Received my new IntV!

[SlowCoder]

Thanks to Rev, I finally have my first IntV! I really like the style of this thing. Very retro.

 

 

After the unpacking ceremony, my son and I took it to the play room and hooked it all up. It worked straight out, along with the 7 or so games we put in it.

 

After about an hour of goofing off with my new toy, it was time to wash it up. I pulled it all apart and cleaned it up inside and out. Of all the retro systems I've worked on, I have to say this one is definitely the most complicated, though not bad at all. And it's always fun to bring out the shiny goodness in my things.

 

I took apart the controllers in the process. Different from anything I've ever seen. Internally, there is no hard breadboard or buttons. Just a few layers of carefully placed membranes, altogether making up the controller interface. Interesting!

 

Once back together, of course there is the trial run to make sure everything works as it should. I only had time to test with the Reversi cart I used to clean up the cart slot. I plugged it in, and my player 1 controller isn't currently registering the numbers properly, but the disc works fine. No biggie, as I'm sure the membranes just got misaligned when I reassembled the controller.

 

It's gonna take some time to get used to these controllers, though. Now I see what you guys are always complaining about with these things! They're these light little wafer things, obviously a point of cost reduction. It's not uncomfortable to handle, though a bit small for my hands. I haven't put a whole lot of time into it yet, so we'll have to see after a long bout of gaming. It's taking a bit of getting used to the disc. This is completely different from anything I've used before. I put in Mouse Trap, and had a heck of a time navigating the maze. Guess I'll have to keep practicing! The side buttons are also a bit stiff. Stiff enough that you really have to concentrate to press hard to get them to register.

 

One thing I noticed while I had the system apart was the housing for the power cord. It looks like it might be designed to allow you to push the cord into the unit, allowing easier travel. If that's the case, I think it's a nice touch.

 

All-in-all, a nice system. I'm happy to have bought it, and look forward to gaming on it. Thanks, Rev!

[AtariLeaf]

Congrats. Its a system I've only owned for the past few months and I'm very impressed with many of the games. I still can't use the controllers over a long period of time without cramping my hand up but I am getting more used to it. So many great games for this system too.

[Charlie_]

Enjoy your Intellivision.

 

That system looks great! Cleaner than mine.

 

Check out Popeye. I think the Intellivision version is lots of fun.

[IntellivisionDude]

Nice, Hope you enjoy it as much as i do.

[AtariLeaf]

Nice, Hope you enjoy it as much as i do.

 

Drunk or sober

[IntellivisionDude]

I have never played Intellivision Drunk, only Atari, Nes, N64, and Sponge Bob. lol

[Ransom]

Cool! I love my Intellivision, too. Lots of great games that were never available on any other platform.

 

And yeah, those controllers take some getting used to. Atari 5200, Intellivision, and Colecovision -- the ball-busters of classic gaming. Master the controllers for all three to earn your black belt in classic gaming.

[AtariLeaf]

I have never played Intellivision Drunk, only Atari, Nes, N64, and Sponge Bob. lol

 

True, although I can't imagine playing a spongebob plug and play sober

[IntellivisionDude]

It's a lot easier getting used to the controllers when you grew up with them like i did. I guess i can see it being difficult when most people grew up with a Atari Joystick or Nintendo or Sega Dpad.

 

I like to refer to this video when discussing the Intellivision Controllers, fast forward to 8:45

 

[SlowCoder]

It's a lot easier getting used to the controllers when you grew up with them like i did. I guess i can see it being difficult when most people grew up with a Atari Joystick or Nintendo or Sega Dpad.

 

I like to refer to this video when discussing the Intellivision Controllers, fast forward to 8:45

 

I'll have to check out the video.

 

I'm sure I will get used to them. I'm pretty adaptable. The controller is just small for my hands. For that matter, the Atari CX40 joystick is, too. The CV controller is pretty comfy for me, though. As the IntV controllers are, it feels like both of my hands are fighting for real estate. But I've only played the machine for a little over an hour, so I've got plenty of time to figure it out.

[svenski]

Congrats. I have an Intv coming, cost me 99p , meant to be fully working so fingers crossed. Colecos seem to be going for stupid money so I thought I'd give the Intv a try.

[Rev]

hey slowcoder, you may want to do the a/v mod for your intellivision. i plan one day to do it to all of mine to get rid of the interference/squiggly lines. the old cords didnt hold up i guess.

 

as mentioned by someone else,get popeye.it is a great version. also try white water, beauty and the beast,night stalker!

[tz101]

I bought one that had aftermarket sticks installed in place of the discs. It is awesome for most games. Get some if you can find them.

 

[Rev]

I bought one that had aftermarket sticks installed in place of the discs. It is awesome for most games. Get some if you can find them.

 

 

i have one of those!

[tz101]

Do you like them, or prefer the discs?

[IntellivisionDude]

In the video i posted above i give my opinions of the joystick add-ons. I prefer the disc.

[Rev]

I still prefer the discs. i guess it is because that is what i grew up with.

[jaybird3rd]

I bought one that had aftermarket sticks installed in place of the discs. It is awesome for most games. Get some if you can find them.

Eh. They might make it slightly easier to control four-direction games, but they also make it impossible to "spin" the controller along its edge or to "rock" it back and forth with your index and middle fingers, both of which are ideal methods for controlling many other types of games.

 

The other joystick add-on that I've seen (the "Slik Stik" version, I think it was) isn't too much better. It looks as if it would be like controlling a video game with a doorknob or a water faucet handle:

 

[tz101]

The other joystick add-on that I've seen (the "Slik Stik" version, I think it was) isn't too much better. It looks as if it would be like controlling a video game with a doorknob or a water faucet handle:

 

If all you have done is "seen" these, then how can you comment?

 

My sticks work great on every game I've thrown at them. On the other hand, I did not grow up with Intellivision, so have no history with spinning or rocking tricks using the discs.

[SlowCoder]

I bought one that had aftermarket sticks installed in place of the discs. It is awesome for most games. Get some if you can find them.

 

 

A close look at those joysticks, they almost look like modded CX40 sticks. Gives me an idea ...

 

Basically, my idea would be to cut a CX40 stick to proper size, then attach it to the top of a stiff suction cup, roughly the size of the disc. Would not damage the disc, and could be removed as desired. Cheap man's joystick. Yes, there is a danger of the cup coming off periodically, but just lick and stick.

Edited November 5, 2010 by SlowCoder

[tz101]

No. CX40 sticks are rubbery and somewhat pliable. My aftermarket INTV sticks are similar in that they are hexagonal in profile, but they are made from rigid ABS plastic (no pliable rubbery feel to these). The disc at the bottom is molded in with the stick, and whoever had my Intellivision before me had to disassemble the controllers to install these. I only wish they would have included the original discs with my trade in case I ever wanted to switch back.

[Atarifever]

I just got my first one too (as my thread in the main forums points out). I cannot reccomend Diner enough. I think it's now my favorite game ever. Everything about it is perfect, and it would certainly be worth what it normally costs.

[IntellivisionDude]

I just got my first one too (as my thread in the main forums points out). I cannot reccomend Diner enough. I think it's now my favorite game ever. Everything about it is perfect, and it would certainly be worth what it normally costs.

 

I love Diner as well. It's the perfect sequel to Burgertime. But the funny thing is, the game was supposed to be a sequel to He-Man but they changed it at the last second. So that makes me wonder, how kicking meatballs had anything to do with He-Man, unless you were kicking boulders into Skeletor and crew. That still seems a bit odd.

[jaybird3rd]

I love Diner as well. It's the perfect sequel to Burgertime. But the funny thing is, the game was supposed to be a sequel to He-Man but they changed it at the last second. So that makes me wonder, how kicking meatballs had anything to do with He-Man, unless you were kicking boulders into Skeletor and crew. That still seems a bit odd.

I don't think the Masters of the Universe sequel was that far along when Mattel Electronics closed. Ray Kaestner picked up the work that he had done on the Masters sequel at Mattel (apparently little more than the scrolling Escher-like levels and some roaming bad guys) and added gameplay elements that would make it work as a BurgerTime sequel, and the idea of "kicking food balls" was one of those new elements. A strange idea, to be sure, but they had to come up with something different than dropping burger layers, which wouldn't have worked too well in a 3D environment.

 

I do agree that it's a great game; given its unusual history, the final product came together surprisingly well. I was so glad to find an original copy at a good price years ago, although I usually play it from my CC3 these days.

[Rik]

Awesome, glad to hear!It's was smart of you to clean the inside of your Inty, never know exactly where the console you just bought was, or what pest laid eggs inside! I once bought an Intellivision at a grungy flea market.I immediately set it up to test and in the middle of a game, a cockroach crawled out from the top!