Author Topic: ok let's all tell a story on how we found BYOAC. (Read 15391 times)

FrozenCell · « **Reply #80 on:** August 15, 2005, 03:18:27 pm »

RetroBlast!

RandyT · « **Reply #81 on:** August 15, 2005, 06:42:07 pm »

It was a long time ago, but I think it had something to do with the PowerRamp Mite gamepad I bought and it's dysfunctional "plus" control. While looking for others who may have been having the same problems via the AltaVista search engine (anyone use that anymore?) I saw reference to the control being stripped (or most likely it's bigger brother) for MAME use because it could send PS/2 Keyboard data.

After the discovery of MAME, I set to work converting the Defender cab in my basement from being Amiga based to PC based, and started to look for sources for controls to replace the beat up stuff that was in the machine. On a whim, I typed in "arcadecontrols.com" and was pretty amazed to find that others were doing the same thing. Read all the articles on the site and lurked the sometimes buggy forum for quite a while before actually jumping into the fray.

It's still kind of funny to go through the archives and see who was here back then, who is still around and how opinions can change over time.

RandyT

smt21 · « **Reply #82 on:** August 15, 2005, 08:15:29 pm »

Retroblast!

Dervacumen · « **Reply #83 on:** August 16, 2005, 12:06:04 am »

I've always remembered my Atari 800 and Robotron. It had a neat plastic holder for two Joysticks. Since the plastic holder hold two Joysticks in place, I thought it would be really cool to hook the joystick of one to the fire button on the other. That way I could play "just like in the arcade" without having to hold the dinky Atari controller with one hand and press the fire button with my thumb. You remember those days.

Years(!) later I found MAME(TM) and started researching. Everything pointed to BYOAC. I spent too many months lurking before I signed up.

Mameham · « **Reply #84 on:** August 16, 2005, 01:29:36 pm »

Quote from: RandyT on August 15, 2005, 06:42:07 pm

It was a long time ago, but I think it had something to do with the PowerRamp Mite gamepad I bought and it's dysfunctional "plus" control.

Shape D. · « **Reply #85 on:** August 16, 2005, 01:48:46 pm »

I was searching online for japanese clay pots, and was tricked into signing up onto this debacle of a forum.

OK, I'm joking. this is probobly the best run forum I've seen on the net.

I thought to myself. Hey, I remember back when I first used nesticle that was sweet. I wonder if they have something like that for arcade games. FOUND MAME. reasearched mame for a little while and found the project arcade book, and came here from the links in the book.

u_rebelscum · « **Reply #86 on:** August 16, 2005, 03:48:18 pm »

It was a dark and stormy night, the type so stormy that you can taste the electricity sparking in the air. There was only one source of light in the small room, a window intermittently flashing, a window into the past. Sounds thundered to the flashes, filling the room with warnings of dread and death. A ball of lighting struck me, struck me dead in my unguarded chest. "AAARRRRGgghhh!!!"

My younger brother had just introduced me to mame32 (and his HotRodSE) by kicking my arse at Street Fighter II, just like he did in the in the arcades, with his dang ken/ryu fireballs. I looked around the room and noticed the sun had set while we were playing, and flipped on the lights. The banishing of darkness brought my eyes back to the hotrod, the personification of the arcade controller I always wished I could have for my home gaming, the thing I always "knew" as a kid that would turn my sega genesis, ninteno, and PC into the awesome "ARCADE MACHINE at HOME". (echo "ohm, ohm ohm...")

"Lets try something else", the unvoiced 'please' obviously begging for my rescue from another beating. Other games from our childhood rolled across the screen. My brother must have been trying to get on my good side after kicking my behind, as the game were mostly from my favorite category: 2+ player Co-ops. Gauntlet, UN Squadron, Buster Brothers (Pang), Toobin, Ghouls'n Ghosts, and I was introduced to Magical Drop III.

It wasn't until later that night I noticed something was still missing from the arcades, even with the seemingly dream-come-true hotrod: Forgotten Worlds and Cabal played funny, Smash TV couldn't be played 2 player on the it, and Super Sprint or Spy Hunter on an 8-way joystick sucked. I needed a better controller than "just" the hotrod.

"What, you want to build your own or something?" my bro asked; I must have been thinking out loud.
"Sure, if there's nothing out there."
"Try starting at BYOAC."
"Okay."

1UP · « **Reply #87 on:** August 17, 2005, 03:07:50 pm »

Ah, I remember it well...

MameMaster! · « **Reply #88 on:** August 18, 2005, 03:20:01 pm »

..... I had an old SNES arcade joy (it used real arcade buttons/joystick) that I wanted to connect to my dreamcast.

After some basic google searching trying to see if I could hack it to work w/my DC I stumbled THANKFULLY(!) onto BYOAC!

MameMaster!

PhoneGuy · « **Reply #89 on:** August 20, 2005, 07:00:12 pm »

In early 2002 a friend of mine sent me an email which had the statement:

"Well, I have my old hand-held Coleco games again, I have my Atari 2600, my C64... now I've met a guy who rebuilds classic arcade games and replaces the internals with pc parts"

There were links to MAME, The Ultimate Arcade Machine and of course arcadecontrols.com. I downloaded MAME and found a Crazy Climber rom. I quickly decided I need real arcade controls. Soon I had a gutted Rampage cabinet and the orders to Ultimarc, Bob Roberts, Wells Gardner, Oscar, Newegg, and EBay began. It took about 4 months to get the cabinet playable and to the basement. I have never submitted a project announcement since the cabint never seems quite finished. Neither my friend nor the guy he works with who "rebuilds classic arcade games and replaces the internals with pc parts" have actually found time to build a MAME cabinet.

F1are · « **Reply #90 on:** November 23, 2005, 02:42:41 am »

refered here to purchase happ controls from ponyboy.

now, im sticking around to hopefully find someone who will sell a 3rd strike board

97thruhiker · « **Reply #91 on:** November 23, 2005, 09:21:08 am »

I found it through the example page in June of 2004. Friend of mine introduced me to Mame a month or two prior and we were sitting around work and I said it would be cool to build some kind of dedicated box to hold a computer and to play Mame. I had no idea what was out there and did a search and found some cabinets that people made. It blew me away and one of those had a link to BYOAC. Took me another 8 or 9 months to finally register here but have visited this site just about every day since June 2004 (If only to read the ramblings of Chad, Drew, Stingray, Smokes, Mr C, etc.)

mccoy178 · « **Reply #92 on:** November 23, 2005, 11:05:10 am »

I was on Ebay looking for a Golden Tee machine. I saw this thing called,"Mame" that could play over 4000 games. After looking at the machines on ebay, I bought a disc from Spystyle like an idiot for about 5 or 6 bucks. It immediately directed me here and the rest is history. Now when I see something neat on Ebay, I google the idea first instead of being lazy.

DrumAnBass · « **Reply #93 on:** November 23, 2005, 01:28:20 pm »

For me, I found this site fairly recently - maybe 3 months ago

I had played with Mame on my Mac Quadra 840av in the 90s - when it was in its infancy and thought it was the coolest thing ever...! But of course the keyboard interface always bugged me.

I recently saw the "Arcade Legends" machine on costco.com. I hit me that there has got to be a way to build something similar for a lot less money - so off to google I went. Eventually ended up here, and I have been obsessed with the idea of building my own arcade machine ever since.

Just bought a cabinet this past weekend and am just getting started on my project. Coming up with a nice fat list of all the stuff I am going to need to buy... Sticks and trackball from Ultimarc, controller from Groovy Game Gear, translucent buttons from Ponyboy, and the list goes on...!

chadandjody · « **Reply #94 on:** November 23, 2005, 10:04:57 pm »

I heard about the Project Arcade book on Attack of the Show a few months back.

markrvp · « **Reply #95 on:** November 23, 2005, 11:47:37 pm »

Funny story. Last Christmas my parents bought my sons the Jakks handheld Pacman & MsPacman. The next day I took them to the in-laws house so we could all enjoy them. As usual my in-laws completely ignored me and the boys (because they are really self-absorbed so & so's) so I started playing Pacman. After an hour or so I logged on to the computer at their house (because they were still ignoring us) and did a Google search for Pacman patterns. I came across the MAMEWORLD Pacman page. I wasn't quite sure why they kept talking about MAME so I did a search on that. Somewhere along the lines I came across BYOAC. I was hooked instantly.

The funny thing is I was really pissed off at the way my in-laws treated me last Christmas, but if they hadn't treated me that way I might never have had the individual play time on the Jakks machines which led me to search for "a better way to play those games."

This Christmas I'll take my Mame equipped laptop to the in-laws and I'll enjoy ignoring them while I play my favorite games.

saint · « **Reply #96 on:** November 24, 2005, 01:58:41 am »

Do you know which episode and segment? I'd like to try to track that down

Quote from: chadandjody on November 23, 2005, 10:04:57 pm

I heard about the Project Arcade book on Attack of the Show a few months back. Eventually got the book a month or so ago. The book got me informed and motivated enough to start my own cabinet, which in turn led me here

jopenner · « **Reply #97 on:** November 24, 2005, 07:30:45 am »

While on Amazon.com, I saw John St.Clair's book on Project Arcade. It tweaked my interest and I purchased it this summer.
I followed the links to this site and haven't looked back.
My CP is built and by winter's end I should have a full blown arcade in the basement to piss my spouse off with ;-)
It's great to play the classics and be able to show them to my children, who seem to enjoy them as much as I did (do).
Thanks to John St.Clair on the BYOAC community for introducing me to this great hobby and helpting me out with putting it all together. I had to sell my entire console game collection (Original Atari Pongs to Sega's Dreamcast) on ebay to fund it, but it certainly made selling the idea to my significant other that much easier.
Thanks again.

John

P.S. If you are new to this hobby, pickup John's book and bookmark this forum-You are going to need it (them).

chadandjody · « **Reply #98 on:** November 24, 2005, 07:38:23 am »

Quote from: saint on November 24, 2005, 01:58:41 am

Do you know which episode and segment? I'd like to try to track that down

Quote from: chadandjody on November 23, 2005, 10:04:57 pm
I heard about the Project Arcade book on Attack of the Show a few months back.

nipsmg · « **Reply #99 on:** November 24, 2005, 10:13:14 am »

I ran into MAME after looking for a NES emulator in 1998-1999 (I think?). I remember thinking "there's gotta be a way to hook up real controls to a computer." Did a search (probably on altavista at that point) and found arcadecontrols.speedhost.com. Posted on the old boards for a while (that old software sucked compared to this, but it worked at the time), then took a small hiatus. Came back and it had moved to arcadecontrols.com.

fastredpacman · « **Reply #100 on:** November 24, 2005, 03:13:47 pm »

I saw a guy at work playing metal slug on his pc and I thought he was playing it on a PS1. When I asked him he said it wasnt on a ps 1 but on an emulator. I asked him if he could show me and he said look it up on the web and when i started doing research I found this site!

M3talhead · « **Reply #101 on:** November 25, 2005, 09:33:32 am »

I started out in NES emulation (Nesticle) in the mid-late 90's when a friend of mine showed me how he could play SMB on his computer. I then found out about MAME rummaging through some random ROM site looking for other emulators.

I got into cab building by being broke, believe it or not. I was in my first apartment after I got in the military and had no furniture, just a bed. I thought to myself, "How cool would it be to have a coffee table with an arcade built into it?!?".

The rest is history.

pmc · « **Reply #102 on:** November 25, 2005, 10:43:54 am »

I'd been using MAME since like 0.34 or something like that but had never considered a cabinet or real arcade controls. A couple of years ago a friend suggested that we build a cabinet around a dedicated MAME PC. We thought we were the first to think of it.

Infinity_Yak · « **Reply #103 on:** November 25, 2005, 11:26:53 am »

I was looking for a copy of SNESKey in 1997 or 1998... whenever Callus/Nesticle/Genecyst were out. I wanted to interface my SNES and Genesis arcade sticks to my PC through the parallel port of my old P166MMX. Went looking on the web and found this site back when it was just a FAQ page- it had lots of good stuff on it, even back then! Been lurking ever since... getting all sorts of crazy ideas

Since 1999 I've been wanting to build an arcade cabinet.

Since then, I've built countless PC/Console game adapters, a Dreamcast->PC Serial port adapter, a luggable joystick-box console (the portable Markade), and am in the process of Tastefully mameing a poorly converted Tron->Two Tigers cabinet.

MYX · « **Reply #104 on:** November 25, 2005, 10:19:24 pm »

About mid 1999 I found MAME and started thinking that there has got to be a way to hook up actual arcade buttons to a keyboard instead of beating the living stuffings out of the space bar. (ooh run on sentance hell!!!). I Yahoo'd something like arcade buttons and found this site. I look back in amazement that I didn't loose my job due to the major drop in productivity. I love this site. My wife however...

erictrumpet · « **Reply #105 on:** November 25, 2005, 11:30:46 pm »

I discovered MAME(tm) about 3 years ago and enjoyed playing a few choice classics using my keyboard. Little did I know that, a) literally thousands of games are out there, b) real honest-to-goodness arcade controls are able to be purchased and interfaced with my computer, and c) I could actually have an arcade machine of my very own!!! This site was easy to find by googling "home arcade controls" or something like that, way back when I was just a pup in this hobby. And I am still very much a pup, judging by how hardcore some of this community is.

Thanks to all who keep this site alive, it is really special.

Eric.

DrewKaree · « **Reply #106 on:** November 27, 2005, 11:43:41 pm »

I read some story about emulation (for a Nintendo or some other such console) and figured there'd be a way to play a game or two that were in the arcades (HAH!) and was introduced to MAME. After playing several brazilian games with my keyboard, I was looking for more, and figured just like with consoles, they made some "realistic" controller for these things. I think MAME was in the high 50's or low 60's at that time. Did a little search, found this here site, and....did nothing with the info. Moved back to WI, decided to see what was out there since I had nothing to do at the time, downloaded several zip files worth of old forum posts. Read. Read. Read some more, then started at the last page of the newest iteration and worked my way forward to page 1.

Figured out how to answer for myself some questions I had about my Time Pilot, and started building a craplet that works for MAME. It worked so well, I pulled all the parts off of it and scrapped it until I could commit a decent effort from myself to it. Somewhere along the line I figured out that Everything Else was for....just that.....and I've been slowly drawn down into the ooze that comprises it.

Lastly, I hope someday to be buried in BrokenBones' CP

spriggy · « **Reply #107 on:** November 28, 2005, 12:44:33 am »

From memory stumbled across the old 'ArcadeOS' site... this snowballed into ideas of chucking a Celeron 300 into an old 'WrestleFest' cab...... natural selection and 'HotBot' pointed me towards here.....

Generic Eric · « **Reply #108 on:** November 29, 2005, 02:39:13 pm »

I was looking for walkthroughs on how to hack two dreamcast guns together for playing House of the Dead 2.

JONTHEBOMB · « **Reply #109 on:** January 08, 2007, 04:25:10 pm »

I ran across this thread while searching.

Now I am itching to hear more stories.

Flip_Willie · « **Reply #110 on:** January 08, 2007, 06:06:44 pm »

Well,

Shortly after discovering mame a several years back, I found the website for the Trashcade. Then I did a google search for, building your own arcade, and guess what? I found this site... Who'd of thought it? :•)

Just as it is,
Flip Willie

leapinlew · « **Reply #111 on:** January 08, 2007, 06:41:04 pm »

The year was 2005. I thought I was being totally original when I decided to build an arcade. I found this site and learned otherwise.

I'm a total poser.

Zakk · « **Reply #112 on:** January 08, 2007, 07:00:25 pm »

I think I found it on the awesomely good Massive Mame Project site. It's awesomeness was only dwarfed by the awesomeness+1 of this site.

MYX · « **Reply #113 on:** January 08, 2007, 07:52:49 pm »

Quote from: leapinlew on January 08, 2007, 06:41:04 pm

The year was 2005. I thought I was being totally original when I decided to build an arcade. I found this site and learned otherwise.

I'm a total poser.

ha ha... HE's a poser. He made something that a lot of other people already did...
Awww man, I did too.

DrewKaree · « **Reply #114 on:** January 08, 2007, 10:06:22 pm »

Quote from: Zakk on January 08, 2007, 07:00:25 pm

I think I found it on the awesomely good Massive Mame Project site. It's awesomeness was only dwarfed by the awesomeness+1 of this site.

You wouldn't happen to have a LINK to such an awesome site, would you?

spiffykyle · « **Reply #115 on:** January 08, 2007, 10:40:12 pm »

I was visiting a friends house and was completely blown away by a full sized arcade cabinet just sitting in his living room. Then, just to up the ante, he showed me it could play TONS of games!

After spenging entirely to much time playing golden tee and metal slug, I helped him wire a couple of new joysticks and decided right then and there I had to do it for myself.

He referred me to this website, where I discovered Saint had written a book!! Now that the book is completely dog-eared, written in, and full of post-it notes, I am embarking on my own build.

God bless the internet.

spiffykyle

Donkey_Kong · « **Reply #116 on:** January 08, 2007, 10:57:14 pm »

I stumbled upon this place and it was right when 'woodworking' was new. Yea, only a few months ago. Anyway, I thought this place was kind of a dump and how everybody on here was pretty retarded and stuff. Figured I just needed a quick couple answers from 'woodworking' and I would build my stuff and get the f-outta here. For Good! Yea. For good. I haven't left once since about my 3rd day and now I kinda just run around here constantly spinning my wheels and generally wasting bandwidth.

Just kidding guys. This place is the cats ass and don't you forget it.

To everybody involved in the upkeep and what-not:

MikeQ · « **Reply #117 on:** January 08, 2007, 11:20:09 pm »

I had just finished the last page of my book, "Project Arcade, Build Your VERY Own Arcade Machine". I went to setup a web site so people could trade information and recommend my book to each other.

I decided on arcadecontrols.com. I found that the domain was taken so I typed the URL into my browser and DOH!!!!!!! Years of writing my epic novel down the drain!!!!!

CURSE YOU SAINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, actually, my wife bought me and the kids a JAKK's game for Christmas one year. I got re-addicted to Galaga. Already knew about MAME from its early days. Decided I was going to build a cabinet. Started looking for parts and found ArcadeControls.com

Now all I get for Christmas is clothes.

CURSE YOU SAINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

QuixoteQuest · « **Reply #118 on:** January 10, 2007, 08:20:10 pm »

Quote from: DrumAnBass on November 23, 2005, 01:28:20 pm

For me, I found this site fairly recently - maybe 3 months ago

I had played with Mame on my Mac Quadra 840av in the 90s - when it was in its infancy and thought it was the coolest thing ever...! But of course the keyboard interface always bugged me.

I recently saw the "Arcade Legends" machine on costco.com. I hit me that there has got to be a way to build something similar for a lot less money - so off to google I went. Eventually ended up here, and I have been obsessed with the idea of building my own arcade machine ever since.

I started playing MacMAME on my Mac Quadra 840av back around 96, downloading simple roms via AOL and a 28.8 connection from JoseQ's Emuviews or later, MAME.dk. I remember how amazingly choppy most fighter games were. But Galaga and other classics of its day played great. It was so sweet. Especially loved all the Japanese stuff since I was living there in the late 80s, and MAME was the way I could relive nostalgia from my youth from both sides of the Pacific.

I've played MAME off and on since then, my interest in the hobby waxing and waning with the times. MacMAME has always in my apps folder of each subsequent Mac desktop and laptop I've owned--to be something to pass the time here and there. Always wanted a real cab so I've been frequenting sites like these for a lot of years--thinking of the day I'd have the guts to take the plunge and build one.

Finally saw the Arcade Legends cabs in Cost-Co this holiday season and thought: that cab blows. I could build something better myself for cheaper or pay someone else to build it for not much more and have it exactly how I liked. So I bought a cab for Christmas. In the process of setting up the computer it's got me back to sites like this and BYOAC. Finally my lingering fascination with MAME has been reignited in to a full on love-fest.

I had the cab for a week and already started to plan what my next mod for it is gonna be. I've slipped down the slippery slope I fear.

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #119 on:** January 14, 2007, 10:32:45 pm »

I bought a pinball machine from a guy who had a huge collection. He also had a Mame Machine. I had know about MAME for a long time, and had played it in the early 00s. Anyway...my pinball machine reading lead me to Retroblast. What a great site! I check visit there daily. So that lead me to BYOC. Now I visit here almost daily!

RubberP


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Author Topic: ok let's all tell a story on how we found BYOAC. (Read 15391 times)

jopenner

MikeQ