Vectrex Museum

I just wanted to share this link to a web museum dedicated to the awesome-ness that is the MB Vectrex.

There’s a wealth of information here including the system itself, it’s history and a look at the various hardware addons, the original game releases and the homebrew gaming scene that’s still rocking the Vec today.

Also, there’s plenty of details and photos regarding the uber rare Vectrex Mini-Cade.

Check it out at http://vectrexmuseum.com/

Oh and btw, if someone can point me in the direction of acquiring a copy of VecCaves (or even a ROM dump) that doesn’t costmega bucks, could you let me know please

My gaming week #1

Here’s a new section for my blog (see I’ve even created a shiny new category for it on the right hand side) which will list some of the games that’s been keeping me entertained over the previous week.  I wanted to start something like this here at the beginning of January but, well with one thing and another, time just slipped by.

Most of the games listed will be pretty much from older computers and consoles as well as the odd  indie games, low-fi causal games and those from the homebrew scene for classic systems. I don’t really play any modern PC games or own any modern console hardware and much prefer those with chunky pixels as you’ve probably gathered if you’ve been catching some of my posts on my blog.

These lists aren’t  going to feature huge reviews or anything like because quite frankly I can’t spel Maybe a few words and the odd picture or video in the hope that you’ll want to investigate further via a proper website or indeed jog the old noggin into thinking about and old classic you haven’t visited in a while.

Right here goes.

Friday saw the release of  an update to Capcom’s Street Fighter X Mega Man game and if you missed it and  happen to be a NES Megaman fan then you’re in for a treat….a treat that also happens to be free as well.

http://www.capcom-unity.com/mega_man

Now I totally suck at Megaman games on the NES (in fact, is anyone good at these games?) and I remember the Nintendo Gameboy version getting quite a bit of verbal abuse back in the day.

Street Fighter X Megaman is just as balls hard as the originals and I’m finding that I’m not getting very far at it at all…..yet, I just can’t seem to put the thing down, it’s so addictive

Top tip, the level against Blanka seems to be a good starting point as this (and Blanka) is fairly easy to complete.

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Carmageddon – DOSbox/iOS

Still causing Max Damage with the re-released by GOG edition of the classic PC games as well as the updated  iPad edition. The first level is still the best and gruesome of them all

Pitch invasion!

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Nano Ninja – web

http://www.newcave.com/game/nano-ninja

A fun little flash game which uses just one control and with it you must guide your ninja left & right and try to figure out how best to utilise this one control to overcome  each obstacle.

Moon Buggy – Commodore 16

I’ve played so many versions of Moon Buggy and it’s numerous clones on many systems but am thoroughly enjoying the simple yet hugely playable version on the Commodore 16….and for a C16 game it actually looks and scrolls pretty damn smooth too.

Solar Quest – Vectrex

This plays much better on the real hardware with it’s analogue joystick but my Vectrex is tucked away at present so I’ve been messing around with Solar Quest via the iPad Vectrex app and my iCade. It’s a simple game where you shoot, avoid and collect your bounty all under the gravitational pull of the centre star.

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Moderate Retribution – ZX Spectrum

A brand new game released for never ageing Speccy and quite a nice little shoot em up it is too.

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0028022

Finally, Vectrex Regeneration.

Yep, I know it’s been out for quiet sometime, but after that initial hiccup with the first release, (namely, it not working on jailbroken iOS devices) I kinda lost touch with it during the run up to Christmas and knowing I had some new iCade joystick tops heading my way for Christmas, I held of downloading Vectrex Regeneration….until now.

I won’t go into a full review here as there’s been so much said already about this utterly brilliant Vectrex emulator and besides, it a free app (with Mine Storm) so go check it out…although I’m sure most of you already have!

On the iPhone, its not so great, although not the faulty emulator, it’s just that the iPhone screen is way too small to be able to play some of the Vectrex games. It’s much better on the iPad and coupled with an iCade it’s pretty darn close to playing on a real Vectrex.

For just £4.99 you get access to every Vectrex game and a collection homebrew games – including Thrust which is absolutely superb.

Loving that fact that you get digital representations of the coloured overlays…although these can be turn them off if they’re not to your liking.

Hmm, that gives me an idea, the iPad screen is about the same as the Vectrex

Side by side, Vectrex and Vextrex Regeneration. Pretty damn close if you ask me.

When I’ve got a little bit more free time, I want to explore the apps files a little closer to see if I can figure out how to add more Homebrew games. If anyone has a copy of VeCaves/Rom dump, do you fancy submitting it to the Vectrex Regeneration chaps to see if they can seek authors permission for an official release?

Any-ho, Fortress of Narzod awaits

Vectrex history.

Here’s an Interesting read about the history of the Vectrex. The site layout might look a bit old now (retro) but there’s some great content here. I really enjoyed my visit so here’s the link -

http://computermuseum.50megs.com/brands/vectrex.htm

Vectrex Regenerations released.

Yay, Vectrex Regeneration is finally out on the Apple App store!

Boo…it doesn’t work Well for me anyways.

Despite it advertised as supporting IOS 5 and above, I can’t get it running on my iPad 2 running ios 5.0.1. All I get is a black screen after the initial company logo no matter if I close all other running apps and reboot. At the moment I don’t want to update my ios revision as I’ll loose my jailbreak options therefore unless the issue is resolved, I’m a bit buggered at the moment. Vectrex Regeneration twitter feed shows that this might be a common bug so let’s hope it’s resolved soon.

Over on my iPhone, it loads perfectly (ios 6) so at least I’ve been able to sample some of the Vectrex-tastic goodies this morning.

On my iPhone (4) though, the app takes an age to load and when it finally does, it’s a bit laggy navigating around the front end menus.

The emulation runs a tad slow too, certainly when run side by side with my real Vectrex console but turning off the overlay graphics provides a little bit more of a speed burst (still slow overall though). That’s a bit of a shame really as the you loose some of that authentic Vextrex look without using the colour overlays. Mind you, I found that with the overlays enabled, I can hardly see the Vectrex game graphics as they appeared really dim on screen. Maybe on the iPad’s larger screen they’ll look better?

Control wise, it works perfectly and the onscreen four Vectrex buttons can be relocated around the screen to suit your own preference but on the small iPhone screen, all can seem a bit cramped and more often than not i’m finding that i’m hitting the wrong button. Not a fault of the app of course, but it’s probable that some of the other Vectrex games might not translate very well to the small screen?

Until the iPad version is working for me I can’t test it with my iCade, but i did try it the iPhone version with my 8-Bitty controller this morning. Unfort, I couldn’t get it to work with this particular app.

After waiting for its release since it’s announcement many months ago and then counting down the past 9 days, I must admit, I’m a tad disappointed that I couldn’t get it to work this morning. Hopeful I won’t have to wait much longer.

Oh just one more thing, price wise – £4.99 for full Vectrex emulation, including all of the original (30) games and a few homebrew games (including the excellent ‘Thrust’), what an absolute bargain.

The countdown continues.

Vectrex Regeneration teaser video

Two and a bit days and counting until the release of the Vectrex emulator for ios devices and a new teaser trailer showing the app in action. Looking pretty damn smooth if you ask me.

Come on clock, count down already

Vectrex Regeneration imminent

In 8 days and 5 hours, I will be a very happy gamer!

Just in time for the RCM event too. Shall take my iPad and iCade with me.

Retro Gaming Weekend at Derby – Saturday

Phew, a very looooong day today but one that has seen many, many laughs and a whole bunch of retro gaming goodness with friends old and new.

A cold, dark, wet and very  early start for the RCM admins as we needed to meet up at HQ early enough to pack up around 30 computers/consoles, associated games, attachments and monitors, transport them all to the event in Derbyshire and have anything set up  before the doors opened at 10am.

We must be getting good at this after all these years as we soon had everything organised, loaded up and ready to roll within record time. Who says bloke’s aren’t organised!….o.k, I got slightly lost on the way to the venue because I’d forgotten the postcode

We were met on arrival by our hosts Chris Snowden & Shaun Bebbington and got stuck into to setting up the three rooms with everyone’s favourite gaming gear.

Yet another TV for the pile Jim.

 

In this room we had the MB Vectrex, C64, ZX81, Atari 2600, PC Engine, Amiga 1200, Commodore 64GS, Atari 800, Nintendo Gamecube…

…and not forgetting the VIC-20

Into one of the areas linking the next room we had the BBC Master, Nintendo N64 and a Sega Megadrive/Sega CD setup and Karls Everdrive SD cart playing a rather funky looking port of Angry Birds…on a Megadrive!

I didn’t get chance to take a good look at this today but will certainly be giving it a try when I’m back there tomorrow.

The next room housed an Xbox 360, Nintendo Virtual Boy (was being a bit stubborn at the beginning due to a loose mains cable but we managed to get it going in the end), various  hand held electronic games, SNES, NES, Sony PSX, Atari Jaguar and Chris’ iCade with Mame and various emus.

Finally, we had one of the smaller rooms housing a Sega Dreamcast, PS2 with twin steering wheel setup (I rather enjoyed a spot of 2-up rally action with Jim this afternoon), Amstrad CPC 664 and a Sega Master System.

There was also, various Commodore C16/Plus 4 hardware set up from Chris  humongous collection. All in all i think that there was something here for everyone and so with the doors opened and a few eager retro gamers ready to get going, we had a coffee and got cracking.

As the event was being held on the outskirts of Derby City centre and only a stones throw away from where Core Design had their   office, I thought ‘When in Rome’, I’d re-play some of the games they produced including Lara Croft – Tomb Raider, Chuck Rock and the AGA-Tastic Banshee. The latter is  a game I didn’t really play a great deal when it first came out but had since rediscovered it a few years again. It’s certainly one of the finest looking Schmups on the Amiga.

 

A good start to the day

I don’t stand a chance of getting anywhere remotely close to the type of scores that Jackie was racking up on Drop Zone on the Atari.  A real pro in action! Note the cartridge in the the C64GS…it’s a  port of the classic C16 version of Kickstart.

Max was kind enough to show me his (wip) port of Cosmic Ark to the C64. Damn well addictive, can’t wait to see the finished results.

Well, my score on Mayhem on the ZX81 is improving, but my 51 is no match for Stu’s 65. The challenge has been set for tomorrow

After lunch and getting to know a few other folk that arrived this morning and then the now obligatory Soul Caliber tournament  on the Sega Dreamcast. I was also looking at some of the emulators running on the DC, and noted the how well they ran from CD and in particular with VGA box, how crisp they looked. Mental note to investigate further on my own setup.

Checking out some homebrew games for sale. Mmm Commodore games!

Andy sampling a bit of Commodore Plus/4 homebrew gaming with Adventures In Time

Impressive (but unfortunately not complete) this next game plays and looks very similar to Amalyte on the C64 and has an amazing  soundtrack thanks to the use of the SID chip addon cart that Chris has for his Plus/4. I forget the name of the game (X3no, Xe3o?) so I’ll take another look tomorrow and capture some footage.

One system that I don’t really play a lot on is the Atari Jaguar. Apart from the odd game of Tempest, I rarely sit down to explore some of it’s other titles and RCM has got quite a few so I thought I’d take a look at some of them this afternoon. I was certainly impressed by Power Drive Rally, Cybermorph and the conversion of Syndicate so that’s another note to take a closer look into the Jag.

More homebrew and I spotted a few new cartridges for the C64/C64GS including one of my favourites, the truly bonkers –  Quod Init Exit. <see previos blog post - http://stiggyblog.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/c64-homebrew-quod-init-exit/

That pretty much wraps it up for day one. As always, bags of fun when the RCM chaps get together and nice to meet and chat with a  few new people. Bring on day two!

Oh and one last thing..Beam Rider on the ZX81 – That little black box continues to surprise.

Awesome-ness!

Vectrex 72-1 multicart on (limited) sale

The Raven’s Retro Nest are selling the lite (uncased) version of their 72 in 1 Vectrex multicart until 15th November at a bargain price of just £29.99 which also includes world wide shipping.

I’ve had one of these cartridges for a few years now and is brilliant way way to sample every single Vectrex game (including variants, demos and Homebrew releases) in one cartridge for use on he original hardware.

See previous post from waaaaaaay back – http://stiggyblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/vectrex-72-1-multicart/

It’s a flippin bargain at the price and an essential purchase for any Vectrex owner.

Full details and a list of included games can be found here -

http://vectrex.playntradeonline.com/

Play Expo 2012 – swag and goodies.

I’ve got one more day off work today and so I thought I’d take a look through the bag of goodies containing a few items I picked up from Play Expo.

As well as the Atari 2600 games and two homebrew Commodore C64 cartridges I mentioned in my last post I also picked up a small batch of early copies of Edge magazine. These include some the issues written at the time of the launch the 3DO, PSX and Saturn consoles or the release of a now retro classic game. The others I picked up contained articles of interest like this issue with a cover feature about Llamasoft and a indepth interview with Jeff Minter.

Free to all visitors of Play Expo was this rather cool event program which has been designed in the style of a tabloid newspaper At the time I only glanced at it but now back home I can appreciate how much work has gone into it. There’s some really great content here and such a great idea for a program design.

I also picked up issue 3 (and the early issue zero) of Retro Fusion, an independent retro gaming magazine produced by Chris Wilkins (Boyo). One of those great scene magazines written by fans for fans and produced to a very high quality.

I was rather chuffed to see that one of my own photographs appears in the magazine (the one on page 20 with Ocean Software guys Mark Jones, Gary Bracey and Jim Bagley) and as thanks, Chris personalised my copy with his signature. Mark Jones was also next to me and signed my copy too. As a fan of his work from early ZX Spectrum games, this really made my day!

You can read more about Retro Fusion and order a printed copy yourself (or digital version if you prefer) right here – http://www.retrofusion.me.uk/

So with these and a couple of issues of Amiga Future (and not forgetting the latest issue of Retro Gamer Magazine) that’s me sorted for magazines for a week or two.

I haven’t tried them yet but am looking forward to testing the new connection leads I picked up from the Tech-Shack. I brought one for my BBC model B and another for my Sega Megadrive/Master System. Each provide Scart/Composite as opposed to naff RF so I look forward to a much better picture on my TV. They also had a flyer for Commodore SD2iEC devices and a new MMC internal storage device for ZX Spectrum +3. There’s no details on the website yet, but i’ll try to get some more info on these. What is interesting is the low prices!

Amongst the flyers and info cards, one in particular caught my eye and is about a rather interesting Indiegogo project to build a UK based classic arcade hall in the UK. Sounds like fun? Head on over to www.epicarcadeproject.com for details.

One of the best freebies I picked up at the Expo was after chatting to a chap called Dan who is linked to the Vectrex Regeneration project. As you may know, I’m a huge Vectrex fan and this project aims to bring the Vectrex to the iPhone and iPad (Android to follow), complete with authentic Vectrex ‘buzz’, screen overlays and WOOT WOOT iCade support. All original Vectrex games will be included in the app as well as app packs that contain some of the harder to find homebrew releases. This is one app I’m eagerly awaiting and Dan hinted at a November release. Checkout the awesome project at http://www.vectrexregeneration.com/

We got chatting about all things Vectrex and I mentioned Dr Phu’s 21″ DIY Vectrex which he is very much keen to see. I’m sure we can set something up at RCM when Phu has it working again (see previous blog post – http://stiggyblog.wordpress.com/2012/08/25/wip-demo-of-dr-phus-homemade-21-vectrex/ ) Any-ho, admiring Dan’s Vectrex Regeneration Polo Shirt, he pulled out a spare from a pile in his backpack and gave me one. See me grin from ear to ear!

Hh

Scalable Vectrex Overlays

Many thanks to Computer Classics.De for the heads up on this one. He’s created some hi-res scalable Vectrex overlays which you can use as templates for printing you’re own.

Here’s the link – http://computer-classics.de/cah_blog2/test-resource-post/vectrex/

I’ve had limited success with printing my own in the past and favour inkjet as opposed to laser printing as I find the colour gradients to be much better on overlays like Scramble.

These overlays i’ve printed below on transparent paper (i was practising to get the size right) are based on low res source images. I hope to try again soon using the new templates above for crystal sharp lines.

I’ve tried a few methods of whiting out the reverse side of the overlay for areas that don’t need to be transparent. I’ve tried white adhesive stickers that are cut to shape can be quite effective but settled on hand painting with water based acrylic model paint (Citadel paints from Games Workshop). With method, you can whiteout even the smallest detail – although tackling the Minestorm white grid should be challenging!

Ideally I need to find a better laminator though, and one that supports a thicker laminate pouch as mine are way too thin and prone to stretch resulting in horrible marks. Still, I’m still experimenting and we’ve got some industrial room size printers where I work and the print manager owes me a few favours

These scalable overlays make for a nice Vectrex iPad wallpaper too

Many thanks again Dandee!

Vectrex Regeneration update at Pennyarcade

Penny Arcade have posted an interesting interview with the guys who are working hard on the Vectrex emulator for iPad/iPhone – Vectrex Regeneration.

In it they discuss how things are progressing and some of the obstacles they’ve encountered along the way. Like many, I cannot wait for this one and so it’s particularly exciting to read further news on what is going to be an awesome-ness app.

Here’s the link-

http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/analogue-is-tricky-how-one-team-is-re-creating-the-vectrex-with-an-ios-app

21″ Vectrex gameplay video.

Trying to play this thing one handed whilst filming the 21″ Vextrex on Saturday proved to be a bit difficult so I managed to catch Richard having a go on his creation on Monday.

 

As you can see, the sound is pretty much spot on but the graphics need a little more work.

Sadly, later that day it appears that someone may have accidentally inserted a game cartridge whilst the Vectrex was still switched on and subsequently blowing something judging by the burning smell. Let’s hope Richard can discover what the problem is and is able to fix it soon.

 

 

 

WIP demo of Dr Phu’s homemade 21″ Vectrex

Had a fantastic day of retro gaming and catching up with old friends today as well as a sneaky peak at Richards (Dr Phu’s) homemade monster 21″ Vectrex.

There’s still a bit of tweaking to be had to get the graphics to display correctly but so far it’s coming along very nicely. I took my Vectrex multicart along with me so we could see it running side by side with the same gaming running on the original Vectrex. My iPhone pictures didn’t work out so well but I was able to play a reasonable game of 21″ Berzerk.

Richard and his baby.

I’m currently working on a set of reproduction Vectrex overlays (for the regular size Vectrex that is) and had taken my Minestorm overlay with me to work yesterday to take measurements and make comparisons with the ones i’d made via one of our enterprise laser printers. I still had it in my bag with me today so I thought we’d have some fun

…and a quick video of it in action.

Monster Vectrex console.

It lives again!

You might remember this from a while back when I posted a blog entry after attending our members gaming event at the Retro Computer Museum and the unveiling of ‘Dr Phu’s’ homemade 21″ Vectrex monster console….which I think we should now call Frankentrex.

21″ Vectrex in DIY case with clear side panel so you can have a look at the beast inside.

Phu (Richard) is a bit of a tech wizard like most of the chaps at the museum and thought it would be fun to see if he could take the innards of a faulty Vectrex console and figure out how to get it to work on a 21″ tv tube.

He had this working just prior to last years event but sadly, something went pop and the chaps and I never got to see it actually work. However, back to the drawing board after many months, funds and parts acquired to continue the project. It’s still early days yet but Phu’s latest video is looking promising.

Hopefully it’ll be ready in time for the next RCM event at the end of August – I’m looking forward to testing it out for myself.