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Say I want to print my own overlays...


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I just picked up a copy of Space Shuttle from Best Electronics, but it didn't include the overlays. I'd like to print my own if possible, but I want to do so in high quality and as close to the originals as possible.

 

I know some have had experience with printing overlays here, so wanted to ask for advice. Since I'm only going to print a single sheet, I'm not really thinking cost will be a concern. If it costs me $20, so be it.

 

So two questions - what material was used on the original overlays, and how could I go about printing with that textured surface? I could always do laminate but that's too smooth if I want to do this as authentic as possible.

 

And two, what resolution/dpi would I need the source to be at? What is recommended for printing the overlays?

 

Or hey, if someone has a spare set of Space Shuttle overlays, spare me the time (although it sounds like it would be a fun project) and let me know!

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Dig through the threads, but there is an AA user here that can make overlays and will do one offs for people. Send pboland a PM asking about it...

 

But what I did about 15 years ago or so, was to use transparancy sheets, print the mirror image of the overlay onto the transparency, and then paint over the image printed side with flat white paint. Once dried, I would then laminate it and cut it to trim. They were a bit thicker than originals doing this, but they worked well enough.

 

I eventually purchased the overlay set that pboland was offering over last summer.

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  • 1 month later...

What would be nice is if 'someone' out there would scan and make PDF's of all the templates. That way we could all print them up on our own shiny paper, laminate them and then cut them out. I I don't have any templates for any of my games.

 

Found the "motherload"!

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I just picked up a copy of Space Shuttle from Best Electronics, but it didn't include the overlays. I'd like to print my own if possible, but I want to do so in high quality and as close to the originals as possible.

 

I know some have had experience with printing overlays here, so wanted to ask for advice. Since I'm only going to print a single sheet, I'm not really thinking cost will be a concern. If it costs me $20, so be it.

 

So two questions - what material was used on the original overlays, and how could I go about printing with that textured surface? I could always do laminate but that's too smooth if I want to do this as authentic as possible.

 

And two, what resolution/dpi would I need the source to be at? What is recommended for printing the overlays?

 

Or hey, if someone has a spare set of Space Shuttle overlays, spare me the time (although it sounds like it would be a fun project) and let me know!

 

I repaired a couple of Coleco Desktop Arcade machines by printing the mirror of the image on a transparency and then glueing a a white label to it and then gluing that to the machine. It looked absolutely perfect. The best part about doing that as an overlay is that the ink will not rub off on your fingers.

A lot of inkjet transparency sheets have texture to them to give the ink a surface to stick to. IIRC, I printed on a smooth transparent sheet, but you can probably have the option. You can also use a different backing to give a more authentic look. I think the actual overlay is blue, so you can stick a blue sheet of paper to it.

 

If you have wide tape, you can probably just print it on the heaviest paper you can run through your machine and then wrap it in tape. This will help give the overlay 'body' and keep ink from rubbing off on your fingers. Greeting card stock should work with most printers on the market if you don't want to go the transparency route.

 

The hardest part is finding a scan of it. I would think 150DPI would be fine.

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Speaking of Overlays when Mattel owned Intellivision, they had overlays for EVERY Game. Even if the game didn't use a 16 way pad and just used a single action button function (and any will do) like Sharp Shot aka Pow they printed an Overlay. Coleco was the smart ones, they literally ONLY put an overelay on any game where the keypad function wasn't self evident, (meaning anything more than selecting numbers for options) That philosophy continues with Coleco on INTV, with the only Coleco INTV game that has an official overlay being Mouse Trap.

 

I think Atari 5200 was in the superficial camp, with an overlay made for Pac-Man. For collectors it's desirable, but for those ludists, ("ludo" being either a Greek or Latin word-part meaning "game"), meaning those who actually just want to play the game from a gameplay standpoint, if you don't have the original, why even prit one if it's not important? The Pac-Man overlay I have just highlights just one button, (I forget which, but..) yet the game tells you on the screen what button you need to prees anyway.

 

Is there a place with jpeg scans of Atari 5200 overlays? I'm not going towaste ink and paper on something not important to gameplay, but for the ones that are, those would be highly appreciated. And a list of games where the keypad overlay is ludistically important.

 

I think I have more Emerson Arcadia 2001 overlays than I do 5200 overlays. Arcadia is more likely to be sold complete than 5200, just because it's WAY less popular, and are less prone to loss and abuse by 5-year-olds. By the way, anyone one of the millipercent of the video game consumer pool in the 1980s who actually bought an Emerson Arcadia 2001 on day 1 and (though I doubt it, becuase I never heard of campouts for gaming consoles until 9/9/99 (the only launch date referred to by date by most video game fans when asked to refer to an important date in video game launch history) ) maybe even camped out in line for one? if someone here did, Atari Age is probably best place to find them.

 

Coleco's policy was not to include them unless people in test groups would complain without the overlays (Blackjack/Poker, Mouse Trap, Super Action Baseball, Football (American), and Football (Soccer).) But they always had overlays for Super Action-enhanced games like Star Trek and Spy Hunter, and -required games, like Front Line. I guess there were too many buttons to keep straight. Mattel included them in even the most unnecessary of games, but consoles weren't licensed until the NES days so third parties did what made most sense with them. What was Atari's Policy?

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Defender doesn't use a keypad button as "hyperspace" ?!?!!? How do you hyperspace in the 5200 Defender? Oh wait, the small print below the 2 player row. Any keypad button!

 

It looks like another worthless keypad overlay, but only if they print the numbers on the select screen.

 

I'll click the link and see if there are any "essential" ones ...

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Looking at the pictures, the only games where it's a "requirement" to print a overlay are the RealSports Baseball, Soccer, Tennis, Space Shuttle, and Star Raiders (and maybe Countermeasure, for whatever L, E, and O is. I guess that the trinary code for the stopping of the nuclear bomb if I remember the game right, if it's based on an Atari 800 bootleg I remember playing.)

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