Rollerball's topics - tribe.net

Roller Ball Game

2008-10-15T04:23:00Z

Any guys interested in playing a flat track version of Roller Ball?

I have about 8-10 guys available and a rink and time to do it.

Obviously no motorcycles, but we have been thinking BMX bikes. We have a few bike riders willing to try.

posted in Rollerball - 3 replies

From Rome to Rollerball

2007-12-28T06:32:57Z

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3p3rc_rollerball-futurist-social-game_shortfilms?from=rss
The language of the site may not be familiar but the video is in English.
Some footage you probably haven't seen and Norman's views of corporate takeover.

posted in Rollerball - 2 replies

Roller Superball?!

2007-12-21T16:30:16Z

Wow.
I've been searching the internet for roller derby related information of the time when Rollerball was made. I came across this article on wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fitzpatrick_(athlete)
Jim Fitzpatrik. A legend of roller derby. If you'll look at the second paragraph you'll notice something quite interesting.

"In 1980 he skated in an altered version of Roller Derby which combined Roller Derby rules with those of Roller Ball called Roller Superball. This series was held in Luna Park Arena in Buenos Aires, Argentina."

I found a poster advertising this event and I will post it up separately.

Now I remembered reading in a previous topic threat "When will Rollerball be a real game?" that one of our members, Tim, was a on a roller derby team. I could have sworn that someone (maybe tim) posted that they have tried a primitive version of the game similar to what maybe Superball. I checked that thread over and maybe I was wrong, I didn't see what I was looking for.

Okay. So I have been searching for about an hour looking for any information over this game and have come up short. I was wondering if any of you knew anything about it? I'm sure rollerball had a great effect on roller derby players at the time to make this hybrid sport.

More about Fitzpatric:
http://www.baycitybombers.com/train/jim.htm

Oh and one more thing I thought I'd mention. In 1993 he was one of the select few Americans invited to participated in a mens only roller derby (they call it Roller Game) bout in Japan. It was a full contact version with only one jammer (person who scores) and no time periods. Out of 5 bouts the top three scores were kept. The players wore much more protective gear than that of even today's roller derby players.
Heres a pretty sweet highlight video of the game. This is how I imagine that superball was kinda like.
mms://mv.showmans.tv/RG/RG03.wmv

posted in Rollerball - 3 replies

Rollerball Murder

2007-12-21T06:07:42Z

The story that started it all.
http://ia360604.us.archive.org/3/items/MindWebs-SciFi/Mindwebs-771021_RollerBallMurder.mp3
I put it on my MP3 player and finally listened to it today. I like it.
There's a short intro to the program "Mindwebs" which tells short sci-fi stories on the radio (I think) in the 70's.

posted in Rollerball - 0 replies

Beyond the Arena

2007-12-20T16:26:54Z

http://www.livevideo.com/video/6A2C00EC98034451AC5900EB5DA740DE/the-making-of-the-film-rollerb.aspx
25 minutes.

posted in Rollerball - 1 reply

Jonathan's Jersey!

2007-12-20T16:24:38Z

Check this out!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ROLLERBALL-JONATHAN-E-SCI-FI-6-JERSEY-sz-M-52_W0QQitemZ270163492776QQihZ017QQcategoryZ37753QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

posted in Rollerball - 1 reply

Little song about rollerball

2007-12-01T04:42:04Z

Found this and thought I'd share a song about the movie.
I don't know any other way to host this.
http://rapidshare.com/files/70895260/The_Teens_-_Rollerball.mp3.html
The Teens - Rollerball

posted in Rollerball - 3 replies

Rollerball: Duff's rules questions

2007-11-04T21:55:59Z

Hi to all from Italy (so pls excuse my poor english)
I'm trying to build-up the Duff's Rollerball boardgame.
I've some trouble with the movements rules, when the facing is the unusual one (the forward direction point to a corner of the hex, and not to a side).
Look at is "Diagram 1" (http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/Rules/Science_Fiction/rollerball/diagram1.gif), in the "forward movement":

1)when a player go at an odd speed, the last hex he moves in must be one of the two adjacent to the hex corner he is facing... should this be considered a "slip"?

2) When he move forward by two hexes, the player "runs" on a line... What if, in one of the two hexes having this line as a side, there is a opposite player? Is it a "hit" or the player can pass? and if both the hexes are occupied?

After all, i'm drawing some paper counter a bit more nicer than the basic ones found with the game rules. I will be happy to give to Duff (if he likes them) the final result... how and where can i send the file?

posted in Rollerball - 1 reply

Give a listen ...

2007-10-21T19:49:40Z

... any idea who recorded this ?!?

http://www.hemptrek.com/rollerball/sounds/JonathanE.mp3

posted in Rollerball - 1 reply

Rollerblog?

2007-10-20T18:10:18Z

Fellow teammate Rusty posts thoughtfully on the game here:

http://frotherama.blogspot.com/

Way to go Rusty!

posted in Rollerball - 0 replies

"Rollerball" actors in other films

2007-06-17T22:38:02Z

Another "hey it's that guy!" moment ... Bartholomew's aide is played by the same actor who gets Force-choked by Darth Vader on the Death Star.

We may find his lack of faith disturbing, but salute! to Richard LeParmentier for his roles in these two classic films from the 1970's.

posted in Rollerball - 5 replies

When will Rollerball be a real game?

2007-06-17T00:53:09Z

You've probably discussed this, but I'm new. So signpost me where I need to go... I know that there was alledgedly a stadium going to be built according to a link on Joshua's site, but does anyone know of any real plans?

posted in Rollerball - 18 replies

So, who's YOUR local Rollerball team?

2007-06-15T19:06:18Z

For me, it would be Dallas. The list from the defunct website labels the team as "Dallas-Ft. Worth", which leads me to believe that whoever made that list envisioned the two cities as one big megapolis! Dallas would be a Food city, according to the roster, so it's team would be wearing uniforms of Kelly green, just like Madrid, although with different details.

So, how about YOUR Rollerball team? Who do you support?

--Larry

posted in Rollerball - 4 replies

League/Playoff Structure ?

2007-03-23T03:15:02Z

Hi, I’ve always been curious about the teams. (Great info btw !)

At the beginning of the film, Madrid are announced as “Divisional Champions”, which begs the question – Which division ?

This could be geographical (Europe) but since countries are supposedly obsolete, the division could be corporate. i.e. Madrid as champions of Food Division.
So a possible playoff format in the film would involve the 6 Corporate Division champs and 2 wildcard runners-up.

Qtr Finals

Houston (Energy) v Madrid (Food)
Tokyo (Luxury) v Wildcard
New York (Transport) v Wildcard
Rome (Comms) v Paris (Housing) - game on DVD doc

Semi Finals

Tokyo v Houston (Tokyo get home game so may have better season record)
New York v Paris or Rome

Final - New York v Houston

Each division could have a ‘corporate ladder’. For example, Houston is Energy’s flagship team at the moment. Over time there would be power shifts to different cities.

Just a few ideas based on that 'Corporate List' and color coding in the film.

posted in Rollerball - 14 replies

Was Johnathon being a little "Selfish"?

2007-03-21T06:21:49Z

I find it really odd that when Mr. Bartholemew asked Johnathon to retire he said he had to be there for the team..As it turns out because of his stubburness the corporation started to change the rules of the game and instead of helping his teammates out, he got most of them killed / seriously injured over the next 2 games.

I think if he really cared for his teammates he would have retired after the Tokyo match. That would have probably made for a pretty silly movie, so there you go.....

posted in Rollerball - 7 replies

ROLLERBALL tribute on MYSPACE

2007-03-20T17:20:23Z

Check it out!

http://www.myspace.com/jonathan_e_number_6

posted in Rollerball - 1 reply

Movie info from a great Roller Derby site

2007-03-09T00:05:54Z

This site is definitely worth a visit for its movie lore: http://www.baycitybombers.com/history.html

e.g.: "Roller Derby skaters are paid a $10000 salary for ten days of stunt-skating work."

They've got a movie poster I don't recall also. Have a look!

posted in Rollerball - 0 replies

Rules question: can a catcher score?

2007-02-07T01:25:20Z

Can a catcher score, particularly if no skaters are available (all dead and/or out of subs)?

I guess it comes down to, can the glove be removed while in play?

posted in Rollerball - 5 replies

Elapsed time in film?

2007-02-01T03:09:16Z

How about some informed speculation?

In "film time" how much passes from beginning of Madrid to end of New York?

posted in Rollerball - 7 replies

Rollerball sound effects

2007-01-24T04:28:18Z

Is there a cache somewhere of Rollerball-specific sound effects?

In this digital world I suppose short "rips" could be made off the DVD soundtrack. Anyone have any experience doing that?

posted in Rollerball - 5 replies

Another Rollerball Board Game

2007-01-22T06:43:00Z

Hi Guys, I designed my first Rollerball board game when I was 18 years old.. Nothing of that first attempt survives today. However I'm thinking of trying my hand at it again. I have a day job working in the computer games industry so it'll be a slow process.
The first decision is game scale - both time and ground. Do I use hexes or curved track spaces?
I've posted a jpeg I made up with a hex grid superimposed over my track texture. The hex scale is roughly - 1 hex = 1 yard across. It's a reasonable starting point. Any comments are welcome. Please feel free to take my map and play around with any ides you may also have.

posted in Rollerball - 6 replies

Rollerball 3D game alpha

2006-12-16T18:03:36Z

You guys are the best Rollerballers around, so please share your comments:

http://www.hemptrek.com/rollerball/game/rgalpha.zip

Use mouse and cursors to move, Q to quit.

I know it's crude but at least it works and I'm getting good frame rates.

Any problems or ideas are welcome, that's what alphas are for!

posted in Rollerball - 10 replies

New "Rollerball" photos

2006-12-05T16:38:44Z

Wow Steve those are some great stills. Thanks for sharing them!

posted in Rollerball - 3 replies

1975 James Caan article

2006-12-04T15:17:21Z

Thanks to Steve for supplying these scans:

http://www.hemptrek.com/rollerball/inprint/time_75/page001.jpg
http://www.hemptrek.com/rollerball/inprint/time_75/page002.jpg
http://www.hemptrek.com/rollerball/inprint/time_75/page003.jpg

(Each is at least a Mb, for a dial-up warning)

I'm assuming this is from Time magazine - if that's wrong please correct me! From whatever source, this article contains many good details about game and film.

posted in Rollerball - 0 replies

Example of play -- Duff's Rules Rollerball

2006-12-04T03:06:05Z

Here's some shots we took during a recent game.

My game rules are posted for free over here -- http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/Rules/Science_Fiction/rollerball/rollerball.htm -- at Pete's wonderful game site.

First, here's the game setup from the start of play:

http://flickr.com/photos/moonpie_swoop/298910535/

The Green team (Chris) made the first catch up near the rail:

http://flickr.com/photos/moonpie_swoop/298910538/

He was in a tricky position, with most of his team up ahead and limited speed:

http://flickr.com/photos/moonpie_swoop/298910539/

One skater moved up for the pass:

http://flickr.com/photos/moonpie_swoop/298910542/

The catcher has to pass the ball before completing a ful circuit of the track.
The ball carrier has to complete the rest of that circuit before he can score.

The Orange team (George) makes an appearance with a biker/skater combination cutting in from behind:

http://flickr.com/photos/moonpie_swoop/298940091/

A second Orange skater rushes in at high speed and checks the ball carrier:

http://flickr.com/photos/moonpie_swoop/298940094/

In this closeup you can see the black and silver rings marking the catcher and ball carrier.

The check is successful and the ball carrier goes down:

http://flickr.com/photos/moonpie_swoop/298940098/

More of the Orange team's bully boys pass by the tumbling ball carrier:

http://flickr.com/photos/moonpie_swoop/298940101/

As they pass through, they give the Green catcher a push to knock him down:

http://flickr.com/photos/moonpie_swoop/298940107/

The ball carrier loses the ball when he hits the track:

http://flickr.com/photos/moonpie_swoop/298940113/

... and a new ball is fired:

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306800245/

The ball is travelling through in the gutter ring, so the stunned player is not in danger.

The Number 1 Orange biker risks a penalty to run over the opposing catcher before he recovers:

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306800242/

Orange catcher is in position ot catch the second ball, shadowed by a Green pack:

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306800240/

He makes the catch and the race is on:

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306800239/

The catcher skates down the track to make his best speed, with the green players in pursuit:

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306800235/

Green Number 4 moves up for an attack ...

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306800233/

... but the catcher keeps his feet. Another Green team member joins the battle ...

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306808620/

... and the catcher escapes them.

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306808616/

He runs up the track hoping to evade the pursuit, but gets caught by Green skater 10:

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306808609/

In this shot you'll see the Green catcher still not recovered from getting hit on the last play.

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306808607/

Green 10 makes a grapple attack and takes down the catcher:

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306808604/

They both go down and the ball rolls free ... triggering the firing of the third ball of the game:

http://flickr.com/photos/jonathan_e/306808601/

Photos by Moonpie_Swoop. Players Chris McAllister and George Duff (not shown).

posted in Rollerball - 0 replies

Rollerball, the first "future" sport?

2006-12-02T17:55:13Z

Is Rollerball the first "future" sport on film?

Maybe even in SF in general?

Any counter-examples, please!

posted in Rollerball - 0 replies

Weeping woman

2006-11-28T16:14:21Z

As the "program" about Jonathan begins the party-goers all gather around the multivision screens. There's a shot in the middle of the sequence where the camera pans across the face of a woman, weeping, outside the room on a patio.

Why is this woman weeping? Any ideas?

(Does it have something to do with "Evans being out" and/or "the crocodile?" I don't understand those either!)

posted in Rollerball - 6 replies

Another table-top Rollerball game

2006-11-28T16:00:48Z

On the Tabletop Sports website there are several free downloads for a different kind of Rollerball tabletop game (created by Chris Rohan), one that doesn't use a track. Each player has his own card with abilities listed, and the game mechanic works by use of Fast Action Cards. Each FAC is worth 30 seconds of game time. The rules for the game have play divided into four quarters with each quarter using 30 FAC (15 minutes). However, this mistake is easily rectified by using 40 FAC in each of 3 20-minute periods (the game comes with 60 FAC so no danger of running out). You will also need 2 ten-sided dice (preferably different colours, one for each team).

It's actually quite a good simulation for those who may not be into wargame/miniatures rules, and one player is currently running a World Cup-style tournament using the game. The website can be reached at the following URL:

http://www.tabletop-sports.com/

The game rules and cards and some extra teams can be found in the Downloads section under Rollerball 2 (the same author created a previous RB game using a track, but it proved too complex and was reworked into its present form). Best yet, the downloads are FREE of charge!

---troy

posted in Rollerball - 4 replies

Wherer would be the best place to build a Rollerball Stadium?

2006-11-23T18:18:08Z

I'm assuming that it would be America, but it could be Europe or Britain. Japan would probably embrace such a thing. Any ideas?

posted in Rollerball - 2 replies

1st Draft Script

2006-11-11T05:00:22Z

Apparently the first screenplay for the remake was set further in the future and more similar in tone to the original film. i.e. corporate oppression, players just numbers.
Unfortunately it was rewritten into the final trash.

Does anyone have this original script?

I believe it’s by David Campbell Wilson and sounds very interesting.

There are some details about it here - http://www.aintitcool.com/?q=node/4466

posted in Rollerball - 1 reply

Rollerball Table Top Game

2006-09-20T16:08:10Z

All,

Check this out!

JP Trostle built this sucker... very cool. http://home.nc.rr.com/jape77/games.html

I got in touch with him. He has copies to sell, though I'm not sure if its counters or all the little miniatures.

Still I'm impressed.

Josh

posted in Rollerball - 19 replies

The History of Rollerball

2006-09-08T02:01:22Z

Hi Guys

Jape as posted a page detailing the history of Rollerball, with the offical rules from the handouts.

http://home.nc.rr.com/jape77/evolution_of_rollerball.html

Some of the rules make little sense but hey what can you say...

--Tom

posted in Rollerball - 1 reply

Corporate Cities

2006-09-01T22:38:52Z

We know Houston = Energy

What about Madrid? Tokyo? Rome? (Anything but Indianapolis!)

posted in Rollerball - 18 replies

The Controller Box

2006-08-30T14:53:40Z

Doug

You seem to have good screen capture capibility, can you find me a good external shot of the Controller's box in play? Jape and I are going over the rules, in an offical hand out, the ball is activated by returning to the sector where it was picked up. In the intro when they show the systems checks, you see the panels above the controler are flashing the letter 'C' I think this is a sector marker showing where the activation sector is. I wondered if you can see any values being displayed?

Also I think there is a Possession light, in the movie I noted a globe lighting orange, green and yellow. I think this show either who has possession or which goal is Active.

But I'm not sure where the globes are, either on top of the Controller box or on top of the goals?

--Tom

posted in Rollerball - 3 replies

Ball speed

2006-08-30T14:51:01Z

This issue deserves its own thread. If the ball speed is fixed it should more or less come on to the track at the same point every firing. That seems unacceptable.

Little from the movie supports a variable ball speed in terms of the ball itself. (For all I know the real ballgun on the set could only deliver one speed, but I doubt that tree-gun works in real life either!) However, we do see several glimpses of the Controller's ballgun panel, like here:

http://www.hemptrek.com/rollerball/images/movie/controllerfiring.jpg

Those buttons must do something! A knob would be perfect to adjust the firing speed. And if the speed was always fixed, why put a speedometer on it?

Note here:

http://www.hemptrek.com/rollerball/images/movie/controldisplaysideview.jpg

He's got his hand on the control during play. Without doing the math (yet!) to back it up, it seems reasonable that adjusting the cannon by many mph would push the ball drop back several sections. An experienced controller could put the ball almost where he pleased.

Thoughts?

posted in Rollerball - 3 replies

The Original Movie

2006-08-25T14:44:35Z

"Rollerball" is such a great movie! While I am only 41, I still remember when the movie came out. It was such a big deal - made the cover of Time and the whole nine yards. It is one of the best examples of the 70's genre of antihero movies.

posted in Rollerball - 5 replies

Welcome to Houston ...

2006-08-21T23:33:48Z

The Energy City, home of the Rollerball world champions!

If you like Rollerball, this tribe's for you. Contributions welcome.

posted in Rollerball - 6 replies

Text of article

2006-06-15T03:43:51Z

FWIW, here's the complete text from which came the "cities" quote:

And this is the year they all begin to pour down the chute, a veritable torrent of Caan. James Caan Film Festival time, folks! And about time too. He's earned it. Cinderella Liberty, Freebie and the Bean, The Gambler, Funny Lady and, of course, the ripe royal biggie, Rollerball.

There's almost as much scratch riding on this Harrison-Jewison movie as on The Godfather a few years back. At $8,000,000 it's one of the most expensive projects on any movie lot this side of James Bond's right profile and the sequel of what Variety prefers to call Godpop. Sport apart, it spins an intriguing/frightening account of life just around the next century, when politicians (at last!) are replaced by a skilled executive management class who logically organise all human endeavour under the control of six major corporations: energy, luxury, food, housing, communications and transportation. (The globe is shared between them all; Houston, Cairo, Caracas, for example, are in Energy; Madrid, Chicago, Brisbane among Food; New York, Rio, Kobe in Transport; Denver, Frisco, Leningrad belong to Luxury; Moscow, Rome, Los Angelos, Tel-Aviv are in Housing; London, Washington, Paris, Ankara feature in Communications).

Hunger is a mere relic word from the past, and man is "blessed" with a three day working week - and a lot of boredom. His diversions, however, are many, but the game is all. The most brutalising sport devised by man since Nero matched his lions with the Christians.

The game is an earth-shaker, and there are plans to actually set up a real version of it around premiere time at the Houston Astrodome. If they get enough ambulances on stand-by. As Caan said betwen takes at the Munich Olympic Stadium: "It wouldn't be too difficult to get yourself killed on this set." Waiting for Jimmy at Pinewood Studios in London, I saw director Jewison calmly signing a batch of letters his secretary had brough him. "Who's this!" he said, indicating the address. "He's the guy who broke his leg." "Oh Christ yeah ... oh boy! Never met him. Poor fella ... Now who's this one?" "He busted his ankle." "Right! Had a pin in it. Oh Christ!" You'll understand why when you catch the flick.

The Rollerball game - game they call it! - is a combination of hockey, motorbike racing, roller derby, boxing, judo, American pro football, and probably a touch of Kung Fu in the clinches. Of which there are many - with few survivors. Two teams of ten, originally able-bodied men, take each other on; three on motorcycles, five on rollerskates, and two catchers - for the 10 lb. steel ball cannonading through a sluice stream around the pit of an arena. All this on a track, similar to a speed-cycle race track, one-eighth of a mile in circumference, bevelled to 17 degrees. Harrison wrote the game, Jewison has invented it for the eye, enlarged it. The track is designed by British film man John Box, and built by Herbert Schurman, the crack architect of most of Europe's top cycle tracks, within the Munich stadium - the rent of which meant $400,000 on the budget. But boy is it worth it! Cricket basketball, even foot- <article ends>

posted in Rollerball - 0 replies