Someone just released a home brew conversion of Time Pilot for the Vectrex.
http://www.kristofsnewvectrexgames.comli.com/VP20110927
I'm not a huge Time Pilot guy, and I don't own a Vectrex any longer, but I still think this looks pretty cool.
Vector Pilot
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Flack
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Vector Pilot
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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Tdarcos
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I was noticing one thing the website you referenced mentioned, on the coin-op version of the Vectrex, it had something very unusual, the coin unlocked the game for a period of time rather than lives.
I realized why. Connecting the coin slot to trip a timer is a simple modification you can add to just about anything. Connecting the coin receiver to number of lives or to be able to add lives, requires two-way communication between the game system and the coin controller, and possibly an extra board or at least a circuit to handle coin and credit counting (especially where good performance in the game is worth credit for an additional life or lives).
The vector-type image system has left one very useful feature available to us even now. The use of vector images allows for something that you can't do with raster (pixellated) images such as most image files like GIF, JPG, etc. You can make the image smaller or larger without distortion or loss of resolution. The SVG file format is great for this purpose, you can take an image down to a thumbnail or up to poster size and the image will still be sharp. This is why PDF became so popular, because text and graphics are usually stored as a vector in a PDF, so you can change display or page size and it still works.
I realized why. Connecting the coin slot to trip a timer is a simple modification you can add to just about anything. Connecting the coin receiver to number of lives or to be able to add lives, requires two-way communication between the game system and the coin controller, and possibly an extra board or at least a circuit to handle coin and credit counting (especially where good performance in the game is worth credit for an additional life or lives).
The vector-type image system has left one very useful feature available to us even now. The use of vector images allows for something that you can't do with raster (pixellated) images such as most image files like GIF, JPG, etc. You can make the image smaller or larger without distortion or loss of resolution. The SVG file format is great for this purpose, you can take an image down to a thumbnail or up to poster size and the image will still be sharp. This is why PDF became so popular, because text and graphics are usually stored as a vector in a PDF, so you can change display or page size and it still works.
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Ice Cream Jonsey
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I ended up buying this. I paid for it tonight, and the guy said he would ship it out as soon as payment is received. NICE.
I also plugged my Time Pilot PCB into my Gyruss game. More on that in the "I got a Time Pilot PCB" thread.
I like that we have multiple threads on Time Pilot.
I also plugged my Time Pilot PCB into my Gyruss game. More on that in the "I got a Time Pilot PCB" thread.
I like that we have multiple threads on Time Pilot.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!