Vector War XIII – Preparations & Discussions

[hcmffm]

Thank you for your suggestions on the game list. Most games of Vectrex Academy 2023 are very well done and I want to honour this. I've decided that VecDrift, Happy Bird, and Tee time will be played in Vector War XIII. There are even more jewels amongst the Vectrex Academy 2023 games but 13 games in a Vector War is pretty much the upper limit.

Thus, game list for Vector War XIII is:

Original games
Fortress of Narzod
Heads up Soccer (right, this one has been played in VW XII, already.)
Polar Rescue
Spinball (the lucky game)
Star Castle (the tough game)
Web Wars

Homebrew games
Cavern Rescue by Scott Huggins
Happy Bird by MRX, Vectrex Academy 2023
Tee time by apollo, Vectrex Academy 2023
The Count by Master Control aka HAL aka Peer, Vectrex Academy 202x
VecDrift by stackoverflow, Vectrex Academy 2023
Vyrzon by Steve (minsoft)

Wet Cat by nop, Vectrex Academy 2023

Less than three weeks to go...

[50tbrd]

I'm late to the game but I feel like a CGC/Packrat game should always be on the list. Not everyone has a flash cart, the games have been around for over a decade, some people have a lot of them already or are on one of the many multicarts that people tend to have, sends business Packrat's way, etc.

The homebrew list as it stands is very heavy on games that came out in the last 2-3 years. Vyrzon people are still trying to get and most of those Academy games aren't on physical. It is commendable though to have so much support for those games.

Has the possibility of emulated play been considered? Even considered for submission but not eligible for prize?

Just suggestions for being more open/inclusive competition.

[50tbrd]

Also, might want to look into using other Game settings to vary the difficulty/gameplay of some of the original games.

[hcmffm]

Great to read of you, Tony (50tbrd )! Game list for Vector War XIII is final - I might consider your thoughts and suggestion next year. Some comments:

• Almost every year, game list consists of 6 original Vectrex games which are available on every multicartridge and which don't require a flashable cartridge.
• During 12 Vector Wars I've never read something like "I cannot join in because I don't have 6 games of the game list at hand.".
  
• Many people own a flashable cartridge like VecFlash, VecMulti, PiTrex, or VecFever.
  
• Rules have been opened so that people can play on various hardware. But playing on a Vectrex emulator is a clear no-go for this year and I guess even for coming years.
• I much appreciate David's (Packrat Videogames) and John Donzila's (Classic Game Creations) work and dedication and by now quite a number of "their" games have been played. Next year a CGC / Packrat game will be in the game list - that's for sure.
• Side-note: Another batch of Vyrzon has been offered by Steve (minsoft) last week and some copies were still available on Saturday morning. So people who knew and really wanted should have been able to place their order.
  

Anyone who likes playing Vectrex games is welcome and invited to join the Vector War. Most tournaments need at least some preparations - in Vector War preparation is to make sure that you have a way to play at least 6 games of the game list - a multicartridge or even better a flashable cartridge is the way to go. People that want to join in on last notice might not have the ability to play the required 6 games and are thus "locked out" which is a pity. But: Next Vector War will take place end of October 2024 - those who miss out this year may join in next year.

[scotthuggins]

Hello everyone! SOOO excited about Vector War this year. I will be gunning for top honours (ok, maybe top 10 honours).

In the Cavern Rescue discussion thread on this forum, it was suggested I add in a "hardcore" mode similar to how Malban did on Karl Quappe and Vectorblade. In Hardcore mode, you get one ship only. I implemented that and people seemed to really like the idea.

When you load up Cavern Rescue on your vectrex, it shows "Press button 4 to play". It doesn't mention it on the screen or in the manual, but if you press "1" instead it will start a game in hardcore mode. All the normal gameplay rules apply; except you get one ship only. No extra ships apply ever. You die, and it's over - it shows your score on the screen. It stays on the screen for an extended time - perfect for taking a picture for the competition. Even if you don't catch the score screen in time to take a picture, if you wait, it will cycle thru back to the score screen for your picture to be taken.

The benefit of doing it this way (hardcore mode), is so you can play several rounds very quickly if you only have 10-15 minutes to spare. Once you get the hang of the game, you can go pretty far still with one single ship.

Just a thought - Pressing 1 (instead of 4) on title screen, will go into Hardcore mode for Cavern Rescue.

Thanks for considering this and VERY much looking forward to the competition.

Scott

[jbrodack]

Wow that's a lot of student games this year. I do like getting to try new games so I'm excited to see how those games play and how things go in the tournament. I tend to do better at homebrew as people have had years to figure out the original games.

I personally think Every Day is Halloween should be played every year but I don't think that will go through lol. I look forward to this time of year every year cause I love Halloween and I love this tournament. Sometimes I neglect the Vectrex and this tournament gives me a great opportunity to play it competitively. Look forward to playing with you all again.

[50tbrd]

Oct 17, 2023 19:11:38 GMT -5 jbrodack said:

Wow that's a lot of student games this year. I do like getting to try new games so I'm excited to see how those games play and how things go in the tournament. I tend to do better at homebrew as people have had years to figure out the original games.

I personally think Every Day is Halloween should be played every year but I don't think that will go through lol. I look forward to this time of year every year cause I love Halloween and I love this tournament. Sometimes I neglect the Vectrex and this tournament gives me a great opportunity to play it competitively. Look forward to playing with you all again.

You could always organize a competition just for EDIH. 

[fruktodlaren]

Yeah, I'm still here.
I will put the finishing touches to the wooden spoon tomorrow after work and if I have time I will also try to finish the collaborative prize. It's about time, right? I guess the collaborative prize can be named now.
I will provide a picture of those prizes (for using on the first page) when they are done.
/Tony

[hcmffm]

Oct 15, 2023 13:16:50 GMT -5 scotthuggins said:

Hello everyone! SOOO excited about Vector War this year. I will be gunning for top honours (ok, maybe top 10 honours). ...
... Just a thought - Pressing 1 (instead of 4) on title screen, will go into Hardcore mode for Cavern Rescue. ...

Great to read from you, Scott, and thank you very much for this hint. Sure enough it would be cool if you joined in VW13.

Happy Bird and I guess "The Count" will have one life only. Not quite sure whether we should go for the hardcore mode in Vector War with also just one life. Brett (playvectrex), you've played Cavern Rescue quite a bit - what do you recommend? What do other people think about hardcore mode in Cavern Rescue?

PS: In the recent past I haven't replied to every post and suggestion. I'll be more communicative from now till end of Vector War.

[hcmffm]

Oct 18, 2023 14:10:23 GMT -5 50tbrd said:

Oct 17, 2023 19:11:38 GMT -5 jbrodack said:

Wow that's a lot of student games this year. I do like getting to try new games so I'm excited to see how those games play and how things go in the tournament. I tend to do better at homebrew as people have had years to figure out the original games.

I personally think Every Day is Halloween should be played every year but I don't think that will go through lol. I look forward to this time of year every year cause I love Halloween and I love this tournament. Sometimes I neglect the Vectrex and this tournament gives me a great opportunity to play it competitively. Look forward to playing with you all again.

You could always organize a competition just for EDIH. 

Indeed, Every Day Is Halloween (EDIH) is very well done and would fit in very well in the time of the year. Especially given that each Vector War "hits" halloween. Perhaps a side/fun competition could be cool. But then, this might distract from Vector War. Other voices/opinions?

[hcmffm]

Oct 19, 2023 15:50:06 GMT -5 fruktodlaren said:

Yeah, I'm still here.
I will put the finishing touches to the wooden spoon tomorrow after work and if I have time I will also try to finish the collaborative prize. It's about time, right? I guess the collaborative prize can be named now.
I will provide a picture of those prizes (for using on the first page) when they are done.
/Tony

Great to read that prizes are still in sight and will be prepared in time! And I much hope that you and your kids will join in VW13, again.
___

Game list is final. Time to have a word on prizes:

Prize: Wooden spoon
As every year, Tony (fruktodlaren ) will craft and donate the famous wooden spoon. This prize will go to the second last winner - just make sure you're not last and you'll win this nice prize. Here's what the wooden spoon looks like - sure enough it will say "Vector War XIII" this year.


Prize: Collaborative made item
Tony and a second person (name will be revealed soon) are about preparing a cool prize. Winners 1, 2, ... may choose this prize - afaik, there will be one copy of this item, only. More infos will follow. Thank you, Tony, your prizes are always something special and much appreciated!

Prize: 2 x Count Vecula
Peer (Peer ) will donate two copies of his brand-new "Count Vecula". In "Count Vecula" you're equipped with bow and arrows and you fight your way through numerious levels with varying enemies. Count Vecula will be a much advanced version of "The Count" with two player mode, countless levels, and more. "Count Vecula" will be a full release with box and overlay and will be published by Sean Kelly. One of these full releases will be a random prize and one copy for winners. Thank you very much, Peer, for your donation!

Prizes: 3 x Vector War T-Shirt

Like every year, winners 1-3 will get a Vector War T-Shirt.

So much for now. There are some more prizes in the pipeline - I'll post them in the coming days.

[playvectrex]

Hi All! I'm excited to give this year a go! Last year I was out of town, but this year I'll be around. Not taking the week off, but should have plenty of balanced time to put some scores in

I'm not sure if the game list is locked, but have you seen Sea Pup? It would pair with Polar Rescue well ;-)
Free to download: portauthority.itch.io/sea-pup
Cart only: www.etsy.com/listing/1585231157/sea-pup-vectrex-game

[scotthuggins]

Brett- you actually took a full week off to play in Vector War tournament in the past? I'm asking because that sounds like a DAMN good idea. Better than any vacation I could think of.

Since you have confirmed you will be participating, I guess that means the rest of us will be competing for second place. ;-)

Lastly, someone above was asking if you'd played Hardcore mode of Cavern Rescue. I know the answer to that....

[playvectrex]

Yeah, I took off the full week a couple times now. It's really fun, but also getting top three in Vector War is a lot of hard work (at least for me). I can think of 6 people that are easily better than me... so if any of them are in... we are all fighting for our lives

I think Hardcore mode was made exclusively for competitions, so it would be fitting to use it. Without full lives, the really good players will easily top the scores. Limiting to one life will certainly help make it more of a challenge. For other players though that haven't mastered the controls in Cavern Rescue, the one life will be quite a challenge. But, you can practice in normal mode.. so there's that

[hcmffm]

Thank you all for your "Thumbs up" for the prizes post and other recent posts. It's getting more crowded here these days which is a good sign. And thank you for your posts and thoughts regarding Cavern Rescue, Brett and Scott. You (scotthuggins ) have implemented hardcore mode in Cavern Rescue for competitions - so let's play Cavern Rescue in hardcore mode in Vector War XIII.

Web Wars: Bug fixed version - yes or no?

Many posts above, you (Chainsaw ) suggested to play the bug fixed version of Web Wars. I really like to reward Peers digital archeology and like your suggestion. My understanding is that apart from the second trophy room no other changes have been made. So original GCE/MB version of Web Wars and bug fixed version have same difficulty and only start to differ above level 20 - right? If this is true, we may decide within the tournament depending on the results of best players and their access to a flashable cartridge. If all players that reach 20 or more trophies own a flashable cartridge, we can use Peer's bug fixed version. But if there is a single player who reaches 20 trophies and who doesn't have the possibility to play the bug fixed binary, the threshold of 20 trophies would apply.

PS: Taking a week off for Vector War?! Seems like some people are really addicted and super dedicated. But I guess competing with other tough opponents, appealing prizes, and eternal fame and glory are worth it.

Winners of Vector War I (2011) - Vector War XII (2022):


Less than one week till Vector War XIII will start...