Where can I buy Gruntz?

[GooRoo]

Gruntz is available for $14.99 (US dollars) at RealOneArcade. This downloadable version (1.10) has the same patches applied as Version 1.01 for the CD game. It is the same as the CD game, but without the movies. If you purchase Gruntz from RealOneArcade, you may purchase a CD containing the movies from "GooRoo's Gruntz Forum" for actual cost (including postage) plus $2.00 (US).

I have purchased three Gruntz CD-ROM packagez on eBay from two different German sourcez.
Oldone has spoken for one, so there is one more available on-hand, and one more "on the way".
682KB picture Gruntz package (front) 831KB picture Gruntz package (back)

Pricing information: I have the final cost figurez for the three CD-ROMz from two sourcez.
2 CD-ROMz @ 4.95 EUROs + 6,95 EUROs postage and handling ... $21.56 (K und P)
1 CD-ROM @ 9,95 EUROs + 6,95 EUROs postage and handling ... $22.65 (Schneidersoft)
The difference in totals ($1.09) for a ,05 EURO cost differential is due to fluctuating exchange rates between the dollar and the Euro. Thus my out of pocket cost for the three CD-ROMz is $44.21; dividing the total cost by three, that is $14.74 each. The package requirez a larger mailer than the one I have used for bare jewel cased CD-ROMs, and a package of five cost $5.95 + tax (@.084%) of $.48 = $1.67 per mailer.

Today I went to the Post Office with the package as it will be mailed, and was told that postage to Minnsota would be $1.52, and to Iceland would be $4.80 (just to give two examples of possible postage charges).

Cost	Description
$14.74	CD-ROM
$1.67	Protective mailer
$1.52	Postage
-------
$17.93	Total price

So (adding $4.80 - $1.52) the cost to Iceland would be $21.22, for example.

Make me an offer! It is not my goal to make a profit in selling these; I just want to recover my out-of-pocket costs.

[e-mail]

[GooRoo]

When I first received the CD with the Gruntz movies, all I did was insert the Cd and play the movies. Today, I 'explored' the CD and found that all it is, is two movie files! So whatever program you have to play movies (and other media), you will have a window open to ask if you want to use 'xxx' to play 'yyy'.

Thus: there is about 618Mb of free space I can use on movie CDs that I send out! (I was concerned that it had some sort of install scripting on the CD.) What better use for all of that empty space, than to include every freely distributable Custom Level (Questz) and Battlez Level that I have! So I will produce a CD which has, in addition to the movies, a 'Custom' folder with approximately 130 Custom Levelz in it, and a 'Battlez' folder with the six or eight BLz I have. Such a deal! No need to spend lots of time downloading them. And the CD will be a sort of back-up for your Gruntz add-ons.

Edit: While I am at it, I will also include the Gruntz Level Editor (both ZIPped and ready-to-use) into the root of the CD. That way, you can copy the contents of the CD into your Gruntz directory (folder). When (if?) I manage to get the Secret Levelz added into the REZ file, I will also include that on the CD.

P.S. I am in contact with Kevin about the Secret Level thing, so Gruntz V1.11 may be available sooner than I think. (I was overly optimistic, when I first used WinRez; taking the REZ file apart was so easy; adding the Secret Levelz into it has been anything but easy.)

[GooRoo]

I have cleared a few things off my schedule by completing them, and will make another attempt at finding the naming scheme for Gruntz (Standard game) Secret Levelz. I am hoping that I will be able to find a pattern to the SL naming, and then be able to quickly link them into the V1.11 REZ file.

Once I am successful at linking in the seven Secret Levelz we have, there will definitely be room to add Secret Levelz to the other 24 Standard Levelz ... and I know how to do that! Thus, soon after I announce the availability of V1.11, I think it would be a good thing to start another round of "Secret Level Creation". If you have designs on creating a Secret Level, keep in mind _small and 'solvable without SAVEing'. Remember, in order to gain access to a Secret Level, one has to cheat ... and cannot SAVE until a complete exit from the game, and re-load is done.

[HunamSHODAN]

Ermmm, V. 1.11?

I bought Gruntz as 'bundled software', and it is called V. 1.11 so if you advertice about it as V. 1.11 you could run into some confusion from buyers of a 'genuine' V. 1.11...

I know that the 1.01 + 1.10 = 1.11 logic would be lost, but rather that, than losing Gruntzers that already have 1.11 and don't know the diference to your 1.11.

Lars

[FriedGruntzaholic]

HunamSHODAN said:

Ermmm, V. 1.11?

I bought Gruntz as 'bundled software', and it is called V. 1.11 so if you advertice about it as V. 1.11 you could run into some confusion from buyers of a 'genuine' V. 1.11...

I know that the 1.01 + 1.10 = 1.11 logic would be lost, but rather that, than losing Gruntzers that already have 1.11 and don't know the diference to your 1.11.

Lars

Thanks for the heads up on this. Actually, to clear up a little misconception here, besides your V 1.11, there are two other versions, V 1.01 and V 1.10. Both versions are identical. V 1.01, which is what most folks have, is the version derived when players who purchased the original Gruntz CD (V 1.00) from Monolith then applied a patch which fixed a number of bugs. V 1.10 is the version that people get when they purchase and download the game from RealArcade. It comes complete with the patch already installed but minus the movies. Our thinking here was that when we are finally able to put together a file addition to install some secret levels into the game, then when everybody installs this file addition, making it V 1.11 would put everyone on the same track. Oh, well, we'll think of something else.

[mulawa1]

Be aware that if you buy Gruntz via RealArcade you are forced to download & install RealArcade after you pay your money and then it seems that you cannot play Gruntz without RealArcade starting up.

I find this most unsatisfactory and unprofessional - I will probably uninstall the lot and cut my losses.

A disappointing start

[oldone]

You can uninstall Real Arcade and still play Gruntz. Simply put the entire Gruntz file into a new folder and uninstall Real Arcade. Worked good for me.

[mulawa1]

That's good to hear - thanks. Fortunately I was able to purchase Gruntz on eBay so I'm ok.

[GooRoo]

I found two German copies of Gruntz CDs on eBay the other day, and did a 'buy it now', for a total cost of $20.83, including shipping & handling. But I cannot pay for them! My wife already used our checking account for her own eBay account, and the PayPal credit card process refuses to accept the name that is on my credit card. Like J Paul Getty, I use my first initial, middle and last name, and it refuses to accept that, rejecting both "X XXXXX" "XXXX" and "X" "XXXXX XXXX" as valid name entries! So I am stuck! I am also bidding on another (German, again) Gruntz CD that will cost the same amount as the two from the first source, if I win the bid with my maximum offer.

I suppose that if I applied for a PayPal credit card, that would allow me to make purchases on eBay, but I have a perfectly good credit card that is paid off monthly. Why should I have to add another credit card to my wallet?

[Gamer]

Did Monolith stop selling Gruntz on a "send in" basis? That does take a while, but I thought it was nice when I did it if it's ok.

[GooRoo]

Well, I just opened a new checking account today, and if those CD-ROMs are still available, I will be able to pay for them in the next day or two. So I will have two legitimate copies of Gruntz that may be sold to anyone just discovering Gruntz (as via the freely downloadable DEMO version ).

Each Grunt CD-ROM will cost 4.95 Euros, and postage and handling is 6.90 Euros! I would re-sell those at cost ... for USA destinations that would be (let's see):

• $10.42 CD-ROM
• $01.10 postage
• $00.50 mailing envelope
• _____
• $12.00 (rounded to nearest dollar)

So, naturally, the PayPal system is all locked up ... again! I cannot gain access to add the new bank account.

[oldone]

Did you finally get the CDs? I would love to have one so that I don't have to rely on Real Arcade if anything ever happens or I replace this computer (which is a real possibility). Could you let me know?

[GooRoo]

oldone said:

Did you finally get the CDs?

I have not received any of the three CDs as of today's mail.

I would love to have one so that I don't have to rely on Real Arcade if anything ever happens or I replace this computer (which is a real possibility). Could you let me know?

I will post a new reply in this thread as soon as I receive either package (two CDs in on, one CD in the other). The cost of the single CD was almost the same price as the two. So I would prefer to spread the cost amongst the three CDs ... $44.00 (round figure) / 3 = $14.66 each + $.50 (mailer) + postage ($1.10 within US, $3.50 international). Call it $16.25 US, $18.50 international (unless postage is much higher than that).

[Acid]

I previously had a copy of Gruntz from Realarcrade, but due to a computer shift, Gruntz has been re-locked and I can't find my key anywhere. I'm thinking of re-buying Gruntz on a CD this time, since I have lost my trust in Realarcade. Have you received those CDs yet, GooRoo, and if not could you point me in the direction of another seller of Gruntz CDs?

[GooRoo]

No, I have not received the Gruntz CDs from either source as of today's snail mail. So after the mail arrived tonight, I sent out e-mails requesting information about the status of the packages. Since both sources are in Germany, the time difference means I cannot expect any reply until the wee small hours of the morning here in the Pacific northwest of the USA.

It sounds like I should put you down for a copy ... am I correct? Remember, these CD-ROMs are the German version, with (in all likelihood) the instructions and voices 'auf Deutsch'.

[Acid]

Actually, I just managed to dig up my registration key, so I don't need the CD. Thanks anyway!

[GooRoo]

I have received two of the three German copies of Gruntz CD-ROMs! So if someone needs a replacement copy of their CD-ROM, or wants the CD-ROM to replace a RealArcade download, they may get get one form me ... as long as my supply lasts!

Bjarni (aka "The Blaziken Master") may still need e replacement for his damaged CD-ROM. (Maybe he will visit here and read this thread. )

[GooRoo]

There is a very limitted supply of Gruntz CD-ROMz available from me now. Check the first post in this thread for details.

[oldone]

I have been playing the German edition of Gruntz now for several weeks. This is a mixture of German and English. The small screen that shows during the game, the help screen, the main menu and all the voices are all in English, so playing the game is basically no different. The "Help" books in the early standard levels (or anywhere they're used), the options screen for sound levels, scroll speed etc., and the "Save" and "Load" screens are in German, but if you are familiar with the game you will know what they say. I was surprised that the installation was also in English, especially since I just installed a new mouse and that installation was in German. So figure!

All I can say is "Thanks GooRoo" It's nice to be out from under RealArcade.

[GooRoo]

Open for about 24 hours from the time of this post ... triple pack containing Shogo, Speed Demon and (tada!) Gruntz! eBay sale page.