Posted By
Rüdiger
on 2024-04-19
13:30:44
|  Big Mac
| Title: | Big Mac | | Category: | Game/Platformer | | Release Date: | 1985 | | Language: | English | | Size: | 16K | | Machine: | PAL & NTSC | | Code Type: | Machine code | | Distribution: | Commercial/TA |
|  |
I recently found and purchased this version of Big Mac. Unfortunately this cassette is defective, the tape broke while loading. I hope I can get it repaired, but no guarantee.
 
Once I was able to load the cassette into my datasette and it turned out that this tape variant contains a different Big Mac version. Apparently the same as the other cassettes, but with a loading screen and a few instructions. Unfortunately I hadn't backed up anything, so when I wanted to test the B side of the cassette, a mishap happened.
Do any of you have this tape in your collection and would like to check it out?
|
|
Posted By
Waz
on 2024-04-24
05:44:03
| Re: Big Mac
Hi Rudiger,
That printed cassette seems similar to ones that exist for Rockman and one I saw recently for Formula 1 Simulator. When I examined the latter in a gaming shop a few weeks back (albeit in a well organised big box of games) I did notice the quality of the cassette didn't seem as good as say some of the BASF branded ones.
I know where you would have sourced this, and if at all possible please reach out to the shop owner - they're normally pretty good with refunds. It did look like the fact it was written on by the original owner to say which side actually loaded was a problematic tape to start with.
Both my originals are the black cassette label version. If I do come across one of these variants I'll get it and use my DC2N to do a transfer for the TAP image, if as you say it has a loading screen. Possible that it might have been like the older Tony Kelly games that used the slow loader where it had the instructions first, but then remastered to Novaload for its original release (minus instructions) - so this could well be a second master.
I'll keep my eyes out for you and if I see one, I'll get it. If I see two, would you like me to get one for you too?
|
|
Posted By
Rüdiger
on 2024-04-24
07:50:22
| Re: Big Mac
Such printed cassettes are more common with older Mastertronic titles. But I think my cassette will also be repaired and then read.
By the way, it's not a slowload cassette, but with Novaload.
Of course it would be great if the other collectors here would check their cassettes to see if anyone else has them. But seems quite rare.
|
|
Posted By
Waz
on 2024-04-24
18:48:36
| Re: Big Mac
The printed Mastertronic cassettes are common for early releases - however what makes these C16 and Plus/4 ones different is the font used for the game title - it's different from the first run of the printed cassettes on other formats. Here's two C64 ones as an example:
There's also one eBay auction at present for BMX Racers C16, where this cassette also matches the above:
Compare that to say Rockman, and you can see the font differences. The format isn't bolded and the game title is closer to the format name also. The game title is also in the same font as the format for the C16, but for the C64 ones, you can see the difference.
I'lll see if I can ask around some of the Mastertronic Archives folks and get a handle on when they might have been pressed - they do seem harder to find and by early to mid 1985 they'd already phased out the printed cassette and went for labels instead (normally white text on black label)
|
|
Posted By
C16 Chris
on 2024-04-25
12:16:31
 | Re: Big Mac
The Big Mac tape at the top right has a paper label.
The printed Mastertronic tapes are all without fastload.
|
|
Posted By
Luca
on 2024-04-26
02:04:02
 | Re: Big Mac
All nice stuff guys, don't you wanna also send us prettier photos to be uploaded too?
|
|
Posted By
Waz
on 2024-04-29
05:56:53
| Re: Big Mac
I can also facilitate a transfer to a TAP image of the printed cassette (without label) of Big Mac - second row, middle one, if C16 Chris is able to lend to that to me - or possibly Rudiger may be a better option to get a transfer done?
In the meantime I asked with the Mastertronic Archives folks, and effectively it's a case of whatever tape duplicator was available at the time, which is why the ones with the different fonts exist. No definite date of manufacture, but all the copies I've seen so far have been based around certain parts of the UK, which may mean a distributor more local may have been used. The printed label Big Mac one (top right of C16 Chris' images) is interesting too.
|
|
Posted By
Waz
on 2024-10-27
16:55:50
| Re: Big Mac
Good news folks.
I have managed to source another copy of the printed cassette version via eBay, so once it arrives I will get a transfer done and check it over.
|
|
Posted By
Waz
on 2024-10-30
09:41:59
| Re: Big Mac
The printed cassette has arrived, and I've archived a TAP image and it's in the uploader now. I've road tested that on YAPE and it works. Some notes:
* The Novaload serial is N103101
* The first bit loads and has a page of instructions in PETSCII characters, followed by a now loading screen as the rest of the game loads.
* The infiinte lives and air POKES work just as well as on this version.
Here's the loading screens:
 
|
|
Posted By
Csabo
on 2024-10-30
11:07:07
| Re: Big Mac
Got the TAP file, thank you! How do we distinguish the two releases (this new one vs the already existing TAP)? Also... should we create a second release record for this?
|
|
Posted By
Waz
on 2024-10-30
12:19:14
| Re: Big Mac
That's why when I uploaded it, I labelled the fiile as printed cassette. All the other standard cassette versions I have are the standard loader.
So when listing this TAP maybe use "White printed cassette version with instructions" or something, to idistringuish it?
A release record may be sensible, so those that own that (such as @C16Chris and @Rudiger) can add that they own that as well as the usual release.
|
|
Posted By
Csabo
on 2024-10-30
13:16:45
| Re: Big Mac
So... "Printed cassette" vs "Standard cassette" maybe? The printed one's loader still says 1985 on the screen, so it's not like we can tell if one set is the first release and the other set is a later one?
|
|
Posted By
JimmyCoupe
on 2024-10-30
13:33:07
 | Re: Big Mac
The loading screen says "Mr Chip 1985", could this be the reason for the loading screens removal? I'm thinking Mastertronic purchased the game from Mr Chip? maybe Mr Chip planned to release it and then they didn't??? I know it say's Mastertronic at the top of the loading screen but odd that they would decide to add a loading screen rather than remove it. Maybe sales were good and they did a second run :-)
|
|
Posted By
Luca
on 2024-10-30
14:09:54
| Re: Big Mac
@Csabo @Waz if this new release uses the Novaload N103101, it could simply be named as big_mac_older.tap, 'coz the usual version we already had, shows N103102 as serial number.
So now: whichi reason they had about publishing a version with no loading screens? Certainly not a matter of copyrights under the Mr. Chip Software label, due of the fact that Mr- Puniverse, follow up of Big Mac still claims to have been develped under them...
|
|
Posted By
Csabo
on 2024-10-30
18:33:13
| Re: Big Mac
I think "older" would not be a great label, that's why I'm pushing for a consensus on how to name the releases. (Unless we end up calling them "Original release" and "Older release"  )
|
|
Posted By
Waz
on 2024-10-31
06:00:07
| Re: Big Mac
For their Mastertronic releases (and also having checked, same with Gremlin too), that Mr Chip Software would always be mentioned as the developer with their copyright on the game screens - even later releases such as Xadium proudly displayed it on the title screens.
Although they were their own company and independent publisher until around late 1984/early 1985 (see Olympic Skier / Pacmania) it was much easier for them to do a publishing deal via Mastertronic for some time for budget releases and licence them that way. According to Anthony Guter who used to work for Mastertronic, all royalties went to Mr Chip directly for all of those. Shaun Southern also mentioned recently that "Mr Chip and then Magnetic Fields only ever licensed the IP of the games themselves, though with the Lotus games then of course Lotus owned the copyright to the cars images, etc"
So I'd say think of Mr Chip as the developer, Mastertronic as the publisher.
In fact, it was only around 1988 that they started looking at deals for budget with Alternative Software (Arthur Noid as well as some C64 titles such as Hummdinger (the elder brother of Dingbat) and some triple decker releases to include the likes of Super Snake Simulator and Project X)
|
|
Posted By
JimmyCoupe
on 2024-10-31
07:03:33
| Re: Big Mac
Not enough loading screens exist on C16 plus/4 games compared to its more powerful big brother, its was odd on C64 not to have a loading screen so I find this discussion and investigation interesting.
|
|
Posted By
Csabo
on 2024-10-31
08:27:17
| Re: Big Mac
@Waz: that's a good catch, I guess until this loading screen turned up, we didn't really know that this was produced by Mr. Chip Software. Would you mind adding that to the game's page?
I've been trying to look at the other similar games to see if we can follow some existing naming convention... But it's tough. Another question: do you have the cover for both releases, and if so, could you confirm that they are both 100% identical? (In that case, it would be tough to know which release one is buying, if all one has to go on is a photo of the case.)
|
|
Posted By
Waz
on 2024-10-31
19:21:40
| Re: Big Mac
Good question that is @Csabo so I double checked all three of my originals (two black cassette and white printed cassette)
The front cover is exactly the same on both as is the side and back blurb.
The inside is where it differs - the printed cassette has just the English instructions (same as the alternative cassette back cover) whereas the black cassettes have both variants: one with the instructions in English, Italian and German (same as the standard cassette back cover) and the other just the English instructions as above.
So definitely what I would imagine happened here was that an initial print run had the instructions in one language only - then a second run with extra languages, and then the cassette bundled with it - so the printed ones first then replaced by the black cassette (and also the black label on white cassette too).
I'll add the producer credit to the game too (and in fact I also did the same for Bandits At Zero, as the loading screen for that clearly says Mr Chip Software on it (and a Shaun Southern classic too)
|
|
Posted By
JimmyCoupe
on 2024-11-01
06:07:19
| Re: Big Mac
Can anyone educate me in why most C16 plus4 games didn't have loading screens? C64 used to have awesome loading screens, but when it came to the C16 plus4 the rare time we had one they would be very text based. I don't really know of a C16 plus4 game with an excellent loading screen. Thinking back I think my International Karate tape might of had the best loading screen and that is nothing to be proud of. Is this due to something technical stopping the C16 plus4 or was it just developers rushing things out?
|
|
Posted By
Rüdiger
on 2024-11-01
07:09:39
| Re: Big Mac
This is probably because for many C16 programs a loading screen is hardly worthwhile due to the relatively short loading time with fastloader.
|
|
Posted By
JimmyCoupe
on 2024-11-01
07:50:57
| Re: Big Mac
I do appreciate that but even the short C64 loaders could and would have a groovy loading screen. Atari 800XL was no better, that also suffered when it came to loading screens and that computer took double the time to load any game by tape .
|
|
Posted By
Csabo
on 2024-11-01
08:59:22
| Re: Big Mac
@Waz thanks for adding it What you're describing about the releases seems reasonable, about as correct as we can get I think. Here's what I propose:
Let's call the TAP file "with loading screen" - that's about as descriptive as we can get. Let's call the two releases "English only instructions" and "Multi-language instructions"? I suspect that the cassette color varies "randomly", whatever the company that produced them had in stock.
What do you all think?
|
|
Posted By
Luca
on 2024-11-01
13:13:06
| Re: Big Mac
@Csabo sounds fair and reasonable.
|
|
Posted By
Rüdiger
on 2024-11-02
12:40:37
| Re: Big Mac
I'm still waiting for the new TAP to upload ...
|
|
Posted By
Csabo
on 2024-11-02
14:34:12
| Re: Big Mac
Wait no more 
Things to note: whoever already marked this game as owned (@Waz @Crown @Chris @Ati), please check which version you actually have (now that it has been split to English vs Multi-language).
If someone could submit a cassette photo of the printed one, that would be great!
|
|
Posted By
Waz
on 2024-11-04
06:58:06
| Re: Big Mac
There is one of mine in the uploader for you now
|
|
Posted By
Csabo
on 2024-11-04
08:12:23
| Re: Big Mac
It's up on the site, thank you!
|
|
