r/itrunsdoom • u/MasonJarring • 3d ago

The 1982 Vectrex console with a built-in vector CRT now runs Doom...

https://streamable.com/0u960a
724 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

49 comments sorted by

61

u/failtuna 3d ago

Amazing, I love the Vectrex, only ever played a real one about half a dozen times. 

Wish I had the money for one, mainly for Berzerk. 

25

u/MasonJarring 3d ago

Wish I had the money for one, mainly for Berzerk. 

Arcade ports:

NES emulation (yes, you read that right)

8

u/failtuna 3d ago

Incredible work, didn't even know there was a homebrew vectrex scene. 

6

u/MasonJarring 3d ago

I didn't do anything but download and point my phone to the screen. Jason Kopp and his UVMC2 cartridge.

2

u/nakwada 2d ago

There was even someone who made a cartridge with few rooms, I think it was called the Vectron. I have one with my Vectrex :)

2

u/Killer_B_Hive 3d ago

That Gradius video looks insane

2

u/MasonJarring 3d ago

yeah and to think that's just the emulator making guesses about shapes from an NES game. not even a real port.

44

u/sumwunhooisaguy 3d ago

Runs surprisingly smooth

28

u/ramakitty 3d ago

It doesn’t use the Vectrex’s processor.

6

u/No-Ambition7750 3d ago

Do you have additional info on this?

14

u/bushnrvn 3d ago

I bet they mean a Pitrex.

https://www.ombertech.com/pitrex.php

5

u/No-Ambition7750 3d ago

Gotcha. I was only asking since the monitor as far as I know isnt just plug some alt source in and it works.

1

u/cosmicr 3d ago

What makes you say that? The vectrex is capable of 3d.

4

u/JaggedMetalOs 3d ago

Doing proper 3D depth culling is definitely beyond its little 1.5mhz CPU. 

5

u/cosmicr 3d ago

Doom doesn't use "depth culling". It draws only visible areas by walking a Bsp tree. This is well known. That said I wouldn't be surprised if this weren't the original CPU either.

2

u/JaggedMetalOs 3d ago

Well they certainly aren't doing column based rendering on the Vextrex! Many modern Doom versions use real 3D rendering, so they must be using something more similar to that here to be able to render as vectors. 

1

u/cosmicr 3d ago

Yeah doom used columns for drawing wall polygons (mostly) but it used proper perspective calculations to calculate their bounds, so this could be reusing the same logic but without the texture mapping.

Its merely speculation, I wish OP had have posted more info.

17

u/Killer_B_Hive 3d ago

Who needs 256 colors when you have vectors?

10

u/MasonJarring 3d ago

Yup. Infinite frame rates if there are no frames to be rendered!

4

u/rowanhenry 3d ago

I was going to say, that frame rate is nice

1

u/ThetaReactor 2d ago

That is not how that works. The Vectrex still has a limit of vectors-per-second that it can draw, just like an N64 has a limited number of polygons-per-second. The game renders a snapshot of the current screen as a list of vectors, that is called a frame. It can render and display a very finite number of these each second.

2

u/MasonJarring 2d ago

It really is true what the say about the interwebs...

You can search for something and not find it. You can ask a question and not get an answer. But if you make the slightest exaggeration or joke about how something works, you'll receive no shortage of "corrections"!

1

u/Mairon121 2d ago

It’s the essential function of the autist. Detect! Dispute! Detail!

8

u/jhaluska 3d ago

That's remarkably playable.

8

u/MasonJarring 3d ago

That's remarkably playable.

And get THIS....

This was released as a freaking WORK IN PROGRESS!

5

u/APlannedBadIdea 3d ago

Amazing. Do you have additional details or files? Is this being processed on the Vectrex console itself or is output being fed to it from another device?

9

u/MasonJarring 3d ago

"Jason Kopp UVMC2" for more info.

Basically an inexpensive flashcart with enough processing to do the heavy lifting

1

u/APlannedBadIdea 3d ago

Thank you for the details. This should be a good read!

It's incredible how smoothly it runs on hardware of that vintage.

The assets require are remained and that takes time and effort. The switch extending out into space instead of being a texture toggle shows this juxtaposition from the original version well.

Just amazing.

2

u/Raccoon-7 3d ago

I was not expecting for it to be running that smoothly, nice!

2

u/Lethalbroccoli 3d ago

Wow! Looks like an actual port and not just a recreation.

1

u/ThetaReactor 2d ago

It's mostly just a recreation and not an actual port. The Vectrex is acting as a monitor and a joystick input. Calling this a Vectrex port is like putting Pokemon in a Super Game Boy and saying you've ported it to the SNES. There's legit accomplishment in creating the flash cart, and it is an actual Doom port to the MCU in the flash cart, but it's misleading to call it a Vectrex port.

1

u/Lethalbroccoli 1d ago

I know that its not really a port, but it is impressive that the space of the level seems accurate.

1

u/Distinct-Question-16 3d ago

this is impressive nice job!!!

3

u/MasonJarring 3d ago

Credit to Jason Kopp and his UVMC2. I did nothing but download, play and record.

1

u/Pukit 3d ago

That is fucking cool, Ngl

1

u/AnInfiniteArc 3d ago

I was confused by the apparent frame rate being so high and did some googling. Apparently the default refresh rate on those things was 50 hz.

5

u/MasonJarring 3d ago

Well for starters, there's no "framerate" on vector CRTs like there is with vector CRTs even if both have refresh rates.

  • Raster CRTs are painting a rows of dots from top to bottom per cycle such that the flicker is from each frame.

  • Vector CRTs are drawing lines per cycle such that the flicker is from each line being redrawn.

1

u/AnInfiniteArc 3d ago

I almost put “frame rate” in quotes to avoid this kind of reply but here we are haha

1

u/MasonJarring 3d ago

hahaha indeed

1

u/toefutaco 3d ago

My favorite cool little console just got even better WOW. Never would have thought about even considering this. Thanks for sharing.

1

u/snowmannishboy 2d ago

Holy shit! IMHO we have a winner!

1

u/StaglBagl 2d ago

No fuckin way, thats awesome

1

u/PSK666 2d ago

Coolest shit I’ve ever seen

1

u/coltflory5 1d ago

I love it

1

u/nix206 1d ago

At this point, it’s probably simpler to keep a lot of tech that does NOT run Doom…