Mini Arcade Alert!

[Daj]

14 hours ago, Kosmic Stardust said:

I love how they gets the A and B swapped

They seem to have made a habit of this, inexplicably

[Andromeda Stardust]

On 7/30/2019 at 11:05 PM, negative1 said:

not a multi-link cable, but a multi-charge cable for myarcade:

https://www.myarcadegaming.com/products/multi-cable

 

 

 

$10

 

My Arcade Multi-Cable - USB Splitter Cable for Micro Player Mini Arcade Cabinets - 1 USB A to 4 Micro USB - Connects up to 4 Micro Players

 

• 5 foot long cable length
• Perfect for displays with multiple Micro Player mini arcade cabinets
• 1 USB A to 4 Micro USB
• Wall power adapter not included

 

 

Do you own and display a collection of our Micro Player mini arcade cabinets? Instead of using 4 separate micro USB cables plugged into different wall adapters to power individual Micro Players, our Multi-Cable provides a single USB A cable that can plug into a wall adapter (not included) and splits into separate micro USB plugs to power up to 4 Micro Players simultaneously. This is perfect if you're looking to display your collection or want to build out a series of Micro Players without having to use up 4 power outlets. 

 

INCLUDES
Multi-Cable

ITEM NUMBER
DGUN-2979

 

later

-1

 

I could definitely use some of these to daisy chain my arcade cabs! ?

[negative1]

in case you haven't gotten it yet, it came out a few weeks ago:

https://www.myarcadegaming.com/collections/mini-player/products/namco-museum-mini-player

 

 

My Arcade NAMCO MUSEUM Mini Player - 10 Inch Mini Arcade Machine Cabinet - 20 Retro Games Included - PAC-MAN, GALAGA, and More - Licensed Collectible

 

• 4.25" FULL COLOR SCREEN - Vertically oriented for an authentic arcade experience
• DUAL FORWARD FACING SPEAKERS - Produces great sounds along with volume controls and a 3.5 mm headphone jack for private gaming
• GLOWING COIN TRAP AND GAME TITLE MARQUEE - Premium model arcade cabinet
• REMOVABLE JOYSTICK - Easily remove the joystick if prefer to play with the directional pad instead
• 20 CLASSIC BANDAI NAMCO HITS - PAC-MAN, PAC-MAN 2, GALAGA, GALAXIAN, DIG DUG, MAPPY, and More (see Product Description below for full list)

 

The My Arcade Namco Museum Mini Player is a 10" mini arcade machine cabinet. It features 20 fully playable classic games from BANDAI NAMCO including: Battle City, Dig Dug, Dig Dug II, Dragon Spirit, Galaga, Galaxian, Mappy, Pac-Panic, Pac-Man, Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures, Pac-Mania, Phelios, Rolling Thunder, Rolling Thunder 2, Rolling Thunder 3, Sky Kid, Splatterhouse, Splatterhouse 2, Tower of Druaga, and Xevious. This ultimate collection of arcade hits is perfect for any collectors' game or display room.

 

INCLUDES
Namco Museum Mini Player, AC Adapter, User Guide

ITEM NUMBER
DGUNL-3226

UPC
845620032266

PACKAGING DIMENSIONS
6.50 x 12.25 x 7.25 in (W x H x D)

PACKAGED WEIGHT
2.35 lb

INCLUDED GAMES
BATTLE CITY™, DIG DUG™, DIG DUG™II, DRAGON SPIRIT™, GALAGA™, GALAXIAN™, MAPPY™, PAC-PANIC™, PAC-MAN™, PAC-MANIA™, PAC-MAN™2 The New Adventures, PHELIOS™, ROLLING THUNDER™, ROLLING THUNDER™2, ROLLING THUNDER™3, SKY KID™, SPLATTERHOUSE™, SPLATTERHOUSE™2, the TOWER OF DRUAGA™, & XEVIOUS™ ©BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.

 

 

Several review and breakdowns on youtube.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mine should be here in a week or two.

 

later

-1

 

 

 

 

[Andromeda Stardust]

I put a preorder down on the 1/4" Namco Ms Pacman quarter arcade. Based on my experience with the Replicade Centipede and Tempest, it is worth a few extra bucks to pay for quality. Arcade accurate Ms Pacman cabs appear to be nonexistent so far...

 

http://www.numskull.com/ms-pac-man-quarter-scale-arcade-cabinet/

 

I may bite on a 1up Ms Pacman cab but I doubt it. Perhaps someday I'll find a secondhand Class of 81 unit, preferably an older model with the crt in it. ?

[negative1]

3 hours ago, Kosmic Stardust said:

I put a preorder down on the 1/4" Namco Ms Pacman quarter arcade. Based on my experience with the Replicade Centipede and Tempest, it is worth a few extra bucks to pay for quality. Arcade accurate Ms Pacman cabs appear to be nonexistent so far...

 

http://www.numskull.com/ms-pac-man-quarter-scale-arcade-cabinet/

 

I may bite on a 1up Ms Pacman cab but I doubt it. Perhaps someday I'll find a secondhand Class of 81 unit, preferably an older model with the crt in it. ?

that would be cool. but there's no plans for an arcade 1up ms pacman, despite rumors, and anything else mentioned from them.

 

later

-1

[negative1]

preview of numskulls 1/4 scale galaga:

 

 

later

-1

[Andromeda Stardust]

10 hours ago, negative1 said:

preview of numskulls 1/4 scale galaga:

 

 

later

-1

Start with 5 lives, just like the Pacman machine, lol!??

[wolfy62]

On 8/6/2019 at 11:15 PM, Kosmic Stardust said:

I could definitely use some of these to daisy chain my arcade cabs! ?

I love that idea so I ordered 3 to set up my mini arcade!

If i love my setup i will get a couple more for my arcade classics units too.?

[negative1]

5 hours ago, Kosmic Stardust said:

Start with 5 lives, just like the Pacman machine, lol!??

this is just a prototype, will be awhile before the commercial version comes out,

we'll see what happens then.

 

later

-1

[negative1]

another look at galaga, this one has 3 man start:

 

 

later

-1

[Andromeda Stardust]

5 hours ago, negative1 said:

another look at galaga, this one has 3 man start:

 

 

later

-1

We need to have a settings menu with dipswitch options. Too bad the 1up arcades as well as the replicades don't have these built in. I haven't played with the quarter 'cades yet.

 

I mean the arcade owner/operator could monkey with the settings back in the day, mame has had it since it's inception in the late 90s, so why can't I do the same on officially licensed, authentic arcade recreations?

 

I can adjust trackball and spinner sensitivity on the replicade centipede and tempest cabs, why not also set dipswitches to my liking as well? Any implementation using authentic arcade roms could implement this effortlessly.

 

Take for instance the Numbskull Pacman firmware update:

http://www.numskull.com/quarter-arcades-¼-scale-pac-man-arcade-cabinet-firmware-update/

 

Quote

Below you’ll find the links to download two different versions of our optional, free, easy-to-use firmware update – one sticking to the ‘5 lives’ version of the game, and one which will switch your game to the ‘3 lives’ version. Feel free to use whichever you wish, or switch between the two whenever you please

Two separate firmware versions to download if you want 3 or 5 lives. Just provide a single update to let us configure our own dip-switches pease... ?‍♀️

[+save2600]

Can't have a modern product without such glaring omissions these days!  ?

[negative1]

11 hours ago, Kosmic Stardust said:

We need to have a settings menu with dipswitch options. Too bad the 1up arcades as well as the replicades don't have these built in. I haven't played with the quarter 'cades yet.

 

I mean the arcade owner/operator could monkey with the settings back in the day, mame has had it since it's inception in the late 90s, so why can't I do the same on officially licensed, authentic arcade recreations?

 

I can adjust trackball and spinner sensitivity on the replicade centipede and tempest cabs, why not also set dipswitches to my liking as well? Any implementation using authentic arcade roms could implement this effortlessly.

 

Not sure what you're referring too.

You press both start buttons and power to get to the settings menu with the options.

 

Is it missing something. seems complete to me.

 

later

-1

Edited August 12, 2019 by negative1

[Andromeda Stardust]

34 minutes ago, negative1 said:

Not sure what you're referring too.

You press both start buttons and power to get to the settings menu with the options.

 

Is it missing something. seems complete to me.

 

later

-1

Dipswitch options. It's not on the configuration / sensitivity screen. Perhaps I should revisit the manual?

[negative1]

3 minutes ago, Kosmic Stardust said:

Dipswitch options. It's not on the configuration / sensitivity screen. Perhaps I should revisit the manual?

well, its only on the upcoming galaga from numbskull,

 

but yeah, agreed having options on replicades and other machines

would be nice.

 

i'm getting the myplayer namco multicade, and it won't have any options for the games either.

 

late

r-1

 

 

[Tanooki]

I kind of forgot about that Namco tabletop like the Dataeast one, delays now looking at what nearly a year?  I'm curious just how minimalist it will end up being.

[Flojomojo]

Mini arcade change machine, with a USB hub in the back for powering all your mini arcade machines. 

 

 

My first thought is, "what a stupid idea." But if you're into the mini arcade scene, it makes perfect sense and fits right in! The change machine literally provides power to the other games. 

 

I'm not going to step down this road lest it suck me in, but I'm a little bit tempted.

 

 

[Daj]

On 8/8/2019 at 11:35 PM, negative1 said:

in case you haven't gotten it yet, it came out a few weeks ago:

https://www.myarcadegaming.com/collections/mini-player/products/namco-museum-mini-player

 

 

My Arcade NAMCO MUSEUM Mini Player - 10 Inch Mini Arcade Machine Cabinet - 20 Retro Games Included - PAC-MAN, GALAGA, and More - Licensed Collectible

I just tried mine out for the first time, for a couple of games. For possibly the first time for MyArcade, they put the shoot/attack button to the left of the jump button (the usual arrangement), except for Splatterhouse 2, which thankfully is a Genesis game with a button config screen so it's fixable. Thankfully stretch mode is optional on all games. Some emulation problems... Splatterhouse had slightly glitchy music, and Splatterhouse 2 has absolutely terrible emulation, maybe the worst I've seen in a commercially released product... constant audio and graphical glitches and flickering, not for a second does it look or sound right. Disappointing. The Data East MyArcade collection wasn't perfect but the games at least worked. Pac-man seemed to work fine, I think Rolling Thunder 2 (arcade version) might be a little off but I'd have to directly compare to MAME to be sure.

 

Best thing about it is the physical unit itself, although some of the "artwork" is just screenshots from the games... Replicade for example is releasing products with more polish. The Numskull cabs look quite solid but they are of course pricier.

[negative1]

2 hours ago, Daj said:

I just tried mine out for the first time, for a couple of games. For possibly the first time for MyArcade, they put the shoot/attack button to the left of the jump button (the usual arrangement), except for Splatterhouse 2, which thankfully is a Genesis game with a button config screen so it's fixable. Thankfully stretch mode is optional on all games. Some emulation problems... Splatterhouse had slightly glitchy music, and Splatterhouse 2 has absolutely terrible emulation, maybe the worst I've seen in a commercially released product... constant audio and graphical glitches and flickering, not for a second does it look or sound right. Disappointing. The Data East MyArcade collection wasn't perfect but the games at least worked. Pac-man seemed to work fine, I think Rolling Thunder 2 (arcade version) might be a little off but I'd have to directly compare to MAME to be sure.

 

Best thing about it is the physical unit itself, although some of the "artwork" is just screenshots from the games... Replicade for example is releasing products with more polish. The Numskull cabs look quite solid but they are of course pricier.

I'm in the middle of playtesting all the games right now.

 

The screen angle is pretty severe, not a lot of angles that aren't head on, or you don't see.

 

Hate the joystick/pad on the left side for a lot of games. Wish it was in the middle.

 

Most of the arcade games seem to play well so far. Most are set to namco japan standards (dig dug 5 men only extra at 20/60k).

Patterns work in pac-man, dig dug, dig dug 2, etc. Not sure if the no-shoot trick works in galaga.

 

Galaxian seems very flickery, and sounds glitchy.

 

The stretch mode works pretty well for the vertical games.

 

=======================

 

The joystick is pretty stiff, and hard to use at times, maybe it will loosen up over time.

The button response is ok.

 

The worst part is the genesis emulation. Pac-attack/panic is playable, but the speed and sound are way too slow.

 

I know they're using MAME for arcade games, so that seems ok, but not sure what they're using for 

genesis emulation, and why its not very good.

 

Pac-Man 2 does have the bonus pac-man, and pac-jr variants built into them also using the passwords.

 

Overall, a much better value than the individual games ones, and better selection, even with the poor emulation in games.

 

later

-1

Edited August 15, 2019 by negative1

[Andromeda Stardust]

On 8/13/2019 at 3:22 PM, Flojomojo said:

Mini arcade change machine, with a USB hub in the back for powering all your mini arcade machines. 

 

 

My first thought is, "what a stupid idea." But if you're into the mini arcade scene, it makes perfect sense and fits right in! The change machine literally provides power to the other games. 

 

I'm not going to step down this road lest it suck me in, but I'm a little bit tempted.

 

 

This is a novel idea. However I just as soon get the My Arcade cables and daisy chain them to a wall wart. The change machine is just a glorified hub anyway.

 

Another thought, they won't need this much juice, but I often entertained the idea of creating a rail power system from an old ATX PC supply to power my retro entire entertainment center. 5v rail for all the USB devices / 5v systems, and the 12V rail with a few high current rectifier diodes in series to derate the voltage down to 9V for all the vintage 7805 systems. The aging 7805 chips will run cooler at 7-9v as opposed to 12v.

 

You can cut the power connector off any old ATX supply, twist the black wires (GND), yellow wires (12v), and red wires (5v) together. Connect a toggle switch between the gray (I wanna say gray but check the schematic) and black leads to turn the unit on or off, or twist them together for always on and use the toggle switch in back of the supply to kill it. This is the signal from the motherboard to turn on the supply.

[Daj]

On 8/14/2019 at 8:13 PM, negative1 said:

The screen angle is pretty severe, not a lot of angles that aren't head on, or you don't see.

 

There's an ergonomic issue caused by the side walls of the cab reaching so far forward that it obstructs the player's hands from reaching the controls. I find the d-pad easier to use if the joystick is removed, but it's difficult to reach from the side with the thumb. This wasn't an issue with the Data East mini.

 

Rolling Thunder 3 has another super-goofy button layout... from left to right: jump, shoot, special attack. Doesn't match the other two RT games.

[Andromeda Stardust]

15 minutes ago, Daj said:

There's an ergonomic issue caused by the side walls of the cab reaching so far forward that it obstructs the player's hands from reaching the controls. I find the d-pad easier to use if the joystick is removed, but it's difficult to reach from the side with the thumb. This wasn't an issue with the Data East mini.

I have a similar issue with the rotary knob on the Tempest Replicade. Still hella fun game though...

[AnnA Ayms]

A (badly made) video comparing the Super Impulse Pac-Man Micro and Tiny Arcades plus to the arcade proper.

Edited August 24, 2019 by AnnA Ayms
Video link not properly entered.

[negative1]

Looks like they modified the bubble bobble roms to have the happy ending for 1 player;

 

later

-1

[Andromeda Stardust]

18 hours ago, negative1 said:

Looks like they modified the bubble bobble roms to have the happy ending for 1 player;

 

later

-1

Awesome. I always tried to get the secret exit on stage 99 with one player, never could do it! ?