Main > Main Forum
Building a custom arcade setup
thatpurplestuff:
--- Quote from: travoltron on March 08, 2013, 03:56:11 pm ---The ticket dispensing is pretty simple really, I'd just put the tickets between two rollers and drive them with a small DC motor a few turns to eject the ticket. I can set the number of degrees to rotate with the arduino, and therefore set the number of tickets dispensed. Each winner would receive a ticket that basically allows them to challenge someone to another round of the game. Out of tickets, out of the tourney.
So it does in fact look like there is some game rewriting that needs to go on... does anyone know of where I'd look for altering a ROM to set a flag on a P1 or P2 winner?
Thanks!
--- End quote ---
I have zero experience doing anything like this, but it seems to me that it would be much easier to have a resident application monitoring for specific screen output as opposed to modifying the game code. You could have the "watcher" app look for specific locations on the screen that are always the same after a match is over (like "Player X Wins" or something) and then when it detects that status it can either look to see if "1" or "2" is within the "Player X Wins" or it could look at the area of the screen that has the health meters... the person with health left in the meter gets a ticket. This sounds complicated but I would be willing to bet that it is less complicated than modifying the actual games.
edit: Just read what Ryori wrote and it sounds like we might be talking about the same thing.
travoltron:
Update time everyone!
I've sourced my servo motors for the ticket feed unit and have them coded up to dispense a set number of tickets thats adjustable to the winner.
I have my SFF XP machine that will run MAME. (who doesn't love Craigslist?)
Now, arcade community, I come to you again. Where can I source the best quality at reasonable cost 8 way joysticks and buttons (convex top not concave).
I'd really rather buy from someone who cares to provide good service to this world vs an overseas wholesaler, so any favorite shops you've worked with before is really appreciated.
I'll post pics as soon as I get further along down the line. Thanks again everyone for your wisdom!
RandyT:
--- Quote from: travoltron on March 08, 2013, 03:56:11 pm ---The ticket dispensing is pretty simple really, I'd just put the tickets between two rollers and drive them with a small DC motor a few turns to eject the ticket. I can set the number of degrees to rotate with the arduino, and therefore set the number of tickets dispensed. Each winner would receive a ticket that basically allows them to challenge someone to another round of the game. Out of tickets, out of the tourney.
--- End quote ---
Hopefully, this is a "trusted environment" :). Ticket dispensers, while easy to make, aren't as easy to make robust enough to handle shenanigans. Aside from the obvious possibility that one could grab a ticket and pull out as many as they want, there's also the possibility that doing so could turn your motor into a generator and feed enough power back to the controller to cause some damage.
This is also a bad situation for a servo, depending on the size. The smaller ones have a tendency to come apart at the press fittings of the gears when forces are applied to the output spindle.
But, if it's a home setup, with folks who are well behaved, what you have will work fine.
mgb:
For good vendors who seem to care about good service.
There are a few that have a presence here in the forums.
Paradise Arcade
Ultimarc
Groovy game gear
For convex buttons, check either happ competition buttons or the Japanese buttons such as Sanwa.
Will you have an optical switch on the ticket mech to count the notches between tickets, like manufactured ticket mechs have?
paigeoliver:
I think you will ultimately find that the ticket thing is going to end up being an incredible amount of work and money for something you ultimately won't end up using more than a few times. I know a lot of people with a lot of games and some of them are indeed games that can dispense tickets, but I don't know of anyone actually dispensing tickets in a home environment.