Tac-Scan by Sega

PingvinBlueJeans · Post by **PingvinBlueJeans** » Tue Jun 01, 2010 10:22 pm

Hello all. As a few already know, I recently obtained this prototype (which is about 95% complete), and I will be releasing this game soon.

I will be selling CIB copies of the game at this year's Classic Gaming Expo on July 31-August 1 and sales will continue afterward directly from me through the forums. The game will come complete with box and manual, with cartridges made using original Sega cartridge casings.

This release will be very limited and the cost will be high, due to the difficulty in making faithful reproductions of this nature. I will do my best to make as many copies as possible to meet demand, but I am severely limited by the small supply of parts available to make the cartridges. Mind you, this is strictly a product for collectors.

For everyone else, I will be releasing the ROM image to the folks who make the Mega-Cart as well, so everyone who desires will be able to play this game on their original hardware one way or another.

Screenshots and more info coming soon.

Post by **Jeff-20** » Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:05 pm

Whew, keeping this secret was killing me. So, no original sega carts were harmed in this project?

PingvinBlueJeans · Post by **PingvinBlueJeans** » Wed Jun 02, 2010 8:27 am

Jeff-20 wrote:Whew, keeping this secret was killing me. So, no original sega carts were harmed in this project?

On the contrary...I've stripped about 15 copies of Buck Rogers, Congo Bongo and Star Trek so far to make Tac-Scan cartridges. I have no choice, but at least they're dying for a good cause.

Mayhem · Post by **Mayhem** » Wed Jun 02, 2010 8:45 am

I'm still keeping my eyes open, but pickings have been thin recently... did CrazyClimber contact you Pingvin for instance?

PingvinBlueJeans · Post by **PingvinBlueJeans** » Wed Jun 02, 2010 9:13 am

Mayhem wrote:I'm still keeping my eyes open, but pickings have been thin recently... did CrazyClimber contact you Pingvin for instance?

Yes, I did acquire a couple of carts from him, thanks.

Ivanhoe76 · Post by **Ivanhoe76** » Wed Jun 02, 2010 11:37 am

guys this is real Hot . . . I can't stand waiting for it to be released! What kind of game is it?

Post by **Jeff-20** » Wed Jun 02, 2010 11:59 am

Didn't you see Atari 2600's Tac-Scan?

PingvinBlueJeans · Post by **PingvinBlueJeans** » Wed Jun 02, 2010 12:01 pm

Ivanhoe76 wrote:What kind of game is it?

It's a port of the 1982 Sega coin-op of the same name...
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detai ... e_id=10007

The only home version that was released was for the Atari 2600...
http://www.mobygames.com/game/atari-260 ... creenshots

The VIC-20 version is 8K and is 95% complete (it lacks a title screen). The game was programmed and basically completed back in 1983, but was not released for reasons unknown (probably had to do with Sega shifting software support from the VIC to the newly released C64).

Ivanhoe76 · Post by **Ivanhoe76** » Wed Jun 02, 2010 1:42 pm

The VIC-20 version is 8K and is 95% complete (it lacks a title screen). The game was programmed and basically completed back in 1983, but was not released for reasons unknown (probably had to do with Sega shifting software support from the VIC to the newly released C64).

Sadly wh have to admit that this was the first and only thing that made the vic to be abandoned by publisher, not the lack of power or the limited graphic performance, as someone said (a lot of spectrum user...)

PingvinBlueJeans · Post by **PingvinBlueJeans** » Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:37 pm

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the programmer of this game did tell me that he also completed a VIC-20 port of Sub-Scan (aka Deep Scan) that was also not released. Sadly, he did not manage to keep a copy, so that one is probably lost forever.

I suspect there were many more VIC-20 titles that suffered this fate due to the computer's relatively quick death upon the arrival of the C64.

PingvinBlueJeans · Post by **PingvinBlueJeans** » Sat Jun 05, 2010 12:54 pm

I am in need of more parts to make cartridges. If anyone has any extra Sega VIC-20 carts, please let me know ASAP.

English Invader · Post by **English Invader** » Sat Jun 05, 2010 2:02 pm

Is there any reason why this game couldn't be released on floppy disk?

We've had two releases from Psytronik in this format:
http://www.binaryzone.org/retrostore/in ... Path=87_95

PingvinBlueJeans · Post by **PingvinBlueJeans** » Sat Jun 05, 2010 3:03 pm

English Invader wrote:Is there any reason why this game couldn't be released on floppy disk?

How about on cassette tape? Sorry man, not happening.

This a game programmed by an American programmer and produced by an American developer/publisher. In the U.S. we play VIC-20 games on cartridge, not on disk or tape. I've never even seen a VIC-20 game on floppy disk, and I can't imagine who would drag out a 1541 to play this game. I'd have to believe there was significant interest in such a thing to even begin to think about producing it. I hardly think it'd be worth the time and effort required.

English Invader · Post by **English Invader** » Sat Jun 05, 2010 3:43 pm

PingvinBlueJeans wrote:
English Invader wrote:Is there any reason why this game couldn't be released on floppy disk?
How about on cassette tape? Sorry man, not happening.

It wasn't a request. I just thought 5.25" disks would have been a bit easier to get hold of than old Sega carts. Plus, I'd be more inclined to use my 1541 than remove the Mega-Cart from the expansion port.

There is also the possibility of digital download via the uIEC/SD. Commercial games are often available in this way for a small fee.

Just my two-cents.

Mayhem · Post by **Mayhem** » Sat Jun 05, 2010 3:46 pm

The point is, as a reproduction release, it's being created as close to what it would have been back in 1983. That would have been on cartridge. Hence the need for "donor" cartridges...