Sabertooth

If the hype is to be believed, 2016 is the year of VR. Oculus, Samsung, HTC and Sony are all poised to launch projects that will take gaming and entertainment to new levels. Many consumers are eagerly awaiting the new tech while others dismiss modern VR as a gimmick. We'll just have to wait and see how this new phase of VR pans out but this isn't the first time we've been down this road. The early to mid-90s saw a rash of VR projects and peripherals promising a more interactive gaming experience. Most of these were utter failures. Atari, for their part, partnered with Virtuality, a firm specializing in immersive arcade games, to develop a consumer level head mounted display (HMD) for use with the Jaguar - Jaguar VR. The Jaguar VR was shown in '95 and one Jaguar game, Missile Command 3-D, was developed with the unit in mind. Two versions of the prototype were built; a low-res version and a high-res version. The tech was notable for its utilization of IR headtracking . Ultimately, Atari pulled the plug on the project as it was clear that the Jaguar was failing and the cost and quality of the VR platform left much to be desired. Of the handful of prototypes produced, only three are known to remain in existence today. However, the display technology that Virtuality developed for Atari was soon licensed and repackaged into two products that eventually made it to retail; the Philips SCUBA and Takara Dynovisor. Released in 1997 for about $300, the SCUBA and Dynovisor could be used with any composite video source. The units did not feature headtracking; instead, users used standard game controls to guide the action on screen. Worn on the head and supported by straps, both the SCUBA and Dynovisor are somewhat cumbersome and uncomfortable to wear. An automatic shutoff interrupts viewing every 30 minutes to help avoid eyestrain. I recently received a Japanese market Takara Dynovisor in good working condition. Over the next week I am going to play some Jaguar games that I think may be suited for this kind of device and provide some notes on my experiences. These won't be full reviews, but just a summary of my impressions of the effectiveness of the Dynovisor in providing an enjoyable and immersive experience. I'm going to start with Missile Command 3D since that game was designed for HMD. Other games I'm considering are Tempest 2000, Zero 5, Doom, and Hoverstrike:UL. If you have other suggestions or want to share your own impressions of the Dynovisor or SCUBA, feel free to post here.

I tried the second mod today; a Vader 4-switch. Everything is hooked up the exact same way as the Sears unit but I'm getting these strange artifacts. A faint blue line is apparent on the far left side. I know that some Vader's have uber bright displays and that can cause some issues. Any ideas? Also, I was playing around with adding "ground effects". Don't quite know if I dig it...

Power Drive Rally is such a fantastic game! Your ending comments were spot on. Its truly one of the best. If you have a Jaguar and don't have this game, please do yourself a favor and get it!

I picked up this Sears Video Arcade, with box, two joysticks, two sets of paddles and 23 games. It was advertised "untested". Given that it had a box I paid a little more than I typically do for untested consoles, $30 + shipping. I have wanted to try a composite mod for awhile and picked up the parts to make my own but I wanted to pick up a sample to look at in person. I went with the retrofixes simple mod for $23. While I was in there, I cleaned the contacts and added some dielectric grease to the switches. I also put in a green LED in a chrome bezel to match the SEARS Tele-games models. The mod itself took about 2 hours, including cleaning. It was a lot of fun. The system has been playing Battlezone in attract mode for three hours with no issues. The top Pac-Man in the second photo is pre-mod. The bottom Pac-Man photo is after. IMHO the picture is actually nicer than on my LHE 7800. I have a Vader and Woody 4 switch in the garage that I'm planning next if anyone is looking.

I guess my point was that its his business venture, so I won't be supporting it. This is regardless of content. Although, I let my year one subscription lapse because I personally didn't enjoy it. Just not my cup o tea. Now, even if it were I would have difficulty supporting the magazine. I vote with my wallet.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with the project BTB. Its very interesting to get the perspective of someone that was involved. I also appreciate that you maintained your principles by refusing to do the video without a working prototype. The high ethical standards of the Jag-Bar apparently eclipse those of Engadget and CNET! Now, I don't know MK personally but I did initially have high hopes for the first RVGS campaign. Prior to the Indiegogo attempt, I had purchased a Lynx from him through Game Gavel, backed the first Retro Magazine Kickstarter and picked up a translucent Jaguar shell. Based on those experiences and his general reputation in the scene, I thought he might be able to pull it off. The John Carlsen video soured me on that project though and when the it quickly reemerged with Coleco branding, I opted to wait in quiet skepticism. As it is, this appears to have been an outright deception and I will not support any MK projects moving forward. If I had kept my subscription to Retro, I would cancel it.

I've always thought that Baby Pac could make a great port if you had a decent video pinball element. Like the top screen is the pinball playfield and the bottom screen is the maze. I'd love to see someone like PacManPlus make the attempt.

It's interesting that they went silent since that time. With the kickstarter opening tomorrow, I would have expected a lot more activity. Maybe silence is golden considering their communications skills.

I predict that the next time we see this it will have a working LED and be running a rerelease of Cybermorph on a Jaguar FPGA core. Afterall, most folks just don't have a Jaguar in their homes. Its an opportunity to bring Jaguar games to a wider audience.

What, no Gemini on the cover?

I started a thread awhile back that was intended to share eBay wins and strategies. The first post was about picking up "broken" or "untested" consoles on the cheap and restoring them. Instead of clogging up that thread with my restorations, I thought it would be cool to have a dedicated thread here. Please share your tips and tricks and try to post before and after pictures. Failed attempts are cool too. We all need to learn!

Great episode, BTB! At my last "Dads' Day of Atari" we basically had this exact experience with WMCJ. Then we played NBA Jam TE. The punching is definitely the most fun element of WMCJ. Your friends were spot on in their assessment of the akward camera impacting actual play. I also get the same reaction with the controller. No one who has actually held one will agree that the Jag pad is among the worst controllers ever. Its damn comfortable and plays well - especially the pro-controller.

Great episode! I should get my modded Lynx back next week and then I'll try to tackle some of these as you play them. I was going to do the install myself but time has been at a premium lately and the screen is too $$$ to screw up.

Thanks, Rows. I should've linked my want list. Consolewise, I am looking for a VG condition Coleco Gemini - its what I had when I was a kid. http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/895-atarilbc-want-list/?do=findComment&comment=14450 No, but I am looking for a lot of Saturn stuff.

I picked up this light sixer awhile ago "for parts". The previous owner had installed a composite mod but there were problems with the video and controls on certain games. After researching various forums, I found that the particular issue may be related to a failing 6507 or TIA. I had some spares in the garage and thought that I might try to salvage this modded console with some of those parts. I pulled the 6507 and TIA from a rough Sears unit and voila, she's alive. The chips were socketed so it was an easy enough fix. The console itself is in what I would consider very good cosmetic and working condition. The installed mod is from vintagegamingandmore and outputs a really nice picture. That said, I have two LHE S-video modded 7800s - a back up and a daily driver - so I don't really need this unit. I'm willing to consider trades though. Take a look at my want list and lets see if we can work something out. http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/895-atarilbc-want-list/?do=findComment&comment=14450

Great work on another incredibly thorough episode! Who knew Sam Tramiel would be the hero of the story?

I did no better than my last posted score. Great game though!

Going to give it another go before midnight.

Tempest 2000 Atari Jaguar Difficulty: Default High Score: 473,815 October 15, 2015 Notes: So pumped to see a Jaguar game on the scoreboard! This was a score from back in October. Played with a pro-controller. I'll breakout the game again next week after my final and provide a fresh score.

@justin & kamakazi20012 - Interesting choices. You wouldn't often see Cybermorph or Baldies listed but both are, in my view, criminally under appreciated games. Its great to see them represented on your lists! Raiden nearly made my list too but I felt that between Zero 5, Tempest 2000 and MC3D I had enough thumb punishing arcade action represented. If I had a second player with me, it would definitley be there. I've been seeing a lot of love for Hoverstrike and i-War lately. Could it be that these have become the Jaguar's sleeper hits 20 years on?