4 ms·

Vectrex

27 points by luu 7y ago

kick 7y ago
Vector displays are one of my favorite things! If you ever get a chance to play with one, I highly recommend it. Playing with a friend's Tektronix terminal was stunning for me. The Vectrex was an amazing little console, and it's a shame it didn't take off. There's an alternative world in which computing never got overtaken with the urge to put photorealistic pictures on every surface, and that world is so much neater than the one we're living in.
- MegaDeKay 7y ago
  I used to own a Space Duel cocktail cabinet, a vector game that deserved to be much better known. Think of a color version of Asteroids with 3D spinning objects and other cool enemies. It has a two player co-op mode where each player's ship was chained together, so one person hitting thrust would propel the other as well. The game's difficulty level was spot on, and it made for some of the most intense gaming experiences I've ever had. Good times. https://youtu.be/CwY5znUeaJ4?t=60 https://youtu.be/CwY5znUeaJ4?t=60
  - kick 7y ago
    Thank you for sharing! That's really captivating!
  - visiblink 7y ago
    I remember playing that game at the arcade as a kid. It was a lot of fun. If I recall correctly, some versions (or levels?) had pretty intense gravity effects.
- pixelrevision 7y ago
  I was obsessed with vector displays as a kid. The standup versions of Star Wars and tempest looked so futuristic in comparison to the other stuff out at the time. Vectrex also looked a whole lot cooler than the Atari 2600 but I guess people like color and those overlays did not quite cut it :p.
  - geoelectric 7y ago
    The tiny all-in-one monitor didn't do it any favors. People wanted to play on their TV, but that obviously wasn't going to work with a vector-based system.
- adamrezich 7y ago
  I was working on a game for awhile with that exact alternate universe as the basic premise—it's a fascinating thought experiment
MegaDeKay 7y ago
"In the mid-1990s, Jay Smith generously placed the entire Vectrex product line into the public domain, opening up legal, not-for-profit distribution." [0] This means that you can legally play Vectrex games in an emulator like MAME or Retroarch (with the 'vecx' core). "A complete, curated, hand-tested romset for the Vectrex dedicated console" is available on archive.org at a whopping 184KB download. [1] [0] https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131526/a_history_of_gaming_platforms_the_.php?page=3 https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131526/a_history_of_g... [1] https://archive.org/details/VectrexCollection https://archive.org/details/VectrexCollection
Zardoz84 7y ago
I had the opportunity of playing with a Vectrex , a month ago on the Gameon exposition. Really interesting machine. and very unique graphics.
danbolt 7y ago
A decade ago I got to try a Vectrex at Penny Aracde Expo in Seattle. I was enamoured with it for those few short moments, as it had a unique look and aspect ratio. I’d love to play one again.
djmips 7y ago
If you feel like developing for the Vectrex there is a full set of tools and information developed by Malban. http://vide.malban.de/what-is-vide http://vide.malban.de/what-is-vide

27 points by luu 7y ago

kick 7y ago

Vector displays are one of my favorite things! If you ever get a chance to play with one, I highly recommend it. Playing with a friend's Tektronix terminal was stunning for me. The Vectrex was an amazing little console, and it's a shame it didn't take off. There's an alternative world in which computing never got overtaken with the urge to put photorealistic pictures on every surface, and that world is so much neater than the one we're living in.

MegaDeKay 7y ago
I used to own a Space Duel cocktail cabinet, a vector game that deserved to be much better known. Think of a color version of Asteroids with 3D spinning objects and other cool enemies. It has a two player co-op mode where each player's ship was chained together, so one person hitting thrust would propel the other as well. The game's difficulty level was spot on, and it made for some of the most intense gaming experiences I've ever had. Good times. https://youtu.be/CwY5znUeaJ4?t=60 https://youtu.be/CwY5znUeaJ4?t=60
- kick 7y ago
  Thank you for sharing! That's really captivating!
- visiblink 7y ago
  I remember playing that game at the arcade as a kid. It was a lot of fun. If I recall correctly, some versions (or levels?) had pretty intense gravity effects.
pixelrevision 7y ago
I was obsessed with vector displays as a kid. The standup versions of Star Wars and tempest looked so futuristic in comparison to the other stuff out at the time. Vectrex also looked a whole lot cooler than the Atari 2600 but I guess people like color and those overlays did not quite cut it :p.
- geoelectric 7y ago
  The tiny all-in-one monitor didn't do it any favors. People wanted to play on their TV, but that obviously wasn't going to work with a vector-based system.
adamrezich 7y ago
I was working on a game for awhile with that exact alternate universe as the basic premise—it's a fascinating thought experiment

MegaDeKay 7y ago

"In the mid-1990s, Jay Smith generously placed the entire Vectrex product line into the public domain, opening up legal, not-for-profit distribution." [0] This means that you can legally play Vectrex games in an emulator like MAME or Retroarch (with the 'vecx' core). "A complete, curated, hand-tested romset for the Vectrex dedicated console" is available on archive.org at a whopping 184KB download. [1] [0] https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131526/a_history_of_gaming_platforms_the_.php?page=3 https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131526/a_history_of_g... [1] https://archive.org/details/VectrexCollection https://archive.org/details/VectrexCollection

Zardoz84 7y ago

I had the opportunity of playing with a Vectrex , a month ago on the Gameon exposition. Really interesting machine. and very unique graphics.

danbolt 7y ago

A decade ago I got to try a Vectrex at Penny Aracde Expo in Seattle. I was enamoured with it for those few short moments, as it had a unique look and aspect ratio. I’d love to play one again.

djmips 7y ago

If you feel like developing for the Vectrex there is a full set of tools and information developed by Malban. http://vide.malban.de/what-is-vide http://vide.malban.de/what-is-vide