of weeks but may I point you to this:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=61616.0

Maybe you should PM Joymonkey.....he can bring you up-to-date about this

[ArcadeMaze]

X

[leapinlew]

Fozzy,

Just so you know, Oscar Controls or Wico are out of business. 

[Fozzy The Bear]

No I hadn't seen the thread..... I have no idea how I missed something that important.

PM On the way to Joymonkey right now.  If this all proves to be a bit of a waste of time, I'll be really disappointed.

If I had $999.00 to spare I'd be buying it myself and just making available to everyone for free.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[leapinlew]

No I hadn't seen the thread..... I have no idea how I missed something that important.

PM On the way to Joymonkey right now.  If this all proves to be a bit of a waste of time, I'll be really disappointed.

If I had $999.00 to spare I'd be buying it myself and just making available to everyone for free.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

Ain't no thing Fozz! You should read the last few pages of the thread. It all works out. Scott from Mamemarquee's bought the collection.

[Bobbler]

No worries Fozzie, I was going to put into this also (think it was from your original post around Christmas IIRC).

I missed this entire thread too LOL.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Ain't no thing Fozz! You should read the last few pages of the thread. It all works out. Scott from Mamemarquee's bought the collection.

Yeah... That's great, as it is, and Mame Marquees printing quality is way beter than Classic Arcade Graphics ever was.  But that still doesn't give us access to it. Only to order stuff printed. So as far as I'm concerned, that really isn't the ideal result.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[rockin_rick]

Are they only selling one copy of the artwork?  Or are they selling as many copies as they can?  Checking their website, they still advertise that the $999 deal....


Rick

[Fozzy The Bear]

Are they only selling one copy of the artwork?  Or are they selling as many copies as they can?  Checking their website, they still advertise that the $999 deal....

No Rick... They'll sell it to anybody who wants it. They're not selling any exclusive rights or anything like that. If we had the money we could buy it. They would sell it to us.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[jimjim]

Not to be ignorant, but why would they sell their artwork to people on the forums so anybody can use it for free.  I think their business model is set up for individual use and selling it so it can be given out would ruin their business.  I would equate it to buying their new "how to" books and scanning them into a PDF file so all the members can learn how to restore their machines. 


If they don't mind it being posted for anyody to use, I would donate to help.

[fixedpigs]

from their website...

"No one can argue that the full collection is well worth the $7k price tag, but the price is also out of the reach of many collectors and dealers."

collectors & dealers...

however...it contradicts what is on the main page...
 
"Complete Digital Artwork Collection Now Available to Dealers for $999 email if interested"

[Fozzy The Bear]

Not to be ignorant, but why would they sell their artwork to people on the forums so anybody can use it for free. 
<SNIP>
If they don't mind it being posted for anyody to use, I would donate to help.

Because they no longer sell it apart from as one single sale item at:$999 they state that they do not hold the copyright on it. They state the following in their sales details:

1) Rights to the artwork we are offering have been abandoned or the rights owners openly allow limited reproductions. Some artwork scans which we are not offering are Trademarked or Copyrighted and the owners have chosen not to permit their redistribution such as some Namco products, Dragon's Lair and Space Ace by Don Bluth, Gottlieb Pinball, Williams Pinball, and Bally Pinball products. If you are interested in obtaining licenses to distribute these, we have included all details in the how-to book.
 
2) No Non-competition: we will offer this set to anyone that pays the fee. There is no non-competition agreement and no exclusivity.

The second pointer here is the interesting one for us! The sale is not an exclusive one!

Just because Mame Marquees picked up a copy in order to sell printed artwork from it does NOT prevent us from holding a copy and making it freely available to everyone.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Teebor]

Not that I can see it of any immediate use to me personally at the moment I am curious in what you are suggesting.

What would be the kind of price tag you would be asking people to pony up?

Although for us UK residents the pound is pretty strong so that can be a good thing right about now.

Everyone chips in £10 (roughly $20) or whatever they can afford?
From the sounds of it there is a lot of data to be transported out afterwards, so would you make it available through torrent? (perhaps through a group like [romsite name redacted]??) Or duplicate it for those who send you a HDD?
I would say that DVD would be pretty much out of the question due to the enormous size of the total files.

Just curious to know a little more.

[rockin_rick]

The other thread (that was) going about this describes this in more detail.  There was talk of a group buy, but I'm not sure of the current state of it since mamemarquees bought a set.  The other thread is linked in post 3.

Rick

[Teebor]

Yeah that was bought by two companies who I doubt are willing to just let people download or have copies freely.

Specially when I can go round the corner and have a print made myself for less than £25 and with shipping and printing fees I could pay more than that with other companies. 

[TOK]

I would love to see this set just make it out onto bittorrent, because once the genie is out of the bottle, there is no putting it back. Classicarcadegraphix (whatever) ran into some legal issues with some of the art. Companies like Namco will still protect very old copyrights. Any vendor is going to run into the same issues and have to pull art.

[ChadTower]

You could never have a 400GB torrent.

[JustMichael]

I don't know about torrents but I have heard about this thing called "usenet"...   

[RandyT]

I would love to see this set just make it out onto bittorrent, because once the genie is out of the bottle, there is no putting it back. Classicarcadegraphix (whatever) ran into some legal issues with some of the art. Companies like Namco will still protect very old copyrights. Any vendor is going to run into the same issues and have to pull art.

I have to agree on this one.....show of hands, how many think CAG just got tired of making money?  Anyone?  Anyone? 

IMHO, there had to be some legal pressure placed upon them to prompt them to sell the collection and the book, rather than to continue their current business model.  I'm guessing there is a fine legal line between selling the art as "derivative or archival" in digital form and actually selling finished products including the protected imagery.  But I've been wrong before.

I'm no lawyer, and I certainly can't speak for the copyright owners, but I'm going to guess that the corporate types would have a lot less problems with enthusiasts printing out the work for themselves to make their own art or to restore their own machines.  Selling the finished decals / marquees as a product would most likely be viewed quite differently, which is why that passage about "acquiring rights from the copyright holders" is part of the book they are selling.  Joe Blow with a big printer should take that one seriously to avoid similar problems.

RandyT

[ChadTower]

I don't know about torrents but I have heard about this thing called "usenet"...   

Which also wouldn't deal with a 400gb collection.

[Teebor]

Other than the overall download time for the whole collection a torrent is probably the best way to handle the file.  You (as the user) would be able to prioritise the files that you would require, also by making it a part of a ratio tracker would encourage more people to upload thereby increasing the potential for better downloads.

Although the downside of it being the size it is would put a lot of people off getting it for fear of being booted from the tracker, so it ultimately would have to become a "free" download (no ratio hit)

Besides its not much worse than trying to maintain a laserdisc or Tosec collection, a complete romset, extras, and chd's iirc is only a 1/4 of the total size again.

its more efficient than trying to copy it to a big bag load of HDD's and posting them out to everyone around the world who wants it

[Fozzy The Bear]

its more efficient than trying to copy it to a big bag load of HDD's and posting them out to everyone around the world who wants it

How exactly do you work that one out??  It takes a full day and sometimes more just to download a 4.7Gig DVD. What are you suggesting here... That people who want it should spend more than 1/3 of a year of on-line time just to download it!  Just how is that more efficient.

The ideal model IMHO is that same one that is applied to Mame Roms.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

 

[shardian]

its more efficient than trying to copy it to a big bag load of HDD's and posting them out to everyone around the world who wants it

Yeah noone would ever do that...

[korendog]

Fozzy let's do this! I'm in for $25.  All we need is 40 more peeps.  I'll even organize it and copy the collection to hard drives.  I work for the post office and it wouldn't be that much to ship a hard drive around the US or even abroad.  I think starting a torrent with it is not a bad idea either.  Whatever works.  What I see is a bunch of peeps on here that say it can't be done.....I say it can!  Let's stop worrying about a few little issues and make it happen for pete's sake!
If you are in post here and when we get 40 takers we'll do it up.

[Loki]

Would be really nice to see this all available for everyone

I guess the best way to share it would be a website where you have to register and get a max number of MB per week or month to download the files.
This way you'll prevent people from downloading nonstop and keeps it fast for everyone who wants something.
Using different mirrors would also be nice so there won't be any downtimes.

For collectors you can make torrents and put them on the same site.
Distributing it in parts works pretty well I think... 1 file of 400GB is crazy

[Fozzy The Bear]

Fozzy let's do this! I'm in for $25.  All we need is 40 more peeps.

Well actually I'd be in for $50 USD.....

but, as I understand it a group purchase has already been organised, see the other thread, and I'm advised that matters with that are in progress...... I'm afraid that's all I know right now.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Teebor]

its more efficient than trying to copy it to a big bag load of HDD's and posting them out to everyone around the world who wants it

How exactly do you work that one out??  It takes a full day and sometimes more just to download a 4.7Gig DVD. What are you suggesting here... That people who want it should spend more than 1/3 of a year of on-line time just to download it!  Just how is that more efficient.

The ideal model IMHO is that same one that is applied to Mame Roms.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

 

Simple, It is unlikely that you are going to want to download use and print EVERY file in the document all at once, so you download the torrent file, load it into your torrent client and then prioritise the file(s) you want over the rest of them as I said before.

As for decent downloads I have downloaded a dvd rip in well under a day, the quickest thing I have ever downloaded was a 400MB file in under an hour.  And if thats the speed I get on my ropey old NTL line imagine what I could get on a decent internet connection.

Besides, do you want 50+ HDD's turning up on your doorstep all wanting cloning? or let people download the parts of the file that they want with the overall goal of eventually downloading the whole thing?

[CheffoJeffo]

What Fozzy said ...

Eventually most of the artwork will be available to the BYOAC community in one form or another. Right now most of us that originally donated have access to the artwork, but as a courtesy to Classic Arcade Graffix we'd prefer not to turn around and give his product to the whole community for free straight away; doing so would completely devalue the artwork that he's put a serious amount of time and effort into and wouldn't be fair on him, or others that have bought the artwork as business investments (like MameMarquees).
I'm putting together a web-gallery with low/medium resolution versions of everything, so everyone gets to take a look at the artwork.

Cheers

[ChadTower]

The speed of a download is nowadays more dependent on the server than the client.  Doesn't matter if you're on a T1 if the other person is on a 128k DSL line (or worse).

A 400GB collection would most likely be all RARed up for packaging and compression.  That would make prioritization within the torrent useless.

[steveh]

400gb would be near impossible to distribute efficiently.  how many of us have 400gb of free space available on a single drive, to dedicate storing these images?  I know i do not.  i have over a tb of storage and could in no way open up 400gb of storage

[RandyT]

A 400GB collection would most likely be all RARed up for packaging and compression.  That would make prioritization within the torrent useless.

Take a look at the attached file listing.  As I suspected, the drive appears to be organized in a "ready to work" fashion, which mean that the collection is uncompressed.  The total number of bytes shown in the file list is 369,008,207,156 and the files are mostly PSD and TIF. 

This collection will probably be under 200 gigs compressed, in case that matters to anyone.

RandyT

[ChadTower]

It's better, but really, that doesn't help much.  In order to extract a compressed archive you need as much as 3x the free space as the size of the archive.  You need enough for it to dump to %temp% (or your OS' equivalent) during decompression and you need enough space to copy that extracted image out to your destination.  So, worst case is you need over a terabyte to extract the whole 400GB... even at 200GB, you'd need a few hundred GB.

Of course, there are other scenarios, such as opening up the archive and only pulling a few things out... but let's just face the reality that most home PCs simply aren't up to dealing with that amount of data.

[RandyT]

It's better, but really, that doesn't help much.

50 DVD's or 100? 200gig drive or 400gig drvie?   Which is faster / cheaper ? 

But really, if someone were to try to make this collection available to those who needed something specific, I don't think the "lump" transfer is viable.  I think it's achievable, just not easy.  Then there's the "who really owns the rights to a collection of copyrighted / abandoned works" thing, which I'm still really fuzzy on, but would guess that you can't sell / protect that which you do not own.

In any event, I would again urge caution to anyone who is considering doing what CAG was.  A restoration business is one that owns the original machines and would probably have better legal footing to reproduce the artwork for them in-house.  If the art was used as a foundation and modified significantly, that might squeak you through too.  But offering a "catalog" of printed works to anyone who asks for them is a real ballsy / stupid move that will probably attract some unwanted attention.  And god help you if one of your customers is building knock-off machines with your prints all over them  .

Again, IANAL, but I would hate to see someone get their ass in a sling because of the way this collection is being marketed.

RandyT

[ChadTower]

50 DVD's or 100? 200gig drive or 400gig drvie?   Which is faster / cheaper ? 

When you're talking 400gb raw and 200gb compressed/archived, the logistics of working with a 200gb archive are probably enough to make it not worth doing.  The better way would probably be a bunch of single archives at 2-4GB each (NOT one archive split on 4gb).

[RandyT]

50 DVD's or 100? 200gig drive or 400gig drvie?   Which is faster / cheaper ? 

When you're talking 400gb raw and 200gb compressed/archived, the logistics of working with a 200gb archive are probably enough to make it not worth doing.  The better way would probably be a bunch of single archives at 2-4GB each (NOT one archive split on 4gb).

Anyone who makes an archive that big would need his head examined.  I'm talking about compressing the individual files.  There would be no benefit to handling something that large in a single lump.

RandyT

[Fozzy The Bear]

400gb would be near impossible to distribute efficiently.  how many of us have 400gb of free space available on a single drive

Dude! a 500gb external hard drive on a USB connection costs under £120 at retail price and significantly less from some suppliers.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[ChadTower]

Anyone who makes an archive that big would need his head examined.  I'm talking about compressing the individual files.  There would be no benefit to handling something that large in a single lump.

Distribution in a single lump is much easier than in hundreds of individual ones.

[JoyMonkey]

Eventually most of the artwork will be available to the BYOAC community in one form or another. Right now most of us that originally donated have access to the artwork, but as a courtesy to Classic Arcade Graffix we'd prefer not to turn around and give his product to the whole community for free straight away; doing so would completely devalue the artwork that he's put a serious amount of time and effort into and wouldn't be fair on him, or others that have bought the artwork as business investments (like MameMarquees).
I'm putting together a web-gallery with low/medium resolution versions of everything, so everyone gets to take a look at the artwork.

To add to what I posted in the other thread, here's the site I've been putting together:
http://artwork.joymonkey.com

Uploading everything is pretty tedious, but eventually everything will be up there and people outside of the original group buy will be able to browse through low-resolution versions of everything, then request the specific pieces they're looking for in full res.

The way I see it, it's better to have a quick look at a piece of sideart and decide if it's what you want that to download a 2gb version of the same image only to see it's not what you had in mind.

Again, none of this is going to happen overnight, but eventually I hope it will work out in everyones favor without stepping on anyones toes.

[RandyT]

Anyone who makes an archive that big would need his head examined.  I'm talking about compressing the individual files.  There would be no benefit to handling something that large in a single lump.

Distribution in a single lump is much easier than in hundreds of individual ones.

I would agree if the lump wasn't this large.  Mountains are moved a dump truck load at a time.  In any event, it looks like there are those interested in doling them out on an as-needed basis, so much of the discussion may be moot.  Or not, depending on your personal desires

RandyT

[ChadTower]

Agreed.  I don't see the full set ever hitting BitTorrent or anything else like that.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Agreed.  I don't see the full set ever hitting BitTorrent or anything else like that.

Damn Damn Damn.... I'm just about to agree with Chad!!!!  There must be something wrong with me today if I'm agreeing with Chad. 

It'd make no sense to even try bit torrenting something this large. Right now the ONLY realistic way to distribute the entire archive is on portable Hard Drive.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[mahuti]

Hah. I can't believe I missed this. Oh well. If you need help or consultation JoyMonkey... let me know. If you're interested, I can give you the entire AAL collection too.

[Kremmit]

Agreed.  I don't see the full set ever hitting BitTorrent or anything else like that.

20 years ago, I had a 20 MEGAbyte harddrive, and all the guys with 5.5 floppies were jealous.  20 years from now, we'll all be laughing about how worried we were about a little tiny 400 gig file collection.  You'll be able to access it wirelessly, in realtime, via your wristwatch.  While you ride your hoverboard to the spaceport.

[ChadTower]

Damn Damn Damn.... I'm just about to agree with Chad!!!!  There must be something wrong with me today if I'm agreeing with Chad. 

 

[Fozzy The Bear]

Damn Damn Damn.... I'm just about to agree with Chad!!!!  There must be something wrong with me today if I'm agreeing with Chad. 

 

ROFLMAO   

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[SirPeale]

You could still do a torrent.  Good torrent programs have the ability to pick and choose which files you want to download from the torrent.

[leapinlew]

You could still do a torrent.  Good torrent programs have the ability to pick and choose which files you want to download from the torrent.

This is true! Azureus does this. Also, I have more than enough bandwidth to distribute out these files - I offered hosting capabilities in the original thread.

[Kremmit]

But who's gonna start seeding this torrent?  And, who's gonna still be seeding it next year?  That's a lot of data for somebody to keep online all the time.

[Teebor]

Not an issue for me to still be seeding it at this time next year.  I've been seeding romsets for god knows how long and its all that machine does 24-7

Am just about to order myself a couple of 500GB HDD's today as well

[ChadTower]

You could still do a torrent.  Good torrent programs have the ability to pick and choose which files you want to download from the torrent.

That only works if you have people seeding the entire 400gb.

Who is going to keep around 400gb on an active drive just to seed?

[patrickl]

I think 2 people just said that they would

[horseboy]

You could still do a torrent.  Good torrent programs have the ability to pick and choose which files you want to download from the torrent.

That only works if you have people seeding the entire 400gb.

Who is going to keep around 400gb on an active drive just to seed?

Teebor

[Crax]

That only works if you have people seeding the entire 400gb.

Who is going to keep around 400gb on an active drive just to seed?

Not sure if it's been mentioned already, but I don't see any reason why their can't be something like 8 50GB torrents as there are probably multiple people here who could seed a 50gb torrent and teebor who could do all 8.

[CheffoJeffo]

Isn't this discussion somewhat academic at this point, given that folks don't want to give away the whole library away for free right now anyway ?

Cheers

[Teebor]

Isn't this discussion somewhat academic at this point, given that folks don't want to give away the whole library away for free right now anyway ?

Cheers

seconded,  and I can understand why they would not want to.  if it were my money (and tbh I am soo tempted to invest right now) I wouldn't want to give it all away immediately.

[CheffoJeffo]

For me, it isn't about my money nearly so much as it is about respecting Mike at CAG who is still selling the library and Scott at MAMEMarquees who bought the library to make the artwork available.

Cheers

[patrickl]

Isn't this discussion somewhat academic at this point, given that folks don't want to give away the whole library away for free right now anyway ?

It is just academic. If you read at what they were discussing it's just *if* it is at all possible or not.

[patrickl]

Hah. I can't believe I missed this. Oh well. If you need help or consultation JoyMonkey... let me know. If you're interested, I can give you the entire AAL collection too.

I was wondering if the CAG collection contains much from the AAL already. I saw some files in the list, but I remember a lively discussion about the Galaxian sideart that tbombacci drew and then it appeared on CAG with the exact same thumbnail as on AAL. Yet he denied het got the artwork itself from AAL. I guess now we can really see if he did scan it and took days to fix it up or not.

[edge]

For me, it isn't about my money nearly so much as it is about respecting Mike at CAG who is still selling the library and Scott at MAMEMarquees who bought the library to make the artwork available.

Cheers

[CheffoJeffo]

Isn't this discussion somewhat academic at this point, given that folks don't want to give away the whole library away for free right now anyway ?

It is just academic. If you read at what they were discussing it's just *if* it is at all possible or not.

I *did* read and it was sounding less and less academic with each post.

This is my interpretation, true, but I know that it matches what others have thought since people have been asking me about it.

Cheers

[jtfields]

Man if I spent $7,000 for that package and then found out shortly thereafter it dropped to $999 I'd be kicking myself.  

Who says there can't be a second group buy?  I'd be in for $25 or whatever the amount was determined to be.  Someone has already volunteered to handle copying it to hard drives and mailing them back (see Korendog's quote below.)  Or since Fozzy seems very passionate about it maybe he could handle money collection and purchase and then coordinate with Korendog to work out hard drive collection and distribution.

I just happen to have a couple of 500GB SATA hard drives lying around with nothing on them so I'm ready!  

Oh, and hi.  I'm new to the group (but not to emulation.)  Just got Project Arcade in the mail from Amazon yesterday and am eager to start planning my first cabinet.  I've been doing research for awhile and and probably will be researching it for a couple of more months or so before I dive in.  I'm sure I'll be posting many questions along the way.

Fozzy let's do this! I'm in for $25.  All we need is 40 more peeps.  I'll even organize it and copy the collection to hard drives.  I work for the post office and it wouldn't be that much to ship a hard drive around the US or even abroad.  I think starting a torrent with it is not a bad idea either.  Whatever works.  What I see is a bunch of peeps on here that say it can't be done.....I say it can!  Let's stop worrying about a few little issues and make it happen for pete's sake!
If you are in post here and when we get 40 takers we'll do it up.

[CheffoJeffo]

Who says there can't be a second group buy? 

1 - Welcome.

2 - What is it with the top-quoting ? Got a tooo-mohr ? (translation may require a special hat, so don't take offense!)

3 - Good luck with that 2nd group buy. I don't think Mike will want to sell to folks who seem to want to openly distribute the very product that he is trying to sell.

4 - Why jump in after the fact and fool with something that others have already put their money and efforts into ? The 'peeps'  are saying that it SHOULDN'T be done and we should respect the vendors.



Cheers.

EDIT: for sucky typing

[RandyT]

Who says there can't be a second group buy? 

3 - Good luck with that 2nd group buy. I don't think Mike will want to sell to folks who seem to want to openly distribute the very product that he is trying to sell.

4 - Why jump in after the fact and fool with something that others have already put their money and efforts into ? The 'peeps'  are saying that it SHOULDN'T be done and we should respect the vendors.

Sorry, but I can absolutely see a rationale for a second group buy.  Everyone who took part in the first group buy now has unfettered access to the collection.  Not everyone knew that the first buy was underway.  Interested parties have expressed in this thread that they too would have liked to have been part of the aforementioned group, and would have contributed to receive the same "privileges."  One can say "too bad, read the other boards", but that's not really the point.

Now, should it be openly distributed?  Probably not, but having it distributed amongst the second "buy-in" group does not seem out of line to me.  Somehow, I don't think Mike will reject another $1000 in his pocket, regardless of the outcome, considering the limited market this collection has in the first place.  Also, most sign shop guys don't know what a torrent is anyway.

In any event, I'm in on a second buy if someone wants to do one.  I would have been in on the first had I known about it.

RandyT

[patrickl]

I would have been in on the first had I known about it.

Yeah me too. Still can't figure how this didn't go into the artwork board.

I won't be buying in now anymore though. I'd maybe like to get in on only a few pieces anyway. I'll just wait what the two groups that did buy it will start to give out. I guess I could either buy a selection from mamemarquees or maybe still join in on the BYOAC group buy if they start allowing more people in later.

[horseboy]

Who says there can't be a second group buy? 

3 - Good luck with that 2nd group buy. I don't think Mike will want to sell to folks who seem to want to openly distribute the very product that he is trying to sell.

4 - Why jump in after the fact and fool with something that others have already put their money and efforts into ? The 'peeps'  are saying that it SHOULDN'T be done and we should respect the vendors.

Sorry, but I can absolutely see a rationale for a second group buy.  Everyone who took part in the first group buy now has unfettered access to the collection.  Not everyone knew that the first buy was underway.  Interested parties have expressed in this thread that they too would have liked to have been part of the aforementioned group, and would have contributed to receive the same "privileges."  One can say "too bad, read the other boards", but that's not really the point.

Now, should it be openly distributed?  Probably not, but having it distributed amongst the second "buy-in" group does not seem out of line to me.  Somehow, I don't think Mike will reject another $1000 in his pocket, regardless of the outcome, considering the limited market this collection has in the first place.  Also, most sign shop guys don't know what a torrent is anyway.

In any event, I'm in on a second buy if someone wants to do one.  I would have been in on the first had I known about it.

RandyT

I agree 100%.

[Teebor]

so we just get everyone who wants to buy in to agree to not openly distribute the whole file (or part thereof?) and then we have the potential for a purchase?

I can happily live with that and am willing to chuck in $25

But I would suggest that depending on the number of people buying in that we do a first person who gets the HDD copies to two or three other people than those people are responsible for doing the same again to the next people in the list.  That way the burden of duplicating is decreased and copies might be spread between those that purchase a little quicker?

[CheffoJeffo]

Now, should it be openly distributed?  Probably not, but having it distributed amongst the second "buy-in" group does not seem out of line to me.  Somehow, I don't think Mike will reject another $1000 in his pocket, regardless of the outcome, considering the limited market this collection has in the first place.  Also, most sign shop guys don't know what a torrent is anyway.

Sorry, Randy ... I should have been clearer.

I have no objection to another buy (although, as JM says, I would expect that most of this stuff will make its way towards availability ... check his site), but I have a large objection to what I had perceived to be a buy-with-intent to-release-to-the-public. That is the direction I thought that discussion was taking.

I didn't pitch in just to have a drive full of artwork ... I want to it to be available (and already have a list of requests from people), just in a manner that doesn't damage folks who have more invested than I do.

Cheers

[jtfields]

1 - Welcome.

2 - What is it with the top-quoting ? Got a tooo-mohr ? (translation may require a special hat, so don't take offense!)

3 - Good luck with that 2nd group buy. I don't think Mike will want to sell to folks who seem to want to openly distribute the very product that he is trying to sell.

4 - Why jump in after the fact and fool with something that others have already put their money and efforts into ? The 'peeps'  are saying that it SHOULDN'T be done and we should respect the vendors.

1) Thanks.

2) No offense taken and I'm sure there's an inside joke or Schwarzenegger reference in there that I'm unaware of.  I usually top quote when I'm directly responding to a post.  But if I'm just referencing to something then I just put it wherever I feel it should go.  Hope I didn't confuse you too much.  

3)  I was only referring to distributing it to the people in the buy.  I'm assuming that these would all be people that aren't going to plunk down $1,000 for a copy so it would be a $1,000 sale he otherwise wouldn't make.  If I were to chose between a $1,000 or $0 I'd take the $1,000.  Again, I'm only assuming and you know what they say about that...

4)  It sounds like each person in the other buy is going to get a copy so I don't see how we'd be somehow undermining their efforts.  Doing a second group buy should actually benefit Mike more than what the first group is doing which is putting up a website so people can download the stuff for free.  Mike gets nothing out of that.  And the website idea, while not a bad one for limited sharing, is not ideal if someone wants the entire collection and is willing to pay a little money to get it.  I hadn't seen the "peep's" request that no other group buys be made.  If it was okay for them to put together a group buy then I don't really understand why they have a problem with others doing it.  But if that is true and somehow doing another group buy is going to disrespect the "peeps" or in someway hurt respectable vendors then, no, I wouldn't do it.  Otherwise, I don't see the harm.

The one thing we don't want is someone who is in the graphics business and wants to sell the art they'd be getting trhough the group buy.  Anyone in that category should definitely suck it up and pay the $1,000.  Otherwise, its just a bunch of people pooling their money that wouldn't be able to afford a copy any other way.

[CheffoJeffo]

4)  It sounds like each person in the other buy is going to get a copy so I don't see how we'd be somehow undermining their efforts.  Doing a second group buy should actually benefit Mike more than what the first group is doing which is putting up a website so people can download the stuff for free.  Mike gets nothing out of that.  And the website idea, while not a bad one for limited sharing, is not ideal if someone wants the entire collection and is willing to pay a little money to get it.  I hadn't seen the "peep's" request that no other group buys be made.  If it was okay for them to put together a group buy then I don't really understand why they have a problem with others doing it.  But if that is true and somehow doing another group buy is going to disrespect the "peeps" or in someway hurt respectable vendors then, no, I wouldn't do it.  Otherwise, I don't see the harm.

The one thing we don't want is someone who is in the graphics business and wants to sell the art they'd be getting trhough the group buy.  Anyone in that category should definitely suck it up and pay the $1,000.  Otherwise, its just a bunch of people pooling their money that wouldn't be able to afford a copy any other way.

Sounds like I misinterpreted your intent ... I assumed that this was buy-and-release. If not, I have no objection (not that my objection means anything anyway!).

FWIW, only "members" can download the true images from the website.

Cheers

[CheffoJeffo]

2) No offense taken and I'm sure there's an inside joke or Schwarzenegger reference in there that I'm unaware of.

Exactly ... some little guy in a helmet has been doing that lately ... 

Cheers

[HoopstarsGarage]

It'd be nice to be able to "buy" required artwork from the "group"... maybe at $5 or $10 per piece..


Hoops

[johnm160]

Well I missed the first group buy 

But I would certianly be willing to contribute to a second. If anyone is organizing this please let me know.

[ChadTower]

4 - Why jump in after the fact and fool with something that others have already put their money and efforts into ? The 'peeps'  are saying that it SHOULDN'T be done and we should respect the vendors.

Every individual who was part of that group buy has the right to make their own decision in this regard.  There was no formal agreement on this and no requirement beforehand.  Would it make some of the other parties unhappy?  Probably.  Would it be violating some agreement or statement made on behalf of the group?  Not at all.

[CheffoJeffo]

4 - Why jump in after the fact and fool with something that others have already put their money and efforts into ? The 'peeps'  are saying that it SHOULDN'T be done and we should respect the vendors.

Every individual who was part of that group buy has the right to make their own decision in this regard.  There was no formal agreement on this and no requirement beforehand.  Would it make some of the other parties unhappy?  Probably.  Would it be violating some agreement or statement made on behalf of the group?  Not at all.

Agreed ... my objection above was based on an apparently incorrect assumption and does appear to try to speak for the group, when it is not intended to.

cheers

[JoyMonkey]

I'm not opposed to a second group buy (that would take pressure off me and show CAG a little more respect from the community to boot) or sharing the files with people outside the first group buy either. Right now I'm trying to concentrate on getting the files to the people in the original group and uploading the files to the gallery; both of these tasks is taking me longer than I originally expected.

Obviously, anyone in the first group that has a copy of the drive already is welcome to do whatever they please with the files; I'm not trying to bully people into not sharing or anything of the sort. Personally, I don't have the time or resources to share the files with anyone outside the first group right now and I've been bombarded with emails from people asking for a copy of the drive or access to the full resolution gallery files; so if I don't reply to your emails or PMs please don't take any offense.

[JoyMonkey]

Doing a second group buy should actually benefit Mike more than what the first group is doing which is putting up a website so people can download the stuff for free.  Mike gets nothing out of that.

If you took the time to actually look at the website, you'd see that we're not giving the artwork to anyone for free; only registered members of the site have access to the full resolution files and visitors get to see low-resolution watermarked versions.
And again, if you want to organize a second group buy then be my guest - nobody has any objections.

[ChadTower]

And it should be noted that the registered members are almost exclusively people who were in on the group buy.

[JoyMonkey]

And it should be noted that the registered members are almost exclusively people who were in on the group buy.

All but one actually, and I only gave him access because he's part of the MAME Artwork team.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Right Chaps!!  As there is no objection to a second group buy, I propose we do it.

The first "Group Buy"  was located on the US side of the Atlantic. I propose that the second group buy be located on the UK, Europe, side of the Atlantic.

As it was suggested, that I do it, and as I'm on this side of the pond anyway, then I'm more than happy to organise that. As for distribution amongst the group, there are some very good ideas coming out there. I personally have no objection to copying hard drives as I have spare machines that can be dedicated to doing the drive backups. So they can be set to get on with the job without interfering with anything else I'm doing.

I'm absolutely commited to the artwork being made available to ALL members who want and need it.

Give me 24 Hours and I'll get started organising the collection of funds and contacting Mike to arrange for the purchase.

First off, let me say I'm in for $50USD.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[jtfields]

Right Chaps!!  As there is no objection to a second group buy, I propose we do it.

Hey Fozzy,

I was actually logging on tonight to take the initiative to organize the second group buy myself.  Apparently you are beating me to it and I'm glad to see you are still interested as well.  Since I'm a newbie and you have been around awhile everyone would probaby trust you more than me so it certainly makes sense for you to spearhead this endeavor.  I guess I'll just lay out what I was going to propose so that you can consider my ideas for what they are worth.

I was going to start an entirely new thread since it's a little uncertain on this one as to who is still in and who isn't.  I was going to give people the option to say they are in for $50 or $25.  Obviously if someone says they are in for $50 then they are in if the buy-in is $50 or $25.  If they say they are in for $25 then they are in only if the buy-in is $25 but if it ends up being $50 then they are out.  If in the end 40 people sign up then the buy-in is $25.  If less than 40 sign up then the first 20 people who pledged $50 are in.  If less than 20 people sign up then the whole thing just dies.

Once someone (you, I assume in this case) has collected the funds and made the purchase then I would suggest we start distribution in order of sign up.  The first person on the list (we'll call him John Doe) sends you a hard drive.  You copy the contents to John Doe's hard drive and send it back to him at your expense.  John Doe then notifies the next person in line who then sends their hard drive to John Doe who then copies the files.  John Doe then sends the drive back at his own expense. 

In the end (for the most part) each person will have to pay for their buy-in, a hard drive, postage to send their drive to the person who is to copy for them and postage to send a drive back to the person they copy for.

Distribution should go in order of sign up with the exception of a few logistical matters such as:

1)  PC configuration issues (such as people who don't have SATA connections shouldn't be receiving SATA drives, etc.)

2)  Some might be willing to distribute to multiple people.  For example, I would be willing to have two people on the list send me their drives.  I'd copy to both and send them back.  Since both would simultaneously continue the distribution process the total time for everyone to get their collection would be drastically cut.

3)  Location should be taken into account to minimize overseas mailings.

Fozzy, since you are in the UK and I'm in the U.S. I'd be willing to handle things on this side.  You make the purchase after everyone signs up and sends their funds.  I'll send you a drive (and return postage since it's going overseas) and you then send it back.  I'll then start distribution to those in the U.S. who bought in and you can start U.K. distribution.

Obviousy I'm in at $50 or $25 or whatever the cost may be.  Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,

Todd

[SavannahLion]

I hate popping up and introducing myself like this, but I just couldn't miss this kind of opportunity. HI EVERYBODY!! I've been lurking around sucking in information for my arcade cabinet design. The Wiki is bitchen and the recent discussion about the interface is phenomenally informative, but I still haven't decided between an IPAC or KeyWiz.

But I digress. Count me in. $50, $25, whatever (not too high though, need money for the cabinet ). I'll pay for shipping back U.S. side and I'll post any further details if my contact(s) needs it.

I would like to point out two things however.

Drive packing. I haven't really lurked enough to know just how knowledgeable everyone really is, so I might just be putting my foot in my mouth. The drives should be carefully packed to prevent data loss during shipping. The retail packaging drives come in appear suitable, but the OEM packaging probably isn't suitable.

By that same token, some sort of checksum of the drive data should be done and the file should be added to the drive AND sent and/or posted somewhere so data integrity can be verified. MD5Summer looks good for Windows users, since it's compatible with Linux' MD5Sum utility, to generate the file output. In the unlikely event the drive is damaged or data integrity is compromised, we can run either of these utilities against the data and spot them relatively quickly as opposed to manually viewing 400+GB of files by hand and looking for corruption.

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. If for some bizarre reason things move faster than I expect, you can find me at Vortigaunt.com forums.

BTW: MD5Summer has this really annoying file association bug. It'll keep asking if you want .md5 files to be associated with MD5Summer, but will never actually associate the files. I still use this because I need the compatibility with the Linux generated md5sum files, the GUI makes people more comfortable and I'm just too darn lazy to find a better Windows utility elsewhere.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Thankyou to the two newbie guys that just posted.... Your ideas will be taken on board and considered. It doesn't matter if you're newbies or not your opinion as a member here still counts.

jtfields.... If you wish to distribute copies from your drive once you have one there is nothing to stop you from doing that. There are no restrictions on this and the more people who distribute it the better protected the archive is.

I don't however agree with you on this who is in and who is out business, where you say:

Obviously if someone says they are in for $50 then they are in if the buy-in is $50 or $25.  If they say they are in for $25 then they are in only if the buy-in is $25 but if it ends up being $50 then they are out.

It will be organised so that ALL members will have a right to access on the material and the right to a copy. There will be no exclusions and no individual member will be refused access. The whole point is to get the cost to the members who want the material way down from the initial purchase price.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[jtfields]

jtfields.... If you wish to distribute copies from your drive once you have one there is nothing to stop you from doing that. There are no restrictions on this and the more people who distribute it the better protected the archive is.

I don't however agree with you on this who is in and who is out business, where you say:

Obviously if someone says they are in for $50 then they are in if the buy-in is $50 or $25.  If they say they are in for $25 then they are in only if the buy-in is $25 but if it ends up being $50 then they are out.

It will be organised so that ALL members will have a right to access on the material and the right to a copy. There will be no exclusions and no individual member will be refused access. The whole point is to get the cost to the members who want the material way down from the initial purchase price.

I don't know why but I thought basically we had determined that it would not be fair to Mike and the vendors who've already purchased the package for us to start freely distributing the files after we get them.  The weeding system I devised would work for general distribution but in my scenario it was only limited to the list of people included in the buy-in.

Some seem to want to buy-in at $25 and others at $50.  So basically what I was saying was that if enough people signed up (40) then the buy-in would be $25 but if we only got 20 to sign up then the buy-in would be $50 and those who were only willing to buy-in at $25 would be out.  Again, I was assuming distribution of the material would only be to those who bought in.  If I understand your comments correctly you want everyone, regardless of whether they bought in or not, to have access to the material.  Which is fine if that's what is determined to be the right thing to do.

I'm still in at whatever the buy-in is determined to be.  So don't forget me. 

[Fozzy The Bear]

I was assuming distribution of the material would only be to those who bought in.  If I understand your comments correctly you want everyone, regardless of whether they bought in or not, to have access to the material.  Which is fine if that's what is determined to be the right thing to do.

No... that's not quite what I meant.... What I meant was that we will not limit the number of members who are allowed to buy into this. There will be no limits on who can buy into the group purchase. Obviously if we exceed the purchase price coming in, we can look at things like free postage of hard drives and other freebies and extensions to the archive.

I'm also looking at zip compressing the files with CRC checking so that we can fit the whole archive  onto smaller drives, thus reducing the costs massively, to each individual who wants it.

I'll post all of the buy in details, in a few hours time.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[CheffoJeffo]

I don't know why but I thought basically we had determined that it would not be fair to Mike and the vendors who've already purchased the package for us to start freely distributing the files after we get them. 

That was probably my doing as my response to you may have implied that I was speaking for the original group and that we all felt that way.

There are those in the group who share that thought, but there may be some who don't (as per Chad's response to me above).

Cheers.

[koz319]

Count me in for $50.

Also if there is interest in hosting these just let me know, I may be able to help. (See this  post)


Koz

[ChadTower]

If it means anything, I'm not saying I personally plan to distribute anything.  It's not a moral issue on my part.  I just don't have the time or hardware even if I wanted to do it.

[johnm160]

Well I am over on the U.S. side also but I would like to be in on this. How big of a hard drive do we need?

Count me in for the $50 or $25 whatever it ends up being.

John

I can also help with copies on the U.S side to minimize shipping.

[jtfields]

How big of a hard drive do we need?

My understanding is that the collection is 400GB although I think they were going to see if it could be compressed some.

[johnm160]

Thanks, so probably a 500 gig to be safe since the the formated size is smaller.

[Fozzy The Bear]

How big of a hard drive do we need?

My understanding is that the collection is 400GB although I think they were going to see if it could be compressed some.

The collection is just under 400GB but once they are zip compressed that should shrink down by a huge margin. A much cheaper 320GB drive should be able to hold the entire collection in compressed format... One word of caution though!! don't go buying your external hard drive until we can confirm the actual size that will be needed... unless of course you already have one available.

Hold on to your hats!! I'll be posting the buy in details in the next hour.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Teebor]

I can only afford $25 right this minute, possibly more later but I'm in just let me know where you want the money Fozzy.

Zip with MD5 checksum to maintain integrity is not a bad idea.

[johnm160]

I did not think images compressed that much.

Will wait to hear back from you.

 

[Teebor]

Depends on what the images are, bmp compress a lot and jpgs compress a teeny amount if at all normally.

I haven't look at the file list (which I think some other have so may be able to clarify for us) but the files are something like a photoshop file maybe?  I dunno??  anyone??

[CheffoJeffo]

Depends on what the images are, bmp compress a lot and jpgs compress a teeny amount if at all normally.

I haven't look at the file list (which I think some other have so may be able to clarify for us) but the files are something like a photoshop file maybe?  I dunno??  anyone??

http://www.arcadecompany.com/arcade-list.txt

[Teebor]

cheers dude, nice one 

Mostly psd's and tif's so compression should be good, small number of jpgs (in relation) so shouldn't have to worry an enormous amount

[Fozzy The Bear]

OK Chaps!
                   
Here's the buy in details.....

Mail is now on the way to Mike at Classic Arcade Graphics to arrange everything.

The buy in will be at $50USD per person. This is for several reasons.
1) the first buy in from the forum was at that level and it's only fair to those guys that were on that deal, that this one comes at the same price.
2) We need to do this promptly, because Mike may not continue to offer the artwork for very long.
3) At $50 each we only need to get 21 Members to sign up... the extra one there covers the paypal fees.

Payment of $50USD is to be made by Paypal. All funds must be paid in US Dollars.

The funds will be held in the Paypal account and in the unfortunate event that we do not reach the required numbers to buy the artwork you will then be refunded in full directly from that sum.

Should we reach sum required and the purchase proceeds, please note that there will be NO refunds after that time. So please be sure that you want in on this, if you make a payment.

The buy in entitles you to have a drive copy made from the zip compressed artwork.

You will either need to send a drive to me... Ideally a new external USB2 or Firewire Drive. Or I can obtain drives and just post them out to you. You will be responsible for the full cost of your drive and the return postage.

Once the files are compressed I will let you all know the full details of the drive size needed.

I will PM everyone in this thread that has said they want in on this, giving the Paypal address and details, please allow up to 24 hours for that PM to be sent:

.... Please DO NOT PM ME unless it is really really important, or unless you do not receive a PM from me. This is going to be a heavy workload as it is and having to answer a lot of messages that could have been done in the forum will make it twice as difficult to get things done.

Anybody who has not yet expressed an interest, in this thread, but would like to be in on this deal, please feel free to PM me for the Paypal details.

There is NO restriction on the number of members who can sign up for this deal. ALL are welcome! I will keep you all updated on the progress in the forum.

OK DUDES!!! LETS ROCK AND ROLL!!!

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[johnm160]

Sounds good, I am in, just waiting for the PM

[acevedor2]

I'm in.  Just let me know what paypal account
Cheers!

[Fozzy The Bear]

PM's now sent..... Anyone else wanting in on this purchase, please either leave a message in the thread or PM me.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[johnm160]

payment sent,

Thanks Fozzy

[spacies]

Ok,

So in a month or 2 I can come in on this?
Or are you going to have a cut off date?

Also, anyone in OZ going to buy in? I would rather get it from closer to home than UK or USA but I will be in regardless.

Good work.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Ok,

So in a month or 2 I can come in on this?
Or are you going to have a cut off date?

Also, anyone in OZ going to buy in? I would rather get it from closer to home than UK or USA but I will be in regardless.

Good work.

The sooner the better...... There will be an eventual cut off date but not immediately.  The objective here in the first place is to get the archive bought.

PM Sent.....

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[spacies]

Thanks,

I just maxxed out the plastic buying more stock.
Probably end of next week I will PM you.

 

[fixedpigs]

The objective here in the first place is to get the archive bought.

agreed...!

fozzy...check your pm from me...

[spacies]

Thanks for the PM Fozzy.

*edit*

 

[rockin_rick]

For copy software, may I suggest using syncback freeware from 2brightsparks.com?  This is an easy to use copy program that can copy an entire drive in one operation with (the option of) HASHING VERIFICATION.  Let's ensure that the archive does not get corrupted!

I've used this many times to make backups of stuff.

http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/syncback-hub.html

Rick

[Fozzy The Bear]

I've used this many times to make backups of stuff.

http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/syncback-hub.html

Rick

Thanks Rick.... I'll take a look at that.  I usually use "drive image" with verification turned on. But I will be checking every single drive before I send them out.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[PoDunkMoFo]

Maybe this isn't the proper thread for the question but how is the quality of this artwork.  Looking at the list of files I see a lot of in progress and original scan type files but not a lot of vectorized stuff.  I'm just curious.

[Bobbler]

Money in

To be honest I understand what people are saying about making the whole archive available freely online, but yet its almost a double standard as people have no objections to the availability of ROMs for the masses? Thats what confuses the argument a little in my mind. Those ROMs are also someones hardwork which are there for preservation, what is the difference with the artwork? I dunno maybe I am missing something here?

I personally do not see why we cannot do an on demand availability to items which people need to complete a restoration (regardless of if they where in on a group buy or not) via either something similar to the ROM burning services or make items available online privately for the person via FTP/web. This would allow some element of control over the entire set not being used for profit making.

Just my two cents...

[Teebor]

All my quids are in fozzy!

Heres hoping we get the money together to make a quick purchase 

[JoyMonkey]

Ok,

So in a month or 2 I can come in on this?
Or are you going to have a cut off date?

Also, anyone in OZ going to buy in? I would rather get it from closer to home than UK or USA but I will be in regardless.

Good work.

Hey Spacies, you might want to send diverdown a PM. He was in the first group buy and I'll be sending a hard drive his way (Victoria) soon enough. I think it makes sense for people that contribute to both group buys to scratch each others backs to make the distro process a little easier.

[CheffoJeffo]

Hey Spacies, you might want to send diverdown a PM. He was in the first group buy and I'll be sending a hard drive his way (Victoria) soon enough. I think it makes sense for people that contribute to both group buys to scratch each others backs to make the distro process a little easier.

That makes good sense ... once I hook up with Jabba, I can help out up here in Canada.

Cheers

[CheffoJeffo]

To be honest I understand what people are saying about making the whole archive available freely online, but yet its almost a double standard as people have no objections to the availability of ROMs for the masses? Thats what confuses the argument a little in my mind. Those ROMs are also someones hardwork which are there for preservation, what is the difference with the artwork? I dunno maybe I am missing something here?

The guy who did the work of collecting and tweaking the artwork is still selling this -- making it freely available would make 'his' archive worthless. Also, Scott from MAMEMarquees bought the library on his own as a business investment, which would be largely devalued by immediate and free access.

I personally do not see why we cannot do an on demand availability to items which people need to complete a restoration (regardless of if they where in on a group buy or not) via either something similar to the ROM burning services or make items available online privately for the person via FTP/web. This would allow some element of control over the entire set not being used for profit making.

Great ... or they could ask someone who was in one of the group buys (I have a couple of local folks getting files from me for their projects) or go to MAMEMarquees.com, as is already happening now.

Cheers.

[Bobbler]

The guy who did the work of collecting and tweaking the artwork is still selling this -- making it freely available would make 'his' archive worthless. Also, Scott from MAMEMarquees bought the library on his own as a business investment, which would be largely devalued by immediate and free access.

Great ... or they could ask someone who was in one of the group buys (I have a couple of local folks getting files from me for their projects) or go to MAMEMarquees.com, as is already happening now.

Cheers.

Dont get me wrong Cheffo, just wanted to hear the opinions on it personally.
Scotts work I hear is great (I have an order in with him at the moment), just a shame there are not more like him about in this rather niche market. He may actually see an upturn in sales if its more available to members of BYOAC as people dont always have the facility to print.

One positive from my point of view would be to use elements from those artworks on the disks to create my own custom piece or print them out in low quality to sample what they would look like on my cab before I invest $200 on a CP and sides from Scott.

Still its underway, though I dont actually need any artwork at present, I feel that warm fuzzy feeling for helping put something in return for all the knowledge I have acquired from reading worklogs, guides, troubleshooting etc etc on this fine forum by helping preserve something for future builders to take advantage of.

The community spirit shown on this board is well beyond most of the other places I frequent and feel glad to be a part of it.

[CheffoJeffo]

One positive from my point of view would be to use elements from those artworks on the disks to create my own custom piece or print them out in low quality to sample what they would look like on my cab before I invest $200 on a CP and sides from Scott.

To add to what I posted in the other thread, here's the site I've been putting together:
http://artwork.joymonkey.com

Uploading everything is pretty tedious, but eventually everything will be up there and people outside of the original group buy will be able to browse through low-resolution versions of everything, then request the specific pieces they're looking for in full res.

The way I see it, it's better to have a quick look at a piece of sideart and decide if it's what you want that to download a 2gb version of the same image only to see it's not what you had in mind.

Again, none of this is going to happen overnight, but eventually I hope it will work out in everyones favor without stepping on anyones toes.

Cheers.

[acevedor2]

Money sent this morning via paypal.  Cheers!

[Fozzy The Bear]

OK Guys!
                 The news so far is looking good..... We have six people signed up in the last 15 hours.....  So we're over a quarter of the way to the target.

 

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Fozzy The Bear]

I personally do not see why we cannot do an on demand availability to items which people need to complete a restoration (regardless of if they where in on a group buy or not) via either something similar to the ROM burning services or make items available online privately for the person via FTP/web. This would allow some element of control over the entire set not being used for profit making.
Just my two cents...

And a very valid and interesting two cents it is! I've no doubt that we can do that.

Lets get the purchase done and dusted before we start debating this though. Priority one, is get the files bought and paid for.

EDIT: UPDATE!

However!! On another interesting note, there is a move afoot, to further reduce postage costs and distribution time to the guys buying into this in the USA.

To that end, the Hard drive containing the master files, will be making a little diversion via New York on the way to the UK.  "Randy. T."  of "Groovy Game Gear" fame, has offered to do the distribution on the US side of the pond.  Personally I can't think of anyone that is more respected and trusted in this community, and whose record of prompt and efficient delivery is known to all here.    Thanks Randy!!

This will massively cut the postal costs and reduce the risk of drives being lost or damaged in the post, for the guys in the USA. It will also allow me to concentrate on the UK and European distribution and cut the workload.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[ChadTower]

I'm not sure I fully buy the "don't devalue MameMarquee's investment" argument.  He can't sell the items legally on the basis of their content so basically he's offering a printing service, yes?  Someone distributing the images is not devaluing a printing service.

[Wienerdog]

I'm considering joining in on ths, but I didn't see what happens if more than 21 members join in.  If we get 30 buyers, where is the extra $450 going? It seems like everyone should get $15 back but I also don't mind if someone is planning to keep that money.  I just want it to be clear where (or to whom) that extra money is going. 

Fozzy, you're a saint (but not THE Saint, of course) for coordinating all of this (and Randy and the others too)!

[RandyT]

EDIT: UPDATE!

However!! On another interesting note, there is a move afoot, to further reduce postage costs and distribution time to the guys buying into this in the USA.

To that end, the Hard drive containing the master files, will be making a little diversion via New York on the way to the UK.  "Randy. T."  of "Groovy Game Gear" fame, has offered to do the distribution on the US side of the pond. 

I appreciate the kind words, but I think Fozzy should read my PM again 

To sum up, I don't wish to be "the guy" in the US to do the distribution to everyone in the buy-in group (no way I can swing that kind of time.)  We'll need some help from another trusted individual in the US who would like to take the responsibility for that task, preferably someone who's been around awhile.  I just wanted to make sure that nothing happened to the drive or it's contents before anyone had a chance to get an image from it (customs delays, possible losses of data due to damage, x-ray machines, etc..)  and also wanted to keep shipping costs lower for folks here in the US.  I'll also purchase an extra drive and take a whack at compressing everything to it to get the size down.  This should help reduce the cost  for folks on this side of the pond.

Once an individual is designated to be the one to make sure the rest of the group get their drives filled, I'll duplicate either the original, the compressed or both images to them so they can get the ball rolling.  It should be the safest and most expedient approach.

RandyT

[johnm160]

Maybe 2 or 3 of us on the U.S. side can split the load of copying the drives so too much work does not fall on one person.

[Fozzy The Bear]

I'm considering joining in on ths, but I didn't see what happens if more than 21 members join in.  If we get 30 buyers, where is the extra $450 going? It seems like everyone should get $15 back but I also don't mind if someone is planning to keep that money.  I just want it to be clear where (or to whom) that extra money is going. 

Fozzy, you're a saint (but not THE Saint, of course) for coordinating all of this (and Randy and the others too)!

That's an easy one to answer and actually I think I did do that further up the thread..... Personally I'm not doing this to make any money from it. In fact the only thing this project has to do is break even.

If we get more people subscribing to this than we need then that money will be applied to postal discounts and or free postage or other additional items and freebies.... or at the members discretion a reduction in the initial $50 buy in price, which would be done as a refund.  So I hope that clarrifies things.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Fozzy The Bear]

I appreciate the kind words, but I think Fozzy should read my PM again 

Oops!! That's what I get for reading and typing things when I get home from work after a day of having the arcade full of tourists, screaming kids, drunks, teenagers and other general morons who can't even figure out how to turn off an emergency stop button, even when there's a big picture of it on screen in front of them and the words "TURN TO SWITCH OFF" in big bold letters underneath it, and then pester the cash desk, who pester me because "that machine doesn't work"    :   LOL

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Teebor]

Well I can volunteer to help distribute in the UK when the time comes

I will be able to accept SATA and IDE drives both in and out of enclosures but I will only handle a couple a week.

That just for the record

[jtfields]

You will either need to send a drive to me... Ideally a new external USB2 or Firewire Drive. Or I can obtain drives and just post them out to you. You will be responsible for the full cost of your drive and the return postage.

I already have two unused new 500GB SATA drives lying around that I was hoping to use.  Is that something you can handle Fozzy?  I don't want to also drop the $ on an external drive.

Anyway, I agree that it would be nice if one person could handle U.S. distribution to save all the U.S. members from having to ship a drive overseas.  I don't mind doing it but I'm a newbie here and I can certainly understand why everyone would feel more comfortable with a long-time member stepping up and taking that responsibility.  I still think my idea of each person copying for the next would work and would lessen the workload on any one individual.

[Fozzy The Bear]

You will either need to send a drive to me... Ideally a new external USB2 or Firewire Drive. Or I can obtain drives and just post them out to you. You will be responsible for the full cost of your drive and the return postage.

I already have two unused new 500GB SATA drives lying around that I was hoping to use.  Is that something you can handle Fozzy?  I don't want to also drop the $ on an external drive.

I'm sure we can work that one out..... Teebor says he is happy to copy SATA Drives, so we may be able to do it that way.

I still think my idea of each person copying for the next would work and would lessen the workload on any one individual.

The problem there is what happens if the chain gets broken.... for whatever reason.... You also have much greater risk of data corruption. On top of that, not everybody will have the tools or experience or time to copy a hard drive.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Bobbler]

SATA (upto 8 at a time if I can get it all up and running), IDE (upto , USB and Firewire 400/800 available here.

Got all the bases covered between my three machines Just need to get me a 500GB drive to start off the process which should be next week when pay day rolls in.

[Teebor]

SATA (upto 8 at a time if I can get it all up and running), IDE (upto , USB and Firewire 400/800 available here.

Got all the bases covered between my three machines Just need to get me a 500GB drive to start off the process which should be next week when pay day rolls in.

8 at a time!!!???  I want what you got   lol  I miss not having access to a bulk copier

SATA and IDE are not an issue for me I have an external caddy that happily accepts both so I don't need to open my machine up.

[Bobbler]

2 on board SATA, 4 on a PCI card, 2 on another PCI card should be doable I think. Dont know what the speed is going to be like though...but if I can get it setup so I can just leave it running overnight or something should be all good.

One thing I should add is that I am fairly new here but do have plenty of good feedback on Ebay as seller and buyer if people want any confidence in my "trustworthiness"

[Fozzy The Bear]

2 on board SATA, 4 on a PCI card, 2 on another PCI card should be doable I think. Dont know what the speed is going to be like though...but if I can get it setup so I can just leave it running overnight or something should be all good.

One thing I should add is that I am fairly new here but do have plenty of good feedback on Ebay as seller and buyer if people want any confidence in my "trustworthiness"

Teebor and Bobbler..... This is excellent... and exactly what we need to be seeing for this. Well done guys.

Now onwards.... We need more sign ups to this if it's going to work and we're going to be able to get this artwork bought and paid for! We're still only just 1/4 the way to the target.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Teebor]

/shameless bump 

any updates Fozzy??

Damned HDD's haven't turned up yet bloody supplier

[Fozzy The Bear]

/shameless bump 

any updates Fozzy??

Damned HDD's haven't turned up yet bloody supplier

No updates to speak of at the moment Teebor..... We're still at only 1/4 way there and no new sign ups     not sure why the interest seems to have died out on this....

Come on guys! if you want access to this artwork we need to make this happen soon!

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear) 

[JoyMonkey]

Just thought I'd mention that I resaved a couple of the original TIFs to see how they'd come out with LZW compression. I thought that the originals would have already been LZW compressed, but it seems not; I took a couple of 400mb TIFs, opened them in Photoshop and resaved them turning LZW compression on. This brought the files down to about 260mb.
LZW is a lossless compression used for TIFs, it's very similar to zip compression but it works by compressing data inside the file, so the compressed TIF is still readable and editable afterwards with no loss in quality. LZW compressing is a lot faster than zipping too.

If you can do this to every TIF on the drive (a lengthly procedure, but a little Photoshop script might speed it up), I think you might just be able to squeeze the full collection onto a 320gb drive.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Just thought I'd mention that I resaved a couple of the original TIFs to see how they'd come out with LZW compression.

[SNIP]

 (a lengthly procedure, but a little Photoshop script might speed it up), I think you might just be able to squeeze the full collection onto a 320gb drive.

That's a very worthwhile experiment Joymonkey..... Maybe it might be worth doing a file size comparison with LZW, compared to zipping the same file with maximum compression... and also will the file zip by any appreciable amount after LZW compression.

On a sadder note chaps.... I'm going to be away fro the next three days... as my Aunt died last Sunday, and I have to attend her funeral some miles away from here. So please don't expect any updates until Saturday at least. Hopefully by then a few more people will have signed up.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[johnm160]

Sorry to here that Fozzy,

Have a safe trip.

[Teebor]

Sorry to hear that dude,  take care and a have a swift journey

[johnm160]

BTT

I don't know if anyone else signed up but I figured It would be good to get this one page one again.

Hopefully we can get this done.
 

[Teebor]

^^ Aha someone thinking like me.

Good news is I should receive my 500GB HDD today and a spare, my new copy of Ghost has arrived (for disk cloning) and I broke the bank and ordered an extra SATA controller as I was inspired by Bobbler

So I am all set, just crossing fingers now.

[Bobbler]

Nice one Teebor, I plan on ordering my disk today/tomorrow too (hurrah payday!) . Still need to finish some testing on the multiple drive ghosting/acronis at the moment though as it didnt work as well as I would like. Want to get it running off a USB thumbdrive so that I can just plug it in without permanently dedicating it to the operation as I use the box for many other things too.

Anyone else looking for a 500GB drive in the UK, Staples are currently doing an Iomega USB2 unit for £99 which seems pretty good deal for the high street.

[Fozzy The Bear]

So I am all set, just crossing fingers now.

Nice one Teebor,
Anyone else looking for a 500GB drive in the UK, Staples are currently doing an Iomega USB2 unit for £99 which seems pretty good deal for the high street.

Nice one chaps, Teebor thanks for your PM....
I would have held off on buying HD's if I were you for a couple of days, we may have a significantly cheaper source in the pipeline for straight USB2 ones. Update on that later.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Teebor]

I was planning to buy them anyway this just gave me more of a reason to, its also why I am a bit strapped at the mo 

They've not turned up yet though so a little concerned

[AlexC]

I want in if it's not too late 

Let me know....

[Fozzy The Bear]

I want in if it's not too late 
Let me know....

Not too late at all Alex... PM sent.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[grundle]

I don't know what I'd do with 500 gigs of arcade art, but I thought I could help...

I used the open source "Ghost 4 Linux" to ghost abunch of hard drives at work.  The beauty is that you save/retrieve the image directly to an FTP server.  I even rigged it up to boot off a USB stick.  Might help at least with the overseas transactions.

[Fozzy The Bear]

I don't know what I'd do with 500 gigs of arcade art, but I thought I could help...

I used the open source "Ghost 4 Linux" to ghost abunch of hard drives at work.  The beauty is that you save/retrieve the image directly to an FTP server.  I even rigged it up to boot off a USB stick.  Might help at least with the overseas transactions.

Interesting Grundle..... Please PM me the details of exactly how you can help and we'll see what we can do.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[werejag]

if only i had money to give now

[DefJam]

Fozzy,

If you still have room, count me in.  (not sure when I'll get a drive to store it, but at least I can contribute to getting this done).

Jim

[Fozzy The Bear]

If you still have room, count me in.  (not sure when I'll get a drive to store it, but at least I can contribute to getting this done).

There are no limitations on who can sign up! ....... PM Sent!

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Angry_Radish]

Count me in as well
Also, I can help out if needed imaging the drives, plenty of SATA ports here, and run ghost/acronis on a daily basis (systems admin)

[Fozzy The Bear]

Count me in as well
Also, I can help out if needed imaging the drives, plenty of SATA ports here, and run ghost/acronis on a daily basis (systems admin)

Great! OK ..... PM sent.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[fixedpigs]

fozzy...what are we up to...?

it's too bad that there isn't something where people could thrown in money at any given time and it would keep track and reimburse anyone who had thrown in more...

like say the goal would be one hundred dollars...ten people throw in ten bucks...goal met...
then an eleventh person throws in ten bucks...it would then divide that ten bucks by eleven and reimburse everyone ninety-one cents...then a twelfth person throws in ten bucks and it divides and reimburses again...

that way the money would go back to the original funders...

is there any online accounts out there like that...?

[Fozzy The Bear]

like say the goal would be one hundred dollars...ten people throw in ten bucks...goal met...
then an eleventh person throws in ten bucks...it would then divide that ten bucks by eleven and reimburse everyone ninety-one cents...then a twelfth person throws in ten bucks and it divides and reimburses again...

That's exactly how it will work..... After we get everything done, any money left in the pot will be returned to the contributors, and yes, we can do that directly via Paypal as partial refunds.

After the initial group of signups. Out of the five or so people who have said, "Count Me In" in the last few days, so far only one of them has signed up yet.

If you'd signed up you'd have all the details.... everyone who has signed up, is being kept fully informed of the progress. At the end of the day it's their money on the line.  I don't really think it's appropriate to give the full financial detail in public, because It's not my money. But we are at roughly just over 1/3 of the full target.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[fixedpigs]

If you'd signed up you'd have all the details....

wtf...?

i just checked...my paypal transaction never went through...let me try again...

[Fozzy The Bear]

If you'd signed up you'd have all the details....

wtf...?
i just checked...my paypal transaction never went through...let me try again...

Thanks! your payment has arrived now... Please see the PM sent out to you.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Dervacumen]

Fozzy,
I'm interested.  Please PM me details.
Thanks!

[JoeB]

Fozzy, I'm interested PM me the details (I'm in Canada)  any Canadians in the group?

[Fozzy The Bear]

OK Dervacumen and JoeB PM Sent......

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[bulge2]

im in 


fozzy i have pm'd you

[Fozzy The Bear]

im in 
fozzy i have pm'd you

Thank you! PM sent.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Teebor]

This is good few more people in..  cool

[Fozzy The Bear]

This is good few more people in..  cool

Yes and no..... A lot of people have asked for the details, or said in the forum that they're in on this, and then that's the last we hear....

At the moment we're at roughly 50% of the original target. A PM update for all of those who have joined the group purchase will be going out in the next couple of days.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Dervacumen]

I have many (maybe 4 or 5) SATA and USB ports unused and can afford the downtime, however I've not used Ghost although I have it installed.  I'm in California.
If we need help copying files I can assist.
Let's GO!

[AlexC]

Paypal sent last Tuesday 2-20, just want to make sure you got it 

[ChadTower]

Just in case you haven't seen it, the stuff is no longer for sale on th seller's website.

[shardian]

Just in case you haven't seen it, the stuff is no longer for sale on th seller's website.

It's still there. What are you talking about?

[ChadTower]

That's odd.  Yesterday I was poking around looking for the file listing and it said it was no longer available.

EDIT:  That is what I saw.

[shardian]

Wow, that is interesting. If he already is testing out a new page, then the timeframe to purchase is probably about up.

[ChadTower]

It's probably an old page.  I got there via a link in our original purchase thread.

[melarky]

I'm interested in this as well.  Can I get that PM with the details?

[Fozzy The Bear]

It's probably an old page.  I got there via a link in our original purchase thread.

Calm down chaps.... That's an old page relating to the original offer of the artwork when it was at $7000. It's still available. Even if it does become unavailable we do have other alternatives in progress.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Fozzy The Bear]

I'm interested in this as well.  Can I get that PM with the details?

Thanks! PM Sent....

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Fozzy The Bear]

Paypal sent last Tuesday 2-20, just want to make sure you got it 

I sent you a PM last week Alex..... Did you not get it???  I'll send it again just in case.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[melarky]

Payment sent, thanks for organizing this Fozzy.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Payment sent, thanks for organizing this Fozzy.

Thank you! please see the PM sent out to you..

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[jtfields]

Sorry guys.  Got a little tied up!!!

Payment finally sent, Fozzy.  Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Sorry guys.  Got a little tied up!!!
Payment finally sent, Fozzy.  Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

No Problemo!!
                          PM Sent...

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Angry_Radish]

Same here, sorry for the delay, paypal sent!
Cheers!

[Fozzy The Bear]

Same here, sorry for the delay, paypal sent!
Cheers!

Thank you! PM Sent.....

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Fozzy The Bear]

OK chaps!
                  A PM Update will be going out tonight to all of the guys who have signed up so far.  The Graphics Buy is proceeding... this does not exclude anyone from signing up.

When we get all of this done, the balance of the funds in the pot will be divided between all of the members who have signed up.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[SavannahLion]

You should be seeing my payment by tonight. I got my paycheck 
But I deposited it too late to clear the midnight deadline so I have to wait until today to spend it 

[Fozzy The Bear]

You should be seeing my payment by tonight. I got my paycheck 
But I deposited it too late to clear the midnight deadline so I have to wait until today to spend it 

No Problemo!! I'll send you the update....

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[SavannahLion]

I misplaced the file listing for the artwork and the only link I can find leads to a dead end. Anyone got a copy of it or a live link?

[Fozzy The Bear]

I misplaced the file listing for the artwork and the only link I can find leads to a dead end. Anyone got a copy of it or a live link?

I don't have a copy of the file list.... but I will create one once the drives arrive here.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[CheffoJeffo]

I misplaced the file listing for the artwork and the only link I can find leads to a dead end. Anyone got a copy of it or a live link?

http://www.arcadecompany.com/arcade-list.txt

[Fozzy The Bear]

I misplaced the file listing for the artwork and the only link I can find leads to a dead end. Anyone got a copy of it or a live link?

http://www.arcadecompany.com/arcade-list.txt

Cheer Cheffo,   I'll copy that off in case anybody else needs it.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[whatzcrackn]

Can you PM me details.  I am late!!  I just found this thread.  Thx!!

[Fozzy The Bear]

Can you PM me details.  I am late!!  I just found this thread.  Thx!!

PM sent....

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[HippoDan]

If it's still happening, I'm in.   I suppose now I'll have to read the rest to find out how much/where to send it.

-Dna

[Teebor]

Nope, just wait for Fozzy to PM you the details, then your in


Don't forget the secret handshake and pledge though 

[Fozzy The Bear]

If it's still happening, I'm in.   I suppose now I'll have to read the rest to find out how much/where to send it.

-Dna

Yes it is still happening Dan,

                                               PM Sent!

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[ShadowStitch]

Awesome. I'm in. 

I'm a long time reader and lurker here, but a very shy poster. Glad to be in such good company!

For anyone in the US who needs one, right now Zipzoomfly has a pretty competitive price on a SATA 500gb WD drive: 130$ with free shipping. This same drive sells for 10$ more at Newegg.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101259

[wonder1]

hi all
          if it sill available can i get in ;

thanks Craig   

[ShadowStitch]

I think I may have found an even cheaper 500 gig: 109.99 w/ free shipping, from FRY'S.

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5080555

[Kremmit]

Wow, drive prices are really dropping like a rock lately. 

[Teebor]

yeah tell me about it 

I bought mine a while back and wish I hadn't now.

[fixedpigs]

http://www.buy.com/prod/cavalry-500gb-3-5-7200rpm-16mb-usb-2-0-external-hard-drive/q/loc/101/203268362.html

500gb usb 2.0 external drive...$120 after rebate with free shipping...

and it's a western digital drive...pretty nice...

and teebor...i learned a long time ago regarding computer hardware...if you always wait...you'll never buy anything...

i remember paying $180 for my 8.4gb drive ten years ago and was ecstatic that i got it for that price...-=)

[PoDunkMoFo]

http://www.buy.com/prod/cavalry-500gb-3-5-7200rpm-16mb-usb-2-0-external-hard-drive/q/loc/101/203268362.html

500gb usb 2.0 external drive...$120 after rebate with free shipping...

and it's a western digital drive...pretty nice...

and teebor...i learned a long time ago regarding computer hardware...if you always wait...you'll never buy anything...

i remember paying $180 for my 8.4gb drive ten years ago and was ecstatic that i got it for that price...-=)

Why can I not resist the urge to mention my first hard drive purchase a whoping 20 meg drive purchased at Costco for well over $200 dollars, but hey no way I was ever gonna fill that sucker up.

[MikeAlex]

Hi Fozzy,
Can I still jump on the train or has it left the station?

Mike.

[Chris G]

I think Fozzy has left the building.  Hasn't logged in here in a few days.  Seems to have coincided with me paypal'ing him some money for this thing.  Hmmmm.....   

[ShadowStitch]

I think Fozzy has left the building.  Hasn't logged in here in a few days.  Seems to have coincided with me paypal'ing him some money for this thing.  Hmmmm.....   

Man, don't even JOKE about that!   

[fixedpigs]

I think Fozzy has left the building.  Hasn't logged in here in a few days.

Last Active:     Today at 02:02:19 PM

[Fozzy The Bear]

I think Fozzy has left the building.  Hasn't logged in here in a few days.  Seems to have coincided with me paypal'ing him some money for this thing.  Hmmmm.....   

Funny Man!!!......   

Fozzy hasn't left the building fozzy has been busy with work for the last few days and hideously tired when he gets home after doing double shifts. As well as having an internet ISP, who are a bunch of morons, and cut me off for two days.

OK now on to the public news... The second group buyin is now closed to any new member sign ups in order to keep the initial group small enough to allow the UK and US initial distributor a chance to actually do this.

Once all of the guys from the initial purchase have their drives, we can look again at how it can be re-opened for further distribution to more people with some of the other guys in the group taking the reigns.

A newsheet PM will be coming out to all of the group members tomorrow.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[MikeAlex]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

[fixedpigs]

aw...

c'mon fozzy...let him in...-=)

then cut it off...

nothing worse than that feeling of having the bouncer hold out his hand right as you get to the door and say 'no more...'

(edit)
oh and for what it's worth...i am in no hurry to get my drive...so that should ease some pressure...

[Fozzy The Bear]

nothing worse than that feeling of having the bouncer hold out his hand right as you get to the door and say 'no more...'

Absolutely..... We'll make an exception in this case I've sent him a PM.

This will however be the last one for the initial group sign up..... Otherwise the workload on both myself and RandyT will be too much given that we both have a lot on our plates right now.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[MikeAlex]

I'm in, THANKS!!!!!!! 

[steptoe]

Hey guys / fozz

Been MIA, curious to know if any aussies have jumped on board. I also would like in, i know its late but if there's anything at all that can be done, please do.
I eagerly look forward to your positive respone.
Cheers Steptoe

[Fozzy The Bear]

i know its late but if there's anything at all that can be done, please do.

Can't do anything immediately because I'm now way too busy.... However if you give me a few weeks I'll try and sort something out for you.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[rovingmind]

 
oh humble arcade god

me too? when your not to busy?

i know its late but if there's anything at all that can be done, please do.

Can't do anything immediately because I'm now way too busy.... However if you give me a few weeks I'll try and sort something out for you.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[AlexC]

Any updates for the US folks?
Should I go ahead and get the external drive or wait 

[Fozzy The Bear]

Any updates for the US folks?
Should I go ahead and get the external drive or wait 

Randy T should be in possesion of the drive in the next few days.... once he is he's waiting for the power supply that I also sent over along with an adapter to allow it to work in the USA.

I'm sure Randy will update everybody on the US side of the pond when it all arrives. He does have a full list of all the US Contributors to the Buyin.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[RandyT]

As Julian said, I'm waiting on the power supply.  The drive appears to have arrived in good condition!

Once the PS arrives, I will do a dub onto my drive so there is a redundant copy and then start contacting the folks on the list.

RandyT

[ShadowStitch]

Spectacular!

RandyT, Fozzy; If you need any help or other computer parts or anything, please let me know -- I'd be glad to assist in the grand mission if I can. 

[Chris G]

For anyone in the US who needs one, right now Zipzoomfly has a pretty competitive price on a SATA 500gb WD drive: 130$ with free shipping. This same drive sells for 10$ more at Newegg.

Link

This one is now $117

Link

500gb usb 2.0 external drive...$120 after rebate with free shipping...

and it's a western digital drive...pretty nice...

This is one is now $115

Anyone seen any better deals?  Think I'm going to go with the external otherwise.

[fixedpigs]

http://www.buy.com/retail/coupon.asp?prid=80261253&adid=17581&dcaid=17581

seven percent off coupon that could easily used with that 500gb external drive...

 

(edit) aw...i see now that the drive isn't so cheap anymore...-=\

[fixedpigs]

a good time to snag this...
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=203268362&adid=17653&dcaid=17653
List Price:    $154.84
Our Price:    $129.95
Price After Rebate(s):     $99.95
Shipping:     FREE

then use this...
http://www.buy.com/retail/coupon.asp?prid=80261253&adid=17653&dcaid=17653

 

[fixedpigs]

one hondo again...

http://www.buy.com/prod/cavalry-500gb-usb-2-0-external-hard-drive-with-onetouch-back-up/q/loc/101/204647902.html

Cavalry 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive with OneTouch Back-up Software

List Price:    $159.99
Our Price:    $139.95
Price After Rebate(s):     $99.95
Shipping:     FREE
Buy.com Total Price:    $99.95

[Kaytrim]

nothing worse than that feeling of having the bouncer hold out his hand right as you get to the door and say 'no more...'

Absolutely..... We'll make an exception in this case I've sent him a PM.

This will however be the last one for the initial group sign up..... Otherwise the workload on both myself and RandyT will be too much given that we both have a lot on our plates right now.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

Julian,
Is there going to be another group sign up??  I'd like to get in on the next go around if there is one.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[Dervacumen]

Got my drive back from Randy about a week ago with very quick turn around.

Thanks Randy!

Haven't installed it yet, but I'm sure it's fine.  Just wanted to give a quick kudos to RandyT for helping with this project.

[Chris G]

Ditto - Randy is The Man!

[Fozzy The Bear]

Julian,
Is there going to be another group sign up??  I'd like to get in on the next go around if there is one.
TTFN
Kaytrim

I think it's extremely unlikely that there will be another group sign up...... However! it depends on where you're located, to be able to point you to one of the guys who has the drive already. Somebody should be prepared to do a copy for you. If you're reasonably local to me ( I forgot where you are, sorry) then, I'll be happy to do that.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Kaytrim]

Julian,
Is there going to be another group sign up??  I'd like to get in on the next go around if there is one.
TTFN
Kaytrim

I think it's extremely unlikely that there will be another group sign up...... However! it depends on where you're located, to be able to point you to one of the guys who has the drive already. Somebody should be prepared to do a copy for you. If you're reasonably local to me ( I forgot where you are, sorry) then, I'll be happy to do that.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

I am on the other side of the pond Fozzy.  Thanks for the offer.  I do know one or two here in the states that would be happy to help me out if I asked.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[JoyMonkey]

Since everyone in the group buys had to front a little cash to buy the original artwork files from Mike, maybe it'd be fair if anyone else that wants a copy of the drive donated a similar amount of money to Guru's dumping fund or another community related fund. Just a suggestion.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Since everyone in the group buys had to front a little cash to buy the original artwork files from Mike, maybe it'd be fair if anyone else that wants a copy of the drive donated a similar amount of money to Guru's dumping fund or another community related fund. Just a suggestion.

Actually JoyMonkey, that's not quite the case.... The second group buy did not come from Mike. Mostly because the group size was not large enough and we had an offer from someone else to copy the drive for us at cost only. The total cost each to the members of the second group was only half of the cost which the first group paid.

That said I'd support the suggestion of donation of say $20USD to the ROM Dumping fund.

At the end of the day, it's entirely up to the individuals that now have the drive copies how they wish to further distribute the material. There is no restriction attached to distribution of the material. If someone wants to make copies they are entirely free to do so.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[JoyMonkey]

Now that I think of it, since the gallery website is almost totally uploaded and I've still got a good amount of bandwidth to spare, I might open access to the full resolution images on the gallery to anyone that donates a small amount (maybe $10). I'll forward all donations to the dumping fund.

[ChadTower]

Make sure you pay your own additional bandwidth costs first.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Now that I think of it, since the gallery website is almost totally uploaded and I've still got a good amount of bandwidth to spare, I might open access to the full resolution images on the gallery to anyone that donates a small amount (maybe $10). I'll forward all donations to the dumping fund.

Great Idea!! You have my support for that.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Kaytrim]

Now that I think of it, since the gallery website is almost totally uploaded and I've still got a good amount of bandwidth to spare, I might open access to the full resolution images on the gallery to anyone that donates a small amount (maybe $10). I'll forward all donations to the dumping fund.

I'd be willing to do that.  With CPS3 being recently cracked the funds would be put to good use acquiring the games on that system for dumping.  Shoot me a PM when you are ready JoyMonkey.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[JoyMonkey]

Make sure you pay your own additional bandwidth costs first.

I'll keep an eye on my bandwidth used. Right now the gallery is only sapping about 5% of my monthly allowance, so I should be okay to let in a few more people. I'll be adding a "PayPal Donation" module to the gallery site today for anyone that would like to go that route.

Logged-in members of the gallery get an extra "Download" button for each image that links to a full-resolution high-quality JPeg of the original file, not the actual original file itself. There is no noticeable loss of quality in the JPegs (any current members can vouch for that), but I just wanted to remind people that they're not the original PSD or TIF files, but print-quality JPGs of the same thing.

[shardian]

There is no noticeable loss of quality in the JPegs (any current members can vouch for that), but I just wanted to remind people that they're not the original PSD or TIF files, but print-quality JPGs of the same thing.

I have printed a collection of marquees and my Jungle king art from the high res Jpegs and the print quality is fantastic.

[JoyMonkey]

Okay, I'm all set to take $10 donations from people using the PayPal button on the gallery website ( http://artwork.joymonkey.com ). When donating please leave a note to let me know what login name you'd like.
Once I get the PayPal email I'll have to manually set up your account, so please don't expect to get instant access, but I check my email very often during the day so it should be pretty quick.

[smac666]

Sounds like a great idea I'll do my donation now

Steve

[JoyMonkey]

I just sent The Guru's ROM Dumping Project a donation of $74.48 (for 8 new member sign-ups).

There's still lots of artwork bandwidth available at the site if anyone else wants to donate $10 for full access. http://artwork.joymonkey.com

[Disturbed013]

I'm in for another group buy if there is to be one.  If not, can anyone point me in the direction of someone who can load a HDD for me in the Tucson/Phoenix area?  Or anyone who would be willing to load the HDD for me if I ship to them and pay return shipping?  Of course I'll make whatever is determined to be an appropriate donation amount to the ROM dump fund too.

Thanks, please PM with any info.

D13

[Zeno]

I'm a little confused...

I payed the $10 donation in order to get access to the joymonkey site.  Perfect.

Is it recommended that I put them all on a hard drive? Can't I just download the files I need one at a time?

If I want them all on a hard drive, how do I go about getting this done?  Beg and plead for a person to load them for me?

[Hawk Daddy]

I just donated, and can't wiat to finally get that millipede cpo, and marquee.  Thanks yall.

Hawk

[BobA]

Thanks for opening it up for more members.  Donatied today.

[fixedpigs]

Cavalry 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive with OneTouch Back-up Software

$90.85 shipped after rebate and coupon...

the 7% off coupon lasts until july eighth...

[Level42]

The REALLY funny thing is that the guy who first suggested this groupbuy still doesn't have the files (But that's completely his own fault  )

I can wait a bit more, if 500GB is around the 50 bucks, I'll jump in, I have no need for the files now....just don't forget me guys

[ChadTower]

I'm in that same spot with the price of the drive and I was in on the first buy.   

[RandyT]

Cavalry 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive with OneTouch Back-up Software

$90.85 shipped after rebate and coupon...

the 7% off coupon lasts until july eighth...

The Cavalry externals seem to be good drives, and co-exist nicely on a USB bus with other drives.  It's the one I, and at least one other individual, ended up using.  Both times things went without a hitch and that's a great price.  I spent about $50 more on mine, but I guess that's to be expected the way storage prices are falling.

RandyT

[Disturbed013]

Can anyone in US who is willing to copy to HDD for me shoot me a PM please?

To make it fair, I will donate the said $20 to the ROM Dump Project or whatever you had to pay if you were on first round buy.

Thanks

[divemaster127]

I would be willing to do the same donate $20.00 to the rom project if someone would copy the files onto a hard drive for me, or whatever the price is, just shoot me a pm
dm

[ChadTower]

That wasn't the current offer, BTW.  The offer was $10 for access to the website.  The contents of the website are not the original source materials, they are JPGs of high enough quality to print from.  Asking for the original source material is a different matter.

The price on the first group buy was $50 but it was limited to the required number of people to meet the seller's asking price.

Now, I'm not saying no one will help you with what you want.  I'm just making you aware that what you are asking is not what JoyMonkey is offering.

[shardian]

The total size of Joymonkey's website is ~40 gb.

[ChadTower]

Cool.  Very cheap and would give printable JPGs of many things.  Wouldn't give the source material for making custom stuff using the material or anything like that, though.  I doubt you could do that very well using the JPGs as the original source.

[Disturbed013]

Thanks Chad, I understand the website offer.  I can't speak for DM, although I suspect our interest is the same.  I'm actually looking toward future projects and preservation of the material so I was looking for someone who got in on the first or second group purchase to get the source material.  I have no plan/intent/desire to sell/publish/post any of it.  Just personal use on restoration projects (and of course helping out members here).

If anyone is willing to do the copy, I'll pay/donate whatever they paid or feel is fair,  $20 or $50.  I'll cover the postage both ways too, just need a few minutes of someone's time, and I can try to offset that cost too...

Anyone???

[BamBam]

Eventually most of the artwork will be available to the BYOAC community in one form or another. Right now most of us that originally donated have access to the artwork, but as a courtesy to Classic Arcade Graffix we'd prefer not to turn around and give his product to the whole community for free straight away; doing so would completely devalue the artwork that he's put a serious amount of time and effort into and wouldn't be fair on him, or others that have bought the artwork as business investments (like MameMarquees).
I'm putting together a web-gallery with low/medium resolution versions of everything, so everyone gets to take a look at the artwork.

To add to what I posted in the other thread, here's the site I've been putting together:
http://artwork.joymonkey.com

Uploading everything is pretty tedious, but eventually everything will be up there and people outside of the original group buy will be able to browse through low-resolution versions of everything, then request the specific pieces they're looking for in full res.

The way I see it, it's better to have a quick look at a piece of sideart and decide if it's what you want that to download a 2gb version of the same image only to see it's not what you had in mind.

Again, none of this is going to happen overnight, but eventually I hope it will work out in everyones favor without stepping on anyones toes.

Joymonkey,

I took a break from this web site for the past few months and came back to see this post.  I visted your web page and made a donation.  This seems to be the best solution to the problem.
I am extremely grateful for your hosting of the files.  I can't wait to dig and see what is there.
Thanks again.  The site is extremely well done and very organized.

John

[JoyMonkey]

I just sent Guru's ROM Dumping Project another $113.46 of sign-up donations from the Artwork Site. 

There's still lots of bandwidth available on the site if anyone else want access to the full-size artwork files.

[SavannahLion]

Got the drive yesterday.  My contact must have had the patience of Job. I'm sure it was frustrating to him when my drive just wouldn't play nice. Sorry about that.

In any case, I ran MD5Summer against the drive. If anyone out there is willing to do the same so we can compare the results and validate the drive contents. It would be much appreciated.

Some of the files I looked at appear to have some minor corruption (The Hang-On marquee for example). I don't know if it's an artifact from the original or symptoms from the problems my drive exhibited during the copy process. Even though my source checked file sizes and existence it would settle my mind if I had some MD5 checksums to validate against.

The MD5 validation takes a long time. I clocked in almost five hours through the USB drive. 

(.zip file of the MD5 checksums will follow tonight).