Do you tinker more than you play?

[Panzer]

Other than finishing the side art and the marquee, my project is functionally done.

So after months of planning and buying and sweating i can finally sit down and enjoy my collection of thousands of games.... And I constantly find myself exiting out of a game after a few minutes to tinker with something else. Now I get why people have multiple projects!

I did not anticipate that I would enjoy the project more than the game. Anyone else here find thierselves struggling to stop tinkering and just enjoy the end result?

[Zeppo]

Yep. That's me.
I have more fun adjusting things and making the games work.
But every now and then I sit down and play 30 minutes of something.

[XtraSmiley]

Same here, been woring on projects for years, never actually sit and play to much anymore...

[somunny]

Yep. That's me.
I have more fun adjusting things and making the games work.
But every now and then I sit down and play 30 minutes of something.

Same here. 

[FrizzleFried]

Projects?  WHAT PROJECTS?

 

The only time I really play anymore is when friends come over...and the odd time I am able to bust out a game of Galaga or Donkey Kong...

[Chris G]

Ok, I'll be the odd man out.  I know I'll never truly be "finished", however, I can't wait to get things stabilized so I can enjoy some serious gaming!  Part of the problem for me has been analysis-paralysis (and impatience) which has taken some of the fun out of the build.  I think once I get a completed "Version 1" and the gaming itch scratched, then I can relax and enjoy tinkering...

[Unholyknight]

Once my cab is done it'll have some serious playtime upwards for 20 hours a week easy, maybe near 50 over the summer.  I have a lot of 2D fighter crazy friends, and we will play that thing until it breaks and I have to fix it again.

I do find the building process to be great.  I love restoring the cabinet.  Its also a bit of a learning experience and a teaching experience as I have not found any guides or information on the Megalo 410 cabinets to guide my restoration.  Right now I'm trying to find out how to get a new coin system working on it, since it is a top-insertion coin mech.

The hole is in the machine to accept coins, but perhaps someone can point me to a coin mech to attach to the machine?
Picture of what I am talking about:



You can see the coin slot to the upper right of the control panel, as it is now, putting anything into that slot will just allow it to fall into the machines insides.

[Pixelhugger]

I think the majority of people here find the same thing Panzer did. I know I'll feel the same once I complete my project. Maybe THATS why these projects take so long.

[Luigi]

Here! 


You can count the hours that I played at my Mame-Cab with just ONE HAND !!

But you need "I don't know how much, I stopped counting" hands to get all the hours I've spent building enhancements (or not).

The same in our arcade hall.....every time we meet there we almost just "tinker"....it's the others that come to visit and play 

[Bobbler]

Another tinkerer here.
I finished off my cab the other day, played on it for a hour or two then started fiddling with updating mame and roms to newer versions. Then stopped that and started trying to get the picture more focused.
At the moment its in a state of not working...

[shardian]

I'd say I'm a tinkerer. Right now I am stripping gloss black paint off of a xevious cabinet. It is grueling work and very messy...but I love every minute of it! I love the feeling of taking something that would be a trash pile candidate and turning it into something that is worth keeping.

One time I took a crappy, rusted out gas grill and completely restored it. I could have bought another for $50 at Big Lots, but that just wouldn't have been as satisfying.

[Havok]

I tinker and play equally! My first cab would already be finished if I didn't play it so much. Of course, I'm at the point where I just need to finish my other swappable panels, so it looks like a finished product right now - I just don't have the controls for all the games yet.

My latest thing I'm working on is getting the Daphne games going. About 85% done. I think most of them are crap, but I am really getting into Cliff Hanger...

[unclet]

I do not play as much as I should ....    but my kids play about 3 times a week now for a few hours.  When their friends come over on the weekend, they can even play longer


Unholyknight
I would recommend starting a new thread regarding your coin slot question.   I would not hijack this thread with a new topic ..... 

[FrizzleFried]

Perfect example:  I bought a Turbo Twist 2 to install in my horizontal cabinet...I just HAD to have this $70+ device so I could play Ivan Stewart & Blasteroids...

...i've put a grand total of MAYBE 15 minutes on the damn device since I have had it...and i've had it oh...a month or so now.

ARGH!

I just got the wheel from a member here...came in the mail yestarday morning...I was so friggin' excited to get it...couldn't wait to install it...

...then I worked on my DKJr machine and didn't even go NEAR the horizontal cabinet.

ARGH!

[vputz]

Actually, I do play more than I tinker now that it's done.  I still don't play much, because what this has taught me is that even with infinite quarters, I'm still terrible!  But since my dog doesn't like to eat unless someone is keeping him company and we feed him beside the cab, I put in some decent time with it, usually trying to go try a random game and see if I can understand it.

[(+_+)]

I've considered joining C.B.A. (Cab Builders Anonymous) myself. If you do a wiki search, you'll see that it actually does exist and is considered a disease. 

[mrserv0n]

Definite tinkerer. I thought I would play a lot more than I do during the never ending building process however most arcade games are SO repetitive, they do not appeal to me for more than 5 minutes.

[ahofle]

LOL I just don't understand you people who don't play the games.  I still find myself playing the games 4 years after building my cabinet.  I mean if you like to tinker just for the sake of tinkering, I would think auto repair or furniture building would be much more constuctive. 
That's not to say I don't enjoy tinkering (just swapped out CP artwork and put in an arcade monitor, currently tinkering with MAME video settings).  But I always find time to enjoy some classic gaming goodness.

[Dervacumen]

I don't tinker with my existing cab too much - it's just a proof of concept.  The next one will probably be hold the ongoing project status.

I'd play it a lot more if it didn't immediately invite my 3 year old to want to play with me.  I love showing her how to play games but it gives me little chance to enjoy my cab.  Then Leprechaun.  Not too fun for me.

I'm reliving DKJR right now, and I'm tired of explaining the whole Mario history and why the poor ape is locked in a cage.

[WaRpEd]

I've got to admit to Tinkeritis (new word) I spend more time adjusting and tweaking my Cab and friends cabs than I do playing.
But some weekends we'll have a gaming session and play most of the night.
Guys night out.
Working my way thru the 194X series to get my score up.

[AMDman13]

I spend quite a bit of time playing when friends are over, but other than that it's tweaking or researching to find and try new things.

[ArtMAME]

Every darn night I come home planning to tinker on one or more projects...

Last night, I did not tinker, and actually played a few games on my cabinet...

...and enjoyed it!!! 

What a concept!!!