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slitherpunk · 8 months

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i went to vintage computer festival midwest and saw so many yummy computers !! some pics below ...

#vcf #vcfmw #retro tech

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arjorge1987 · 11 days

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VCF East!

#retro #retrogaming #80s #8 bits #atari #spectrum #commodore #commodore 64 #msx #vcf #vcf east

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techav · 10 months

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VCF Southwest

This was the first time I've been able to attend a VCF, and it was the first held in the Dallas area in over a decade. I was lucky enough to participate as both event staff, helping to plan and run the show, and as an exhibitor. It was exhausting, it was overwhelming at times, and I nearly lost my voice by the end of the first day ... But it was also an incredible experience and I really enjoyed it.

I brought a few of my projects to show off. First and foremost was my Wrap030-ATX project, which I paired with a Wyse WY-30 terminal I rescued from Computer Reset, and had running a demo program for printing names on my recently-repaired Apple ImageWriter II/L. Next to that was my Wrap030 board stack running a Mandelbrot fractal renderer using its 68882 FPU and video generator cards. Then came the Mac SE from Computer Reset I repaired, with my SE-VGA card driving an external monitor, and running Oregon Trail (always a crowd favorite!). Finally I had my Franken-Plus, which sadly suffered a power supply failure early on the first day and sat dark all weekend.

My exhibit was situated just down the row from @commodorez , who won the show's Best Microcomputer award for his "VICs that aren't 20" exhibit of rare and lesser-known Commodore computers. Across from Commodore-Z was Usagi Electric, who won Best in Show for his exhibit of the Centurion, a PDP-11, and his vacuum tube computer.

I had a great time talking to Commodore-Z, @ms-dos5 , Usagi Electric, Nybbles and Bytes, Macintosh Librarian, Retrotech Chris, Kevin & Michael of the Turbo 9 Team, Al Williams, and so many more wonderful people that I couldn't even begin to catch names for.

I also got to go into deep-dive discussions on very specific details about my projects with people who already knew so much more about the components and the tools that I'm using than I do. It's energizing to be around people that understand the work that goes into these projects and appreciate what I've accomplished.

The show was so much bigger than I anticipated. Including staff, volunteers, sponsors, speakers, exhibitors, and attendees, we saw nearly 900 people come through the main hall over the course of the weekend. Seminars were full, with CuriousMarc's presentation on Restoring the Apollo Guidance Computer forming an imposing line for entry well ahead of the scheduled start of the talk. We had incredible community turnout; it was great to see entire families come through with awestruck small children in tow.

There was so much to see and do, so many people to talk to. The entire weekend is just a blur. My brain is still trying to process everything from the show.

One thing does stand out though — an unbelievably generous act from someone I spoke to on Saturday about my homebrew builds and my methods for testing and debugging. This kind soul was so impressed by what I have accomplished without an oscilloscope that he bought one from the VCFSW charity auction and gave it to me on Sunday. I was so surprised I didn't think to even get his name before he disappeared into the crowd. I can't wait to put it to good use, and I hope that what I build with it lives up to his expectations.

Following VCF East earlier this year, Bil Herd said something about riding that high from VCFE, and that prompted him to agree to come out to join us at VCFSW this year. Now that I've experienced it for myself, I understand what he meant. I've been looking though all the pictures and blog posts everyone has been sharing, and catching up on recordings of the presentations I missed. Interest in some of my projects has me thinking about what I can do with them next. It's exciting.

I can't wait until next year.

#vcf southwest #vcf #vcfsw #vcfsw 2023 #vintage computer festival #vintage computing #retro computing #wrap030 atx #SE-VGA

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commodorez · 1 year

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Updated! Upcoming Vintage Computer Festivals

Do you like vintage computers, and want to interact with the community at large? Well, here are the upcoming VCF events for the United States in 2023:

Vintage Computer Festival Southwest: June 23, 24, & 25 - Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT, Dallas, TX https://www.vcfsw.org/. This one is returning after about a decade, and is being organized by a new team of people. Vintage Computer Festival Southeast: July 28, 29, & 30 - Marriott Renaissance Waverly, Atlanta, GA - https://vcfed.org/events/otherevents/vintage-computer-festival-southeast/. Part of the Southern Fried Gaming Expo.

Vintage Computer Festival West: Tentatively, August 4 & 5 - The Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-west/ Note: event will happen Friday and Saturday this year, due to a scheduling conflict on Sunday.

Vintage Computer Festival Midwest: September 9 & 10 - Waterford Banquet & Conference Center, Elmhurst, IL - https://vcfmw.org/

That's a VCF every month for the next 4 month!

#vcf #vintage computer festival #vcfw #vcfsw #vcfse #vcfmw

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aperture-in-the-multiverse · 1 year

Video

Anyone who’s been to a Vintage Computer Festival recently can probably relate.

Thanks to @commodorez for the idea and acting.

#vcf #vintage computer festival #retrotech #Retro #vcfe

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boot2dos · 2 years

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VCF East 2021

Part 2/2

#VCF #Vintage #computer

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polybiiex · 5 months

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5 dollar dead tablet from Vintage Computer Fest, being turned into a canvas

#my art #wip #tablet #vcf #vintage computer fest #traditional art #old tech #nugget

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owlixx · 7 months

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Arcade Review

I attended VCF Midwest 18 (retro computing festival) in Chicago with my dad this last weekend and we stopped by the Galloping Ghost Arcade. I jotted down a list of the games we played and figured I’d flesh that out with some notes/context for tumblr.

1. Tron - they had both the original machine and the Discs of Tron machine. Considering we had both brought Tron shirts, this was a hit with us.

2. Qix - I’m familiar with the “cut off the box while something bounces around in it” genre and I had heard this name before but I don’t think I’d ever connected those dots before. I wanna play some more of this one sometime.

3. Asteroids - a classic and not much to add, but the vector graphics were so bright and vivid here that it really looked cool. and the momentum feels pretty good too on the ship.

4. Street fighter/mortal Kombat - we played MK2 and 4 which was good fun, I’d like to play more of all of them. And we did one round of SF1-4 which was super fun. I wish it was easier to get into fighting games. And that I didn’t have to pick one main!

5. Commander havoc - this really impressed with the vivid vector graphics and interesting track-cylinder controls. I didn’t even get to the platforming part until playing later in the Atari collection on my vita! Which emulates the track-cylinder using the touch screen which is a nice touch, never heard of this game before

6. Battle zone - again, this is familiar territory but playing with the real headset and joysticks really elevates it.

7. Batman forever - this one was just silly, the photo scans of the actors looks so goofy on top of the movie already being goofy

8. Berzerk - a favorite of my dad’s

9. Wizards of Wor - this one played like Pac-Man if Pac-Man has a gun, really wasn’t bad despite never hearing of it before

10. Dragon’s lair - got further than I think I ever have before, new goal of mine is to actually beat this game or at least watch the full “movie”

11. Capcom vs - always fun until the game actually starts lol, love the rosters but I suck at these even more than normal fighting games. Highlight was my dad recognizing a couple character from tatsunoko and promptly kicking my butt with them

12. Dungeon and dragons hack and slash - already own this at home but always fun to see, I really ought to beat my copy sometime with someone else

13. Virtual fighter/tekken - again, takes me back to a simpler time but I need a local player 2 for these to be fun

14. Darius - I think we played the oldest and newest one. Neat novelty for the wide wide screen. On the old one, you can tell it’s a CRT in the middle flanked by mirrors reflecting CRTs on the bottom of the machine. I have burst on my vita and never played it before, it’s cool to see how arcade accurate it is now!

15. Silent scope - always gotta pop my head in here because it’s a fun novelty, I should try the home port someday for fun

16. La machine guns rage of the machines - I have this on Wii but it was fun to play the arcade version! I was surprised by how strong the rumble was. I need to play this, NY gunblade, and ghost squad more at home with my legit Wii zappers

17. Aerosmith - never knew this existed and boy is it buckwild and kind of hilarious. Never would’ve expected the Aerosmith game to be a rail shooter

18. Moonwalker - we played this for about 30 seconds before sharing nervous laughter and moving on

19. Journey - we called this one out ahead of time thinking it surely wouldn’t be here. Plays like tron where it’s actually 5 minigames featuring poorly digitized heads of the band members. Pretty funny

20. Resident evil gun survivor 2 - this was really curious! You aim with a lighting but also move by using the light gun as a joystick. Pretty neat but the multiplayer didn’t work for us. Looks like there’s a home port exclusive to EU/JP? I’d love to play more of this oddity

21. Castlevania arcade? - I think this was just a port of Castlevania 1 but still interesting

22. Super Mario bros versus - couldn’t tell if this was different from Mario 1 at all functionally but playing with an arcade joystick and buttons was neat!

23. Mario bros - I’m so used to the remake included with GBA Mario games that the original makes me embarrass myself when I play it

24. Donkey kong - I need to actually clear all the stages at least once

25. Sinistar - my dad clutched a win against the S man himself, kinda neat how this game has multiple phases and free movement

26. Star Wars arcade - we played a super low poly one because it was 2 player with a much higher poly one next to us but single player only. Also played a ROTJ speeder bike game with neat handlebar controls

27. Defender/Stargate - a classic, I need to get decent at this one sometime

28. Tempest - TxK was the first game I got on my vita and I didn’t really get it, but now I get it more and the graphics really impresses. I’d like to play more versions of this game

29. Pac-Man/mania - a staple like bread or eggs. Maybe someday I’ll play all them in order

30. Joust/2 - this was super fun. Really shines in PvPvE with an uncertain alliance. Transforming the mount in the sequel is neat, had never seen it.

31. Warlords - 4 player pong basically, but also reminded me a bit of boom blox. Keeping an eye out for this one now.

32. Night driver - never heard of it before but kind of fun

33. Pole position - feels so much better with a real wheel and pedal

34. Qbert - terrible at it but cute

35. Spy Hunter 2 - pretty fun in 2 player mode actually

36. Speed racer - this really surprised, this was super fun. Jumping over my dad was the highlight until we both collectively ran off a cliff and quit

37. Gauntlet dark legacy - somehow plays way worse than the GameCube version? But fun seeing this guy here

38. Robocop/2 - first one sucked, second one relatively impressed especially with the Wild Guns-Esque shooting gallery minigame

39. Contra - we had just played the DS Contra 4 so we had to play this one for comparison. As hard as I remember, especially for him lol. Also played an odd 2.5D contra in Japanese. I got the feeling it was a phone game port and googling now confirms yes, it is, called Contra Evolution

40. Ikari warriors - fun to play because of the unique twisting joystick. My dad lamented that we didn’t get to the tanks

41. Crystal castles - my dad showed off a secret warp trick on the first try that I managed to recreate on my vita port that uses the touch screen as a trackball. Way cooler with trackpad than joystick like I’d played before. Also always think of the musical artist

42. Cyberball - hot nonsense, he crushed me. Fun dual screen corner setup

43. Sonic the fighters - I had thought it would be fun if they had this one and they did! Didn’t play long but just fun to see it show up

44. Segasonic - this was my wildest guess as to what could even appear here, very happy to see it! My only chance to ever really play this game. Sadly, had a rude guest next ti me during it

45. Yi are king fu - this was high on my dad’s list and did in fact appear, he blazed through the first five levels quickly. I’d like to try and play this a bit more

46. Ring king - boxing game my dad was looking for, we really struggled to get started with the controls

47. Punch out - it was neat to get to play the arcade original with the wireframe graphics like his alternate costumes in smash bros

48. Judge dredd - this one was just kinda funny, classic stiff digitized photo graphics ala mortal kombat

49. 3D xevious - had never seen this, kinda neat

50. Super puzzle fighter - a favorite of my mother’s, fun to see the cabinet version. Especially since the XBLA port is weirdly compromised in some ways

51. Space invaders - this one was fun because it had a physical background graphic that the game sprites seemed to hover above, which was much more impressive than seeing just the game sprites in isolation

52. Mega man power battle - I had beaten both of these before on the capcom arcade collection for $1.99 a pop, but playing and seeing a real cabinet was a real treat

53. Paperboy - I always associated this game with the NES but the arcade version with a unique handlebar controller is a lot more charming. Still far too hard.

54. Pit fighter - so bad it’s good, this was on my dad’s list

55. Quake - this was a curious one, having to aim and move with just arcade buttons

56. Star Trek - pretty cute vector game, the Split View of first persons and top down is pretty neat

57. Cliff Hanger - fascinatingly, a laserdisc game in the style of Dragon’s Lair but repurposing clips from Lupin III without advertising itself as such.

58. Wrestlemania - not my first time playing this one, but always fun to see the super over the top moves

59. Rampart - one of my dad’s favorites, admittedly kind of advanced for the time with the base building in between rounds. Kind of an addicting gameplay loop if I am being honest

60. Quantum - super cute vector game with trackball that plays like Pokémon ranger where you have to draw circles around objects. Pretty good game feel, curious about this one

Didn’t get to play:

Popeye - favorite of my dad’s, screen broke

Star Wars episode 4 - similar

Mk3 - working but poor screen, my favorite MK

Soul calibur - the only had 2 and we ended up skipping it anyways

Silent hill - beautifully giant machine but was either down for repair or occupied

Monkey ball - had that silly banana joystick but down for repair

#arcade #Chicago #VCF #retro gaming #retro #galloping ghost

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axeandyoushallreceive · 2 years

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Also in this colour……Posted @withrepost • @elta_music_official New colour. Maize-yellow #polivoks #polyvox #synth #synths #synthesizers #analogsynth #vcf #polyvoks #eltamusic #analogsynthesizer (at Axe and You Shall Receive Inc.) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjBa3kxO_Ib/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#polivoks #polyvox #synth #synths #synthesizers #analogsynth #vcf #polyvoks #eltamusic #analogsynthesizer

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slitherpunk · 6 months

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Oh hey, nice to see more photos from VCF Midwest 18 here on tumblr! Hopefully you had a good time, and didn't catch the covid that was going around (I did, that sucked). Otherwise, I had a blast.

What was your favorite thing you saw at the show?

i had a good time yeah it was fun. i fortunately didn't catch covid. i'm glad i wore my mask the whole time. people told me that it was way larger this time than years past (it was my first time going), so i wish more people would have masked up. feels like an inevitability that people catch it if people aren't being cautious at something as crowded as that...

hard to pick a favorite thing, there was a lot of cool stuff. i thought that midi keyboard hooked up to that commodore 64 was really neat. it was also cool to see that game wordhopper there since i had just been playing that with friends a few days before and i didn't know it would be there. i also loved seeing various card punchers & readers. honestly overall it was hard to pick a favorite thing because there was just so much to see it got overwhelming 😅 additionally i personally prefer to not touch the hardware as much as others have because of the aforementioned virus (& i'm a bit of a germaphobe in the first place) so i didn't actually get much time in actually trying stuff out in order to pick favorites

#vcfmw #vcfmw18 #vcf #ask

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cheekyoreo · 2 years

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my man cavani, please hang it in the louvre