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

[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.


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[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.


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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.


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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?