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twalk

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Posts posted by twalk

  1. Posted

    2 hours ago, NE146 said:

    Danger... . I don't see the deck protector on there. You're going to want one of them before you errantly run your fingernail over an area.. which is exactly what I did 😛   Although it kind of sucks since they charge for it now instead of sending them out for free. The good thing though is it comes with a duplicate control panel artwork so even if you do maul it up it won't matter.. 

     

    https://arcade1up.com/products/pacman-control-panel-overlay

     

     

     

    Just a note to anyone still buying the old, no protector included, cabs: A1U is still ..usually.. shipping out panel protectors if you get a pic/scan of your receipt to attach and send them a nicely worded email (or call) saying that you bought the cab just recently and if they could send you a control deck protector

     

    I got a couple of the centipede machines for $75 recently and got them to send me a couple of protectors for free by doing that. It seems that most people are successful at this, but not everybody

  3. Posted

     

    Twenty-something here and the Marvel cab will likely be the one A1UP cab I buy. Hoping these are still hackable as while I love the game selection (Marvel Super Heroes is my favorite CPS-2 fighting game), Marvel vs Capcom 1 belongs here. TMNT would also interest me, but I was never a fan of its button layout and being authentic, the A1UP version has not changed anything about it. That and I've heard A1UP's 3 Player Rampage was very uncomfortable to play, so I can't imagine 4 player TMNT is going to play that much better...

     

     

    Rampage wasn't good because they didn't increase the control panel width. TNMT will have a wider control panel (from the picture)... but the players in the middle will probably still be crammed together and the players on the end will see a washed out screen unless they've got a better panel for it / viewing angle issue

  4. Posted · Edited by twalk

    Do ya think any of the retailers will agree to stock these again next holiday season? Putting the stuff on deep discount is a bad sign.

     

     

    Keep in mind that these are really sold as limited time collectables (a Tastemakers standard way of doing things). They've now got the next batch of collectables out and they're certainly started prepping the Xmas shopping season wave already. For limited time collectables, Walmart nearly always heavily discounts them towards the end of their run

     

    Also they reported having hit $100M+ several months ago. That would be well over 300K cabs. While that number is huge for cab sales, it's not actually that many per Walmart, so with the shelf space these take up it could be a problem

  5. Posted

    How are they applying the artwork to these things, and is it still an issue? The last one I saw in a store, I was able to easily scrape the artwork off like it was crayon. The machine was already totally trashed, so I didn't feel bad about it. My only thought was that a decent clear coat application could have fixed that. It seems they may be screen printing the images directly onto the particle board, which would be fine as long as it adheres properly.

     

     

    The sides and marquee are printed paper (instead of vinyl for a real arcade unit). I've seen them peel away a bit at the edges and it can be damaged by hitting it and/or abrasion, just like anything printed on paper. However I've pulled tape and stickers off of that several times before without issue. The kick plate looks painted the same as the control panel.. but it's unlikely that will be touched enough to have issues

     

    For the control panel, they've added a thin protective layer over the paint, along with shipping a plastic deck protector with every wave 2 box. You'll still want to use the deck protector, because people have reported that the thin protective layer over the paint will still come up around the edges

  6. Posted

     

    $17? Should be free. Unless they recently changed it.

     

     

    Yep, they changed it. They announced a couple of months ago that they had a cutoff of March 1st for the free deck protectors

     

    With that said.... there's still a lot of wave 1 product in the channel and a lot of warranty part orders (deck protectors, board bug fix replacement) have been getting "lost" in the last 6-8 weeks... with them now charging (now for the deck protectors, later for other stuff)

  7. Posted

    i don't think these are in competition.

    this is more of a pro level arcade sized cabinet.

     

    the reason arcade 1up were smaller, was because they couldn't get the license for the full size machines.

     

    so, there's no reason to make it smaller.. the AT games one, and the microcenter ones are full sized,

    and for better controls, and room for more than 1 player, to be comfortable, it has to be bigger.

     

    later

    -1

     

     

    A1U definitely was able to get the license for a full sized arcade, they just found out by going somewhat smaller they could run on a license cost much more like a handheld game. Full sized arcade cab licenses are typically a nice bit higher. (I wouldn't be surprised if AtGames was able to negotiate lower license costs because of A1U.) At least that's what a A1U rep said back in Sept or so..

     

    The retailer size / weight / density restrictions for products are a real thing. Microcenter is run differently, so it's not an issue with them (plus they want to sell DIY parts, so again, different). With Walmart, if you fall out of the sweet spot, they'll charge you for that or they could just decide to not carry your product. A1U wants to be in Walmart and other standard retailers, so they are selling something that fits within the standard restrictions. AtGames? They'll probably have to be more inventive with who they partner with / market to (Fry's? Lowes carried A1U and wouldn't have an issue with the size. Best Buy handles lots of appliances, so possible)

  8. Posted

    Just a couple of things to add:

     

    1) While I see issues with the A1U implementation, the idea of having a 46.5" tall cab + 12" riser (should really be 14"...) is pretty inspired. Items in boxes greater than 48" in any dimension have issues with getting into retail stores. In addition, being older, I now find I often prefer gaming while sitting down. With the issues of significant returns that A1U had, maybe there's room for competition with 3/4 cabs + risers

     

    2) Now that you've got the license for Tron, you should definitely have 1 (maybe 2) different, pre-applied Tron related graphics wraps for the cab

    • Like 1

  10. Posted

    I've bought both the GGG TurboTwist and the Ultimarc Spin-Trak for different projects and they're very spendy for what they give you. IMO, at $70+, a good spinner is a luxury/indulgence in a home emulation rig, with arguably the worst bang-for-buck quotient of any of the generic control types from the classic era. I've spent a lot of time exploring with my spinner, trying to find some fun games to play in the mame catalog. What I've found is that there are a few dozen games available in MAME with spinner support, but lots of them are shovelware "brick breaker" copycat type games and/or very obscure and forgettable titles. My general feeling is that you have to REALLY enjoy Tempest and/or Arkanoid to make it worth the price tag. There are also some "deeper cuts" like Omega Race and Cosmic Chasm that are decent.

     

     

    Yeah, A1U would have been better off making a deluxe $400 "spinner cab", with Tempest being the marquee game, with Tempest cab style side panels, 6-8 spinner games, and a good spinner. While that would have mixed manufacturers on the cab, it would have taken care of all of the decent to good spinner / (left/right only) roller games in one swoop with good results

     

    @128Kgames: 2nd/3rd hand I heard that the A1U spinner will be a "professional" upgrade in their web store

  13. Posted

    What does the rest of the peanut gallery here think of having a USB port available to connect an alternate controller? Not sure if thats feasible or not?

     

    One other item Bill is to have 'mappable buttons' - the Defender layout for 1up is terrible, but could actually almost be arcade authentic with all the buttons on the rampage cab - unfort whomever picked the layout butchered it. Allowing users to map buttons their way would be great.

     

     

    I think that Bill mentioned something about a usb port for other controllers. Personally however, I really don't see the point. If I remember right, it's going to have a dual fightstick layout ( X2 joystick + 6 buttons ) and a trackball. That combo handles the great majority of games. Most of what it won't support are spinner based games (which are ok to leave out of something like this) and 3-4 player games (which could work.. sort of.. except there's no place to set the additional controllers, so they'd have to be hand held). Also, the more you'd use a different controller, the more I'd question why'd you'd bother to buy this cab because it seems to me you'd be better off just playing on a computer then

     

    If AtGames has someone who knows what they're doing mapping the buttons, we're probably fine with a static button map. Also, if the cab is updatable, then they'd be able to fix it (usb update) if they blow the layout (unlike A1U). A game like Defender will always have issues on a control panel made for other games. However it shouldn't be too bad on this, because you should have in a 6 button grouping the fire/thrust on right, hyper + smartbomb in the middle, and reverse on left

  14. Posted · Edited by twalk

    Just to chip in my 2 cents...

     

    1) Nostalgia is big. Really big. And for me at least, it's linked more to the cab artwork than anything. I really didn't need an Arcade1Up cab, because I can play all those games by other means. I ended up with 3 of them anyway, mostly because of the looks (and price, of course). Generic cab art with a potential post applied wrap really just doesn't do it. (I just about ran out screaming when I saw the art on the cab in Microcenter. Definitely don't be those guys.)

     

    That said, it doesn't need to be the artwork from a real cab, just something that invokes nostalgia. I saw glow in the dark Ghostbusters cab artwork recently on Reddit and that looked great. There's a quite a bit of "Flynn's Arcade" / TRON cab artwork out there that looks great. Of course that's another license fee for you guys to pay, but that's the kind of thing that would trigger a buy impulse from me and even get me to pay a bit more than otherwise. 6-7 different great pre-order cab artwork choices and you should be good

     

    2) Weight / size: If I can't reasonably move it around myself, then I'm probably not going to buy it

     

    3) Controls: A1U is now reported for the next cab batch being releasedå to be using the better of the 2 different joysticks that they were using (deemed by most to be "decent enough") and a happ trackball. They're upping their game and are setting a new base for what it takes to compete

     

    4) Screen: Needs to be bigger than the standard 17" A1U screen. Something closer to 4:3 is preferable (since it makes a much better experience for vertical games played on a horizontal panel). TV quality screen is definitely preferred over the TN screen in A1U

     

    5) Games: Arcade games! Console games were meant to be played on a TV screen and playing them on a cab is just *weird*...

     

    6) Access: Any bugs should be able to be fixed / updated by an internet download to flash drive then updated from that. I'd really also want full-ish access to difficulty settings and so forth (by really any means)

     

    7) Game selection: I've got a 2000+ game Pandora's 6 Box. It pretty much sits there, because of both decision paralysis (so.. many.. games..) and the problem that to select games you have to scroll down a list of 2000+ games without any organization and with a ton of garbage games cluttering things up. My brain just goes into rebellion just thinking about it. You definitely need organization

    • Like 1

  17. Posted

     

    I wouldn't call the materials "god awful", you have to take into account the equivalent wear and tear these cabs have gone through in store as compared to being "at home". Ever seen a full size arcade cab after 10 years and multiple routes? I have, and depending on where they were, some of them ain't pretty.

     

    Ever see those mug shots where they show people who first get arrested for prostitution, then how they progress over time? Yeah, not pretty. Well, that's what I'm equating these store demo units at Walmart to - 10 years of being on the street turning tricks. I mean, have you seen the people that shop at Walmart? There's whole web pages dedicated to the riff raff that shop there... :-D

     

    As far as putting deck protectors on them? They don't even have them in stock to ship to customers, what makes you think marketing can get them shipped out to stores along with the cabs? Besides, people would just pry them up and break them off anyway.

     

    Hey, what if 1Up sent cabs out like this deliberately to gain some real world play testing? Then Walmart ships them back and they can gauge just what stood up and what didn't based on how much abuse they took? Nah, that'd be too forward thinking.

     

    While I think a more hardened unit would have been the better way to go for a store display, it would have differed from the actual product sold to consumers and people might have complained. But again, maybe 1Up will learn from this experience when the second wave releases next year.

     

     

    A1U really did screw up quite a bit of stuff. However they are learning and fixing things. The control panel paint & demo units are a case in point. Pretty much all of the new demo units have the full plastic cover over the control panel that only let's you push one button. That both keeps it looking good + doesn't let the potential customers know that the controls are decent, but below average..

     

    Despite the (too) large number of problems they've had, I think that if they'd had just ignored the rest and fixed the control panels (paint + a bit better joystick, much better spinner, trackball + buttons are decent-ish), then I think that there would have been much fewer complaints

     

    If they were really on the ball, then they'd be selling (real sanwa and/or happ) "professional control decks" for $100, direct ship. (Not to mention lighted marquee kits, etc)

  18. Posted

    On a side note the return label they sent is supposedly for me to ship back my Pac-Man control deck which was damaged and they are supposed to replace - I was kind of taken aback and prodded the representative with "you want it back after you ship me a replacement, r - i - g - h - t - ???

     

    I've never heard of them ever asking for anything to be shipped back. It definitely didn't happen to me

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    So, this still looks like the prototype, but this australian seller is taking preorders.

     

    I think it will probably look like the final mortal kombat machine:

    https://www.goeasyonline.com.au/arcade-one-mortal-kombat-II-at-home-real-arcade-system?search=Arcade%20&description=true&fbclid=IwAR1-0xhnMfOMlQo5q85K5VhTmcU_jKUVP9hVrQrMZp112oXegzWm1Jr9iQ4

     

    6022434-800x800.jpg

     

    later

    -1

     

     

    Really interesting. Looks like they've got 6 different ones:

    https://www.goeasyonline.com.au/index.php?route=product/search&search=arcade%20one&description=true

     

    Based off of the shipping box picture they give, I'd say that this is Tastemakers. Looking at the control panels, if those are actually what they'll end up with, I'd say they still haven't learned a thing. The screen looks bigger in the cab, 19"?

  21. Posted · Edited by twalk

    another excellent mod from ETA Prime, this time pandora's box:

     

    later

    -1

     

     

     

    I got a Pandora's Box about a year ago. I wasn't that impressed with it. Too many games, giving decision paralysis, iffy controls, iffy play. If A1U machines are the definition of below average, then the PBs are definitely a cut below that. However I've felt for a while now that modding these cheap cabs would be the biggest thing for them. So the more mods, the better

     

    On that note, here's someone making a 4 player A1U cab:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Arcade1Up/comments/a1zihj/custom_4_player_20_screen_mod/

    https://imgur.com/a/8wWF1IH

     

    Now you could ask why someone would bother when you can make a better one from scratch for about the same amount of work? It's the artwork. A full cab artwork wrap will usually cost you $200+ and then you still have to apply it. A home built cab without the artwork really just ends up being a stupid small box without any nostalgia feel at all (at least that's how it is to me)

     

    Now for how cheap these things are going...:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Arcade1Up/comments/a22ccz/i_think_walmart_clearance_cabinets_are_in_our/

     

    A few Walmart locations are blowing out the Galaga & Pacman machines for as little as $75 to free up warehouse space (you can also see this on BrickSeek)

    • Like 2

  22. Posted

    Another question on the topic of minis, or home brewing your own: What's the most powerful board (short of an X86 or AMD PC board) that would be good for multi platform emulation in the $150 or less area? Would that be the Nvidia Shield/Tegra, the Raspberry Pi 3, or something else? I'm craving a board as capable as a celeron, with no need for Windows, but with support for front ends like launch box or similar. I guess I'll keep waiting. Emulation Station and Retro Pi aren't cutting it for me, and I'm not aware of better linux front ends, though they may be out there.

     

     

    https://liliputing.com/2018/11/odroid-h2-gemini-lake-single-board-pc-launches-for-111.html

  24. Posted · Edited by twalk

    Walmart still has all of them for $249 online. The rumor is that some Walmarts are dumping the excess Black Thursday ones today for $200. And then there's this weird combo on the Walmart website... (A1U and Replicade combo):

     

    https://www.walmart.com/co/Arcade1Up-Centipede-Machine-4-foot-with-BONUS-RepliCade-x-Centipede-Mini-Arcade/503348784

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