Not much going on?

[gumby510]

This forum for me at least was a stepping stone down the road to having dedicated arcade machines. I put my ugly mame on hold and just started restoring and learning to fix arcade machines. I have all the old timers around here to thank for that. If it wasn’t for all those awesome builds I would not have had the courage to move forward in this hobby.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Osirus23]

BYOAC taught me to use soup cans to draw the radiuses for the corners on my cab.

[pbj]

BYOAC taught me to use soup cans to draw the radiuses for the corners on my cab.

That's... genius.

The era that always made me laugh was when half the forum had children in a 2-3 year period and everyone was making glowing dust washers out of diaper wipe containers.

[eds1275]

I'd like to do more personally, have some great ideas in my head... but my life went to hell and it's at the point where I don't know if I can recover before it's time to call it quits.

[Drnick]

I still try and maintain an interest but I’ve spread myself too thin withhobbies including re-learning to fly. With any sort of luck we’ll have a new house next year with, for the first time in my life a good workspace. Here’s a thread with review from another forum on the workspace and it’s associated landscaping. We are in Brisbane Queensland

https://www.aussiearcade.com/showthread.php/95735-Shipping-container-sheds-Anyone-done-this

And a YouTube clip

And if you can’t look at it a couple of pics to illustrate. I’m kinda more excited about the workshop than the house! Point is, once I have that workspace I’ll get stuck into a few projects including a custom C64 case and and rather specialised driving cab

Signed up to read the thread,  Ouch 35K,  I did a similar wall but with sleepers,  I did look at the concrete/steel retainers, but the price was crazy.
I do hope they backfilled close to the wall with gravel and assorted size stones and only have about a foot or so of earth at top for finish. I really need to get my neighbours to put something like that in for their retaining wall.  They replaced part of it with Concrete boards, but they used gravel boards which should only be 2 high max,  They have gone 5 high and I bet it fails before the end of the decade

[Zilog]

I seem to get into MAME every 10 years or so.  I still have my files from MAME 0.32 Beta 10 from 1999.  Back then I just enjoyed playing the classic games of my youth again using keyboard or gamepad.  Then in 2009, while recovering from a major health setback, I started a OneNote notebook (definitely one of my top 5 apps of all time), where I put a ton of research and ideas about a MAME cabinet I knew I would never build.  It was lots of fun anyway.  I spent most of the time learning about the latest software and tools like CLRMamePro, etc.  I had not a single power tool to my name, or a garage or any other place to use them even if I did have tools.

Then two or three months ago, I opened that old OneNote notebook and thought about how some things had changed.  I DO have a few powertools.  I DO have a garage now.  I still don't have much in the way of woodworking skills, and unfortunately I still don't have the room for a full size cabinet, but my dream MAME machine took that into account anyway.  And other things have changed too.  Zero delay encoder boards with screw down terminals, instead of taking-apart-a-keyboard hacks and learning to solder. High-quality new spinner and track ball controls instead of cannibalizing old machines and more hacks. Not to mention more resellers carrying authentic pushbuttons, microswitches, real joysticks and all sorts of the stuff needed to make a high-quality arcade machine.  True, CRTs are harder to come by, and even though I certainly would have appreciated a nice Wells-Gardner tube and the authenticity of scan lines and shadow masks and bloom and all that, I'm kind of relieved too.  Tubes scare me, and like I said I have too much stuff and not enough room anyway.  A nice thin, light LCD with some simulated CRT effects will be just fine for me.
 
Absent this thread, there's a good chance I never would have posted my project.  Partly out of laziness, but mostly just because I wasn't sure anybody else would be interested.  For instance, reading this thread, there seems to be at least some hostility toward something called Weecades.  I don't know what those are, but my project is a small desktop machine, done a bit unusually perhaps as its inspiration is my old Vectrex console, but still, it's not a full-size arcade cab.  Will my little project be met with groans of disdain or boredom?  It's a real worry for some.  But I think I'll post something anyway.  No guarantee I'll finish it (I tend to be a bit of a hobby hummingbird - flitting from one to the next).  But I am going strong and still having lots of fun so I hope to complete something.  But if not, I'll hope to see you all here in 2029 when it seems that my next MAME-athon would be likely to happen.

[jennifer]

Your journey right or wrong means the world to someone on the same path, Idea or conceptions Not so good? Well, whatever your take or vision just may be you may just be the spark that ignites desire.

[yotsuya]

I seem to get into MAME every 10 years or so.  I still have my files from MAME 0.32 Beta 10 from 1999.  Back then I just enjoyed playing the classic games of my youth again using keyboard or gamepad.  Then in 2009, while recovering from a major health setback, I started a OneNote notebook (definitely one of my top 5 apps of all time), where I put a ton of research and ideas about a MAME cabinet I knew I would never build.  It was lots of fun anyway.  I spent most of the time learning about the latest software and tools like CLRMamePro, etc.  I had not a single power tool to my name, or a garage or any other place to use them even if I did have tools.

Then two or three months ago, I opened that old OneNote notebook and thought about how some things had changed.  I DO have a few powertools.  I DO have a garage now.  I still don't have much in the way of woodworking skills, and unfortunately I still don't have the room for a full size cabinet, but my dream MAME machine took that into account anyway.  And other things have changed too.  Zero delay encoder boards with screw down terminals, instead of taking-apart-a-keyboard hacks and learning to solder. High-quality new spinner and track ball controls instead of cannibalizing old machines and more hacks. Not to mention more resellers carrying authentic pushbuttons, microswitches, real joysticks and all sorts of the stuff needed to make a high-quality arcade machine.  True, CRTs are harder to come by, and even though I certainly would have appreciated a nice Wells-Gardner tube and the authenticity of scan lines and shadow masks and bloom and all that, I'm kind of relieved too.  Tubes scare me, and like I said I have too much stuff and not enough room anyway.  A nice thin, light LCD with some simulated CRT effects will be just fine for me.
 
Absent this thread, there's a good chance I never would have posted my project.  Partly out of laziness, but mostly just because I wasn't sure anybody else would be interested.  For instance, reading this thread, there seems to be at least some hostility toward something called Weecades.  I don't know what those are, but my project is a small desktop machine, done a bit unusually perhaps as its inspiration is my old Vectrex console, but still, it's not a full-size arcade cab.  Will my little project be met with groans of disdain or boredom?  It's a real worry for some.  But I think I'll post something anyway.  No guarantee I'll finish it (I tend to be a bit of a hobby hummingbird - flitting from one to the next).  But I am going strong and still having lots of fun so I hope to complete something.  But if not, I'll hope to see you all here in 2029 when it seems that my next MAME-athon would be likely to happen.

If I could go back, I would have told myself to use OneNote to keep track of everything as well. Good for you!

[Howard_Casto]

Probably my biggest problem with this hobby is my now swiss-cheese memory.  I've literally forgotten more than some people know in regards to the hobby.... I'll go to make an app or something only to discover that somebody already did years ago, or even worse I already made it.     I try to post any ideas and such somewhere on the forums.... mind you I lose the thread but at least it might help somebody.

[Mr. Peabody]

I felt a jennifer around here. I was wondering when I would scent her again.....

[jennifer]

I felt a jennifer around here. I was wondering when I would scent her again.....

*Jennifer puts on giant sunglasses as not to be recognized...Go sniff somebody else please.

[Mike A]

Yeah. That is more than a little creepy.

[jdbailey1206]

[yotsuya]

Just walked in the bathroom to take a pee - holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- someone dropped a load. Phew!!

[PL1]

"That sounds pretty nasty- how 'bout a courtesy flush over there?"   




Scott

[Mr. Peabody]

*Jennifer puts on giant sunglasses as not to be recognized...Go sniff somebody else please.

But. I just. Can't.

I think he was missing the clue.

[Ond]

There may appear to be not much going on with me that's arcade building related.  The irony eh? Well I've just gone through a stressful moving house ordeal and am now looking at organising a workshop space in the garage in the new place.  It's an opportunity to create a workspace which is comfortable and motivating to get back to hobbies in.  It's kind of a project in itself really.  My wish list for my workshop includes:

•   Workbench with drill press, vise, drop saw and grinding wheels mounted
•   Good lighting
•   Radio/Music source
•   Carpet on the floor in the workbench area
•   Peg board for tools
•   Organised shelving
•   LCD Monitor on the wall
•   Wall mounted heaters
•   Easy to access power strip
•   Fridge for beer
•   Arcade related decoration - framed pictures tokens and stuff

The garage is a grungy depressing area at the moment.  I’m going to transform it. I’ll take some pictures, because if I don’t – it didn’t happen.

 

[Arroyo]

My wish list for my workshop includes:
•   Radio/Music source
•   Fridge for beer

[Drnick]

There may appear to be not much going on with me that's arcade building related.  The irony eh? Well I've just gone through a stressful moving house ordeal and am now looking at organising a workshop space in the garage in the new place.  It's an opportunity to create a workspace which is comfortable and motivating to get back to hobbies in.  It's kind of a project in itself really.  My wish list for my workshop includes:

•   Workbench with drill press, vise, drop saw and grinding wheels mounted
•   Good lighting
•   Radio/Music source
•   Carpet on the floor in the workbench area
•   Peg board for tools
•   Organised shelving
•   LCD Monitor on the wall
•   Wall mounted heaters
•   Easy to access power strip
•   Fridge for beer
•   Arcade related decoration - framed pictures tokens and stuff

The garage is a grungy depressing area at the moment.  I’m going to transform it. I’ll take some pictures, because if I don’t – it didn’t happen.

I like the sound of this. I see you will have wall mounted heaters, But don't forget ventilation/cooling so you can happily work in there all year round. 

[danny_galaga]

I still try and maintain an interest but I’ve spread myself too thin withhobbies including re-learning to fly. With any sort of luck we’ll have a new house next year with, for the first time in my life a good workspace. Here’s a thread with review from another forum on the workspace and it’s associated landscaping. We are in Brisbane Queensland

https://www.aussiearcade.com/showthread.php/95735-Shipping-container-sheds-Anyone-done-this

And a YouTube clip

And if you can’t look at it a couple of pics to illustrate. I’m kinda more excited about the workshop than the house! Point is, once I have that workspace I’ll get stuck into a few projects including a custom C64 case and and rather specialised driving cab

Signed up to read the thread,  Ouch 35K,  I did a similar wall but with sleepers,  I did look at the concrete/steel retainers, but the price was crazy.
I do hope they backfilled close to the wall with gravel and assorted size stones and only have about a foot or so of earth at top for finish. I really need to get my neighbours to put something like that in for their retaining wall.  They replaced part of it with Concrete boards, but they used gravel boards which should only be 2 high max,  They have gone 5 high and I bet it fails before the end of the decade

Hey thanks man. It's Aussie dollars so not as much as you are thinking, so about 24,000 USD total and we are out by about 6,500 USD. Since we are in Brisbane, Australia and you in the US, you will never have the misfortune of dealing with Cropper Bros Landscapes 

[Drnick]

Hey thanks man. It's Aussie dollars so not as much as you are thinking, so about 24,000 USD total and we are out by about 6,500 USD. Since we are in Brisbane, Australia and you in the US, you will never have the misfortune of dealing with Cropper Bros Landscapes 

I wish I was USA but I am UK,  so about 20K English at current rates.  The pound has taken a proper beating because of Brexit..  Luckily no Cropper Bros here although a friend of mine once hired Yipee Kai Aye landscapers, and when they messed it all up he replaced them with a pair of Bros now known as Bodgeet and Scarper
 

[danny_galaga]

Hey thanks man. It's Aussie dollars so not as much as you are thinking, so about 24,000 USD total and we are out by about 6,500 USD. Since we are in Brisbane, Australia and you in the US, you will never have the misfortune of dealing with Cropper Bros Landscapes 

I wish I was USA but I am UK,  so about 20K English at current rates.  The pound has taken a proper beating because of Brexit..  Luckily no Cropper Bros here although a friend of mine once hired Yipee Kai Aye landscapers, and when they messed it all up he replaced them with a pair of Bros now known as Bodgeet and Scarper

So you didn't send ALL the crooks to Australia then

[Ond]

Great to see some new projects ARE going on lately.  My own production line is also underway again.  Builders, I salute you! 

 

Ond

[Kingcade]

I just joined and started my first project recently. Building a cabinet has been on the to-do list for awhile, and the Arcade 1up cabinets ironically inspired me to finally do it. I loved the concept of the Arcade 1ups, but I’m a tall guy, and they’re too short. Also, I’m kind of a hyper-creative person, and I would much rather build than buy so I can channel my own ideas. I also finally have the skills and tools to pull it off.

After having last looked at MAME about 10 years ago, I was under the impression that things might have stabilized by now. If anything, I found that things got more complex. Some of it is more options, and some of it is me being picky/purist. So, that was a bit of a deterrent, but I’m pushing through.

I’m documenting things on my build thread. I had originally wanted to post a ton of photos, but I found the photo-posting process to be too awkward and limited. Forums just haven’t aged well compared to other forms of social media, which may be a deterrent for some of the next-gen of cabinet makers. Just my two cents.

Still, I’m very happy to be here and very appreciative of the wealth of information you all have contributed.

[opt2not]

Forums just haven’t aged well compared to other forms of social media, which may be a deterrent for some of the next-gen of cabinet makers.

Except “other forms of social media” can’t get a proper search function implemented for looking up past information. While social media does have easy and accessible (grandma proof) buttons to quickly upload pics, it’s main focus is on current trends, and doesn’t support easy past information access at all.
Forums still reign supreme in search functions (vital to this hobby), and forums are widely community driven/owned and data isn’t owned by a big corporate machine.  Read the policies of some of these social media platforms, you’d be disgusted how much of the content you upload is owned by these corporations. Facebook and instagram is the worst, every picture you upload to their server is legally owned by them. That’s what you agreed to when signing the user agreement.

Picture posting on forums isn’t a one-button grandma solution, but at least you don’t have to worry about Saint stealing your content.

Also try doing any kind of reasonable page formatting on social media. That ain’t happening. I can’t post a write-up, embed images between bodies of text, alignment options, add a spoiler tag, change font sizes, etc...

[Kingcade]

Oh, I agree that forums have lots of advantages and Facebook has lots of drawbacks. I’m just a bit disappointed that forum software hasn’t evolved with the times, and it will be a deterrent to younger people. There really isn’t any technical reason that we can’t have all of the forum advantages along with easy uploading of photos.

[opt2not]

They have though. This forum doesn’t have the newest forum bells and whistles, but other forums do. Look at SRK for example. Not sure what software they’re using but it’s a lot more modern.

But I like BYOAC as is. Along with the other arcade forums. It’s not a big deal that it doesn’t have the grandma friendly buttons. I’ve been on forums for decades and am used to BB codes.  to me, this helps filter out the millennials, trendsters and of course my granny. Granny can stick to her social media, forums are for serious hobbyists.

[benarcade]

I'm back after being away for about 5 years, because I've decided to build a RetroPie unit. My interest dropped off after finishing my project back then.

I guess I should have posted photos of my build before, but I didn't think anyone would be interested - it's a bastardization of a real arcade cabinet.

I started out in the 90s with MAME and a keyboard, and then about 10yrs ago, I decided to buy an XArcade controller. The XArcade controller is great for people who don't mind micro switch joysticks, but it inspired me to get the real deal - leading to a custom-built control panel, using an original Pac-man joystick and old, original leaf switches for everything. My "cab" is a Chinese armoire in the living room that contains a Windows XP(!) PC and LCD, mounted in a wood sled that I can pull out to expose the control panel (also wood). By hiding it, no one can tell that I have an arcade cab in the living room, but on the other hand, no one knows that I have an arcade cab in my living room!

Back in 2014 or so, I knew my way around MAME - I had a custom front-end, all my ROMs worked, had all the samples in place, etc. But time passes, and I have to re-learn all that stuff now while learning how RetroPie works.

I envision the RetroPie to be a somewhat bar-top that fits into the armoire, with an original arcade marquee - probably Pac-man if I can find one for a reasonable price.

[It's amusing how many times I've read about how "easy" RetroPie is to get up and running. RU kidding me?]

After I get that running, I might set up another bar-top or maybe a small cab for dedicated vertical games. I use Raspberry Pi's for various things, and I can have them do double duty as arcades.

I'll try to be better about posting here. I've had a lot of help from all of you and couldn't do it without this forum.

[You know you've been around for a while when you Google a question and find an answer on a forum in an old post that you wrote.]

[Kingcade]

But I like BYOAC as is. Along with the other arcade forums. It’s not a big deal that it doesn’t have the grandma friendly buttons. I’ve been on forums for decades and am used to BB codes.  to me, this helps filter out the millennials, trendsters and of course my granny. Granny can stick to her social media, forums are for serious hobbyists.

Well, this thread was asking why there aren’t any new people posting builds. If nothing changes, then that won’t change either. 

I’ve been a part of 5 or 6 creative hobby communities that were all forum-based. They are all shadows of their former selves, and they could all benefit from an influx of millennials and trendsters. Some of them turn out to be serious hobbyists. (I’m Gen-X, but I fully appreciate the passion I’ve seen from creative millennials)

[opt2not]

So you think a one-button solution for image posting will solve the lack of project posts? 

If that’s your suggestion, then perhaps you should start a thread in the Forum Discussion section and see how that goes. Saint pays for this forum, so ultimately software changes are up to him.

I personally don’t think a Facebook-like solution is the answer, nor would I want this place to become like that.

Stick around a little while, get the lay of the land, know your audience.
No one likes new people showing up suggesting changes to cater to their personal needs. There are members here who have been active and contributing to this community for a loooooong time. Get to know them and the vibe of this place before trying to change it.

[Mike A]

You could just use Tapatalk. It is really easy to add pics using that.

[Kingcade]

You could just use Tapatalk. It is really easy to add pics using that.

Thanks! Giving it a try now...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Arroyo]

Not sure that I think making pictures easier to post is a deterrent from new people posting, having said that I wouldn't mind seeing the picture upload process be a little bit easier.  Resizing photo's and correcting orientation outside of the forum is kind of a pain.  Obviously doesn't keep me from posting, but yeah wouldn't mind it being easier.  I would agree with Mike on the Tapatalk thing, which I go to for a quick upload.  Only thing I worry about with that is the photo is uploaded to their servers and I worry about it becoming another Photobucket debacle.

[Mike A]

Yeah. I just leave paint open on my desktop and two BYOAC tabs open when I want to post pics. I just suggested TapaTalk as an alternative to not posting pics at all.

[leapinlew]

I just posted some pics last night and the orientation was wrong on the forum. I use the snippet tool to screen cap and repost. I used to used to use paint. I found snippet easier and it's already included in Windows.

I haven't found a way for Win10 to quit fixing my orientation for me.

[leapinlew]

But I like BYOAC as is. Along with the other arcade forums. It’s not a big deal that it doesn’t have the grandma friendly buttons. I’ve been on forums for decades and am used to BB codes.  to me, this helps filter out the millennials, trendsters and of course my granny. Granny can stick to her social media, forums are for serious hobbyists.

Well, this thread was asking why there aren’t any new people posting builds. If nothing changes, then that won’t change either. 

I’ve been a part of 5 or 6 creative hobby communities that were all forum-based. They are all shadows of their former selves, and they could all benefit from an influx of millennials and trendsters. Some of them turn out to be serious hobbyists. (I’m Gen-X, but I fully appreciate the passion I’ve seen from creative millennials)

I like new people showing up and giving suggestions, it keeps us young. There are some old crusty's here, try to not let them run you off. 

[opt2not]

I like new people showing up and giving suggestions, it keeps us young.

[opt2not]

After having last looked at MAME about 10 years ago, I was under the impression that things might have stabilized by now. If anything, I found that things got more complex. Some of it is more options, and some of it is me being picky/purist. So, that was a bit of a deterrent, but I’m pushing through.

[Ond]

Ha.  Hmm, what exactly is a purist in terms of BYOAC anyway?  I say BYOAC and not just the broader arcade hobbyist community. 

[opt2not]

Ha.  Hmm, what exactly is a purist in terms of BYOAC anyway?  I say BYOAC and not just the broader arcade hobbyist community.

Other people might have a different explanation, but to me, being a purist means you're sticking to somewhat traditional arcade design conventions and emulation is avoided. Especially poor emulation that introduces things like input lag (like a rasp pi) that deters from the experience of the original game.

I just found the statement of being a purist because of not agreeing/liking the extended features of an Emulator is kind of a contradiction.