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Videopac/O2 Cartridge List Updated
This news is a few days old, but I'm running behind as usual. BuckyB has issued a new version of his Videopac/Odyssey2 Cartridge List. The primary additions to this version are some obscure European country variants (turns out that Hegemonie is Belgian, for instance), However, there is one especially interesting new tidbit: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, a rumored game from Magnavox. This is the first I've heard of that rumor! Perhaps there's another prototype we need to watch out for?
Please note that the cartridge list has a new home: Rene's Retro Computers & Games Site, which is in Dutch (BuckyB's list is in English though). Thanks to Rene Lips for this news.
Two New O2 Commercials!
Two new vintage Odyssey² commercials are now available for download on the Videos page! The first is a very early spot promoting Computer Golf! and various other early sports games. (Yes, there WAS a time when a game like Computer Golf was considered a "draw," believe it or not.) The other is a later spot, advertising the "new" K.C. Munchkin!. This one is classic -- a very '80s-looking family revels in the excitement of K.C. while a very '80s-sounding voiceover talks about how you can program your own mazes. Fantastic! The recording quality of these isn't the best, but I cleaned them as best I could, and I think you'll like them. Enjoy!
I'm Back, With Pictures
I have returned! My job has had me completely tied up lately (at one point last month, I worked 26 days in a row), but now my huge work project is basically complete and I actually have time and energy for other things. Like this web site, for example!
To that end, I've started off by redesigning the Games Database. The differences aren't tremendous, but I've snazzed it up a little and updated some of the information it contains.
And to go with that, I've been going through the many Odyssey scans and photos I've been saving up, looking for suitable additions. Unbelievably, I had over 1,000 pictures accumulated on my hard drive – some I've used already, and others aren't really worth using – but still, that's a lotta stuff to look at! One of the better things I found was a group of box scans Marcello Iannuzzi sent me a while back that I had misfiled, so I've been busy adding them to the Database. Here's what I've added so far:
- American Football
- Baseball
- Blackjack
- Chinese Logic
- Computer Programmer
- Demon Attack
- Frogger
- Golf
- Interpol
- Mathematician/Echo
- Space Monster (G7400-style box)
- Munchkin (G7400-style box)
- Newscaster
- Nightmare
- Popeye
- Q*bert
- Race/Spinout/Cryptogram
- Super Cobra
- Take the Money and Run
- Ten Pin Bowling/Basketball
Stay tuned – I'll have a couple of very interesting additions in my next update!
Rise of the Robots
Where have I gone lately? Sadly, the workaday world has claimed another victim. I'm a software engineer in real life, and right now I'm involved with a Very Important Project at work. After staring at a computer screen for eight hours a day, five days a week (sometimes more), I haven't had much energy to work on this web site lately. Sorry about that.
But I do have some good news! In spite of my busy work schedule, I made it the Classic Gaming Expo this year, where I saw the NEW Odyssey² homebrew: Mr. Roboto!. I'm not exaggerating when I call this the best Odyssey² homebrew game yet! It's from Ted Szczypiorski, the fellow who created Planet Lander! -- and if you've played that game then you know that Ted has some real O2 programming skills. Mr. Roboto! is even better -- a cross between Archon and Tron Deadly Discs, if you can picture it. It even supports one or two players! The CGE version seemed very close to done; I think Ted is just waiting to get a few final tweaks in before release. A cartridge version should be available through Packrat Video Games eventually. I can't wait!
I have an article online about CGE2K5, if you're interested. There's not any O2 news to report other than Mr. Roboto!, but really, that alone was exciting enough. And even though work's got me down at the moment, I've do have a few site updates nearly ready to go. I've also received a few interesting tidbits through email lately that I need to publish. If you've emailed me lately and I haven't answered yet, bear with me. I'll get back to you soon!
New Design Brings Families Together!
As you can see, and as the happy Odyssey²-playing folks in the upper right corner can attest, it's time for a new site design! Actually little has changed in terms of presentation, but behind the scenes things are very different. Originally this was to be a tableless, CSS-only design, but the ad code that's inserted on every page (don't complain too loudly -- it pays for the site!) causes pure CSS to break, so what you see here is a hybrid of sorts. Most of the design is pure CSS, but there are a few tables in key places to maintain cross-browser compatibility. Also, all of the subpages are being driven off of an ASP template that centralizes most of the page designs. So what's new?
- For one, those happy Odyssey² folks up there in the top right corner! Refresh this page a couple times to see different families (and the Wizard of Odyssey) enjoying everybody's favorite game system. If you've ever leafed through an O2 catalog, you'll probably recognize the photos.
- Common footers used on all pages.
- "Classic Video Game Syndicate" banner redesigned to take up less real estate.
- Submit News link added. Send me Odyssey² news stories through a convenient form.
- Lots of small cosmetic changes and CSS fixes.
- The front page looks just a bit better if you have the Odyssey2 font installed (available on the Downloads page) -- but it'll look fine if you don't.
- Site tested in latest versions of IE, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. There are minor differences between browsers (due to the aforementioned ad code breakage), but it should look fine in all browsers.
- Main Game Reviews page is database-driven now.
- So far, only the main page, the News Archive, the Cheats section, the Articles section, and the main Game Reviews page are using the new template, but that will change as I have time.
While developing this new design, I started working six-day weeks at my job, so finishing it was slow going. I'm glad it's finally online. Hopefully my overtime will be cut back soon so I have more time to devote to the site. I feel pretty bad for neglecting it lately. Real life gets in the way sometimes.
Brazilian Exclusive ROM Available!
In September 2004, Odyssey 2000 reported the discovery of a previously unknown Brazilian cartridge containing two games: Missão Impossível ("Impossible Mission") and Viagem Programada ("Programmed Trip"). Now, that site has released the ROM image for use with O2EM! Both games are strategy/puzzle titles that don't seem to correspond to anything released in America or Europe, making this cart native to Brazil – a rare item, indeed. In addition to the ROM, Odyssey 2000 has created a mock box cover for the game. Here is a direct link to the page containing the ROM and box mock-up. Enjoy!
Revenge of the Timelord
After a lenghty search, Doug, the champion of O2 remakes, found one -- a Windows recreation of Attack of the Timelord! developed by [ICON Software] and titled Revenge of the Timelord. Neat, huh? Unfortunately, as Doug puts it, the game has "nice graphics and sounds, but it loses the two best qualities of Attack of the Timelord, the fast gameplay and the voice synthesis." I agree; Revenge just doesn't have the energy of the original, although it's stylistically faithful enough. It's worth checking out as a novelty, at least. The download link at ICON Software is broken more often than not, but a download is now available on the Downloads page. Thanks to Doug for finding this!
I'm Back, etc.
In the meantime, head on over to Odyssey 2000 for a new version of O2EM Launcher. This one's the result of a lot of tweak work done by Marcelo Ribeiro and Jean-François. Thanks to Marcelo for the news, and the hard work!
Kornalijnslijper's Kollection
O2EM Ported to Xbox!
Looks like this happened a while ago, but I wasn't aware of it until just the other day when I received an e-mail about it from Dwaine Garden (thanks Dwaine!). XPort has ported O2EM to Xbox under the name OdysseyX. Here's a list of features excepted from its readme file:
- ZIP support
- Cheat system - Search/Create your own cheat codes
- Favorites list
- Save states
- 480p, 720p, 1080i support
- Skin-able
- Netplay
- ISO9660 support
- Play MP3 or M3U playlists in the background
Sounds impressive, and according to Dwaine, it works great! I don't own an Xbox myself, but if any of you Xbox owners try OdysseyX, please tell me what you think of it.
O2EM v1.16 Released
It's An O2 Kind Of Christmas!
Packrat Video Games has launched the "Best O2 Christmas Ever," and the name's justified! Just look at all these Odyssey² goodies they're offering:
- A new cartridge version of Pong for Videopac and Odyssey², René van den Enden's homebrew game, complete with new gameplay variations as well as an authentic manual!
- The Odyssey² DVD, an incredible collection of Odyssey-related video clips remastered for DVD!
- A 13" x 19" Odyssey² Poster featuring artwork from Odyssey Adventure magazine's premiere issue!
- A 2005 Odyssey² Calendar featuring artwork from 12 original O2 games and significant dates from Odyssey² history. I helped with the research on this one.
- A mousepad splayed across its entire surface with exciting Odyssey² artwork!
- Three different Odyssey² Key Chains featuring different catalog covers!
All in all, an amazing collection no Odyssey collector will want to miss! If you want to receive your O2 goodies by Christmas Eve, be sure to place your order by noon on Tuesday, December 21. Contact customerservice@packratvg.com with any questions.
Request a Remake
O2EM v1.15 Released!
André Rodrigues de la Rocha has announced the release of O2EM v1.15, which features support for 12K and 16K games. This means that Trans American Rally is now playable! Some bugs have been fixed, leading to better support for Flash Point, Cosmic Conflict!, and Le Trésor Englouti +. While you're at the O2EM site, be sure to download O2EMLauncher v0.53, a new version of the O2EM frontend that now allows you to flag your favorite games. (Thanks to Odyssey 2000 for providing a list of all the new features.)
André has done an excellent job with O2EM since taking it over from Dan Boris. However, he has announced that v1.15 will be the last release he will provide – he just doesn't have time for it any more. If you're a programmer and are interested in taking over O2EM development, please contact me and I'll put you in contact with André.
The Best Christmas Ever?
Videopac 38 T-Shirts Available!
Videopac.net is producing a limited run of 38 premium quality t-shirts featuring the cartridge label artwork from Videopac #38: Munchkin. The cost is 12.75 Euro, which is about 16.80 U.S. Dollars (this price does not include shipping). Details and ordering information can be found right here. Looks like Santa remembered us O2 fans this year!
Odyssey³ Flash Point Available!
It may be Election Day in the United States, but the really exciting news is coming out of Austria, where Classic Consoles Center has announced the release of the Odyssey³ Command Center prototype Flash Point! This Robotron-style game was completed back in the early 1980s, but was canceled along with the Command Center itself. However, prototypes survived, and as it turns out, the ROMs run on European G7400 machines after some tweaking. Dieter König secured permission from the game's programmer, Rex Battenberg, to release the game, René van den Enden did the necessary ROM work, and now Flash Point is available for download and in cartridge form! Head on over to the Classic Consoles Center for all the details. Big thanks to Dieter, Rex and René for all their hard work!
If you're in the U.S. and are considering buying a Flash Point cartridge, keep in mind that it won't work on regular Odyssey² consoles. You'll need to import a Philips G7400 machine. Just read the G7400 Import Guide before you do. If you'd like to read about the discovery of the prototype that led to this release, look here.
Database Cleanup
After much time and tinkering, the Games Database has been treated to a few renovations:
- First, The "Other Regions" section is no more. In its place are new, more accurate sections for games released in Canada and Japan. Several Japanese games have been added, and all are listed by phonetic titles where possible. Kosopiyuutaa Gorufu sounds more Japanese than Computer Golf (Japan), don't you think?
- Homebrews and Reproductions have been given their own Database section. I feel this works better than having them clutter up the regular-release pages as they had been. It also lets me list original prototypes separately from modern reproductions -- as in the case of games like Interpol.
- The Date column has been taken off the game listings to make room for a cartridge photo column. Release dates are still available on the individual game listing pages.
- I recoded the ASP script that powers the listing pages to work better (I wrote it when I was first learning ASP, so it wasn't very good). It should be faster and more reliable now. I still need to recode the script for the individual game pages, though.
- I polished the listing introductions, adding Javascript to make them collapsible, which brings the game listings "above the fold" and makes each page look cleaner overall. While I was there, I added navigational breadcrumbs and redid the splash graphics atop each listing page. They look less "muddy" now.
- This has been in place for a while now, but I never bothered to announce it: I cleaned up (nearly) all the cart photos, so they all now appear against a uniform black background. Photo credits have been stripped out of all photos in the Database and are generated dynamically.
- In other news: I started experimenting with tableless CSS layouts for the site, something I probably should have done a long time ago. Nifty stuff, but nothing's ready yet.
These changes are important, because one of my next tasks is to flesh out the Database with all the photos and information I've accumulated over the years. As it grows, it's important that it not become ugly or unmanageable, like my hair after I forget to use conditioner – or like that metaphor. If you ever contributed something to the site and wonder why I never published it, don't worry; I save every submission and plan to publish most of them eventually. I just wanted to get some of this cleanup work out of the way first.
Tutankham Exhumed!
Dieter König of Classic Consoles Center has brought the recently-discovered Tutankham prototype to light in a big way! Mount an expedition to the CCC site to discover a review of the game (Dieter feels it is the best Videopac game yet), a map of all 100(1) screens, and some game instructions formatted like they might have appeared if the game had actually come out in the early 1980s. Oh yes... the ROM is available there too! I've tried it briefly, and I can already say that this IS a remarkable game. Fast action, impossibly deep gameplay (for the system, that is), and graphics that are leaps and bounds better than your average Videopac title. It's a great shame that this game was a casualty of the collapsing video game market of the early '80s.
New Games Surface in Brazil!
Missão Impossível is a grid-based strategy contest (the screenshot looks somewhat similar to the Videopac game Depth Charge) and Viagem Programada is some kind of puzzle game. Head on over to Odyssey 2000's "Archaeology" page (here is a translated version) for pictures and screenshots!