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Post by c64stuff on Mar 21, 2022 23:54:18 GMT
Thing looks extremely cool. Ran across it while searching for new A500 unboxing videos. I pretty much don't care about any console gaming systems right around after when the first PlayStation came out because that's when consoles and computers lost their unique flavor and everything went corporate and bland.
By the way off topic but RetroGameBoyz makes an excellent Vectrex controller as well as ones for the C64, Amiga, and other systems. He even makes controllers with dual sticks just for playing Robotron and other dual stick games for old Atari plug style compatible computers and consoles or things like numeric keypads and joystick combos for consoles that had that.
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Post by parzival on Mar 23, 2022 15:46:16 GMT
Okay, that is cool. I actually got to play with an actual vintage Vectrex a couple of weekends ago (March 2022) at the Computer Museum of America in Roswell, GA (not the UFO place). www.computermuseumofamerica.org/ Awesome place to visit. They have everything from an Enigma machine to a collection of decommissioned Crays. Playing on the Vectrex was a hoot. A friend of mine had one back in the day. I’ve always loved the vector graphics approach; it always seemed more “real” to me than pixel graphics. |
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 24, 2022 0:12:27 GMT
Yes there's something about vector graphics games. Especially back in the day they could offer something that regular graphics couldn't like very high resolution for fine detail. Games in the arcade like Gravitar which is one of my all time favorite gravity style space crawler games or stuff like Tempest, Star Wars, and others.
Those Vectrex consoles are a good investment. They only keep going up in value. I think they also were the first console or home computer ever to also have 3D glasses you could buy as an accessory and those glasses are extremely rare and getting very expensive to find. I may be confusing that with the original Sega system as far as the glasses go but I don't think I am. Been a while but I watched a documentary on the Vectrex a few years ago.
The creator bought out a bunch of monitor stock for a good price that was intended for oscilloscopes and that's how he created the system. At the time it was rare for people to have multiple TVs in a house so it seemed like a good idea to have a console with its own screen, especially since Vector graphics was so unique. The company was also working on a color Vectrex console so you didn't need to use the transparent color overlays on the screen but they went out of business before it was released. There's supposed to be a few prototypes that are floating around out there.
I also listened to the RetroHour podcast a year or two ago where they interviewed a guy who's writing new game cartridges for the Vectrex and it was very interesting to hear it's unique quirks and challenges in writing for. One thing I think he said was there is no hardware to store the screen so you have to rewrite the screen entirely each time you wanted the screen to change even a little such as a ship blowing up.
Which reminds me saw some videos where a guy designed a board that goes between the computer and the monitor for many old colorless vector graphics arcade units or I think works on the Vectrex too. With a few adjustments of knobs on this device it will output colors based on where objects are located on the screen. It was pretty amazing and brought new life to games that didn't have color. I think he's now selling this device.
I mentioned it above but RetroGameBoyz is making new controllers for the Vectrex and many other consoles. He sells stuff like NES style controllers with C64 theme decals that feature hot keys for the C64 or Amiga like for jump instead of having to push up on the joystick or things like hitting spacebar. He does good work and custom builds whatever you're looking for. He even makes screw in thumb sticks for those NES D pads that can be removed if the game would be better using just the D Pad alone.
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