AirRaid the Da Vinci Code =O

[RangerG]

We can all just add theories. so here is mine. Menavision was a Mexican company. There seems to be possible linkages to Mexico based on the cart design (South America looking), locations where the cart has been found (California, Florida, Georgia - are these correct?), and vision is a very common company name in Latin America (i.e Univision). The company tried to cash in on the Atari market 1983/1984, but the crash wiped them out. They had poor distribution, no title on the game, and it came in a baggy with an instruction sheet in Spanish and English. They were trying to release for the profitable NTSC US market, but they would also release in Mexico and Latin America in that the cart would play.

[Omegamatrix]

We can all just add theories. so here is mine. Menavision was a Mexican company. There seems to be possible linkages to Mexico based on the cart design (South America looking), locations where the cart has been found (California, Florida, Georgia - are these correct?), and vision is a very common company name in Latin America (i.e Univision). The company tried to cash in on the Atari market 1983/1984, but the crash wiped them out. They had poor distribution, no title on the game, and it came in a baggy with an instruction sheet in Spanish and English. They were trying to release for the profitable NTSC US market, but they would also release in Mexico and Latin America in that the cart would play.

One thing that popped in my head too is that if you don't have the name of the game on the label then it says printing multiple labels for different languages (i.e. Spanish, English, Portuguese). Why not use the same label with no name and sell it in the US, Mexico, or Brazil.

 

IMHO this game has been changed enough to be considered an original release and not just a pirate hack of Space Jockey. To me it should be included in a complete NTSC collection along with T.U.G. (although only one person owns this game as an original and it's in a multigame unit not a cart). Anyhow it's really up to you the individual to constitute what makes a complete collection as there are to many variables. One thing for certain is this cart is rare as there are only seven accounted for.

[NovaXpress]

The more we learn, the more it looks like a cheap foreign hack job.

[Rom Hunter]

Again: a lot of effort was put into this hack.

 

I just don't believe it's a Brazilian or Taiwanese cart.

 

I'm almost certain Men-A-Vision is from Mexico.

 

Edited May 19, 2006 by Rom Hunter

[brpocock]

IMHO this game has been changed enough to be considered an original release and not just a pirate hack of Space Jockey.

 

In a very non-optimized non-expert disassembly, it looks like almost all of the Space Jockey code is (mostly) intact, with a few extra subroutines wedged in and most of the artwork changed.

 

Of course, in those days, without having the advantages of modern assemblers and disassemblers, the wise thing to do would be to leave as many things in place, so that you wouldn't inadvertently disturb something. That implies that the hacker did not have access to the original source code, but I think this was assumed from the beginning.

[Omegamatrix]

IMHO this game has been changed enough to be considered an original release and not just a pirate hack of Space Jockey.

 

In a very non-optimized non-expert disassembly, it looks like almost all of the Space Jockey code is (mostly) intact, with a few extra subroutines wedged in and most of the artwork changed.

 

Of course, in those days, without having the advantages of modern assemblers and disassemblers, the wise thing to do would be to leave as many things in place, so that you wouldn't inadvertently disturb something. That implies that the hacker did not have access to the original source code, but I think this was assumed from the beginning.

I know nothing about programming. Air Raid just looks completely like a different game to me then Space Jockey. The case really sets this apart from all other games, as it's original. I see Listspy says that Air Raid shares 56% of the code with Space Jockey though. The debate is then at what point does a game become original? To me it is when you are playing a game and have no idea that that it is related to a different game. I wouldn't know the difference until someone told me.

 

Good point on them not wanting to mess too much with things though. It's easier to leave stuff like it is especially if you don't have a lot of tools at the time.

[iguana]

IMHO this game has been changed enough to be considered an original release and not just a pirate hack of Space Jockey.

 

In a very non-optimized non-expert disassembly, it looks like almost all of the Space Jockey code is (mostly) intact, with a few extra subroutines wedged in and most of the artwork changed.

 

Of course, in those days, without having the advantages of modern assemblers and disassemblers, the wise thing to do would be to leave as many things in place, so that you wouldn't inadvertently disturb something. That implies that the hacker did not have access to the original source code, but I think this was assumed from the beginning.

I know nothing about programming. Air Raid just looks completely like a different game to me then Space Jockey. The case really sets this apart from all other games, as it's original. I see Listspy says that Air Raid shares 56% of the code with Space Jockey though. The debate is then at what point does a game become original? To me it is when you are playing a game and have no idea that that it is related to a different game. I wouldn't know the difference until someone told me.

 

Good point on them not wanting to mess too much with things though. It's easier to leave stuff like it is especially if you don't have a lot of tools at the time.

Good point. 56% does not seem to qualify as a hack to me. I mean bridge and texas hold em have morethan 56% in common yet are 2 completly different games.

[NovaXpress]

If I programmed a game and someone stole 56% of the code, I'd feel ripped off.

[brpocock]

If I programmed a game and someone stole 56% of the code, I'd feel ripped off.

Well, actually, it looks like s/he "stole" 100% of the code, then added more to it. (i.e. it's more like 56% is the original code, with minor alterations, the rest is new).

[NovaXpress]

So it's a hack. It has poor artwork with no name on the cart. This type of shell has been used in foreign pirates. Even the name is fictional. Is there any possible way that this isn't one of the countless foreign pirate carts? There is no reason at this point to believe anything different.

[Omegamatrix]

Guys, I'm not sure how accurate Listspy is. Thomas Jentzsch will have to give us a more technical explanation of its nuances.

 

My real question though is did anyone think, "this feels like Space Jockey" while they were playing this game?

[RangerG]

Those that say it isn't a South American pirate point to where it has been found. All seven as far as I know were found in the U.S. The atari community is strong in Europe, Brazil, and Mexico. They have not turned up examples of the cart. One find in South America would complicate this and change the direction of the theories, but so far we have similar looking cases (Tron carts), but no actual non-US carts (compared to 7 US finds).

[sku_u]

U.S and Brazil, for sure. I don't agree with you that there's a strong Atari community presence in Europe and Mexico. In Europe, there's a small, but dedicated crew confined to a few EU nations. I don't know of any active collectors here from Mexico.

[brpocock]

This type of shell has been used in foreign pirates.

 

Has it?

[sku_u]

This type of shell has been used in foreign pirates.

 

Has it?

 

I'm assuming he's talking about T handles in general. The Air Raid shell is unique to Air Raid.

 

Someone asked if this game has a Space Jockey feel to it when playing it. My answer: absolutely.

[Dino]

I am going to add my 2 cents with the caveat that I know nothing about pirates or anything like that. Just some observations.

 

1st are there any games that use this t shape beside this. I ask because economically speaking it would be quite expensive for some pirate to make a small run of this type of casing. If I were to Pirate a game I would look to purchase overruns of carts. or at least purchase casings that were already made so as to cut the costs of casting a new die.

 

Again this is all from my head so it means absolutely nothing. The only reasonable thing I could think of for development of this type of casing AND the fact that there is no name of a developer or company anywhere to be found is that this cart was created as a sort of Proto. That is a small company put it together in hopes of selling the game to a larger company for distribution. Then I could understand the cost (depending what year this was produced) of setting up a small run casing. It would draw attention from a larger company who could them mass produce it at a lower cost and use the casing as a selling point. This would also explain the lack of any name on the game as well as the lack of any known box or manual, as they would leave that up to the new manufacture to put together in a sales and marketing plan.

 

If this were the case it would be my guess that once the program itself was reviewed no large producer would want to take it because of the close resemblance to Space Jockey Programming and no smaller producer would want to touch the production costs of that casing. Thus 10 or 15 of these things would have been floated out to several game companies in hopes of a bite.

 

This again is just my ramblings and I have no proof of any of it. But at least it would kind of all fit together.

 

either way thanks for sharing this stuff with us. It is real fun to watch you do what 99% of us would not have the balls to do and get some answers. I salute your love for gaming!

 

The pirates that created space marshal and 1 or 2 other titles of which only a very small handful are known to exist used a unique casing based on the spectravision case. these games were also likely to have had a very small run...

[Room 34]

To me it is when you are playing a game and have no idea that that it is related to a different game. I wouldn't know the difference until someone told me.

Well... LOOKING at the game I could be fooled into thinking it had no relation to Space Jockey... but when I fired it up in Stella for the first time the other day, I immediately recognized the SOUNDS as 100% Space Jockey.

[orrimarrko]

I've always equated the legend of Air Raid to that of the "company" - ie. garage workshop - that created Cheetahmen II for the NES.

 

If it wasn't for some last minute "assistance" (let's just call it that), that game wouldn't have made it out the door.

 

Years later, they would have found a copy here, a copy there...

[RangerG]

I don't know - I consider the Atari Europe to be pretty strong. They have multiple conventions (includes all classic gaming) and the UK alone supports a much better retrogaming magazine than the U.S. has ever been able to put together (although the old Classic Gamer was good). Also, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile have established communities and I know Argentina has gatherings. Also, Mexico does have collectors (here is a a good website with some collection photos http://groups.msn.com/ATARI2600UNACONSOLAU...to&PhotoID=523). But, the Mexican community does seem to be much smaller. I would be nice for Latin American collectors to add advice, conspiracy theories, etc.

Edited May 20, 2006 by RangerG

[NovaXpress]

Since other hard-to-find pirates used unconventional shells, that means that the "Air Raid" shell isn't indicative of a large investment. It's just plastic and a mold.

 

Again, there's no reason at all to believe this isn't a (probably brazilian) pirate. What separates this from other weird hacks? A story told in hushed whispers at gaming cons?

[Dr. Morbis]

I think this whole "Air Raid" fiasco is just a communication breakdown. Imagine if some Phillipino found a stash of Zellers carts in his local shop in the Phillipines and showed all his friends. I imagine there'd be a bunch of Phillipino's standing around in a circle staring at those strange cartridges and scratching their heads and concocting various 'theories' about them.

 

It is also funny that the 7 known American findings (known by Americans who post on an American website... Ha!) somehow is plausible support for them being American games. I guess that means the Mark II cart I recently found in my town is Canadian (since I'm in Canada).

 

Correct colors for NTSC is a compelling argument for the US being an intended market, but what does that matter? "Air Raid" wasn't the first pirate intended for sale in America, nor the last. So why is it any more significant than any other pirate out there? I just don't get it.

 

56% of another game's code? I mean come on!!!

[Rom Hunter]

Again, there's no reason at all to believe this isn't a (probably brazilian) pirate. What separates this from other weird hacks?

Because it's the only hack from that time that really differs from the original.

 

Brazilian companies only changed the on-screen logo of an original manufacturer (at the most).

 

Suntek is the only Taiwanese company that did put some effort in hacking originals by changing the graphics (for example: Bermuda, Tom Boy and Pyramid War), but not as much as the 'creators' of Air Raid did.

 

This (and the NTSC color scheme, and the fact that all the Air Raids are found in the south of US) makes me to believe that this is not a Taiwanese or Brazilian pirate, but a very special NTSC game (although technically speaking it's PAL).

 

About the casing:

Although the casing looks like a Funvision, Goliath, Ultravision, K-Tel Vision, Tron or Digivision T-handle, the Air Raid T-handle casing is truly unique.

There's no other game with exactly that type of casing.

 

Edited May 20, 2006 by Rom Hunter

[NovaXpress]

As far as the shell goes, the point is that an unusual shell doesn't indicate a big budget company.

[Rom Hunter]

As far as the shell goes, the point is that an unusual shell doesn't indicate a big budget company.

True.

 

[Foxsolo2000]

Guys, I'm not sure how accurate Listspy is. Thomas Jentzsch will have to give us a more technical explanation of its nuances.

 

My real question though is did anyone think, "this feels like Space Jockey" while they were playing this game?

 

In a word no! No way on earth does this thing feel or look like Space Jockey. It is a totally different game