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Bitmap Books and Sam Dyer are working on a beautiful licensed Sega Master System book "Sega Master System: a visual compendium".

The project is currently being funded through Kickstarter, with only 10 days to go!. Additional pre-orders will allow the book to grow and add extra contents (it is currently aimed to be about 364 pages, maybe more add additional stretch goals are reached!). The final product should be available in February 2019 but remember it is will be more difficult to order it past the end of the crowdfunding round.

If you are interested, see the Kickstarter page for lots more details and pictures!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2146199819/sega-master-system-a-visual-compendium

visual_compendium-main.jpg (238.09 KB)

visual_compendium-fantasy_zone.jpg (26.93 KB)

visual_compendium-mark_cerny_itw.jpg (42.98 KB)

visual_compendium-slip_case.jpg (24.31 KB)

visual_compendium-main-small.jpg (48.64 KB)

I went the for the hardcover version. Bring of Feb 2019!

Small trivia: I wrote some short reviews for 3 games so I'll be the book :) it was really fun writing them. Looking forward to read the others.

Bock wrote

Small trivia: I wrote some short reviews for 3 games so I'll be the book :) it was really fun writing them. Looking forward to read the others.

I sent a msg to Sam over Twitter a few months ago and asked if he'd contacted anyone from SMS Power
He said he was in contact with you so that is awesome! :)

So excited about this book. I've backed it too and also ordered in his previous NES, SNES and Point & Click adventure books which just arrived and have blown me away!

Sadly due to licensing issues his MS book is not going to be covering any of the Wonderboy Games though. :(

The Wonder Boy situation is really frustrating for every one.. Many of us pushed to help Sam with the licensing and even people at Sega Europe tried hard but for various reasons I cannot detail it isn't currently possible.

Bock wrote

The Wonder Boy situation is really frustrating for every one.. Many of us pushed to help Sam with the licensing and even people at Sega Europe tried hard but for various reasons I cannot detail it isn't currently possible.

What does this mean precisely? Will there be no screenshot of any Wonder Boy game or will these games not even be mentioned?

Wait, is Wonder Boy forbidden to appear in books now or what the heck.

Knaeckebrot wrote

What does this mean precisely? Will there be no screenshot of any Wonder Boy game or will these games not even be mentioned?

As far as I understand the book can't use screenshots/visual material of any of the WB games.

Quote

Wait, is Wonder Boy forbidden to appear in books now or what the heck.

Yes unfortunately. As pointed out we all tried really hard to help fix that situation, but there was a tangible risk that SOJ would suddenly decide to retract themselves for the entirety of the book.

I noticed in recent pictures that Sam has put the Monica Brazllian SMS Wonder boy conversions in the book instead. Nice way around the problem haha.. exact same game but with a different name and main character sprite lol. Good on him!

You will find my name on the list of supporters as well. It´s a real beautiful book and I am excited to read through it.

Uh oh.. there's been a fire at the printers in China! Our books 'may' be destroyed. Thankfully they're insured though but this will mean a longer wait.

Not sure if my account can post links yet but I'll give this a shot!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2146199819/sega-master-system-a-visual-compendium/posts/2394924

Mine arrived Saturday 18-May. I made a forum post with a photo but I guess it's still being approved for the forum.

It's a very nicely finished product. There's lots of insight in the written content. The book itself is full of colour which to me is significant because being a kid I was dead set on buying a C64 until I saw my friend's new SMS II and I thought 'wow, the C64 has nothing on the colours and graphics of this thing!'.

I read all 3 of Omar's (aka Bock) reviews in the book which I have to say are quite well written. Based on Omar's review I'm now chasing down Gangster Town.

Mine also arrived this week, very happy about it :)
Glad you enjoyed my weird reviews!

(Your forum post didn't go through, do you have a copy of the text? There's no approval mechanism here, just the forum code ignores some posting attempts when they look suspicious (too fast, too new) and puts you back to the posting page. Sorry if you lost your review :()

Probably too new? XD

Here's the photo:

DSC_1536.JPG (3.13 MB)

Arrivé

I also got mine, with cute 3D-glasses and everything :) It looks super well designed and executed, and I look forward to read the different sections in the evenings to come. This is surely the visual compendium the Master System deserves!

hang-on wrote

I also got mine, with cute 3D-glasses and everything :) It looks super well designed and executed, and I look forward to read the different sections in the evenings to come. This is surely the visual compendium the Master System deserves!

I agree, it´s a beautiful masterpiece. I got it today and I´m super excited to read through it!

Mine arrived today. Really looking forward to reading through it. It looks and feels top quality.

Hope you guys like my little Putt & Putter review :D

Mine arrived this week too.. looks so good!!!! :)

60624188_2392775820936325_4030620683225530368_n.jpg (124.64 KB)

61131842_1110700182454351_6910459721925263360_n.jpg (140.11 KB)

Got mine, too. Really a quality product. It was a pleasant surprise when it "suddenly" arrived, seemingly out of the blue, as I had, in fact, completely forgotten that I had supported that particular kickstarter quite a while ago.

I was delighted when I found out that the book doesn't only feature contributions by Bock, but also a few by Heinrich Lenhardt, who used to be one of my favourite reviewers back then, which makes it all the more awesome. You know, this guy.

I liked the SMS book enough that I ordered the C64 and Amiga versions, too.

I really enjoyed this book, and I return frequently to It. However, with subsequent readings my take on the games' selection has changed a bit.

At First It seemed like 99% of the truly great stuff had managed to be into the book. On a closer scrutiny however, it's weird for example that Arc's Daimakaimura was omitted in favor of Tiertex' Strider.

I know that handling the rights must have been a torture while making the book. And definitely there's a huge stake of Sega's first party output... As a consequence of this, some of the european flavor of the SMS gets inevitably diluted. Gauntlet, Impossible Mission, Desert Strike, Alien 3 and Mortal Kombat certainly would have deserved a spotlight. Robocod too.

On the Japanese front, Rastan is absent and Streets of Rage left out for the less accomplished SoR2...

There are also some obvious duds which get more praise than they deserve: one gets the impression that the authors liked Rainbow Island as much as Final Bubble Bobble, which would be all kinds of wrong...

Nitpicks aside, I still think it's awesome and the best Master System book around :)

Author	Message
Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8710 Location: Paris, France	Sega Master System: a visual compendium (Kickstarter Book) Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2018 3:37 pm
	Bitmap Books and Sam Dyer are working on a beautiful licensed Sega Master System book "Sega Master System: a visual compendium". The project is currently being funded through Kickstarter, with only 10 days to go!. Additional pre-orders will allow the book to grow and add extra contents (it is currently aimed to be about 364 pages, maybe more add additional stretch goals are reached!). The final product should be available in February 2019 but remember it is will be more difficult to order it past the end of the crowdfunding round. If you are interested, see the Kickstarter page for lots more details and pictures! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2146199819/sega-master-system-a-visual-compendium visual_compendium-main.jpg (238.09 KB) visual_compendium-fantasy_zone.jpg (26.93 KB) visual_compendium-mark_cerny_itw.jpg (42.98 KB) visual_compendium-slip_case.jpg (24.31 KB) visual_compendium-main-small.jpg (48.64 KB)

asynchronous Joined: 14 Aug 2000 Posts: 755 Location: Adelaide, Australia	Sega Master System: a visual compendium (Kickstarter Book) Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:23 am
	I went the for the hardcover version. Bring of Feb 2019!

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8710 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 11:16 am
	Small trivia: I wrote some short reviews for 3 games so I'll be the book :) it was really fun writing them. Looking forward to read the others.

SteveProXNA Joined: 12 Oct 2015 Posts: 194 Location: Ireland	Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:44 pm
	Bock wrote Small trivia: I wrote some short reviews for 3 games so I'll be the book :) it was really fun writing them. Looking forward to read the others. I sent a msg to Sam over Twitter a few months ago and asked if he'd contacted anyone from SMS Power He said he was in contact with you so that is awesome! :)

Blake00 Joined: 26 Sep 2018 Posts: 62 Location: South Australia	Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 11:26 am
	So excited about this book. I've backed it too and also ordered in his previous NES, SNES and Point & Click adventure books which just arrived and have blown me away! Sadly due to licensing issues his MS book is not going to be covering any of the Wonderboy Games though. :(

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8710 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 11:35 am
	The Wonder Boy situation is really frustrating for every one.. Many of us pushed to help Sam with the licensing and even people at Sega Europe tried hard but for various reasons I cannot detail it isn't currently possible.

Knaeckebrot Joined: 03 Aug 2017 Posts: 61 Location: Munich	Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 3:12 pm
	Bock wrote The Wonder Boy situation is really frustrating for every one.. Many of us pushed to help Sam with the licensing and even people at Sega Europe tried hard but for various reasons I cannot detail it isn't currently possible. What does this mean precisely? Will there be no screenshot of any Wonder Boy game or will these games not even be mentioned?

ICEknight Joined: 03 Apr 2001 Posts: 601 Location: Asturias	Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2018 10:55 pm
	Wait, is Wonder Boy forbidden to appear in books now or what the heck.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8710 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:32 pm
	Knaeckebrot wrote What does this mean precisely? Will there be no screenshot of any Wonder Boy game or will these games not even be mentioned? As far as I understand the book can't use screenshots/visual material of any of the WB games. Quote Wait, is Wonder Boy forbidden to appear in books now or what the heck. Yes unfortunately. As pointed out we all tried really hard to help fix that situation, but there was a tangible risk that SOJ would suddenly decide to retract themselves for the entirety of the book.

Blake00 Joined: 26 Sep 2018 Posts: 62 Location: South Australia	Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:04 am
	I noticed in recent pictures that Sam has put the Monica Brazllian SMS Wonder boy conversions in the book instead. Nice way around the problem haha.. exact same game but with a different name and main character sprite lol. Good on him!

Gordman Joined: 21 Aug 2012 Posts: 365 Location: Berlin, Germany	Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 8:20 pm
	You will find my name on the list of supporters as well. It´s a real beautiful book and I am excited to read through it.

Blake00 Joined: 26 Sep 2018 Posts: 62 Location: South Australia	Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 4:08 am
	Uh oh.. there's been a fire at the printers in China! Our books 'may' be destroyed. Thankfully they're insured though but this will mean a longer wait. Not sure if my account can post links yet but I'll give this a shot! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2146199819/sega-master-system-a-visual-compendium/posts/2394924

asynchronous Joined: 14 Aug 2000 Posts: 755 Location: Adelaide, Australia	Sega Master System: a visual compendium (Kickstarter Book) Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 3:04 am
	Mine arrived Saturday 18-May. I made a forum post with a photo but I guess it's still being approved for the forum. It's a very nicely finished product. There's lots of insight in the written content. The book itself is full of colour which to me is significant because being a kid I was dead set on buying a C64 until I saw my friend's new SMS II and I thought 'wow, the C64 has nothing on the colours and graphics of this thing!'. I read all 3 of Omar's (aka Bock) reviews in the book which I have to say are quite well written. Based on Omar's review I'm now chasing down Gangster Town.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8710 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 7:34 am
	Mine also arrived this week, very happy about it :) Glad you enjoyed my weird reviews! (Your forum post didn't go through, do you have a copy of the text? There's no approval mechanism here, just the forum code ignores some posting attempts when they look suspicious (too fast, too new) and puts you back to the posting page. Sorry if you lost your review :()

asynchronous Joined: 14 Aug 2000 Posts: 755 Location: Adelaide, Australia	SEGA Master System: a visual Compendium, on kickstarter now Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 10:04 am
	Probably too new? XD Here's the photo: DSC_1536.JPG (3.13 MB) Arrivé

hang-on Joined: 23 Mar 2013 Posts: 611 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark	Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 6:51 pm
	I also got mine, with cute 3D-glasses and everything :) It looks super well designed and executed, and I look forward to read the different sections in the evenings to come. This is surely the visual compendium the Master System deserves!

Gordman Joined: 21 Aug 2012 Posts: 365 Location: Berlin, Germany	Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 9:30 pm
	hang-on wrote I also got mine, with cute 3D-glasses and everything :) It looks super well designed and executed, and I look forward to read the different sections in the evenings to come. This is surely the visual compendium the Master System deserves! I agree, it´s a beautiful masterpiece. I got it today and I´m super excited to read through it!

james costello Joined: 17 Dec 2005 Posts: 537 Location: England	Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 10:49 pm
	Mine arrived today. Really looking forward to reading through it. It looks and feels top quality. Hope you guys like my little Putt & Putter review :D

Blake00 Joined: 26 Sep 2018 Posts: 62 Location: South Australia	Posted: Thu May 23, 2019 8:05 am
	Mine arrived this week too.. looks so good!!!! :) 60624188_2392775820936325_4030620683225530368_n.jpg (124.64 KB) 61131842_1110700182454351_6910459721925263360_n.jpg (140.11 KB)

Kagesan Joined: 01 Feb 2014 Posts: 895	Posted: Sun May 26, 2019 8:54 am
Kagesan Joined: 01 Feb 2014 Posts: 895	Got mine, too. Really a quality product. It was a pleasant surprise when it "suddenly" arrived, seemingly out of the blue, as I had, in fact, completely forgotten that I had supported that particular kickstarter quite a while ago. I was delighted when I found out that the book doesn't only feature contributions by Bock, but also a few by Heinrich Lenhardt, who used to be one of my favourite reviewers back then, which makes it all the more awesome. You know, this guy. I liked the SMS book enough that I ordered the C64 and Amiga versions, too.

Aleste Joined: 20 Sep 2019 Posts: 33 Location: Italy	Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:00 am
Aleste Joined: 20 Sep 2019 Posts: 33 Location: Italy	I really enjoyed this book, and I return frequently to It. However, with subsequent readings my take on the games' selection has changed a bit. At First It seemed like 99% of the truly great stuff had managed to be into the book. On a closer scrutiny however, it's weird for example that Arc's Daimakaimura was omitted in favor of Tiertex' Strider. I know that handling the rights must have been a torture while making the book. And definitely there's a huge stake of Sega's first party output... As a consequence of this, some of the european flavor of the SMS gets inevitably diluted. Gauntlet, Impossible Mission, Desert Strike, Alien 3 and Mortal Kombat certainly would have deserved a spotlight. Robocod too. On the Japanese front, Rastan is absent and Streets of Rage left out for the less accomplished SoR2... There are also some obvious duds which get more praise than they deserve: one gets the impression that the authors liked Rainbow Island as much as Final Bubble Bobble, which would be all kinds of wrong... Nitpicks aside, I still think it's awesome and the best Master System book around :)

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