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I designed a extender card for the Vectrex cartridge slot with pins to break out the signals. I have attached two files. The first, Extender.zip, is the schematic and board layout created in DipTrace, a free (as in beer) PCB CAD program. The second, ExtenderGerbers.zip, is the Gerber files generated by DipTrace that you can send to a PCB manufacturer to have the boards made.

- Bob

Vectrex32s are back in stock, and I'm putting them on sale from now through Cyber Monday. Instead of their normal price of $150, they're just $125 until November 27, 2017, while supplies last.

I am offering US$500 bounties for games to be written for the Vectrex32. See the details at http://vectrex32.com/the-v-prize.

- Bob

Vectrex32s are back in stock. I have 19 available (I had 20 made, but one was DOA). You can order one here.

I have ten Vectrex32s available for purchase. If you'd like one, you can buy it here.

The is a new revision of the hardware that supports all Vectrexes, both the original and the late model "no-buzz" Vectrexes! BASIC programs written on the older Vectrex32s will run on this new hardware and vice-versa (assuming the old Vectrex32s have been upgraded to firmware version 1.15).

- Bob

Version 1.15 has been released. It consists of bug fixes and a very minor new feature. If you already own Vectrex 1.10 or newer, you can download the firmware here. If you still have version 1.00, please read this.

Many thanks to "Astrosynthesist" who found and reported many of the bugs.

I have ten Vectrex32s available for purchase. If you'd like one, you can buy it here.

- Bob

Version 1.14 has been released, with new features, a new game, and a new video. If you already own Vectrex 1.10 or newer, you can download the firmware here. If you still have version 1.00, please read this.

Version 1.13 has been released. There are no new features, but memory usage has been improved to allow larger programs.

You can read more about it here and download it from here.

In response to requests for new features, I released version 1.11 of the Vectrex32 firmware. Then, while packaging it up to post on the web site, I discovered a bug that can cause a crash. Since I had already sent 1.11 out to a couple of customers, I had to bump the version number to 1.12.

The changes in these last two versions are:

Version 1.12, October 27, 2016
------------------------------
A bug fix.

- If Vectrex32 was unable to find a function or subroutine that is called in a program, it could lead to a crash later. This bug is now fixed.


Version 1.11, October 25, 2016
------------------------------
Minor feature additions.

- The FOR...NEXT loop now supports STEP, with both positive and negative values
- The FOR...NEXT loop now supports floating point numbers for the start, end, and step
- The WaitForFrame function now accepts an optional fourth argument to specify the resolution of the analog joystick.

Documentation is available here and the firmware download is available here. You must have version 1.10 or 1.11 to upgrade to 1.12. If you have version 1.00, you need to send your Vectrex32 back to me and I will upgrade it. See information about that here.

- Bob

While adding 3D graphics features to the Vectrex32, I wrote a BASIC program to demo them. The program allowed you to create Tie fighters (like in the original vector graphics Star Wars arcade game) on the screen and rotate them. But there was a problem: the Tie fighter is such a complex drawing that the Vectrex exhibits the dreaded pen drift, and one side of the Tie fighter starts oscillating, being drawn in a slightly different position in each frame.

So I switched from Tie fighters to pyramids and that's what I included on the Vectrex32's USB drive (see the program Demo3D.bas).

However, some people might want to experiment with the Tie fighter or use it as a code example, so I'm posting it here. You must have Vectrex32 version 1.10 or later to use this.

- Bob

Version 1.10 of Vectrex32 is now available. The most notable change is that it now supports 3D graphics (similar to those in the Battlezone and Tail Gunner arcade games, not requiring 3D glasses). There are also significant bug fixes.

Version 1.10 makes 3D graphics easy. You define your shapes with (x, y, z) coordinates, set their rotation with pitch, roll, and yaw angles, and position the objects in a 3D world. Then, you specify the position and direction of the virtual camera to determine what the player sees. Throughout all of this, you don't need to do any trigonometry; the Vectrex32 does all the work of converting the 3D scene into an image on the screen.

A couple of users have run into bugs that cause Out of Memory errors. Those bugs have been fixed.

More information about the new features and bug fixes can be found at http://vectrex32.com/category/documentation/. The release notes describe more bug fixes and the Vectrex32 manual discusses programming 3D graphics.

If you already own a Vectrex32, you will probably want to upgrade the firmware. Vectrex32 has a built-in mechanism for upgrading the firmware but, sadly, it has fatal bugs. So I am going to have to do a recall and upgrade your cartridges myself. This is my fault, so I will cover the cost of your shipping. I apologize for the inconvenience.

If you are in the US and you send me your Vectrex32, I will refund $7 of your purchase price. This will cover your cost of shipping by USPS Priority Mail. You may buy insurance at your discretion. Remember to include your return address with the Vectrex32!!

If you are outside of the US, I will refund $15 of your purchase price. If this is insufficient to cover your shipping costs, please contact me. You may buy insurance at your discretion. Since you are returning the Vectrex32 for repair and it will be sent back to you, neither of us are legally required to pay customs fees. Please explain to your post office that you already paid customs and that you are returning this, and ask them how to mark the package to avoid customs charges. Remember to include your return address with the Vectrex32!!

Send your Vectrex32 to:
   Robert Alexander
   398 Bow Lake Road
   Northwood, NH 03261
   United States of America

Vide, the Vectrex Integrated Development Environment, has been enhanced to support the Vectex32 SmartCart. It provides a terminal emulator to give commands to the SmartCart, a file list that shows the files on the SmartCart's drive, and an editor window that shows the program you're working on.

You can read more about it and download the latest version (1.02) at http://vide.malban.de/what-is-vide

Many thanks to Malban for his work on Vide.

I received 30 SmartCart boards today and tested them - they all work. I only have 11 shells (more are coming in two days). So I'm making 11 available for sale now and 19 more when I get the shells.

Last time, I sold through eBay. This time, I'm selling through Vectrex32, but I'm still using PayPal to process payments.

If you'd like to buy a Vectrex32 SmartCart, go to the Buy page.

- Bob

I have a few more SmartCarts available. You can buy them here.

I have ordered 30 more SmartCarts, and they should be available in about a month.

I've started a new thread in the Features Requests forum to discuss copy protection schemes. See it at http://forums.vectrex32.com/index.php/topic,11.0.html

Some people have suggested that the SmartCart provide copy protection, so that game writers can sell their games without fear of them being pirated.

Features that would be nice are:

• Allows for a free trial period, so a user can try the game before buying
• Does not require a terminal emulator, since some people might have trouble setting one up
• As simple as possible for the user and the seller

- Bob

I have five SmartCart boards left. But I have another part on order, so I've suspended sales for a few days until it's delivered. Then, I'll relist the remaining SmartCarts on eBay.

I'm talking with a manufacturer about putting in an order for more boards.

- Bob

This forum is for swapping Vectrex32 BASIC code. The first post in any new thread should be a description of the code with an attachment containing the code. If you do not have code to post, do not create a new thread! Instead, go to one of the discussion forums.

Code can be a useful function or subroutine, a piece of music, a complete program that is not a game (e.g. a tool like ScaleTest.bas, which is included on the SmartCart drive). If you have a game to post, go to the Game Swap forum.

Once a thread has been created with some code, you can comment on that thread with questions, suggestions, bug fixes or enhancements.

This forum is for swapping Vectrex32 BASIC games. The first post in any new thread should be a description of the game with an attachment containing the code for the game. If you do not have a game to post, do not create a new thread! Instead, go to one of the discussion forums.

If you have a useful snippet of code that you would like to share, post it in the Code Swap forum.

Once a thread has been created with a game, you can comment on that thread with questions, suggestions, bug fixes or enhancements.