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Post by hcmffm on Sept 10, 2021 15:35:59 GMT -5
I'm happy to announce this year's Vector War! Again, it was Brett who reminded me that Vector War time is approaching. He and his children are keen to play in the Vector War once again. So let's make this happen! Start is in about six weeks on Saturday 30th October. This year both prizes and the games that will be played during Vector War are still unknown and to be determined. But I'm pretty sure that there will be both interesting games to be played and prizes to be won. Games listThese are the MB/GCE games that I've on my mind for VW11: 1. Pole Position 2. Scramble 3. Solar Quest 4. Star Trek/Star Ship 5. Tour de France 6. Web Wars [7. ?] And this is the list of homebrew games that are on my mind: Notes: - Altogether it is supposed to be 12 games: 6 or 7 original games plus 5 or 6 homebrew games.
- As you can see, there is still much room for suggestions. In the discussion of last year, following games were mentioned:
Paratroopers (ClassicGameCreations) Spike Hoppin' (ClassicGameCreations) Vaboom! (ClassicGameCreations) Thrust (Ville Krumlinde) Galaxy Wars: Space Launcher (Binary Star Software) One or two games of Vectrex Academy 2021 might be a good idea but I'm not quite sure whether those games are suitable for competition. I did play and even review theses games but I haven't played these games for a longer time so it's hard to decide. Your suggestions and comments are welcome.
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Post by hcmffm on Sept 11, 2021 9:14:39 GMT -5
I just had a second look at the games of the Vectrex Academy 2021.
From my point of view, "Get that beer" and "Catch your parcels" are good candidates.
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Post by Rapetou33 on Sept 12, 2021 23:52:01 GMT -5
Hello, not sure if you mentionned the creation of a category for "Kids"? My daughter may participate...
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Post by hcmffm on Sept 13, 2021 14:27:27 GMT -5
Hello, not sure if you mentionned the creation of a category for "Kids"? My daughter may participate... Salut Olivier! A children category has neither been suggested nor discussed before. Perhaps worth while a thought... |
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Post by playvectrex on Sept 13, 2021 21:18:37 GMT -5
Yay, it's that time again! The only event worth waiting all year for! This year I'd like to propose we allow various controllers that meet the standard proposed below, similar to what the current rules state: The reason being is that most Vectrex controllers are pushing 39 years old, and even if you don't play regularly they will get dirty and worn out. Last year I spent $250 USD on a minty Vectrex controller, but even it wasn't brand new and has it's issues. I'm also reluctant to tear it apart to clean it because it's so mint. Another reason to allow other types of controllers is, there are a lot of them made recently! And many of us have them. Different controllers are also really helpful for various folks here that might not have the hands of an 18 year old anymore let's say. Larger controls can be more comfortable, or possibly hand held controller even might be more comfortable for some. It's also a lot more fun to play these games when you can find the controller that feels best to play with. And also if you can sit more comfortably while you play, instead of hunched up near the Vectrex so you don't stretch out your coily cord  I would like to propose allowing these various controllers, among any others that folks have: 1. Any original Vectrex controller 2. Any original Vectrex controller that has been cleaned and lubed 3. Any wired/wireless digital/analog controller that can be shown to generate full swing motion on the X and Y axis with the "Test Cart rev. 4" and joystick test menu. Full swing Left / Right / Up / Down should light up two boxes in the given direction. Any homemade controller should have all autofire disabled, any kind of filtering or sensitivity tuning features disabled, or any other software enhanced features disabled. Any non-standard controller should be shown and described, and stated as used with a particular game. Mostly to let other players know what controller you are using so they can try to match it if it suits them. I don't think spinner controllers should be allowed, as not everyone will have access to a similar type... and the games aren't usually spinner controllable anyway. There are tons of controllers made by Victor, Jim, Dane, ChopperTheDog, Brandon and on and on that should be perfectly acceptable to use for this competition There's 6 weeks to go, plenty of time to source a new controller or even build your own from parts on Amazon, Paradise Arcade Shop, Focus Attack and many more. We are all here for the fun, and part of that fun I believe is bringing your favorite competition controller to the contest. They allow these with fighting game tournaments and more, so how about the Vectrex and our less complicated games that require tireless mashing of buttons for hours and hours? What controller would you play with if you could?Personally I would love to use a Vectorcade for digital games, and my own analog controller that's just a cardboard box with some buttons on it for analog games. I'd also like to play with a SNES style controller as well. |
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Post by VectorX on Sept 13, 2021 21:34:34 GMT -5
I don't think spinner controllers should be allowed, as not everyone will have access to a similar type... and the games aren't usually spinner controllable anyway. If I recall there has never been a time where a spinner controller was allowed but I could be wrong. |
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Post by playvectrex on Sept 13, 2021 22:52:28 GMT -5
I don't think spinner controllers should be allowed, as not everyone will have access to a similar type... and the games aren't usually spinner controllable anyway. If I recall there has never been a time where a spinner controller was allowed but I could be wrong. Yeah just thought I'd mention it as a thing to exclude. Probably encapsulated in the original statement of "or the usage of several types of controllers." I should also mention, this year about 500+ people have a PiTrex and I don't think it should be allowed for competition since it emulates the Vectrex.
On the topic of games this year, I checked out Spike's Water Balloons and Catch Your Parcels, and SWB is the better of the two but still rather hard. Catch Your Parcels has nice graphics, but the game play is too random making it impossible to catch all of the parcels. I'd like to propose a similar but more challenging and polished game by Chris Binarystar called Xmas Cart 2014 - Stocking Filler. You have to catch the presents and avoid the bombs, and it is very possible to line up your catches and make them all, unlike SWB where you kind of just have slalom through the balloons with a small hit box. I actually dug through the code to figure out how high it goes up since Chris said he wasn't sure if it ended. It goes from Level 1 to Level 16 and wraps back to 1. So if you are fortunate enough to wrap to level 1 at about 9000 points, you effectively beat the game. I'd say 9000 points would be the max score. Is it possible to beat level 16 though?? You'd have to be super human like to do it... I'm not sure if it's possible, so that makes it a good challenging game with a clear end. You can download the game here: www.binarystarsoftware.com/?page_id=460I also checked out Get The Beer and it's pretty good at first play test. I'll have to try for a few levels and see if it has any bugs that would prevent higher scores. Vaboom feels like it could be a good game. It at least doesn't feel like it has too many random things in it that would prevent a high score. You could get better at it, and that's what's fun about some of these new games. Galaxy Wars Space Launcher is pretty cool and seems to have multiple strategies to master, with a little bit of luck. The free one has multiple ways to play: Galaxy Wars / Space Launcher / or alternating between Galaxy Wars and Space Launcher. I think I like the last one with 3 ships for a competition. Maybe we can get Chris to do up a competition version? Pretty sure we played Tour de France last year and I'm not very good at it  Love seeing Pole Position and Scramble. Still don't know what the secret is for marathoning Star Trek to 500k  Any tips?? Haha |
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Post by VectorX on Sept 13, 2021 23:08:06 GMT -5
I should also mention, this year about 500+ people have a PiTrex and I don't think it should be allowed for competition since it emulates the Vectrex. This contest doesn't allow emulators. Vaboom feels like it could be a good game. It at least doesn't feel like it has too many random things in it that would prevent a high score. It has a bug on level 19 where the guy stops dropping bombs though, so that could make this game a no-go or have a scoring limit put in place (I can't recall what the score usually is at that point though off the top of my head). Galaxy Wars is pretty cool and seems to have multiple strategies to master, with a little bit of luck. Yeah it is/does! |
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Post by playvectrex on Sept 13, 2021 23:14:59 GMT -5
Sorry, I edited my post about Galaxy Wars: Galaxy Wars Space Launcher is pretty cool and seems to have multiple strategies to master, with a little bit of luck. The free one has multiple ways to play: Galaxy Wars / Space Launcher / or alternating between Galaxy Wars and Space Launcher. I think I like the last one with 3 ships for a competition. Maybe we can get Chris to do up a competition version? |
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Post by D-Type on Sept 14, 2021 8:11:03 GMT -5
+1 for allowing alternative controllers, they are pretty plentiful now. I bet everyone who played in the tournament last year has one already and they are available if not. Personally, I don't really play anything on my Vectrex during the year, I only play in the VW, so I never really get to use my shiny new controller!
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Post by 8-Bit Waves on Sept 14, 2021 12:55:43 GMT -5
I would also like to be able to use other controllers.
Some games I wouldn't mind seeing in VW if you are looking for ideas:
Berzerk Ultimate
Hera Primera (Not sure how far the current demo goes. Anyone know?)
Karl Quappe
Knight Ex
Protector
Rockaroids (I prefer the first but either would be nice.)
Vectrexagon
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Post by hcmffm on Sept 14, 2021 17:36:13 GMT -5
Good to see you around, again, Brett, Darryl, Phil, and Nathan, and thank you for your feedback regarding games and suggestions! It's pretty late and dark here in Germany and time to bed. So just a short reply from my side: - The Controller rule will be changed so that no longer an original controller must be used (Please note that your achieved highscors will no longer conform to the rules for the highscore list at vectrex.co.uk, then) - I still have to look at your valuable suggestions regarding games and will reply tomorrow night (German time). |
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Post by hcmffm on Sept 15, 2021 15:24:06 GMT -5
I've just changed the rule regarding hardware to: Do you all agree with this wording? Regarding the games: "Get that beer": On the VW11 list, now.
"Catch your parcels": Randomness might be one problem of this game when being played in a tournament. Another problem might be the steep increase in difficulty. I guess all players will end up with about the same score because at some level the speed gets just insane and the game unplayable. "KnightEx": Last year, SpideX was received very well. Trying out "KnightEx" in VW11 is a good idea. On the VW11 list. I'll contact Alexander von Knorring and will ask him for a competition edition.
"Galaxy Wars Space Launcher": Chris (Binarystar) has release quite a number of games and until now only "Every day is halloween" has been played within a Vector War. So playing another Chris (Binarystar) game is no problem and just fair and probably much fun. On the list. I'll contact Chris for a competition edition of "Galaxy Wars/Space Launcher".
"Hera Primera" would be cool but I much doubt that one can get hands of a complete version of the game because a physical release is in preparation. The latest public demo release might be playable but I'm not sure how many levels it has and whether it's complete in a respect that you can use it in a competition. ...Pretty sure we played Tour de France last year and I'm not very good at it ... Every year at least one game is repeated. Idea behind this is that players that participate regulary have some advantage. Also, there are not too many original games around... ... Still don't know what the secret is for marathoning Star Trek to 500k Any tips?? Haha Same here. I guess most of all you have to play the right version because either Star Trek or Star Ship is easier to play. [/quote][/div] Vaboom and Stocking Filler are sill to be discussed.
Current list of MB/GCE games in VW11: 1. Pole Position
2. Scramble
3. Solar Quest
4. Star Trek/Star Ship
5. Tour de France
6. Web Wars
[7. ?]
Current list of homebrew games in VW11:
1. Either Gyrostronomy or Gyrostrology (Vectrex Academy, Peer)
2. Get that beer (Vectrex Academy, literally)
3. KnightEx (Alexander von Knorring)
4. Galaxy Wars / Space Launcher (Binarystar, Chris Malcolm)
5. ?
[6. ?] Two more games to decide on - either an MB/GCE original and a hombrew or two homebrew games. |
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Post by toppsikrett on Sept 15, 2021 15:39:25 GMT -5
Hey all together
I'm in :-)
+1 vote for alternative Controllers but for only analogue and not digital, as in some games you might have an advantage with digital (in Vectorblade for example in my opinion it's easier to go exactly to a given position Like "Center" with digital conttols)
+1 vote for Galaxy Wars/Space Launcher - funny that i received it today from Binarystar and Player ist the First Time two hours ago-before reading here :-)
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Post by playvectrex on Sept 15, 2021 18:55:35 GMT -5
I've just changed the rule regarding hardware to: Do you all agree with this wording? Yes, I think this covers it! I tried to be more specific about what "sensitivity-adjustable" means by stating that the joystick must reach full deflection in a joystick test app. I could make a video of what that looks like with my controllers if that's helpful. I'm not sure what is meant by "or the usage of several types of controllers." so that might need to be clarified or removed. It would be good for players that need to buy a controller now to know what is clearly acceptable. Of course we can ask as well.
+1 vote for alternative Controllers but for only analogue and not digital, as in some games you might have an advantage with digital (in Vectorblade for example in my opinion it's easier to go exactly to a given position Like "Center" with digital conttols) I would respectfully disagree that digital gives the advantage of returning to center over analog. The reason being is that the original Vectrex controller has a spring return to center already, so it effectively operates that same way. The reason you might think it doesn't though, is because so many original Vectrex controllers are really worn out and not easily serviceable without ripping off the label. So they might not return to center correctly due to worn or broken springs, completely worn out potentiometers, or worn gimbal plastic parts. That's what's drives me nuts! The competition player can't get ahead with shoddy controllers. And there are TONs of custom controllers available. Something to note: Vectorblade doesn't return to center on its own, you have to kind of nudge the ship to center, and is still difficult to find the exact center with a digital controller. Pro tip: use the overlay for alignment Do certain controllers offer an advantage though? Certainly, but it's more about pairing the right style controller with the particular player and also the game. If everyone could have access to a brand new Vectrex controller, that would be fair enough, but we don't... and it's the single most thing that stresses me out about playing the Vectrex in Vector War. |
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Any tips?? Haha
