Mirage

Pic I took on vacation a couple weeks ago:

Er, yeah, that's what I meant. Although I have Dragonstomper CIB already too! It can be yours SUPER CHEAP people! (Some of the others, too). And this guy is a great seller.

I cannot believe I bid on something I already have by mistake! LOL Oh well. There's a very very nice (sincerely) Dragonstomper CIB going real cheap, if anyone wants to bid against me bump!!!

Yes, exactly, that too. (But anyway.... back on topic hopefully?)

Blech emulation, blech. (The DC does emulate some of them just fine though, that is true).

C64.

It shouldn't MAMEburners have been around for a long time. The ROMset you got should be a certain version. Just use that exact same # version of MAME and it should all work just fine. That's the way it works. It really is that simple.

Yeah, it's pretty simple. Drop the marquees into the marquees folder, the artwork into the artwork folder, and so on. Or have they changed MAME so much in recent versions that that's no longer the case? Honest to goodness, it used to be that simple. I know they've mucked with MAME a lot lately, but I can't believe it's no longer based on that simple folder structure. Or did they really f it up that bad?!

What a db.

Yeah, that too. And that wasn't even the PITA I was talking about. The biggest PITA with computer emulators to me (especially the C= machines) is the keyboard layout. Not having the special characters marked, having the original function keys where you'd expect them to be on a real machine, I could go on and on. There are adapters where you can plug a C= keyboard into a modern computer, but... why? At that point, may as well just use a real machine (cheaper too). Then there's all the compatibility issues (with loading, drive emulation, etc)... configuring joysticks and other controllers. To me, the supposed benefits of using an emulator... just not worth it. Some people feel different, and that's cool. For some casual occasional game playing, emulators are fine (once you find the images that will work right in it), but as much as I use it... real hardware only. Plus, I used C= machines for so many years BITD, that nothing else feels right. When I need to hit F3 or F7... boom... right there. The finger memory is still there for the original layout. Having a real RUN/STOP key, I keep thinking of more things that are better about using a real C= machine. Anyway... hope you stay in the real hardware flock, but if not, just consider this to be an advertisement for someone to buy your real hardware

This whole post... YES... this is what I "try" to do. Sometimes successfully. I have over the past couple years eliminated a lot of systems that I either had too tiny of a collection to worry about AND/OR I'm fine with emulating it. Eliminated SNES, Vectrex (ok, I regret that one), Channel F, and a couple others. Genesis is probably next since emulation for that has gotten so good (good enough for me). Allows me to focus on what I really care about ... 2600, C64, Vic-20, Amiga, 5200 and to a lesser extent, A8. Still, I keep the random Plus/4, TI-99/4a, Apple 2, 7800, and classic Mac stuff, though I do sometimes question a few of those. By the way... you must have a killer C64 boxed software collection. Just what I see right on top there is making me drool. I've been collecting some more C64 items lately, though I have to keep reminding myself that if I step over the line and start collecting everything I like for that... it will never end, as there's a LOT. Have to limit to very specific things that I really enjoyed in the past or that are my absolute favorite titles, otherwise, it could snowball REAL quick.

All right, to each their own. If I could only use emulation, I'd just not be into C64 at all. To me, there's way more PITAs with emulators than with the real thing, but like I said, to each their own. If your needs are very simplistic, then emulators are certainly great.

I have at least a dozen each of 2600's and C64's and probably half a dozen Vic-20's. I'm really not sure how many of each. Most of them are in a couple closets, but occasionally, I'll run across one in a random place in the basement. If you count non-working systems, I probably have another couple dozen C64's. So, when I look at my 2 A800's, 3 800XL's, 3 TI's, it really doesn't seem like a lot in comparison to some of the others. Maybe you just need more of a few so the rest won't seem like so many. EDIT: But I can't stand having doubles of carts or anything like that! Unless it's a very significant label variation, it has to go! Hardware is just... different.

!! is this the new stuff you just got? Getting out already? Even before getting the 1541-Ultimate-II?! That makes ALL the difference! oh well...

Same. Bad experiences... at least three strikes, they were out. The last couple times I put in inquiries anyway, despite the bad experiences in the past, never got any replies. They're off my list, I never even check there anymore at all. They were good years ago.

Junkmail doesn't even enter my house. Straight from the mailbox into the recycle bin in the garage, just like I don't even see most junk email/spam, the bits are just immediately recycled into more useful data. And if it's political in nature, it gets slammed into the recycle bin with extreme prejudice.

Parcel Post isn't gone, it's just called Standard Post now with slightly higher pricing. That's what he should have used. No need to go Priority. The charges for Priority would have been through the roof.

This thread has been the ruin of my free time. "The Official Book of Ultima" from 1992 is a good read too.

How did I get screwed by the USPS? That's their rules. I'm not saying I like their rules, but it's their rules, and if someone else gets caught sending things in a way that doesn't conform to their rules, they could end up paying more. On a similar note, some jackwagon sent me a bike wheel via Media Mail once, and it was poking out the side of the box once it hit my post office, making it real obvious it wasn't Media-Mail acceptable. I had to pay the difference between Media Mail and Parcel Post just to retrieve the wheel from the post office. It's up to the sender to follow the rules and know what they're shipping, and if they're shipping something that does not meet those guidelines, they're taking a chance with the receiver (or them) having to pay the difference. I think this is happening a lot more now with ship-from-home software... people don't even have to put the correct weight or size. They can ship it a lot cheaper, then the receiver may have to bite the bullet when they receive the package.

Well, good luck, since that stuff can't go Media Mail according to their guidelines. If you end up getting even a slightly picky postal inspector involved, you could end up paying for Standard Post shipping to boot: https://www.usps.com/ship/media-mail.htm "The material sent must be educational media. It can’t contain advertising, video games, computer drives, or digital drives of any kind." What they get you on is the "it can't contain advertising". When I got caught (at the time, I didn't know about the rule, so I wasn't trying to get away with something intentionally), I argued that the advertising was 20+ years old, with most of the companies being obsolete (they were Compute! magazines), but that didn't fly. If they decide to be picky, advertising is advertising (and it wasn't educational at any rate, so it was a double-whammy violation), so technically isn't Media Mail eligible anyway.

Yeah, I usually just use the Harmony, but occasionally I'll pull out a real cart, just... well, just because I guess... for that same feeling as I had when I was a kid! Sorry, can't answer your variant question, I have no idea what those are specifically (now if you had pictures, maybe). I usually keep significant variants when I come across them, but don't get all hung up on them. There's enough unique carts and other items to collect without worrying about trying to get each variant of something!

Ordered! Decided to get the boxed game now since I had some store credit anyway. I've been waiting for this one for a long time!

Yes, I'd be interested.

Should you be playing these? Yes. That's what they were made for! You won't do any harm to them just playing them, if you're not careless with how you handle them.

Incredible! That Heathkit H19 terminal is a thing of beauty too. I've always wanted to own a Heathkit product, but I don't think it's too likely I'll find any in the trash anytime soon