Hard copies of homebrew games.

[Demented Gamer]

Starting to notice they are reproducing some homebrew games. I currently own a 161 and 1 plus a 64 and 1. I have collected a few original carts as well. I have no interest for any multi carts at this point since I own most of the games I like individually as original or bootlegs..

Seems like anything can be made. I wouldnt mind a copy of Karnov.

I also found a list of ports and homebrews so seems like most of these games are available in cartridge form for real hardware.

https://consolemods.org/wiki/Neo_Geo:Homebrew_Games_List

 

[ozzyOuzo]

that's just killing homebrews as well

 

[pierpa86]

Starting to notice they are reproducing some homebrew games. I currently own a 161 and 1 plus a 64 and 1. I have collected a few original carts as well. I have no interest for any multi carts at this point since I own most of the games I like individually as original or bootlegs..

Seems like anything can be made. I wouldnt mind a copy of Karnov.

I also found a list of ports and homebrews so seems like most of these games are available in cartridge form for real hardware.

https://consolemods.org/wiki/Neo_Geo:Homebrew_Games_List

Please dude, do not buy it, just do your own copy over an snk cart if you need karnov.

 

[Demented Gamer]

Not sure if thats a political response. Ive bought these carts before and they work fine and this is the easiest way to obtain them.

I see some of the developers of the games dont seem to have an issue with this as they almost expect this. I got this from the retro rgb site. Karnov can be downloaded and scripted by anyone. Having someone make the game for me somehow makes me less of a person I know. Btw the 161 and 1 cart which I also own is a bootleg but I see they are highly talked about in these forums with no negative impact. So since I own also original games does that make me superior to people who own sd carts? So if I script it myself and go through the effort of putting it on a cart then thats more honorable then if someone else does it? Maybe I should buy the original pcb made in 1987 since then thats the most genuine way to get it.

 

[pierpa86]

Not sure if thats a political response. Ive bought these carts before and they work fine and this is the easiest way to obtain them.

I see some of the developers of the games dont seem to have an issue with this as they almost expect this. I got this from the retro rgb site. Karnov can be downloaded and scripted by anyone. Having someone make the game for me somehow makes me less of a person I know. Btw the 161 and 1 cart which I also own is a bootleg but I see they are highly talked about in these forums with no negative impact. So since I own also original games does that make me superior to people who own sd carts? So if I script it myself and go through the effort of putting it on a cart then thats more honorable then if someone else does it? Maybe I should buy the original pcb made in 1987 since then thats the most genuine way to get it.


Please note that I’ve included the ability to build AES/MVS ROMs (in MAME format) in this.
If I don’t see bootlegs pop up on Facebook market place or AliExpress in the next couple of months, I’ll go back and release POW and Chelnov for MVS too.

Yes, developer of this rom do not like to see his work on market.
I understand that some people find it convenient to have someone make a copy for their personal use.
As far as I'm concerned, as I said before, make your own copy if you can on an original SNK card, do not buy it.
Everyone is wondering if we'll see more of his work now or if the game is over, sincerely

 

[Demented Gamer]

Yes, developer of this rom do not like to see his work on market.
I understand that some people find it convenient to have someone make a copy for their personal use.
As far as I'm concerned, as I said before, make your own copy if you can on an original SNK card, do not buy it.
Everyone is wondering if we'll see more of his work now or if the game is over, sincerely

So putting the games on any sd cart or the like is no different. I disagee with your opinion unless you are the actual developer but you rather me hack up an original cart. If the games were released in the first place I would have no issus purchasing the carts. But somehow downloading a modded game and doing it myself somehow is acceptable. Karnov was published by Data East USA. Saying anything is more than the original game and pcb then thats automatically defined as bootleg.

 

[Mageta the Lion]

If you're gonna buy from Ali express, get them from the blaze Pro shop, half the price of that.

Post in thread 'Golden Axe Port - Dev log'

Feb 24, 2025

If you're gonna buy from Ali express, get them from the blaze Pro shop, half the price of that.

• h0ffman

• 

This doesn't sound like all people who put in the work are automatically vehemently against buying a ready to go cart. Then again that might not be a go ahead and more of a "can't defeat them anyway". But in the end only they know if they don't say anything regarding this stuff

EDIT:
But @iq_132 seems to be explicitly against it for Karnov:
"If I don't see bootlegs pop up on Facebook market place or AliExpress in the next couple of months, I'll go back and release POW and Chelnov for MVS too."
https://www.neo-geo.com/forums/inde...onversion-project.102645/page-15#post-4559535

 

[Demented Gamer]

Tragic. As long as hes ok if I buy the original pcb.

 

[pierpa86]

The point is very simple: don't profit from my work since it's shared for free.
This is about home brew, not the original Data East game.
I have nothing against anyone; do what you think is appropriate.
I'm just saying I'd like to respect the programmer's wishes.
Don't make things too big, keep them simple, its a game.

 

[djsheep]

 

[iq_132]

So, I've had a lot of time to think about this. Here are my thoughts:

Recent events
I had an incident earlier this year where someone took an MVS to CD port (Eightman) I did, package it up and sell it for a substantial amount of money (IIRC, they stood to make $3000). They claimed I had "provided the software to them" (licensed). They reached out to me and said "basically I'm selling the art work". It felt like "I stole your boat, repainted it and sold it, but I didn't sell your boat, I sold the paint." Afterwards, someone on the NeoGeo hardware posted "Shame on you" to me for expecting people to not be scummy. The interactions were gross and soured me on doing any port work for months.

Cons of these bootlegs
* I'm not happy that people are profiting off of the work I'm doing (I have had similar things happen with the FinalBurn Neo/Alpha source code [see IGS' PolyGame Master "remaster" they released recently or the Capcom arcade thing that caused FinalBurn Alpha to get forked to FinalBurn Neo])).
* I'd be much happier having people donate to my Patreon so I can keep buying arcade hardware for development purposes instead of paying bootleggers (none of the Patreon money has gone into my pockets, it's all been development hardware or pcb/cartridges that require investigation for emulation [I'm one of the lead developers for FinalBurn Neo and contribute to MAME occasionally]).
* I worry that the companies that actually own the rights to the games I'm modifying are going to think that I'm granting "licenses" to the bootleggers to use my hacks, and might come after me.

Pros of these bootlegs
* I'd rather not have someone sacrificing actual cartridges to make bootlegs, especially of my half-assed work.
* The cost of making your own from real pcbs is probably similar to just buying the boots from Ali and outside many people's ability.
* I have no legal right to say what gets done with the ports after I hack them up and release them into the wild.


If you didn't want to read all of that, here are the takeaways I want people to have:
1. Bootleggers are scum.
2. I'd rather have people pay bootleggers a (somewhat) fair price than destroy original hardware.
3. What I want done with the software once I release it doesn't matter, as I didn't make the game, and I don't own them (legally).
4. If you are going to buy a bootleg, a donation, YouTube video/news post, or even just a "thank you", for what I've done helps me feel like what I'd done is appreciated.

 

[astro_zombie138]

So, I've had a lot of time to think about this. Here are my thoughts:

Recent events
I had an incident earlier this year where someone took an MVS to CD port (Eightman) I did, package it up and sell it for a substantial amount of money (IIRC, they stood to make $3000). They claimed I had "provided the software to them" (licensed). They reached out to me and said "basically I'm selling the art work". It felt like "I stole your boat, repainted it and sold it, but I didn't sell your boat, I sold the paint." Afterwards, someone on the NeoGeo hardware posted "Shame on you" to me for expecting people to not be scummy. The interactions were gross and soured me on doing any port work for months.

Cons of these bootlegs
* I'm not happy that people are profiting off of the work I'm doing (I have had similar things happen with the FinalBurn Neo/Alpha source code [see IGS' PolyGame Master "remaster" they released recently or the Capcom arcade thing that caused FinalBurn Alpha to get forked to FinalBurn Neo])).
* I'd be much happier having people donate to my Patreon so I can keep buying arcade hardware for development purposes instead of paying bootleggers (none of the Patreon money has gone into my pockets, it's all been development hardware or pcb/cartridges that require investigation for emulation [I'm one of the lead developers for FinalBurn Neo and contribute to MAME occasionally]).
* I worry that the companies that actually own the rights to the games I'm modifying are going to think that I'm granting "licenses" to the bootleggers to use my hacks, and might come after me.

Pros of these bootlegs
* I'd rather not have someone sacrificing actual cartridges to make bootlegs, especially of my half-assed work.
* The cost of making your own from real pcbs is probably similar to just buying the boots from Ali and outside many people's ability.
* I have no legal right to say what gets done with the ports after I hack them up and release them into the wild.


If you didn't want to read all of that, here are the takeaways I want people to have:
1. Bootleggers are scum.
2. I'd rather have people pay bootleggers a (somewhat) fair price than destroy original hardware.
3. What I want done with the software once I release it doesn't matter, as I didn't make the game, and I don't own them (legally).
4. If you are going to buy a bootleg, a donation, YouTube video/news post, or even just a "thank you", for what I've done helps me feel like what I'd done is appreciated.

Thank you! I use finalburn neo and mame quite regularly and wasn't aware of your contributions to those.

 

[Ape Cosplay]

Afterwards, someone on the NeoGeo hardware posted "Shame on you" to me for expecting people to not be scummy.

The NeoGeo "community" can be pretty toxic, that's a fact.

* I'd be much happier having people donate to my Patreon so I can keep buying arcade hardware for development purposes instead of paying bootleggers (none of the Patreon money has gone into my pockets, it's all been development hardware or pcb/cartridges that require investigation for emulation [I'm one of the lead developers for FinalBurn Neo and contribute to MAME occasionally]).

I'm sorry to say but it won't work. I've spent a lot of time and significant amount of money understanding PLDs and how to dump/bruteforce them, even when locked and registered. People are happy to use my files (available here and over at the pld archive) but nobody wants to contribute in any way outside of a few ones (@Darksoft). It is really a one-way, matter of love/passion work with nothing in return.

 

[Darksoft]

Come on people. You want to see cool conversions? Put your money where your mouth is. @iq_132 send me a PM and tell me.what you need. Maybe I can help.

 

[pierpa86]

The NeoGeo "community" can be pretty toxic, that's a fact.

I'm sorry to say but it won't work. I've spent a lot of time and significant amount of money understanding PLDs and how to dump/bruteforce them, even when locked and registered. People are happy to use my files (available here and over at the pld archive) but nobody wants to contribute in any way outside of a few ones (@Darksoft). It is really a one-way, matter of love/passion work with nothing in return.

When I share a project of mine after perhaps many hours of work, I'm happy with a like on my thread.
Its about sharing love and passion, just like a gift, nothing is asked in return except gratitude.
This fuels the community, which, thanks to everyone, hasn't died out and continues to thrive today.
I love this forum, and thanks to all of you, I want to continue experimenting and studying new PCBs.
I've learned a lot over the years.
Please don't stop, and for what it's worth, thank you all.

 

[Neo-Alec]

Starting to notice they are reproducing some homebrew games. I currently own a 161 and 1 plus a 64 and 1. I have collected a few original carts as well. I have no interest for any multi carts at this point since I own most of the games I like individually as original or bootlegs..

Seems like anything can be made. I wouldnt mind a copy of Karnov.

I also found a list of ports and homebrews so seems like most of these games are available in cartridge form for real hardware.

https://consolemods.org/wiki/Neo_Geo:Homebrew_Games_List

Sounds like a perfect job for a flashcart.