Any Amusing Vectrex Stories?

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Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

Hi everybody
Does anyone have any amusing Vectrex stories to talk about?
I'll start first:
Let me tell you about a family tradition of 4 kids trying to kill each other
off so their turn will come up faster.

About once a year I take out my Vectrex, dust it off, and bring it to my
sister's house to let her kids play with it. If I don't bring over at least
once a year, I will never hear the end of it. In fact when I do visit the
rest of the year they always ask me did I bring the vectrex or when will I
bring it over. At times some of them get so mad at me for not brining the
Vectrex, they will not talk to me especially the youngest one. But when I do
bring it over and they see that "Diamond Pears" crate I bring it in, they
are extra nice to me and become so well behaved, (I make them wait awhile
before I let them start playing) that their mother ask me what did I do?.
All I can say is it's the mysterious black box in the corner they are
waiting to play.

The real fun begins when they try to take turns playing Mindstorm without
killing each other! It is funny to see them try to psyche each other out so
the player will lose their turn faster. It is never enough time to play the
vectrex and they refuse to stop playing when it's time for me to Pack it up
and leave.

With all of the advances in video game technology, It never ceases to amazes
me that the kids still prefer to play the Vectrex over their sony
playstations and nintendo game boys. Even after it has been around 10 years
before the oldest was born!. .

Have any of you guys have similar stories to tell? I would like to hear from
everyone!

Sincerely

Pat
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

Hi Pat:

Nice story!

Some three years ago I gave my teenage nephew a Vectrex with a few
games. He and his friends attempted to tackle the games .. and each was
foiled! My sister-in-law overheard one kid say, "I thought I was good
at video games!" Hehehe! Live and learn kids!!

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Rob Mitchell" <"solder_guy"@(what_is_this)yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:33v0j5F426kt6U1@individual.net...
> Hi Pat:
>
> Nice story!
>
> Some three years ago I gave my teenage nephew a Vectrex with a few
> games. He and his friends attempted to tackle the games .. and each was
> foiled! My sister-in-law overheard one kid say, "I thought I was good
> at video games!" Hehehe! Live and learn kids!!
>
> Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

Hi Rob:
Thanks for the story! So they had a hard time working the controls? My
nephews and nieces have the same problem!.

That just reminds me. Isn't funny that kids can play the most advanced video
game consoles like Sony playstation, working those sophisticated and
confusing joysticks and can make their characters bob and weave and do all
of these fantastic stunts, but when they get their hands on a simple Vectrex
controller, they can not even get to the second level of Mindstorm!

when my nephews and nieces play the Vectrex they have such a hard time at
the controls, but they are getting better.

Pat
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

>Isn't funny that kids can play the most advanced video
>game consoles like Sony playstation, working those sophisticated and
>confusing joysticks and can make their characters bob and weave and do all
>of these fantastic stunts, but when they get their hands on a simple
>Vectrex controller, they can not even get to the second level of Mindstorm!


You watch those 'playstation generation' kids trying to cope with stuff like
Defender and Galaga. I've seen it myself in old seaside arcades (dark &
smokey - how it should be), they last about 30 seconds and then
'pretend' that they'd got bored with the game ;-)





Richard H.
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

>>Nothing more annoying than a pissed off 12 year old on Christmas!<<

hahahaha! :)

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

>
> George
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

>>So they had a hard time working the controls?<<

That .. and they got killed off quickly! Plus a nephew says that some
of my games are "too hard!" Then I show him how to play! :)

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Rob Mitchell" <"solder_guy"@(what_is_this)yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3428m3F42eu3gU2@individual.net...
> >>So they had a hard time working the controls?<<
>
> That .. and they got killed off quickly! Plus a nephew says that some
> of my games are "too hard!" Then I show him how to play! :)
>
> Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

Wow I did not think that playing the Vectrex and Arcades like Defender and
Galaga would be such a challenge for the playstation generation. I haven't
been to arcade for years. Hey Richard have you and Rob been around modern
arcades? Do they have more complicated controls or are they just a simple as
the oldstyle arcades?
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Rob Mitchell" <"solder_guy"@(what_is_this)yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3428jdF42eu3gU1@individual.net...
> >>Nothing more annoying than a pissed off 12 year old on Christmas!<<
>
> hahahaha! :)
>
> Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA
>
> >
> > George
Hi George:
I know what you mean when you say that you could not talk to your dad. My
father was the same way. Along time ago when my dad took me to Toys Are Us
for my birthday, I showed him the Vectrex and he tried to talk me out of
wanting it. He wanted to buy me the commodore vic 20 because it was cheaper
and would be better than the Vectrex. He told me that The Vectrex was a
waste of money and thought I and everyone who bought one would eventually be
collecting dust in an attic. How much was he wrong! Not only the Vectrex is
of great value but at the time I was to young to understand, the
Microprocessor was far more powerful and that the 6502 in the vic20 and the
6510 in the C64. Also the 6809 had a much longer useful life than either of
commodore microprocessors. I read somewhere that the 6809 microprocessor is
still being used in driving the display of gas station pumps!
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

>Hey Richard have you been around modern arcades?

I tend to avoid the really modern ones (usually in shopping centres) the
last time I was in one, the whole fighting game thing was going on (yawn).

Very hard to find arcades with vector games now, the last time I saw a
StarWars was at least 10 years ago. Most are in the hands of collectors now,
they sell for big money.


>Do they have more complicated controls or are they just a simple as
>the oldstyle arcades?

I think modern games in general are over complicated, too many mini movie
interludes etc, which seem to be in there just to justify the high price of
the game. I soon get fed up if I've got to read an entire pamphlet before
playing the thing.



Richard H.
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

StarHawk79 wrote:
> Hi George:
> I know what you mean when you say that you could not talk to your
dad. My
> father was the same way. Along time ago when my dad took me to Toys
Are Us
> for my birthday, I showed him the Vectrex and he tried to talk me out
of
> wanting it. He wanted to buy me the commodore vic 20 because it was
cheaper
> and would be better than the Vectrex. He told me that The Vectrex was
a
> waste of money and thought I and everyone who bought one would
eventually be
> collecting dust in an attic.

That's funny! I only meant that when you're haggling a parent to get
you a very expensive game for Christmas, most of the time it's best to
go with moms!

George
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

StarHawk79 wrote:

> Hey George:
> Can you remember the very first game cartridge you got for your
Vectrex?


These were my first games:
Armor Attack, Scramble, Berzerk, Rip-Off, & Space Wars
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> wrote in message
news:TaednaoEx9jb1kHcRVnyiQ@pipex.net...
> >Hey Richard have you been around modern arcades?
>
> I tend to avoid the really modern ones (usually in shopping centres) the
> last time I was in one, the whole fighting game thing was going on (yawn).
>
> Very hard to find arcades with vector games now, the last time I saw a
> StarWars was at least 10 years ago. Most are in the hands of collectors
now,
> they sell for big money.
>
>
> >Do they have more complicated controls or are they just a simple as
> >the oldstyle arcades?
>
> I think modern games in general are over complicated, too many mini movie
> interludes etc, which seem to be in there just to justify the high price
of
> the game. I soon get fed up if I've got to read an entire pamphlet before
> playing the thing.
>
>
>
> Richard H.
>
>
>

Hi Richard:
Thanks for the Info. What is your favorite Vector Arcade?

Pat
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"FURY" <GeoFury@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1104990125.228146.164200@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
> StarHawk79 wrote:
> > Hi George:
> > I know what you mean when you say that you could not talk to your
> dad. My
> > father was the same way. Along time ago when my dad took me to Toys
> Are Us
> > for my birthday, I showed him the Vectrex and he tried to talk me out
> of
> > wanting it. He wanted to buy me the commodore vic 20 because it was
> cheaper
> > and would be better than the Vectrex. He told me that The Vectrex was
> a
> > waste of money and thought I and everyone who bought one would
> eventually be
> > collecting dust in an attic.
>
> That's funny! I only meant that when you're haggling a parent to get
> you a very expensive game for Christmas, most of the time it's best to
> go with moms!
>
> George
>

Hey George:
Can you remember the very first game cartridge you got for your Vectrex?
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

On Wed, 5 Jan 2005, StarHawk79 wrote:

> Microprocessor was far more powerful and that the 6502 in the vic20 and the
> 6510 in the C64.

Hey! ;-)

> Also the 6809 had a much longer useful life than either of
> commodore microprocessors. I read somewhere that the 6809 microprocessor is
> still being used in driving the display of gas station pumps!

The 6510 is still being used these days, too.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"FURY" <GeoFury@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1104996098.268131.298630@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>
> StarHawk79 wrote:
>
> > Hey George:
> > Can you remember the very first game cartridge you got for your
> Vectrex?
>
>
> These were my first games:
> Armor Attack, Scramble, Berzerk, Rip-Off, & Space Wars
>
Cool!
The first game I got from my Vectrex was StarHawk. When I finally convinced
my Dad to buy me the Vectrex by paying almost half,( I think was $180.00 so
I must of paid $80) I also got StarHawk. The funny thing was when I brought
it home, it was missing the color overlay.So I bought it back and exchanged
if for Hyperchase. Although I liked Hyperchase,I liked StarHawk better. When
the next week came around I bought it again!
Pat
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Robert Bernardo" <rbernardo@iglou.com> wrote in message
news😛ine.GSO.4.61.0501060513180.9549@shell1...
> On Wed, 5 Jan 2005, StarHawk79 wrote:
>
> > Microprocessor was far more powerful and that the 6502 in the vic20 and
the
> > 6510 in the C64.
>
> Hey! ;-)
>
> > Also the 6809 had a much longer useful life than either of
> > commodore microprocessors. I read somewhere that the 6809 microprocessor
is
> > still being used in driving the display of gas station pumps!
>
> The 6510 is still being used these days, too.
>
> Truly,
> Robert Bernardo
> Fresno Commodore User Group
> http://videocam.net.au/fcug

Hi Robert:
It is nice to meet you! So you're a Commodore fan? I like the Commodore too!
In fact I got my first Commodore 64 a year later for Christmas!
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

Chris Romero wrote:
> I purchased one. The Zektor does work out pretty nice for playing
the b&w
> games. Color games are not too bad either.
>
> Chris Romero
>

Chris, do all of the games show drawing imperfections, or just Tempest
(as indicated on the Zektor website)?

George
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> wrote in message
news:s42dnVHQvoM7ykDcRVnyiw@pipex.net...
> >What is your favorite Vector Arcade?
>
> StarWars - I'm thinking of buying the Zektor just so I can play it on my
Vec
>
> http://www.zektor.com/images/vpics/vstarwars_l.jpg
>
>
>
>
> Richard H.
>
>
>
>

Holy Moly!
I just went to your link and saw Star Wars on the Vectrex! Then I checked
over the whole site and found all the vectrex pictures they had and I can't
believe it! Not only do they have Star Wars, but they got my favorite vector
game on the vectrex - Battlezone! The guys on the site explained there is
this hole on the bottom were they can feed the cable so you can put the
vectrex back together. I decided to look at my Vectrex a moment ago and
there is a hole were you could feed a cable! I wonder what that hole was
used originally? This is so cool I thought I knew all there was about the
Vectrex and I just found out something new! Thanks Richard

Pat
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

I purchased one. The Zektor does work out pretty nice for playing the b&w
games. Color games are not too bad either.

Chris Romero




"Richard Hutchinson" <richard.hutchinson@dsl.pipex.com> wrote in message
news:s42dnVHQvoM7ykDcRVnyiw@pipex.net...
> >What is your favorite Vector Arcade?
>
> StarWars - I'm thinking of buying the Zektor just so I can play it on my
> Vec
>
> http://www.zektor.com/images/vpics/vstarwars_l.jpg
>
>
>
>
> Richard H.
>
>
>
>
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

>The Zektor does work out pretty nice for playing the b&w games. Color
>games are not too bad either.

Cool :)

I'm currently upgrading to a new laptop, so I'm hoping to use the old one
solely with the Zektor.

Probably start with my spare Vec and then look around for a colour monitor.
I know they are pretty hard to come by without screen burn though. Think
I'll pay a visit to an auction or something, I want to see the thing working
+ carry it home in cotton wool ;-)


I really must get a Zektor before they're discontinued or something (done
that before).


....so many projects, so little time (and money).





Richard H.
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

The problem with some of the images are definitely viewable on the Vectrex
display. However, I am really picky when it comes to looking at the images.
The imperfections are perfectly acceptable in most cases. the best thing
you can do is to start out with a Vectrex unit that doesn't have any real
problem in the high voltage section and go from there.

Imperfections or not, playing the games on the Vectrex screen is mostly
enjoyable Its also the only way most of us can make a decently portable
game with a real vector display. Without having to learn as much as Zonn
has learned that is.

I give the Zektor board a big thumbs up!

The Zektor board works perfectly with my regular vector monitor in my Atari
Tempest too (W.-G. model) too! I guess I could get one of the smaller color
vector monitors and build sort of small table top unit from that as well.
Hey that might be nice to do! Vector monitor. Flouro paints for the metal
frame. Simple plexi to cover the frame and UV flouro light tubes from all
the case moddding to light the whole affair up. Maybe even some fiber
optic display stuff left over from the Xmas Santa reindeer, and other cheap
multi-color displays. Yep, a real cheesy semi-portable vector game with
instant old arcade feel. ;-)

Chris


"FURY" <GeoFury@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1105035651.594855.31610@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>
> Chris Romero wrote:
>> I purchased one. The Zektor does work out pretty nice for playing
> the b&w
>> games. Color games are not too bad either.
>>
>> Chris Romero
>>
>
> Chris, do all of the games show drawing imperfections, or just Tempest
> (as indicated on the Zektor website)?
>
> George
>
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

"Chris Romero" <NOSPAMTO-cromero-PLEASE@ROMERO.ORG> wrote in message
news:RwxDd.7974$yV1.979@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com...
> The problem with some of the images are definitely viewable on the Vectrex
> display. However, I am really picky when it comes to looking at the
images.
> The imperfections are perfectly acceptable in most cases. the best thing
> you can do is to start out with a Vectrex unit that doesn't have any real
> problem in the high voltage section and go from there.
>
> Imperfections or not, playing the games on the Vectrex screen is mostly
> enjoyable Its also the only way most of us can make a decently portable
> game with a real vector display. Without having to learn as much as Zonn
> has learned that is.
>
> I give the Zektor board a big thumbs up!
>
> The Zektor board works perfectly with my regular vector monitor in my
Atari
> Tempest too (W.-G. model) too! I guess I could get one of the smaller
color
> vector monitors and build sort of small table top unit from that as well.
> Hey that might be nice to do! Vector monitor. Flouro paints for the
metal
> frame. Simple plexi to cover the frame and UV flouro light tubes from all
> the case moddding to light the whole affair up. Maybe even some fiber
> optic display stuff left over from the Xmas Santa reindeer, and other
cheap
> multi-color displays. Yep, a real cheesy semi-portable vector game with
> instant old arcade feel. ;-)
>
> Chris

Hi Chris:
It's nice to meet you! What is your favorite Vector Arcade Game?

Pat
 
Archived from groups: rec.games.vectrex (More info?)

On Thu, 6 Jan 2005, StarHawk79 wrote:

> Hi Robert:
> It is nice to meet you! So you're a Commodore fan? I like the Commodore too!

Yes, big-time fan!

> In fact I got my first Commodore 64 a year later for Christmas!

Got my first back in 1983.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
 
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