70 replies to this topic

[A Sprite]

Before polygons and anti-aliasing, there were high definition 3D games. What are your top 5 vector games?

Some to consider: Star Castle, Space War, Tempest, Tac Scan, Star Wars Arcade, Asteroids, Major Havoc...

Also, what games deserve an honorable mention for using the style? Should they be included in the top 5?

Examples: Qix, Dungeons of Daggaroth, Elite, Vib Ribbon, Geometry Wars...

[Lord Helmet]

Qix isn't vector, so I would leave it out of consideration.

I'd say:

Star Wars Arcade
Space Duel
Tempest
Battlezone
Asteroids
Star Trek

[Red 5]

I love Star Wars, but Tempest could quite simply be the greatest arcade game ever made.

Not just vector... I'm talking king of them all.
I just recently got to the red levels in Tempest (on MAME) and there
is no greater adrenaline rush on an arcade machine than those higher levels.

1. Tempest
2. Star Wars
3. Asteroids
4. Major Havoc
5. Space Duel

[Matt Fisher]

1. Tempest (greatest game, period, of all time)
2. Major Havoc (Can't beat the variety and toughness, although I suck at it)
3. Red Baron (I may be the only one who will vote for this one, but I LOVED it when I was a kid)
4. Star Trek (The sounds and speech are awesome)
5. Minestorm/3D Minestorm (we're not limited to arcades, right? MS, in either form, is better than Asteroids, IMHO).

Tough to pick only five, though... Hate to leave out Space Duel, Demon, QB-3, Black Widow, Battlezone, etc....

[Bill Brasky]

therealred5, on Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:15 AM, said:

I love Star Wars, but Tempest could quite simply be the greatest arcade game ever made.

WORD!

1. Tempest
2. Tac Scan
3. Demon
4. Armor Attack
5. Red Baron

[sukotsu9]

I was never really attracted to the vector games (typical lack of colors), so I can't say I played a whole lot. My two votes would go to:

1. Tempest - "twitch" game? Maybe, but there's nothing like it... ever. Serious fun.
2. Star Wars Arcade - Finally gave us the video game we wanted since '77: a chance to fly an X-Wing. Extra points for coloring the fireballs and trying not to look as boring as Battlezone. It took Lucasarts how long after that to make Rogue Squadron?

I'm not busting on Battlezone, it's pretty fun, but the the vector arcade game always destroyed me. It was like a product of the drug-enhanced '70s, mysterious and confusing. Something you'd see on the outskirts of TRON land. Really weird, the more I think of it. Was there a backstory to that war?

Also, Asteroids. While it remains a classic game, it really looks like it came out of a laboratory oscilloscope - just a step above Space War. I'd vote for it being a fun game, but I can't call it beautiful.

[Matt Fisher]

sukotsu9, on Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:01 PM, said:

Also, Asteroids. While it remains a classic game, it really looks like it came out of a laboratory oscilloscope - just a step above Space War. I'd vote for it being a fun game, but I can't call it beautiful.

I realize that this is a matter of taste, but to me, "beautiful" is playing a real vector game in a completely darkened room (my game room is an honest-to-goodness early 50's fallout shelter, so this is not a problem for me). Maybe most arcades back in the day, although dark, were not dark enough for one to really appreciate the difference, or maybe the ops turned down the brightness in an attempt to prolong the lives of the monitors. You haven't really played a vector game until you've played it this way. On a properly adjusted and recapped monitor, the vectors are like laser beams emerging from complete darkness, and no other type of monitor can even come close to this effect. I like to say that if you haven't seen a real vector game (at least in a long while), do yourself a favor and DON'T, because then you will need to buy them, and it's an expensive habit...

[FujiSkunk]

Asteroids is beautiful. No emulator will ever perfectly recreate those ultra-bright shots and their halos.

The rest of my top five includes Star Wars, Tempest, Tac/Scan and Major Havoc.

I realize I should include Battlezone, but I never got much of a chance to play it growing up, and nowadays, I dunno, I actually find the rasterized Atari 2600 version more engaging than the arcade original.

[mos6507]

Star Castle definitely has to be on the list. The emulators don't support sound and the Vectrex doesn't come close to approximating it so there is no way to properly experience it outside of the real thing. The sound really makes the game, especially the big explosion of the castle ship.

[edweird13]

Battlezone
Star Wars Arcade
Red Baron
Tempest
Star Castle
Major Havoc

Battlezone was one of the first games I really fell in love with. Space Invaders meh but driving a tank in a 3-D enviorment that was wonderful.

[Tempest]

Let's see:

1. Major Havoc
2. Tempest
3. Black Widow
4. Quantum
5. Star Wars


Tempest

[A Sprite]

Matt Fisher, on Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:33 AM, said:

sukotsu9, on Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:01 PM, said:

Also, Asteroids. While it remains a classic game, it really looks like it came out of a laboratory oscilloscope - just a step above Space War. I'd vote for it being a fun game, but I can't call it beautiful.

I realize that this is a matter of taste, but to me, "beautiful" is playing a real vector game in a completely darkened room (my game room is an honest-to-goodness early 50's fallout shelter, so this is not a problem for me). Maybe most arcades back in the day, although dark, were not dark enough for one to really appreciate the difference, or maybe the ops turned down the brightness in an attempt to prolong the lives of the monitors. You haven't really played a vector game until you've played it this way. On a properly adjusted and recapped monitor, the vectors are like laser beams emerging from complete darkness, and no other type of monitor can even come close to this effect. I like to say that if you haven't seen a real vector game (at least in a long while), do yourself a favor and DON'T, because then you will need to buy them, and it's an expensive habit...

Amen.



Emulated, but filtered to bring back the light. I couldn't stand to see the vectors reduced to simple lines.

Edited by A Sprite, Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:31 PM.

[5-11under]

1. Star Castle (arcade)
2. Mine Storm (Vectrex)

Thanks,
5-11under

[Segataritensoftii]

skunkworx, on Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:04 PM, said:

Asteroids is beautiful. No emulator will ever perfectly recreate those ultra-bright shots and their halos.

I've never gotten to see real vector graphics before. It's a damn shame nobody makes vector monitors any more.

[Bill Brasky]

skunkworx, on Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:04 PM, said:

Asteroids is beautiful. No emulator will ever perfectly recreate those ultra-bright shots and their halos.

The rest of my top five includes Star Wars, Tempest, Tac/Scan and Major Havoc.

I realize I should include Battlezone, but I never got much of a chance to play it growing up, and nowadays, I dunno, I actually find the rasterized Atari 2600 version more engaging than the arcade original.

No you shouldn't. Battlezone is easily the worst of the vector games mentioned, by far. It's one most people have played so it makes these lists. Once you get past the cool novelty of the dual sticks and targeting perspective you notice the forced death gameplay that won't allow you to win beyond a certain point.

[Flojomojo]

This is easy!

Star Wars (Atari Arcade)
Tempest
Asteroids
Star Castle
Space Duel <<--- edited! I meant Space DUEL, not Space WAR which I have never and probably will never play in its original oscilliscope form

VECTOR GAMES ARE GREAT!

Edited by Flojomojo, Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:37 PM.

[Flojomojo]

BTW the XBOX version of Atari Anthology runs at 1080i and IMHO does justice to a real vector monitor. It's not the same thing, but it's very nice for what it is, and you can sit down to play!

It also works on XBOX 360, which is a plus.

Edited by Flojomojo, Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:00 PM.

[Atarifever]

I've never played a real Vector game. It's the main reason I'm thinking of getting a Vectrex even though that forfeits my rights for any other consoles this generation.

[Matt Fisher]

Bill Brasky, on Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:08 PM, said:

Battlezone is easily the worst of the vector games mentioned, by far.

That's only because nobody mentioned Starhawk or Barrier yet... Tops on my overrated list would have to be Quantum. I know it's rare, but I just don't get the prices some people are willing to pay for it.

FLOJOMOJO: I agree that your setup is probably about the best you will get without a vector monitor, but there are things you probably can never recreate on a raster screen, due to the differences in technology. Just one example: on the real thing, when you shoot a missle in Asteroids, you get a "ghost trail" of dots behind it as the screen refreshes faster than the phosphors fade from the last refresh. Pretty cool... Also, you usually can't really get black on a raster monitor of any kind without turning the brightness way down. Needless to say, this will dull the impact the of the vectors. Either way, you lose the contrast that I think is the best thing about vectors. On a vector monitor, the black really is black because the only phosphors getting hit are the ones in the vectors themselves.

Atarifever: You must get a Vectrex and Vecflash today. You will not regret it.

[Atari5200]

i think it's time for me to get a Vectrex, i haven't played many vector games, other than the common ones, But i do know Tempest would be #1 followed very closely by Major Havok.

[FastRobPlus]

1. Space War
2. Playing some more Space War
3. Playing some more Space War
4. Playing some more Space War
5. You should really be playing some more Space War

[Flojomojo]

Atarifever, on Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:26 PM, said:

I've never played a real Vector game. It's the main reason I'm thinking of getting a Vectrex even though that forfeits my rights for any other consoles this generation.

Huh? How so? Unless you live with your (dicks for) parents, you can have more than one game device.

Matt Fisher, on Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:55 PM, said:

FLOJOMOJO: I agree that your setup is probably about the best you will get without a vector monitor, but there are things you probably can never recreate on a raster screen, due to the differences in technology. Just one example: on the real thing, when you shoot a missle in Asteroids, you get a "ghost trail" of dots behind it as the screen refreshes faster than the phosphors fade from the last refresh. Pretty cool... Also, you usually can't really get black on a raster monitor of any kind without turning the brightness way down. Needless to say, this will dull the impact the of the vectors. Either way, you lose the contrast that I think is the best thing about vectors. On a vector monitor, the black really is black because the only phosphors getting hit are the ones in the vectors themselves.

While I agree that "nothing is better than the real thing," I think we have a tendency to inflate the differences. The "ghost trail" can be emulated in software, and a high-resolution monitor is actually crisper and theoretically more vectory than an original 1024 x 768 vector monitor like Asteroids used in the old days. An energized vector monitor doesn't glow, but those old screens were a relatively light gray, not anywhere close to "true black."

Play Atari Anthology on a big HD screen in a dark room, try to ignore the controls, and see if you don't like it *better* than the "real thing!"

Matt Fisher, on Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:55 PM, said:

Atarifever: You must get a Vectrex and Vecflash today. You will not regret it.

Agreed, VecFlash is an awesome, mandatory accessory for Vectrex fun. And the console isn't all that expensive for how cool it is.

[shadow460]

Hmmm, Star Wars Arcade and Star Castle get my votes. MAME requires you to download sound samples for Star Castle.

[Atarifever]

Flojomojo, on Wed Jul 11, 2007 3:14 PM, said:

Atarifever, on Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:26 PM, said:

I've never played a real Vector game. It's the main reason I'm thinking of getting a Vectrex even though that forfeits my rights for any other consoles this generation.

Huh? How so? Unless you live with your (dicks for) parents, you can have more than one game device.

I live with my fiancee. That explains it all.

EDIT: Oh wait, are you reading it as "I can only have one console?" No, it's "I'll be lucky if I can talk her into letting me have one more console." It's at a very liberal 28 or so now, so I don't feel terribly limited overall.

Edited by Atarifever, Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:14 PM.

[Lord Helmet]

As for games that *feel* like vector games...I'd have to ad Geometry Wars to the list. What a great game