Cobra Kai Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 I am interested in getting an arcade cab filled with roms from the 1980's and 1990's preferably. This would be for my home gameroom. This one on Amazon is desirable: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DMQXRJ9/?coliid=I1PB7C5NY1C8XM&colid=JRMSBMJP3VZL&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it I was wondering what my options are, can I do better on price? I like cocktail cabs, but an upright is an option too, especially if I get more games out of it (and maybe a trackball). I really wish the game selection was customizable, as there appears to be many duplicates and games I would never play, and some suspicious titles that aren't actually legit arcade games. I've also seen on Amazon these dual-joystick setups called Pandora's Box, and they are alot cheaper, but are just joysticks with built in roms, not sure how legit those are. Any feedback on those? Honestly off-hand they look janky to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynicaster Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 I am interested in getting an arcade cab filled with roms from the 1980's and 1990's preferably. This would be for my home gameroom. This one on Amazon is desirable: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DMQXRJ9/?coliid=I1PB7C5NY1C8XM&colid=JRMSBMJP3VZL&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it I was wondering what my options are, can I do better on price? I like cocktail cabs, but an upright is an option too, especially if I get more games out of it (and maybe a trackball). I really wish the game selection was customizable, as there appears to be many duplicates and games I would never play, and some suspicious titles that aren't actually legit arcade games. I've also seen on Amazon these dual-joystick setups called Pandora's Box, and they are alot cheaper, but are just joysticks with built in roms, not sure how legit those are. Any feedback on those? Honestly off-hand they look janky to me. From the photo, that thing looks like a nice setup, assuming it is tightly bolted together (which it damn well better be for that price). Everyone will have a different take on its value. Mine is this: I have a very very hard time advising somebody to choose something like this, considering the other options available (namely, MAME). I've played on several different XX-in-1 machines at bars and movie theaters and the like, and they've all been from iffy to terrible. Main gripes are that multiple titles seem to be missing important sounds, and there are janky glitches that pop up more often than they should. I remember playing Frogger on one of these things and my frog suddenly disappeared and reappeared somewhere else and stopped responding to joystick input. That's an extreme example, of course, that may not reflect the experience of all boards. I suppose if you're going in as a clean slate it might not be as bad, but if you're accustomed to either playing original machines or MAME-quality emulation, it's very hard to overlook the big step back that these multi-game boards represent in fidelity to the real deal. The only advantage they offer, IMO, is the "plug and play" aspect. You've got an emulation system with a fixed set of games and a ready-made front end for launching them, and all you have to do is plug it in and go. There is definitely value to that, but I think you'd have to be pretty darn averse to putting in work on a project to allow a low-quality plug-and-play board to win out over a MAME based project. The latter will absolutely require some hours and legwork, but the payoff is enormous. I'm not much of a fan of the "big controller box full of games" idea either. I admit, the idea seems cool and logical in principle, especially in the era of the Raspberry Pi. In practice, though, I find it to be disappointing. You've got this big controller box that you need to store somewhere. When you want to use it, you've got to pull it out, connect it, and move everything off your coffee table to make room for it (assuming you've even got a table available). Assuming you have a way to set it up, you're probably going to find yourself sitting on the front edge of your couch or desk chair, your ass developing bed sores from being on the least soft area of the seat, your back arched in an uncomfortable position while you crane your neck to look at the TV, the controller is sliding around when you play games with jerky movements, etc. If you're willing to spend close to $2,000 to get something similar to what is shown in your link, perhaps a good route would be to buy a pre-cut cabinet from one of the many vendors who sell such things, and put a MAME system in it. Or, find a disused arcade cabinet on Craigslist and do the same. I'm reasonably certain that either route will be considerably less than $2k, although I've never shopped for such things so maybe I'm wrong. Regardless, it will provide thousands more game choices at higher emulation quality, with much higher flexibility in setup of both hardware and software. Keep in mind, you can do all of the MAME and front-end configuration at the comfort of your computer desk, then simply copy the root directory for that setup over to your MAME cabinet, and boom, you're off to the races. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 I suppose if you're going in as a clean slate it might not be as bad, but if you're accustomed to either playing original machines or MAME-quality emulation, it's very hard to overlook the big step back that these multi-game boards represent in fidelity to the real deal. The only advantage they offer, IMO, is the "plug and play" aspect. You've got an emulation system with a fixed set of games and a ready-made front end for launching them, and all you have to do is plug it in and go. There is definitely value to that, but I think you'd have to be pretty darn averse to putting in work on a project to allow a low-quality plug-and-play board to win out over a MAME based project. The latter will absolutely require some hours and legwork, but the payoff is enormous. I'll second that. Some of these cheap-ass ready-made PnP boards are even based on FPGA IIRC. But they're done without attention to detail. A proper home arcade will come with the ability to run MAME. MAME, like most other quality emulators is born out of more than 20 years of development and refinement. These ready-made boards? Slapped together till a game is playable, then out the door. Not only that, but MAME is constantly updated. Who knows what the next game is it'll support! Or what new feature.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted October 12, 2018 Author Share Posted October 12, 2018 Thanks Cynicaster! I'm just not sure what I want yet. I kind of want an old school arcade cabinet, but on the other hand, I have the ability to also just get a modded Xbox and hook that up to my TV if I want, but I also want arcade controls. The big turnoff to me, including the things you mentioned about the plug-n-play units, is the game selection is just not that great which I mentioned in the OP. I would hate to spend all that money and then be disappointed with the games, so on that basis I think I should wait it out and research some more. I purchased a modded Xbox from someone here a couple of years ago, it had over 4,000 arcade roms on it, and I gave it to my buddy in the Air Force as a XMAS present, he loved it. Maybe I should just get another one, and it's a high sight helluva lot cheaper than $2,000. I'm sure there are Arcade joysticks available for it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Yes there are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Cade Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 It's possible to do it "cheaper" but only if you're willing to put in the time yourself to build and set it up. Check around locally- even in my small little area there are at least two different guys that build cabs and barcades and will set it all up, and it's reasonably priced for what you get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 (edited) An arcade cab can theoretically be built so that the front control panel is modular and you could slide in whatever control set you want. But I'm not that hardcore and strict on duplicating the precise stand-up vintage experience. Sit-down-on-the-couch with a variety of "control panels" like X-Arcade or ones I made myself for Assault or DOT work fine. A Barcade with basic controls built in and the ability to plug in additional ones like I do is really good setup. I like a somewhat modular approach so I can change things around over time as they evolve and improve. You can use a small-form-factor PC like an Intel NUC. Then you've got your screen, audio amp & speakers, software, controllers. You can change and replace these as they get better over the years. There's tons of possibilities! --- I haven't gotten around to building it yet, the wife wants a barcade type cabinet with 21" monitor and SFF PC and supporting hardware all in one unit, with just the controls being separate. Think Vectrex style. Edited October 12, 2018 by Keatah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 People sell plug and play Mame cabs.. usually a Rpi3 setup, but still. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynicaster Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 People sell plug and play Mame cabs.. usually a Rpi3 setup, but still. I think the Pi is great for console emulation but I was disappointed with its MAME capability. I'm sure the Raspberry Pi will continue to get more powerful but as of right now, I'd never recommend it for MAME unless you have a specific need for the tiny size and low power consumption. Not many home-based non-portable setups fall into this category. The funny thing is, it's not even cheaper than a PC. The Pi isn't expensive, but for the same money you could get an old used PC that will absolutely smoke the Pi for MAME. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 (edited) The funny thing is, it's not even cheaper than a PC. The Pi isn't expensive, but for the same money you could get an old used PC that will absolutely smoke the Pi for MAME. I agree my mini arcade is ran with a intel atom single core dual thread netbook, and its a large step in power in comparison to the pi3 (haven't tried a newer model the 3B+2ds championship edition turbo whatever they have horrid names, but the OG pi3 is about on par with an original XBOX ... minus 3d graphics and decent storage) paid 30 bucks for it shipped with a power supply which brings me to the price of a pi setup which its only 35 bucks + postage + power supply that doesn't suck + SD card which no matter how much you spend is tiny and slow add in a stupid box to hold it and all of a sudden your in refurb computer land sporting a 2.9 ghz core2 duo in a case the size of 1.5 dvd drives, storage, power and os included (though you might want to drop windows 10 as a os for a c2d ...it runs fine once it takes forever to boot but still) Edited October 14, 2018 by Osgeld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youxia Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 I think the Pi is great for console emulation but I was disappointed with its MAME capability. The 0.73 MAME set recommended for the latest RPi runs perfectly fine in most cases. Been using it for a long time and tested heaps of games in-depth, playing in various HSCs, etc. Since the board is so popular, people still work on improving the emulation, eg lastest AdvanceMAME plays loads of games better than the original MAME or FBA did at the beginning. For that reason alone it's also > Xbox (which does not have HDMI either). I'm just saying this for the record, of course if I was building an arcade cab I'd also go with a mini/custom PC. Though it's worth remembering that MAME mostly utilises one core, so what you'd ideally look at is some easily overclockable CPU, even older one, instead of splashing on the latest octa-core monster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 Ok, I actually have a high end HORI stick for the X360 already, can I get a X360 with MAME/coinops on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 It's these octa-core monsters that have the ability to run 1 core at 5+GHz. Intel's new chips do this. Hopefully, eventually, mame will come out of the dark ages and begin using multi-cores. Likely need a new generation of programmers that are familiar with multi-core operations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted October 22, 2018 Author Share Posted October 22, 2018 Well, I decided on a modded original xbox, those things are so stacked now, and cheap. Had trouble finding a good joystick so I settled on a pelican stick, as it's the cheapest and easier to get one. I want a real good quality stick though and will pay for it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynicaster Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Well, I decided on a modded original xbox, those things are so stacked now, and cheap. Had trouble finding a good joystick so I settled on a pelican stick, as it's the cheapest and easier to get one. I want a real good quality stick though and will pay for it. I had to Google "Pelican" because I'd never heard of those before. Not sure which one you have, but from grainy photos some of their products look like they might be fairly solid. Some of them also look like it may be possible to swap in better joysticks. My only immediate concern with your setup is the ease and comfort (or lack thereof) with which you can sit down and play. I'd be interested to know your experience with this. Is it a pain to store? Is the seating position uncomfortable? Does the controller slide around? These are all complaints I have with my brother's setup, which is similar. All comfort aspects aside, there is really something to be said for a system that is "permanently" set up so you can just walk up and play it without having to set anything up. I think this aspect gets glossed over a lot in threads like this, because it's something that you might not appreciate until you've experienced it both ways. Maybe it's just me, but the idea of having to go to the closet to get a controller, get on my knees to squint in the dark to hook it up, clear off the table, etc. would be just enough of an annoyance to make the difference between a nice long and fun gaming session, and not bothering at all. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Well, I decided on a modded original xbox, those things are so stacked now, and cheap. Had trouble finding a good joystick so I settled on a pelican stick, as it's the cheapest and easier to get one. I want a real good quality stick though and will pay for it. This was the route I went as well. First I built the Xbox into a cabinet, then just hooked it to my projector for a while. Sometimes I bring it upstairs and hook it to the TV for the kids--have even brought it to a party for friends once. PC emulation is likely better (customizable/tweak wise) but man the Xbox is nice and easy. I will say, good luck finding a top quality OG Xbox stick. Slim pickins'. I had to go with PS3 to Xbox converters to finally get some sticks I liked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 I had to Google "Pelican" because I'd never heard of those before. Not sure which one you have, but from grainy photos some of their products look like they might be fairly solid. Some of them also look like it may be possible to swap in better joysticks. My only immediate concern with your setup is the ease and comfort (or lack thereof) with which you can sit down and play. I'd be interested to know your experience with this. Is it a pain to store? Is the seating position uncomfortable? Does the controller slide around? These are all complaints I have with my brother's setup, which is similar. All comfort aspects aside, there is really something to be said for a system that is "permanently" set up so you can just walk up and play it without having to set anything up. I think this aspect gets glossed over a lot in threads like this, because it's something that you might not appreciate until you've experienced it both ways. Maybe it's just me, but the idea of having to go to the closet to get a controller, get on my knees to squint in the dark to hook it up, clear off the table, etc. would be just enough of an annoyance to make the difference between a nice long and fun gaming session, and not bothering at all. My whole basement is a gameroom, so comfort and having it set up permanent is handled, and was anticipated in the decision This was the route I went as well. First I built the Xbox into a cabinet, then just hooked it to my projector for a while. Sometimes I bring it upstairs and hook it to the TV for the kids--have even brought it to a party for friends once. PC emulation is likely better (customizable/tweak wise) but man the Xbox is nice and easy. I will say, good luck finding a top quality OG Xbox stick. Slim pickins'. I had to go with PS3 to Xbox converters to finally get some sticks I liked. I don't think I'll put this in a cabinet. I'll be running it with Component cables on an HDTV, I'm not big into CRT originality. This is the Pelican stick I actually bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001XFM36/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is the Pelican stick that I want, but was real unhappy with the price there considering it's USED: https://www.amazon.com/Pelican-Universal-Arcade-Stick-Tournament-Xbox/dp/B0001XFLV4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540332410&sr=8-1&keywords=original+xbox+arcade++stick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted October 25, 2018 Author Share Posted October 25, 2018 I know this may be a dumb question, but is there a resource out there on how to use a modded xbox? I got mine in the mail and embarrasingly have no experience using the interface. I kind of need to know what the buttons do, how to set favorites and I assume there's a favorites folder somewhere? Plus, I opened COINOPS 8 and it had all kinds of other games on it that weren't coinops, like SNES, Genesis etc...It's like all the emulators were on coinops 8...I'm kind of confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 I know this may be a dumb question, but is there a resource out there on how to use a modded xbox? I got mine in the mail and embarrasingly have no experience using the interface. I kind of need to know what the buttons do, how to set favorites and I assume there's a favorites folder somewhere? Plus, I opened COINOPS 8 and it had all kinds of other games on it that weren't coinops, like SNES, Genesis etc...It's like all the emulators were on coinops 8...I'm kind of confused. On mine, I only use coin ops. I can't tell you how to use any of the actual xbox stuff but there is plenty out there on how to use coinops. I'm not sure the below is for the latest version but I doubt they changed it much. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/coinopsproject/frequently-asked-questions-t36.html Coinops does have EVERYTHING (home/arcade) jammed in there.I use it for arcade games so I just filter on those, I think with the white/black buttons. You can set favorites within the emulator too, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted October 26, 2018 Author Share Posted October 26, 2018 I screwed up my Coinops, I started a new thread here and need help: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/284365-need-help-with-modded-xbox-coinops-8-freezing/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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