why are some people so rough on an arcade machine?

[pocketbikez]

a friend of mine came over today and i showed him the new driving cab for the first time. after showing him the basic controls for outrun he started a game. a few moments later he was slamming the gas pedal, he would shift real hard, and he was rough on the steering wheel. i immediately thought that i would never treat my cab like that but i also realized that this is how some people really handle an arcade machine. i guess some people think they are indestructible or something. i almost said something but it was a fine line between hardcore gameplay and abuse.

i guess im overly careful with my cabs because of all the work that went into them.

has anyone else had a maniac abuse their cab?

[telengard]

a friend of mine came over today and i showed him the new driving cab for the first time. after showing him the basic controls for outrun he started a game. a few moments later he was slamming the gas pedal, he would shift real hard, and he was rough on the steering wheel. i immediately thought that i would never treat my cab like that but i also realized that this is how some people really handle an arcade machine. i guess some people think they are indestructible or something. i almost said something but it was a fine line between hardcore gameplay and abuse.

i guess im overly careful with my cabs because of all the work that went into them.

has anyone else had a maniac abuse their cab?

I hate to say it but I'm pretty rough on games and in my case I am absolutely sure it is not abuse.  I slam shifters, joysticks, etc.  I'd probably call it a hard jerk rather than slamming now that I think about it.  However, there are probably different degrees of being rough.  Most of the time for me it is when I need to make a quick move etc.  Not sure why really.  I'm very retentive about the condition of my things but something just seems to make me not notice when I'm playing games.  This is why I have very secure modules on my panel.  

I can relate though in that when I have people over I cringe when they are rough.   They are probably in that same 'zone'.

[daywane]

I used to run Alladins Castle in a mall (Masa AZ)
we would get a new cab shiped in from Japan.
Before I could put it out on the floor I would have to replce all the controlls and beef it up.
Americanize it  
thats just how we americans are. we expect everything to be industrial strong.
also I think most people now are used to old worn out junk and slaming the buttons is how you get the buttons to work.
I have 4 cabs and I still beat the crap out of em.
If you got real arcade contolls , thay should be ok.
I have never worked on a shifter. never had to.

[telengard]

I used to run Alladins Castle in a mall (Masa AZ)
we would get a new cab shiped in from Japan.
Before I could put it out on the floor I would have to replce all the controlls and beef it up.
Americanize it  
thats just how we americans are. we expect everything to be industrial strong.
also I think most people now are used to old worn out junk and slaming the buttons is how you get the buttons to work.
I have 4 cabs and I still beat the crap out of em.
If you got real arcade contolls , thay should be ok.
I have never worked on a shifter. never had to.

Alladin's Castle... cool.  Those were Bally run arcades right?  We had one in the Liberty Tree Mall (Peabody MA).   Great arcade.  It was the only place I saw the game Satan's Hollow and Cloak and Dagger.

[the3eyedblindman]

Sometimes playing an arcade machine and getting a quarter stuck in the slot has cause me to pound and kick at the coindoor, sometimes if i lose at the game im playing i slam my hands hard on the control panel, alot of times playing golden tee people abuse the trackballs, ect. I guess people dont really take much consideration into this, its just natural, people dont really take the time and think about the machine itself. Your friend playing your cab prolly just treated it like any old arcade machine, and got into the game, not really thinking my friend just built this thing and put a ton of money into it.

[daywane]

Alladin's Castle... cool.  Those were Bally run arcades right?  We had one in the Liberty Tree Mall (Peabody MA).   Great arcade.  It was the only place I saw the game Satan's Hollow and Cloak and Dagger.

yep. thats the one. Bally was also run by six flags

[walls83]

I have a friend that is like that.  He almost ripped my CP off playing a Mortal Kombat 3.  And then all he does is ---smurfette--- and moan about how the moves arent working and how hes getting cheated.  Basically he sucks and I dont let him play anymore cause he ruins the whole experiance along with my Machine.

[Gunstar Hero]

Funny story.

When I first built my cab, I just screwed the sticks into the MDF from the bottom of the CP, and slapped the CP into the cab for "testing". Well, the boys came over, played all night on the cab, no sweat. I figured, hey, if it stands up to that, I'm good to go! The next day my 5'3 fiancee and I decided to throw down some Street Fighter, and within 5 minutes she tears the joystick loose! Well, she looked SO appalled I thought she was gonna die, because she was sure she'd just killed my new baby!!

Ya gotta build them tough! You never know when people are gonna have a cab rattling NBA Jam showdown!!

[the3eyedblindman]

Thats why, even though my whole cab is made of mdf, im probably going to construct the control panel out of oak plywood or particle board.

[Xiaou2]

Mdf is fine for control panels.. but youll need to bolt the controls in - just like in the arcades.   I always bolt the controls in either way - as its much stronger and reliable.

 Even if you used the stongest wood... 4 short depth screws  can easily be ripped out from the forces... which is why joys are designed to be bolted in.

 Some people are really rough, partailly due to the 'spastic nervous syndrome'     Basically, a hyper 'over-reaction' to an intense situation.  Sometimes if they get good at a game  and are very used to  the events... they will react less violently... but mostly, its just how they react.

  Im insane when I build things.  I Always overbuild : )   Example:   Need to hold 100lbs... = can  hold 600! heh

  Many older arcade wheels and shifters have huge rubber pads on either extreme of a part so that if a player slams the controls... the rubber block absorbs the energy and dosnt damage the assemblies.   PC wheels arnt build anywhere near this level of durrability - so I recomend either hacking a real arcade wheel.. or building a wheel simularly strong... or keeping your Over-reactor players off the machine ; )    

 Hmmm,  you could pop a "Slam Tilt"  switch on the panel.  If it goes off... it will exit the game (esc key mapped).   The 'gental touch' - taught Forcefully!  ^_^  heh

[Jakobud]

My friend Frank goes crazy on my cabinet playing Robotron.  I think he actually jerked the left joystick almost loose one time.  Sometimes it seems like he's gonna pull the entire control panel off cause he is getting so in to it

[Minwah]

The next day my 5'3 fiancee and I decided to throw down some Street Fighter, and within 5 minutes she tears the joystick loose! Well, she looked SO appalled I thought she was gonna die, because she was sure she'd just killed my new baby!!

I've noticed some girls are pretty damn rough too.  A couple of girls who've had a go on my machine have been particularly crap, and equally hard on the controls.  Basically constant joystick waggling / button mashing without any co-ordination or thought as to what's actually going on on-screen.  Any advance through the game is by pure luck...

[DYNAGOD]

I remeber when i was a kid going to the arcade i believed that those cabinets were stuffed FULL with electronics and mechanical gizmos and doohickeys.
i thought they were industrial strength.. i imagined that when you opened the rear door, their wouldnt havebeen enough free space to slip a thin dim in there.
I mean why else would the cabinet be so big?!

I cant express how let down and extremely dissapointed I was when i found out that those awesome, magical cabinets i imagined as packed to the brim with electronics and wonder were filled with more cobwebs and empty space than anythin else.
talk about your classic wizard of oz complex.

SO yea, people who dont know what makes a cabinet tick, think theye are tanks..i know i did..

[Stingray]

My father-in-law is pretty rough on mine, but hey it's a real arcade cabinet and controls, the control panel is made of steel. It's not like he's going to hurt anything. If he went as far as kicking it., I'd have to cut him off, but mostly he just yanks on the joystick and slams on the buttons. No harm done. I get a charge out of watching people get that into it actually.

-S

[RayB]

It's really interesting to see this thread because I recall a thread a few weeks back about how to mount joysticks. I was in favor of following what the pros did and use carriage bolts straight through. But people argued against me that screwing joys in from underneath, and/or using T-nuts was just as strong enough. Well here's proof that I was right dammit!

 

[Mr. Dude]

A friend of mine freaks out completely when he plays any of the Street Fighter games against me on my cab.  He's not very good at fighting games so I always beat him and this makes him freak even more.  He frantically pounds on the buttons and stick and sometimes even moves the entire cabinet.  I think it's hilarious how crazy he gets but I also take it as a compliment that my craftsmanship can withstand such abuse.  

[Martoon]

There's some kind of psycho-neurological factor that determines how different people interact with physical controls to a virtual environment.  Some people's brains inherently grasp that when you push a joystick or button far enough to engage the switch (or to complete saturation in the case of analog), pushing any harder doesn't make your character move any faster/jump any higher, etc.  Other people's brains never really accept this (even if they're consciously aware of how it really works).

Back in my C64 days, I had a virtually indestructable microswitch joystick (it had a five-year warranty).  I used it for a couple years without incident, but as soon as my brother-in-law played a couple games with it, he broke it.  The thing is, my brother-in-law is this really reserved, careful, methodical (and very intelligent) guy, but when Ms. Pacman wasn't going to make a corner fast enough, he just couldn't help but direct every bit of strength he had into pushing the joystick harder.

The moral is, when you build an arcade cabinet, you just have to build it to withstand people pushing, pulling, and slamming the controls as hard as they possibly can.

[RacerX]

This reminds me of when I used to let my sister or my mom play a game of Donkey Kong Jr. on my ColecoVision.  No matter how many times I told them that "to make the little monkey jump right", all you need to do is push the joystick to the right and push the button, they would move the entire control (along with their hands and arms) that direction as well.  

[AlanS17]

I know all about bullet-proofing a cabinet. Mine was built for (and still lives in) a frat house! I've never had any problems with it despite the abuse those controls have taken. However, once one of the guys got mad and actually punched the screen. That was the last game he ever played on it...  

[Tailgunner]

Adrenalin and stress. People who get emotionally involved in games tend to be rough on the equipment.

[whammoed]

Also, for me it sometimes depends on the game.  Most games I am very calm but when I play galaga I tend to be violent in my side to side movement.  My cocktail is built just like the originals so it can take the abuse,  plus i have a toddler, and boy do they love to yank on the joysticks!  A toddler may be the ultimate test for a machine.  If it can take a 25 pound kid swinging on it, its probably good to go.

[pointdablame]

All I know is once my upright is finally complete, I just might kill anyone who is overly aggressive with it.  Or better yet, every violent motion to my machine will be one violent motion from me to them

I'm a bit overprotective.....  

[Tailgunner]

All I know is once my upright is finally complete, I just might kill anyone who is overly aggressive with it.  Or better yet, every violent motion to my machine will be one violent motion from me to them

I'm a bit overprotective.....  

If you're worried about it, use a pinball plumb-bob style tilt mechanism. Wire it in between the monitor's flyback transformer and the metal control panel. They get too aggressive, and the machine shocks the p!ss outta them.

[Xiaou2]

lol,   some funny stuff here  ^_^

  On a serious note tho... unfortunately,  joysticks arnt built to last - especially the new happ style ones.

 (ultimates and competitions:)

  With a constant mashing - you actually are grinding a plastic spacer.  I used to work in an arcade for 3yrs.  When I first started... I opened a control panel to fix a button.  There was this fine white powder in certain spots.

  I didnt realize what this was untill I noticed that one of the joys didnt move  correctly.   Basically, once the spacer wears,  the spring pulls the shaft too  low... and the bottom actuator dosnt hit the micros correctly.

  Takeing the spacer out, youll notice wear  arround the lip.  It wears a 1/2 diameter cut into it.  You can flip the spacer over to fix this - but soon enough, it will need a completely new spacer.

  I had thought about the possibility of making a metal spacer... but,  the metal spacer may just end up ruining the joystick base on the insides - which is much worse.

  Happ then made the supers.  They are a bit more resistent to the grinding... but they are a lot harder to move and the micro-leaf switches in them often bend out of whack making diagnols hard or impossible to hit.

  Wico leafs:  If noticed  on used,  that thier plastic bases circular shaft holes will end up getting dug up and warped... so that they are no longer perfect circles... and the larger hole diameter can cuase the switches to bend too far.   Not sure how long that process takes. We only had a simpsons with leafs... but the leafs contacts needed to be cleaned too often - or the switches would bend out - so i had to swap the leaf to a micro.

 Im guessing that happ noticed the wear from wico design, and made the competition/ultimates so that only the spacers wore instead of the entire base.

 The design im most currious about is the monroe joys... as i believe they are all metal.  thier design looks like it would hardly wear at all.  

[Tailgunner]

 The design im most currious about is the monroe joys... as i believe they are all metal.  thier design looks like it would hardly wear at all.  

Two plastic pieces in a Monroe as I remember. The ball top knob, and a nylon spacer that presses the leaf switches. According to the counter in my Time Pilot, my Monroe joy has seen about 75000 games. There is some wear in the ball seat that the joystick shaft rolls around in, but it's not enough to effect the playability. I will readily agree that Monroe sticks are probably the most durable arcade joysticks ever made.

[TOK]

I have a buddy that is a total spaz. He's really hard on the controls, and I think he physically moves 3 feet to the left or right while playing a game.
He pretty much sucks at everything because he's trying too hard and has no finesse. I tend to be really easy on equipment, whether it's mine or not.
I know he's not going to break the equipment, but I get frustrated for him because he's working his butt off for practically nothing.

I'd imagine most people here are finesse players, people that aren't regular gamers are generally the spazzes.

[Carsten Carlos]

Very rarely I smash my hands on the controlpanel, but only in anger when games are really unfair.   I remember a Xevious-clone on my Atari800XL named "Flak" where you often started surrounded by shots after loosing a life without any time left to escape!   At least the Competion pro never broke.

Arcade games though are rarely that unfair, otherwise they would've beaten to death in a few days I guess.