Cosmetic Enhancements, and a New Section Coming

I've been laying the groundwork for a nifty new section that's very close to completion. I'd hoped to have it up today but it's just shy of being ready. I've been working on and off on this for a few months now, and I think it's going to be great! Stay tuned...

While preparing to announce the new section, I noticed some rough spots in other places, so I've cleaned some areas up a bit. First, I picked up a program to compress images more effectively, so now the front page should load faster, but with no loss of quality. I'll be compressing the rest of the site's graphics over time. Here's some other changes I made:

• Created new heading for Image loading page.
• Redid the Contact page. Now it has some tips about hooking up your Odyssey² system to a TV set (a lot of people ask me about that).
• Made new graphics for page footers.
• Made navigation buttons look less crooked.
• Put borders around the front page's News section (it looks much better now, I must say).
• Updated the Updates page with heading, stylesheet, etc.
• Fixed up the Cartridge Reader page substantially.
• Re-edited the Probe 2000 Prototypes article.

I realize I've been doing a lot of cosmetic updates but not adding any real content, and I'm sorry about that. However, the new section will be packed with content, a good portion of it completely new. And it'll be easy to update, plus I've got a lot of content that can be added to it later. So I'm really excited about it. It's great to get back into maintaining this site again after neglecting it for so long.

A Sad Day in America

I'm certain you've heard of the reprehensible terrorist attacks against the United States today (CNN will have all the details). It's an indescribable tragedy, and mere words can't undo it or make it less terrible, but for what it's worth, all our hearts go out to the victims and their families.

A Cosmic Review and a New Look

If you check your viewscreens you'll notice we have a new Game Review for your perusal, the Odyssey² answer to Star Raiders, Cosmic Conflict! This review was submitted to me eons ago by Michael Worrall, and it's now ready at long last! There are still more submissions lurking in my Inbox which I hope to publish before too long.

Starting with Cosmic Conflict!, the articles in the Game Reviews section will be laid out a bit differently. Soon, each review will have scans of game boxes (both their front and back covers), and cartridge labels. Also, the game reviews will contain more detailed international release information, and the reader ratings are displayed more prominently. I'm also going back and rescanning all my box covers, since the old scans were of low quality. You can click on the scans in the new game reviews to see larger versions. So far, only Cosmic Conflict! and Alien Invaders—Plus! use the new format, but the others will be converted over time.

Changes...

Well, if you've seen ClassicGaming.com today you'll notice that I'm no longer working as the Site Director there. I can't really discuss why I left, but rest assured that neither I nor GameSpy (ClassicGaming's parent) really wanted it to happen; it just couldn't be helped. It was a great job while it lasted!

ClassicGaming itself will continue, as will this site. Please note that I have a new e-mail address now. You can contact me at address removed - use contact form from now on. It may take me a few days to update my e-mail address on every page of this site, but that's the one you should use. I still have all the Odyssey²-related e-mails I received at my old address too. Who knows, now that it looks like I'll have a little more free time I might be able to start updating this site a little more often. :)

In my time at ClassicGaming I relearned something I already knew: that the retrogaming community is very special. It's populated by many bright and clever individuals, united by a love of videogames that transcends their age or "obsolescence." I definitely plan to stay involved with that community. If all goes well, I'll still be at Classic Gaming Expo, and I still plan to hang out with my good buddies the Southern California Classic Collectors. And definitely, all the vintage consoles and emulators I have in my possession will get lots of use. :) Thanks everybody for making this hobby so great!

Updates Return

A couple years ago, I used to keep the list of site updates on a separate page. Then, I added this News section and the Updates page was no longer really needed, although you could still see it by clicking the "Homepage News!" banner on the front page. Ironically, the Updates page hasn't been updated in over two years. :) Well, starting now I'll be using the old Updates page to store the old news items that get pushed off of the front page by new updates, something I should have been doing from the beginning. Maybe someday I'll modify this site to use an automated news system, but for now I'll be updating the Updates page manually. You're looking at it now.

Now that Collectibles! is on-line, the next step for the site is to update the Game Reviews to use SSI Includes. I have several volunteer reviews ready to be published. Once I get the Includes created I can get them up. After that, I'll be converting the existing reviews. At the same time, I'll be making a couple design changes to the reviews that I think make them look better. Not big changes, but good ones.

New & Improved Collectibles Section!

After a long wait, it's finally time for a major update. The Collectibles! section is back on-line and looking better than ever! This section has evolved considerably, and can now be considered a nearly complete guide to all the "real-world" objects related to Odyssey², apart from the games themselves. This update became necessary when Marty Goldberg (from the Museum of Home Video Gaming) provided me with scans of Philips promotional materials from the 1983 Consumer Electronics Show. Then, Michael Worrall sent me his collection of Odyssey Adventure magazines and game flyers. Suddenly I had tons of photos of all kinds of rare merchandise, including tons of stuff I'd never seen or heard of before! It took a long time to go through all of that material, scanning and cropping images to make thumbnails, but it was worth it. Here are some of the things you can see in the new Collectibles section:

• Pics of in-store Odyssey² displays
• Scans of several game and promo flyers
• Photos of rare overseas consoles, like the N60
• Peripherals like the Odyssey² Trackball and Chess Module
• Magazine ads with typed advertising copy
• A whole lot more!

What's more, I redesigned the section while I was adding everything, dividing up the pages with Odyssey-style graphics, like bars and buttons scanned from an actual Odyssey² keyboard sticker. Even after all of this, I still have some stuff to add! It's hard to believe there are that many Odyssey²-related collectibles out there. But now, you can find out about most of them, and see photos of almost all of those, in the new Collectibles! section.

Note that the URL of the Collectibles section has changed slightly. That means some old links to it may be broken, but I'm working on finding and fixing them. The reason for the URL change is that I've discovered the wonderful world of Server-Side Includes, which allow me to create a single header file for use with all the pages. If I want to change it, I only have to change one central file rather than update 100 different pages. However, to use SSI, pages have to end in a .shtml extension. This will make my life MUCH easier when it's implemented across the site. :)

G7000 Pioneer Interviewed

A while ago, I was contacted by Jon Shuttleworth, A Philips employee who was instrumental in the development of the G7000 in Europe. He even helped come up with the names "G7000" and "Videopac!" I recently interviewed Mr. Shuttleworth for ClassicGaming.com. The interview provides an interesting look at Philips Europe in those days; you ought to check it out! (See, this is the kind of stuff that keeps me too busy to regularly update this page. :)

New Prototype ROMs Released

Some of these have been available for a while, but ROM images for Robot City, Jake, and Shark Hunter, a very recent discovery, can be downloaded from ClassicGaming.com's Odyssey² Vault section. BuckyB, who found the EPROM of Shark Hunter, assures me that the game will be on the next edition of the Odyssey² Multicart. In addition, some previously unavailable, rare G7000 games have been posted as well.

Minor Design Changes

Where does the time go? I can't believe how much time has gone by since the last update... sorry about that. Anyway, do you like that new border around the navigation buttons to the left? Now that I have Photoshop, I'm finally able to produce some decent graphics like that one. It's based on a scan of an actual Odyssey² keyboard sticker I ripped out of a broken O2 console. Just one more step in my master plan to "Odyssey-ize" the look of this site!

Interpol for Sale!

I about fell over when I read this news... Nico is selling reproduction copies of the one-of-a-kind INTERPOL prototype recently discovered in Europe! They come complete with true Philips-style boxes and manuals! Unfortunately, the game doesn't function on American Odyssey² consoles, but I plan to buy one anyway. Go here to check it out. BTW, INTERPOL isn't "really" Videopac #61. It's not known what number Philips planned to give the game.

Pink Panther and Pinball Information!

Well, I was waiting to announce this until I had all my updates finished, but I can see now that it will take forever to get everything done, so here goes...

I recently received scans of Philips' 1983 CES brochure, which contained lots of information on the infamous Pink Panther game. You can read all about it and see some pictures here! Long story short, I don't think we'll ever see an O2 prototype of this game. At least we know what Philips was planning, though.

Plus I've reviewed Ralph Baer's Pinball demo, a limited-edition game released at Classic Gaming Expo 2000. Complete with a cart scan and a screenshot!

Where's the Updates?

You may be aware that some major events have happened relating to the Odyssey². Several new prototype games have surfaced, but that's only the beginning. I have recently acquired information on Comando Noturno (keep your fingers crossed; it may be coming to the Odyssey² Multicart), the previously unknown Odyssey² trackball controller, and the 1983 Consumer Electronics Show, where Power Lords and Pink Panther were introduced. I am also one of only 30 people to own Ralph Baer's Pinball demonstration cart! So why no updates on all these great happenings? Lack of time. Plus I can't get my digital camera to work. But just you wait; this weekend I hope to start updating this page in earnest. In the meantime, check out my summation of Ralph Baer's CGE keynote address over at ClassicGaming. His talk was fascinating, there's some stuff on the O2, and there's lots of pictures!

ColecoVision Power Lords at CGE!

Great news! The Probe 2000 prototypes Troy Lukkarila informed me about are on their way to being archived! The ColecoVision version of Power Lords has already been archived, and several specially-produced cartridges will be available exclusively at Classic Gaming Expo 2000. After the Expo, the ROM should be made available as well.

The other proto, Lord of the Dungeon, is proving to be difficult to archive as it uses on-board RAM, but the tech gurus are working on it. :)

Updates 10/12/1998

Lots of updates this time! I've been rather busy with classes and work, but I have had enough time to do a couple of updates here and there, only I haven't taken the time to note them here. Well, time to play catch-up:

• Yesterday, I won the I.C. WHEN "Eye Site" Award, given out by Donald Thomas, curator of I.C. WHEN. Thomas, a former Atari employee, runs this site which is dedicated to the history of computing and gaming. The Award is given to those sites which best promote knowledge of classic computers and consoles, and the Odyssey² Homepage! made the cut!
• A few days ago, the Odyssey² Homepage! joined the Classic Video Gaming Syndicate, a videogaming Webring hosted by Digital Press. Check it out!
• The Odyssey² FAQ page is currently undergoing renovation. I have scanned my enitre collection of Odyssey² boxes, and have added links to the scans, and to many screenshots, on the FAQ page. More will be added as I have time to scan them in. This is still new, so you may encounter some broken links for a while. Thanks to Peter Van Tol who sent a beautiful scan of a G7200 console!
• The Master Strategy section has also been renovated. New graphics and wallpaper have been added. Also, the three games have been given their own pages for faster loading time.
• For those of you looking for J.G. Munchkin! information, you can find a link to it in the "OTHER FEATURES" section of the main page. Soon, it will be treated as an In-Depth Review, and will be found on the Game Reviews! page. This is also where a review of AMOK! will end up as soon as I can afford to buy a copy. :)
• Peter Van Tol has proven to me that Videopac A: Newscaster is equivalent to the American game Keyboard Creations!, and not to Type & Tell! as previously thought. I'll try to note this in all my references to the games in the near future.

And there you are!

Updates 9/1/1998

Wow, has it been this long since I updated this page? Well, with all the new stuff that's happened, I guess I just didn't have the time! Here's a quick rundown:

• The mysterious "VPaC" created J.G. Munchkin!, a modified version of Attack of the Timelord! with new sprites, a new villain, and even new Voice messages! VPaC isn't revealing his identity since the game isn't really his (he doesn't want to seem to be taking credit for other peoples' work), but he did put together some WWW pages for me. Follow that link and check them out! As a side note, the strides in Odyssey² Voice programming indicate that Voice support for O2EM is not far away!
• With more additions forthcoming, I revamped the front page to conserve space, and to give frequent visitors (I know there are a couple out there, at least) news about recent homepage additions. My original page design didn't work with Microsoft Internet Explorer, which Marcelo Ribeiro promptly pointed out. Finally, I got something worked up which seems to appear correctly in both IE and Netscape (which I use).
• Marcelo Ribeiro sent me an updated Brazilian Odyssey Rarity List, then patiently waited for me to fix my front page before attending to it. The new list has more info. on Brazilian prototypes and cartridge numbers.
• Then, I added screenshots (most of them taken from O2EM) to the Game Reviews since people requested I do so. Also I added an HTML form to allow people to easily submit game ratings via e-mail for inclusion with the reviews! Just go to there view of a game you'd like to rate, click "Rate this game!" and follow the instructions. (Your browser must support mailto: and JavaScript for the form to work; it's been tested on Netscape Navigator 3 and Internet Explorer 4 with success.)
• The Command Center pictures I promised are going to have to wait until I can get access to some appropriate video-capture equipment, unfortunately.
• Finally, I have learned that John Dondzila has completed a brand new Odyssey² game -- a Berzerk clone called AMOK! The ROM is available for download and cartridge versions are available for purchase at his Website. Check it out, and I expect I'll be adding more information on it when I pick up a copy!
• I've been toying with the idea of an Odyssey² Web Ring. It's only an idea, but if people are interested in joining, let me know!

And that is a decent update, I must say!

Updates 7/21/1998

An important update: as part of the new In-Depth Review of I've Got Your Number!, I have completed the first on-line 'game' to appear on the Odyssey² Homepage! The I've Got Your IQ Number! intelligence test is a series of questions to determine how smart you are, Odyssey² style! I hope this will be the first step toward on-line Odyssey² gaming! The regular game reviews have been better indexed too.
Thanks to Jayson Hill, I've added more information about console variations -- including one I never heard of before -- to the Collectibles! section.
On the South American front, more has been added to the Brazilian Odyssey Rarity List, including information about the Voice, and mention of a unique Brazilian game that never made it.

Updates 6/26/1998

Whoa, major update time! After almost three weeks of work, I am pleased to announce that I am launching a new feature for the Odyssey² Homepage!: "In-Depth" Game Reviews! Unlike the quick-reference reviews on the Game Reviews! section, these In-Depth Reviews will feature longer descriptions, more images, JavaScript enhancements, even interactive games (eventually)! I'll continue to add more regular Game Reviews as well. Only now, that section will contain links to both the normal and the In-Depth reviews.

I'm excited about this feature's potential. It gives me an opportunity to showcase specific games, and to make the O² Homepage flashier without unnecessarily bogging down the main pages. The first game to be showcased is The Quest for the Rings, a fairly obvious choice. Because of all the cool artwork that goes along with this game, the review is graphics intensive. It may take a while to load some of the pages of the review, but I think it's worth the wait. BTW, I freely admit borrowing some of my inspiration for this review from The Videopac Home. Go there and check out their Quest review some time!

I'm also be calling my Showdown in 2100 A.D.! page an In-Depth Review now, although it's not as detailed as the Quest review. My next In-Depth review will feature an interactive Web-based quiz, but it won't cover a game nearly as fun as the first two... :) As always, I invite you to let me know how well you like this feature.

Updates 6/10/1998

I finished a couple of important updates. Thanks to better indexing and an imagemap, the Links! section is more navigable and less cluttered. There is now a separate Game Cheats! section, for all you dishonest types out there. :) And I also improved the look of my old "single vanishing point" section headings.

Updates 6/8/1998

I fixed a ton of broken links on the Links! section. I also added a link to Classicgaming.com's Odyssey² Vault, a fairly comprehensive repository of ROM images!

Updates 5/28/1998

The Game Reviews! section has been renovated! Each review now has its own page, complete with box art scans. And the main page sports an index for easy access.