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2017/3/29: Vectrex: Space Wars

Posted: March 29th, 2017, 8:19 pm
by VideoGameCritic
Finally - a new Vectrex review! Let me know what you think.

Re: 2017/3/29: Vectrex: Space Wars

Posted: March 29th, 2017, 8:38 pm
by scotland
That was a fun review! Makes me want to play.

Here is a photo of Spacewar from on the MIT webpage
Image

Spacewar back in MIT always had 2 different styles of ships to tell them apart. One is the Triangle (now more famous for Asteroids) and the other is a classic Rocketship design. Its been awhile, but the book Hackers (written in the early 1980s I think when that term did not mean exactly what it does today) details the creation of the game.

Re: 2017/3/29: Vectrex: Space Wars

Posted: March 30th, 2017, 9:31 am
by Retro STrife
Just got a Sean Kelly multicart for Vectrex last week. Will have to give this one a try. Never tried any version of Space Wars before, and didn't even realize the Vectrex had one. Thanks for the review.

Re: 2017/3/29: Vectrex: Space Wars

Posted: March 30th, 2017, 11:10 am
by goldenband
This and Rip Off are my two favorite 2P games on the Vectrex (which is an underrated 2P console, no doubt in part because the controllers are so rare). It's tons of fun, moves along at a nice clip, and always allows for a late-game comeback.

Re: 2017/3/29: Vectrex: Space Wars

Posted: March 30th, 2017, 6:09 pm
by VideoGameCritic
I modified the Vectrex review pages so there's now a white border around the screen shots. I think it looks better.
(you will need to shift-refresh to see change).

Re: 2017/3/29: Vectrex: Space Wars

Posted: March 30th, 2017, 9:30 pm
by BlasteroidAli
This site never fails to entertain me. I have been into games for about 40 years.. I remember when they first game out. I was in the Carnival. I had read bits of Ray Bradbury's dark carnival and was fascinated by them. Oh course it was nothing like it but imagination did the rest. There was this huge hall In Glasgow called the Kelvin Hall as it was on the banks of the river Kelvin. All the fun of the fair was in there. Unfortunately Burgess Meredith was not in there with his famous torture garden.. and there were no flesh eating plants. Just candy floss and toffee apples and people throwing up on cheap cider (whilst on the fun rides..).
So I got to play Star ship and my mind was blown. Later playing star ship on the vcs I thought yeah I remember this... not as much fun but the genesis of the idea was still there.

Had I seen this I would similarly have just been blown away. I have played the vcs one but it is a bit limp. Though I always remember the first time I played Gravitar. Wow what an experience. I think this is similar to that. I was always in love with the vertrex. I never did get one.

Re: 2017/3/29: Vectrex: Space Wars

Posted: March 31st, 2017, 3:41 am
by Sut
Wasn't Computer Space based off Space War as well ?

Re: 2017/3/29: Vectrex: Space Wars

Posted: March 31st, 2017, 6:25 am
by scotland
Sut wrote:Wasn't Computer Space based off Space War as well ?


Yes. There are videos of gameplay on Youtube fortunately to see. Obviously its one player, the gameplay is different (twin enemy saucers) and I believe its discrete logic since there is not microprocessor. I would love to see one in real life. A couple dozen do survive apparently. However they made it, its impressive.

Re: 2017/3/29: Vectrex: Space Wars

Posted: March 31st, 2017, 4:06 pm
by FusekiGames
scotland wrote:
Sut wrote:Wasn't Computer Space based off Space War as well ?


Yes. There are videos of gameplay on Youtube fortunately to see. Obviously its one player, the gameplay is different (twin enemy saucers) and I believe its discrete logic since there is not a microprocessor. I would love to see one in real life. A couple dozen do survive apparently. However they made it, its impressive.


Not only did it not use a CPU, it also didn't use graphics ROMs. Check out this PCB picture from computerspacefan.com, where you can see the player's ship on the board, made up of diodes:

Image

On that same page is an interview with Ted Dabney, who co-designed the game with Nolan Bushnell...
http://www.computerspacefan.com/Ted2.htm