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twalk

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Posts posted by twalk

  3. Posted

    continuing the pac-man theme,

    red bull pac-man drink, game,

    and modified namco pixel bash:

    ---------------------------------

     

    https://www.bustle.com/p/pac-man-themed-red-bull-cans-are-here-theyre-a-high-energy-dose-of-nostalgia-13115148

     

    event-image-10089070-37fe4525-0dce-4edf-

     

    https://pacman.redbull.com/

     

     

    later

    -1

     

     

    I saw the arcade cab at Walmart the other day. Fully playable for passerby's for prizes

    • Like 1

  7. Posted

    I am glad they are fixing this. Also how are they not making much profit on the $200 quarter scale unit? Arcade 1Up is selling 3/4 scale units for $300. 3x larger for 50% more price? Something does not add up.

     

     

    While the A1U components are not really junk, everything on it is below average quality (or a lot less, namely the spinner). The board itself is basically a Pandora's Box clone. If you add it all up, they likely have all the parts, construction, packaging, and shipping at <$60 (maybe <$50)

     

    With the Numskull cab, it's smaller, but it supposedly has much higher quality. Then you add more expensive custom controls (good working tiny custom controls are not cheap). I've got no idea of what they're using for the board & lcd panel, but I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't also more expensive (say a rPi3B+ and a AAA rated panel). Add in that they won't ship nearly as many cabs as A1U will and then that's fewer cabs to spread the development cost over

     

    Yeah, I can see them not making much profit with them

    • Like 3

  10. Posted

    Anecdotally, it seems as though the raster-graphics-joystick-based games are faring much better in the A1UP lineup than games with vectors and/or analog controls.

     

    It's not really surprising when you think about it. Raster game emulation and generic arcade joysticks and buttons are commonplace/robust enough to survive a fleecing from bean counters and come out the other side with a hint of serviceability intact. Spinners and trackballs, on the other hand, are too nuanced in their construction and finicky in their emulator configurations to have any hope of enjoying the same fidelity in this form.

     

    If they stick with games like Pac-Man, Galaga, Burgertime, and the like then I think the gaming experience will be marred by fewer fatal shortcomings.

     

     

     

     

    The prospect of readily available cabinets to hack was my primary interest in these things at the beginning, but it's looking like there is not much of anything on these things that I'd be able to keep and be happy with it. Maybe if I had a need for a quick low-usage MAME setup (i.e., for a trailer, enclosed patio, cottage, etc.), and I got the donor cabinet for free, I'd look into it.

     

    To be fair, I still haven't played one of these things myself, which I should probably do before being so judgmental.

     

     

    Well obviously vector games won't have the POP that a real vector tube does (otherwise the backlight would be bright enough to melt the panel...). That said, the vector games on my 12-1 look good

     

    With the trackball, on my 12-1, it's a bit tight and has little follow. That seems to be a pretty common refrain. However I recently played centipede with just moving my guy around at the bottom (not shooting) and dodging a bunch of 1-seg segments. The trackball was highly accurate and I lasted over 1.25min just dodging. However I think that this is an issue with making the trackball work well with the marquee game (centipede) and not worrying about how the lack of follow affects gameplay in missile command / liberator / quantum

     

    Then the spinner... Yeah, it's garbage. That said, Tempest is still reasonably playable. But yes, after using it, the spinner really is garbage. I'm going to do some work on mine when I find the time. (I'll probably keep it simple, just the washers trick and some silicone)

     

    For using the cabs for hacking? Every one that I examined has looked solid enough. The other major part is the lcd, which seems to have something like 10-15% of them being substandard (which is what you can expect with 'A' rated panels instead of AAA / A+++ rated). However if you get a non-substandard one, then the majority of people have rated them as good enough to outright good. That's also been my experience. So... while I wouldn't use it for a high usage "main" cab, I think they'll work out well for a lighter usage cab modded for games with different control layouts

     

     

    On a closer note, I doubt I'll be buying A1U cab number 2 at the retail price. There's just too many ways to play these games with other means. I might be tempted to buy a used working Rampage cab if I could get it for $75-$100, but otherwise, no. I'd rather mod them to get it like I'd want. However that could change if A1U would bring out a couple of driving cabs with foot pedals...

  11. Posted

    What type of computer is in these? I figure to fit in a flat pack it's either built into the display, or a small pi type. Anyhow, lot of empty space inside, this would make a great frame for a name cabinet for those with not a lot of room for full size machines.

     

     

    I commented about this in another thread. Some thoughts:

     

    1) Only a 90 day warranty

    2) It seems like they've got a somewhat higher failure rate than most electronics products

    3) While Arcade1up says you'll be able to buy out of warranty replacement parts in the future, many people likely won't bother

    4) It actually is a nice little cab, easy to work with and move around the house

    5) It's easy to mod the lcd panel to take hdmi. If you'd want a custom control panel, you'd just need to mod/replace the control panel board. The Retropi hack video has already been up for a while

    I think in 6+ months, there is going to be a decent number of these cabs that will have failed and people will be able to pick them up for cheap to nothing. At that point, you won't be able to build anything even close to as cheap for a custom cab than to use one of these. These would be especially good for making custom control layouts with the correct screen orientation. (eg, like a Defender/Stargate cab with the correct control scheme)

    (At this point, someone will bring up the $350 Alpha-cade cabs. While the build is much better, the art isn't. The price isn't either. 350 + 100 (shipping) + screen + retropi = around $550-$600. You'd be able to build 5 A1U cab hacks for the price of one Alpha-cade)

    So here's to Arcade1Up having a lot of success... so I can eventually get a dozen dirt cheap failed cabs to hack :)

    • Like 1

  12. Posted

     

    You're describing their full-size cab. The 3/4 Alpha cabinet is roughly the same size as the Arcade1up, for $350. It does weigh a bit more due to the better materials, but it's still easily moved by one person on level ground and two people on stairs. I have one and did a little write-up about here if you search through my posts. I think the Arcade1up's are cool, too - certainly prettier with the licensed artwork. But for overall versatility with a lot of games, the 3/4 Alpha is definitely worth considering. Edit: one other thing I thought I should add about the 3/4 Alpha... it doesn't wobble or shake at all during gameplay.

     

     

    Yeah, I now remember seeing those, just forgot. They're a bit cute and definitely better built. Also easier to get up and running with a PC/retropie. However they're still limited to the standard fighting game control layout and horizontal screen. They're closer to $500 instead of $100 after you get everything done. I had actually thought about getting one before, but since I've got a Pandora 6 box, it's hard to justify it

     

    As for how long the A1U cabs will last, it's hard to say. I've got some ikea style stuff built the same way that's lasted over 10 years. These A1U cabs also likely won't be beat up like the cabs in arcades were. Also, my A1U cab doesn't wobble or shake on carpeting or on it's riser

     

    Also BillL announced: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/284076-atgames-officially-unveils-legends-ultimate-home-arcade-full-size-machine/

    Since it's AtGames, I'm not holding my breath

  13. Posted

    you guys need to check out the other thread.

    there are videos with retropies modded into the arcade1up.

    there are people using pandora's boxes, and pcs, etc.

     

    if you want a better quality cabinet, and just supply

    the other stuff yourself, recroommasters has 3/4 cabs too.

     

    all that discussion is going on over there.

     

    later

    -1

     

     

    I'm on that other thread. I saw that Tanooki is also.

     

    I've seen the recroommasters stuff. While their 3/4 sit down cab looks nice... it starts at $900 with only the cab and control panel (no screen or computer). It's also 170lbs... which is a bit of a bear for 2 people to move. It also only comes with a fighting game layout (+ optional trackball) and a horizontal screen layout, which is limiting

     

    The Arcade1up cab is small and only 63lbs, meaning you can have several and it's easy-ish for one person to move around. It's already been retropie modified. If you need different controls, then you just have to fill/redrill/refinish the control panel top; the rest of the cab is unmodified. And it's very possible you could be able to get several failed ones cheap to free in the future.

     

    So, what could you do with a roughly free cab that takes up very little space? Cheap cabs that play games that are faithful to the arcade (IOW the controls + screen orientation)

     

    I'd love to have a Defender/Stargate cab with the original control layout (instead of the abortion that A1U did). How about Sinistar with that 49 way joystick? You really could do a cab with very good game specific controls and correct screen orientation for only $50-$100

  14. Posted · Edited by twalk

    Wow, there's pretty much the entire emotional spectrum here, from thinking these are great, to a measured plus/minus, to so pessimistic you have to hope that they're on a suicide watch..

     

    I got my 12-1 noon yesterday and unpacked it / checked for damage. It looks really good. I didn't have time to build it, but I did plug in the monitor + control panel to test it. Note: the plug connection between the 2 power cords must be done *tight*, otherwise it may not really be connected (as in, I thought I had a lemon, didn't power up, until I pushed them a fraction tighter)

     

    Impressions:

    1) The monitor looks good. The vertical games (Centipede, etc) look fine to me

    2) The buttons all work well... but they're a bit stiff, like they (obviously) haven't been broken in yet. Maybe some silicone will loosen them up

    3) The trackball worked reasonably. It's accurate, but it stops quickly once you let go of it. For Centipede / Millipede, where you need shorter range accurate movements, it plays pretty nice. For games that need speed (Missile Command, Liberator, etc), they can play decently but you have to change how you play somewhat to keep the trackball moving

    4) The spinner........... The first time I spun it, it was "UGH, this is COMPLETE garbage". It's basically "clickity, clickity, stop" Then I tried it with Tempest. You won't mistake it for the real arcade version, but it's actually decently playable. That said, it's not really acceptable and I'll be doing something to improve it

    5) Everything else looks good

     

    All in all, I like it, even with the minuses. That said, I would have been happy to pay $25 more for them to have used better quality controls...

     

    I think that I'd agree with Bill on these cabs. They play well enough for casual gamers with some nostalgia. However the issues they have will grate on some of the more hardcore gamers

  15. Posted

    After thinking about it for a bit, I think that the Arcade1up cabs will be great for modding.... in the future

     

    Why?

     

    1) Only a 90 day warranty

    2) It seems like they've got a bit higher failure rate than most electronics products

    3) While Arcade1up says you'll be able to buy out of warranty replacement parts in the future, many people likely won't bother

    4) It actually is a nice little cab, easy to work with and move around the house

     

    My bet is that 6+ months down the road there will be enough failed cabs that the owners want to dump, that you'll be able to grab one free to cheap ($20?)

  16. Posted

    You know I wonder if you could rig up one of those iCade 60in1 or larger in 1 mini PCBs into one of these $300 cabinets? I think that would make for an interesting project as you can get the 60in1 for like $30 more or less on ebay/aliexpress as it is and the game selection is solid. They're already tuned to screw around working through a VGA jack to a LCD screen anyway. Even the larger stuff like the pandora boxes that have more advanced NeoGeo/Capcom CPS level stuff on them work through such pathways.

     

     

    Someone has already hacked the lcd to have a hdmi connection then set it up with a retropi. So yeah, you'll see people do all kinds of this stuff with these cabs. That said, why? For $300 there's much better options if you just want to gut and hack it

  17. Posted

    Retailer cost is a bit over $200 for these. Not sure what Arcade1up's cost is to make them, but you have to think it's under $200.

     

     

    Considering that the hardware is basically a Pandora's Box with screen and it can't be much. Based off the hardware+etc, my bet would be around $50 for all the parts, assembly, packaging, and shipping to the reseller. I'd bet about another $25 for licensing fees. I had already figured around $200 to the retailer, making a 60%+ gross profit margin for production. That's pretty good, but it will likely be mostly eaten up by the warranty repair stuff till they get the production kinks worked out for next year

     

    I've also heard a rumor that cabs won't be kept around forever. Once they go out of stock, then that will be it for them

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