8-Bit
Member
I'll try to keep this as short as possible... if I can.
Backstory
=========
Back in 2008 I bought a broken Asteroids machine off Craigslist and fulfilled my desire to own an arcade machine. Some the awesome people here helped me get it working again and bam, I became downright fascinated with the arcade scene that I was born just a little bit too late to really experience. A couple road trips to some of the scarce real arcades and two more machines (including a Punch-Out I restored) and the deal was sealed. I wanted to make something like those games, but I wanted to make something new as well. KLOV's help in fixing up my machines was very influential.
Making Trace Vector
======================
The vector screens in particular really struck me when I saw them. The incredible intensity the shots in Asteroids was really unlike anything I had seen before. I sought out all sorts of vector games to see and play and eventually we came up with a design for a a unique arcade style vector game which we now call Trace Vector.
So over the last five years or so I started really pushing myself to improve my programming skills. I partnered with a friend, started up Vexel Games, and we developed a game engine that will run on Windows, Mac, and Linux. In the last two years I've been dedicated to working purely on Trace Vector. We even commissioned twelve music tracks that are designed to flow with the gameplay. The game is in the final stages of completion.
Yesterday we put up a page on Steam Greenlight page for people to vote on for release. If you're interested in seeing what the game is like, that's a good spot to do so! Also, if you're a Steam user any voting and comments would be great as well : D
There's a testing phase that needs to be done that we'd like to use Steam as a platform for gathering results if it gets that far. I'd be happy to have some genuine arcade game lovers from KLOV help out with that and provide some feedback if there's interest.
Running the game on a vector monitor
============================
Last year I actually bought one of Zektor's vector generator boards with the intent of getting this game working on a genuine color vector monitor. I have not gotten very far into that side of things since, honestly, there's a lot of other things I need to worry about. The game's graphics are completely made up of XY line draws with RGB color information. It should be quite possible Trace Vector to generate commands the generator board can use. Unfortunately, I have had a lot of trouble locating a color vector monitor for obvious reasons. The black and white of Asteroids just wouldn't be the same. I've played Trace Vector on my MAME machine and it's by far the best way to play it. It just feels completely awesome and right. I would love to make a genuine dedicated cabinet for it. Would there be interest in such an ability among vector enthusiasts here at KLOV?
Any feedback at all would be greatly appreciated! What do you think of the game and the potential for a version that will actually work with the vector generator board? Thanks!
Backstory
=========
Back in 2008 I bought a broken Asteroids machine off Craigslist and fulfilled my desire to own an arcade machine. Some the awesome people here helped me get it working again and bam, I became downright fascinated with the arcade scene that I was born just a little bit too late to really experience. A couple road trips to some of the scarce real arcades and two more machines (including a Punch-Out I restored) and the deal was sealed. I wanted to make something like those games, but I wanted to make something new as well. KLOV's help in fixing up my machines was very influential.
Making Trace Vector
======================
The vector screens in particular really struck me when I saw them. The incredible intensity the shots in Asteroids was really unlike anything I had seen before. I sought out all sorts of vector games to see and play and eventually we came up with a design for a a unique arcade style vector game which we now call Trace Vector.
So over the last five years or so I started really pushing myself to improve my programming skills. I partnered with a friend, started up Vexel Games, and we developed a game engine that will run on Windows, Mac, and Linux. In the last two years I've been dedicated to working purely on Trace Vector. We even commissioned twelve music tracks that are designed to flow with the gameplay. The game is in the final stages of completion.
Yesterday we put up a page on Steam Greenlight page for people to vote on for release. If you're interested in seeing what the game is like, that's a good spot to do so! Also, if you're a Steam user any voting and comments would be great as well : D
There's a testing phase that needs to be done that we'd like to use Steam as a platform for gathering results if it gets that far. I'd be happy to have some genuine arcade game lovers from KLOV help out with that and provide some feedback if there's interest.
Running the game on a vector monitor
============================
Last year I actually bought one of Zektor's vector generator boards with the intent of getting this game working on a genuine color vector monitor. I have not gotten very far into that side of things since, honestly, there's a lot of other things I need to worry about. The game's graphics are completely made up of XY line draws with RGB color information. It should be quite possible Trace Vector to generate commands the generator board can use. Unfortunately, I have had a lot of trouble locating a color vector monitor for obvious reasons. The black and white of Asteroids just wouldn't be the same. I've played Trace Vector on my MAME machine and it's by far the best way to play it. It just feels completely awesome and right. I would love to make a genuine dedicated cabinet for it. Would there be interest in such an ability among vector enthusiasts here at KLOV?
Any feedback at all would be greatly appreciated! What do you think of the game and the potential for a version that will actually work with the vector generator board? Thanks!

