homerwannabee Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 (edited) Sylabys opening Air Raid with no results is leading me to start to wonder if this was ever commercially released. In fact I am starting to believe that this was actually some kind of hoax by some homebrewer or programmer in the early 90's. Lets look at all the strange evidence shall we. 1. Air Raid is an Eprom game. Meaning almost anybody with a little technical know how could of made it. 2. Air Raid has a strange story given to it by Pitfall Harry who claims that a friend of his had the box and the game. Yet Pitfall Harry as well finds Air Raid in a thrift store. 3. The manual and box have never been found ( Pitfall Harry's "friend" has never surfaced.) 4. Pitfall Harry has been known for elaborate contests. He has the knowledge to probably program for the Atari 2600. 5. Could it be possible the homebrewer decided to place Air Raid in 10 different thrift shops in different areas around America. 6. Unlike almost any other cart Air Raid has no original owner. In fact there is no direct link to this game at all. Almost all of them were bought off Ebay. So there you have it. I am starting to believe that Air Raid was an elaborate hoax. And if it was a hoax I think Pitfall harry had something to do with it. Really what are the odds that his friend would find the game boxed and he himself would also find the game in a thrift store. Put the pieces together people. Edited November 7, 2008 by homerwannabee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Dude, It's a Mexican pirate cart not some major hoax by Pitfall Harry. Do you think Harry could just go around the country at will to spread a couple handfuls of carts? Do you know him to have that kinda money to just burn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 You're out to lunch. Pitfall Harry is long gone and Air Raids are still turning up. It might be a PAL scanline count, but it is an NTSC cart. They are all showing up in the US and Mexico. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 (edited) Dude, It's a Mexican pirate cart not some major hoax by Pitfall Harry. Do you think Harry could just go around the country at will to spread a couple handfuls of carts? Do you know him to have that kinda money to just burn? Think about it this way. What if the person was just driving across country to see a relative making stops at various thrift shops along the way. If you think about it would not take that much of an effort. Also I am not saying Pitfall Harry did this. Most likely my off the wall idea is totally false. Just trying to throw out another possibility. Edit: Also remember I am the same dude who thought Alex was Bruce Tomlin in disguise, and I actually had a lot more evidence to back me up on that crazy theory. Edited November 7, 2008 by homerwannabee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Also the best evidence that Air Raid is meant to be NTSC is the colors. In Air Raid the sky is blue and the grass is green. This is not how it would be on a PAL TV. The real truth behind Air Raid is that it was a poorly programmed hack. To me it was rushed, and the scan lines never got corrected. If they did this whole "is it PAL" or "is it NTSC" would blow away. They are showing up in the US and Mexico, not Brazil or Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 It is a hoax. And I perpetrated it. My sincerest apologies. Anyway, since I've been found out, you might as well just return all of the carts to me. I'm also behind the Crazy Climber hoax. Be sure to include the boxes when you return those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Off hand, Cpuwiz have you ever seen a circuit board like that in any other cart? I don't every seen any with tracks laid out exactly like that myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninermaniac Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 (edited) Maybe K-Tel and Air Raid (MenAvision)were all tied together and just wanted to make it look different? Anyone could dye the plastic a different color couldn't they? Edited November 7, 2008 by ninermaniac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Weis Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 i'll give you 2 of them homer! Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Maybe K-Tel and Air Raid were all tied together and just wanted to make it look different? Anyone could dye the plastic a different color couldn't they? Nah, the shells are physically different. Here's the inside of my Spider Maze. Compare it to the Air Raid shell. Also not the tracks on the circuit board are different. They are different for each company, some are nice and orthogonal, older boards have rounded paths, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Off hand, Cpuwiz have you ever seen a circuit board like that in any other cart? I don't every seen any with tracks laid out exactly like that myself. Spectravideo\spectavision uses the exact same layout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickybaby Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 ROTFL. I've met Pitfall Harry twice. Once at I think the final Philly Classic, really nice guy. You could probably find a pic or two in one of the PC old threads. Alex was probably kidnapped and is being held prisoner somewhere in TX. Dude, It's a Mexican pirate cart not some major hoax by Pitfall Harry. Do you think Harry could just go around the country at will to spread a couple handfuls of carts? Do you know him to have that kinda money to just burn? Think about it this way. What if the person was just driving across country to see a relative making stops at various thrift shops along the way. If you think about it would not take that much of an effort. Also I am not saying Pitfall Harry did this. Most likely my off the wall idea is totally false. Just trying to throw out another possibility. Edit: Also remember I am the same dude who thought Alex was Bruce Tomlin in disguise, and I actually had a lot more evidence to back me up on that crazy theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 ROTFL. I've met Pitfall Harry twice. Once at I think the final Philly Classic, really nice guy. OK, more evidence piled up for my crazy theory. See I know for a fact Pitfall Harry lives in SoCal. Perfect time to have a little "Road Trip." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 LOL, I am beginning to think you need a jacket like the one below, nobody in their right mind would waste the amount of cash that is needed to create a plastic mold like this for a prank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Off hand, Cpuwiz have you ever seen a circuit board like that in any other cart? I don't every seen any with tracks laid out exactly like that myself. Spectravideo\spectavision uses the exact same layout. Shawn, do you have one handy? I had a eprom Ganster Alley but I sold it. I'm not looking for the pin out here as the actual board, so a quick photo can tell us some things like color (light green, darker green), circuit board manufacutre, and the finger print of the layout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 LOL, I am beginning to think you need a jacket like the one below, nobody in their right mind would waste the amount of cash that is needed to create a plastic mold like this for a prank. Funny, Random Terrain talks about Lizard people, and UFO's, and a whole assortment of government conspiracies. Wrenchien dresses up as an elephant, puts lipstick on dolls makes nonsensical cartoons with the dolls, and Sandmountalism says everyone and there brother is a "Statist". Yet you decide to give me the straightjacket pictures for throwing out an off the wall idea about a video game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Off hand, Cpuwiz have you ever seen a circuit board like that in any other cart? I don't every seen any with tracks laid out exactly like that myself. Spectravideo\spectavision uses the exact same layout. Shawn, do you have one handy? I had a eprom Ganster Alley but I sold it. I'm not looking for the pin out here as the actual board, so a quick photo can tell us some things like color (light green, darker green), circuit board manufacutre, and the finger print of the layout. I don't have a pic but Wiz does I'm sure. The company (oak) that makes that kind of fiber board was in Mexico. Thats why I always call Air Raid a Mexican game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Off hand, Cpuwiz have you ever seen a circuit board like that in any other cart? I don't every seen any with tracks laid out exactly like that myself. Spectravideo\spectavision uses the exact same layout. Actually, I remembered wrong when I told you that yesterday, I am digging one up right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Funny, Random Terrain talks about Lizard people, and UFO's, and a whole assortment of government conspiracies. Wrenchien dresses up as an elephant, puts lipstick on dolls makes nonsensical cartoons with the dolls, and Sandmountalism says everyone and there brother is a "Statist". Yet you decide to give me the straightjacket pictures for throwing out an off the wall idea about a video game. Those people are all posting from institutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Off hand, Cpuwiz have you ever seen a circuit board like that in any other cart? I don't every seen any with tracks laid out exactly like that myself. Spectravideo\spectavision uses the exact same layout. Shawn, do you have one handy? I had a eprom Ganster Alley but I sold it. I'm not looking for the pin out here as the actual board, so a quick photo can tell us some things like color (light green, darker green), circuit board manufacutre, and the finger print of the layout. Here you go, as you can see it is different. I am trying to remember which company had similar looking boards, I was kind of in a hurry yesterday and told Shawn the wrong thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 Funny, Random Terrain talks about Lizard people, and UFO's, and a whole assortment of government conspiracies. Wrenchien dresses up as an elephant, puts lipstick on dolls makes nonsensical cartoons with the dolls, and Sandmountalism says everyone and there brother is a "Statist". Yet you decide to give me the straightjacket pictures for throwing out an off the wall idea about a video game. Those people are all posting from institutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 This is as close as I can come up with right now, anybody got a U.S. games proto? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 This is as close as I can come up with right now, anybody got a U.S. games proto? That would make the most sense seeing as Space Jockey is from US Games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 (edited) Here you go, as you can see it is different. I am trying to remember which company had similar looking boards, I was kind of in a hurry yesterday and told Shawn the wrong thing. Maybe Apollo? I took a look around and found some chips I had loose. Here's a couple of pics, sorry my camera isn't that great. One kind of shows different shades of green circuit boards come in, the picture with the flash really shows the tracks well. Obviously these chips don't have all the same pinout, but you can get a feel for how boards are laid out differently. The King Kong (Tigervision board) doesn't use all straight lines. This is common among old designs. Newer boards use straight lines, and mostly orthogonal layouts. The Joust circuit board has a lot of curves and weird angles all over the place. Note that companies like Atari had several revisions of their circuit boards, and were made in a variety of countries. With Air Raid it is likely all the circuit boards will be the same as it probably wasn't that big of a run. The shells probably cost a fortune though. Edit to add pictures. Edited November 7, 2008 by Omegamatrix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hhwolfman Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Funny, Random Terrain talks about Lizard people, and UFO's, and a whole assortment of government conspiracies. Wrenchien dresses up as an elephant, puts lipstick on dolls makes nonsensical cartoons with the dolls, and Sandmountalism says everyone and there brother is a "Statist" Well these are all true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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