Retro Video Gamer

This is one system I don't own. I guess I just don't have the spare room to justify owning one but ultimately I aim to own one at somepoint.

Anyone here own one?

I have three cabs in my garage, a countertop Neo Geo knockoff in my bedroom (:D), and a supergun.

Everything was pretty cheap, but they definitely take some on-going maintenance and take up a lot of space... not just space for the cabs but I've ended up with dozens of arcade PCBs over the last few years. There are so many great games that either never had home versions or had sub-par home ports. Also MAME is never 100% accurate and, to me, if you're going to make the effort to play in a real cab you should be playing an original PCB instead of semi-accurate emulation.

My cabs are:
- 25" Capcom Dynamo... currently marqueed as X-Men vs SF. It's horizontal JAMMA with a 2P, 6 button control panel so I can use it with most horizontal PCBs.
- 19" Guerrilla War... wired for vertical JAMMA with either a 2P rotary stick control panel or a standard stick 2P 2 button control panel. I can swap the control panel in about 10 minutes.
- 13" Neo Geo countertop... Mostly for the kids and currently running a 20-in-1 multi-Taito PCB. (Bubble Bobble!)
- Millipede... non-working. Gradually buying/replacing parts as I can afford it.
 

Some collectors like having dedicated original cabs for arcade classics but I'm happy sticking a JAMMA converter on my non-JAMMA PCBs. I'd rather have versatile cabs that cover each genre.

Eventually I'd like to add a light gun cab, 25" vertical JAMMA cab (keep Guerrilla War as a dedicated rotary), hi-res cab for my Naomi/Atomiswave, and a 2P linked sit-down racer. Then my garcade would be complete... until I find some cheap pinball machines.

I am soo jealous fella. If you fancy putting up some pictures some day feel free.

If my garage ever gets a clear out I guess thats the most logical place for one to go.

I has this:
(http://www.goldenteesuperstore.com/images/prod0116.jpg)


Only gets used so often.   The trackball makes my arm flare up if used too much.

Eventually, if I can stop buying random things long enough to save up more, I'll probably buy.... er.... something else.  One of them big compilation ones fulla random retro titles.

Sure as heck have enough space in the basement for the damn things. 

Ok I thought this deserved to be revived in the hope we have a few others with real machines.

These days I've managed to collect and restore quite a few games. I specifically sought out the ones that I either played at the arcade and/or especially the ones that I had the console version of on Atari. For once in my life, it's fun to have no compromises and have that arcade perfect experience - with the real controls, the real monitor, and the feeling you get of walking up to a machine, putting in that quarter and going after your high score! I actually just finished up my restoration of my Pacman tonight! Woodwork, sanding, filling, painting, electronics, monitor and NOS parts to boot. http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=338826 (http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=338826)

Equally important to me is having a good place to play and display them as they are as much works of art as they are games to me so I've got them in a room with a high ceiling, track lighting, neon lights and a speckled floor.

My collection includes: Pacman (with Pac/MsPac/JrPac/SuperPac), Donkey Kong (DK,DKjr, DK3), Punch-Out!!/Super Punch-Out!!, Mario Bros, Qbert (Qbert/Qubes), Jungle King, Galaga, Bosconian, Burger Time, Frogger, S.T.U.N. Runner, Asteroids Deluxe, Gravitar/Black Widow, Millipede (w/Centipede), Dig Dug, Sega ST-V System, Ivan Stewart's Super Off-Road, Outrun, Pole Position Cockpit (PP1 & PP2), Street Fighter 2 Pinball, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo (w/ many SF games), Street Fighter III: Third Strike Capcom Impress, Joust and Moon Patrol.

It does take a lot of work to get them going, but they are special.

Reall great to have a collector like you aboard, this is something i want to get into, and given time and the space i will be..

Sadly that link you posted does not work, in fact i can view the page but no content... Perhaps its blocked for guest viewing?

Quote from: "zapiy"Reall great to have a collector like you aboard, this is something i want to get into, and given time and the space i will be..

Sadly that link you posted does not work, in fact i can view the page but no content... Perhaps its blocked for guest viewing?

Oh, I guess it requires a login... Here's a few photos of Pacman though.

and the after shots... The hot sauce is signed by Billy M. himself. And had to put my Atari 5200 Pacman up there as well...

.................

Very nice

My man.........those are awesome.. bloody great work

I take it you purchased new artwork for the sides and front?

Quote from: "zapiy"My man.........those are awesome.. bloody great work

I take it you purchased new artwork for the sides and front?

Actually, I didn't purchase new artwork. I did it all by hand and I just painted right on top of the original artwork to restore and preserve the original feel of the cabinet. The original cabinet art was painted right on the wood. There are stencil kits you can buy for a couple hundred and vinyl stickers you can put on, but for $20 I just got some color matched paint and took my time and went at it!

Wow, dedication right there my friend..

Bravo 

Quote from: "zapiy"Wow, dedication right there my friend..

Bravo 

Ha, ha.... well I figure if you're gonna go, you might as well go all out. They are called dedicated arcade machines for more reasons than one :-)

That looks really fantastic!  Very nicely done!

Here is mine! Its a 4 in 1, pacman, donkey Kong, space invaders and galaga.

When I first hooked it up, the machine was dead, its board was fried in a certain place, meaning it couldn't be played :P

I have tested the screen (you know the most expensive bit) and it works so do the buttons and joystick, but they wont be staying unfortunately!

I'll keep you all updated with its progress as it comes along, though it may not be up and running properly for a bit as we are moving house soon!

FYI paid £20 for the machine! Clearly from some guy who was on some sort of drug... Needing money! Haha his loss my gain!

Wow,  nice stuff there Akuza!

Great deal! Looking forward to seeing it when it's done

If you click this link you can then go left through the pictures and see my custom made arcade.  My wife and I have been building them for a long time now.   They are a special, light-weight design that works great for consoles.  They can be used with pretty much whatever hardware you want to put in them. 

http://s1176.photobucket.com/user/Papa7 ... rt=3&o=141 (http://s1176.photobucket.com/user/Papa761203/media/DSCF4204.jpg.html?sort=3&o=141)

I may post a topic and put up pictures with better descriptions of each if anyone is interested!?!

Nice stuff, Papa.  I saw the pics of the MOTU figures.  Did you get the new Limited Edition soundtrack for the show? 

For MOTU?  Didn't know about it!?!  I made my own MOTU figures from the originals, yeah.  I used ball joints that I made from a custom-made mold.  I plan on doing the same process with Thundercats, Silverhawks, and Guardians of the Gemstones figures.  They pose very well.  I really like the MOTU Classics line of toys and emulated the paint designs for some of my remakes.  There are comparisons of the unmodded, modded and Classics versions of several of them amongst those pictures.  I really am toy crazy!!!   

Here's the thread:  http://www.retrovideogamer.co.uk/http:/ ... 7#msg77427 (http://www.retrovideogamer.co.uk/http://www.retrovideogamer.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=56.msg77427#msg77427)

Quote from: "Papa"If you click this link you can then go left through the pictures and see my custom made arcade.  My wife and I have been building them for a long time now.   They are a special, light-weight design that works great for consoles.  They can be used with pretty much whatever hardware you want to put in them. 

http://s1176.photobucket.com/user/Papa7 ... rt=3&o=141 (http://s1176.photobucket.com/user/Papa761203/media/DSCF4204.jpg.html?sort=3&o=141)

I may post a topic and put up pictures with better descriptions of each if anyone is interested!?!

Would love to see that fella..

I've got a few machines...
Got bit by the bug a couple of years ago.

Very nice

Quote from: "Shadowrunner"Very nice :D
Love the Bloodborne avatar, that game made me rage like I was a kid again lol!

That's a nice set of arcades!

Wow, those are amazing machines there, you must of hours of fun and found friends you never thought you had 

Quote from: "kidpanda"

Quote from: "Shadowrunner"Very nice :D
Love the Bloodborne avatar, that game made me rage like I was a kid again lol!

Yep, me too!

Wow that's awesome. I am jealous lol.

Just dipped my toe into this and bought my first cab.  It's in bits at the moment, although I've just finished rewiring it.  Need to make some modifications to the control panel that I managed to screw up, but it will be 2P 6 button.  I have a Pandora's Box 3 in there at the moment for testing, but I'd like to put my Hyper Neo 64 board in there, which hasn't been out of the box since I bought it.  I'll get some pics up when its in a more assembled state.

Awesome. Where are u based?  Checkout ukvac.com. Awesome bunch and really helpful.

I'm in Cardiff. Already a member over at jammaplus, although I do also browse ukvac. It's just having the time to get anything done - the missus won't let it in the house, and the lighting in the garage is crap.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Lol who wears the trousers? 

Lmao. Her....obviously!!

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Dont worry I suffer the same. But I am aloud an arcade machine. Just not the retro gear in the house lol. And any arcade I get has to be near mint and look cool.

Lol. My console stuff has taken over the spare bedroom and the attic. Apparently, an arcade machine in the house spoils the ambience - go figure. I ended up getting an old video gambling machine, but the guy I got if off had already had it resprayed at a paint shop, so it looks pretty reasonable.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Post some pics of this can you got pal.

Will do mate. Not pretty at the moment - jamma harness hanging out of the front, missing marquee holder and I drilled the wrong holes for the joysticks!

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Cool that you got one! Looking forward to the pics

I also recently got a Pandoras Box.  Mine doesn't like the monitor in my HS-5, so I will likely build a cabinet for it with a switching power supply and a nice big VGA compatible flat screen monitor.  I've seen videos of it working great with monitors, but on my arcade machine it has terrible screen tearing and bad frame rates.  It also gives me no control over screen width and my screen only allows for vertical adjustments, so it boxes in the games (even with the ratio being proper!?!).  I love the selection of games and it appears to perform better with certain titles that the Blue Elf 09 pooped out on, so it was worth it.  I'll just need to put it in the proper setting to get the most from it.

Yeah, mine has a VGA CRT in it and seems to work pretty well. I also have an upscaler ready to go into my cab to convert 15khz arcade signals up to VGA. Once I make a bit more progress, I want to try running the video from the jamma edge through the upscaler to see what the result is like.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I made my own "arcade machine". Wood, old laptop and old monitor. My three daughters love it.
Of course you can not compare it to real thing. but it was a nice project.
(http://www.riimukivi.net/data/mame_images/mame5.jpg)

Looks good. Very creative!

This looks like a lot of fun!  Nice job!!

Great work fella.. Really impressive..

Looks like a lot of work but it'll be great once you're done. 

I have a pair of Sega Astro City candy cabs, one for horizonal play, one for vertical...

Mainly though use it for Neo-Geo though, its all about the Geo...

Look out for an article I'm writing on this very subject.

:)

Cool! 

Ive got a Robotron machine. Its still got the original boards in but when they died I cheated and fitted a PC. I should maybe look into getting the originals refurbished or something.

Ive also got an Addams Family pin

Finally ive got a home made coffee table with a PC inside running mame. This was in the living room for years but was relegated to a bedroom when it hardly got played.
(You can buy flatpacks for both coffee tables, bar tops and uprights quite readily now on flea bay).

I have a hankering for another pin - as a project but even ones that fit into "project" category are going for £600+ :
(And of course they take up a lot of space)

I'm also in the middle of constructing a virtual pin - which I started to try and scratch the aforementioned "I want another pinball" itch :)

Your very own coffee table arcade emulator?  That sounds awesome!  Any pics?

I can probably take some - but its pretty much a table someone made me that I put a PC and a monitor inside :)

I did think of making a "streamline" one - that uses a flat panel monitor. Cos its somewhat large but i never got around to it.

That's cool.  Would be nice to see it still.  :)

Quote from: zapiy on February 28, 2012, 08:04:35 AM
This is one system I don't own. I guess I just don't have the spare room to justify owning one but ultimately I aim to own one at somepoint.

Anyone here own one?

Ok, I thought it about time I revisited this topic as the traditional arcade cabs are where my love for gaming really got ramped up. Yes, I had a 2600 back in the day and it was great for so many reasons. However, as you may know, I really fell in love with a game called Crystal Castles and the arcade version is by far the best. In short, around April 2019 I intend to buy a cabinet, albeit mame, but I’ve decided it’s been long enough and to hell with not have space, I’m treating myself. I hope to get some pictures etc on here during the summer 😎

Loved CC. Sadly its just not so much fun with a controller - so all the versions on consoles just get frustrating.

I don't know if you're aware, but several 2600 games have been hacked to have true trak-ball control.  Unfortunately, CC is not among those because it would require a complete rewrite of the game code to be able to implement true trak-ball control for it.  I was so disappointed when I learned that.  I wish someone did hack the 8-bit version to use the trak-ball, though!

Quote from: HomerRamone2084 on February 01, 2019, 12:13:03 PM
Loved CC. Sadly its just not so much fun with a controller - so all the versions on consoles just get frustrating.

The arcade version was designed for a trackball and the 2600 version just doesn’t cut it for me. The 8-bit version was an excellent conversion which I recall being trackball compatible. It’s a very good version of CC. However, I’m going to obtain an arcade cab with the original version installed and a proper trackball. Expensive, but the best way to play CC.

Quote from: TrekMD on February 01, 2019, 12:24:08 PM
I don't know if you're aware, but several 2600 games have been hacked to have true trak-ball control.  Unfortunately, CC is not among those because it would require a complete rewrite of the game code to be able to implement true trak-ball control for it.  I was so disappointed when I learned that.  I wish someone did hack the 8-bit version to use the trak-ball, though!

I’m going back a long way but I’m sure the XL/XE version was trackball compatible. In fact now I think about it BTB of The Jag Bar did a video of all three versions with his kids and they used trackballs, at least on the 8-bit and arcade machine he has.

Is it true trak-ball mode or just a trak-ball controller in joystick mode?

Quote from: TrekMD on February 03, 2019, 16:50:01 PM
Is it true trak-ball mode or just a trak-ball controller in joystick mode?

good question. All I can tell you is I remember reading the manual for the XL/XE version and it is explained in there. If you can find a scan of the manual, it will hopefully answer your question. I know, it was the reason I spent many years searching for an Atari trackball.

Found the manual online.  It doesn't mention trak-ball control anywhere (Crystal Castles XE Game Manual (http://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Atari_8_bit//Manual/formated/Crystal_Castles_-_1988_-_Atari.pdf)).  So, my guess is that it only supports trak-ball control in joystick mode.

Quote from: TrekMD on February 04, 2019, 12:09:52 PM
Found the manual online.  It doesn't mention trak-ball control anywhere (Crystal Castles XE Game Manual (http://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Atari_8_bit//Manual/formated/Crystal_Castles_-_1988_-_Atari.pdf)).  So, my guess is that it only supports trak-ball control in joystick mode.

Ok, that is odd. I mean, I’m not too surprised if it is simply mapped to the joystick because Atari often took the easy route out. However, I do remember reading something about this. Hmm, thinking on the official trackball unit had a switch underneath it that you could move tojoystick mode. Or something like that. It sounds a bit odd but I remember reading that only a small handful of games were trackball compatible. Sorry I wasn’t more help, it is a frustrating issue.

Ok, I’ve found the answer that was confusing me. The trackball manual talks about compatible games and that if they do support true trackball control, then the game manual should state this. Ergo, you seem correct in that Crystal Castles was not programmed for the trackball. I share your frustration. The only saving grace is that Missile Command was compatible as this is referenced specifically in the trackball manual (available from Atari Mania). I’ve uploaded a picture of the section which refers to the “J” and “T” selections. I’m glad we’ve solved the mystery but this explains my disappointment when I did get a trackball and it was only playable in joystick mode for Crystal Castles. I don’t know how many other games have true trackball compatibility but I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on trying it with Missile Command.

Getting to the bottom of the hidden ramp quickly with your hat is just way too much like hard work with a controller !

So, I still wish CC for the 8-bit got hacked for true trak-ball control.  :)

Quote from: HomerRamone2084 on February 04, 2019, 14:26:24 PM
Getting to the bottom of the hidden ramp quickly with your hat is just way too much like hard work with a controller !

Ah yes, level 3. That trick is quite difficult, the hardest of the three. I used to try and get in the bottom right corner and jump as the ramp starts to lower. You can’t see a lot with the annoying tree and you have to stay calm whilst being lifted and then navigating the hidden ramp. I more often as not would work my way through the levels to get to the third warp on level 5 rather than keep dying whilst trying that warp. Very satisfying when you can pull it off mind you.

Quote from: TrekMD on February 04, 2019, 14:39:31 PM
So, I still wish CC for the 8-bit got hacked for true trak-ball control.  :)

With you on that one 👍🏻

Aye.
I was in the top 3 of the scoreboards on the XB version of arcade classics with this on :)

Quote from: HomerRamone2084 on February 06, 2019, 20:53:04 PM
Aye.
I was in the top 3 of the scoreboards on the XB version of arcade classics with this on :)

Awesome!

If Arcade1UP counts, then yes, I have a full sized Final Fight cab, and a countertop Space Invaders machine.