Vector 21 / Star Fury 3D received ..

[Stephen Jones]

Vector 21 (#004)

Just got it and have played several games. The game implemented quite well
and is very fun to play, especially if you enjoy cards and games of chance.

I especially like the Joker card ;-)

10 on box design and labels
10 on documentation / users guide
10 on the game implementation

The 3D demo is not a playable demo, but it does have some controls. The
3D presentation and colouring is very good and is as good as to be
expected with a vintage 3D imager. I used the crazy coaster/narrow escape
colour wheel.

Now I can't wait for the game... I just hope I can get one soon enough.

Thanks FURY.

[FURY]

Thank you Stephen! Very nice review,
and I'm glad that you like it.

To those awaiting pre-ordered cartridges...
Most have shipped, and the remainder will
ship this week. My apologies for the slight
delay (it took me a bit longer than expected
to produce the manuals and labels).

George

[Marc Goldman]

"FURY" <Geo...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1146555306.7...@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

I'd forgotten all about ordering this.

Cool!

:)

[ShaddamVI]

Allow me to be among the first to congratulate George on the 3D Star
Fury Demo!! - So beautiful.

It's dazzling sunshine here at the moment (a few stolen Vectrex minutes
are allowed) which is hampering my 3D imager a little but the test
image looks great; with clear vibrant colours, and a exquisite 3D
cuboid that floats around the main subject, with tasteful star points
in the background. Looks like perfect wheel speed/colour control too.
Consider my hat doffed.

Bring on the full game! :)

Alex

[Richard Hutchinson]

Yes, the 3D is VERY impressive. I tried it with just the Kev adaptor and
it's still good (of course I'm sure it's even better in colour).

It's going to be a great / unique game when it's finished.

Richard H.

[Richard Hutchinson]

......I'm thinking it must be a real bitch to program in 3D, getting the
perpsective just right and involving lots of trail and error ?

Richard H.

[FURY]

ShaddamVI wrote:
> Allow me to be among the first to congratulate George on the 3D Star
> Fury Demo!! - So beautiful.
>

>

> Bring on the full game! :)
>
> Alex

Thank you, Alex! Star Fury 3D is on
schedule for a September release.

George

[FURY]

Thanks, Richard. Yes, it's better in color
not only because colored vectors are
amazing looking, but because the color
helps to distinguish different images on
the screen. In my demo, the cannons
are green, but you can't really tell them
apart from the rest of the station when
using Kevin's adapter. It does provide a
good 3D experience, and I actually tested
the game with his adapter before releasing
this demo. I hope that he starts selling
them again.

I somewhat enjoyed doing the trial and error
part of the 3D programming (working with the
perspectives while designing the game).
The most difficult part of 3D programming
on Vectrex is working within the increased
timing limitations that are in place (moreso
than regular Vec programming). Well before
flicker comes into play, the colors will not
display properly if you attempt to do too
much at once. I've come up with some tricks
to extend this a bit, but it's still very limiting.

Update for pre-orderers who have not yet
received their package...

It's either enroute, or about to be shipped.
Sorry for the delay.

George

[Chad Tower]

What color wheel should we use with it?

[FURY]

Chad Tower wrote:
> What color wheel should we use with it?

The Narrow Escape/Crazy Coaster wheel is
needed for the Star Fury 3D demo and the
bonus 3D game that will be included with
the "Wildcard" Edition and the Omega Edition.

It's possible that the finished version of
Star Fury 3D will actually utilize the other wheel,
mainly because the 3D MineStorm wheel
uses more green and blue than red. Red is
the least effective of the three colors when
it comes to the 3D effects. Red IS used in the
game, but less than the other two colors.

George

[Chad Tower]

Cool. Just want to make sure I have the appropriate wheel once the
game is delivered. I already have the wheels you mentioned. I just
got a boxed set of goggles and have been playing with them some.
They're kind of flimsy, yes?

[Eric Smith]

"Chad Tower" <to...@gis.net> writes:
> I just got a boxed set of goggles and have been playing with them
> some. They're kind of flimsy, yes?

The 3D goggles? I bought two of them in 1985, and haven't managed to
break them yet. The adhesive holding the foam pads to the plastic
eventually failed, but I wouldn't call that "flimsy", and the adhesive
can be replaced.

[Chad Tower]

Foam pads? Well that explains some of it. My goggles have nothing
foam on them.

With mine, when the disc is spinning, if you move your head too fast,
the disc tilts and you can hear it hit something as it spins. Is that
abnormal too?

[Mayhem]

I have two Imagers, one with and one without the foam. Ironically the
one without the foam actually fits my head better :P

Tilting too much has the color disc knocking slightly against the
internals as it isn't that secure inside the unit.

[Chad Tower]

Is that just the way it was made or is that a result of wear over the
years?

[Mayhem]

Oh it should have foam, it was just missing when I got it (as said
before, the glue isn't that strong on it).

[Chad Tower]

I was asking if the disc being insecure is a result of wear, not the
loss of foam. :)

[Mayhem]

Oh...! :p

No idea, but considering it's only held loosely in the middle and spun
quite quickly, I'd imagine air resistance plays a part.

[syn...@gmail.com]

It's a phenomenon known as "gyroscopic procession" where a rotating
object will react 90° degrees to the point of influence.

Helicoptors base their swashplate design in part due to this effect.
If you'd like to demonstrate this for yourself, unclip a bicycle wheel
from the front forks of a road bike and hold it by the axle between
your fingers and have someone spin the wheel. Then try to tilt the
axle and see how the wheel reacts.

The color wheel in the glasses is bound by the same physical laws, just
on a smaller scale and I'd guess that depending on wear could make
contact with the internal housing.

Mike Doyle

[Richard Hutchinson]

>If you'd like to demonstrate this for yourself, unclip a bicycle wheel
>from the front forks of a road bike and hold it by the axle between
>your fingers and have someone spin the wheel.

We used to do that at school whilst sitting in a swivel chair, pretty weird
sensation.

Richard H.

[Mayhem]

Got my copy today. Star Fury demo is impressive with the colours
aligned perfectly. Will the final game be using two images for 3D, as
the demo only has the one projection?

And as it turns out, Vector21 is rather an addictive little game. I've
managed to get 2,500 points so far, what have other people got?

[FURY]

Thanks Mat, for the compliments on both!

Let me know what Imager you're using, because
everyone else (so far) is seeing this in 3D, as you
should be. 2 images are present in the demo for
everything that appears in 3D...the Star Shield,
the stars, and the cannon fire. The Star Station
is set at the screen surface (2D).

George

[Mayhem]

Ah, that'll explain why then. I was only viewing the Vectrex without
the Imager on when only the Station was present on screen (ie. not
pressing any of the buttons). I guess I thought the Station was
supposed to be projected in 3D as well ;)

I'll admit though, I couldn't see any stars; could the brightness of my
Vectrex be set too low for them?

I'm using the original GCE Imager btw, I've deliberately got two of
them here (one for the collection, one for use).

[FURY]

Yes, your brightness must be too low
to see the stars. Let me know if you
(anybody else too) think the stars
should be set to a brighter intensity.
I thought this setting was just right,
allowing the player to see them off in
the background, while not letting
them be a distraction (in 3D, this matters
a lot!).

George

[FURY]

Mayhem wrote:
> And as it turns out, Vector21 is rather an addictive little game. I've
> managed to get 2,500 points so far, what have other people got?

My best score, so far, is 2,600 points.
I bet somebody's already beaten that.

George