New addition to the home arcade - can't believe I bought this thing!

[arzoo]

The deal on craiglist was just too good to pass up. A 1980 Space Tactics for $150!

The entire game is fully functional and the cabinet is in very good condition - side art is almost perfect and the plexi windows have zero scratches. The only part that needs replacing is the yellow "shields" button - the cover is missing and it doesn't light up, but it's functional. There's also a lower piece of wood trim that's missing but easy to fix, and the dash board has a crack that was poorly repaired. If I had to place a guess, this game did not get much use and was warehoused for most of its lifetime. That might also explain all the mouse nesting and crap filling the bottom of the cab - my wife was a bit skived to bring it inside and immediately grabbed the shop-vac and spray cleaner.

As for the game play - let's just say this game was more of a novelty than a game you'd come back to again and again. It's basically a combination of Space Invaders, Missile Command, and Gorf in 3D. But that doesn't come close to explaining how the game plays - it is by far the most over engineered system I've ever seen or heard of. I can't imagine what the Japanese design guys were thinking - Hey, what should we do with all these electric motors, worm gears, chains, and metal parts? I know, let's use them to make a game - it'll be much easier to build a rotating monitor and moving mirror than program the software to do that!

So the monitor is mounted in a frame with the screen facing up. Above the monitor in the same frame is an angled, semi-transparent mirror. The mirror is hinged on the bottom and the top edge is attached to a worm gear and motor - so the angle can be changed up or down. Then the entire frame, monitor and mirror, is on a vertical axle with a motor/gear/chain at the bottom so it can be rotated left or right. Not done yet - behind the mirror there's two strips of yellow LEDs in a "V" shape. The LEDs are fixed (they don't move with the monitor and mirror) and they provide the 3D laser shots towards the enemies. A red LED at the convergence of the "V" is your targeting cursor. Add in some spacey backdrops and a couple of black lights and you've got a combo mechanical/video 3D shooter. Simple! Not!

You might be thinking - how fast can all this stuff move around. Not very. When you move the yoke (left/right and in/out), there's a distinct lag with the actual movement of the parts. So your targeting cursor is not all that accurate (at least without practice). It really feels like you're driving an actual spaceship - be it a slow sluggish and noisy one .

Here's a video I made with the game open so you can see the guts all a movin;
http://www.youtube.com/v/vxq00qQNxdA&hl=en&fs=1&

And some stills of the exterior and controls...

[Encryptor]

Still a pretty sweet deal and a slick piece of engineering. If you ever get totally sick of it you could always turn it into a driving cab.

Encryptor

[CheffoJeffo]

So very, very cool.

[Beretta]

never heard of this game, but it looks pretty awesome from a design standpoint.. how about a video of actually playing the thing?

[Dizzle]

There was a game I remember my Dad used to play -- I used to watch him in awe when I was a little kid.   But I could never figure out what the game was.  One look at the dash on this and I knew right away this was it!

Awesome find!  I'm jealous.

[mytymaus007]

NICE pretty cool game just played in MAME no sound though Nice find YEH a driving cab sound like an idea

[jasonbar]

Used to love playing this game @ Southwyck shopping center in Toledo.  Good times.  I really like it a lot.

Nice score--hope it stays working!

-Jason

[severdhed]

very cool, looks like a very interesting piece to add to your collection

[MaximRecoil]

That thing is incredible. I'd love to try one of those. I imagine it would give the feeling of really being in some kind of ship with a simplistic GUI on a computer screen for targeting; perhaps the feeling of being a character in a sci-fi universe of yesteryear. The mechanical noise, clunking, movement, etc., would be awesome. Is there any way you can make a video with a first-person view of actual gameplay?

[arzoo]

I'm trying to track down the one broken button - as soon as I do I'll put it back together and post a video of the game play from a cockpit view.

I don't think I would ever convert the cab - I'd rather keep it in original condition. My basement is currently unfinished (as you can see from the video) - but hopefully by next year (I'm doing the work myself), I'll have the arcade room finished so the games will be happy

[divemaster127]

thats pretty nice if you have room, i would have to take out a wall

[SavannahLion]

I don't think I would ever convert the cab - I'd rather keep it in original condition.

 

NICE pretty cool game just played in MAME no sound though

It seems to me one would be missing out on a portion of the gameplay with the crazy contraption not being emulated.

What's with not one, but two, suggestions to convert to a driving cab though? The original OP even stated that the cab is functional, are you people willing to gut a perfectly functioning cab (one with mechanical parts that are probably not even emulated properly anyways) to replace it with, what is essentially, a ghost? I will personally drive to someones location and swap him a perfectly suitable sitdown cab for MAMING for this cab. I'm sure there are a number of members here would do the same.

edit: It looks like MAME does emulate the movement? I'll have to locate it and see. In any case, my opinion still stands.

[shardian]

I want it! I want it!

I have heard of this game, and have heard people describe it. My thought was 'meh'. Seeing it in operation though...that's like porn to a Mechanical Engineer. 

[RetroACTIVE]

How flippin' awesome is that thing!  I've never seen that game in action... man you have a real neat machine there... certainly one of the coolest I've ever seen!

[hatrick]

  If you ever get totally sick of it you could always turn it into a driving cab.

Encryptor

Are you nuts? This is a CLASSIC game that there are probably very few functioning left. Turning this into a MAME machine would be a crime. There are plenty of collectors out there that will trade a driving cab for this to save if from MAME. I have nothing against MAME, but use some discretion when choosing a game cabinet to use for MAME. 

[Beretta]

i agree the game works and this is really unique game, no way i'd mame it.

there are plenty of already gutted or non working regular cockpits out there..

actually this is not even my idea of what would make a good generic cock pit.

gutting this game for what amounts to nothing more then it's shell (some wood) and maybe it's monitor is crazy talk.

[RandyT]

I remember this one.  The gameplay was mediocre and difficult, but there was quite a bit of novelty in the whole "cockpit experience".  Lighted panel buttons that controlled the individual defense rockets, the overlaid real world cursor and the moving screen were definitely unique.

Folks should probably cut the engineers of this title some slack, though.  They were after a specific feel, and there really wasn't a better way to achieve it.  Big monitors at that time cost big money...more than a couple of motors and some chain.  And if they wanted a big image, that would have meant using a monitor that was twice the size of the playing screen.  So large, in fact, that it probably would not have even fit inside the cabinet.  The issue with size was made even more important considering they were trying to provide the player with a sense of depth, so that meant placing the monitor back and away from the player.  The further away it is, the smaller the image appears.  So they came to the only reasonable conclusion, which is a movable fold mirror for vertical motion.

And if it does actually rotate (the MAME version doesn't), that's an effect you could only have achieved mechanically in those days.  Big pixels and slow processors would have meant slow, poor visuals or the requirement of extra, very costly components. 

All in all, this was engineered the only way it could have been for the time period, without a true flight-sim price tag.  Which is pretty good considering actual flight-sims did pretty much the same thing.

A very cool addition to anyone's collection.  Congrats!

RandyT

[arzoo]

I remember this one.  The gameplay was mediocre and difficult, but there was quite a bit of novelty in the whole "cockpit experience".  Lighted panel buttons that controlled the individual defense rockets, the overlaid real world cursor and the moving screen were definitely unique.

Folks should probably cut the engineers of this title some slack, though.  They were after a specific feel, and there really wasn't a better way to achieve it.  Big monitors at that time cost big money...more than a couple of motors and some chain.  And if they wanted a big image, that would have meant using a monitor that was twice the size of the playing screen.  So large, in fact, that it probably would not have even fit inside the cabinet.  The issue with size was made even more important considering they were trying to provide the player with a sense of depth, so that meant placing the monitor back and away from the player.  The further away it is, the smaller the image appears.  So they came to the only reasonable conclusion, which is a movable fold mirror for vertical motion.

And if it does actually rotate (the MAME version doesn't), that's an effect you could only have achieved mechanically in those days.  Big pixels and slow processors would have meant slow, poor visuals or the requirement of extra, very costly components. 

All in all, this was engineered the only way it could have been for the time period, without a true flight-sim price tag.  Which is pretty good considering actual flight-sims did pretty much the same thing.

A very cool addition to anyone's collection.  Congrats!

RandyT

Spoken like a true engineer 

[drventure]

Great find!
I agree. Can't see maming that, even if it would make nice driving cab. All that Goldbergian goodness deserves a good home.

[Ummon]

I played this the other night for the first time, and I'd swear it needs analogue support in Mame. However, I got a score of over fifty grand cos I lost all my 'cities' or whatever, and then just took care of anything that flew over that one, as they can only shoot straight down.