50 replies to this topic

[Conehead]

With the mod kit yeah, I had to think of what types of games I would most likely be playing and then choose the control layout accordingly.  Also, my Centipede machine is a vertical screen so that had to be taken into consideration as well.  I'm really hoping that once I build out my pin cab I won't lose interest in it too quickly, or get burned out on it.  It's honestly the most expensive toy I've ever spent money on.  With all the new tables that are constantly coming out, I hope it keeps my interest.  Also, the community is great.

[wiesshund]

Well, with that Pi conversion kit, you could do 2 things easily

 

1) Order a second screen for one of the vertical games, like Galaga.
And then just redo the screen mounting to be quick changeable.

 

2) Make a new bezel, that the LCD mounts to, and make it rotatable (easier than it sounds, honest)
And rotate the screen for games, like Galaga, that used a rotated CRT.

 

Option 2 costs less and would also work with a larger screen as well.

 

Since that option kit replaces the arcade1up system entirely with the rasberry Pi, you really are not limited anymore
except maybe by some of the end of era arcade games that the Pi just does not have the brute force to run well.
Me, i am not a big end of era fan, there is a ton of golden era stuff to keep me busy and the Pi can run all of those.
And being a Pi, you could customize it how ever you like later

All of my MAME cabinets were made quite a while ago
They all run DOS 6.22 and DOS MAME and have sub 1Ghz CPUs and are quite outdated by modern standards
but for the games that are on them, they run them just as well as a modern setup, the stuff they can not run just does not interest me
all that much.

And i have had these together for over 20 years now.
Eventually i need to build 2 more cabinets

One that will be a pinball machine in some fashion, though i doubt i will go the route of DOF and contactors etc
I'm a fan of tactile feedback through excessive volume LOL

 

The other would be a generic console i guess you would call it.
I have all my console discs and carts either dumped or imaged finally, so those are all now carefully wrapped up and boxed up.

Kind of thinking a couch level cabinet on wheels for that, since a console only plays properly with console controllers
That or something you could set a couple of barstools up at, though we are never doing a 27" CRT mount again
Tried that once in a MAME cab, those damned things are heavy

[Conehead]

All great ideas!  I'll install it come Xmas and see how things look and play.  Oddly enough, I'm really looking forward to building out my virtual pin cabinet but I have no interest in putting together a MAME cabinet on my own, so I didn't mind paying for the all-in mod package.  Maybe it's because I don't really care about playing Street Fighter type of games, but I am interested in re-living games like Dragons Lair and Frogger.  Who knows though, once I see what can be done maybe I'll want to build a really solid arcade cabinet as well.

[wiesshund]

All great ideas!  I'll install it come Xmas and see how things look and play.  Oddly enough, I'm really looking forward to building out my virtual pin cabinet but I have no interest in putting together a MAME cabinet on my own, so I didn't mind paying for the all-in mod package.  Maybe it's because I don't really care about playing Street Fighter type of games, but I am interested in re-living games like Dragons Lair and Frogger.  Who knows though, once I see what can be done maybe I'll want to build a really solid arcade cabinet as well.

 

A mame cabinet is not terribly difficult to build.

One can still look around to see if a cheap local gutted cabinet is available, sometimes you get lucky, especially if it is one where the side art
is pretty much destroyed etc.
But you can fill and sand that, and then do what ever you like, paint it, order replica side graphics etc.

But even a totally hand built one is really simpler than a pinball cab, all you have to fabricate is just a heavier and a bit bigger version of what you see in your 1up cab

The control panel, you are usually going to make anyways, because you want enough controls to play many different games, and you can get a pack of buttons, joysticks and encoders cheap on amazon, if you want a spinner and trackball, it is going to be a bit more, but nothing scary, and technically, a spinner you can make very easily from the PCB of an old laser mouse.

 

Sound is simple, 2 speakers tops

Depending on the kind of games and era you want to run, you could run it on anything almost.
And old busted laptop works great, so does a Pi like you ordered.
I could definitely take the kit you ordered and order it minus the video converter board, pop together a taller copy of the 1UP cab, and presto! mame cab

Just add used LCD monitor.

 

Fighting games, i am not fond of, there are only a few i find amusing, Wargods and Tekken.
Never was a fan of mortal combat or street fighter etc.
I have stuff like Galaga, Galaxian, Gorf, Wizard of Wor, Golden Axe, Donkey Kong, Defender, Asteroids, Tempest etc.

 

And the only reason i initially made multiple cabinets was, it is damned hard to rotate a heavy CRT and not have the rotating mechanism want to fall apart.

So i set one up for horizontal games, and one for vertical.

 

Now you mentioned dragons lair
1st let me say one word.
DON'T

Not via Mame anyways.
I have a DL 12" laser disc, that is the easy part.
I have a LD-V1000 laser disc player, which was a pain in the arse to refurb
the problem is, it does not stay refurbed, the damned thing breaks, and the parts are hard to find, and you will spend more time dicking with the laser disc player, than being the player, i never ever kept the stuff working long enough to get around to the cabinet stage

But, i offer a funner solution
2 console makers put out very good versions of the dragons lair series
3DO and Phillips CD-I
Both of these consoles are emulated, and both dragonslair I and II are ported faithfully to them, except for the score board, and who ever kept score in dragons lair?
You wont run those on a Pi, no Pi EMU versions.
4DO and WCDIemu are the emulators.
Now the 3DO also had Space Ace, and Mad Dog McCree, the CD-I was a crap fest of Bad games of course, but DL II was not one of them, it was right.
And i know where you can find those discs for sale

But

another option that is less adventuresome is of course, the PC remastered versions available on Steam

https://store.steamp...s_Lair_Trilogy/

$20.00 all 3 games
Dragons Lair, Space Ace, Dragons Lair II

 

The gameplay is reported as authentic.

And yes, you could darned well fab up a dragons lair cabinet to run them in.
And they will all run flawless even on my potato of a laptop simply because of how Dragons Lair and the other laser disc games are made
There is nothing to do except watch counters and decide if you hit the control at the right or wrong time and then call up the appropriate pre rendered animation.

So umm, yea, after pinball cab, i say we build a Dragon's Lair Cab.
Vicariously through you, in your living room LOL

 

Sadly, i can find no means of building the Freedom Fighter laser disc game that was loosely based off of parts of galaxy 999

[Conehead]

"Now you mentioned dragons lair

1st let me say one word.

DON'T

 

Not via Mame anyways."

 

Now you've really got me curious because that's one of the games on the list they provided, along with 1000 other games.  I can send the list to you if you're interested.  So they SAY it's included and they SAY it will play, but I guess I'll find out for sure once I mod the cabinet!

 

"another option that is less adventuresome is of course, the PC remastered versions available on Steam

 

https://store.steamp...s_Lair_Trilogy/

 

$20.00 all 3 games

Dragons Lair, Space Ace, Dragons Lair II

 

The gameplay is reported as authentic."

 

Thanks for pointing this out.  I'm definitely going to check it out!  

 

"So umm, yea, after pinball cab, i say we build a Dragon's Lair Cab.

Vicariously through you, in your living room LOL"

 

Oh man, it's a good thing we don't live in the same city!  Haha!

[wiesshund]

Well Pi can run Daphne/Singe, so it says which is a dedicated emulator for the dragons lair / space ace / cliff hanger / astron belt etc family of arcade machines.
Maybe they have a licensing agreement with digital leisure

How big a flash drive they have in that thing?

 

I digitized the DL laser disc once, i was going to try a different way of doing it, then i stopped when i ran across a 3DO and the game discs

It used up a butt ton of space digitizing that analog laser disc to digital mpeg in lossless quality, it was going over 30Gb and i was like OMG wth??
 

So yea, if they say it is there, then you are probably set (and will never leave the 1up until you beat it)

You dont have to wait though.
Plug the Pi into the controller, and plug an HDMI display into the Pi, and power it up.
Sneak Peeksville! hahaha

 

Do you know what other of the laser games they listed?

 

 

Edited by wiesshund, 14 October 2020 - 06:35 AM.

[wiesshund]

Oh my

I gotta check out the DL when it finishes downloading, this is better resolution than my 3DO copy

[Conehead]

How big a flash drive they have in that thing?

 

Good question.  They only say it includes a "Ready to play microsd card"

 

Do you know what other of the laser games they listed?

 

I can send you the list of games to take a look, since I'm not sure what other ones (if any) are LD games.

 

[wiesshund]

Dragons Lair
Dragons Lair II
Space Ace

Astron's Belt

Mad Dog McCree
Cliff Hanger

M.A.C.H. 3
Road Blaster
Thayer's Quest
Freedom Fighter (it wont be there, trust me)

Those are probably the top ones, and also probably 90% of the ones that existed
Dragons Lair, Space Ace and Dragons Lair II are the top 3

[wiesshund]

 

I predict your future.

[Conehead]

Dragons Lair
Dragons Lair II
Space Ace

Astron's Belt

Mad Dog McCree
Cliff Hanger

M.A.C.H. 3
Road Blaster
Thayer's Quest
Freedom Fighter (it wont be there, trust me)

Those are probably the top ones, and also probably 90% of the ones that existed
Dragons Lair, Space Ace and Dragons Lair II are the top 3

 

I did a search in the file and besides Dragon's Lair (titled Daphne), there's Space Ace, Cliff Hanger and Road Blaster.  I'm surprised!

 

I predict your future.

 

Haha!  Good one!