I have recently got Space Ace to work using Daphne and a Space Ace DVD ROM. I works very well and the game play is just like I rememberd it. The only question I have is that when I have lost all my lives there is no text overlay stating "game over" and the game goes straight into attract mode playing the SA preview. Is this as it should be?.

I live in the United Kingdom and when I used to play it, back in the eighties, our Atari arcade machines did not have scoreboards above the monitor (or at least I do not recall them). I seem to remember information such as score, credits, lives, game over etc were shown as a text overlay on the screen. I would be grateful if any UK/European readers who used to play this game could confirm if my memory is correct on this matter.

Thanks,
Nick S.

The US and European versions of Dragon's Lair and Space Ace were different, as you surmise. The US version has no video overlay at all.

In answer to your question, regarding Space Ace and Dragon's Lair.

Both of these units were licensed from Cinematronics and made by Atari (Ireland).

These versions were slightly different to the US models, where extra screens were shown (remember the extra sequence in the Black Knight ending screen?).

Since it was designed on a different system, the LED displays were not shown, but a graphic overlay was used (rather chunky too).

Also there was some "interesting features" inside the game. Dragon's Lair had a cheat feature when you played a 2 player game. You kill off the first person, and finish the game without dying with the second player. This allows the fist player unlimited lives. I had exploited this on rainy days in Blackpool (where I lived)...

The machines are extremely difficult to get, especially ones with 2 player options (lol).

Hope this clears up any forgotten Nostalgia.

lloydcom