Would like to play Tempest, the right way

[KurtDman24]

Greetings Atari Agers - I figured this would be the best place to start with my conundrum.

 

Tempest, in the classic arcade format, always was my all-time favorite video game. Recently, I was showing videos of it to my kids and explaining how awesome it was to play, and the battles my friend and I had on the local 7-Eleven's machine.

 

Many years ago another friend of mine actually assembled a controller for me...spinner and all...and downloaded the emulator so that I could play Tempest on a laptop. The gameplay was absolutely just like the original, and it was the equivalent of owning a machine. I doubt, though, that it was legal.

 

So I'm posing the question to all of you, because I'm guessing you would know. I would like to be able to play the classic Tempest in my home, and I would like to know how I can get a proper control with the spinner. As Tempest fans know, you HAVE to have a good spinner to play it.

 

I also don't want to do anything questionable from a legal standpoint, like downloading the game from an illegal site. I don't mind paying for anything I need for this, within reason.

 

I've seen the version that is (finally) available for the 5200, and I do own a 5200 so that might be okay, but if I can't use a spinner control I'll pass on that. Not a fan of trackballs.

 

So...can anyone point me in the right direction? Forgive me if it's been answered elsewhere.

 

Thanks!!

 

Best,

Kurt

[John Stamos Mullet]

Arcade1up.

 

they make several cabinets with the original arcade Tempest in them, including this Asteroids cabinet with Spinner. These use fully licensed original arcade roms. 

https://www.amazon.com/Arcade-1Up-Asteroids-Coinless-Operation/dp/B07G1X2HFR

 

[KurtDman24]

15 minutes ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

Arcade1up.

 

they make several cabinets with the original arcade Tempest in them, including this Asteroids cabinet with Spinner. These use fully licensed original arcade roms. 

https://www.amazon.com/Arcade-1Up-Asteroids-Coinless-Operation/dp/B07G1X2HFR

 

Thanks John! I've seen that, it's a little more costly than I was hoping for, although I would fork it over if that's the best way to do it. I've seen Amazon even sells the spinner control replacements for the thing.

 

Just wondering if there was a cheaper way...or even if there was a spinner control for the 5200 edition...

[Tanooki]

Well there's that like 1/4 size replicade unit but I don't think people were overly thrilled with it.  They also had Centipede before that and SF2 after.

[teh_lurv]

On 8/29/2020 at 6:12 PM, KurtDman24 said:

I also don't want to do anything questionable from a legal standpoint, like downloading the game from an illegal site. I don't mind paying for anything I need for this, within reason.

I haven't tried this setup myself, but one setup you could consider would be a GRS Spinner intended for A1U Asteroid cabs:

 

https://www.amazon.com/ThunderStick-Arcade-Spinner-for-Arcade1Up/dp/B07P5WJ7BC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=6Z8HHMZN9KC1&dchild=1&keywords=grs+spinner&qid=1598873347&sprefix=grs+sp%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1

 

Paired with a 12-in-1/USB interface board:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NKJ3SKH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Put them into an enclosure and buy the Atari Vault compilation on Steam:

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/400020/Atari_Vault/

 

Edit:

Looks like the 12-in-1 board is OoS, another alternative would be this spinner which I haven't personally used but does have a USB interface:

https://www.amazon.com/RetroArcade-us-SpinTrack-Spinner-Perfect-Systems/dp/B085DJNFBL/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=grs+spinner&qid=1598875630&sr=8-4

Edited August 31, 2020 by teh_lurv

[mr_me]

Unfortunately the best solution might be to make your own controller.   There's options for parts out there including the occasional homebrew option here on atariage, along with a USB encoder.  You'd have to build your own mounting control panel, which is actually pretty simple.  It's basically cutting a hole in a box.

 

https://www.ultimarc.com/trackballs-and-spinners/spinners/spintrak/

https://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=268

 

There's people that make custom controllers here on atariage, they typically offer stuff for classic consoles rather than stuff for emulation.  But they do have the know-how to build a spinner for you if you don't want to do it yourself.   And playing a home conversion on a classic console isn't exactly playing real Tempest.  The arcade1up cabinets are an option but people have complained about the quality of the spinner. 

 

I've settled on playing Tempest with Mame and my computer keyboard.  And archive.org is not an illegal site, ... not until the courts say otherwise.

 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by mr_me

[NinjaWarrior]

I play it on the SNES, Saturn, Playstation with a D-Pad, Works fine for me

[Zoyous]

Well, if no one else is gonna say it, I will. You need to get the actual coin-op arcade machine. You need to disregard thoughts like, "it costs too much," "it takes up too much space," "it's too heavy," "it will need maintenance," etc. True, all of those are fair points. But you simply need to overcome those reservations and do something a little bit crazy and go for it.

[ave1]

Here's are some options:

 

Edited September 3, 2020 by ave1

[KurtDman24]

Thanks all for your great and helpful responses! I think what I may do is get the Atari Vault and start there, it's just $10, and then maybe contact someone here about getting a spinner made. I have a lot of confidence in the abilities of this group. Sorry I took so long to get back online and respond, thanks again everyone. ?

 

[Zoyous]

5 hours ago, KurtDman24 said:

...and then maybe contact someone here about getting a spinner made. 

There's a user here who assembles spinners... you can read about it here:

 

[juansolo]

The Jaguar version of Tempest 2000 has spinner support and a classic mode.