New UV Blacklighter Overlays for the Vectrex

[@300DBenz]

That Star Wars overlay is awesome!

[@youdontneedtoseehisidentif4939]

Agreed..! Shame the Vectrex version of _Star Wars_ doesn't seem to have the voice samples that were present in the original arcade and "Classic" Macintosh versions of that game

[@sideburn]

Maybe it supports AtariVox

[@mrbisshie]

Legit question, could they have made something like this when they sold the Vectrex in the 80's?

[@sideburn]

mrbisshie I looked into that game and I’m pretty sure it’s actually a MAME emulator for Vectrex and that’s the actual Star Wars arcade game running on it.

[@Barcrest]

There is a horizontal version as well which is even better.

[@TheSquaredM]

Thanks Laurence and James for getting these to Vectrex fans before Techmoan posted on KZbin. Thanks you Techmoan for letting everyone know about the new products for the Vectrex!!!! More information can be found on the Facebook group. Vectrex fans unite! Always makes me think of football.

[@gaxiola1701]

The UV overlays really up the arcade feel of the Vectrex. I was glad to see an overlay for Warrior in set shown briefly in the video. I'm pretty sure Warrior used a UV sensitive background and projected the XY display onto glass over it, so having a similar UV overlay would really get close to the original experience. Very cool!

[@strt6480]

My father was a photographer back from 70's to 2K, I remember him taking pictures of one of the first prototype in Europe. This was an incredible thing. I was around 8 yo. Very happy to see one in good condition! Thanks a lot.

[@andyhello23]

Amazing difference, those overlays makes to that console. Did not know, you could buy overlays, always assumed, that the vectrex, was a mono only thing. Those overlays, really add something to it.

[@ljisbister3102]

Someone clearly put a lot of thought into this. Ridiculously simple yet it actually works....

[@willierants5880]

I still have my Vectrex which I received as a Christmas present in 1983. In my opinion one of the best consoles of that era ever made.

[@gplechuckiii]

Always had a soft spot for the Vectrex. A buddy of mine found one at the dump in the late 90's along with a bunch of games. We had a great time playing with that thing. We knew about the overlays but never had any of them. Wish he still had it because this looks kinda awesome.

[@MemeReviewer]

I love the grid that goes into the center, it looks so good!

[@judevecoli865]

I owned a Vectex as a teenager and later "loaned" it to my niece. Although she always speaks fondly of the game, and grateful for my sharing it, sadly, it was lost in a flood in her first apartment. A small part of me died that day. And when, years later, I became aware of the cult following, I was saddened even more. And the icing on the cake, she still had all the overlays from my games. Of course, they were junked as well. *sigh* Also, I read a comment below how watching the graphics as recorded for sharing truly don't do the effect justice. I totally agree. The screen was small, but the effect was big!

[@LordKilchester]

I had never heard of the Vectrex but the overlays make it look like a totally awesome arcade game.

[@pepperspray7386]

My jaw dropped when you made Asteroids look cooler than it ever has.

[@brettvv7475]

@John Dough Uhhh... Wut?

[@brettvv7475]

@John Dough Ahhh.. gotcha!

[@TheLtData]

Wow... that is a very nice addition to the Vectrex! I remember these were in stores in 80ties. The store owner kept a list on which you could add your name so every kid could play it for ten minutes or so. It was way too expensive i would never get one at the time. For example: a small handheld one screen game could cost as much as 40 pounds back then while these simple games these go four, i guess, 5 pounds maximum today. Lovely to see that there is still a Vectrex community.

[@SteveFrenchWoodNStuff]

Very cool (and surprising). These overlays look much cooler than the ones that came with most of the individual games.

[@sionjones1675]

I'm amazed at how smooth the vectrex is running those games, many are far busier than anything on the 8-bit computers of my childhood in the 80s!

[@matthewnichols6687]

Always pleasing to see the old vectrex getting some love👍

[@stephen9453]

This took me right back to standing in Woolworths lusting after one of these as a kid. Its been a tough week, thanks for this.

[@6581punk]

Same here. They put it away from all the computer stuff on the end of one of the aisles.

[@Tecstar70]

The same! Used to be on the top shelf and I would gaze at it with awe.

[@333darthste]

Thats exactly what I did that one year they were available and wanted one ever since. I finally got mine nearly 30 years later, as a 40th birthday present from my best mate, who'd found it at a car boot sale some 9 months previously. A fantastic machine and having seen the UV kit at an event a few weeks ago, can say it really adds something to an already amazing system.

[@6581punk]

@@Tecstar70 In our woolies it was on display and working. I got mine about 5 years ago from ebay in a semi-working state. One fiddly clean of the power switch and it worked fine. I recapped it but that wasn't the problem.

[@RCAvhstape]

Was a Toys R Us for me.

[@VaughnJogVlog]

That’s badass. Look out, the Vectrex has has joined the next generation of gaming.

[@mjxbox]

and die super fast.

[@ageary]

I remember a friend back in the 80's had a Vectrex and being amazed by it. His mother worked in MB in Waterford Ireland and the factory is still there today. In these current times games consoles could be life savers , stay safe everyone.

[@Agamemnon2]

If you see one live, it really is a spectacular looking machine, especially compared to its contemporaries. The vector graphics are clear, crisp and you could smoothly rotate and scale shapes around in ways other consoles could only do much much later. If the product line had survived to iterate on the basic design, we might have gotten some fantastic home ports of early vector graphics arcade games like Star Wars and I, Robot

[@KuraIthys]

@@Agamemnon2 It's definitely a very interesting and unique design. Though I wonder how long it would have survived, given it's a concept that is very hard to replicate without a CRT. All our replacement display technologies pre-suppose that an image is composed of pixels. Granted, at high enough resolutions you could probably fake it without this being immediately obvious. (I'd say an 8k display, especially if it's physically fairly small, like 20 inches or less, would look almost convincing. But at the end of the day you're still faking actual vectors) I mean, OK, sure, a laser projector can mimic vector displays quite directly, but laser projectors are hardly going to ever be regular household items given how dangerous the high-powered lasers involved can be...

[@bazza5699]

still look incredible even after all these years and those overlays really add to it

[@OperationPhantom]

Wow... what absolute delightful 80s neon retro goodness!

[@jiface]

Can I just pause for a moment and say, I LOVE TECHMOAN! Best KZbin channel hands down.

[@kurootter1562]

Man, if there's one retro console that I want, it's the Vectrex. The overlay looks so cool!

[@LaurentCourtin]

Apart from a couple Game & Watch, the Vectrex was my first gaming machine :) It's amazing to see that yours is still working after all these years.

[@ИльяВитцев]

That bloom looks great, I can totally imagine a modern game with graphics of that style.

[@Letstalkretro]

I use Blue-Tak to hold my frame in place and make it really easy to remove. Works a treat. Great vid as always. 👍

[@SteelSkin667]

The ones that are made with one specific game in mind are absolutely awesome - especially since I believe that a lot of Vectrex games in circulation have been separated from their overlay.

[@chrisb6003]

Keep em coming Mat, we need your videos in our days of isolation.

[@seandaugherty9171]

I just want to thank you for the all the vids you post. Entertaining and informative to the max. Really nice during these hard times. Thank you so much!

[@UkiMalefu]

More than the color, which is nice, I like the perspective "background" graphics. Amd oh my god, the star wars game looks just like one I played on an arcade machine!

[@David8n]

I bought a Vectrex in a closing down sale from Woolco in the 80s with a load of cartridges at a really good price and played it for years. It went into the attic for a few decades after a house move. A few years ago I sold it on eBay for an absolutely massive profit. I kind of regret selling it though ....

[@theFuzzyWarble]

I think my Dad found mine and a bunch of carts at Odd Lot in NYC way back then. I couldn't even think of selling mine though.

[@ThatManOverThere]

it's one of those tough things... they should be held onto, but then they don't enter circulation for people to enjoy. I've gotten to play with one a teacher had, and kind of want one just cause it's so unique

[@MM007]

I got one for $3 at a Goodwill and a second for a similar price at a yard sale that had a cracked controller. They thought it was broken because it had no picture, but just turning the contrast knob fixed it. I still have them, but no games.

[@brorianszk]

@@MM007 You have Mine storm twice.

[@MM007]

@@brorianszk Ah, I meant to say I have no additional games. The built-in ones do indeed work. Sorry for being unclear.

[@Siryn]

Oh that is really cool! It kinda adds a whole new dimension to it.

[@bioshock6935]

WOW it looks so much better i used to have one back in the 80's as i loved the Vectrex style. Star wars was my favorite arcade game and whet out and brought the game on the Amiga. Just seeing this makes me want one again love the new card overlay there fantastic. Right at the end of the video where the sound of the computer loading in was also used for the six million dollar man intro effect

[@boombaby1769]

Awesome!!! I loved the simple Vectrex graphics back in the day, but this adds a real retro boost to it!

[@AdamChristensen]

I'm surprised at how much atmosphere this adds to the games. It's like a Gameboy Colour for the Vectrex!

[@stunthumb]

That StarWars one though... holy crap does that look great!

[@stevensansone7502]

I honestly can't say how happy it made me seeing that Star Wars game. I cannot begin to tell you how many quarters and tokens I put in the arcade version when I was a kid. All that allowance I gave to the arcades in my town.... Thanks.

[@temetka]

The moon overlay looks awesome!

[@VJFranzK]

These "3d" overlays really do add something psychologically to the graphics! I should have bought when they were liquidated in the 80s B - ) great star wars port. Don't forget VJ video artists transforming vectrex into visualizers...

[@TheReimecker]

Wow thats awesome how cool this overlay looks

[@youreperfectstudio4789]

Looks better than I expected! Great job whoever made these!

[@TheBuccaneer1975]

I was lucky enough to try this system out at Revival in March this year, and I agree it's bloody lovely.

[@andersdenkend]

Man, these vector graphics are to this day simply mesmerizing. You've got to see this in person, a video doesn't do this justice.

[@Defensive_Wounds]

5:45 - the last time I played THIS game, was in 1994 in a real arcade with the cab you are seated in fully closed off to everything, was very immersive!

[@satoshiaaron]

I always liked the buzz from my Vetrex. I don't see why anyone would want to remove it. It is an authentic part of the experience.

[@Davey656]

It's really nice to see these projects get supported! the Star Wars game and Asteroids looks incredible!

[@caviar_dreamz]

Looks futuristic, man i wish i had a vectrex.

[@GoetiaTV]

I love the Vectrex. Played the built in game last year and it's still a great system!

[@pubbets7290]

Always wanted a Vectrex and these overlays are great. I love the moon one!

[@trevorlack1726]

My local independent toy shop had one at the time. I was amazed by it. I eventually got a Spectrum.But it was quite unique being an all in one system

[@JP-ud9lf]

I bought my Vectrex from Woolworths in '82/83 in sale, I got £40 off. Now I play Spike et el on my Rasp pi. Still a great experience. Thank for the memories.

[@obrysii]

I can't believe how much of a difference they seem to make.

[@MartinPaoloni]

Those are some awesome overlays! And I must say, pretty good games too... I did not know much about the Vectrex game library, but now I am intrigued.

[@BoGy1980]

I owned a vectrex in the '80s.. i literally gave it away to a nephew when i got my megadrive (genesis) as I already had a mastersystem too... I still regret that I did that because after about 9 months he was tired of the thing and he didn't find anything better than to use his baseball bat on the thing.. I never gave anything away for free since then... I had two controllers and about 15 games...

[@theFuzzyWarble]

I feel your pain! I held onto my Vectrex, but my old Timex SInclair 1000 suffered a similar fate at the hands of my cousins. I guess they needed to know what it was inside, piece by piece..

[@SockyNoob]

Should have beat them in the head for that.

[@naxzed_it]

Wtf? Your cousin is an assho. Does he realise how rare they are?!

[@SkigBiggler]

@@naxzed_it They were both kids, and it was the 90's,so I'd hazard a guess the answer is no.

[@naxzed_it]

@@SkigBiggler Also isn't it extremely dangerous to break a CRT

[@Vanillaessence]

These are so much cooler than I imagined

[@HaydenX]

The Vectrex ages so gracefully from a graphics perspective. It's one of those things that is interesting to me...when you emphasize the best of an existing technology, it ages much better than when you use the cutting edge for the time. It also helps that the monochrome screen is ridiculously vibrant and smooth. The Vectrex was really the first system to offer truly arcade-perfect graphics at home.

[@StephanS]

Wow, this looks AWESOME... i need to have a Vectrex now

[@VectrexRoli]

Really love my UV overlays and UV frame for my Vectrex.

[@Techmoan]

Roli, I miss your videos.

[@VectrexRoli]

@@Techmoan Quite busy with life currently, need to hunt down some more toilet paper. ;-)

[@Techmoan]

I understand. Love the humor in your videos though. Take care.

[@blacklighter]

Come on guys, bring it in, group hug.

[@ELECTROMAN_MX]

This man is good in many areas: Engineering, Making professional videos, good skills making mupets, and detailed analysis, good i hope why industry are he working?

[@Tramwithacam]

These look amazing! now I just need a Vectrex...

[@dejiko]

The Vectrex was like a device straight out of Star Wars.

[@performa9523]

Aw man! There goes the price of Vectrexs again! All joking aside, it looks stellar- glad to see this oddball console is getting plenty of love even today! I hope I can get my hands on one someday! Great video as always sir!

[@mrblackburn]

Mine shattered in a move 6 years ago. I miss having it every day. It was my center piece of obscure gaming consoles.

[@R3TR0R4V3]

Dude... I didn't know you got down with Vectrex! I see you have a VecFever too.. Respect! It's amazing, isn't it?! Be sure to get the latest firmware, so you can now play all the vector arcade games. My favorite classic system. Laurence makes great overlays! Cheers 🍻

[@mjdxp5688]

Damn, that looks really cool! It's so nice seeing such an obscure console get so much love.

[@ComputerDude2600]

It's awesome that the vectrex still gets love! Haven't let go of mine.

[@maxheadroom22and26]

These overlays look so great! It would have been nice to show some regular overlays as a comparison. At least one original vs. it's new custom overlay would have been a must... Great video as always! Greetings from Germany!

[@Seth-hc2bj]

Now I want a vectrex even more!

[@er-uk]

They look amazing! I’d definitely get them if I had a Vectrex

[@BertGrink]

Wow those overlays are very impressive, especially the one with the Moon graphic; i almost wish i had a Vectrex myself, now.

[@MatSpeedle]

The Vectrex neevr fails to impress and these new overlays looks superb! Very cool indeed!

[@TwesomE]

Vectrex was ahead of its time i believe as a system back in the day,the way that used that vector graphics technique giving the idea of a 3D space with those lines & boxes was overwhelming to say the least.I would love to have one in my shelve as a retro collector i am also.Worth mention that it is amazing in its unique vintage design also! Awesome review for those overlays my friend,if i owned a vectrex i would have surely try some out!

[@wickrider]

Once again: Thanks for the great content and hard work. You can't imagine how seeing the footage of ''SW Vertical'' touched me and brought back sweet memories from spending time playing, and watching others (older kids!) play the stand-up arcade version. Please do take care. Cheers, MC

[@kasuraga]

whats cool is i didnt immediately notice what the overlays were doing besides a bit of coloring. then when i noticed i was floored by how awesome they are.

[@Lurker1979]

This just makes me want this machine even more.

[@SMlFFY85]

It's 40 years old and the graphics are still mind blowing.

[@Ernest_More]

Amazing...[as I now look for UV overlays for other vintage systems.]

[@alextirrellRI]

Wow, they look incredible!

[@rayceeya8659]

That's really cool. Never played a Vectrex myself, but it's a fascinatingly odd little machine.

[@CptJistuce]

I've been waiting for you to get that Vectrex off the shelf since I first noticed it in the background! That was my first game system, and it still holds a very special place in my heart.

[@kris_0520]

CptJistuce You lucky bastard.

[@kris_0520]

You had a fantastic childhood m8.

[@tickmothy]

I love the colors. That 1980s look to it is great.

[@panicfarm9874]

That really does add a lot, the first one I thought was the best

[@duffman18]

The fact you have so many of us patreons now that you can't scroll them at the end anymore and have to show loads all at once makes me really really happy for you. You're doing this as your full time job, you now have the money and the good excuse of things being business purchases meaning you can get your hands on very rare and amazing technology you've wanted for decades like the great hi-fis and turntables and things like this vectrex, and that's great. You're living the dream man. And you're still the best channel on KZbin. Your success is only going to increase. One day you'll have enough patreons to be able to afford to review stuff like the Devialet Gold Phantom, the most expensive and ludicrous Bluetooth speaker in the world. It's completely ridiculous, if you're gonna spend £2500 on hi-fi equipment, you'd get something with actual cables, not use Bluetooth. But the thing does sound incredible supposedly. Maybe with enough millions of subscribers, Devialet would send you one for free

[@lawnboyfreak]

I would love to see this in person. It comes across the screen pretty well. It’s got to be incredible live!

[@th3d3wd3r]

When I was a kid, my friend had a vectrex, he even had all the overlays too. I put a lot of hours into that thing hahaa. It sounded exactly like yours too, and that was back in the late 80's. These new screen covers are genius though. What an effect!

[@ngqp]

I don't have one of these systems but damn those overlays really boost the enjoyment so much.

[@robbruce2128]

I always wanted but never got a Vectrex in "the day" Most of my favorite coin-ops were vector displays: Red Baron, Asteroids, Battlezone, Tempest, and the one that usually didn't have a huge line: Star Castle. Star castle really made good use of a color overlay -- of course I didn't realize at the time that's how they did it!

[@Tardisntimbits]

Man, I wish I had one of these, they always look so fun to play....

[@Liratram76]

This is what I found at the local arcade, next to pinball machines, as a child circa 1980-81. Awesome walk down the lane.

[@tedfuchs9132]

That was a definite flashback to the 70's for me. They gobbled lots of my coins back then.

[@Deinonuchus]

I used to play that Star Wars game in the arcades back in the 70's. Geez, I'm old.

[@MaskedGEEK]

Great video. My late cousin had a Vectrex but he didn't have any overlays. Such a brilliant and powerful console for its day and if memory servers the only console that could do true vector graphics with a smooth framerate. I played many Star Wars games on various systems but that Death Star trench run was the fastest I saw outside of arcades. Good memories.

[@theceruleandolphin2829]

Amazing to see these games still standing up even today. Almost all games of that period look horribly dated but these vector graphics, especially with the additional overlays here still look great.

[@AshGCG]

Techmoan doing a retro "Let's Play" Yay!!!!

[@PBTophie]

As much as I absolutely love this channel, I'm surprised there are so many Patrons interested in the same thing. While much of this is in thanks to the content you provide, most of it is in support of how it is presented. I think that's amazing. :)

[@nygren83]

I don't think the two can be entirely separated. The way he presents it makes you interested in the topics, just like how a good documentary film makes you interested in a topic you might have never heard of before.

[@owenauer3406]

I live in the States, I still have mine. Haven't played it in over 40 years.

[@R3TR0R4V3]

It's a good time to bust it out! ;-) Hopefully it still works. Join the Vectrex Fans Unite group on Facebook and you'll get all the latest info on games, repair, etc.

[@owenauer3406]

@@aevangel1 Where do you live?

[@aevangel1]

@@owenauer3406 I'm in New Mexico. kzbin.info/door/aPeX4KfN76IJUJP48ToEyw About me has an e-mail address.

[@owenauer3406]

NYC Not to keen on shipping a fragile Vectrex thru the mail

[@aevangel1]

@@owenauer3406 as long as the item is packaged well, it will be fine. If I knew anybody in NYC, I'd have them pick it up...

[@davidzachmeyer1957]

Never heard of the Vectrex, thanks for sharing! The vector games were always my favorites, especially Tempest and the sit-down version of Tailgunner.

[@MaxStax1]

I always love seeing that Techmoan posted a video. Even more now during these times. Thanks!

[@Nico-rr5co]

Vector graphics have always been so beautiful. They always reminds me of going to laser light shows as a kid at the planetarium.

[@agentvx8320]

Damn, these actually look pretty good!