29 replies to this topic

[Propane13]

So, I just got Atari 2600 Connection #98.
On page 1, there's an article about Eurocon 2008.

Apparently, some Vectrex collector showed a one-of-a-kind proto of vector-animations used in the movie "Android".
Has anyone seen this? I was actually curious to track down a little info about it, if there was any.

Thanks!
-John

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

You can ask the owner directly..........http://www.atariage....hp?showuser=986

Edited by iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin, Mon Mar 2, 2009 9:16 AM.

[VectrexMad!]

iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin, on Mon Mar 2, 2009 9:15 AM, said:

You can ask the owner directly..........http://www.atariage....hp?showuser=986

You can see a video of the Vectrex Android prototype at Eurocon 2008 (together with its owner Mayhem):



regards

VectrexMax!
http://www.vectrex.co.uk

Edited by VectrexMad!, Mon Mar 2, 2009 7:38 PM.

[nonner242]

VectrexMad!, on Mon Mar 2, 2009 8:37 PM, said:

VectrexMax!
http://www.vectrex.co.uk

Nice I will stop by hear and check on it often.

[Mayhem]

Yeah that was me showing it off; it has now been dumped for preservation as well. However you can't get to the "hidden screens" unless you reburn it to a chip. Using a VecFlash, when you hit reset you go back to the cartridge menu instead!

As mentioned in the video, I got it from a well-known French collector at the start of 2008 who was getting out of the hobby. I got a fair few things from him, mostly beta/promo versions of games but I also received a proto lightpen that combined the released styled unit and the buttons into one controller.

[VectrexMad!]

Mayhem, on Tue Mar 3, 2009 6:57 AM, said:

Yeah that was me showing it off; it has now been dumped for preservation as well. However you can't get to the "hidden screens" unless you reburn it to a chip. Using a VecFlash, when you hit reset you go back to the cartridge menu instead!

As mentioned in the video, I got it from a well-known French collector at the start of 2008 who was getting out of the hobby. I got a fair few things from him, mostly beta/promo versions of games but I also received a proto lightpen that combined the released styled unit and the buttons into one controller.

Mayhem,

Last year Richard H author of VecFlash made some different windows download software, so that a single binary could be saved to VecFlash without the menu. In this way the VecFlash cartridge behaves exactly like a real cartridge. This will probably solve the issues you describe.

Regards
VectrexMad!
http://www.vectrex.co.uk

p.s. thanks for showing off these precious Vectrex finds! - I found the Vectrex lightpen/gun video interesting too.

[VectrexMad!]

Just found the link....actually Richard H. had provided this software in 2007, so more than a year ago.
The software for a single file download without the usual menu can be found at the following link:

http://www.vectrex.biz/VecDev.zip

but it only works for serial VecFlash cartridges, not USB VecFlash cartridges.


regards

VectrexMad!
http://www.vectrex.co.uk

[Richard H.]

Quote

but it only works for serial VecFlash cartridges, not USB VecFlash cartridges.

I re-did the USB loader too a while back, it's available to download from my page. To put the game into the menu slot (make it behave like a regular cart) select 'Dev' from the menu.

Quote

it has now been dumped for preservation as well

BTW are you going to make some carts of it ?

Just imagine a limited run of cool blue LED lit clear cart cases

[nonner242]

Richard H., on Tue Mar 3, 2009 10:47 AM, said:

Quote

but it only works for serial VecFlash cartridges, not USB VecFlash cartridges.

I re-did the USB loader too a while back, it's available to download from my page. To put the game into the menu slot (make it behave like a regular cart) select 'Dev' from the menu.

Quote

it has now been dumped for preservation as well

BTW are you going to make some carts of it ?

Just imagine a limited run of cool blue LED lit clear cart cases

I agree, and would buy one!

[VectrexMad!]

Richard H., on Tue Mar 3, 2009 10:47 AM, said:

Quote

but it only works for serial VecFlash cartridges, not USB VecFlash cartridges.

I re-did the USB loader too a while back, it's available to download from my page. To put the game into the menu slot (make it behave like a regular cart) select 'Dev' from the menu.

Quote

it has now been dumped for preservation as well

BTW are you going to make some carts of it ?

Just imagine a limited run of cool blue LED lit clear cart cases

Richard, have you got a direct link to that file? - I couldn't see anything obvious on your website...

regards

[Richard H.]

Quote

have you got a direct link to that file? - I couldn't see anything obvious on your website...

It's on the front page. Here is the direct link.

[VectrexMad!]

Richard H., on Wed Mar 4, 2009 1:10 PM, said:

Quote

have you got a direct link to that file? - I couldn't see anything obvious on your website...

It's on the front page. Here is the direct link.

Of course you are right!
- I assumed the VecFlash program (which is very visible on the website) was the older program there and was expecting a different file name, but yes, once extracted and executed there is the Dev option.
Many thanks....

[Mayhem]

Cheers for the updated flash exe, I'll give it a go and see how the dump fares.

Richard H., on Tue Mar 3, 2009 3:47 PM, said:

BTW are you going to make some carts of it ?

Just imagine a limited run of cool blue LED lit clear cart cases

This is something I have been weighing up; what to do with the dump now I've extracted it. Given I paid a fair bit of money for the chip, then I'd probably want a decent amount of interest upfront before even considering any reproductions. And it depends how much interest there would be for such a thing. It's not a game, it's not a demo, it's just an interesting curio. Therein lies the dilemma. Much that I might release it to the community anyhows, there is still the inherent danger of someone else then profiting from something that should be free...

[Vectrexer]

Mayhem, on Wed Mar 4, 2009 7:28 PM, said:

Cheers for the updated flash exe, I'll give it a go and see how the dump fares.

Richard H., on Tue Mar 3, 2009 3:47 PM, said:

BTW are you going to make some carts of it ?

Just imagine a limited run of cool blue LED lit clear cart cases

This is something I have been weighing up; what to do with the dump now I've extracted it. Given I paid a fair bit of money for the chip, then I'd probably want a decent amount of interest upfront before even considering any reproductions. And it depends how much interest there would be for such a thing. It's not a game, it's not a demo, it's just an interesting curio. Therein lies the dilemma. Much that I might release it to the community anyhows, there is still the inherent danger of someone else then profiting from something that should be free...

Well some more the of Clear or Red cases are available for the run should you want to make one. What kind of volume would you need to make it worth your while?

[Mayhem]

Hmmm... depends how much it would cost to produce. Case, board, 4K chip (yeah it's that small). I wouldn't ask too much either for it if a run was made anyhows. Fifty units perhaps? After all, if a bunch of NES heads can get together and stump up an amount to have DreamTR to release an NES proto, then who knows...

[Richard H.]

If you wanted to go with a lighted cart, you can use the boards I made for Mark Shaker (now sold by John Dondzila) and just put the LED and current resistor in place of where the EEPROM would go (see pic). I've done a mock-up and have the LED soldered to the back of the board, it seems to work well there. It's a clear case with blue LED (Chris has red and green cases too).

As far as a label goes, either none (just the EPROM sticker) or a cut-out one, which allows light to shine through the letters, might look nice.

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by Richard H., Fri May 1, 2009 9:50 AM.

[Mayhem]

Mmmm very funky. But how much would one cost to manufacture? Balance between costs and selling price... and interest of course.

[Richard H.]

Quote

But how much would one cost to manufacture?

50 x blue LED's + resistors - £4 (China inc shipping)
2732 EPROM (used) about £1 each
PCB's - I think these were a couple of $ for the version without a socket
Cases - I think Chris charged me about $4 each for the clear ones

You'll need an EPROM programmer if you don't have one already. A cheap one will do 2732 no problem.

[Mayhem]

I asked partly because I wouldn't have the resources (currently) to manufacture a cartridge. No EPROM programmer for starters. Still, I will think it over. If there was going to be a CGE this year, then it is certainly something that could have been released there as a curio...

[nonner242]

I would want one of those or sure....Looks sweet as hell all "TRON'D" up!
Put me down as VERY INTERESTED!

[Propane13]

I'm sure you could find someone willing to burn eproms for you.
I have an EPROM programmer, and I have a buddy that's highly into Vectrex games.
It would be a few minutes of work to burn eproms, try them out, and then send them off to someone for soldering/manufacture.

Of course, that adds the small risk though that with something like this, you're going through a third-party with the ROM, which you may not want to do.
But, I wanted to put this out there anyway-- I'm sure a lot of people could do this for you, which would save you money and headaches.

-John

[Megaman Legends]

http://www.ebay.com/...e#ht_500wt_1203

There is anoth one of these on ebay now

[Dino]

That's the same one??

[TrekMD]

Looks cool. Were any repro carts ever made for this?

[Mayhem]

Yes, that was my one being sold on eBay. A little surprised someone bid, but there you go. They've paid, so must be more than a little serious about having it. No reproductions were made in the end, so you'll have to bug the new owner (if he raises his head anywhere) about that. Yes, I have a ROM dump, but I won't be making it public.