New Vic 20 User Here (My Story)

[CU_AMiGA]

Hi

My name is Allan, i am 21 years old (22 in April) and live in the England. I have been registered on these boards for a couple of months now, but before this, didn't post anything. I am an Amiga fan at heart (hence the nick) and have a Amiga 4000 in the works. I also like to collect other retro computers cos the computers of today are bullshit!

Around about 8 years ago i first came across a Vic 20, never heard of it before then - just the C64 and C16/Plus 4. I didn't really play onit too much as it was an ex girlfriends'(!). But i was very impressed with those small games; Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, etc. I had to get one myself. When i was out looking for one, i managed to find one second hand for £5. So without hesitation, i bought it. It came with games tapes and carts (can't remember titles now, a long time ago). Excited at my purchase, i immediately setup the Vic up as soon as i got home. Then disaster struck, the Vic had the modulator for the TV missing. Pissed off, i immediately returned the Vic to the shop and got my money back - spent on a ZX Spectrum 48k. In retrospec, if the same thing happened now i would have hold onto that Vic and got the modulator myself, but i was young at the time! From this point until last year, i pretty much forgotten about this machine!

Rolling onto last year, i had an Amiga 1200 setup and was looking for interesting apps i can find, including emulators. One emulator i found was for a Vic 20. I fired this up and sadly discovered it wasn't much use on my Amiga setup. Firstly the emulator was far, far too fast to be remotely useable, secondly the games that you ran on the emulator needed to be edited or something so it can be used on the emulator in the first place (i had to use the ones that came with it). Disappointed with these results, i once again gave up and forgot about this computer.

This year, i decided to sell my Amiga 1200 PPC for a more stable Amiga 4000. But making this machine to the spec i want takes time, patience and money. I recently been having a power supply problem with it, so i decided to take a break to do some research and find the best option to go with (Amiga upgarding is hard and money consuming!). Now i once again discovered the Vic 20 again! Whilst looking for possible parts for my Amiga i got bored so i decided to look at retro computers and remembered the Vic 20! I was pretty pleasantly surprised that the prices for Vic computers and games are pretty cheap. So i decided to get a pretty nice setup on ebay for £25. It is shown working and has a couple of games and cassette recorder - and the all important modulator! I have also just bought off ebay; Jelly Monsters and Jet Pac - both excellent games. I am waiting for both the Vic 20 and games, so i am looking forward to getting stuck in and hopefully i'll be second time lucky!

I would like to ask some questions too to get me started:

1) Is there any difference between PAL and NTSC games for the Vic? ie: can i run NTSC games on a PAL Vic? Would there be any problems?

2) I have seen 16k RAM carts on ebay. But i am aware of 32k ones. Would my best bet be to wait and get a 32k one or just plump for a 16k one? Where can i get a 32k one? Which is my best option?

3) What are the recommended games to buy for the Vic? I have a rough idea - dodgy Commodore arcade conversion, some Atarisoft games, etc.

I look forward to posting on these boards and once again becoming a Vic 20 owner! lol

Cheers

[carlsson]

As regard to your questions:

1) Most games are relatively compatible between NTSC and PAL. Some games use hard coded screen coordinates which will make a NTSC game to appear in upper left corner on a PAL, or vice versa in the other direction. A few games rely on timing differences and wouldn't be compatible. Sounds may differ in pitch, and some games may play slower.

2) Eslapion on this forum manufactures brand new 32K expansions, which lets you switch between a few different configurations. Generally they are handy if you want to load cartridge images, but for common tape/disk software, a requirement of more than 16K expansion is very rare.

3) It is a matter of likes which games you want to buy. A lot of software is archived (cough) so you could download and try (cough cough) it before locating a physical copy of the game. The selection of software for sale may be a bit limited, so once you've found games you wish to own, it could take some time to track down someone who's selling them.

[Alan]

Welome to the forum!

1) Is there any difference between PAL and NTSC games for the Vic? ie: can i run NTSC games on a PAL Vic? Would there be any problems?

Some NTSC games won't run on PAL VICs. The reverse is also true.

2) I have seen 16k RAM carts on ebay. But i am aware of 32k ones. Would my best bet be to wait and get a 32k one or just plump for a 16k one? Where can i get a 32k one? Which is my best option?

For useability, the best thing available now is eslapion's 32K Ultimate Expander. I have some info about it HERE. It's small, it's cheap, and it's got features that we would have killed for in 1982.

If you want a vintage RAM cart, I'd hold out for a 32K one that also has some expansion slots on it. These pop up on eBay regularly, and there might even be someone here with an extra one.

3) What are the recommended games to buy for the Vic? I have a rough idea - dodgy Commodore arcade conversion, some Atarisoft games, etc.

That's a whole topic in itself, I guess. Here are a few that I enjoy: Omega Race, Donkey Kong, Sword of Fargoal, Jelly Monsters, Demon Attack. I also like messing around with the old BASIC games that are out there. There's a lot of VIC stuff online you can download.

I look forward to posting on these boards and once again becoming a Vic 20 owner! lol

We'll look forward to seeing you here!

[Centallica]

Welcome to the boards!

Another Amiga fan on the boards great!!

Great to see some younger members too get into the scene and hope you post often

Don't forget to put your location in the sidebar for others to see
Brian

[Alan]

NEWBIE MODERATOR QUESTION:

Since my response to the o.p.'s question was basically identical to carlsson's I tried to delete my post...without success. I always get a response saying 'Only Administrators Can Delete Posts' (or something like that).

Am I missing something? Or is this something I won't be able to do?

[carlsson]

Alan: it is true that only moderators can delete posts. You can modify your post though. I didn't find your message identical to mine, just one more reply in the same directions which may be good for a newcomer to hear that everyone are advicing the same things.

[Alan]

Alan: it is true that only moderators can delete posts.

But....but...but... I AM a moderator!

[carlsson]

Ah, sorry. Then I don't know. I got the same error message myself, by the way. I believe one can delete whole threads though.

[gklinger]

I ran into the same situation the other day. Even as moderators we can't deleted posts -- not even our own. Jeff was able to help me out so everything worked out nicely. I agree with carlsson about not deleting your post. Both have good information.

With all that said...

Welcome, CU_AMiGA. I enjoyed reading about your background and I must say that I'm well impressed that someone your age appreciates not only the Amiga but older computers like the VIC-20. You're clearly someone with good taste and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

[Mayhem]

Howdy there... always nice to see a fellow Brit about

I think the questions have been pretty much comprehensively answered. If you're after games, I've got quite a lot spare on the Vic, just need to put together a proper list of what I have. Just managed to hook someone up here with a copy of Pharoah's Curse for example, so the demand and supply is out there if you look...

[CU_AMiGA]

Hi guys

Thanks for your kind welcome! Thanks for the info as well. I seen 16k RAM epansions on ebay for a couple of quid so i can buy one of them. I have also got my eye on a few games on ebay, so hopefully if i win them i will hopefully have some good games for my Vic 20. Now, about this new 32k RAM. How muich is this and where can i get it from?

On the state of todays games, it seems as though it's just Nintendo that are trying for originality here (Wii and DS) out of the big 3. Other than that todays games are pretty crude. IMHO The last of the great gaming was with the Sega Dreamcast (and the 32/64-bit machines before that), unfortunately we all know what happened to that. So at the moment retro gaming is the way forward! lol It is even a major selling point for the XBox 360 and the Wii with their retro content.

@Mayhem

Glad to know you can help me out maybe...and a fellow Brit! It seems as thoough maybe the Vic was more popular in the USA than UK. I will definately be interested in looking at you spare game list! PM when you get the chance or something. Many thanks!

Cheers

[ral-clan]

Judging by the number of cassette games I've seen from Britain as compared to North America, I think the VIC-20 was huge in the U.K.

[CU_AMiGA]

Hi Guys

Update here as i haven't posted here for ages.

Finally got my Vic 20 machine and thank god it works this time! lol I have bought a small number of games so far here is a list:

Cart:

Jelly Monsters
Radar Ratrace
Omega Race
Star Battle
Avenger
Gridrunner
16k RAM Exapnsion (CBM)

Tape:

Jetpac
Arcadia
Perils of Willy


So a pretty good start so far. I am buying a couple more off mayhem in a bit, and then i will wiat for a bit as i need to sell some random crap before i start buying again (more space!). But i am on the lookout for a clean/white case for my Vic 20 - as my one is broken at the back clips and is also yellow/brown lol I will pay money or will swap for a working C64 i got off ebay a couple of months ago (although the case on that is crap too - but is working). Anyway if anyone can help me out then please email me at spudmanno5@yahoo.co.uk I am not on these forums too much lately as i have been busy with other crap, buying and selling, Amiga project, etc! Cheers