Super-STIC test video

[BSRSteve]

In some stuff we got from David Chandler's estate, there was a videotape from December, 1981, that appears to be test video of the Super-STIC, which Keith had indicated entered development in 1982. I guess that story isn't completely right.

 

 

[+cmart604]

Cool. Awesome find. Thanks for sharing. 

[+intvsteve]

Wow! Pretty interesting. Amazing quality, too!

[+Lathe26]

That is a serious bit of history!  Incredible find!

[decle]

Hi Steve,

 

Thanks for sharing this it is very cool!  For those that are interested, it looks as though NYIT Computer Graphics Lab was heavily involved in the early graphics scene and their alumni went on to places like Pixar and SGI.

 

Looking at the video, there are some interesting bits and pieces.  I'm not sure that it necessarily adheres to the rules it sets itself.  For example, in the racing game with 2 colours per card:

 

 

There seem to be a number of areas (notably curves and diagonals) which seem to have 3 or more colours in very close proximity...

 

 

 

I wonder whether this was a piece of early analysis work designed to fix the specifications of the Super-STIC by providing a "feel" for how the different specifications will impact the user experience, rather than examples actual working hardware?  As such they could be rendered on more powerful hardware and need not necessarily follow the rules exactly.

 

On a slight tangent, did the items from David Chandler's estate include the T-carts described as containing Kempner Football and KSPACE, as described toward the bottom of this page?...

 

https://papaintellivision.com/gIntv.php

 

I ask because as Marvin Kempner was the man behind TV Powww, and therefore, I believe that these may well contain examples of the TV Powww versions of Football
 

 

 

and Space Battle:

 

 

and it would be great if curiosities these could be preserved, dumped and shared.

 

 

Cheers

 

decle

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mr_me]

Tvpowww football and space battle did end up on the sharp shot cartridge, although modified for two players.  The originals must have been distributed on cartridge; surprised none have survived.

 

My understanding was that Chandler's group was working on the Decade/Int4/magic project.  The updated stic based intellivision was being worked on at APh.

[1980gamer]

I remember watching TV-PIXxxx on 11-Alive in NYC.  They also had a PIX/POW version of Soccer.

And the Space Battle on Sharp Shot does not have the same graphics as the POW version either.  Beyond the 2 GUN targets.

 

Look at 14 seconds in.  The first object to go left to right....

 

I also remember seeing a WSMLB commercial on 11-Alive that had the ESC using a Brown and Gold coloring and the chicklet keys where domed "buttons" like the original controllers.  Would have been horrible I am certain.

But I want it!!!!

 

I had the commercial recorded... HAD being the key word

 

[IMBerzerk]

Yup... Channel 11 WPIX... I remember that too... TV-PIXxxx, and Battle of the Planets.. and all that good stuff!

 

As it turned out, it was just a guy with an Intellivision controller trying to press the button as fast as you were saying it... LOL! 

 

Thank for the great vids and the memories!!

[BSRSteve]

18 hours ago, decle said:

Thanks for sharing this it is very cool!  For those that are interested, it looks as though NYIT Computer Graphics Lab was heavily involved in the early graphics scene and their alumni went on to places like Pixar and SGI.

 

Looking at the video, there are some interesting bits and pieces.  I'm not sure that it necessarily adheres to the rules it sets itself. 

 

I wonder whether this was a piece of early analysis work designed to fix the specifications of the Super-STIC by providing a "feel" for how the different specifications will impact the user experience, rather than examples actual working hardware?  As such they could be rendered on more powerful hardware and need not necessarily follow the rules exactly.

 

On a slight tangent, did the items from David Chandler's estate include the T-carts described as containing Kempner Football and KSPACE, as described toward the bottom of this page?...

 

https://papaintellivision.com/gIntv.php

 

These comments and the previous timeline listed by Keith make me believe that yes, these are probably test videos to determine which changes had the most effect, or something like that. 

 

And no, there were no T-Cards in the materials we received.

[BSRSteve]

13 hours ago, mr_me said:

My understanding was that Chandler's group was working on the Decade/Int4/magic project.  The updated stic based intellivision was being worked on at APh.

That is certainly true later on. However, the changes to the STIC chip would have been negotiated with Chandler's group, and I think that this video is part of that process.

[+intellivotion]

wow, I especially like the Football test #8 (2x base resolution, 4 colors/cards, 32 variable colors/frame) starting at 2:44.

That would have been a great leap forward for Intellivision

[1980gamer]

I like the speed increase too.

Or were these just animations?  Not Drawings... Just not rendered on the Intellivision III?

 

The scrolling and sprite speeds are awesome and the fork in the road...  I want to play this version!

I was always a huge Auto Racing fan.  Motocross added some nice things, but was still very slow.

 

[mr_me]

1981 would have been way too early for any updated STIC chip prototype or emulator.  As Decle suggested these are likely computer animations on unrelated hardware simulating a proposed updated stic.

 

According to blueskyrangers.com the intellivision iii was driven by Mattel marketing in response to the colecovision.  I think colecovision was first shown in public in early 1982.  Did Mattel know about colecovision earlier than that?

 

With Intellivision Auto Racing, the exec limited hardware scrolling to a 15hz frame rate.  Not using the exec you should be able to program auto racing with smoother 60fps or at least 30fps.

 

If base resolution is 160x192 and 0.5x base is 160x96 (intellivision) and 2x base is 320x192; what is 3x base resolution?