For the Vectrex · on the PiTrex

VECTORSPACE

42 vector arcade games for your Vectrex. No ROMs to hunt down, no setup: plug in the PiTrex and play.

Coming · this holiday season
See the 42 games

// The story

From laser light to the Vectrex

This year I made new interpretations of the most famous vector arcade games, written from scratch in C. They were made for a laser show and for XR headsets.

But one thought never left: these are vector games, and there is a home console that draws nothing but vectors. So they are coming to the Vectrex, through the PiTrex.

This holiday season VECTORSPACE will be available on the PiTrex. And that's just one thing that's coming on the most capable cartridge for the Vectrex. Roger Boesch
42Vector games
CWritten from scratch
Laser · XRWhere they started
SoonThis holiday season

// The line-up

42 games

In menu order.

  1. DUEL STAR on the PiTrexDUEL STARTwo ships duel round a star that pulls on ships and shots.
  2. SHATTER BELT on the PiTrexSHATTER BELTOne ship, a belt of rock that splits when shot.
  3. CROSSING on the PiTrexCROSSINGStep a marker across a tilted board and back while the pieces close in.
  4. TOUCHDOWN on the PiTrexTOUCHDOWNSet a lander down on a jagged ridge with a thrust lever and little fuel.
  5. NIGHT DRIVE on the PiTrexNIGHT DRIVEA dark country road against the clock, past slow cars and oncoming headlights.
  6. SKYFIRE RUN on the PiTrexSKYFIRE RUNSteer a gunsight over a rushing trench and shoot down weaving fighters.
  7. SUN CATCHER on the PiTrexSUN CATCHERSlam a grid square shut over the suns before they bounce through a gap.
  8. REAR GUARD on the PiTrexREAR GUARDThe tail turret: shoot fighters swooping in by threes, shield up before ten get past.
  9. BLADE KEEP on the PiTrexBLADE KEEPTwo sword knights duel in a dungeon room; one touch of steel ends the round.
  10. JEEP PATROL on the PiTrexJEEP PATROLA jeep in a city of blocks against tanks whose turrets track you.
  11. SHATTER BELT II on the PiTrexSHATTER BELT IIThe rock belt again, with a shield that runs dry and a hexagon that hunts you.
  12. IRON PLAIN on the PiTrexIRON PLAINA tank on an endless plain: hunt tanks, a missile and a saucer by radar.
  13. IRON CADET on the PiTrexIRON CADETThe gunner's seat on a training range: tell friend from foe, then fire.
  14. KART CIRCUIT on the PiTrexKART CIRCUITTimed laps round a twisty little circuit of kerbs and tyre walls.
  15. BIPLANE ACE on the PiTrexBIPLANE ACEHead-on dogfights in an open cockpit, an airship and ground targets.
  16. FUEL RAIDERS on the PiTrexFUEL RAIDERSGuard eight fuel canisters from raider tanks that drag them off the edge.
  17. RING FORTRESS on the PiTrexRING FORTRESSShoot a gap through three turning rings to the cannon at their heart.
  18. GLOVE BUGS on the PiTrexGLOVE BUGSA cannon towing a boxing glove on an elastic cord against crawling bugs.
  19. CORE BREACH on the PiTrexCORE BREACHA turning fortress throws every shot back; wait for its channel, hit the core.
  20. BOUNDARY RUN on the PiTrexBOUNDARY RUNBounce round a walled ring, shooting droids before they turn into command ships.
  21. SUN SALVAGE on the PiTrexSUN SALVAGEA sun pulls on everything; rescued crews are worth more than kills.
  22. MODULE STRIKE on the PiTrexMODULE STRIKESwirling alien waves, and weapon pods to bolt onto your ship between them.
  23. TUBE RIM on the PiTrexTUBE RIMA claw on the rim of a tube, with flippers, spikers and pulsars climbing up.
  24. WEB SPINNER on the PiTrexWEB SPINNERA spider shoots in eight directions over its web and banks the grubs.
  25. FALLING FIENDS on the PiTrexFALLING FIENDSShoot bat-winged imps that swoop down from a horned mask, then the mask.
  26. GRAVITY WELL on the PiTrexGRAVITY WELLAlways falling: bunkers, fuel lifted by tractor beam and a reactor maze.
  27. FIRST ORBIT on the PiTrexFIRST ORBITThe field-test lander: cratered moons, domed bunkers and a moon base.
  28. CUBE BATTLE on the PiTrexCUBE BATTLEA gunner on top of a wireframe cube that rolls over when a face is cleared.
  29. PARTICLE LOOP on the PiTrexPARTICLE LOOPNo gun: close a glowing loop round the particles to destroy them.
  30. TWIN LINK on the PiTrexTWIN LINKTwo ships on an elastic tether through tumbling shapes that split when shot.
  31. DEEP PATROL on the PiTrexDEEP PATROLA starship on patrol: scanner, bridge view, phasers, warps and starbases.
  32. SQUADRON SCAN on the PiTrexSQUADRON SCANA whole squadron on one knob, sliding and firing as one.
  33. TRIPOD DEFENCE on the PiTrexTRIPOD DEFENCEA cannon above a city against three-legged walkers and their heat rays.
  34. ROBOT SWEEP on the PiTrexROBOT SWEEPA turn-and-thrust ship over eight cities drawn as lines on the ground.
  35. REACTOR ALPHA on the PiTrexREACTOR ALPHARun and jump down a station maze, set the reactor critical, race back out.
  36. TURRET GUARD on the PiTrexTURRET GUARDA tank with a free-turning turret guards six outposts round a fuel hub.
  37. STATION CORE on the PiTrexSTATION COREFly through chambers whose walls close in, bomb the core, race the countdown.
  38. REACTOR RUN on the PiTrexREACTOR RUNShoot the guards, dock by hand, run the maze to the reactor and back.
  39. STATION RAID on the PiTrexSTATION RAIDA cockpit raid in three runs: open space, the citadel's armour, the trench.
  40. COLD FRONT on the PiTrexCOLD FRONTA fighter over an ice world against probes and four-legged striders.
  41. CARRIER ACE on the PiTrexCARRIER ACECatapult off the deck, dogfight, strafe, and fly the glide slope back to the wires.
  42. SKY GUNNER on the PiTrexSKY GUNNERTreetop height over hills and coast, against gunships, boats and flak.

// On the Vectrex

How it plays

One card per game

Each game has a card with its name, a short line and its place in the line-up. The stick turns through the 42, button 1 plays.

The game plays itself

Leave a card for a few seconds and the game's own autopilot plays it full screen as its attract loop, then the menu moves on to the next game.

Back to the menu

Any button or the stick takes you from the attract loop back to the card. After GAME OVER the card comes back.

StickSteer
1Fire
2Thrust
3Special
4Pause

The special is the game's own: hyperspace, shield and so on. In the pause, 1 resumes and 2 goes back to the menu.

A Raspberry Pi Zero on a PiTrex board, plugged into a Vectrex

// PiTrex · Vectrex

Made for the PiTrex

The PiTrex is a Raspberry Pi interface board from the Vectrex community. It plugs into the Vectrex cartridge port and drives the console's own vector display directly.

To play VECTORSPACE you need a Vectrex, a PiTrex board and a Raspberry Pi. They are not part of VECTORSPACE and are not sold here.

More for the PiTrex from me: VEXXON, the isometric vector shooter.

In colour and depth: VECTORSPACE XR.

// Coming this holiday season

Keep me posted

VECTORSPACE comes to the PiTrex this holiday season. Leave your details and I'll email you when it is ready.

Dev Log · Substack