Vectrex emulators

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Revision as of 20:57, 6 October 2024 by 108.162.245.38 (talk)
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Vectrex
Vectrex-Console-Set.jpg
Developer Smith Engineering
Distributor GCE \ Milton Bradley
Type Luggable
Generation Second generation
Release date 1982
Discontinued 1984
Introductory price $199.99
Emulated

The Vectrex was a vector-based graphics console developed by Smith Engineering and released in November of 1982. It had a Motorola MC68A09 CPU at 1.5 MHz with 1KB of RAM. The screen was built into the console and it was packed with one game inside it called Mine Storm. It was considered revolutionary for its time, but the Video Game Crash of 1983 and lack of support (and color) doomed the system.

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Latest version libretro License Active Recommended
PC / x86
MAME Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 0.271 GPLv2
BSD-3-Clause
ParaJVE Windows Linux macOS 0.7.0 Proprietary
JSVecX Web git GPLv2 (Copyleft)
vecx Windows macOS git
Libretro
GPLv3 (Copyleft) (libretro)
BizHawk Windows 2.10-rc1 MIT
GPL
~
Vectrexy Windows Linux git MIT (Permissive) ~
DVE Windows MS-DOS 2.0b Proprietary ~
Mobile / ARM
VexDroid Android 1.0.8 Proprietary
Console
PSPVE PSP 1.0.2 GPLv2 (Copyleft)
VectxDS Nintendo DS 0.1 Proprietary
VecX Nintendo 3DS Switch Wii U PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 Vita 1.1 GPLv3 (Copyleft)
PSP VecX PSP 1.51 Proprietary ~
Vectrex MESS Dreamcast 2003 Proprietary ~

Comparisons

  • MAME: MAME driver. The hardware is perfectly emulated. A 1984 clone is not emulated yet. Many homebrew physical cartridge releases still have not been dumped.
  • ParaJVE: An emulator written in Java. Its development started in early 2006, with the first update version 0.3.2 releasing in November 8, 2006, and the emulation is now mature enough to deliver a rendering close to the real machine, for you to enjoy most of the original games set (as well as some extra homebrew roms). But it was short-lived, ending just 4 years later in December 29, 2010.
  • JSVecX: A JavaScript port of the VecX emulator. The emulator was ported from the original C version as developed by Valavan Manohararajah to JavaScript/HTML5. This port relies on the HTML5 Canvas element for display and the Web Audio API for sound (no flash is required). Some known issues: buggy sound, and misaligned overlays.
  • vecx: Original branch last updated in August 2016. The libretro core is still being updated as of 2020.
  • Vectrexy: A Vectrex emulator programmed in C++. Many commercial games and homebrew ROMs work well, many others and software either don't work or are uncertain.
  • DVE: Dos Vectrex Emulator is an ancient emulator that used to work on DOS PC's and was last updated in August 7, 1999! It did a decent job of emulation, with only 2 games with faults; but it is not recommended today. It may produce buzzing sounds under DOSBox. It runs all the games available for it, has adlib sound and 3D imager support. Old, archived webpage.

Old emulation list at Vectrex World (Unofficial website. Covers 3 old emulators only: ParaJVE, DVE & vecx.)

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Light Pen 3D Glasses

See also

Resources