I finally got a Speed Freak!! RARE VECTOR!!!

[@delsarcade]

At 36:46, "You should keep those comments to yourself." -Kelly. "Freedom of speech!" -Arcade Jason

[@PHAEDRIDER]

i was like ... is this guy even old enough to remember these games and then you're like "hardware from handyman" and i'm like oh. i guess so.

[@RetroDawn]

Was that a store from back then?

[@PHAEDRIDER]

yep. it sure was, and that's totally where someone would go to get random inexpensive hardware and tools.

[@RetroDawn]

@@PHAEDRIDER Sorry to hear that it's gone now.

[@SpaciesArcade]

Jason - What a SCORE! OMG - I have so many fond memories playing this game in a lunch bar next to my fathers work back in Christchurch New Zealand. Next to the Speed Freak there was an Atari B&W Canyon Bomber! I used to play the hell out of both of them and have a 'quiet eye' on the lookout for either to pickup... But super rare as you know and even more so over in Perth Australia where I now reside. Anyway, I can 100% confirm that is the way the controls are meant to be! It was the same for me back in the day - twitch city. I know you said it's not a players game, but I do remember getting into the zone with the right gearing and fast reflexes and getting good runs. It was (and still is clearly) a huge challenge. At first I was amazed and distracted by the awesome scenery and remember thinking how cool it was to see the other car come down the road in vector 3d! But once you get in the zone, all those distractions dissappear and that twitchy steering wheel suddenly becomes 'percise movcement' at the highest speeds! It really is huge fun - keep at it and I reckon you'll get into the same zoned out experience!! Congrats mate and thanks for sharing!!

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

Is it really supposed to steer like this? I had Hyperchase on Vectrex, (displaying curves as straight lines, feels more like Sega Turbo) which also is a pure reaction tester. First it feels impossible, but once I managed to finish a round at high speed without crashing.

[@KlodFather]

@Arcade Jason - The speaker @46:11 is a common north american produced model used in PA systems... Specifically in the wall baffles and ceiling speakers in commercial buildings and stores. These speakers are easy and inexpensive to produce and sound great. A younger cousin and similar unit is the venerable 6x9 used in car audio. These were purpose built and just plain work good. Most of these have holes below the terminals to mount the 70 volt and 25 volt transformers used in such systems. I sent you an extensive email with photos on where to find what you are looking for. KLOD in Pittsburgh PA

[@80s_Gamr]

Honest to Gawd I think I remember playing this somewhere when I was a kid. Totally remember that floating shifter... and the cows, lol.

[@arcadefussell3185]

Bad Ass Man! Bad Ass. I get so excited the night before I go to pick up a game that I can't sleep. I am glad I am not the only one who stays up thirty plus hours, delirious and slurring my words getting one to come back to life! That is a rare piece of Arcade Game history. It is wonderful to see it live again. Thank you for sharing it!

[@bobgomez9481]

Finding Time Out stickers is awesome.

[@retro-junkie5741]

You gave it a "One Fart Up". Bravo!

[@MrYakkster]

Love your stuff Jason, I have my trailer outside right now building my dream arcade , been collecting for twenty years , I have found the cleaning slime for keyboards is a godsend for cleaning arcade machines , thanks man love the channel .

[@RobertGuido]

Love these old games simple yet ingenious:)

[@djmips]

I agree. Leave as much original as required to run and be presentable. Just like old works of art.

[@evilash570]

That game is pretty amazing for 1979! It’s like the OG Hard Drivin!

[@pacscalatorarcade5736]

Awesome find! It feels so much better when you get a game that you wanted for a very long time! I agree with your decision to not restore it, I think it looks really good for all original👍🏻

[@Topesio66]

Hardest vector game ever? I'm fascinated by the huge blue capacitator, looks big almost as can of coke :-). Really amazing tech for 1979!

[@piiifast]

Awesome troubleshooting video. Enjoy the game. I love the Vector games. I have a really nice Asteroids Deluxe thats my favorite.

[@MattMcIrvin]

I've never actually played one of these, but I remember seeing it in an old TV show, and it's so amazing just as a tech demo for the time it came out. It was competing with Night Driver and Datsun 280 ZZZAP, which just represented the road as a line of posts. I always wondered why it's so obscure. I guess the insane difficulty level is the main reason.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

Was Speed Freak intended to be so difficult, or may it be a broken capacitor intended to store the car position to make it move slowly by turning the wheel? Foerst Nürburgring N1 (the world first electronic driving simulator, made in Germany) used analogue computer for car physics. It would not surprise me if Vectorbeam/Cinematronic did the same to give the car some inertia.

[@sasfarmer9379]

Great video Jason and family,thank you for sharing it with us all x :)

[@jeffm9482]

for the rust, use wrinkled up aluminum foil and soapy water. weird but it works. Love the video, wish you did more.

[@kins749]

Amazing addition to your collection

[@Fangel090]

nice!! 1979 TimeOut history as well. great find!

[@PiepsiPanic]

I love your attitude: Not to restore every little scratch but at least just make it working again just to PLAY it! :) Edit: And you got a nice beard like me. ^^

[@stavivanackerson6563]

He so good he fixes em' dang near sleepwalking!!!!!!

[@richmerrick574]

Impressive knowledge of these details man!

[@ebutuoytm7560]

This was awesome! Love your channel, subscribed!

[@soupcan85w72]

Hey Jason could you please show a full tour of your arcade again would love to see how its changed since your last one thanks love the video and speed freak is a cool rare game have fun with it.

[@kevinkehlet1543]

great find. this reminds me a lot of a better version of Atari's night driver

[@anthonyscaturchio9642]

This should be the driver's test for a license.

[@drewpaschal9294]

So awesome. Thank you Jason for sharing this. Get some sleep, you have certainly earned it! I only own a Tempest because I don't have the room. Love vector games!

[@Lt.Mingus69]

I seem to recall Johns Jukes once had a NIB Speed Freak via the Time Travel Warehouse.

[@steinbecktheman]

Cool find. Never played that one

[@Komet163B]

Vector lines on Cinematronics/Vectorbeam hardware were bi-level intensity, with one exception. That is a vector line drawn with the same starting and ending vertices (a single point). These single points where the beam is intensely focused had more than 2 levels of intensity. I don’t remember how many, but it’s more than 2. Look at the twinkling stars in Star Castle, they are not just alternating between 2 levels of intensity. The change in intensity is smoother than that.

[@RetroDawn]

Perhaps it is the difference in drawing once vs multiple times? The later would perhaps cause the phosphor to be brighter, and would definitely, at least, cause it to not fade as quickly.

[@Komet163B]

@@RetroDawnI have a Star Castle cabinet now. I’ve watched it sometimes render the Player ship shots (single point) just like one of the stars. Usually they render as a bright high intensity glowing point, but once in a while, I’ve seen it render the shot just like one of the stars. Which is really strange.. The stars are more stepped in brightness than I remembered, but they are never just ONE intensity and are never the high intensity like the normal player shots or point explosions. Bottom line is definitely more than just two intensities for single points.

[@RetroDawn]

@@Komet163B There would have to be a mechanism for specifying different intensity levels for the beam, but could only be done if it were a point (seems convoluted), otherwise it is just the programmer pausing movement of the beam, which would cause the beam to continue to energize that one point.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

To display more than 2 intensities, may it be possibly just some kind of PWM trick? Even some raster games and demos on homecomputers made pixels flicker in software to simulate more colour steps.

[@thomasheroux3146]

Happy for you Brother!

[@dirk6001]

Great job, its ready for the next 40 years 👍

[@160rpm]

impressive that it could run at all with so many blown parts

[@fakeinc]

Love that game and thx for the video. I finally know, how the game looks in reality. Although thanks for the detailed explaining of the different brightness states. I can now properly adjust that game in MAME. I am impressed how fluently the motion of the vector-objects are. MAME looks like crap, comparing to the original. Jason, you drive way to fast. The goal is not to be the fastest crash. The goal is to make miles, so most of the time you drive between the 3-4 gear and you need to brake sometimes ^^.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

The fact that it had 3D rotating cars (a feature that only much later appeared in Hard Drivin) is extremely impressive. The driving physics was poor, but Sega Turbo was worse (a pure reaction tester with not even centrifugal force in curves). Only the world first arcade driving simulator "Nürburgring N1" of 1975 by the German company Foerst had properly implemented physics, but needed an analogue computer made from 28 rack mounted PCBs. It may even be that its patent prevented other companies from using true 1st person view, hence Speed Freak perspective looks like sitting on the car roof. I research driving simulator history (see those playlists), and according to "THE HISTORY OF CINEMATRONICS AND A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR VECTOR GAMES" this was even created in 1977. Regarding the oversensitive steering, may it be that a defective counter IC makes it count at twice or 3x the intended speed, or that even something analogue in between (electrolytic capacitor "computing" the car position/inertia by analogue means?) has gone bad? Cinematronics did use analogue envelopes in their sound synth hardware, so it would not surprise me if (like Foerst Nürburgring) part of the car physics were supposed to be analogue too (e.g. pulses by steering wheel converted into charge direction) and so a dried capacitor makes the car move too fast. Also a frequency generator may clock the car speed and make it run to fast if something went wrong.

[@oTioChico27]

Nice machine. Congrats man!

[@WWJKD1]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[@reasonablebeing5392]

Congrats on a long sought Grail! The classic "Cinematronics Speaker Burnout" was unsurprising. After losing a few speakers on my test setup I added an amplified speaker on my test setup so the amplifier on the Cine can't burn out any more speakers - I'd probably consider doing that as a mod on my Cine games (small buffer audio amp) in case the output stage goes wonky. I'm with you on the patina for a rare game but that coin door would be an exception for me.

[@ArcadeJason]

just put 2200UF cap in line with the speaker

[@reasonablebeing5392]

yup - I'm overkill.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

Wiring a speaker to the amp fully DC is stupid. I remember warnings that certain Electrovoice PA (guitar) speakers occasionally caught fire on stage by similar incidence (not caused by The Who). In a hifi box filled with cotton or PU foam I wouldn't want to have a woofer burst into flames.

[@vectrexer]

Congratulations!

[@SilverballMetal]

I think Time Out Store #18 may have been in North Carolina.

[@djmips]

Looks like the cone button is original! All the pics online have the same button.

[@anthonydenn4345]

The CR next to the diode on the chassis. Do you think that's a crow bar circuit diode. Maybe it failed together with the power transistor.

[@bobgomez9481]

That cricket though.

[@waynegram8907]

What are those types of lights bulbs used for the magnetic switch? is there a name of those types of light bulbs or its a specialized cinematronix part number?

[@neilloughran4437]

Have always loved the old vector graphic games. I only saw this one on youtube before and never in person. Not sure how many of these reached Europe in the day. I just remember seeing Sprint 2 by Atari/Kee Games and Night Driver of this era. The coding/math behind these games must have been quite something back in the day. Have to say having watched you play it I am more amazed by the tech than the gameplay... seems they did not make the most of the technology they had... way too sensitive steering and too many curvy roads... they could have had an all time classic if they had tuned the gameplay down a bit...

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

Atari Night Driver was no vector game at all. And the gameplay was pirated from the arcade game Nürburgring N1 by the German company Foerst, which was the world first driving simulator with electronic graphics. But the real thing contained an analogue computer made of 28 PCBs for driving physics and Pong-like TTL graphics hardware (also sold as driving simulator), and so as an arcade machine was too expensive to sell well outside Germany. The Foerst company had invented the 1st person car racing videogame. They still exists and now make professional training simulators for driving schools.

[@Tommyinoz1971]

This game features in the music video clip ‘Computer Games’ by Misex.

[@bobgomez9481]

@9:20 begins holy fucking bag noise on digital video

[@barrieellis2121]

Smart! I remember playing one in the UK. Frustratingly twitchy, but impressive to look at. Sound decent too. What's left on the Vectors-to-get bucket list?

[@ArcadeJason]

a bunch of stuff . tons of bootlegs too

[@OGRetroRebirth]

Jason what is your background for your electronics experience? Your knowledge is inspiring.

[@ArcadeJason]

mostly self taught. associates and i dropped out of an engineering degree.

[@Ren_G.]

Congrats!🙏

[@originaltrilogy1]

What are you washing the board with?

[@525Lines]

That's a cool game. I've never seen that before.

[@flightofapaullo72]

Don't remember this game, but it's definitely a cool looking one. 👍

[@uhfnutbar1]

4th gear is defalt like Sprint 2, no switch needed?

[@steinbecktheman]

Does the shrink wrap work really well? Is the trailer one that is enclosed or just a flat bead?

[@ArcadeJason]

flat bed i shrink wrap it and then use packing tape so it does not fall apart in the wind

[@memyopinionsche6610]

I do know I've been racking my brain trying to come up with a name of an old school Atari racing game I think it's electrical mechanical. Had a timer that looks like a speedometer but ran like a clock but without hands but it would run gray until the red took over then it was the end of the game. Can't remember if it was in the control panel. But I had a steering wheel and a two-way shifter that went up and down. And display was not from a CRT but remind me of a paper display and when it was loading up the game the display would go backwards i think. Trust me I've been trying to wreck my brain figure it out but drawing blanks. Would you know by chance?

[@ArcadeJason]

oh my god yes someone asked this exact question in the youtube comment section years ago and i knew the name off the top of my head. but now i don't remember.

[@originaltrilogy1]

@@ArcadeJason Was it F1-1976? kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2K6hIyao5aVbqs

[@memyopinionsche6610]

That video isn't it.. it's a Atari driving machine.. With electrical mechanical parts.. Can guarantee from everything's I remember.. this is definitely a arcade mechanical device.. I'm thinking before asteroids got released.. I really think this is an EM racing machine machine way before Pole position.. or anything else. Like I said when you start a new game I remember the screen going backwards.. But I may blame it on The matrix or Mandela effect.. I can't remember that racing game. Definitely before donkey Kong or Atari asteroids.. after rip off. Maybe. It's a dope game but can't remember. But hearsay..

[@memyopinionsche6610]

I so wish I could explain it for my head and Imemories.. First there was a steering wheels and a up and down shifter.. The cabinet had graphics but with the white outline.. there was a timer but only to show red when your game is about the end.. Either on the control panel or the Marquee.. 90% sure control panel.... Gameplay.... Really can't remember anything... Yeah 50 years old.. memory sucks.. Still have the feeling it's mechanical not digital before late 70s..

[@memyopinionsche6610]

I so wish it could figure it out it's been bugging me.. And magening me at the back of the head.

[@utubepunk]

Jason, why don't you post your videos on Twitter?

[@ArcadeJason]

i don't know i never used it before

[@utubepunk]

@@ArcadeJason Haha. You have an account. People like Tighe have been shouting our your wares.

[@ArcadeJason]

@@utubepunk yeah i did make an account just never got into it.

[@operationrestore3308]

Nice big guy!!!

[@AdamCoate]

This is too cool. I only recently found out about this game at all by trying it on Pitrex recently. the controls are definitely WAY too touchy, much like Hyper Chase on Vectrex, perhaps even more unplayable than that. What's the status on your repro Vectrex pcb, selling those yet? I've got a really nice Tempest cabinet with no monitor or sound or game boards. So I'm thinking I'll set up as a big Vectrex using your repro board with a Vecfever so I can play vector arcade games. Are you still selling black and white vector monitors prewired for Vectrex hookup? I messaged you on Instagram as well, I'm not allowed on Facebook anymore for speaking the truth. The main concern I have right now would be sound quality since the Vectrex has an inferior sound chip to arcade hardware. So I've asked Thomas about the possibility of an external speaker hooked up to the Vecfever somehow, or if he has any other tricks up his sleeve. The other possibility would be if you put a better sound chip on your Vectrex board, but that would probably mean all games would need to be reprogrammed to work with a different sound chip.

[@dl3217]

Could you make a new plastic film with larger gaps in the encoder wheel so that the optical board would read slower....maybe make the game more playable/enjoyable?

[@ArcadeJason]

i have thought of that but i would hate to alter such a rare game

[@wiwingmargahayu6831]

wow and greetings from java island indonesia

[@properjob2311]

You must soon have every vector game made?

[@joesmoe71]

You ought to invent a hack that moderates the steering sensitivity!

[@ShrtRndKid]

I was thinking the same thing. The sensor detects the black and white pattern on steering. Couldn't you create a wider pattern of black and white to decrease the speed of the turn?

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

May it be a broken capacitor intended to store the car position to make it move slowly by turning the wheel? Foerst Nürburgring N1 (the world first electronic driving simulator, made in Germany) used analogue computer circuitry for car physics. It would not surprise me if Vectorbeam/Cinematronic did the same to give the car some inertia. The sound hardware used analogue envelopes too, so they surely had the knowledge to create such things (unless they feared patent trouble with Foerst).

[@cardboardboxification]

its called reed switch

[@memyopinionsche6610]

Oh it's an arcade game. Thought you trapped a meth head inside a box.

[@Ajaxaxxess]

Quarter munching machine!

[@sideburn]

You look like you need some speed. But being so tired it’d probably make you kinda freak.

[@PlisskensRun]

I'd love to own an Arcade game... Out of my price range...... :(

[@chriswalker8361]

To anyone who thinks this has no detail pull up Atari Night Driver. The only other driving game out there other than older EM stuff…

[@bobgomez9481]

Vector cows.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

That's cows preceding Hard Drivin.

[@dphirschler1]

Free speech, baby! lol

[@danmanx2]

Liked video at "schlong".

[@Pitbull0669]

SLONG AHAHHAHAH

[@hanniffydinn6019]

What in holy hell is this nonsense? I’ve never even heard of this game! I’ve not even seen it in Mame! Never mind in the arcades back then! 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤡🤡🤡🌍🌍🌍

[@Okurka.]

It's in Mame since March 15, 1999.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

@@Okurka. it’s not in the Windows version of mame you can download with game packs. It’s only lists the roms available, for some reason the rom is not in those downloads.

[@Okurka.]

@@hanniffydinn6019 It is in Mame as speedfrk. Mame shouldn't be included with game packs; that's against the license.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

@@Okurka. very funny joke! Please tell me where I can officially buy this rom? 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😂😂😂😂🤡🤡🤡🤡🌍🌍🌍🌍

[@sheiladikshit5110]

speed freaks are far from rare. just go to the rough part of town, you'll find an endless supply.