How many vector games were there ?

vbrooks

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Here's what I can gather, have I missed anything ?

Atari (13 released, 2 prototypes)
monochrome: Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Battlezone, Lunar Lander, Malibu (unfinished and lost prototype), Red Baron
color: Black Widow, Empire Strikes Back, Gravitar, Major Havoc, Quantum, Space Duel, Star Wars, Tempest, Tomcat (unfinished prototype)

Centuri (1 released)
color: Aztarac

Cinematronics/Vectorbeam (14 released, 2 prototypes)
monochrome: Armor Attack, Barrier, Rip Off, Scramble (lost prototype), Solar Quest, Space Wars, Speed Freak, Star Castle, Star Hawk, Sundance, Tailgunner, Warrior
color: Boxing Bugs, Cosmic Chasm, Hovercraft (lost prototype), War of the Worlds

Exidy (1 released, 1 prototype)
color: Top Gunner, Vertigo (lost prototype)

Midway (1 released, 1 prototype)
monochrome: Omega Race
color: Earth Friend (lost prototype)

Rock-Ola (1 released, 2 prototypes)
monochrome: Demon
color: QB-3 (prototype), Rocket Racer (prototype)

Sega (5 released)
color: Eliminator, Space Fury, Star Trek, Tac/Scan, Zektor

Williams (1 prototype)
color: Predators (lost linked cabinet prototype)

45 vector games total: 36 released, 9 prototypes
 
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OK, I'll type some too ...

Aliens (tempest proto)
Alpha One and Tollian's Web (MH proto)
Various Asteroids clones (Asterock, Meteor, Meteoroid, etc)
Bradley Trainer
Nucleus Cannon and Stellar Castle (SC bootlegs)
Space Pirate (RO bootleg)

.... etc etc etc ...
 
OK, I'll type some too ...

Aliens (tempest proto)
Alpha One and Tollian's Web (MH proto)
Various Asteroids clones (Asterock, Meteor, Meteoroid, etc)
Bradley Trainer
Nucleus Cannon and Stellar Castle (SC bootlegs)
Space Pirate (RO bootleg)

.... etc etc etc ...

Not counting bootlegs or prototype versions of released games, just the originals.
 
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9352

Name: Rocket Racer
Manufacturer: Rock-Ola Mfg. Corp.
Year: 1983
Type: Videogame
Class: Wide Release
Genre: Labyrinth/Maze
Monitor:

  • Orientation: Horizontal
  • Type: Vector
  • CRT: Color

Found a picture -

Rocket%2BRacer%2B-%2BVG%2B8-83.PNG


I suppose this is another lost game.
 
Hey Vernon!

I have a simpler answer for your question about how many vector games were made:

Answer: Not enough :) .

p.s. Feel free to make the trek to my side of the Bay on Halloween evening if you want to play a bunch of these for a spell.


Jon
 
Apparently it's from Video Games magazine. I found that article snippet here - http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2015/01/photo-odds-and-ends.html

Not vector games related but there's an article snippet about the long lost prototype Vampire right after it and check out that "Pack Man" marquee, YIKES !!

Thanks. I scanned in every issue of Video Games and found the article; it's in the August 1983 issue (pg. 48-49). Here's the complete articles for both games:


@jehuie

Umm......how? where? when? :)
 

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I seem to remember at least part of the Hovercraft source code turning up on a disk somewhere, hopefully something will become of that.

Has Rocket Racer been MAME dumped? I guess the fact I don't see it emulated gives me my answer, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I wish Scramble would turn up, it existed enough for someone to find a control panel and maquee, and Vertigo is my personal holy grail of lost vectors.
 
I seem to remember at least part of the Hovercraft source code turning up on a disk somewhere, hopefully something will become of that.

Has Rocket Racer been MAME dumped? I guess the fact I don't see it emulated gives me my answer, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I wish Scramble would turn up, it existed enough for someone to find a control panel and marquee, and Vertigo is my personal holy grail of lost vectors.

@jehuie, Is there a video of Rocket Racer ?

I see that Scramble is listed on unMAMEd arcade games as a Vectorbeam prototype, is this confirmed to have been finished and field tested ?

If complete Hovercraft source code is found and it is indeed a 68000-based game then it could likely be compiled and emulated. Perhaps it could even be put in a real cabinet depending on what kind of controls it uses. It likely runs on hardware similar to Cosmic Chasm. If the source code is found then let me know.
 
I see that Scramble is listed on unMAMEd arcade games as a Vectorbeam prototype, is this confirmed to have been finished and field tested ?

That I don't know, I just know both the marquee and control panel have turned up somewhere and I've seen pictures posted of them, so it seems likely at least one complete game existed at some point.
 
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