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

[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.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[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.