The 8-Bit Book - 1981 to 199x - COMING SOON!!!

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andrew_rollings
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The 8-Bit Book - 1981 to 199x - COMING SOON!!!

Post by andrew_rollings »

Hi all...

I'm sure that lots of people here are already familiar with Merman's Commodore 64 book (with a foreword by Mr. Minter himself), but I'm not sure how many of you know about the third book in the series which is nearly completed and due to be sent off to the printers in the next week or so...

Anyway, in case anyone isn't aware of it, it can be found HERE. It's definitely a labour of love, and we most certainly don't expect to get rich off it, but we would like to make sure we cover our printing costs :)

The new book covers a whole range of 8-bit platforms (details on the hiive books website) and (if I may say) I think it's the best in the series so far. Jerry Ellis has done a fantastic job.

The only new thing this time is that we are printing 100 signed and numbered HARD-BACK copies along with the standard soft-backs... These will be available as an upgrade option, offered first to people who have pre-ordered. It will not be offered for sale on the website until everyone who has pre-ordered has had the opportunity to upgrade.

There is a preview chapter up on the website, viewable by clicking on the book cover on the book detail page.

Thanks for your time and comments are welcome.

Andrew
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Re: The 8-Bit Book - 1981 to 199x - COMING SOON!!!

Post by piku »

Cool :)

I liked the Spectrum book... the ink smelled good too ;)
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Re: The 8-Bit Book - 1981 to 199x - COMING SOON!!!

Post by andrew_rollings »

piku wrote:Cool :)

I liked the Spectrum book... the ink smelled good too ;)
Then you'll love this one...

Lots of the smelly black ink for that retro-recreational high!

Andrew
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Re: The 8-Bit Book - 1981 to 199x - COMING SOON!!!

Post by andrew_rollings »

Everyone who has pre-ordered so far will get a free upgrade to hardback (if they want) as a way of saying "Thanks".

(note: if you ordered more than one, only one of them will be upgraded).

I'm not sure what the exact upgrade price will be for everyone else, but I expect it to be of the order of a tenner...

Andrew
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Re: The 8-Bit Book - 1981 to 199x - COMING SOON!!!

Post by andrew_rollings »

And, in case anyone is interested, here is the final cover design!

Image

Thanks
Andrew
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Re: The 8-Bit Book - 1981 to 199x - COMING SOON!!!

Post by Cassiel »

andrew_rollings wrote:Everyone who has pre-ordered so far will get a free upgrade to hardback (if they want) as a way of saying "Thanks".

(note: if you ordered more than one, only one of them will be upgraded).

I'm not sure what the exact upgrade price will be for everyone else, but I expect it to be of the order of a tenner...

Andrew
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Re: The 8-Bit Book - 1981 to 199x - COMING SOON!!!

Post by andrew_rollings »

Just to keep everyone up to date on the progress, here is Jerry Ellis' post from the retrogamer forum.

Thanks
Andrew
jerellis1 wrote:Just another quickie (how many quickies is that now?) to let interested parties know that we've made a few subtle changes to the Hiive Books website ahead of the 8-Bit Book's imminent release.

The home page now features the final, FINAL cover, which looks a lot like the previous revision but now boasts an extra green line of platform names between the top and bottom halves of the title. Some of the platform names have also been tweaked ever so slightly so as to make them fall into line with the way platform names have been written throughout the book.

Once you click on the 8-Bit Book cover from the home page, you will now be taken to a slightly altered 8-Bit Book page, from which you can either order the standard paperback version directly, or select the Limited Edition hardback option, which can now be ordered without having to contact Hiive Books to request the LE version first. The hardback's cover is also a tiny bit different from the standard version - see if you can spot what we've done!

The final change is that the work-in-progress sample chapter that has been available to view online for the last couple of months or so has been replaced with the 100% finished article that is currently at the printers being brought magically to life. Again, there are lots of subtle improvements over the earlier version, including longer and fully proof-read entries, cool quotes and other goodies below the screen shots and cover artwork images on every page, and lots of visual enhancements such as better screen shots, tweaked background images and even original sprites in the year marker tabs at the edge of the pages (which, in theory, you should be able to animate by flicking through the pages once you have the book in your hands)!!

As I mentioned before, the printer is now doing his thing and the books should definitely be on their way by the end of this month. Incidentally, there are still around fifty of the Limited Edition hardback versions available to order, so if you're tempted by that sort of thing then you probably need to get in there fairly quickly. The hardbacks will all be numbered and signed by me (and I promise to use my very best handwriting). And if you're wondering, numbers 1, 8, 16, 32, 48, 64, 100, 128, 200, 250 and 256 are all as yet unallocated - I even asked Andrew if I could have just number 8 for myself and he said no way - these are for the punters!

Well it seems that wasn't exactly a quickie after all, so apologies for that. Thanks again to all those that have taken the plunge already, and in advance to anyone who plans to buy the book soon. My work is pretty much done for now - all I have to do at this point is wait for the books to arrive, sign all the Limited Editions, become a dad, plan a wedding, have a wedding, sell my flat, look for a new home in a different town 150 miles away and find a new job by Christmas. How I'm going to find time to write The **** Book, I just do not know!

:wink:

Jerry
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Re: The 8-Bit Book - 1981 to 199x - COMING SOON!!!

Post by Ratsoap »

Mine arrived today. I'd completely forgotten I had even ordered it, so it was a nice surprise.

Not had time to look properly, but looks awesome at first glance.
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