Surface Scanner on Memotech MTX512

[andyzkey]

Thanks for reviewing my game.

Glad to see someone is still having some fun.

It was the first time I worked out how to do smooth scrolling.

It looks kinda basic now, but was quite good at the time.

{{{ Andy

[Frankkaiba]

someones been feeding the aliens with meth. lol

[atombat]

Have you got a mono phono out on the MTX, or perhaps a Din out to audio L and R would work? god I bet it's really difficult to find the right leads for one of these. It would be good to sample that 80s style sound and put driving drum beat with it :)

[SteveBenway]

@atombat The sound you hear when I'm playing is coming from the TV. There is a weird "hi-fi" output on the back. It's a very strange single socket, and I've no idea what plugs into it.

[kevin12567]

A sharp looking Defender clone there - I love how the mountains are colored in. And that background noise would sound great in a techno track!

[DeviouslyDevious]

I really feel like I've got to get a MTX512 after watching these videos :)

[wrestletube1]

Defenda the game you wanted to play and you found one.

[markvergeer]

I am beginning to think this system really could have been an excellent gaming machine! What a shame!

[SteveBenway]

@markvergeer Yes, it strikes me very much as a lot opportunity. At the end of the day though, there were already too many computers on the market, and the MTX was too expensive to be competitive.

[ForViewingOnly]

I like this! And a relatively long-lived first game compared to other MTX games you've posted!

[SteveBenway]

@ForViewingOnly Yeah, I lasted more than 3 seconds :D

[ForViewingOnly]

@SteveBenway :-)  This makes me think that the "F8=Get Killed" option is for the regular MTX gamers who find they're starting to lose attention when their game lasts more than 1 minute!

[pocketmego]

Reminds me a LOT of Defender 2 on the NES. Very nice and you are right...they are getting better and better. You have the best games on the best systems.

[musicmaniac1965]

exelent find this! is this console/computer from around the same time as the vic 20 or C64? the game surely looks like it. but it does go smooth, and seem to play good :-D

thanks for sharing.

[SteveBenway]

@musicmaniac1965 It's from '83, so more C64 era than VIC-20.

[musicmaniac1965]

@SteveBenway yeah, the only thing that made me doubt is the amount of collors at the same time on screen. this game looks a bit bland, but oh so smooth :-D

[pocketmego]

You are correct, Steve. These games are starting to get my attention now. Plus after watching your review of the machine itself...i'm really dogging this computer now. This reminds me a lot of defender 2 on the NES.

As usually you have the coolest games on the coolest machines.

[SteveBenway]

@pocketmego There's one for sale on ebay (US) right now, but with a DFX system, and they want silly money for it. I'm quite surprised to see one over there though.

[pocketmego]

@SteveBenway

Well certainly thanks for the heads up. Silly money is a bit beyond me though. :D

[Ensor42]

I have to say, that I am seriously impressed with this system, both hardware, and,at least so far, software. The games look fast, relatively smooth and entertainingly challenging. My favourite Defender clone is probably still Dropzone on the C64, but this does look pretty good. I was hoping you would try killing off all of your "humans", to see if it would trigger the mutant swarm thing like in defender, but oh well... ;)

[SteveBenway]

@Ensor42 I didn't dare go for a mutant storm. That's instant death when you play like I do. I probably should find out if it does that on here though :)

[SteveBenway]

@UKRetroGames I keep looking at a Barbie detective adventure thing for PS1 in a local charity shop :D

[SteveBenway]

@UKRetroGames Haha... I didn't think of that :P

[SteveBenway]

@UKRetroGames It's not as good as some clones I've played, but still very playable in its own right :)

[Starxxon]

The MTX was not only fast because of its processor, but it also had powerful graphical capabilities for a home computer in 1982.

It had a 256x192 resolution with 16 colors on screen and it had 32 hardware sprites! (though there was a 2-4 color limit per sprite/tile)

What I like is that it has games from the beginning of the 80's (Defender, Pole Position and Scramble clones) but running with the power of a home computer from much later in the 80's with a lot of sprites and fast animation.

[SteveBenway]

@Starxxon Yes indeed... it has good specs. I do wonder what it might have been capable had some really top flight programmers worked on it. Not to belittle those who did of course. It's just that when you see some coders perform miracles on other less capable machines, I wonder what those coders could have done with the MTX.

[MrDebauch]

hey steve, if you ever could possibly record the sound from the game directly into the computer... I would love to use it in an up and coming musical composition. That type of sound is right up my alley.

[SteveBenway]

@MrDebauch You mean that sound that I played for a few seconds? It might be possible. The sound comes from the tv, so I'd have to figure something out there.

[MrDebauch]

@SteveBenway yeah I meant the sound where you said someone should add drums to it. If you record thst, I will see what I could do with it on my end and I'll send it back to ya if it turns out half decent..

[FuyuAkiWorld]

why diden't you press F8?

[SteveBenway]

@FuyuAkiWorld I want to live! :D

[newcoleco]

Looks very fast and addictive if you can master it. I wonder if I can find it online somewhere to give it a try with an emulator.

[SteveBenway]

@newcoleco Yes, there are definitely roms out there for download. romhustler has it. I haven't tried downloading it, so can't vouch for the quality/usability/trustworthyn­ess of their site, but they do seem to have it.

[jedw]

Sadly perhaps, this hardware would have kicked the Spectrum's/CPC's/Beeb's/Electr­on's ass all the way to the moon but didnt have the popularity and/or therefor the 22 billion games developed.

[SteveBenway]

@jedw Yes, I agree entirely. I think if some real top flight programmers had got their hands on it, it could've done great things.

[DdlyHeadshot]

This is a VERY good port!

[SteveBenway]

@DdlyHeadshot It's pretty decent. Not entirely faithful to real Defender, but good fun all the same.

[nightbirdds]

This looks like the craziest Defender clone I've seen in a while. It really seems to be openly out to get you.

[SteveBenway]

@nightbirdds It's less frantic that some more accurate clones, but still a lot of fun and with its own character :)

[AtsumaKarin]

Another great looking game for this system! I'm genuinely impressed! :)

It's not QUITE the same as Defender but clearly, that's what this is based on.

Good SWILL! :D

[SteveBenway]

@AtsumaKarin It's not as good as some straight Defender clones, but still a very fun game in its own right :)

[AlfredRusselWallace]

from the title i thought youd be suffering through another scramble clone lol

[SteveBenway]

@AlfredRusselWallace Not this time, but I still have a couple more of those to go :D

[17R3W]

@UKRetroGames

haha,

I didn't even think of that.

Bill Frist or (William Frist) is a controversial American politician.

[ReplayRetro]

Another wonderfully playable game on this fantastic system, i think i'm going to have to buy one of these things, which is annoying cos i was trying to avoid ever going down the computer root, damn you benway! damn you straight into the fires of gaming hell where all you get to play are mary, kate & ashley ps1 games!!!

[SteveBenway]

@ReplayRetro I keep looking at a Barbie detective adventure for PS1 in a local charity shop :P

It's definitely a nice machine to own, but do be aware that software availability is extremely limited. You can get an amount online, but if you want originals, they don't come up very often at all.

[paulb4uk]

Runs quite smooth and looks perfectly playable .most teenagers today do not realise just how many different computers there were in the 80,s a lot more choice than there is now and one hell of a gamble on what you bought with regards to taking off .

[SteveBenway]

@paulb4uk It was like the Beta vs VHS gamble, multiplied by 10 :)

[17R3W]

Bill Frist would love this game!

[Zoogle88]

@17R3W Is that a sneaky first comment D:?

[17R3W]

@Zoogle88

It's almost an anti-first comment.

I first saw it on Fail Blog, but I guess it's been going on other places as well.