Vectrex UV Overlays - A niche too far?
I’ve felt discombobulated this week and as a result everything has taken far longer than it should. As the topic of this video is probably only of interest to half a dozen people worldwide, it was intended to just be a quick little extra.
Unfortunately it turned into a three day marathon due to multiple reshoots. The video has still got a number of technical issues, but I’ve drawn a line under it now to move onto something else. I’ll be making it public in a day or two.
I’ve enjoyed playing some games though - it’s been a long time since I had the time to do that.
Take care.
Comments (52)
Half a dozen has turned into 120K+ views after a few days. :-) Very good and interesting video! :-)
Thanks! This video is making the rounds in the Vectrex enthusiast group on FB and they were curious which method you were using. Based on the lack of sampled audio, the assumption was the Vecfever cart. I believe the PC method allows for vertical and horizontal and has the more complex audio.
Quick Vectrex question - are you playing Star Wars Arcade Vertical via a Vecfever Static Binary image, or do you have your Vectrex hooked up directly to a PC to handle the necessary coprocessing? Thanks in advance!
I’m using a VecFever cart.
I owned a Vectrex as a kid. I was a 90s kid so it seemed dated but I loved it. I got my SNES and didn't play it as much. My mom ended up selling it for $10 at a yard sale. Smh 😭
Awesome video! 💜
Small nitpick here! It's nice that you're doing 60 FPS video. I noticed though (while stepping through the video step by step) that every fifth frame is duplicated. I can't really notice it while watching the video so it probably doesn't matter, but I figured I'd point it out either way!
Yes - this is one of the technical issues I refer to. I could post a long explanation about how & why it’s like this...but nope, long story short...it’s knackered and I know it’s knackered.
That's really something. Nice to see the retro games groups still love the Vectrex. And Nice to see you getting some quality time on yours too.
Another great video. It’s good to see even after all these years, on one of the great home game systems, new products are being made. It’s a system I have always wanted. But they sell for an eye watering amount of money these days.
That's a really nice job he's done on those overlays. They make the Vectrex look better than it's ever done!
It really looks cool, and also the vector graphics from the machine itself, might have been ahead of its time. Also never seen a Vectrex in in person, maybe I'm too young for that...
Do you remember that someone (probably a catalogue) used to sell overlays that made your black and white telly into a colour tv? My Aunt had one, this reminded me of it, although this is much more sophisticated. Needless to say it was about 2% successful.
Yes I’ve seen mention of those. Only really worked for shots of landscape that looked like the old default Windows XP wallpaper. Far less successful with snooker. Of course colour overlays were common in the early B&W arcade days - Space Invaders used one.
I had never heard of the Vectrex before! And I could not find you making a full video on the platform before.. maybe you could add a **little** more introduction to vectrex platform on the beginning of the video, and maybe follow up with a full techmoan-style video on what vectrex is?
I’m a bit surprised it passed you by, but then again it’s not exactly something you stumble across unless you’re into retro games. That’s always been an interest of mine - but one I leave to the experts to cover. I’ve finished this video now though, so any thought of returning to it fills me with dread. There are a lot of good videos about the Vectrex on youtube though (and probably a lot of bad ones too).
One of my biggest ever regrets was selling my Vectrex to buy a Commodore 1541-II floppy drive for my 64C. What was I thinking!?!
I think that when you will read my comment You will have 1 million subscribers! Congrats Mat! :-D
That milestone is still quite a few months away yet - six or seven at the current rate. Then again you would have been right if I’d read your comment in December.
This video is recombobulating me, so genuine thanks are in order. My first and only vectrex experience was maybe 15 years back when I worked in a second-hand dealer. We occasionally had antique consoles come through, and this was quite a unique one for me (my gaming life started with my mate's Atari). I had the pleasure of "testing" the machine to make sure it worked. I think Asteroids was the only cart it had, but it was fun anyway. It ended up being sold to a collector for about $450AUD, or roughly £12.25 at current exchange rates. Anyway, thanks again for uploading and cheering us up in these unsettling times.
Very nicely done. Video games were something I never got involved with. Of course when Pong came out we thought it was the greatest thing ever. Tells you how old I am.
As a big arcade player of Asteroids in the early 1980's, I have to say that this Vectrex version you have is the closest thing I have seen to the real arcade version, even closer than Atari's own consoles such as 2600 & 7800.
I’ve always wanted an Asteroids Cabaret Cabinet - I think this is the closest I’ll get.
God I love the Vectrex, hands down the coolest videogame console ever, I really wish I had one
Another enjoyable video, Mat. I have no interest in Vectrex whatsoever, but any Techmoan video is one I have to watch immediately. Honestly, I think you could make videos about paint drying in an informative, intelligent and entertaining way. I’d watch them!
Star Wars looks amazing!
Instant watch for me
careful using the name "Velco" they are hyper aggressive about ANY use of their brand. the generic term "hook and loop tape" is safer
It’s OK - it’s definitely Velcro. I used my own and it’s official branded stuff.
It is extraordinary to see these adaptations. Technology was moving so fast in the 80s and the 90s that those of us who were moving from singlehood, to a relationship, marriage and maybe a family within the space of 10 years would probably have missed the incredible advances in computer games in that period. Over the last 15 years I have been astonished by the fidelity and experience of the modern games my family play. The SIMs, COD, Warhammer, War Thunder, etc. The history and expansion of these games needs to be written. Anybody up for that?
Line well drawn, sir!
It's one of the ones that got away for me (but hey, I had computers and synthesizers and access to a Fostex A-8). A couple friends had Vextrexes (Vextrices?), the loitering trick from Asteroids did not work in MineStorm as I recall.
Fantastic! I never had a Vectrex but always wanted one back in the days. I started with the Philips G7000 then ZX81 and Spectrum... The Vectrex was way too expensive but fascinating. But I'm still a gamer today.
I bought a Vectrex from a toy shop in Slough - could that REALLY have been 40 years ago? Good grief! I think I gave it away in the end. It was so long ago I can't remember! Thanks once more, Mat for yet another memory lane walk. Stay isolated, and well!
I always remember the day I heard that Woolworths were selling them off for £40. I managed to borrow the money and got the bus there with a friend and they’d sold out. That moment haunted me so much I had to buy one in the 1990s to finally put it to rest.
They look absolutely gorgeous, it certainly makes the games (that I would probably have little interesting in playing myself normally - sorry) much more interesting.
Vectrex was one of the few early home consoles that I never had a chance to own. A friend of mine had one though. Star Castle...was a great game...do you have that one?
Not as an original cart...but it’s on the multi-cart. I haven’t played that one much though. When I get the chance I’ll give it a go.
Oh, a new Techmoan video. Thanks for taking my mind off a difficult day in my household. And no, this isn't sarcasm. Today has been crap. Just glad something is working in the world.
I have a Vextrex...so it is my kind of niche!
Perhaps there are more Vectrex owners here than I anticipated.
I just got done fixing a Vectrex controller and I get this notification. Looks like a lot of fun, I'll look into ordering some soon!
Enjoyed it. Brought back some great memories. Always good to see the Death Star blow up. :)
Vid looks good to me Mat. It's amazing the level of creativity and ingenuity that came out of the 80s. Even better that people still have a passion to want to do new things with these old systems like Vectrex.
Video looks publishable to me, btw - but I'm the idiot who created a custom cartridge with the entire Bad Apple music video as well as a Doom level renderer for his Vectrex, so I'm a tad biased :P
Oh I’m definitely publishing it - especially after spending all this time on it.
Oh sweet lord... yet another awesome techmoan thing I’m going to research and probably buy... XD (great video, I didn’t notice anything wrong with any of the shots!)
I replaced most of the dodgy bits - a couple of times. It turns out that the Vectrex is surprisingly difficult to shoot with no flicker, at the right frame rate and with the right brightness - and in focus. This was a video made by trial and error. Mostly error.
The first game (name escapes me), I remember playing that in the arcade. Amazing how overlay changes the game. Enjoyed the video thanks Mat
It's a custom version of Asteroids - called Rocks and UFOs or something like that.
Hope you recombobulate soon!
So do I - it's annoying.