#### Back to index | # Info for vectrex

#### GCE Vectrex

Usage:
Though the Vectrex emulation can be loaded with a cartridge image, starting without one will
allow you to access the built-in game Minestorm (provided the system.img bios is present).

Known Issues:
No light pen support.
Almost every cartridge is playable, except those requiring the light pen. See vectrex.crc for
a current compatibility list. Overlays are supported in .png format, using the same name as
the cartridge image being loaded. Place overlays in the artwork directory. The overlay for
the built in minestorm game must be named "mine.png" to load when no image is selected.
Current Bug -- The vectrex overlays have not worked in the 37 beta cycle. This is being
looked into.

History and Trivia:
The Vectrex was released in the US late in 1982 by General Consumer Electric (GCE) at a
suggested retail price of $199. The Vectrex differed from other consoles in that it had
it's own built in nine inch by eleven inch vector monitor, and thus didn't require (or
even allow) the use of a television set. The system even contained a built in game, the
Asteroids-like "Minestorm".
The monochrome Vectrex used screen overlays to give the illusion of colour, and also to
reduce the severity of the inherent flickering caused by the vector monitor.
In 1983, GCE was merged into Milton Bradley, who expanded the Vectrex's market to include
Europe. As the video game market declined and then crashed, the Vectrex exited the market
in early 1984. The rights to the system reverted to it's developers, Smith Engineering.
Smith Engineering briefly considered designing a handheld version of the device in 1988,
though the success of the Nintendo Gameboy made such a project too risky. In the mid-1990s,
Smith Engineering condoned the duplication of the Vectrex system image and cartridges for
non-commercial uses.

created on Wed May 15 07:18:19 2002