Jump to content
IGNORED

Atari Star Wars arcade from Arcade1Up


JeffVav

Recommended Posts

Hey all,

 

Hope you're as excited about this as we are! Arcade1Up is putting out a genuine licensed Atari Star Wars arcade machine (with Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi built-in too!), complete with the iconic yoke controller! And, Code Mystics has been retained to do the emulation! We're all fans of this game since our own childhoods, so this is a passion project for us. (Just look at http://www.codemystics.com/products.shtml?-2 if you want proof.) It's going to be handled with care. :)

 

https://www.destructoid.com/classic-atari-star-wars-arcade-games-are-back-in-this-new-arcade1up-cabinet-557246.phtml

 

  • Like 8
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey all,

 

Hope you're as excited about this as we are! Arcade1Up is putting out a genuine licensed Atari Star Wars arcade machine (with Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi built-in too!), complete with the iconic yoke controller! And, Code Mystics has been retained to do the emulation! We're all fans of this game since our own childhoods, so this is a passion project for us. (Just look at http://www.codemystics.com/products.shtml?-2 if you want proof.) It's going to be handled with care. :)

 

https://www.destructoid.com/classic-atari-star-wars-arcade-games-are-back-in-this-new-arcade1up-cabinet-557246.phtml

Congratulations Jeff,

 

Glad you guys got the contract, should be exciting to play.

 

 

For anyone following 1up releases, its mentioned here, along with all the other cabinets being released for 2019:

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/275757-budget-atari-and-capcom-arcade-cabinets-to-see-release-this-fall/page-88

 

later

-1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep.. the initial concern to me is obviously the quality of the controller. I've never been interested in Arcade1up's "joystick & button" offerings because those are a dime a dozen on all our hobbyist emulator multicabs. I was immediately drawn however to their trackball + spinner cabinets (e.g. the 12-in-1) since that's a little more specialized (yes, please don't tell me about how easy it is to implement your own trackball & spinner.. I'm just saying what I was interested in). I'm interested in these flight yoke games in the same way.

 

Anyway, the point is we all now know just how shitty and cheap the original plastic spinner & trackball were in the first run.. disappointing a ton of us. They've supposedly kind of redeemed themselves since, with better quality controls you can order (and the better trackball on the Golden Tee cabs), but the taste remains. If they couldn't do a spinner & trackball right, what more a flight yoke? Still, I'm optimistic, but cautiously so. :)

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm curious...who are the actors in a licensing deal like this? Is it just Lucasfilm and the 1Up company, or is it Disney and the 1Up company? Does Atari have to allow the code to be used, as well? Presumably that would be the case, but I guess I'm asking who actually owns the game and program once a lot of time has passed. Would Lucasfilm make a deal that says it owns all rights to game/program after several years and could do what it wants with it? Could Disney release all video games ever made based on its IP itself without checking with any of the companies that created them (e.g., Capcom)? 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd love to get this but being in Australia we didn't get any of these machines locally other than the Rampage and SF ones, nada since. ?

 

Wonder if anyone is offering non-crippling overseas delivery?

Edited by Mulletino
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, AAA177 said:

I'm curious...who are the actors in a licensing deal like this? Is it just Lucasfilm and the 1Up company, or is it Disney and the 1Up company? Does Atari have to allow the code to be used, as well? Presumably that would be the case, but I guess I'm asking who actually owns the game and program once a lot of time has passed. Would Lucasfilm make a deal that says it owns all rights to game/program after several years and could do what it wants with it? Could Disney release all video games ever made based on its IP itself without checking with any of the companies that created them (e.g., Capcom)? 

Arcade1Up has a licensing guru for this sort of thing. All I know is it's complicated. More complicated than you might imagine. Which is probably why this hasn't really been done before. :)

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd love to know who they're working with to make the yoke controller. There's been a couple players doing small volume manufacturing of those for years, but they've been prohibitively expensive. I've always been surprised someone didn't mass produce a controller of that type some time ago. I'm also still amazed nobody has mass produced a handheld usb paddle controller or spinner under $35 in all this time.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/13/2019 at 11:26 AM, JeffVav said:

Hey all,

 

Hope you're as excited about this as we are! Arcade1Up is putting out a genuine licensed Atari Star Wars arcade machine (with Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi built-in too!), complete with the iconic yoke controller! And, Code Mystics has been retained to do the emulation! We're all fans of this game since our own childhoods, so this is a passion project for us. (Just look at http://www.codemystics.com/products.shtml?-2 if you want proof.) It's going to be handled with care. :)

 

https://www.destructoid.com/classic-atari-star-wars-arcade-games-are-back-in-this-new-arcade1up-cabinet-557246.phtml

 

With the height being so much lower than a stand up machine, could a "cockpit" add-on be sold as well as the stand?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/19/2019 at 5:51 AM, JBerel said:

I'd love to know who they're working with to make the yoke controller. There's been a couple players doing small volume manufacturing of those for years, but they've been prohibitively expensive. I've always been surprised someone didn't mass produce a controller of that type some time ago. I'm also still amazed nobody has mass produced a handheld usb paddle controller or spinner under $35 in all this time.

Looks like they're talking with the people that make the alan-1 controller.

https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showpost.php?p=4008667&postcount=389

 

later

-1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a little concerning that Arcade1up apparently used the Alan1 yoke in their demo, but has no intention of using it in their release model. This info appears to be within a few days. Still, Alan1 also mentions they're increasing production due to increased demand, so who knows what's happening.  They dropped their price to $350 for the new run, but that's still too pricey, especially with a $100 USB adaptor board. I can't imagine Arcade1up being able to pay more than $200 or so for the controls to put in their mass produced rigs, and $200 is about what I would pay for the yoke with USB connectivity. Sounds like they're either going to get the price down, or make an inferior unit with plastic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As mentioned, with the price reductions for the alan-1 yoke, there will be some options:

 

From reddit:

A couple links to articles :

From the Alan-1 site ( https://alan-1.com/product/alan-1-star-wars-flight-yoke/ )

June 25, 2019

In preparation for increased demand of our Star Wars flight yoke, we have placed a 2nd high quantity order from our factory. Because of the higher quantity purchased, the price per yoke has been significantly reduced. We are passing these savings onto you with reduced purchase price–while supplies last.

And from KLOV ( https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=415071&page=42&highlight=alan )

I'm happy to report some really great news concerning Arcade1Up and Alan-1 yokes. I had a conversation with the president of the company and their lead designer. They would like to order a large number of yokes to put on some of their machines that they will be giving away through some promotions. Details haven't been inked yet, but we're working on it.

He made it clear that it was cost prohibitive to use our yoke on all of their mass produced machines. They will be using a lessor quality plastic yoke designed for that market. But they like our yoke so much that they want to offer it on some of their machines.

The result of all of this is that we've made the decision to do another large run of yokes. Because of this, we've been able to get our cost down dramatically and are happy to announce that we can now offer these for $349.99.

Our plan is to create an upgrade kit for the Arcade1Up cabinet so all users can upgrade their cabinets if desired.

This is actually a really great thing for the community, IMO, because it first introduces these amazing games to an entirely new generation, and secondly, allows us to produce so many more of these and that increased quantity lowers everyone's cost.

 

later

-1

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice yoke or not, what's the emulation like on these latest offerings? Still have the dreadful sound delay and frame skipping issues? I won't consider any more of their products (even at drastically reduced clearance prices) until such basic emulation issues are ironed out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm...that means I won't be getting the Arcade1up version. I owned the ROTJ arcade game and I probably couldn't get used to some plastic repro of the yoke, but I wish them luck with it. I also don't need the all steel improved version for $350+. It's funny, I paid $400 for real deal, cabinet and all back in the day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, save2600 said:

Nice yoke or not, what's the emulation like on these latest offerings? Still have the dreadful sound delay and frame skipping issues? I won't consider any more of their products (even at drastically reduced clearance prices) until such basic emulation issues are ironed out.

We (Code Mystics) did the emulation. It's our first project with Arcade1Up but we're retro emulation veterans. (Pioneered the genre back in the mid-90s, basically.) We compared side by side with the real deal cabinet to make sure it was accurate. 

 

The frame rate only slows down where it's supposed to. :) (The original Star Wars has a variable frame rate based on how busy the screen is. We matched that. If you don't, the game would play faster than the original.)

 

There's no sound skipping. 

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

With the cost of repair to the original motherboard, yoke, and monitor terrifyingly high, one has to wonder if this might be an acceptable replacement for an original stand-up unit.  Yeah, I know it won't be nearly as large and sturdy, the vectors won't be as bright, and it won't retain that perfect sense of nostalgia, but it should be significantly easier to maintain, and thanks to the yoke controller and near-perfect emulation, it should still largely have much of the original enjoyment.  Most of all, there won't be that moment of dread and terror every time you turn it on, fearing that something hyper-expensive will fail!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a good point. The color vector monitors were headaches when they were new! I have heard they can basically be bullet proofed now, but still the cost for an original machine is more than most can even justify. With any luck, this will make a good alternative.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...