2-Player Computer Space Restored with 22k games.

[ChadTower]

A reasonable expectation is that the person is going to do whatever the hell they want with it.  They will post the first one they handle.  They will get flamed by someone no mater what.  Most people will never post a second.  Some people will and will get flamed again.  Eventually even the most concerned person, resto guy or MAMEr, will just stop looking for opinions because no matter what you do someone in the crowd is going to flame you in a voice that drowns out all the others.

[IG-88]

  Eventually even the most concerned person, resto guy or MAMEr, will just stop looking for opinions because no matter what you do someone in the crowd is going to flame you in a voice that drowns out all the others.

Hence the reason why I shy away from posting any of my creations. I have several and nobody has seen them but my local friends/family. I think the only thing a person may not get "flamed" for is a scratch built that is esthetically pleasing but then again it happens there too...

To each his own I guess but if you are going to post in a public forum expect to hear negatives no matter what you do..

[Vigo]

Yep, and I am all for personal property rights, but at the same time even a first time poster has to realize that they might get flamed for a few certain things. For example, If I came across an original Clint Eastwood cowboy hat that he used in one of his old westerns. I wouldn't exactly go online to a Clint Eastwood site, and post that I had a rare Clint Eastwood hat, then say that it had a big rip in it, so I turned it into a fun party snack tray.

I know, weird example, but I think it gets the point across.

And at the same time, I feel bad for any person who posts and is unexpectedly blindsided with all sorts of flaming responses. That kind of stuff hurts.

[TopJimmyCooks]

I was going to refrain from further comment on this after my previous manifesto.  However, I took a look at Arcadefan's site.  He has done plenty of restoration work on games, and also, obviously, mamed or multigamed some typical wood cabs.  he's also fixed up a good amount of electro mechanical games.  there are well done build write ups/pix that are right down the alley of a lot of the people here.  There's some "fix this up to sell" type quick and dirty stuff too, but that's common throughout the industry and hobby, just look at KLOV. 

I recommend that you take a look before you dismiss this build.  Arcadefan owns more restoration cred than most posters here.

I would say it's a little offputting that his first post was an ad for what looks to be his own printing company? and not posted in the commercial section.  Could be wrong.  Anyway, I hope to see more restoration, mame, FE, controls posts if he ever decides to come back, because that's what I'm here for. 

[Donkbaca]

And at the same time, I feel bad for any person who posts and is unexpectedly blindsided with all sorts of flaming responses. That kind of stuff hurts.

Meh, we are all adults and if you care about what some faceless, internet dude who goes by the name "donkbaca" says, well then.... like I said we are adults.  Its not like we make people post.  I think a lot of people post for different reasons.  Some are, "I am stuck how do I figure this out?"  LIke someoen that has a blown out dynamo cab asking how to mount a CP.  Some are, "my humble attempt at a cab" I would say most are in this category.  Some are "Check it out! I built something crazy!  I Mamed a taxidermied goat!"  Those posts usually don't go negative. I think if you are going to make something and say, "what do you think" then if a lot of people hate it, well, then people should post that they hate it.  Hey man, that's the reality and you asked people what they thought, and if you don't want feedback, don't post.  Or post "here is my project, please only post nice things about it" in which case you will look like something of a cross between a ---meecrob--- and a weenie..

 

[RayB]

I understand everyone's opposing sentiments but before this thread peters out, I wanted to point out something: It's not about needing to scrounge all the inside parts and put them back in this cabinet. I think that the "shell" could benefit someone who already owns a CS that has a lousy bunged up shell. So the "parts are too rare to find" argument is flawed.

[TOK]

I was going to refrain from further comment on this after my previous manifesto.  However, I took a look at Arcadefan's site.  He has done plenty of restoration work on games, and also, obviously, mamed or multigamed some typical wood cabs.  he's also fixed up a good amount of electro mechanical games.  there are well done build write ups/pix that are right down the alley of a lot of the people here.  There's some "fix this up to sell" type quick and dirty stuff too, but that's common throughout the industry and hobby, just look at KLOV. 

Well with all that experience, you'd think he should have seen this coming. 

[ChadTower]

Well with all that experience, you'd think he should have seen this coming. 

I wasn't going to say that but agreed.

[TopJimmyCooks]

Well with all that experience, you'd think he should have seen this coming. 

I wasn't going to say that but agreed.

Ok, I have no problem with that.  If you spend any time at all around here, you know that no matter what the circumstances are around the cab you're modifying, someone will take exception, so put your cast iron underwear on. 

I guess now I won't be posting about that mint, original Q*bert I grafted my frankenpanel and 27" lcd on to.   

[ChadTower]

I guess now I won't be posting about that mint, original Q*bert I grafted my frankenpanel and 27" lcd on to.   

What the...?!  Dude!  What a waste! 

Everybody knows Q Bert should have plasma.

[drventure]

Everybody knows Q Bert should have plasma.

And a Tron Stick!

[WindDrake]

My 0.02$.

It's his. End of discussion.

As for my opinion? I like the looks. Very classy. Probably the only good thing to ever grace a Computer Space (god knows the game blew!)

Keep on keeping on, arcadefan. It looks good.

The control angles work fine, too. The topfires will make a good deal of games playable without issue despite the weird CP angle.

I'm all for saving classics, but Computer Space, while it has some neat historical value, BLEW as a game. No need saving that crapheap.

[ChadTower]

...Computer Space, while it has some neat historical value, BLEW as a game. No need saving that crapheap.

Completely, totally, thoroughly disagreed.  I like the game.

[IG-88]

Same here. Played it at CAX in 2009. Really a pretty good game. And playing it on original hardware rocked!!

I'm sorry, the more I think about it, his property or not, this shouldn't have been mame'd.

[opt2not]

..and more importantly, this should be moved to Project Announcements.

[flashiv]

 I Mamed a taxidermied goat!"
 

That I want to see! 

[smalltownguy]

Naughty naughty. Use a Midway or Dynamo for MAME, but not this.

Further more, if you know enough about Computer Space and this forum to post about it, then you already know that you've committed a BYOAC sin.

Shame shame.

[TheShanMan]

Boo!!! Should've sold it to a CS owner who needs a better cabinet, and I bet you'd be able to get a decent chunk of change for it.

[CheffoJeffo]

I've been trying to figure out how I feel about this project. There was a time when I would have been rather upset by it, but I am finding that I don't mind his using a CS (even a 2-player) in this fashion. It could be because there seem to have been a number of CS cabinets making the rounds locally. Having said that, he could have picked up several cabs in a trade, but finding cabs doesn't seem to be a problem for him.

After reading his blog entry, I am impressed by the care and details. While I think the panel may be uncomfortable to play, I think the styling is era-appropriate.

And, the dry transfer system is exactly what I need to clean up the CP on my (formerly RayB's) Dominos cabinet, so arcadefan has saved me some research time.  

[XtraSmiley]

Ignore the haters Arcadefan, I think you did a great job and the system rocks. I especially like the software side of things, are you going to share some of the things you have/did that aren't available to the masses, such as overlays in all the Vectrex games in HS?

[Crazy Cooter]

The cabinet could still be sold to a 'pure' restorer when desired.  If he started cutting pieces out to make a panel fit... that would be another story, but I don't see anything that devalued anything...   

No harm = no foul (assuming that no modifications were made to the cabinet).  A lot of us have rare parts sitting around in boxes or even incorporated into our machines.  As long as we're not cutting them up, they still have the same value and can be sold as original at a later date.

[SavannahLion]

Wow a bunch of half-assed comments here. Of course, I'm guilty of half-assed comments myself so meh.  

To start with. I like this. It's clean and well done. It's reversable, not like that it matters much, fat chance you'll find the hardware for this beast. But not making permanent damage to the cab does allow for future alterations without having to deal with any of the old crap.

Some constructive criticism (some of you have heard of it, right?)

I would not have called this a restoration with 22k games by any means. It's probably what set people off. True, the cabinet itself is a restore, but the project as a whole is not. Somewhat misleading.

I would have trimmed the CP feature set a tad. Drop the spinner and/or trackball. But that's my opinion. The use of transfers is brilliant. My current WIP uses an aluminum CP and I was thinking of taking an entirely and much more difficult direction with the art. With this method, it would cut a pile of work out. Of course, my original direction is still pretty damn cool though so I might still go with it. We'll see.   I'm not entirely sure I would have gone with the rectangular buttons. Square, maybe, but not so much rectangular.

I would have made some other design choices that we shall not cover here. The fiberglass bezel is a notable one.

Did you consider taking it to an autobody shop that specializes in fiberglass bodies to have the burns removed or covered or at least finding out what techniques they use? I believe there are techniques in the bathroom industry that also repairs fiberglass damaged tubs. I haven't researched but they might be applied as well. Just a thought.

To those squawking about the game itself.

Go look at computerspacefan.com and find the CS simulator there. Play it.

Anyhow, I've bookmarked his site for future reference. Have fun bickering.

[RayB]

Anyhow, I've bookmarked his site for future reference. Have fun bickering.

It ended 2 months ago dude.

[TOK]

Wow a bunch of half-assed comments here. Of course, I'm guilty of half-assed comments myself so meh.  

To start with. I like this. It's clean and well done. It's reversable, not like that it matters much, fat chance you'll find the hardware for this beast. But not making permanent damage to the cab does allow for future alterations without having to deal with any of the old crap.

Brace yourself for some shocking news... Michael Jackson has died! Oh, and Bin Laden, too!

  

[SavannahLion]

Anyhow, I've bookmarked his site for future reference. Have fun bickering.

It ended 2 months ago dude.

Oh ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---! DOH! Looks like I'm the 

This thread came up in a search (why it didn't come up before when I did similar searches is beyond me) and I didn't even look at the date. 

Feel free to grab a and me with it.

Brace yourself for some shocking news... Michael Jackson has died! Oh, and Bin Laden, too!

  

I just found out we have  for a president. Will wonders never cease?