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Post by Vectronic on Sept 6, 2016 2:33:29 GMT -5
I too have often hoped that developer/self-publishers that have produced quality boxes and high quality overlays would share the information of their production sources with one another and new developers if asked. This info should not be a "trade secret". I would love love love to see more homebrew releases like this with a high quality (hiiiiiigh performance!) box and overlay! I mean if I ever produce a game, this is the way I'd want to do it!
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Post by ledzep on Sept 6, 2016 2:57:10 GMT -5
The instructions shouldn't be much of a problem, it's just mostly the overlays. Even though simple with few colors, supposedly the overlay for the limited edition of Protector ended up costing more than making the 100 run of cartridges (!). That was years ago though, and one might end up questioning the printing company too for that cost. Ya, and it was just one color (pink?) and some words. That overlay did nothing for me, seeing that actually made me not feel so bad that I missed the opportunity to buy the boxed version, I was expecting a Defender color scheme (love the box, though). How could the overlay be so expensive? Was there an extra charge for not using more colors?
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Post by cNp on Sept 6, 2016 4:48:43 GMT -5
I'll leave Chris and Jim to address any specifics here but I have a couple of points...
None of what has been done here will be secret, happy to share printer details, etc. I think we want to ensure all goes well from start to finish before anyone else uses the same people though.
Chris and Jim used the printer for their overlays that was already known and in use by others. I used a different printer for overlays to try to expand the options the community had to them as the Nox/Deathchase ones took a LONG time to get done.
There are now two printers with a "tool" to create overlays and cut them to exact measurements. The initial tool creation is a one off cost (one off until it wears out!). My guys were very easy to work with and, I think, produced a great product. That said my design is pretty simple but I will use these guys again.
I worked with Jim and Chris to share the same box printer and foam inner manufacturer. The box was created using a "cutter" design created by my brother who does graphic design and producing boxes, etc. professionally. Anyone else wanting to use the same printer can benefit from them now having a tool created that matches anything designed with this cutter. Jim, Chris and I went thirds on the one off cost of the tool for creating the boxes; they arrive printed, cut and creased for the folds so as to give a professional finish. I think in future we will add a harder wearing "varnish" finish but we're very happy with the results as is.
The foam was all Chris and Jim's work... the foam company were slow and not the easiest to deal with but, in my opinion, it's a great solution and works really well... knowing their typical timelines in advance I would still use them again. Once more they now have created a tool to make more where the one off cost has already been paid by the 3 of us.
What we'll probably do is let the dust settle on these releases and then write up the what/how/who of how anyone else can do the same.
You'll soon be able to judge the quality of the Big blue overlays yourselves.
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Post by binarystar on Sept 6, 2016 5:02:36 GMT -5
The high cost of the Protector overkay was probably due to the low number of overlays produced? Yes, the overlays are the hardest part to get right. We used the same printers as VectrexMad uses for his minestorm repros etc, so it's no 'trade secret' but its a UK based printer and they make very high quality overlays but they can be slow. The DC/Nox overlays took exactly one year to produce. We have shared our box printer and foam supplier with CNP for his Big Blue game so you will be seeing more homebrews in this format soon. Chris went with a different printer for overlays (who were much quicker) and those look great too. I suggested doing the foam inserts as jim designed a cardboard insert at first that would need assembly and I felt tha would be too fiddly/flimsy. The foam worked out even better than we expected, giving the box itself lots of support. We will continue with this for future big box releases. Next run of boxes will also be laminated to prevent the box print getting damaged, its all been a learning process and we will be refining this as we go.
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Post by binarystar on Sept 6, 2016 5:03:22 GMT -5
Haha i see chris answered while i was typing my reply
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jacuk
Vector Runner
Posts: 21
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Post by jacuk on Sept 6, 2016 6:48:45 GMT -5
Great games! I've been playing all night yesterday! But my VecVoxX doesn't seem to work. The manual says "a VecVoice" compatible device" does this include VecVoxX? But I might be doing something wrong because where the manual says "press button 2 for a 1 player only game with speech effects from a VecVoice compatible device" the game says "press <2> driving controller"...
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Post by binarystar on Sept 6, 2016 7:35:10 GMT -5
Thanks. If you can switch your VecVoxx to VecVoice compatibility mode (if possible), it should work. The manual differs a little from the finished product as that option changed in Nox. VecVoice is always enabled though port 2 in NOX, Death Chase and the hidden game.
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Post by 50tbrd on Sept 6, 2016 10:35:32 GMT -5
They were probably so expensive because he went with a convient printer. They also might have charged more for the hassle of doing something they were accustomed to.
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Post by gliptitude on Sept 6, 2016 14:38:58 GMT -5
I got mine today. Love the quality overlays.
Ha, I have played Death Chase in the arcade a few times and I am fairly certain that many many more pedestrians are dying in this Vectrex version, and at a higher rate! Also I don't remember there being a computer controlled player in the arcade. That guy is pretty good and I suppose it took some time to program him that way!
NOX gives driving controller option in the game but I don't see an explanation in the manual. I guess this entails driving controller in 2nd player port and the first player buttons control gears, kind of like Death Chase? .. I seem to have misplaced my driving controller, else I would have just tried it this way.
Is Skull Soccer an achievement reward or a secret or may we just go straight to it? I was particularly excited about that game, from seeing the video of it.
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Post by binarystar on Sept 6, 2016 14:57:32 GMT -5
Yeah, DC differs a bit from the arcade game in scoring. The key to high scores is to do kills in quick succession as this scores 100pts rather than the regular 10 per kill. Hitting crosses also scores points. The AI isn't that clever, I had smarter AI but I found his scores a bit samey and predictable so I dumbed him down a bit and made his enemy targeting a little more random I feel he may be a little too good sometimes but I can beat him if I have a good run. Skull Soccer is accessed by a secret button combo. There is a small clue on the back of the DC manual Nox driving controller/vectrosis support was added in after the manuals were designed/printed but it supports the same/similar control configs as Death Chase. Manuals for the second run have been updated to reflect this.
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Post by Vectronic on Sept 6, 2016 15:56:07 GMT -5
Great games! I've been playing all night yesterday! But my VecVoxX doesn't seem to work. The manual says "a VecVoice" compatible device" does this include VecVoxX? But I might be doing something wrong because where the manual says "press button 2 for a 1 player only game with speech effects from a VecVoice compatible device" the game says "press <2> driving controller"... If you got your VecVoxX from Madtronix, there should be a tiny push button on the bottom of it. With the VecVoxX plugged into your Vectrex 2nd controller port and the system OFF, hold down that button while powering the Vectrex ON. You should hear the VexVoxX boot into VecVoice mode. Then you can release the button and you're good to go. I had the same issue as you when I got my VecVoxX, as it did not come with any instructions saying how to switch between modes. I assumed it was automatic. It was only through luck and trying to figure out what the heck the little button actually did that I stumbled on it.
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Post by TrekMD on Sept 6, 2016 19:11:53 GMT -5
The Madtronix VecVoxx has a button? That's much easier than the Vox+ from AA. I have to open it up to switch modes.
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Post by VectorX on Sept 6, 2016 19:29:47 GMT -5
^Unless you don't want to damage it (only) cosmetically, you can drill a hole into the Vox+ to switch the modes.
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Post by Vectronic on Sept 6, 2016 19:34:39 GMT -5
The Madtronix VecVoxx has a button? That's much easier than the Vox+ from AA. I have to open it up to switch modes. Yeah, the Madtronix VecVoxX is a really nice piece of kit! Very well made with built-in speaker on top as well as a sliding volume adjuster , headphone jack on the side next to a pass-through port for a second controller, light pen/gun, ect. and that button on the bottom to switch between modes on system boot. I also believe there is a developers com-port inside that isn't exposed, but that may be a requested feature and not on all of them. I remember the old ones where you had to open them up to switch modes. Most people modified them in some way to allow for the switch to be flipped without opening the case. Love my VecVoxX; friends love it too. It adds a lot to the games that support it. It always sits on my Veccy, ready to go, along with my VecMulti v1.4, and most recently aquired, my Vectrex32! Wish I had more time to get into and play around with that last one!
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jacuk
Vector Runner
Posts: 21
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Post by jacuk on Sept 7, 2016 8:29:09 GMT -5
Great games! I've been playing all night yesterday! But my VecVoxX doesn't seem to work. The manual says "a VecVoice" compatible device" does this include VecVoxX? But I might be doing something wrong because where the manual says "press button 2 for a 1 player only game with speech effects from a VecVoice compatible device" the game says "press <2> driving controller"... If you got your VecVoxX from Madtronix, there should be a tiny push button on the bottom of it. With the VecVoxX plugged into your Vectrex 2nd controller port and the system OFF, hold down that button while powering the Vectrex ON. You should hear the VexVoxX boot into VecVoice mode. Then you can release the button and you're good to go. I had the same issue as you when I got my VecVoxX, as it did not come with any instructions saying how to switch between modes. I assumed it was automatic. It was only through luck and trying to figure out what the heck the little button actually did that I stumbled on it. Nice, thank you! I was wondering what that button did. I'll try it tonight.
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