What do you guys think about multi-boards? 60-in-1, 412-in-1, etc.?

[javeryh]

I'm starting to plan my 2021 build and I'm leaning strongly to trying out a multi-board instead of a PC running MAME, which is all I've really ever done.  This will be a Christmas gift for my nephew in MA (I live in NJ) so I need something extremely easy to use that won't require troubleshooting.  Vertical games only with a 4-way and two buttons (plus P1 and P2 start).

If you were looking to throw together a cabinet quickly, is one of these JAMMA boards the way to go or is there something even easier (other than retropie, which I really, really hate)?

What are the pros and cons?

[pbj]

Oh boy, it’s this thread again.

You will never beat the price and convenience of a 60 in 1.

[Haze]

They're ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

They're old MAME versions on hardware so bad it wasn't even capable of running old MAME versions properly.

If you like terrible sound (just *try* to play Gyruss on one of the 60-in-1 units) or broken visuals (Scramble literally has broken bullets for one orientation) then sure, but there's no quality to them at all.

All those cheap Chinese multi-board crap are exactly what you'd expect from cheap Chinese crap, even the supposedly high end ones.  You're paying a premium price for absolute garbage (and some of the more recent ones even have the cheek to integrate online stores, where you can buy extra, still unlicensed, still badly emulated games, which from what I'm told takes money from your PayPal then just downloads the extra ROM from the Internet Archive)

[Mike A]

A gift for someone else?

60 in 1 for sure.

You will never get a call for maintenance.

[Mike A]

They're ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

They're old MAME versions on hardware so bad it wasn't even capable of running old MAME versions properly.

All those cheap Chinese multi-board crap are exactly what you'd expect from cheap Chinese crap, even the supposedly high end ones.  You're paying a premium price for absolute garbage (and some of the more recent ones even have the cheek to integrate online stores, where you can buy extra, still unlicensed, still badly emulated games, which from what I'm told takes money from your PayPal then just downloads the extra ROM from the Internet Archive)

So are you going to go to his nephew's house and fix it for him every time there is a problem?

[yotsuya]

It cracks me up when I see posts like this now. 10 years ago, when I joined this board, it was taboo to even mention them. :-)

Having said that, if you’re just building something for your nephew to goof around on, I’m with Mike. I built my nephews a MAME cab for Christmas one year, and they were always figuring some way to break a game or get out of the front end or something like that. Too much of a PITA.

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[wp34]

Check out the BitKit.  It is a FPGA so no emulation.  High Scores can be sent to a leaderboard in the cloud and you update it via Bluetooth.  Best part is the programmer (CraftyMech) is still very actively supporting it and new games/features are added regularly.  There is also a fun Facebook group for the BitKit that has semi-regular contests.

[javeryh]

Check out the BitKit.  It is a FPGA so no emulation.  High Scores can be sent to a leaderboard in the cloud and you update it via Bluetooth.  Best part is the programmer (CraftyMech) is still very actively supporting it and new games/features are added regularly.  There is also a fun Facebook group for the BitKit that has semi-regular contests.

I was looking at this and it seems really great - but no Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Donkey Kong, etc.  All of the popular games someone would expect to be able to play are not available.  The game list is pretty good though but geared more towards nerds like us rather than the general public.  I'm assuming the ability to add roms doesn't mean any rom you want but rather the ones that are officially supported.

[wp34]

I can't link to any information on the board due to Saint's rules but I would suggest you checkout the BitKit thread on KLOV for more information.  It supports more games than you realize including a couple you mentioned.  But you are correct you cannot load just any ROM on it.

[javeryh]

I can't link to any information on the board due to Saint's rules but I would suggest you checkout the BitKit thread on KLOV for more information.  It supports more games than you realize including a couple you mentioned.  But you are correct you cannot load just any ROM on it.

Hmmm... off to KLOV for some reading...

[Malenko]

used one in the build for my mom 7 years ago, its still chuggin along.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,138831.msg1435053.html

[Zeosstud]

A Mister would be maintenance free and has a pretty good selection of verticle games.. cool thing is he could just use a controller and plug it into a TV, like any TV.. so if you didn't want to build anything, you would not have to.

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[Gilrock]

I recently got a MiSTer and I wouldn't call it the most user friendly device.  I'm a software engineer but I wonder how it would work out as a gift to an non-techie.  The MiSter project believes in speed and accuracy and seems to care less about a decent user interface.

[Mike A]

A Mister?

It is a gift for a kid.

How much money do you think he is going to spend?

[Mike A]

Just buy the 60 in 1. It is perfect for your particular needs.

[Zeosstud]

I did not see a disclaimer about $$$ restrictions.. For arcade games you only need the DE10 nano and some memory.. Sure it's more than a 60n1, but it is also better, so there is that..

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[Zeosstud]

I recently got a MiSTer and I wouldn't call it the most user friendly device.  I'm a software engineer but I wonder how it would work out as a gift to an non-techie.  The MiSter project believes in speed and accuracy and seems to care less about a decent user interface.

If I was setting one up as a gift for a non techie, I would have a button labeled Game List ( alt-f12 ) and a button for game select ( enter )..  if you set the .ini to autoboot the last game, I agree the interface is not fancy, but I would not call it unfriendly.. It was just an idea.. we have ruled out the Pi, and the 60n1 was already brought up so.. 

I agree with you, like 100%, it is not super user friendly, but I would suggest, once someone does all the leg work, you can remove the need for network connectivity and it has no real moving parts, so it is sort of hard to break.  Being able to plug into anything with an HDMI port makes things pretty easy.. Not having to mess with Jamma could be plus.. It certainly uses very little power, so the electric bill wont go up much.

Just a thought..

-Zeosstud

[Gilrock]

I recently got a MiSTer and I wouldn't call it the most user friendly device.  I'm a software engineer but I wonder how it would work out as a gift to an non-techie.  The MiSter project believes in speed and accuracy and seems to care less about a decent user interface.

If I was setting one up as a gift for a non techie, I would have a button labeled Game List ( alt-f12 ) and a button for game select ( enter )..  if you set the .ini to autoboot the last game, I agree the interface is not fancy, but I would not call it unfriendly.. It was just an idea.. we have ruled out the Pi, and the 60n1 was already brought up so.. 

I agree with you, like 100%, it is not super user friendly, but I would suggest, once someone does all the leg work, you can remove the need for network connectivity and it has no real moving parts, so it is sort of hard to break.  Being able to plug into anything with an HDMI port makes things pretty easy.. Not having to mess with Jamma could be plus.. It certainly uses very little power, so the electric bill wont go up much.

Just a thought..

-Zeosstud

Thanks I don't even know enough about it yet so those ideas are news to me.  I saw where someone 3D printed a case for the MiSter where you use a keyboard and it kinda looks like an Atari 800 so I'm going to attempt that.  That's actually the only games I got running so far was a few Atari 800 games I remember liking as a kid.  Shamus was one of them and Miner 2049er.  For that system what's a little confusing is it asks you to pick things like how much memory the system has and some games load as cassettes others as ROM cartridges just like the originals.  If I don't play it for a week I gotta relearn some of that.

[Gilrock]

This is the MiSter case I was planning to 3D print:

[javeryh]

used one in the build for my mom 7 years ago, its still chuggin along.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,138831.msg1435053.html

Now this is good info - thanks Malenko!

I don't really have a budget in mind - ease of use and durability are what I'm looking for so the 60-in-1 seems like the right call for this particular project.  Ideally, I'd like to keep the thing under $300 all in.  The guts will run me $50 plus a $35 monitor.  Materials around $100 most likely plus paint, glass, CPO, marquee, etc. will easily add to another $100.  Going to be tough.  But if I target $400 it will end up being $500 LOL.

[Zeosstud]

Best of luck with your build!!  Your a good Uncle!!

-Zeosstud

[Gilrock]

I agree the RetroPie can be a pain.  I did just make a bartop running RetroPie for a friend.  I put it in Kiosk mode to prevent the kids from causing too much damage.  No issues yet.  It was looking pretty sweet I created custom loading videos and had preview artwork and videos all setup.  I didn't put 3000 games on it just something like 65 Mame games, top 50 Neo-Geo games, 15 NES games, small number of Sega Genesis games, and I had Dragon's Lair I & II and Space Ace running.

[Zeosstud]

How does DL and the other Daphne games run on the Pi?  I am going to use one to rebuild one of my cabinets and was just curious.. If you get a chance you might try the Wii version of the Don Bluth Dragon's Lair Trilogy using Dolphin.. Stupid easy to setup and it looks great, has a few different settings and can be setup just like it was in the arcade.. I actually finally, after 53 years on the planet beat Dragons Lair using that setup, beat it on my phone and on one of my cabinets just for fun..

-Zeosstud

[Gilrock]

I really only know Dragon's Lair I and it seems to play fine as long as you have the input setup correctly.  On one of the bartops I put the joystick input on the easyget zero delay encoder where it showed joystick axes at the top instead of switch inputs and they were leaf switches and worked most of the time but caused issues in Dragon's Lair which does not like inadvertent inputs.  I switched them over to the button inputs and it ran great.  I've beat Dragon's Lair I on my Mame cab but its been awhile and would take me a bit to get all the patterns down again.  I didn't see any lag at all on the RetroPie using a Pi 3B+ in one cab and a Pi 4 in another.

[Zeosstud]

Great info, appreciate it.. I did not have the $$$ to beat it back in the day, it was the first game we saw in Rolla MO that cost more than a quarter to play!!  Not gonna lie, I was pretty happy with myself when I finally finished it.. :-) 

-Zeosstud

[javeryh]

I've been looking at all sorts of solutions and came across something called ArPiCade which looks like it uses a raspberry pi plus some JAMMA converter that attaches to the pins on the pi but there is also custom firmware for it that you flash to an SD card.  Not retropie - yuck.  The few videos I've watched on YouTube make the interface look clean and the settings menu can only be entered by using a keyboard (that I assume gets plugged into one of the pi's USB ports).  Do any of you have experience with this?

This seems like it would be a clean interface if you limit the games to 4-way; vertical; 2 buttons:

[alfonzotan]

Check out the BitKit.  It is a FPGA so no emulation.  High Scores can be sent to a leaderboard in the cloud and you update it via Bluetooth.  Best part is the programmer (CraftyMech) is still very actively supporting it and new games/features are added regularly.  There is also a fun Facebook group for the BitKit that has semi-regular contests.

I was looking at this and it seems really great - but no Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Donkey Kong, etc.  All of the popular games someone would expect to be able to play are not available.  The game list is pretty good though but geared more towards nerds like us rather than the general public.  I'm assuming the ability to add roms doesn't mean any rom you want but rather the ones that are officially supported.

Ms. Pac, many versions of Pac-Man and Crazy Kong are all in the current BitKit. Edit: and Galaga. Just added recently.

[pbj]

Pi is great until someone flips the power switch and it kills your image.

[Gilrock]

I keep a backup of my Pi images but I've never seen one get corrupted.

[javeryh]

It would be ideal to be able to use the Arpicade image without the need for the Raspberry JAMMA since I’ll be connecting to a VGA monitor but I doubt that’s an option.

Is there even such a thing as an image for the pi that just runs MAME (not Retropie) and has a “front end” like the pics I posted above?  I’m sure this is all going to lead me to the 60-in-1 but there are a lot of options out there apparently.

[KenToad]

I keep a backup of my Pi images but I've never seen one get corrupted.

Same here.

The problem with the pi is all the customization stuff. I finally got mine setup in a case with a fan, power button, shutdown script, all the nonsense hidden, games all tested, artwork added, but it was a huge PITA that I never want to do again.

However, the pi isn't great for MAME games. It's good for consoles, especially PC Engine/Turbografx (from what I read) and Playstation 1 (as long as you don't mind losing rumble). GBA also looks really good on a big screen through HDMI.

[Gilrock]

I agree RetroPie was a pain to get going but only a few days.  I’ve had just as many complaints when I need to upgrade a Mame setup after two years and forgetting everything.  I must pick games that work well on the Pi.  I mainly only like the games earlier than 1990.  But I don’t really build the cabs to actually play them...lol.

[javeryh]

The problem with the pi is all the customization stuff. I finally got mine setup in a case with a fan, power button, shutdown script, all the nonsense hidden, games all tested, artwork added, but it was a huge PITA that I never want to do again.

When you say "all the nonsense hidden" does this also include the "Retropie" menu?  That is the deal breaker for me.  What I wish you could do is boot straight to the "Arcade" game list and not be able to back out of it.  But I don't think it works that way.  The Retropie menu is confusing when all you have is Arcade games installed and is an easy way for guests to completely screw something up. 

The image I messed around with has no boot images/text and goes straight into the list of emulators (so 1 button power on -> blank screen -> system menu) but the Retropie settings menu is still there.  I wish there was a way to disable it completely but still get into it by pressing F4 or something.

[Zeosstud]

Have you had a look in the Pi section of the forum, thread about, dedicated Mame appliance.. That seems like it might be an option here..

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[javeryh]

Have you had a look in the Pi section of the forum, thread about, dedicated Mame appliance.. That seems like it might be an option here..

I did see it but haven't really looked into it in detail.  At first glance it looks like standard MAME GUI, which is great and all but not what I'd want to run on a cabinet.  If I can skin it that would be a game changer.

[KenToad]

The problem with the pi is all the customization stuff. I finally got mine setup in a case with a fan, power button, shutdown script, all the nonsense hidden, games all tested, artwork added, but it was a huge PITA that I never want to do again.

When you say "all the nonsense hidden" does this also include the "Retropie" menu?  That is the deal breaker for me.  What I wish you could do is boot straight to the "Arcade" game list and not be able to back out of it.  But I don't think it works that way.  The Retropie menu is confusing when all you have is Arcade games installed and is an easy way for guests to completely screw something up. 

The image I messed around with has no boot images/text and goes straight into the list of emulators (so 1 button power on -> blank screen -> system menu) but the Retropie settings menu is still there.  I wish there was a way to disable it completely but still get into it by pressing F4 or something.

Yeah, the nonsense is all that configurable stuff in the Retropie setup menus and text loading screens and booting into the most accessible list. Also, I should say, every Pi image that I've ever looked at was about 60% finished, mainly because the image creators copy each other's work and therefore each other's mistakes. It's annoying to see the same essential games, art, etc. either broken or missing in image after image.

I think you can make it as simple as a single list of arcade games with no ability to do anything but launch and exit games from the control panel, but it will take some config editing and probably messing around with scripts. Personally, I have a linux laptop to be able to manually edit the config files and gamelists, etc. within the opaque Pi folder structure. If you don't have something similar to edit linux files, you might have to access the Pi wirelessly through your PC or mess around with connecting a keyboard to the Pi (it's even difficult to use a keyboard, as the default is to use a British (IIRC) standard layout, so that several buttons will be wrong on your US keyboard until you figure out how to change that) and then struggle to navigate the Dos-esque interface that's built into the Pi.

If you can find a video tutorial that covers your exact preferred setup or a preconfigured image that looks like the 60 in 1 and you have a ton of spare time to clean out the crap, add what's missing, and simplify it even further, then maybe a Pi would be worth it. Otherwise, the 60 in 1 style board sounds like definitely the way to go. Even easier and possibly cheaper might be to get one of those mini consoles and just do a gamepad hack to interface it to arcade controls.

[pbj]

Yeah, you can do all that ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- or just get a $30 multiboard.

Your nephew or side piece or whatever will be bored with it in 2 weeks no matter what you do.  Keep it simple and cheap.

[yotsuya]

Yeah, you can do all that ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- or just get a $30 multiboard.

Keep it simple and cheap.

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[Mike A]

If I said it once. I will say it a bunch more times.

pbj is usually right.

[Ond]

So the multi-board is the way to go for the level of effort vs the reward.  Good.  I have a question, what is the level of crap-ness of some hardware or software solution for a games machine that a kid WOULD tell the difference and care?  So long as stuff is moving around on the screen and going bleep bleep is it all good?

[Malenko]

My mom is no child, but she cant tell the difference between 60 in 1 MsPac and legit MsPac.
She has a knack for breaking ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, but like I said before the 60 in 1 is still going strong.

No configs to lose, or SD cards to get corrupted, nothing to set up. If the PCB finally dies, I can have one dropped of at my front door the next day for $41 shipped from amazon prime.
The only real sucky thing is you cant change the game list.

[Ond]

Not questioning the suitability of the multi-board, it's more of a design philosophy question.

[Malenko]

Not questioning the suitability of the multi-board, it's more of a design philosophy question.

Was backing what PBJ said, not replying to you

But to directly answer you, your average pleb wont know the difference.

[dmckean]

I really hate that we're a place that recommends 60-in-1s now. I understand the ease of use arguments, but man are those things are junk. Wrong colors, wrong sounds, graphical glitches, input lag, unplayable games.... those things have it all.

[Ond]

...

[Zeosstud]

Well don't suggest something that solves all those things.. People will think your Daddy Worbucks..

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[Zebidee]

I really hate that we're a place that recommends 60-in-1s now. I understand the ease of use arguments, but man are those things are junk. Wrong colors, wrong sounds, graphical glitches, input lag, unplayable games.... those things have it all.

Its like your favourite candy - you know its bad for you, but you just can't help yourself

[yotsuya]

I really hate that we're a place that recommends 60-in-1s now. I understand the ease of use arguments, but man are those things are junk. Wrong colors, wrong sounds, graphical glitches, input lag, unplayable games.... those things have it all.

I don’t disagree with you, and if he were building it for himself or the cab was staying in his house (like if he built it for his own kid), I’d be telling him to look at getting a PC-based solution.

But again, I’ve been in the same exact situation, I know kids will find a way to break things. If he wants to avoid any hassle and phone calls, he should take the easiest path. Otherwise the machine will sit in the corner of the room unplayed until he can come around and fix it.


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[javeryh]

I really hate that we're a place that recommends 60-in-1s now. I understand the ease of use arguments, but man are those things are junk. Wrong colors, wrong sounds, graphical glitches, input lag, unplayable games.... those things have it all.

I don’t disagree with you, and if he were building it for himself or the cab was staying in his house (like if he built it for his own kid), I’d be telling him to look at getting a PC-based solution.

But again, I’ve been in the same exact situation, I know kids will find a way to break things. If he wants to avoid any hassle and phone calls, he should take the easiest path. Otherwise the machine will sit in the corner of the room unplayed until he can come around and fix it.

Yup.  This is exactly right.  I still think a nice selection of vertical 4-way games that work "good enough" is going to be fine in this case.  Like the dishwater...

[Ond]

Obviously practical considerations need to be taken in to account with your original question.  I think it's possible to build a cabinet regardless of the underlying components and make it reasonably kid proof.  I mean if the kid is that determined to mess with it..well that's another problem.  I take issue with the attitude that "they won't know the difference' so make something sub-par, also whether they'll play it for 5 mins or a lifetime makes no difference.  When I make something for someone else I make it for me first (but with the recipient in mind).  The maintenance issue is really more rationalizing than any thing.  Sorry, but not sorry.  Just my opinion. 

[Zebidee]

Obviously practical considerations need to be taken in to account with your original question.  I think it's possible to build a cabinet regardless of the underlying components and make it reasonably kid proof.  I mean if the kid is that determined to mess with it..well that's another problem.  I take issue with the attitude that "they won't know the difference' so make something sub-par, also whether they'll play it for 5 mins or a lifetime makes no difference.  When I make something for someone else I make it for me first (but with the recipient in mind).  The maintenance issue is really more rationalizing than any thing.  Sorry, but not sorry.  Just my opinion. 

So what you're saying is that it all comes down to choices...

I like 60-in-one because it gives you choices. You could go for quality and invest the effort to create your own solution that is resistant to a thermonuclear 8-12yo boy, or you could just slap in a 60-in-one...

I said boy deliberately - I have 2 girls and they have always been fine with my arcade cabs. So has every other girl. But introduce a young male and they have it broken within 2 minutes guaranteed

[Vocalitus]

Well x in one boards have a tendency to remove copyright from the games, so if you get raided by the Nintendo goons, you have a fighting chance not to get sued.  Unlike us regular people with *cough* legal ish roms.

Sometimes they work for a while but tend to lock up.  Great if you have a jamma harness cab and you have basic clients that just want it to work.

You purists are probably worrying your little heads off with the prospect of it becoming an acceptable replacement of a main board.

I would say the ultimate victim in all of this is the mamedev.  The final insult of all their hard work going into this abomination product that the original coders will see no profit ( recognition) from their collective talents. 

This is new BYOAC.  So go figure.

[yotsuya]

Obviously practical considerations need to be taken in to account with your original question.  I think it's possible to build a cabinet regardless of the underlying components and make it reasonably kid proof.  I mean if the kid is that determined to mess with it..well that's another problem.  I take issue with the attitude that "they won't know the difference' so make something sub-par, also whether they'll play it for 5 mins or a lifetime makes no difference.  When I make something for someone else I make it for me first (but with the recipient in mind).  The maintenance issue is really more rationalizing than any thing.  Sorry, but not sorry.  Just my opinion. 

No one told him to make a sub-par cabinet. He asked what would be the easiest thing to maintain.

I need something extremely easy to use that won't require troubleshooting.

I’m not a 60-1 fan at all, but I’m also a realist.

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[bobbyb13]

I really hate that we're a place that recommends 60-in-1s now. I understand the ease of use arguments, but man are those things are junk. Wrong colors, wrong sounds, graphical glitches, input lag, unplayable games.... those things have it all.

I don’t disagree with you, and if he were building it for himself or the cab was staying in his house (like if he built it for his own kid), I’d be telling him to look at getting a PC-based solution.

But again, I’ve been in the same exact situation, I know kids will find a way to break things. If he wants to avoid any hassle and phone calls, he should take the easiest path. Otherwise the machine will sit in the corner of the room unplayed until he can come around and fix it.


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Well put.

And Haze also speaks the truth of course.

As we are talking both fact and opinion I have a car analogy, vintage 1970.

VW Beetle vs. Porsche 911

Both are ICE automobiles used for driving places.  The former utilitarian, the latter maximum performance.

Any driver can use the Beetle and find it functional and even possibly even enjoyable, unless maybe they understand the performance of...

The 911, which not only is the nuance of maximizing its performance lost on many people, it is actually inappropriate because most drivers will never get everything out of the car since they have not the skill to deal with it- and often people crashed and destroyed them trying to run them hard without the necessary skill.

That said, it makes me mad that none of the mamedevs have reaped any $$ benefit from the boards in question, even though the basis for said boards is THEIR work.

(Not unlike another thread where someone is selling plans based on other people's work!)

Maybe it is better that the boards in question kinda suck apparently.

[Zebidee]

Maybe it is better that the boards in question kinda suck apparently.

 

Will just go out for a drive in my 911

Are they called that so the aforementioned drivers don't forget the emergency number?

[javeryh]

Obviously practical considerations need to be taken in to account with your original question.  I think it's possible to build a cabinet regardless of the underlying components and make it reasonably kid proof.  I mean if the kid is that determined to mess with it..well that's another problem.  I take issue with the attitude that "they won't know the difference' so make something sub-par, also whether they'll play it for 5 mins or a lifetime makes no difference.  When I make something for someone else I make it for me first (but with the recipient in mind).  The maintenance issue is really more rationalizing than any thing.  Sorry, but not sorry.  Just my opinion. 

How would you go about it?  If there is a simple way to make it work without needing any attention I’m all for it.  The quality of the cabinet itself will be high - I will be building it as if it was for myself like you said.  It’s the guts that cannot malfunction. 

My nieces and nephews live 4 hours away and their parents are not into video games or computers at all.  If something goes wrong they won’t be able to fix it and a windows PC with a front end running MAME can be tough to maintain.

Over on the Raspberry Pi board there is a dedicated MAME thread and I asked whether a simple front end is possible and it is.  So I’m going to see what that’s all about.  Maybe a cheap solution that actually plays properly is possible... assuming the SD card doesn’t get corrupted...

[JMB]

I'm another vote for a multi-board. They just work. I've worked in IT for nearly 25 years now. I have zero desire to work on PC's in my free time. Give me a BitKit or a JROK any day of the week now. A mame PC is going to have issues at some point. I've got a cab with a 60-1 in it. It can sit for months and I know it is going to boot every time. I wouldn't bet on the same with a mame PC.  I'd always recommend a BitKit but for nearly the same price you can get a 60-1, a trackball, and a Servostick to switch between 4 and 8 way at the press of a button.

I listen to streaming music because it is convenient not because it has the best audio quality. Same with the 60-1. The inaccuracies don't bother me. Of course I also spend $18 on a 4 pack of beer so what do I know.

[yotsuya]

Just buy him a clearance Arcade1Up and be done with it.

Look, I’m always Team Haze, I don’t like those boards personally. If you were charging someone $3000 to build them a custom MAME cab and you slapped one of those in them, I’d think that was shady. When I’ve built cabinets for other adults, I’ve made sure they have a great set up running a good PC and front end, and even then every so often I get a call because they hit too many buttons at once and changed a setting or something like that.

But this is a gift for a child. Let the kid discover the magic of the games in a way that’s gonna work every time. If he’s interested in learning more, then Uncle Jay can teach him more about MAME, computers, and other stuff.

I mean, that’s how I see it. If the post was, “Hey, I just picked up a Ms. Pac-Man and want to replace the game board with a 60-1, what do you think?”, I’d be sharpening the pitchforks, too.


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[bobbyb13]

Maybe it is better that the boards in question kinda suck apparently.

 

Will just go out for a drive in my 911

Are they called that so the aforementioned drivers don't forget the emergency number?

That is hilarious.

What year is your car? They are remarkable machines.

And it would have been the 901 but for a spat with Peugeot I believe.

[Haze]

So the multi-board is the way to go for the level of effort vs the reward.  Good.  I have a question, what is the level of crap-ness of some hardware or software solution for a games machine that a kid WOULD tell the difference and care?  So long as stuff is moving around on the screen and going bleep bleep is it all good?

with the 60-in-1 units at least the kid will grow up to think the old 80s classics were absolute garbage, and not worth their time, the emulation really is that bad, it's of a quality we would have been ashamed to put out 22 years ago.

as others have said, if you really want a limited choice, with a good quality, but less configuration / less to go wrong, the FPGA solutions like the Mister offer that.  Those have their drawbacks too, but if you want convenience, without cutting on the quality, without too many things somebody could mess up, and without supporting the awful bootlegging industry that is causing real problems for the market, then those are the way to go.

[Ond]

So the multi-board is the way to go for the level of effort vs the reward.  Good.  I have a question, what is the level of crap-ness of some hardware or software solution for a games machine that a kid WOULD tell the difference and care?  So long as stuff is moving around on the screen and going bleep bleep is it all good?

with the 60-in-1 units at least the kid will grow up to think the old 80s classics were absolute garbage, and not worth their time, the emulation really is that bad, it's of a quality we would have been ashamed to put out 22 years ago.

as others have said, if you really want a limited choice, with a good quality, but less configuration / less to go wrong, the FPGA solutions like the Mister offer that.  Those have their drawbacks too, but if you want convenience, without cutting on the quality, without too many things somebody could mess up, and without supporting the awful bootlegging industry that is causing real problems for the market, then those are the way to go.

Thanks, that's an informative answer.  javeryh, I actually agree with yotsuya about the Arcade1up, it's a solution ready to go, they annoy me for a bunch of reasons but fit your requirements.  Otherwise, perhaps check out the Mister deal Haze has mentioned.

[Jimbo]

The problem with the pi is all the customization stuff. I finally got mine setup in a case with a fan, power button, shutdown script, all the nonsense hidden, games all tested, artwork added, but it was a huge PITA that I never want to do again.

When you say "all the nonsense hidden" does this also include the "Retropie" menu?  That is the deal breaker for me.  What I wish you could do is boot straight to the "Arcade" game list and not be able to back out of it.  But I don't think it works that way.  The Retropie menu is confusing when all you have is Arcade games installed and is an easy way for guests to completely screw something up. 

The image I messed around with has no boot images/text and goes straight into the list of emulators (so 1 button power on -> blank screen -> system menu) but the Retropie settings menu is still there.  I wish there was a way to disable it completely but still get into it by pressing F4 or something.

It's definitely possible to go straight to a list of arcade games with retropie/emulationstation, and hide the retropie menu, and stop other keys/buttons from messing up the UI.  I set it up exactly like that on my videotron bartop for my kids and so far nobody has been able to break it.  I didn't use a pre-downloaded image with loads already set up, I installed/configured everything from scratch.  It was ages ago now, so I don't remember how I did it all, but it wasn't that hard - just some googling really, then editing some config files.  I have my pi set up on a 32gb SD card.  If you want, I can share the .img file, but the controls are highly customised for my specific control panel (ipac/spinners/trackball), not for gamepads.  And for shutting down cleanly, there are fiddly ways using the gpio pins, or you can buy a powerblock board that makes it much easier.

[Ond]

The problem with the pi is all the customization stuff. I finally got mine setup in a case with a fan, power button, shutdown script, all the nonsense hidden, games all tested, artwork added, but it was a huge PITA that I never want to do again.

When you say "all the nonsense hidden" does this also include the "Retropie" menu?  That is the deal breaker for me.  What I wish you could do is boot straight to the "Arcade" game list and not be able to back out of it.  But I don't think it works that way.  The Retropie menu is confusing when all you have is Arcade games installed and is an easy way for guests to completely screw something up. 

The image I messed around with has no boot images/text and goes straight into the list of emulators (so 1 button power on -> blank screen -> system menu) but the Retropie settings menu is still there.  I wish there was a way to disable it completely but still get into it by pressing F4 or something.

It's definitely possible to go straight to a list of arcade games with retropie/emulationstation, and hide the retropie menu, and stop other keys/buttons from messing up the UI.  I set it up exactly like that on my videotron bartop for my kids and so far nobody has been able to break it.  I didn't use a pre-downloaded image with loads already set up, I installed/configured everything from scratch.  It was ages ago now, so I don't remember how I did it all, but it wasn't that hard - just some googling really, then editing some config files.  I have my pi set up on a 32gb SD card.  If you want, I can share the .img file, but the controls are highly customised for my specific control panel (ipac/spinners/trackball), not for gamepads.  And for shutting down cleanly, there are fiddly ways using the gpio pins, or you can buy a powerblock board that makes it much easier.

Cleanly shutting down a RaspB pi is this easy:

Connect MOM button to Pins 5-6 and

git clone https://github.com/Howchoo/pi-power-button.git  ./pi-power-button/script/install

I've done this and it works beautifully for power up and down.

[dmckean]

with the 60-in-1 units at least the kid will grow up to think the old 80s classics were absolute garbage, and not worth their time, the emulation really is that bad, it's of a quality we would have been ashamed to put out 22 years ago.

as others have said, if you really want a limited choice, with a good quality, but less configuration / less to go wrong, the FPGA solutions like the Mister offer that.  Those have their drawbacks too, but if you want convenience, without cutting on the quality, without too many things somebody could mess up, and without supporting the awful bootlegging industry that is causing real problems for the market, then those are the way to go.

I picked up a MiSTer about a month ago and I think it would be difficult to lock it down to the same level as a 60-in-1. The BitKit or JROK FPGAs are probably still a better choice for that currently, even though they play a much more limited selection of games. The MiSTer is really easy to use but it's not maintenance free.

It's a really neat piece of hardware and I've had a lot of fun with it. Some of the cores could still use some work but others are truly great and I can see the potential.

[yotsuya]

with the 60-in-1 units at least the kid will grow up to think the old 80s classics were absolute garbage, and not worth their time, the emulation really is that bad, it's of a quality we would have been ashamed to put out 22 years ago.

as others have said, if you really want a limited choice, with a good quality, but less configuration / less to go wrong, the FPGA solutions like the Mister offer that.  Those have their drawbacks too, but if you want convenience, without cutting on the quality, without too many things somebody could mess up, and without supporting the awful bootlegging industry that is causing real problems for the market, then those are the way to go.

I picked up a MiSTer about a month ago and I think it would be difficult to lock it down to the same level as a 60-in-1. The BitKit or JROK FPGAs are probably still a better choice for that currently, even though they play a much more limited selection of games. The MiSTer is really easy to use but it's not maintenance free.

It's a really neat piece of hardware and I've had a lot of fun with it. Some of the cores could still use some work but others are truly great and I can see the potential.

I’ve always wanted to get an ArcadeSD, but they’ve never come down enough in price to justify grabbing one to tinker.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dmckean]

I’ve always wanted to get an ArcadeSD, but they’ve never come down enough in price to justify grabbing one to tinker.

I actually didn't realize it was still a product. I remember reading that further development had stopped for it around 6 years ago.

[javeryh]

with the 60-in-1 units at least the kid will grow up to think the old 80s classics were absolute garbage, and not worth their time, the emulation really is that bad, it's of a quality we would have been ashamed to put out 22 years ago.

as others have said, if you really want a limited choice, with a good quality, but less configuration / less to go wrong, the FPGA solutions like the Mister offer that.  Those have their drawbacks too, but if you want convenience, without cutting on the quality, without too many things somebody could mess up, and without supporting the awful bootlegging industry that is causing real problems for the market, then those are the way to go.

I picked up a MiSTer about a month ago and I think it would be difficult to lock it down to the same level as a 60-in-1. The BitKit or JROK FPGAs are probably still a better choice for that currently, even though they play a much more limited selection of games. The MiSTer is really easy to use but it's not maintenance free.

It's a really neat piece of hardware and I've had a lot of fun with it. Some of the cores could still use some work but others are truly great and I can see the potential.

I’ve always wanted to get an ArcadeSD, but they’ve never come down enough in price to justify grabbing one to tinker.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah the more I look at it the more I think it’s an awesome solution even though it’s advertised at like $350.  The orders page says you can buy it but “Placing your order will hold your spot for the next batch to come in” isn’t that clear and I don’t want to be out $350 indefinitely.  Although it’s only money.  What else am I going to spend it on?

[Zebidee]

with the 60-in-1 units at least the kid will grow up to think the old 80s classics were absolute garbage, and not worth their time, the emulation really is that bad, it's of a quality we would have been ashamed to put out 22 years ago.

as others have said, if you really want a limited choice, with a good quality, but less configuration / less to go wrong, the FPGA solutions like the Mister offer that.  Those have their drawbacks too, but if you want convenience, without cutting on the quality, without too many things somebody could mess up, and without supporting the awful bootlegging industry that is causing real problems for the market, then those are the way to go.

I picked up a MiSTer about a month ago and I think it would be difficult to lock it down to the same level as a 60-in-1. The BitKit or JROK FPGAs are probably still a better choice for that currently, even though they play a much more limited selection of games. The MiSTer is really easy to use but it's not maintenance free.

It's a really neat piece of hardware and I've had a lot of fun with it. Some of the cores could still use some work but others are truly great and I can see the potential.

I’ve always wanted to get an ArcadeSD, but they’ve never come down enough in price to justify grabbing one to tinker.

Yeah the more I look at it the more I think it’s an awesome solution even though it’s advertised at like $350.  The orders page says you can buy it but “Placing your order will hold your spot for the next batch to come in” isn’t that clear and I don’t want to be out $350 indefinitely.  Although it’s only money.  What else am I going to spend it on?

MiSTer is on my shopping list too, just above lightguns (both Sinden and others), more CRTs and more original consoles.

I don't love the 60-in-ones but even I eat at McDonalds sometimes. That's how I see it.

[Zebidee]

Maybe it is better that the boards in question kinda suck apparently.

 

Will just go out for a drive in my 911.

Are they called that so the aforementioned drivers don't forget the emergency number?

That is hilarious.

What year is your car? They are remarkable machines.

And it would have been the 901 but for a spat with Peugeot I believe.

Nah mate, sorry, I was talking ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- about taking my 911 for a drive.  I don't have one geez.

I was making an analogy between putting a 60-in-one in a cab for the unwashed masses, while I myself play on my FPGA or Groovymame (or even original PCB) based setup with a CRT.

[bobbyb13]

Have always loved the unwashed masses term 
And I do consider myself a member of the hoi polloi for various reasons. 

Hawai'i is devoid of real machines.  I envy most here.
If I stumbled on $100k I didn't need for something else I would fly to the mainland and fill a sea container with real machines to start a legit arcade here.

More on topic though, does anyone know if mamedevs ever considered producing a board similar to a 60 in 1- but not including the taboo roms of course?

Or is the whole concept itself taboo?
Sincere question.
I am still pretty new, so go easy on me.

I will however have to mine the photo archives for a picture of my last car while still living in Rhode Island 15 years ago though.
 

[Zebidee]

More on topic though, does anyone know if mamedevs ever considered producing a board similar to a 60 in 1- but not including the taboo roms of course?

Or is the whole concept itself taboo?
Sincere question.
I am still pretty new, so go easy on me.

I think the answer to your question is FPGA, MiSTer/bitkit etc. The focus is on emulating original game/system *hardware* vs MAME which is more about *software* based emulation. Doing some pretty exciting stuff and in many ways ahead of MAME.

[bobbyb13]

More on topic though, does anyone know if mamedevs ever considered producing a board similar to a 60 in 1- but not including the taboo roms of course?

Or is the whole concept itself taboo?
Sincere question.
I am still pretty new, so go easy on me.

I think the answer to your question is FPGA, MiSTer/bitkit etc. The focus is on emulating original game/system *hardware* vs MAME which is more about *software* based emulation. Doing some pretty exciting stuff and in many ways ahead of MAME.

Funny that, I have a jrok Williams and a MiSTer kit waiting in the fun stuff cabinet for when I get through with my current project
 

[leapinlew]

Javery, I did something similar last year. You can see my thread here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,163103

I'm not a purist, so for me, the 19-n-1 and 60-n-1 work a lot better on my cabinets. The 19-n-1 only runs defender and the 60-n-1 is running 18 games. I removed all the games that don't play correctly like Centipede - I don't have a trackball and using a joystick is lame, and the 8 way games like Xevious, 1943, etc. Once done, I had 18 games and almost all of them run well enough. The machines are rock solid and boot up every time.

I still run mame on PC's for a few cabinets. I spent some time imaging them and making them as foolproof as possible. My Gorf is running a Pi with a single game and has a SD backup image ready to go when/if it crashes. The kids can power down and up the machine with a light switch.

Ultimately, I wanted stability and ease of use for my kids. These boards have it. They aren't perfect, but I'm not chasing perfection. 

[leapinlew]

I take issue with the attitude that "they won't know the difference' so make something sub-par, also whether they'll play it for 5 mins or a lifetime makes no difference

The challenge here is determining how sub-par the multi-boards are compared to using a PC. I think we can all agree that using emulation is already a sub-par experience, so we are already traveling down the road to compromise. With my 60-n-1, I'm using a WICO leaf 4 way and 19" CRT Arcade Monitor. I disabled all the games I don't like, don't play right, etc. The menu system is functional. My other machine has the full Hyperspin experience and I guess I don't really care about the menu system.

Trying to decide what's subpar and what isn't, is such a matter of personal choice. I wrestled with this for a while before making the conversion to multi-board in my classic vertical cabinet and for me, I'm happy I did, but I could totally see someone else feeling that the machine is too compromised to enjoy it.

[wp34]

with the 60-in-1 units at least the kid will grow up to think the old 80s classics were absolute garbage, and not worth their time, the emulation really is that bad, it's of a quality we would have been ashamed to put out 22 years ago.

as others have said, if you really want a limited choice, with a good quality, but less configuration / less to go wrong, the FPGA solutions like the Mister offer that.  Those have their drawbacks too, but if you want convenience, without cutting on the quality, without too many things somebody could mess up, and without supporting the awful bootlegging industry that is causing real problems for the market, then those are the way to go.

I picked up a MiSTer about a month ago and I think it would be difficult to lock it down to the same level as a 60-in-1. The BitKit or JROK FPGAs are probably still a better choice for that currently, even though they play a much more limited selection of games. The MiSTer is really easy to use but it's not maintenance free.

It's a really neat piece of hardware and I've had a lot of fun with it. Some of the cores could still use some work but others are truly great and I can see the potential.

I’ve always wanted to get an ArcadeSD, but they’ve never come down enough in price to justify grabbing one to tinker.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah the more I look at it the more I think it’s an awesome solution even though it’s advertised at like $350.  The orders page says you can buy it but “Placing your order will hold your spot for the next batch to come in” isn’t that clear and I don’t want to be out $350 indefinitely.  Although it’s only money.  What else am I going to spend it on?

The ArcadeSD has some nice features.  The menu is much better IMHO than the 60-1.  It also lets you play a number of horizontal games vertically--including faves of mine Ladybug, Tapper and Timber.  I wanted a mutliboard that would get me the most enjoyment in a horizontal 4-way cab and it fit the bill.

[Ond]

I take issue with the attitude that "they won't know the difference' so make something sub-par, also whether they'll play it for 5 mins or a lifetime makes no difference

The challenge here is determining how sub-par the multi-boards are compared to using a PC. I think we can all agree that using emulation is already a sub-par experience, so we are already traveling down the road to compromise. With my 60-n-1, I'm using a WICO leaf 4 way and 19" CRT Arcade Monitor. I disabled all the games I don't like, don't play right, etc. The menu system is functional. My other machine has the full Hyperspin experience and I guess I don't really care about the menu system.

Trying to decide what's subpar and what isn't, is such a matter of personal choice. I wrestled with this for a while before making the conversion to multi-board in my classic vertical cabinet and for me, I'm happy I did, but I could totally see someone else feeling that the machine is too compromised to enjoy it.

It's the general attitude of building something that YOU consider sub-par, for someone else, because they wouldn't know the difference that I'm questioning.   I have no issue with someones personal choice over the quality of emulation that they are satisfied with for themselves.  Do you know what I'm saying lew?   I'm not suggesting this is javeryh's attitude at all, he has high standards and particular requirements he's trying to cover. So apart from that kind of attitude-feedback, he's got some good info about multi-boards.

That's 3 times I used the word attitude  .  Some folks were suggesting that the kid-proof factor is the highest priority and that all other orders are rescinded, crew are expendable, maybe so, maybe so ...

[Zebidee]

That's 3 times I used the word attitude  .  Some folks were suggesting that the kid-proof factor is the highest priority and that all other orders are rescinded, crew are expendable, maybe so, maybe so ...

I don't think anyone here has an excess of "attitude", not yet anyway

Sometimes kid-proof IS a high priority, sometimes not. That priority may change from day to day or hour to hour. Sometimes your games will be played by button-mashing tornados that just want to hear beeps and boops. Sometimes you want to share the more authentic game experience with your friends, and are happy to tolerate system crashes sometimes for the sake of authenticity.

In my retrogaming world-view fun is *always* the highest priority. I want to introduce classic games to people: if they have fun then it becomes a pleasant and memorable experience, something to explore. If they don't have fun or it fails frequently then it is going to be boring and it will be a unmemorable "meh" experience.

It is good to have choices. In my ideal world I would be running different kinds of systems to suit different needs & times. Direct the button mashers off to the multigame board cab, they can destroy that if they want. People that want more authentic experiences, please look at this MAME cabinet. Not good enough? Over here are some REAL games...

Someone with more "attitude" than you or I about accuracy and authenticity might take the view that MAME and 60-in-ones etc. are all basically the same, poor copies, and that the only arcade experience worth pursuing is original games in original cabinets. I sympathise with those purists. However, we all make compromises even with MAME so if you want to point fingers at people for accepting subpar experiences, you'd better start looking in a mirror.

[Ond]

That's 3 times I used the word attitude  .  Some folks were suggesting that the kid-proof factor is the highest priority and that all other orders are rescinded, crew are expendable, maybe so, maybe so ...

I don't think anyone here has an excess of "attitude", not yet anyway

Sometimes kid-proof IS a high priority, sometimes not. That priority may change from day to day or hour to hour. Sometimes your games will be played by button-mashing tornados that just want to hear beeps and boops. Sometimes you want to share the more authentic game experience with your friends, and are happy to tolerate system crashes sometimes for the sake of authenticity.

In my retrogaming world-view fun is *always* the highest priority. I want to introduce classic games to people: if they have fun then it becomes a pleasant and memorable experience, something to explore. If they don't have fun or it fails frequently then it is going to be boring and it will be a unmemorable "meh" experience.

It is good to have choices. In my ideal world I would be running different kinds of systems to suit different needs & times. Direct the button mashers off to the multigame board cab, they can destroy that if they want. People that want more authentic experiences, please look at this MAME cabinet. Not good enough? Over here are some REAL games...

Someone with more "attitude" than you or I about accuracy and authenticity might take the view that MAME and 60-in-ones etc. are all basically the same, poor copies, and that the only arcade experience worth pursuing is original games in original cabinets. I sympathise with those purists. However, we all make compromises even with MAME so if you want to point fingers at people for accepting subpar experiences, you'd better start looking in a mirror.

Good.

[leapinlew]

I take issue with the attitude that "they won't know the difference' so make something sub-par, also whether they'll play it for 5 mins or a lifetime makes no difference

The challenge here is determining how sub-par the multi-boards are compared to using a PC. I think we can all agree that using emulation is already a sub-par experience, so we are already traveling down the road to compromise. With my 60-n-1, I'm using a WICO leaf 4 way and 19" CRT Arcade Monitor. I disabled all the games I don't like, don't play right, etc. The menu system is functional. My other machine has the full Hyperspin experience and I guess I don't really care about the menu system.

Trying to decide what's subpar and what isn't, is such a matter of personal choice. I wrestled with this for a while before making the conversion to multi-board in my classic vertical cabinet and for me, I'm happy I did, but I could totally see someone else feeling that the machine is too compromised to enjoy it.

It's the general attitude of building something that YOU consider sub-par, for someone else, because they wouldn't know the difference that I'm questioning.   I have no issue with someones personal choice over the quality of emulation that they are satisfied with for themselves.  Do you know what I'm saying lew?   I'm not suggesting this is javeryh's attitude at all, he has high standards and particular requirements he's trying to cover. So apart from that kind of attitude-feedback, he's got some good info about multi-boards.

Tracking! As someone who's sold many cabinets, I pretty much build for the customer and let me tell ya, the customer will want some pretty messed up stuff. I have refused many "One-Cabinet-To-Rule-Them-All" control panel requests, but when they want a 4 way Super joystick with a ball top vs a 4 way leaf - they get it.

Agreed - lots of good information here. I chose the multi-board path and realize it falls shorts in some areas, but works well in the areas I need it.

[bobbyb13]

Is it wrong/stupid of me to agree with pretty much everyone here?

[javeryh]

It's the general attitude of building something that YOU consider sub-par, for someone else, because they wouldn't know the difference that I'm questioning.   

This is the part I'm definitely wrestling with and why I'm glad people are so opinionated on this subject.  I do have high standards for any build - I want it to look and behave a certain way.  I really struggle with not providing the best experience I could.  But I also have to balance it with the fact that I will be 4 hours away and only see my family a few times a year - if something needs fixing, I won't be there to do it.  And I've noticed over the years that everyone from kids to adults really beat the hell out of arcade cabinets unintentionally.  Full force yanking on the joystick, slapping the CP when they lose, etc.

I can also look at this as a trial run - if the kids like the games and get into it, swapping out a multi-board or a pi for a PC running the latest version of MAME will be relatively easy to do.  Maybe that's uncle javeryh's 2022 Christmas gift?

That said, someone in here suggested I look in the Pi forum because there is a full version of MAME .229 for the pi4 that works and the creator (bbegin) said I could install Attract Mode on top of it to make it look pretty.  I did some digging and someone else made a vertical ArcadeSD Attract Mode Theme, which would be perfect.  So... I am going down the rabbit hole to see if I can get all three things to play nice with each other (MAME, Attract Mode and the theme).  If I get it working I think a lot of people would be interested in the image (no roms) but if it proves to be too difficult (likely, considering my skill set) I'll go down the 60-in-1 path.

The dream is actual MAME on a pi with an extremely simple GUI and no other garbage...

[KenToad]

I've never had any issues with MAME's stability, especially if you're running a set of roms that all use the same basic keyboard-based controls. It's frontends like Hyperspin and Retroarch with all their bugs and hotkeys that are the problem. I imagine that there is a simple frontend with a basic game selection screen that would be as stable as a 60 in 1, although I only have experience with MAMEwah years ago and Hyperspin now.

[Zebidee]

This is the part I'm definitely wrestling with and why I'm glad people are so opinionated on this subject.  I do have high standards for any build - I want it to look and behave a certain way.  I really struggle with not providing the best experience I could.  But I also have to balance it with the fact that I will be 4 hours away and only see my family a few times a year - if something needs fixing, I won't be there to do it.  And I've noticed over the years that everyone from kids to adults really beat the hell out of arcade cabinets unintentionally.  Full force yanking on the joystick, slapping the CP when they lose, etc.

There is less difference and more agreement that one might think. Almost everyone on this forum uses emulators, so we are all guilty of running less than perfect hardware.

Most would agree that you should deliver the best you reasonably can, not just what the client is likely to accept. It is about of professionalism and pride in your work. The differences are often not in the first things people see, but in the little details that are revealed over time.

Is it wrong/stupid of me to agree with pretty much everyone here?

You're one of the smartest people in the room I think

[javeryh]

I've never had any issues with MAME's stability, especially if you're running a set of roms that all use the same basic keyboard-based controls. It's frontends like Hyperspin and Retroarch with all their bugs and hotkeys that are the problem. I imagine that there is a simple frontend with a basic game selection screen that would be as stable as a 60 in 1, although I only have experience with MAMEwah years ago and Hyperspin now.

I do not liked Retroarch/Retropie at all.  Even setting aside the ancient version of MAME that it uses it is so difficult to configure and get working like I want.  Why people need to see a picture of the cabinet or a flyer and all the other crap that is included is beyond me and 99% of the themes are set up for an Xbox or SNES controller so the instructions say "Press A", "Press Start", "Press Select", etc. which is nonsensical on an arcade cabinet.

It's hard to believe that no one has put together current MAME and a super simple GUI for a pi4 image yet but maybe I'm not looking in the right places.  I'm envisioning:

- Press button on cab to power on/off pi (with a safe shutdown script)
- Boot straight to GUI (Attract Mode with ArcadeSD theme)
- Move joystick to highlight game
- Press P1 Start to select game from list.
- Press some hotkey combo to exit game (either P1 Start+P2 Start or hold dedicated Exit button for 3 seconds)

That's it.  Maybe split it into horizontal and vertical versions?  It would basically function like a XXX-in-1 but use current version of MAME and a better GUI.  I wish I knew how to program stuff - I've got lots of ideas but zero know-how!

[JDFan]

The dream is actual MAME on a pi with an extremely simple GUI and no other garbage...

IF the hesitation is stability issues due to corruption - hitting wrong button combos somehow etc. - What I have found to work fairly well is to include an extra sd card with a working image on it and taped inside the cab - along with keeping a backup copy that you keep - Let them know it's there and how to swap it into the pi if something goes wrong - Then have them call you if they use it and then you can burn another to mail/deliver to them to replace the non working one. ( the backup usually lasts long enough for you to send a new backup and you just collect the broken ones to reburn as needed ) Figure SD cards are really cheap these days so having an extra one or two ( can also give a second backup to the parents ) doesn't cost much and keeps things working if something does happen.

[csnow]

How does the BitKit compare to an AracadeSD card?  I really, really liked the ArcadeSD until it got stuck in maintenance mode.  That wouldn't be so bad except I was told it would be $100 to look at it with no promises and that I would get zero consideration toward a new purchase.  Needless to say, they went on my vendor chit list.

[wp34]

How does the BitKit compare to an AracadeSD card?  I really, really liked the ArcadeSD until it got in maintenance mode.  That wouldn't be so bad except I was told it would be $100 to look at it with no promises and that I would get zero consideration toward a new purchase.  Needless to say, they went on my vedor chit list.

The ArcadeSD has a better selection of games but they are emulated and not FPGA like the BitKit.  It is also no longer supported with updates. 

The BitKit is actively being supported with new updates and games being added every couple of months.  For me this is huge.

It likely comes down to cost and games when comparing the two.  I play my BitKit a lot more than the ArcadeSD for what it is worth.  The oddball games on the BitKit are very fun.  It has the best version of Crazy Kong I've ever played.

[csnow]

How does the BitKit compare to an AracadeSD card?  I really, really liked the ArcadeSD until it got in maintenance mode.  That wouldn't be so bad except I was told it would be $100 to look at it with no promises and that I would get zero consideration toward a new purchase.  Needless to say, they went on my vedor chit list.

The ArcadeSD has a better selection of games but they are emulated and not FPGA like the BitKit.  It is also no longer supported with updates. 

The BitKit is actively being supported with new updates and games being added every couple of months.  For me this is huge.

It likely comes down to cost and games when comparing the two.  I play my BitKit a lot more than the ArcadeSD for what it is worth.  The oddball games on the BitKit are very fun.  It has the best version of Crazy Kong I've ever played.

Thanks for the reply.  I may end up just biting the bullet and getting another ArcadeSD.  This is for a dedicated 4-way/vert cab in the game room.  It was originally a Galaga/Ms Pac Reunion upright that i put a Wells 7k into it and an original Ms Pac control panel and added a leaf fire button button so that everything was period correct like I remember back in 81.  I like the BitKit but its missing two of my must haves - Donkey Kong and Dig Dug.  Any chance you want to sell your ArcadeSD?  I don't want to do a dedicated MAME build for this cabinet. 

[lilshawn]

The dream is actual MAME on a pi with an extremely simple GUI and no other garbage...

IF the hesitation is stability issues due to corruption - hitting wrong button combos somehow etc. - What I have found to work fairly well is to include an extra sd card with a working image on it and taped inside the cab - along with keeping a backup copy that you keep - Let them know it's there and how to swap it into the pi if something goes wrong - Then have them call you if they use it and then you can burn another to mail/deliver to them to replace the non working one. ( the backup usually lasts long enough for you to send a new backup and you just collect the broken ones to reburn as needed ) Figure SD cards are really cheap these days so having an extra one or two ( can also give a second backup to the parents ) doesn't cost much and keeps things working if something does happen.

why is this even a thing? if friggin 2021 for gods sake. can we just open a file to read it? why do we have to chance corruption if we turn it off cause a file system is mounted or some crap? Why do we have to hold crap in memory and the write it back without updating the file system so crap gets corrupted if we shut it down? this kind of stuff should be READ ONLY. PERIOD.

load it into memory and get the fawk off the disk already. who gives a crap if you have to wait?

unless you feel like being a permanent on-call technician, 60-in-1 is bulletproof.

besides, these games were dead before these kids were born, who gives 2 craps if the sound is slightly off or a pixel is the wrong color?

[Gilrock]

Most people seem perfectly happy going through a shutdown menu on Windows but freak out if you tell them to do it on a Pi.  Try just pulling the plug on your PCs and you might get lucky most of the time.

[dmckean]

besides, these games were dead before these kids were born, who gives 2 craps if the sound is slightly off or a pixel is the wrong color?

I do.

That's not even the worst of the problems with 60-in-1 boards. They have poor timings so the games do not play the same as they originally did, they have input lag so controls are not as responsive as they should feel, they have games on them that do no display properly and are completely unplayable, and on top of all that they use a version of MAME that is under a non-commercial license and are completely illegal to own and use. Promoting them here is disrespectful to Haze (who has been an excellent resource here over the years) and the rest of the MAME project.

A BitKit, MiSTer, JROK board or a proper GroovyMAME setup play the games an order of magnitude better than these pieces of Chinese junk.

[wp34]

Thanks for the reply.  I may end up just biting the bullet and getting another ArcadeSD.  This is for a dedicated 4-way/vert cab in the game room.  It was originally a Galaga/Ms Pac Reunion upright that i put a Wells 7k into it and an original Ms Pac control panel and added a leaf fire button button so that everything was period correct like I remember back in 81.  I like the BitKit but its missing two of my must haves - Donkey Kong and Dig Dug. 

That is a great setup for either the BitKit or ArcadeSD.   

Any chance you want to sell your ArcadeSD?  I don't want to do a dedicated MAME build for this cabinet.

I don't want to give the ArcadeSD up.  I'm going to put it in a cabinet with the BitKit and one of Riddle's Jamma switchers soon.

[lilshawn]

I do.

but who are you? are you a 10 -15 year old who has never even seen or played pacman or galaga? if something was wrong, how would they even know? as was said by jim, these kids will play it for a while...get sick of it, and that will be it. for the sake of ease, 60-in-1 is the way to go here.

they use a version of MAME that is under a non-commercial license and are completely illegal to own and use.

you want to get pedantic, literally everything mame is illegal with anything but homebrew roms that people have posted there and expressly allow their use. nobody has rights to any games you'd ACTUALLY play with it anyway. besides, mame changed their copyright cause the implication of use was going to get them in trouble.

Code: [Select]

MAME
Copyright (C) 1997-2021  MAMEDev and contributors

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
that's it. that is all of their legal licence now. they are basically hoiking the legality onto the person using it. so i guess what should happen is the 60-in-1 should update the version of mame it's using then?

the way i see it you stealin' roms owned by companies like midway and nintendo and go with mame... or you violate an old licence for software from a group who propose you steal roms from somewhere else to use with their software... (oh, provided its legal for you to do so in your country of course.) and you stealin' roms owned by companies like midway and nintendo i personally don't see a difference either way.

but of course, you have permission to use those 10,000 roms you got on you groovymamebitkitjrokmisterwhatever you got there. i'm sure you have your garage stuffed to the roof with the mountains of paperwork from nintendo and sega and midway and capcom and cave and and and and... allowing you to download and you can legally play the games.

don't whiteknight mame as being good and 60-in-1 is evil. literally everything is illegal... and trying to make it legal is impossible and futile cause everyone wants theirs.

you can only justify choosing one or the other and convince yourself that it is good.

i guess also this falls into the cognitive dissonance balance theory and it's correlations... the premise:  the software on the 60-in-1 is illegal and the roms are illegal, therefore 60-in-1 is illegal and mame is legal and the roms are freely available...so it must be not illegal. our drive to maintain psychological balance allows us to justify one being good and the other bad, all the while, both actually being bad.

</ >

[csnow]

[I don't want to give the ArcadeSD up.  I'm going to put it in a cabinet with the BitKit and one of Riddle's Jamma switchers soon.

These two videos sold me on the MiSTerCade JAMA board.  I don't think its ready for sale, but I have other projects to wrap up so I am not in a hurry.  This thing looks like a game changer.

[Ond]

I've been reading the thread over on the Raspberry Pi & Dev Board on using a Pi 4 for a dedicated current Mame version build.  This type of build could be a bit daunting for those new to Linux based systems but ... it's put the hook in me.  I think I'll have a play with the build approach on a Pi 4.  I'm fine with Linux and Pi stuff.  The guy has already produced a working image, but a step by step guide in layman's terms might be useful.  To date I haven't used a pi for arcade stuff at all.  I use them for other stuff like media servers or VPN servers etc.

This may not fit your time line javeryh, but a clean build free of the stuff you hate may be useful to you. Either way  I like playing with Pi's, should be interesting.

[wp34]

I've seen that top video and agree that the MiSTer Jamma looks very impressive.  A MiSTer is in my future for sure.   

[I don't want to give the ArcadeSD up.  I'm going to put it in a cabinet with the BitKit and one of Riddle's Jamma switchers soon.

These two videos sold me on the MiSTerCade JAMA board.  I don't think its ready for sale, but I have other projects to wrap up so I am not in a hurry.  This thing looks like a game changer.

[Vocalitus]

The dream is actual MAME on a pi with an extremely simple GUI and no other garbage...

Actually that is well.... was my dream too.

Its now reality with the handful of games I love to play.

Tell Alexa to fire it up, select a game.  Hit two buttons to quit game.  Simple menu.

One button to quit and Alexa to power it off.

Bliss.

[Zeosstud]

I power my MiSTer on and off with Alexa too, it is fun..

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[javeryh]

I've been reading the thread over on the Raspberry Pi & Dev Board on using a Pi 4 for a dedicated current Mame version build.  This type of build could be a bit daunting for those new to Linux based systems but ... it's put the hook in me.  I think I'll have a play with the build approach on a Pi 4.  I'm fine with Linux and Pi stuff.  The guy has already produced a working image, but a step by step guide in layman's terms might be useful.  To date I haven't used a pi for arcade stuff at all.  I use them for other stuff like media servers or VPN servers etc.

This may not fit your time line javeryh, but a clean build free of the stuff you hate may be useful to you. Either way  I like playing with Pi's, should be interesting.

This would be incredible.  My timeline is Christmas so plenty of time.  Also, if it works, I’d use a build like this in a lot of future projects.

I just got my hands on a pi4 and put bbegin’s image on the SD card.  I didn’t get to power it up though because of family stuff but tomorrow I’m going to mess around with it.  The pi4 came with a book that has some basic Python info in there so I’m going to read through that too.  I’m a total noob but this stuff interests me so maybe I’ll learn something.

By the way, Attract Mode might not work - bbegin said that https://pegasus-frontend.org/ would work better but I have no idea what that is yet.

[Ond]

I've been reading the thread over on the Raspberry Pi & Dev Board on using a Pi 4 for a dedicated current Mame version build.  This type of build could be a bit daunting for those new to Linux based systems but ... it's put the hook in me.  I think I'll have a play with the build approach on a Pi 4.  I'm fine with Linux and Pi stuff.  The guy has already produced a working image, but a step by step guide in layman's terms might be useful.  To date I haven't used a pi for arcade stuff at all.  I use them for other stuff like media servers or VPN servers etc.

This may not fit your time line javeryh, but a clean build free of the stuff you hate may be useful to you. Either way  I like playing with Pi's, should be interesting.

This would be incredible.  My timeline is Christmas so plenty of time.  Also, if it works, I’d use a build like this in a lot of future projects.

I just got my hands on a pi4 and put bbegin’s image on the SD card.  I didn’t get to power it up though because of family stuff but tomorrow I’m going to mess around with it.  The pi4 came with a book that has some basic Python info in there so I’m going to read through that too.  I’m a total noob but this stuff interests me so maybe I’ll learn something.

By the way, Attract Mode might not work - bbegin said that https://pegasus-frontend.org/ would work better but I have no idea what that is yet.

That's plenty of time.  I'll get a Pi 4.  Just out of interest which memory config did you go for 2, 4 or 8Gb?

[javeryh]

I've been reading the thread over on the Raspberry Pi & Dev Board on using a Pi 4 for a dedicated current Mame version build.  This type of build could be a bit daunting for those new to Linux based systems but ... it's put the hook in me.  I think I'll have a play with the build approach on a Pi 4.  I'm fine with Linux and Pi stuff.  The guy has already produced a working image, but a step by step guide in layman's terms might be useful.  To date I haven't used a pi for arcade stuff at all.  I use them for other stuff like media servers or VPN servers etc.

This may not fit your time line javeryh, but a clean build free of the stuff you hate may be useful to you. Either way  I like playing with Pi's, should be interesting.

This would be incredible.  My timeline is Christmas so plenty of time.  Also, if it works, I’d use a build like this in a lot of future projects.

I just got my hands on a pi4 and put bbegin’s image on the SD card.  I didn’t get to power it up though because of family stuff but tomorrow I’m going to mess around with it.  The pi4 came with a book that has some basic Python info in there so I’m going to read through that too.  I’m a total noob but this stuff interests me so maybe I’ll learn something.

By the way, Attract Mode might not work - bbegin said that https://pegasus-frontend.org/ would work better but I have no idea what that is yet.

That's plenty of time.  I'll get a Pi 4.  Just out of interest which memory config did you go for 2, 4 or 8Gb?

I got a 4GB.  I actually bought a kit for $80 at Micro Center.   The board is $55 with 4GB of RAM so for $25 extra I got the power supply, mouse, keyboard, case, 16GB memory card two HDMI cables and a beginner’s guide.

Edit: this one- https://www.microcenter.com/product/610360/raspberry-pi-4-model-b-official-desktop-kit

[pbj]

You’re gonna regret it.

 

[lilshawn]

You’re gonna regret it.

 

lol.

prepare to have a call 2 days after drop off... "It's not working"

should name it "perpetual service call machine 2021"

/thread

[Mike A]

Should we start a pool?

[Ond]

I love being told stuff like that.  Bring it. 

[leapinlew]

I just want to clarify that we are talking about having the best possible user experience and using a pi in the same post. Am I reading this right? 

[Ond]

I just want to clarify that we are talking about having the best possible user experience and using a pi in the same post. Am I reading this right? 

With pi 2 or 3 and Retropie I'd be laughing too.  Pi 4 with a recent Mame build, no Retropie, may be a game changer. We'll see.

[Gilrock]

Guess I need to video my NES Bartop running RetroPie to prove how nice it runs.  I have to wonder if folks trashing it have ever built a setup.

[leapinlew]

Guess I need to video my NES Bartop running RetroPie to prove how nice it runs.  I have to wonder if folks trashing it have ever built a setup.

Calm down. My interest is piqued. My Gorf build is running a Pi, I have a nice NESPi build, and I've built and sold several pi based systems. I know how to build a nice Pi system, but I'm just pointing out that a pi based system isn't generally thought of as the best user experience.

Make it a linux based system running straight mame and assuming it has enough horsepower (to include video performance) and you could have something. If anyone can do this, OND can, but I wouldn't bet on the Pi for this.

[Gilrock]

Lew...where did I not act calm?  There is a long line of folks I was responding to don't take it so personal all because you made the last comment.  I'm not going to argue about quality with a guy that bought a pallet of Arcade1Ups....haha.

I think my system is running pretty nice.  Just made a video but had to order a cable to get the video off of my iPad to a PC so I can edit so I'll show it off in a day or so.

[yotsuya]

I just want to clarify that we are talking about having the best possible user experience and using a pi in the same post. Am I reading this right? 

I thought we were talking about the best possible path of least future maintenance for Uncle Javeryh?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[javeryh]

So... I’m pretty sure I hate Retropie and I have it running in my bartop.  I spent countless hours tweaking and configuring it and it still doesn’t behave like I want it to.  I am not great at messing with it though so that might be a limiting factor but I wouldn’t put a pi running Retropie in a cabinet for someone else.  That said, it does work and it is easy for me to use (not others) so I totally understand why it’s so popular. 

But... actual MAME running on a pi4 with a basic front end and nothing else might actually work.  Most importantly, no setting menu visible to the user.  I’m intrigued enough to at least mess around with it and see if it’s possible.

If it doesn’t work no harm and I’m still going to pick up a 60-in-1 regardless.

[Gilrock]

Yeah javeryh I'm not trying to convince you to use RetroPie I'm just saying I've got it running pretty nice and I actually did build one for someone's family and they've had it for a month with no service calls.  I've never used a 60-in-1 so I can't comment on that.  I did order a BitKit today and a Jamma harness so my next cab will be a vertical one that can run jamma compatible items.  I'll probably setup the MiSTer to run in it also.

[leapinlew]

I'm not going to argue about quality with a guy that bought a pallet of Arcade1Ups....haha.

haha! To Sell! I ordered it to sell! I have a history of trying to make money with this hobby, so I can afford to buy more parts, so I can build cabs, so I can sell them, so I can buy more parts - you can see the viscous cycle I got myself in. And I did make money, it was just more risky than I like to be.

It's just a weird kinda flex. You want to show off your retropi - I'll watch the video. I doubt it'll make me think it's the right solution for a cabinet that I would have to maintain and I'm not geographically near.

[dmckean]

What would really be cool would be a bare metal port of recent MAME to the PI 4. Bypass the Linux video subsystem completely.

[Gilrock]

It's just a weird kinda flex. You want to show off your retropi - I'll watch the video. I doubt it'll make me think it's the right solution for a cabinet that I would have to maintain and I'm not geographically near.

"A weird kinda flex"...well I have been working out...wait till I take off my shirt in the video...lol.

I do have a build thread with some photos of the bartop and in that thread javeryh said he would like to see a video of it in operation.  It will be posted there not here.  I'm not promoting it for this application I just don't believe its as bad as people make it out to be.  Most of them aren't saying that RetroPie is bad for this particular purpose they are just saying it sucks.  That was not my experience.

[javeryh]

It's just a weird kinda flex. You want to show off your retropi - I'll watch the video. I doubt it'll make me think it's the right solution for a cabinet that I would have to maintain and I'm not geographically near.

"A weird kinda flex"...well I have been working out...wait till I take off my shirt in the video...lol.

I do have a build thread with some photos of the bartop and in that thread javeryh said he would like to see a video of it in operation.  It will be posted there not here.  I'm not promoting it for this application I just don't believe its as bad as people make it out to be.  Most of them aren't saying that RetroPie is bad for this particular purpose they are just saying it sucks.  That was not my experience.

I think people say it “sucks” because of the inferior version of MAME that Retropie runs.  In a bartop, I can let that go mostly because of the form factor already being a different experience than standing at a cabinet.

For me, not being able to make it behave the way I want is why I do not like it.  The Retropie front end locks you in to the “system” -> “game list” setup and although you can boot to a specific system or even a specific game, you can always back out to the system menu.  Even if you are only running one “system” (MAME).  This is because in the system menu there is a Retropie Settings “system” which allows you to change how things work.  Great if you are the only user but bad if there are guests/kids involved who will eventually change something.  And even if they don’t, it’s not clean.

So what I’m hoping Ond can figure out is how to use bbegin’s MAME .229 image with a simple vertical front end to run a dedicated MAME set up on the pi4 with easy on/off.  It would be the best of both worlds - cheap set-up but full MAME experience and no clutter.

Also, I’m looking forward to your video!

[Gilrock]

Well RetroPie does have 3 different UI modes:  Full, Kiosk, and Kids
I set the one I gave away to Kiosk mode which eliminated most of the things from the system menu.  I tried the Kids option and it seemed to remove all the games so I wasn't sure if there was a need to mark games as kid friendly so I just switched back to Kiosk mode.  If you only want to run Mame your plan is fine.  I also wanted a few other systems like Daphne, NES, Sega Genesis, and N64.  Using a Pi was the least expensive way for me to provide the bartop to my friend.

I have also been following the Mame for a dedicated Pi thread long before you and Ond jumped in it recently.  I've been real close to following the steps and trying it out since it would be fairly easy to swap out SDCards.

[Zeosstud]

Just a BitKit heads up.. Dig Dug is next on his list, that would leave Donkey Kong as the remaining missing piece. I wonder if he has made a conscious decision to not Include Donkey Kong on the BitKit. I don't own one currently but for your project it really does seem like it would be a fantastic fit, minus of course DK, which I completely understand removes it from contention.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[javeryh]

Well RetroPie does have 3 different UI modes:  Full, Kiosk, and Kids
I set the one I gave away to Kiosk mode which eliminated most of the things from the system menu.  I tried the Kids option and it seemed to remove all the games so I wasn't sure if there was a need to mark games as kid friendly so I just switched back to Kiosk mode.  If you only want to run Mame your plan is fine.  I also wanted a few other systems like Daphne, NES, Sega Genesis, and N64.  Using a Pi was the least expensive way for me to provide the bartop to my friend.

yeah, I tried kiosk mode but it still leaves that menu although it is trimmed down.  I also tried kids mode but didn't notice a difference?

Just a BitKit heads up.. Dig Dug is next on his list, that would leave Donkey Kong as the remaining missing piece. I wonder if he has made a conscious decision to not Include Donkey Kong on the BitKit. I don't own one currently but for your project it really does seem like it would be a fantastic fit, minus of course DK, which I completely understand removes it from contention.

Is there an up to date game list somewhere?  Dig Dug would be nice - I play that one a lot.  No Donkey Kong would be a deal breaker for me personally but not necessarily for my nieces and nephews who I guarantee have no idea what that even is.

[Gilrock]

yeah, I tried kiosk mode but it still leaves that menu although it is trimmed down.  I also tried kids mode but didn't notice a difference?

Yeah you kinda need that menu because that is how to do a clean shutdown.  I get its not the way you want the system to run.  No matter what you pick its usually got something you would like to be different so you either accept it or spend time writing custom stuff.

[Zeosstud]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NulhVUB2aI9mlZxfJnl5UZGvRuRh0deLSkpVBQinIlk/preview

That is the updated list of games.. for a vertical cab, it has about everything minus DK and DKJr that I would want.. Crazy Kong is of course not the same, but might scratch that itch..

1   Ab$cam
2   Amidar
3   Anteater
4   Armored Car
5   Beastie Feastie
6   Crazy Kong
7   Crush Roller
8   Eeekk!
9   Eggor
10   Eyes
11   Eyes-99
12   Fantasy
13   Fantasy
14   Frogger
15   Frogger
16   Galaga
17   Galaxian
18   Galaxian
19   Galaxian
20   Hangly Man
21   Hot Shocker
22   Joyman
23   Jr. Pac-man
24   Jump Bug
25   Lizard Wizard
26   Moon Cresta
27   Mr TNT
28   Ms Pacman
29   Ms Pacman Plus
30   Ms Pacman Plus Fan Hack
31   Ms Pac-man Twin
32   Nibbler
33   Nibbler
34   Nibbler
35   Nibbler
36   Pacman
37   Pacman Plus
38   Pengo
39   Pengo
40  Pengo
41   Pioneer Balloon
42   Pioneer Balloon
43   Piranha
44   Saturn of Satan
45   Scramble
46   Scramble
47   Stern Turtles
48   Super Cobra
49   Tazz-Mania
50   The End
51   The Glob
52   Titan
53   Triple Punch
54   UniWar
55   Vanguard
56   Vanguard
57   Zarzon

Add Dig Dug to that list ( assuming he is able to do it, which my guess would be yes )

That is a good list of Vertical Games, played using FPGA, and with a basic frontend..   Game over all boxes checked ( long as it is not for me or you, cause DK is a deal breaker )

Zeosstud

[Zebidee]

Is there an up to date game list somewhere?  Dig Dug would be nice - I play that one a lot.  No Donkey Kong would be a deal breaker for me personally but not necessarily for my nieces and nephews who I guarantee have no idea what that even is.

Bitkit doesn't have Donkey Kong but it does have Crazy Kong, an officially licensed clone by Falcon on Scramble (and other) hardware. Close but not identical game.

[javeryh]

yeah, I tried kiosk mode but it still leaves that menu although it is trimmed down.  I also tried kids mode but didn't notice a difference?

Yeah you kinda need that menu because that is how to do a clean shutdown.  I get its not the way you want the system to run.  No matter what you pick its usually got something you would like to be different so you either accept it or spend time writing custom stuff.

I have an exterior pushbutton connected to the GPIO pins that does a clean shutdown when pressed.  I use this button to turn everything on as well (pi, monitor, LEDs behind marquee).  No issues so far so I don't think I need that menu.  I also don't like the "Start" and "Select" menus that pop up when you hit those buttons as well (to scrape or change metadata, jump to letters, etc.).  You are correct - I either live with it or try to learn how to do custom stuff on my own and ain't nobody got time for that.

[javeryh]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NulhVUB2aI9mlZxfJnl5UZGvRuRh0deLSkpVBQinIlk/preview

That is the updated list of games.. for a vertical cab, it has about everything minus DK and DKJr that I would want.. Crazy Kong is of course not the same, but might scratch that itch..

This is a solid list for sure.  Very tempted to take the plunge...

[Gilrock]

Well as long as you keep tossing the problems at me I'll look for solutions.

Found this thread in a search and there is advice from Capeman 3 to 4 replies down that supposedly tell you how to disable the Start and Select menus from coming up as well as eliminating the RetroPie menu in the carousel.
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/10736/power-on-off-option-in-main-menu

I also did some reading about running the latest Mame and it available but all the comments said you can expect the performance to take a hit because the Mame guys focused on accuracy at the expense of performance.  I'd be really curious to see how that mame build in the other thread performs in comparison.  With the hardware the same I'm not sure it would fare much better.

[javeryh]

Well as long as you keep tossing the problems at me I'll look for solutions.

Found this thread in a search and there is advice from Capeman 3 to 4 replies down that supposedly tell you how to disable the Start and Select menus from coming up as well as eliminating the RetroPie menu in the carousel.
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/10736/power-on-off-option-in-main-menu

I also did some reading about running the latest Mame and it available but all the comments said you can expect the performance to take a hit because the Mame guys focused on accuracy at the expense of performance.  I'd be really curious to see how that mame build in the other thread performs in comparison.  With the hardware the same I'm not sure it would fare much better.

Thanks - I'll take a look at that link for sure.  My problem is that I have very specific ideas in my head for how things "should" look and get discouraged because I don't have the skills to make it a reality.  Actually, designing the HyperSpin theme and CP overlay for my recent cabinet was a freaking miracle for me starting from a blank canvas an getting it to a point where I was happy.  I tend to prioritize the overall look and functionality of the finished cabinet ahead of the actual gameplay... probably not the best approach heh...

bbegin's thread says that for his dedicated MAME application, "The performances are really good, as most of the '80s and '90s arcade games run at full speed. Many 2000s games run at full speed as well."  That is beyond what I would ever need as far as MAME goes.  I hope it's true!

[Ond]

I have a lot of interest in what javeryh is trying to do with the pi4.  I get the requirement for his nephew.     Somewhere in America there is a kid that I'm going to help design an arcade game system for.  It's actually a bit of pi-oneering work  .  My gut feel that the pi4 with recent Mame and a select set of games,  setup the right way, could be a really robust solution for said nephew, is hopefully near the mark.  There will be plenty of others looking at this type of build approach anyway, due to the early work of folks like bbegin. Nothing stays the same for long, gotta roll with the change!  Someone pointed out that fun is a primary factor, this is going to be a fun challenge for sure.

[dmckean]

A good goal would probably be get as much of the All-Killer No Filler lists running as possible the newest versions MAME that is possible.

[javeryh]

A good goal would probably be get as much of the All-Killer No Filler lists running as possible the newest versions MAME that is possible.

Agreed.  But split into vertical and horizontal layouts, if possible, and also the ability to easily add/delete games.  But that would be an excellent start.

[csnow]

Just a BitKit heads up.. Dig Dug is next on his list, that would leave Donkey Kong as the remaining missing piece. I wonder if he has made a conscious decision to not Include Donkey Kong on the BitKit. I don't own one currently but for your project it really does seem like it would be a fantastic fit, minus of course DK, which I completely understand removes it from contention.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

It is strange on Donkey Kong's omission considering he has Crazy Kong.  He may be fearful of Nintendo since they have recently been policing their intellectual property but MiSTer has DK.  It is a glaring omission since its one of the top grossing games of the era.  Does anyone have his ear to ask?  I know he has a FB page but I  don't use FB. The only other game I would like to see added are Centipede, Millipede, and Space Invaders.  But to be honest, Space Invaders didn't age well and I find it a bit boring so no biggie.  Does the hardware support trackball?

[csnow]

Duplicate post

[dmckean]

There's an Atari 7800 homebrew of Space Invaders that adds in the extra game modes from the 2600 version. That version is my favorite way to play the game.

[JimmyU]

Now that BitKit supports Ms. Pac-Man Twin, I hope that someone makes a cool custom Ms. Pac-Man Twin cabinet.

[pbj]

You can buy a 60 in 1 literally anywhere.  Nintendo is not “policing” Donkey Kong and never has.

[Vocalitus]

Amazon is selling these Rockchip boards for $20.  Comes with an odd looking case and a 2 line LCD Display (some kind of security device) and a weird non writable SDcard and PSU for $20.
Add a NES case for $6 and it works great as a home media or RetroPie device.  No wifi or BT but has USB3 and 2xUSB2 and NIC, with several OSes to play with like Recalbox.  It also has a EMMC connector.

Great for your $49 repurpose Galaga.

[csnow]

You can buy a 60 in 1 literally anywhere.  Nintendo is not “policing” Donkey Kong and never has.

60-1 come out of China who rarely enforces trade or copywrite infringement laws within their borders.  Nintendo has most certainly started protecting their intellectual property.

https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/11/20860039/nintendo-copyright-trademark-infringement-rom-lawsuit

[wp34]

Just a BitKit heads up.. Dig Dug is next on his list, that would leave Donkey Kong as the remaining missing piece. I wonder if he has made a conscious decision to not Include Donkey Kong on the BitKit. I don't own one currently but for your project it really does seem like it would be a fantastic fit, minus of course DK, which I completely understand removes it from contention.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

It is strange on Donkey Kong's omission considering he has Crazy Kong.  He may be fearful of Nintendo since they have recently been policing their intellectual property but MiSTer has DK.  It is a glaring omission since its one of the top grossing games of the era.  Does anyone have his ear to ask?  I know he has a FB page but I  don't use FB. The only other game I would like to see added are Centipede, Millipede, and Space Invaders.  But to be honest, Space Invaders didn't age well and I find it a bit boring so no biggie.  Does the hardware support trackball?

CraftyMech has talked in the past how he is more interested in adding obscure or interesting games than just popular ones.  But I was really shocked when he added Galaga recently so you never know. 

Last I saw trackball is not supported.

https://forums.arcade-museum.com/threads/bitkit-fpga-40-games-more-to-come.373372/page-41#post-3984266

[pbj]

You can buy a 60 in 1 literally anywhere.  Nintendo is not “policing” Donkey Kong and never has.

60-1 come out of China who rarely enforces trade or copywrite infringement laws within their borders.  Nintendo has most certainly started protecting their intellectual property.

https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/11/20860039/nintendo-copyright-trademark-infringement-rom-lawsuit

Your single example is completely irrelevant to Donkey Kong roms, to the point of absurdity.

 

[csnow]

Deleted

[csnow]

You can buy a 60 in 1 literally anywhere.  Nintendo is not “policing” Donkey Kong and never has.

60-1 come out of China who rarely enforces trade or copywrite infringement laws within their borders.  Nintendo has most certainly started protecting their intellectual property.

https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/11/20860039/nintendo-copyright-trademark-infringement-rom-lawsuit

Your single example is completely irrelevant to Donkey Kong roms, to the point of absurdity.

 

Ok wise one.  Nintendo goes after rom sites and its absurd.  What roms do you think they are selling on the Switch they are wanting to protect?  Arcade, NES, and SNES. 

[bobbyb13]

You can buy a 60 in 1 literally anywhere.  Nintendo is not “policing” Donkey Kong and never has.

60-1 come out of China who rarely enforces trade or copywrite infringement laws within their borders.  Nintendo has most certainly started protecting their intellectual property.

https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/11/20860039/nintendo-copyright-trademark-infringement-rom-lawsuit

Your single example is completely irrelevant to Donkey Kong roms, to the point of absurdity.

 

Ok wise one.  Nintendo goes after rom sites and its absurd.  What roms do you think they are selling on the Switch they are wanting to protect?  Arcade, NES, and SNES.

Of note however is that a lawsuit from them is reserved for those making money off of their current platforms.
Which game it happens to be appears irrelevant.

People who irritate them otherwise seem to get cease and desist orders.

[csnow]

Why don't you reach out to BitKit/CraftyMech and ask him specifically why he isn't including Donkey Kong.  100:1 odds are he fears reprisals from Nintendo.  Lawsuits, cease and desist letters are both means by which they are protecting intellectual property  I posted the article because @PBJ stated Nintendo wasn't policing and protecting their intellectual property and listed Chinese 60:1 boards as proof.  The article wasn't intended to outline Donkey Kong in particular but to show Nintendo is active.  Do I think they would go after BitKit directly?  No I don't.  However, it is obvious he doesn't want to risk it.

[Gilrock]

I swapped the Mister into my bartop last night and had a blast playing some games.  I ended up playing Ghouls and Ghosts for quite a while and its plays awesome and looked beautiful once turning on scanline filter even though it was LCD.  Mister is one of the easiest setups out there.  I bought the preassembled kit so it was literally just plug in the cables, run the update all script which actually pulls down all the arcade roms, bring up the OSD to configure the controller inputs, then select a rom and play.  You can be playing in 10 minutes.  I know this doesn't work for a gift but just wanted to share some feedback on the system since we've been mentioning it here.

[Zebidee]

I swapped the Mister into my bartop last night and had a blast playing some games.  I ended up playing Ghouls and Ghosts for quite a while and its plays awesome and looked beautiful once turning on scanline filter even though it was LCD.  Mister is one of the easiest setups out there.  I bought the preassembled kit so it was literally just plug in the cables, run the update all script which actually pulls down all the arcade roms, bring up the OSD to configure the controller inputs, then select a rom and play.  You can be playing in 10 minutes.  I know this doesn't work for a gift but just wanted to share some feedback on the system since we've been mentioning it here.

I'm very tempted by the MiSTer as well.

An interesting thing to do - line up several arcade cabs with different systems, but all playing the same game (say Galaga). Work all the way from a 60-in-one type PCB through to different MAME versions, horizontal vs vertical, LCD vs CRT, FPGA and finally original PCB in a dedicated JAMMA cab. That would be useful for educating people about the differences, between emulated and original, hardware differences, value of dedicated cabs.

[Malenko]

I'm very tempted by the MiSTer as well.

An interesting thing to do - line up several arcade cabs with different systems, but all playing the same game (say Galaga). Work all the way from a 60-in-one type PCB through to different MAME versions, horizontal vs vertical, LCD vs CRT, FPGA and finally original PCB in a dedicated JAMMA cab. That would be useful for educating people about the differences, between emulated and original, hardware differences, value of dedicated cabs.

Galaga isnt JAMMA so you'd need a JAMMA to Namco adapter, and the purists will have none of that!

I had a real Galaga next to a 60 in 1 Galaga

Unless you know what to look for , it was really hard to know which was which. That's why I dont consider them subpar, but serviceable.

[dmckean]

I swapped the Mister into my bartop last night and had a blast playing some games.  I ended up playing Ghouls and Ghosts for quite a while and its plays awesome and looked beautiful once turning on scanline filter even though it was LCD.  Mister is one of the easiest setups out there.  I bought the preassembled kit so it was literally just plug in the cables, run the update all script which actually pulls down all the arcade roms, bring up the OSD to configure the controller inputs, then select a rom and play.  You can be playing in 10 minutes.  I know this doesn't work for a gift but just wanted to share some feedback on the system since we've been mentioning it here.

It's super easy to get up and going. What it really needs now, especially with the MiSTerCade starting pre-orders tomorrow, is an operator mode. Some way to allow you to back out and select games, but hide all the settings and configuration.

[Zebidee]

Galaga isnt JAMMA so you'd need a JAMMA to Namco adapter, and the purists will have none of that!

I had a real Galaga next to a 60 in 1 Galaga

Unless you know what to look for , it was really hard to know which was which. That's why I dont consider them subpar, but serviceable.

Heh Thanks for the correction - my Galaga PCB has been in bubble wrap for so many years I'd forgotten it pre-dates JAMMA being a global standard and would need an adapter if in non-original cab.

One of my almost-forgotten dreams is to recreate a Galaga one day.

However, I used to run a 48-in-one board in a dedicated vertical "space" themed cab with single player controls before and I loved playing Galaga on that more than my vertical MAME cab. I put it in my work amenities room for a few years, biggest customer was the security guard who could clock Galaga on it. Loved that cab.

BTW Nice looking cabs there Malenko

[Gilrock]

It's super easy to get up and going. What it really needs now, especially with the MiSTerCade starting pre-orders tomorrow, is an operator mode. Some way to allow you to back out and select games, but hide all the settings and configuration.

Where are you hearing about pre-orders?  I even joined the Discord channel and I don't see anything mentioned.

[dmckean]

It's super easy to get up and going. What it really needs now, especially with the MiSTerCade starting pre-orders tomorrow, is an operator mode. Some way to allow you to back out and select games, but hide all the settings and configuration.

Where are you hearing about pre-orders?  I even joined the Discord channel and I don't see anything mentioned.

From the beta testers, I would keep an eye on Porkchop Express's twitter tomorrow.

[Zeosstud]

Instead of mapping F12, change the .ini to boot to the last exact core and map a button to alt-F12, then when your in game all it brings up is a list of other games, not the settings page..

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Zeosstud]

I think the mister needs a frontend, like the JROK and BitKit have, that would be really cool if you ask me.. I have said it many times but if I was building a cab for someone I would have the Alt-F12 as a button and Enter as a button, labeled Game List and Game Select, then Player One, Coin and Player 2.. That would make things reasonably user friendly and a bit harder to mess up.

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[bobbyb13]

All very cool stuff.

My current cabinet project was started with the intent to stuff both a MAME box and a loaded MiSTer board into it so I'm stoked to see so much progress of late.

[javeryh]

Seems like there are a lot of good options out there these days... Mister, ArcadeSD, Bitkit, etc.  I’ve never given this stuff much thought until recently - MAME or bust

[pbj]

I mean like almost 20 years ago I was comparing JAMMA boards to MAME on a Win 98 PC with a JPAC and it was so indistinguishable I dumped all my boards while suckers were still buying.  Makes me a little sick to look at those board prices now but nobody could tell.

[Roboman]

Having built a MAME cab for me and my young son, I would go with a x in 1, as your nephew will undoubtedly find some way of getting out the game or the front end.
I've had to reconfigure the ipac shift numerous times until I found a configuration that was bullet proof.
Nothing tests out your key assignments better than a bunch of young kids hammering away at the cab.
They find key combinations you never thought existed ;-)

[csnow]

I mean like almost 20 years ago I was comparing JAMMA boards to MAME on a Win 98 PC with a JPAC and it was so indistinguishable I dumped all my boards while suckers were still buying.  Makes me a little sick to look at those board prices now but nobody could tell.

I dont think anyone predicted the current state of this hobby.  The prices are insane.  I have been looking for a generic cabinet for a dedicated 4-way horizontal build and what people are asking is nothing other than ridiculous.  I have been thinking about adding a 80s/90s pinball to the game room as well.  My gosh - those prices are beyond insane lately.

I agree with you that MAME is hard to beat and with the recent sound fixes I don't think its distinguishable at all for 99.9% of the people playing.  The only issue I have is the system requirements shot up quite a bit on the newer releases but older generation i5/i7 bare bone systems are relatively cheap.

[pbj]

Pinball has always been high, the prices only seem reasonable in hindsight.  Stern has really leaned into the old man themes, so the trick will be to outlive the current set of collectors.

 

[leapinlew]

I mean like almost 20 years ago I was comparing JAMMA boards to MAME on a Win 98 PC with a JPAC and it was so indistinguishable I dumped all my boards while suckers were still buying.  Makes me a little sick to look at those board prices now but nobody could tell.

LOL! No doubt. It was a niche hobby and we are seeing the nostalgia wave coming in driving all the prices way up. I sold some old arcade stuff here recently for a mint. It was stuff I wanted to do something with someday, but hadn't. My Actlab light guns went for double what I paid.

I wished I dumped the original Star Wars before the knockoff was reproduced, but it's still a nice machine that I enjoy having.

[leapinlew]

One more thought on the 60-n-1. If you anticipate having 60 games, you'll be disappointed. If you knock off all the games that aren't emulated well, or the control scheme is compromised, and you like the games on the list, you'll be pretty happy. For me, I wanted Galaga, Fast Shoot Galaga, Mr. Do, Ms. Pacman and a few odds and ends. I really like Pengo and the emulation\sound is poor - that stinks. All said and done, I have 18 games that scratches my personal vertical classic itch.

[Gilrock]

Preorder is live:

https://misteraddons.com/products/mistercade

[Zebidee]

Preorder is live:

https://misteraddons.com/products/mistercade

Dammit, I tried to pre-order but the button does nothing

[Gilrock]

Preorder is live:

https://misteraddons.com/products/mistercade

Dammit, I tried to pre-order but the button does nothing

I just tried it again and it still seems active.  All the button does is add it to the cart so the only reaction is you see the cart get updated in the top right corner.  Then select that to checkout.

[Zebidee]

I tried from laptop before when it didn't work. This time I tried from PC in the Lab and all seems fine

I'd better work out what else I need/want too, while I'm there.

Thanks Gilrock!

[nitrogen_widget]

This is the MiSter case I was planning to 3D print:

Keyboard size max width 360mm and depth 135mm
I can print that in one piece on my 3d printer.

but i know nothing about fpga's though.
I've never used a 60 in 1 either.

[dmckean]

Preorder is live:

https://misteraddons.com/products/mistercade

Opt2Not has been beta testing this thing on his stream. It seems super slick. So much better than trying to connect everything to a JPAC and re-configuring the MiSTer to use keyboard keys for controls.

[nitrogen_widget]

just find an old CD-rom and go attract CD.
sure, no saved high scores but get a dry erase board.

[javeryh]

Preorder is live:

https://misteraddons.com/products/mistercade

Opt2Not has been beta testing this thing on his stream. It seems super slick. So much better than trying to connect everything to a JPAC and re-configuring the MiSTer to use keyboard keys for controls.

Any vids available to watch this?  I'm not even sure what it is but I'd like to take a look...

[dmckean]

Preorder is live:

https://misteraddons.com/products/mistercade

Opt2Not has been beta testing this thing on his stream. It seems super slick. So much better than trying to connect everything to a JPAC and re-configuring the MiSTer to use keyboard keys for controls.

Any vids available to watch this?  I'm not even sure what it is but I'd like to take a look...

Yeah, if you follow the link above it has a number of videos and links to the twitch streams of the beta testers.

[csnow]

After extended reading on the MiSTer forums, I found a thread discussing the audio problems with DK.  I think I am just going MAME to get my machine back up and running vs waiting.

[dmckean]

After extended reading on the MiSTer forums, I found a thread discussing the audio problems with DK.  I think I am just going MAME to get my machine back up and running vs waiting.

There's a guy working on all the games with analog audio circuits but I think he took a break to help with the MT-32pi stuff. The MiSTer can't just rely on using sampled audio the way MAME could for years until it got analog audio properly implemented.

[Zeosstud]

Preordered my Mistercade today.. Can not wait. In the meantime just got a new monitor installed for my mister setup, previously had an old Visio TV.. Played 20 screens of the Pac-Man 9th key, no issues at all, ghosts never got out of line. It has been awhile since that was the case. Now I have the right joystick, right device and correct monitor, time to hunt the kill screen.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Zeosstud]

@leapinlew I just put up 264k on Pengo using my MiSTer a few days ago, highly under rated game..

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[pbj]

$170?  Yeah, ok.

[Zeosstud]

$170 vs the price of 2 or 3 original boards.. Good deal..

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[Gilrock]

I don’t know what the sound problems are on DK with Mister.  I played it last night to check it out and if there is something wrong only a diehard Donkey Kong nerd will know.

[Zeosstud]

Agree with you 100%, Donkey Kong plays a treat.. They are always trying to improve stuff, still, pretty awesome.

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[lilshawn]

I love how this has degenerated from "what are your thoughst on XX-in-1 boards"...

to, shilling for updates on a mister whateveritis.

think it's time y'all made your own thread, as the last 100 posts got nothing to do with XX-in-1 board thoughts.

[pbj]

Lilshawn has quickly and unexpectedly become my favorite person here.

I hope life is treating you well, brother, and thanks for the laughs.

 

[javeryh]

I love how this has degenerated from "what are your thoughst on XX-in-1 boards"...

to, shilling for updates on a mister whateveritis

Is a Mister not a XX-in-1 type thing to run a cab off of?  I have heard of it but I honestly have no idea what it actually does.

[dmckean]

I love how this has degenerated from "what are your thoughst on XX-in-1 boards"...

to, shilling for updates on a mister whateveritis.

think it's time y'all made your own thread, as the last 100 posts got nothing to do with XX-in-1 board thoughts.

Done
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,164798.msg1736500.html#msg1736500

[Malenko]

Lilshawn has quickly and unexpectedly become my favorite person here.

 

[Haze]

Agree with you 100%, Donkey Kong plays a treat.. They are always trying to improve stuff, still, pretty awesome.

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DK on a Mister is embarrassing, it's basically a port of 2000 era MAME, it's FPGA done *wrong*

FPGA can be a great option, the DK core on it however is absolute dogshit, even Billy Mitchell would be embarrassed to use it.

[Zeosstud]

I can break 150k on it, can you?

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[Zebidee]

FPGA can be a great option, the DK core on it however is absolute dogshit, even Billy Mitchell would be embarrassed to use it.

 

Surely that guy would do *anything* for perceived personal advantage?

[csnow]

I can break 150k on it, can you?

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It's not a question if it is playable, but rather the quality of that playability.  If the audio is off or its on par with an early MAME build as @Haze mentioned then it lands in 60-1 territory for me.  There are definitely complaints about it on the MiSTer forum.  Obviously its a superior platform to the 60-1, but without quality cores the net result is the same for me.  FPGA is a great concept and probably the future of retro gaming, but right now its missing some key games outside of the DK quality issues.  I will let it mature for a year or two and revisit later.

[Haze]

I can break 150k on it, can you?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

It's not a question if it is playable, but rather the quality of that playability.  If the audio is off or its on par with an early MAME build as @Haze mentioned then it lands in 60-1 territory for me.  There are definitely complaints about it on the MiSTer forum.  Obviously its a superior platform to the 60-1, but without quality cores the net result is the same for me.  FPGA is a great concept and probably the future of retro gaming, but right now its missing some key games outside of the DK quality issues.  I will let it mature for a year or two and revisit later.

Yeah, Mister, like any other emulation, is only as good at whoever writes that emulation.

If you're basing it on modern knowledge, chip decaps etc. it can be great (and doing such wasn't feasible when a lot of MAME drivers were originally written, and much of the information available now wasn't back then either)

If you're doing it based on already old knowledge, it's not so great, and in some cases ends up worse than older versions of MAME even.

Mister does not have a good solution for 'netlist' / analog sound simulations, so you're stuck with older samples, not proper emulation.  Same reason the C64 SID stuff is reportedly still off, it's analog.

[bobbyb13]

I can break 150k on it, can you?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

It's not a question if it is playable, but rather the quality of that playability.  If the audio is off or its on par with an early MAME build as @Haze mentioned then it lands in 60-1 territory for me.  There are definitely complaints about it on the MiSTer forum.  Obviously its a superior platform to the 60-1, but without quality cores the net result is the same for me.  FPGA is a great concept and probably the future of retro gaming, but right now its missing some key games outside of the DK quality issues.  I will let it mature for a year or two and revisit later.

Yeah, Mister, like any other emulation, is only as good at whoever writes that emulation.

If you're basing it on modern knowledge, chip decaps etc. it can be great (and doing such wasn't feasible when a lot of MAME drivers were originally written, and much of the information available now wasn't back then either)

If you're doing it based on already old knowledge, it's not so great, and in some cases ends up worse than older versions of MAME even.

Mister does not have a good solution for 'netlist' / analog sound simulations, so you're stuck with older samples, not proper emulation.  Same reason the C64 SID stuff is reportedly still off, it's analog.

All this stuff is amazing to me.
The fact that there is no one "does it all perfectly" method is a testament to how complicated it all really is.
I only understand enough to know that I couldn't do it.

MAME more than adequately makes playing old arcade games I love a reality for me.
Especially it seems for games requiring odd controllers (and authentic sound too it appears.)
Maybe it will always be thus, and that is fine with me.

I'm excited to try the MiSTer with some 8Bitdo controllers for old console stuff though.
Seems that having both systems side by side in the same sit-at cabinet will be the most you could pack into a happy system really.
At least for an old raster CRT that is.

The vector thing is another story entirely.

[Zeosstud]

Above is a link to a quick video I made to show people how you can lock down a MiSTer to only play arcade games..

Hope this clears up any confusion..

-Zeosstud

[javeryh]

Above is a link to a quick video I made to show people how you can lock down a MiSTer to only play arcade games..

Hope this clears up any confusion..

-Zeosstud

Holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.  I assume this can be set up the same way without Alexa by just using a standard pushbutton for power on/off?  That's as close to a perfect solution as I've seen. 

[Zeosstud]

Hey, yeah, of course you can wire up the power in all the normal ways.. I just used that cause it's how I have it setup and it is hard to screw up, which is of course the goal!!

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[Jimbo]

Hey, yeah, of course you can wire up the power in all the normal ways.. I just used that cause it's how I have it setup and it is hard to screw up, which is of course the goal!!

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OK this has got me seriously considering the MiSTer for a 4-way vertical classics cabinet now.  I didn't realise you could lock it down as you have.  Is there definitely no other way someone could break out of the game list?

Cheers

[Zeosstud]

Well, they could connect a keyboard to the cabinet and jack with stuff I guess.. If you only provide them with the 5 buttons I suggested, they are locked in, just like the video shows..

Zeosstud

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[Jimbo]

Thanks - kinda bummed I missed out on the mistercade pre-order now 

[Jimbo]

Well, they could connect a keyboard to the cabinet and jack with stuff I guess.. If you only provide them with the 5 buttons I suggested, they are locked in, just like the video shows..

Zeosstud

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How about preventing the menu to come up when a core is loaded?  Is that possible?

[Zeosstud]

Not 100% clear on the ask.. To switch games, you have to bring up a menu of all the game choices, but it is nothing where you could change a setting or anything..

Zeosstud

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[Gilrock]

Maybe he means the overlays that pop up when you load a core that show you the button layout?

[Jimbo]

I mean when a game is loaded, there seems to be a menu you can bring up to change settings for various things (scandoubler, aspect ratio, upscaling, etc).

 

[bobbyb13]

If you redirect over to the MisTer lovefest thread there are a host of knowledgeable people there offering wisdom