Ordered my MAME PC, now to SlikStik!

[The Man]

Can't we all just get along?  

[kgriffin]

Hey, you only have 9 posts. You cant group yourself with us yet. Just say can't you masters just get along. We will let you know when you are cool enough to become one of us.


(for any of you that don't know what sarcasm is...that was a joke)

[Tiger-Heli]

Well anyhow I'll look to the advice and guidance of the more moderately tempered folks here...I think alot of people here would have considered buying a pre-made if they had existed three years ago, but they didn't, so you had to make your own.  

I can understand if SlikStik was a ripoff junk product pretending to be the answer, but from what I see they make a quality product.  So.......again.....the problem is....what?

ps: If a title of a post "pisses you off", you need to seek some help.  All I asked originally was wether or not I really needed to get the trackball on the stupid thing.

FWIW, this forum is one of the more restrained ones out there and everyone has previously stuck to the issues and not let personalities and temperments get in the way.

HeadRusch, this post isn't a slam at you as I have said before, if a slikstik does what you want it to, then buy one and have fun with it.

Howard, I really wasn't slamming you either, I respect your opinions on hardware issues.  I think you are taking this "what is an acceptable modification, noob, lamer, wannabe" thing WAAAAY too seriously, and if you were going to flame other peoples ideas, I think you can expect some heat thrown back your way.

Hopefully, I fall into the moderately tempered category on this board.  I have no problem with anyone buying a CP instead of building it if the commercial solution does what they need it to.

I think SlikStik makes a quality product, but I think they are over-priced, even compared to the competition.  

This will probably make both sides of the argument upset and that is definitely not my intent,  , but I think this info might be helpful.

Here is something I wrote for the FAQ section of my upcoming (sometime) arcade controller page (note I picked the LEAST EXPENSIVE Slikstik for the comparision):

Speaking of commercial versions, can't I build my own stuff cheaper than I can buy a commercial controller?

This is a frequent topic of debate on BYOAC.

[Magnet_Eye]

Howard is 22 and calling people noobs? Damn, well I am 32 and was playing arcade games before he was even born, so who is the REAL NOOB here?

(I played my first game in 1977, Night Driver. Then I was really into Space Invaders in 1978. And it just got better from there.)

I personally have to agree with the majority of Kgriffin's posts.

This is about retrogaming. Playing the games. Not a contest of who has built the best cabinet as some people seem to think it is.

Also, I think this site is more about Interfacing arcade style controls to a PC to experience the old games like in the arcade, rather than actually having to build everything.

Kgriffin and everyone: do whatever you have to do to play the games you want to play, and most importantly...Have fun!

 

[HeadRusch]

Night Driver was High Tech!

Actually the first videogames I remember playing were all on Cape Cod.  Seaview Playland (Still there, but every time I go up thtere its closed, hope its still actually open!!) and the local Tasty Towers pizza restaurants had loads of video games...but Seaview had alot of OLDER mechanical games too, very cool.
I remember this one that was very similar to SEAWOLF, only the freakin machine must have been the size of a queen sized bed, it was all mechanical.

Up there literally Seawolf, Pong, and a bunch of generic 'grand prix" type racing games were all over the place, and they were stupid fun.  Black and White but I was hooked big time.

I remember SeaWolf was one of my favorites, my dad had to hold me up to see through the scope

Hmmm...mabye I should try to buy one.   Hmmmmm....maybe not.  500 pounds of solid cabinet that plays a game you could recreate on a $5 Wal Mart digital watch.

[BombProofPlane]

i have to say this is getting way below the standard of the byoac board almost to the level of stupidity as the arcade@home boards where they they think that 4500 is a good price for a mame machine from customarcades.com

they hate how i put up prices and they reply on how "i expect to pay at least 1500+ for labor and "those arn't high quality arcade parts" the guy uses ultimate joysticks and i quote competition joysticks

ok this is just an example on how exploded this could become

[Tiger-Heli]

i have to say this is getting way below the standard of the byoac board almost to the level of stupidity as the arcade@home boards where they they think that 4500 is a good price for a mame machine from customarcades.com

they hate how i put up prices and they reply on how "i expect to pay at least 1500+ for labor and "those arn't high quality arcade parts" the guy uses ultimate joysticks and i quote competition joysticks

ok this is just an example on how exploded this could become

I assume you are referring to my post above where I compared the cost of a home-built to four of the most popular pre-mades.

I was merely trying to show how the prices compared, and I thought it only fair to point out differences, because you aren't buying exactly the same thing that I propose making and if I didn't show the differences, you would assume the least expensive stick was the best deal.

[dhansen]

You boys need to stop bickering and start MAME'ing!!!

[HeadRusch]

...whats that?

[Dink]

I will assume that you already have all the required tools, that you know how to use the required tools, and even more, that you know what tools are needed (you don't spend money on a tool just to find out that this wasn't really the tool for the job and now you must buy something else).

[Tiger-Heli]

Not all of us fit into your assumptions.

Recalc the total assuming I don't have some of the tools, don't prorate materials, add in an amount for going back to the store and add a signficant dollar amount for time to construct the controls.  You'll see why my choice was easy.

For fun do your calcs on the SlikStik Classic vs. doing it yourself vs. "the others".

You completely missed the sarcasm in my assumptions.  Of course most people don't have some of the tools, and the material can't be bought pro-rated.  And your time IS worth something.

My point was really that just the parts involved are between $20.00 more to $30.00 less than buying a pre-made.

In most cases, you are going to spend more building your own than buying, but for a lot of people, the fun is in the journey, and it's not that much more.

The only tools I bought specifically for this project were a multimeter ($10), circular saw ($20), Dremel Tool and bits ($40), and workstand ($30).  (I already had a power drill ($30), bit assortment ($30), and jig saw ($30)).  Figure another $25 for non-prorated materials and the cost jumps by $125 to $245.  (For me).

The slikstik classic was not compared b/c it is really in a different ballpark, as it includes a trackball and spinner and separate 4-way, etc.  I chose the Fighter for the comparison, b/c it is most similar to the competitor's products.