gezkc Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 I have spells in this game where everything clicks and I'm sure I'm going to get a good score, but then my coordination goes to hell and a succession of enemy ships zoom down and destroy my cities, or I crash my sentinel saucer trying to land it! ? Slowly improving, but I can't see myself getting much more than this : 11,450 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntyFanMatt Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 24 minutes ago, BiffMan said: I fired up Dreadnaught Factor last night and proceeded to lose the next 2 hours. It's been a delight getting back into the games and a huge thanks to this community (and Tommy!!) for re-kindling my love of Intellivision. Dreadnaught Factor is an awesome game!! Definitely one of my top 5 faves for the system...it's a great shooter. Enjoy getting back into these games, there are so many good ones! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiffMan Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 1 hour ago, mr_me said: Where are you from, because in 1979 Intellivisions were supposedly only available around Fresno, California. We were in Houston, TX at the time. As I mentioned, I remember the order being delayed multiple times and that we ordered it through a national chain (I think Sears, could have been Penny's) so maybe part of the issue was the chain getting a unit sent from California? We definitely didn't travel for it and it was before 10 year old me even knew it was a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 2 hours ago, BiffMan said: We were in Houston, TX at the time. As I mentioned, I remember the order being delayed multiple times and that we ordered it through a national chain (I think Sears, could have been Penny's) so maybe part of the issue was the chain getting a unit sent from California? We definitely didn't travel for it and it was before 10 year old me even knew it was a thing. I'm guessing your father followed consumer electronics news. Intellivision would have been introduced that summer at a trade show maybe even in January 1979. There wouldn't have been any normal advertising until 1980. He probably went to some effort to find a store that would supply one. The story is that they were first delivered to Gottschalks department stores in Fresno Ca on Dec 3. Do you remember what the pack-in cartridge was or if he ordered other cartridges with it? Maybe your mother remembers the store or other details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntyFanMatt Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 7 minutes ago, mr_me said: I'm guessing your father followed consumer electronics news. Intellivision would have been introduced that summer at a trade show maybe even in January 1979. There wouldn't have been any normal advertising until 1980. He probably went to some effort to find a store that would supply one. The story is that they were first delivered to Gottschalks department stores in Fresno Ca on Dec 3. Do you remember what the pack-in cartridge was or if he ordered other cartridges with it? Maybe your mother remembers the store or other details. Man you know everything! I see your posts a lot and it astounds me at the amount of information you always have readily available. How do you know all this information about the Intellivision, gaming history, and even all the details about the Amico??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiffMan Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 14 minutes ago, mr_me said: I'm guessing your father followed consumer electronics news. Intellivision would have been introduced that summer at a trade show maybe even in January 1979. There wouldn't have been any normal advertising until 1980. He probably went to some effort to find a store that would supply one. The story is that they were first delivered to Gottschalks department stores in Fresno Ca on Dec 3. Do you remember what the pack-in cartridge was or if he ordered other cartridges with it? Maybe your mother remembers the store or other details. Dad definitely followed electronics news closely, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was ahead of the awareness curve. Mom unfortunately doesn't remember the store or exact date of order/delivery. It was definitely a department store, I can clearly remember waiting at a Sears-type warehouse pickup window near the exit to the store. I also don't know for sure that we received it in 1979, just that's the manufacture date on the system. I remember it being described as a family Christmas present, but entirely possible it was January or February of 1980 before we actually received it. Memory is annoying. ? I don't recall a pack in and think we only had like 3-4 games at first. I definitely remember playing Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack, Math Fun, and Armor Battle early on. Things blur beyond that though. I do remember Football, Baseball, and Space Battle being big hits when we got those, but I also remember those coming later after we'd already had the system for a while. Seems unlikely we got a Fresno unit from a Houston department store, so were the first batch sold in 1980 perhaps manufactured in 1979? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiffMan Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Back on topic for a moment... Managed to improve my score... ? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 (edited) 39 minutes ago, IntyFanMatt said: Man you know everything! I see your posts a lot and it astounds me at the amount of information you always have readily available. How do you know all this information about the Intellivision, gaming history, and even all the details about the Amico??? Thanks, I guess. It's not exactly something I'm proud of. A lot of this stuff comes from the great guys here on this forum. There are a couple of real researchers working on an intellivision book. Looking forward to that. 32 minutes ago, BiffMan said: Dad definitely followed electronics news closely, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was ahead of the awareness curve. Mom unfortunately doesn't remember the store or exact date of order/delivery. It was definitely a department store, I can clearly remember waiting at a Sears-type warehouse pickup window near the exit to the store. I also don't know for sure that we received it in 1979, just that's the manufacture date on the system. I remember it being described as a family Christmas present, but entirely possible it was January or February of 1980 before we actually received it. Memory is annoying. ? I don't recall a pack in and think we only had like 3-4 games at first. I definitely remember playing Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack, Math Fun, and Armor Battle early on. Things blur beyond that though. I do remember Football, Baseball, and Space Battle being big hits when we got those, but I also remember those coming later after we'd already had the system for a while. Seems unlikely we got a Fresno unit from a Houston department store, so were the first batch sold in 1980 perhaps manufactured in 1979? If you are going by the "1979" moulded in the intellivision plastic, that's not the manufacturing date. That's the year the mould was designed. But assuming the serial numbers are roughly in order of manufacture yours would have to be a 1979 intellivision even if you got it after Christmas. You'd have to take it, or one of the cartridges, apart to read the manufacturing dates of the ICs. They say there were four cartridges available in 1979, Poker and Blackjack, Backgammon, Armor Battle, and Math Fun. There's some evidence that baseball was a packin before poker but maybe not. The other cartridges didn't start showing up until Aug/Sept 1980. Edited February 6, 2020 by mr_me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiffMan Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 2 minutes ago, mr_me said: If you are going by the "1979" moulded in the intellivision plastic, that's not the manufacturing date. That's the year the mould was designed. But assuming the serial numbers are roughly in order of manufacture yours would have to be a 1979 intellivision even if you got it after Christmas. You'd have to take it, or one of the cartridges, apart to read the manufacturing dates of the ICs. I was going by the sticker on the left, but that looks like it's just a copyright date for model 2609. I will probably be taking it apart to see if I can get it functioning better (video is currently very fuzzy and occasionally rolling), so which ICs should I look for a date on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 (edited) All 2609s say c1979 on that sticker. Well the intellivision can't be older than the newest IC in the machine. It's not really a way of dating the system but I'm not sure there's another way. The rom, ram, sound, and colour chips should all have four digit date codes. Edited February 7, 2020 by mr_me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiffMan Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Probably my last score attempt. Don't think my 50 year old hands can take another go right now. Damn, that gets nuts from day 7 onward! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfy62 Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 19 minutes ago, BiffMan said: Probably my last score attempt. Don't think my 50 year old hands can take another go right now. Damn, that gets nuts from day 7 onward! Hey,you got the high score. Congratulations!!! I would love to make it to day 8,you just gave me inspiration! ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intellfan Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 29 minutes ago, BiffMan said: Probably my last score attempt. Don't think my 50 year old hands can take another go right now. Damn, that gets nuts from day 7 onward! Great score . I guess I need to get back to work LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntyFanMatt Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 56 minutes ago, mr_me said: Thanks, I guess. It's not exactly something I'm proud of. A lot of this stuff comes from the great guys here on this forum. There are a couple of real researchers working on an intellivision book. Looking forward to that. Well that is cool. You are like a human Intellivision encyclopedia! ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntyFanMatt Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 34 minutes ago, BiffMan said: Probably my last score attempt. Don't think my 50 year old hands can take another go right now. Damn, that gets nuts from day 7 onward! Incredible score. I am amazed!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiffMan Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) Secret is definitely with the saucer, but later on crap is so fast that just switching to/from the saucer can wipe a chunk of city if you don't lock back in quickly. That multiplier though... Getting 320 points per saucer kill on day 8 is very nice! Edited February 7, 2020 by BiffMan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntyFanMatt Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 22 minutes ago, BiffMan said: Secret is definitely with the saucer, but later on crap is so fast that just switching to/from the saucer can wipe a chunk of city if you don't lock back in quickly. That multiplier though... Getting 320 points per saucer kill on day 8 is very nice! I’m still trying to figure out when to use the saucer. Mix it up or only at night...or something I’m not even thinking of. I think there is a secret there that I’m missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntyFanMatt Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 14,420 My best so far. To me, it definitely does not get easier after day 4. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gezkc Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 11 hours ago, BiffMan said: Probably my last score attempt. Don't think my 50 year old hands can take another go right now. Damn, that gets nuts from day 7 onward! Wow, incredible score! ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiffMan Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 Was there a variant of this game where the waves of ships weren't always the same? I have a fairly strong memory of them mixing up different enemies within each wave of 4 and how much that completely sucked. Variants weren't really a thing back in the day though, so did that maybe happen on higher levels? I seem to recall it being a largely game-ending event. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intellfan Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 I think maybe after day 10 they switch up . I cant remember. My brother and i used to play this all the time but mostly on easy mode . I seem to remember one time they had different ships in one wave. What is the ship you dread the most? I hate usually the last wave ones that just kind of float along at different speeds some times slow but sometime way to fast LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiffMan Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 13 minutes ago, Intellfan said: What is the ship you dread the most? I hate usually the last wave ones that just kind of float along at different speeds some times slow but sometime way to fast LOL Those yellow "zoomy" ones are definitely the worst to hit with turrets, but probably the easiest to hit with the saucer since they don't go up/down too much. Overall, I think those little blue fish-looking bastards are the worst. Their up/down pattern is sufficiently wide to make waiting with the turret or saucer tough. I frequently chase those suckers with the saucer all the way to the ground. Definitely my least-favorite night enemy. On the flipside, those easy black ones that go in a straight line are a wonderful saucer charging opportunity. Just camp out on their 3rd pass level and take a breather. ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intellfan Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 I just read in the directions it says .By day 10 heavy casualties cause the Gorgon fleet to mix ship types in each squadron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiffMan Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 16 minutes ago, Intellfan said: I just read in the directions it says .By day 10 heavy casualties cause the Gorgon fleet to mix ship types in each squadron. Cool, thanks! How epic is it that they even have a backstory for why the difficulty increases on day 10??? ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0spmad Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 4,360 medium Going to try and get in a few more games tonight. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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