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tkarner

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Posts posted by tkarner

  5. Posted

    thanks for the review.

     

    1) it's been said, only the top 3 scores save in centipede, do they save in any of the other games

     

    2) do you think you can replace the trackball with a better one, is it a standard size

     

    later

    -1

    The entire high score table in Centipede remains saved after powering down. Surprisingly, Missile Command high scores are lost after powering down. Not sure about Crystal Castles, I haven't been playing that game. Millipede came pre-loaded with a high score table with scores so high I haven't been able to post a high score yet, so can't comment on how it handles the scores.

     

    I'm not up to speed on what a standard sized trackball is. But this trackball looks about the size of a billiard ball, if that helps.

  6. Posted

    Got my Centipede unit earlier this week. Pre-ordered from Gamestop on September 6. Love it. I wasn't too interested in the others but I had to have Centipede. You can play most of the games on the other Arcade 1up cabinets reasonably well on numerous platforms nowadays. But to properly play Centipede and Millipede you really need a trackball and a vertical screen. So when this came along for $300 I was sold.

     

    First let's address the size. I don't have the riser yet but it will add one foot to the height. This will almost exactly match the height of a cabaret cabinet. If you're ok with playing on a cabaret then you should have no complaints about the size of these Arcade 1up units. Without the riser it is strictly a sit down affair. I thought this would be awkward but it's a lot like playing on a cocktail unit, but with an upright screen.

     

    It took me about an hour to assemble with a screwdriver in one hand and a beer in the other. A second person would have been helpful for a couple of steps but I managed alone. Build quality is ok for home use. It's particle board, you have to be careful not to over-tighten the screws or you'll strip the wood. It's not built as stout as a real arcade cabinet but it's also not $2000. The art work is bright and glossy. I had no issues with chips or scratches as some others have reported. I didn't notice any dead pixels either, though the games on this cabinet have mostly black backgrounds so I probably wouldn't notice anyway.

     

    The games play spot on, sound great and look as good as you can expect on an LCD screen.

     

    My only issue was initially the trackball didn't spin very smoothly. I thought I might have to take it apart and lubricate the rollers. But after I removed the trackball assembly from the control panel I noticed that it spun perfectly. Something in the fit between the trackball and the control panel was causing drag. My solution was to re-install the trackball assembly with washers between it and the control panel to act as spacers. This extra 1 or 2 millimeters did the trick. So try that if you have the same problem.

     

    Should you buy it? Well for me it filled a niche. It's an inexpensive way to properly play Centipede and Millipede and the cabinet looks great. It'll never be the centerpiece of anyone's gameroom. But if you have some extra space in your gameroom then this unit will fill that space nicely and inexpensively.

    • Like 7

  7. Posted

     

    Interesting anecdotes, but "What I sold as one sales guy over a summer in one store, in one market" doesn't necessarily translate statistically overall.

     

    Of course my story is anecdotal. But when the biggest store of the largest retailer in the biggest market fails to move a single unit for 1/3 of 1988, that's telling.

  8. Posted

    In the summer of 1988, while on summer break from college, I had a job at Toys R Us at the corporate flagship store in Paramus NJ selling video games. In that nearly four month period, console sales broke down like this: Roughly 80% NES, 20% Sega. If memory serves, I sold exactly one 7800 to a guy in his mid 20s who specifically wanted to play classic arcade games (perhaps the first retro gamer?). We stocked the XEGS. Didn't sell one.

    • Like 2

  12. Posted

    I'm partial to arcade type games so PacMan, Scramble, Super Cobra, Draconian, Space Rocks, Juno First and Defender Arcade are among my favorites.

     

    Puzzle games, I like Chetiry and A-Star. If you like Warlords look at Medievel Mayhem.

    • Like 1

  18. Posted

    Hat Trick is often near the top of the list of worst 7800 games. When you compare it to other 3rd generation console hockey games, like Slap Shot for Sega and Blades of Steel for NES, it's just not in the same league. But I still enjoy it, and here's why. Its one-on-one simplicity makes it a quick pick up and a great party game- drink a Labatt every time you get scored on. And to paraphrase Obi Wan, I look at it from a different point of view. Compared to the other home console ice hockey games, it falls short. But as a home version of the arcade game (which is what the 7800 was best at) I think it succeeds. The designers never set out to create a sophisticated hockey game. They set out to create a home version of arcade Hat Trick (like they did with Galaga, Centipede, Dig Dug, etc.) and I think they captured the look and experience of the arcade game pretty well (well, except for the audio). Anyway, that's my view - discuss...

  21. Posted

    Yup, I have Edtris. I just played it to check. The aspect ratio of its pieces is also not quite square but it doesn't look as far off as Chetiry. I really like the music and title screen of Chetiry but I think I'll stick with Edtris for now.

  22. Posted

    No, that's not really what I meant. Maybe a picture will make it clearer. In the attached picture, look at the two blue pieces. X is much larger than Y. X and Y should be the same. This is also visible on the yellow square, which looks like a rectangle. It looks like Stella is running in a 4:3 window so that's not the problem. It just looks like all the pieces are flattened.

    post-3151-0-57378200-1515268007.jpg

  23. Posted

    So I was thinking of getting the homebrew Chetiry but every screenshot or video I see makes it look like the game is displayed in a flattened aspect ratio. Is that a byproduct of emulation and/or widescreen monitors? Does it look that way on real hardware and a 4:3 CRT?

  24. Posted

    I'm experiencing some trouble when playing this game on a 7800 via a Harmony cart. Sometimes the aliens and humans will just vanish from the screen and reappear at a random spot.

     

    I've tried both the Stargate and Defender II roms, and the Defender Arcade homebrew/hack for that matter. Happens on all three.

     

    But if I play the same files on the Harmony on a 2600, everything works fine.

     

    Also, playing the physical cartridges of these games on the 7800 works fine.

     

    It's just the combination of the Harmony and the 7800 that has problems.

     

    Harmony firmware version is 1.06.

     

    Anyone else have this issue?

  25. Posted

    Whoa. This game has a graphical style I've not seen before in a 2600 game. Very nice. Didn't even think it was possible.

    Plays great on real hardware via Harmony, except the game over screen which rolls. The music would have been nice on the title screen

    but it gets old listening to it throughout the game. Instructions would be helpful. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do.

    Collect the screws and then touch the flying saucer looking thing? I'll figure it out. But yeah, very original for a 2600 game.

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