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Post by gliptitude on Jul 29, 2016 18:19:01 GMT -5
Got my copy today. To answer my own previous question, the cart shell is still the homemade type. It's a lot heavier than a normal Vectrex cart, which is kind of cool.
Was it worth the wait? Well I guess for me the answer is yes. It is a really strange relic of a game. .. I'd definitely rather pay $75 four years ago than $300 today, like people are doing. It's one of those games I just would have had to eventually see for myself. .. The production seems to have had many hitches, some of which were not completely resolved, but I absolutely, positively would rather have this product than have my money returned or had the project canceled.
like others, I had allignment problems with the pits. I experimented with the calibration system and eventually found that if I overcompensated (like the manual suggests) then I could get the pits to more or less line up with the overlay, but this results in the pit graphics appearing in the overcompensated position. You can make the pits invisible, which solves that problem, but then you have to play with the overlay on, and the overlay does obscure the vectors as has been mentioned previously. .. I would be interested to see how the game plays without any pits at all.
I haven't played a two player game yet but I have played through the entire one player game to the end. There is some variety in the enemies and a few surprises. It seems a little unfair at times but the enemy AI is pretty functional and it is not prohibitively difficult to progress through the game. .. It is a bit hard on the joystick, at least the way I was playing. .. The control scheme is pretty interesting and unique.
I'm glad I got on the list for this game when I had the chance.
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Post by sj on Jul 30, 2016 5:10:10 GMT -5
It seems to me that the game is now more of a 'curio' and one for collectors. Not particularly outstanding in the gameplay department and clearly still has one or two issues. Almost pushed out before it was ready, which is a bit nuts after 4(?) years.
Do I wish I'd put my name down?
er... no.
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Post by retrocore9 on Jul 30, 2016 16:36:30 GMT -5
The game does have the nicest box I've seen for a Vectrex game so its a great display piece. I wish I was collecting for the system back when the pre-orders were done. Now I have to wait for a copy to turn up on ebay that isn't $300 or above to justify getting it. At least those who wanted a copy back then finally are getting theirs.
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Post by ledzep on Jul 30, 2016 17:56:04 GMT -5
Ya, the wait was long. But I look at it this way. How long did it take for Tempest for the 5200 to be completed? Yyeeeaaarrrssss. The original programmer was nice enough to pick up the original code and complete the project but we'd heard about the possibility for so long (much longer than for Warrior) and there were hiccups (the trak-ball code was bad until someone volunteered some official Atari 5200 code from back in the day that apparently worked much better) - atariage.com/forums/topic/109883-5200-tempest-update/That's 2000-goddamn-7 (actually earlier, if you consider that the unfinished prototype was discovered in 1999 or so), Keithen, the original programmer, had to start and stop and start due to his personal life being more important than a 5200 game but, after a long wait, we 5200 fans can enjoy possibly the greatest arcade game ever made on our consoles. Comes with a box and everything, done right. Anyone crying about it because it took so long? No. Well, ok, there were a few impatient entitled a-holes bitching on the AtariAge forums that could have pushed the programmer to give up and say f*** you guys, I don't need this, but cooler heads prevailed. Now, Tempest is one of the greatest games, Warrior is not, so it can be argued that it was more worth the wait. But Warrior is an actual vector game on a vector system (wish Tempest could get converted for the Vectrex) and I'm glad both got done, I don't care that it took so long. Now, like most people, I prefer the instant gratification of you want the game then order it and it will show up in 2 days. But that doesn't always happen. Warrior has an amazing box and I love the overlay. Anyone who says that waiting a few years wasn't worth it must not like collecting old video game systems because I've had to wait years for the chance to find some old game or homebrew on eBay or somewhere because it's typically way too expensive for me to buy when a copy shows up but then, one day, someone is selling for a decent price and I was paying attention. We all go through that for these old 8-bit systems. You don't want to wait but sometimes it's part of the deal. I waited many years for the shot at buying a Zektor Vector Generator board (when the company found some extra PCBs and decided to make a last run of them) and when it happened I jumped on the chance, I didn't complain and then say it's better to not have it because the wait was too long boo hoo. www.zektor.com/zvg/I will one day get that thing hooked to a Vectrex and running Vector MAME. Or maybe I won't if circumstances don't work out but either way, I'm much happier to have the board (at retail price, not the gouge eBay prices) and the opportunity to use it even if it took many years after I heard about it to get my hands on one.
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Post by cNp on Aug 1, 2016 10:14:30 GMT -5
ledzep I think people were annoyed at waiting because they had paid in full all those years ago... I've never seen anyone giving a hard time to a homebrew developer on the Vectrex just for being slow.
For whatever reasons Fury got delayed in getting everything together and out the door in large numbers and I think he and everyone else has learned from this in regard to not taking orders too early in the day.
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Post by VectorX on Aug 1, 2016 10:28:34 GMT -5
ledzep I think people were annoyed at waiting because they had paid in full all those years ago... Yeah, it's not like people paid for Atari 5200 Tempest years ago to Atari and they had to wait 15 years for it. They just had to wait for it, then paid later.
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Post by ledzep on Aug 3, 2016 5:53:00 GMT -5
ledzep I think people were annoyed at waiting because they had paid in full all those years ago... I've never seen anyone giving a hard time to a homebrew developer on the Vectrex just for being slow. For whatever reasons Fury got delayed in getting everything together and out the door in large numbers and I think he and everyone else has learned from this in regard to not taking orders too early in the day. I would buy that if the homebrewist in question was someone we've never heard of or someone who has a history of flaking (like the Ram Controls guy, if I remember correctly) where the fear was oh sh*t, just threw away my money. And I'm hearing this complaint still, after it is becoming obvious that everyone who paid is going to get his copy of the game, some people who feel that they're glad they never put money down for this limited-run game even though they now know the game will be delivered. That sounds like sour grapes to me, like those people are irritated that they didn't get in on the deal and ride the frustratingly long wait for the payoff so now the people who are actually receiving the games are the suckers and those others who never ordered the game are the real smart gamers. Uh, no. Having dealt with Fury before I was convinced that I would receive my second copy since I'd already received the first one I'd ordered, or at the least I'd get my money back. He's put out lots of games and a few controllers and I've never gotten screwed. So he got overwhelmed or too ambitious or got hosed by suppliers or whatever, it happens. I can cut the guy some slack. If he was doing this every game, if nothing ever went right and people were 3 or 4 games deep waiting years for their paid-for sh*t to show up, ok, that's a huge problem and who would trust that guy? Not me. But that's not what happened. Considering that the Warrior games are arriving, what does it matter if the sequence of events is wait for years, pay, get game (5200 Tempest) vs. pay, wait for years, get game (Warrior)? In both scenarios you get the game after a long wait. I'm sure Fury learned from this and won't make a habit of it, I resubscribed to Vectorbolt Magazine and so I'm expecting a free Vectrex game to go along with it. I'm sure the "better to not have ordered Warrior" strategists aren't interested in a "free" (ok, you have to resubscribe to the only magazine that covers the Vectrex, oh no!) game from a guy who has coded some of the best vector arcade ports available, usually with extra levels or enemies to fill out the games. I just wish he'd take a shot at some Atari games (Red Baron!!) and add extras to them.
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Post by sj on Aug 3, 2016 11:29:44 GMT -5
Can't speak for others but there is absolutely no sour grapes on my part for not ordering the game initially. I've three or four of Furys games and they all turned up reasonably promptly. These were all bought before the Warrior saga so when he offered it up for the initial pre-order I based my decision not to buy it on the fact I didn't particularly want it. I don't buy Vectrex stuff slavishly just because it's Vectrex stuff. I think George may have received less stick along the way if he'd been more transparent with the problems he was having. Just putting back the expected due date continually wound a lot of people up. Cutting the guy slack is a decent thing to do, but I still suggest sitting on peoples cash for four or five years is unreasonable, even if you're confident on getting the game eventually.
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Post by tmosteel on Aug 31, 2016 22:53:38 GMT -5
Got my email with tracking number today, cant wait for this to arrive!
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Post by gliptitude on Sept 1, 2016 1:10:15 GMT -5
I played the 2 player game for the first time yesterday. Playing with invisible pits (and no overlay) was pretty cool.
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Post by hcmffm on Sept 1, 2016 15:08:32 GMT -5
Today, the Warrior webpage has been removed and Warrior is now listed in the "Discontinued" section. IIRC, last status of Warrior was that last copies will be sent out in the next several weeks.
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Post by Rapetou33 on Sept 1, 2016 15:22:41 GMT -5
Correct and I believe that sundance used to be available as a free rom (?)
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Post by Luitoine on Sept 1, 2016 15:51:37 GMT -5
Today, the Warrior webpage has been removed and Warrior is now listed in the "Discontinued" section. IIRC, last status of Warrior was that last copies will be sent out in the next several weeks. This might be related to the fact that I got an e-mail telling me that my copy of the game will be posted soon (as I think that I was the very last on the list!) Also, to answer to Rapetou: I don't remember that Sundance was available as a free-rom. It was just still possible to order the game until today (now it's discontinued I think).
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Post by BobCatWarrior on Sept 4, 2016 17:57:03 GMT -5
I too have got my email saying Warrior is on the way... after checking the website, Warrior is now in the discontinued section. Perhaps I have the last one, but perhaps not. In anycase, its one of the last ones! I honestly cant remember how many years... 3 4 or 5. Didn't think it was coming...
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Post by kurtori on Sept 5, 2016 0:16:43 GMT -5
A few days ago I received an email stating my copy of Warrior is shipping out soon, and that I'll receive a follow-up email on the day it's sent. So looks like the last copy hasn't shipped yet but mine was one of the last orders placed, so the very last shipments should be going out very soon.
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