Control panel review - 4 player with spinner

[vidmouse]

My kids play TMNT and shooters.  Guess I'll reap what
I sow later 

I used to be able to play Doom for hours but nowadays
it and other FPS games make me nauseous.  I think it's
a form of motion sickness.  I seem to do alright w/
racing games and Mechwarrior, but those have a cockpit
(sort of) so maybe that's the difference.

BTW, Mechwarrior 3 runs GREAT on my cab, just need to
remap a few more buttons to keep my butt from getting
kicked.

I also tried Spider-Man (not the movie version but the similar
one that came out before) and it works... heh, I'm equally
bad at the controls whether I'm using a keyboard, gamepad
or my arcade controller.

[Zebidee]

My kids are too little for "fighting games", but they are little girls so we'll see.

I used to play DooM a lot - in fact, I was crowned "Fragmaster" in 1995, and have a little trophy somewhere.  I also did a lot of DooM deathmatch (and single play) level editing, and some of my levels were very popular back then.  In fact, you can find them on shovelware CDs full of modded doom levels.  When I set up DoomM on my cab, I couldn't find my old backups so I downloaded them instead!

Motion sickness is common in DooM players.  I never got it, but then I'm probably sick already .   I always took regular breaks in DM though (I didn't like playing more than about 20minutes in a stretch - built up too much stress/adrenaline).

Believe it or not, playing DooM really expanded my sense of physical awareness.  After DooM, I became much more aware of where things were BEHIND me, when I couldn't see them.

I have a desk and cupboards littered with old PC games.  I am one of those people who likes to keep them instead of letting them go to the secondhand store.

I'm looking forward to getting mechwarrior setup, and a few more when I have the chance.  I never got into Mech before, so could be a chance to make up lost time.  Did you set it up under Mamewah?

[vidmouse]

I'm looking forward to getting mechwarrior setup, and a few more when I have the chance.  I never got into Mech before, so could be a chance to make up lost time.  Did you set it up under Mamewah?

No, but that's a good thought if you can do it.
Shoot, now I wish I hadn't sold off my copy of Earthsiege, that was a low-res
Mech kinda game, but I bet it would rock under my cab (everything else I seem
to put on there does  ).

I guess part of using MAMEWah is to despoil the fact that there's a pc in there, but
for the games I mentioned (and on the Star Wars thread) I think having to
put the CD in to run the game would do that too...

That's cool that you built your own Doom levels.  I never had the patience (back then)
I did load up a few nice conversions back in the day .. best one I ever tried
was the Aliens TC, that stayed with me even more than the orignal Doom.

[Zebidee]

I have picked up some games from garage sales ("yard sales") , and literally just paid like $20-25 for about 50 games.  Sometimes it is good just to have it.  But then, I still have my AD&D books and haven't played that in over 15 years.  Apparently they are starting to be worth serious money now.

Regarding MameWAH and the CD, I generally use Daemon Tools to mount CD images as a virtual drive(eg F:).  You can either rip your own disc using your favourite software to some kind of image (eg iso, bin/cue, nrg) , or even just download it from somewhere.

Daemon Tools can mount and unmount virtual CD (and DVD?) drives from the command line, so it is easy to load them in MameWAH with pre- and post- emulator  command lines.  No mess, no fuss, no CD.

I'm thinking about setting up a MameWAH menu to help my kids choose their favourite windows games, using Daemon Tools extensively.  Trouble is, I'd have to use game-by-game bat files as well.

Regarding DooM editing,  I liked to evoke a feeling in the player .... and I liked to keep players on their toes.  Back then it was one of the earliest 3D game environments we had to play in (OK, still pseudo 3D only), so I got into it.  I saw a lot of shoddy levels, so was anal about making both the look and the gameplay just right. 

One of my more famous DM levels, NIGHT2-0.WAD, was essentially a large arena with a few side-show corridors to some interesting ways of making players work for their weapons.  I kept people moving by putting a cyberdemon in the middle on a raised platform and in a cage, unable to escape but continuously pumping rockets at players randomly.  As a PC monster, it always shot where you were so as long as you kept moving, you were fine!  The demon's rockets also had the side-effect of occasionally claiming the person chasing you with a plasma rifle.  The entire sky texture was replaced with a night-sky starfield simulation, and a couple of the sounds were subtly changed/improved.  Oh, the nostalgia! But when I downloaded it I found that someone had tamed-down the cyberdemon to a baron, who is just such a pu$$y-monster that I felt ashamed .... I mean, I recorded a demo once of me killing one of these with just a chainsaw ...... and they take only 50 solid hits with a single-shotgun (yeah, I counted.....  ... and I also remember 

Alien_TC was very popular and I played it, but it came out when I was big into DM - so Death Match demanded my attention!  Meet the meat, so to speak.   Oh, the nostalgia ....

[vidmouse]

I have picked up some games from garage sales ("yard sales") , and literally just paid like $20-25 for about 50 games.  Sometimes it is good just to have it.  But then, I still have my AD&D books and haven't played that in over 15 years.  Apparently they are starting to be worth serious money now.

I picked up a DM guide awhile back but around here, it wasn't that great of a deal.  I seem to find a lot of them at Half Price Bookstores or used bookstores.

Thought about drive mounting but I think my next step is to install a larger hard drive if I want to load in (mounted or not) games that take up more space than MAME roms.  I pulled a 40GB out of my main desktop, it should suffice over the 8GB drive I have in the cab now.  Probably a Sunday night chore after the kids are asleep... 

[Zebidee]

I picked up a DM guide awhile back but around here, it wasn't that great of a deal.  I seem to find a lot of them at Half Price Bookstores or used bookstores.

??  Dunno, I'm just going on what someone who works in one of those bookstores said.  But they were talking about the original AD&D 2nd Ed. harcover books, not later versions or re-prints etc. ??

I pulled a 40GB out of my main desktop, it should suffice over the 8GB drive I have in the cab now.  Probably a Sunday night chore after the kids are asleep... 

Heh, good luck.  But if you are doing the work, why stop at 40GB?

Last night I finished fitted the "Big Red  Button" to turn the cab on and off automatically!  Now this cab is officially finished!  Check it out .....

http://scarvell.net/wiki/index.php?title=GALAXY_ARCADE_CLASSICS_GAMES_CABINET

[vidmouse]

I picked up a DM guide awhile back but around here, it wasn't that great of a deal.  I seem to find a lot of them at Half Price Bookstores or used bookstores.

??  Dunno, I'm just going on what someone who works in one of those bookstores said.  But they were talking about the original AD&D 2nd Ed. harcover books, not later versions or re-prints etc. ??

This is what I've got (see picture); not sure if it's 1st printing or not... picked it up for $2 at a library book sale.

Cool site on your Galaxy cab... are you trying to use it to sell your cab as  you said before?

As planned, I fiddled around with my hard drives last night... unfortunately the BIOS on my motherboard cannot recognize drives above 8.4GB -- which explains a lot, I've actually been using a 17GB drive all along and didn't realize it... I loaded Western Digital's EZ-BIOs onto my system and now it can recognize it, but I still had some problems in loading up Windows.  And, for some reason it will not recognize the 40GB at all.  Hmm... may have to retry that one now that I have the EZ BIOs loaded.  More fiddling to do...

Why stop at 40GB?  Because that's what I have, that's all.  Part of this for me is to see how much I can squeeze out of the parts I already have without having to buy too many new PC parts or cab parts, etc.  Admittedly I've probably already spent more in making my cab because I made it from scratch vs buying a husk but that was part of the challenge/fun.  Maybe at some point I'll upgrade the PC to a P4 but I'm not ready to give up on my PII yet.

[Zebidee]

Yes, I'm trying to sell the cabinet.  I'm planning on using this site as a reference.  I haven't advertised it anywhere specifically yet, but going to.  And if nobody wants to pay me enough for it I'll just keep it!  I've been pimping it up for selling, but now I love it even more!  It means I would have to ship it OS in a few months though.

Re the AD&D books, value is always whatever the two people agree.  I reckon that you got yourself a bargain.  I've seen amazing stuff at cheap prices, just helps to know the value to you. 

I couldn't see a pic?, but I mean the one with a huge demon on the front, with a flaming sword if I remember correctly.  It is in a box somewhere.  But mine is so dog-eared from playing at school that it is worth more sentimentally to me.  So no, you can't have it for $2!!    I still think (fantasise?) that I might play again one day (when I retire!)

[vidmouse]

I guess it would've helped if I'd remembered to attach the pic 

But you guessed it right anyway.  I think mine's in better shape
but who knows what print rev it is (forgot to look last night
when I got home)

I didn't ask before but I'm assuming by shipping OS you mean
OverSeas... ouch, that's gotta be expensive.  Maybe you can
dissassemble it?  I bet the weight is one thing but the bulkiness
may incur extra charges?  Assuming you don't sell it...

I think I know what I need to do to get my HDD working now...
had to load in the EZ BIOs so my system could recognize the
larger HDD and then manually used fdisk to set the DOS
partition, format c, then setup.  Found a Microsoft help note
that worked.  I'm not done yet, as I erroneously copied over
my startup disk to my HDD, but I'll try again tonight without
doing it.  I think something that was screwing me up before
was that I didn't restart the pc after partitioning and before
formatting, something it tells you to do but allows you to
not-do.

Don't know if that made sense... may post a procedure
later...

[Zebidee]

Sounds like you have solved the HD issues!  Yes, I remember that older PCs have problems with big HDs.

I'll be shipping half a container I think.  Anyway, it won't be the only thing I'll be shipping, so I'll manage   Besides, there'll probably be lots of people to play it in Thailand.  I have another Galaxy cabinet with an arcade monitor & Soul edge II, so I'll be shipping one at least.

[vidmouse]

   I ended up getting it working alright... but only half-and-half.
My 17GB drive works great and is now recognized as one C drive
(vs several 2GB drives).  My 40GB drive doesn't appear to work

I loaded Win98SE but now seem to have an issue with MAMEWah..
I've been using MAMEWash v97 and never had a problem but now
it doesn't want to show screenshots.

Loaded Rogue Squadron 3D on it for the 1st time... ooh, that was
sweet.

Heh, finding more and more of my old games now.

Oh, and my D&D player's handbook is 3rd printing, Jan 1979

[Zebidee]

Maybe you need to create two partitions for the 40GB drive with fdisk.  Older FAT32 systems might have problems at > 32GB, so try breaking it up into a 30GB & a 10GB, or similar.

Maybe your win98 system can't recognise .png files, or similar?  I think I've heard of this before, but my brain is fuzzy on this now.  You might need to install something like a codec pack to make it work.   But I could be off-track ...?

Are you doing a DOS install from Win98?

From the date of your AD&D(?) Player's Handbook, it appears to be the "older" one.  This is different to the Dungeon Master's Guide, but part of the basic set.  I recall that in at least one later print run of the Players Handbook (early-mid 80's) that the pages tended to fall out.  Check they are all there!   

You have given me some incentive to get more games up and running now too 

I also posted some files and a bit of a guide on how to set up the latest Daphne for cabinets, in the Software Forum.  So check it if this could be useful.

I'm about to list my Galaxy cab for sale (ebay + elsewhere), either tonight or tomorrow.

[vidmouse]

Not quite sure about the 40GB disk... everytime I connect it, my system can't even load from a startup disk in the floppy drive.  I'm wondering if there's either some kind of bus conflict or maybe even a weird power drop because it's all off the same tap.
I'm not in any hurry to figure it out, the 17GB is already twice what I was willing to live with before

No, the system can read png files via internet explorer.  I'm wondering if it's something in MAMEWAH that I didn't configure right.  I just ran a test on my WinXP desktop system as well, same version, and it didn't give me a screenshot either.  I'm wondering HOW I ever got it to work before now.  I konw I still have it running ok on my laptop, I might just try a brute-force copy over and see if it works.

My list of games I've tried that seem to work well or at least look cool on my cab:
Star Wars Episode I Racer
Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3d (apparently doesn't work under XP?)
Spider-Man (the orignal game not the movie version)
Mechwarrior 3
Battlezone 2

Gonna probably try European Air War and Anachronox next...

Good luck on your auction!

[Zebidee]

Have you tried the master/slave settings for the new HD?  The 17GB HD might need to be set as master, and the 40GB HD as slave.  Can you get to the BIOS?  You might need to tweak something there to recognise 2 drives as well.  Also, some HDs from different manufacturers can create conflicts.

I'd guess that your problem with screenshots is to do with your mamewah *.ini files.  Make sure your paths are right in your mame.ini etc.  Also, check the mamewah.ini, play with the settings eg "keep_image_aspect  0" and "safe_mode  1".  They are both either 1 or 0 (on or off), so try other combos too.  On a PII, you will probably want to set "refresh_images  0" to improve performance.

Make sure that you have the latest MameWAH too (ver 1.62b13a).

Those games would look cool on a cab .... do you run them from MameWAH?

next on my list will be Alone in the Dark .... although there is a 3DO version of it, the original PC game runs in something like 320x240 so would look F'kn great on an arcade monitor.  I liked the game on a keyboard back then, and my initial experiments with it in an arcade cab joystick/buttons were pretty good.

Looks like my ebay listing will happen tomorrow 'cos I fell asleep --BINGO! Either that, or I was attempting to say "before" but it was too many letters to type--.  I don't want to list it at like midnight, because then it finishes at midnight as well.

[vidmouse]

I did think about master/slave settings.  My system has
two HDD controllers IDE0 and IDE1.  Here's things I've
tried:
> Hooking up just the 17GB to either IDE0 or IDE1 -- works
> Hooking up 17GB to IDE0 and 40GB to IDE1 both as master -- doesn't work
> Hooking up 40GB to IDE0 as master -- doesn't work
> Hooking up 17GB and 40GB to IDE0 with 17GB as master,
     40 GB as slave -- doesn't work

I haven't tried to partition the 40GB in my desktop where it used
to work... this would involve reinstalling it there, partitioning, then
uninstalling it and reinstalling it in my cab --- a lot of work b/c
my desktop is hard to get to b/c it's hidden in my desk.

I did finally get Mamewah to work with screenshots!   
Had to go BACK to version 0.963 to do it though.  Chalk up
another win for Saint's book, the CD from the book is where
I got it from.  Still have no idea why 0.97 didn't work but don't
care now...  I must've been using 0.963 before I reformatted
drives and just forgot about it.

One of these days I'll get around to fiddling with v 1.62... I think
I did at one point but didn't like it because of how it reacted
with my older system (? -- can't remember).

I don't run the PC games from MAMEwah (at least not yet), been
too busy fiddling w/ just getting them to load, getting MAMEwah
to show images, etc.   Alone in the Dark sounds like a great choice--heard
the game was spooky though--- reminds me that I also wanted
to try System Shock 2, another spooky one.  I know I said FPS's
can make me a little nauseous but I'm hoping w/ some like SS2
that the fact it's more RPG than FPS will help.

You can delay your listing on Ebay so that it will list at the
time/date you want it.  I usually aim for 10pm on Sunday's
but I'm not sure what an optimum time is.

[Zebidee]

Alone in the Dark sounds like a great choice--heard
the game was spooky though---

That's why I want to 'port it to my cab - perfect environment for a spooky game!

reminds me that I also wanted
to try System Shock 2, another spooky one.  I know I said FPS's
can make me a little nauseous but I'm hoping w/ some like SS2
that the fact it's more RPG than FPS will help.

Guess that is another I'll have to try eventually.  Now, this is why I built my cab on a Windows XP Pro platform - to get the most out of games compatibility.  It is pretty good with *most* old dos games, esp. if you use Dosbox, but sometimes little things can cause probs (eg sometimes sound problems).

If you want, you can also run Freedos which is pretty "mature" as an OS now and gives very good multi-OS choices  - so you can run win2000 and FreeDOS, for example.

You can delay your listing on Ebay so that it will list at the
time/date you want it.  I usually aim for 10pm on Sunday's
but I'm not sure what an optimum time is.

That's a great idea!  Thanks I might aim for  about 9pm though ....

[vidmouse]

Now, this is why I built my cab on a Windows XP Pro platform - to get the most out of games compatibility.  It is pretty good with *most* old dos games, esp. if you use Dosbox, but sometimes little things can cause probs (eg sometimes sound problems).

If you want, you can also run Freedos which is pretty "mature" as an OS now and gives very good multi-OS choices  - so you can run win2000 and FreeDOS, for example.

For awhile I was running a dual partition on my desktop... reserved about 8GB for Win98 and 30GB for WinXP stuff...  I really only needed WinXP for my photos and desktop applications vs gaming.  Haven't found a lot of games that DON'T work on Win98... for me, my system hardware has more constraints (processor speed, memory, video memory, etc).  My cab is exclusively Win98SE now...  originally I had Win98FE but upgraded when I did all this hard drive stuff.  Part of the reason for the upgrade?  I _think_  that some USB hubs require it, and I want to be able to mount a 4-port hub (similar to what you have on Galaxy) under my CP.  Haven't tested it yet though.

Been searching through old PC Gaming magazines for titles that came out around 1998 - 2002, about the heyday for my PII hardware... even the ones that got poor reviews might be worth a look on an arcade machine.  Some of them got poor reviews because the game didn't have "staying power" -- ie you couldn't play for hours and hours on-end.  But, on an arcade, I don't think that's much of a problem.  Some more titles I'm considering looking for:

Echelon (by Bethesda softworks) - a space sim/shoot em up
Pearl Harbor:  Defend the Fleet (this one got a real low score but I think the concept for an arcade shooter, taken at face value, is good)
MS Train Simulator

[Zebidee]

Well, on a PII win98 is probably a better choice as it is less demanding.

You know, I think it would be worthwhile making a list of PC (and other) games that port well to a cab environment.  Could be worth a new thread ...

I bought a couple of USB hubs with a transparent case, all in one row, because one I saw how simple they were, it was immediately obvious how to mount it.  I carefully drilled a hole in the hub case and put a screw in the middle.  Butted a piece of wood behind it to provide some resistance to the force when a device is plugged in, and made sure that there was no other rotational movement. 

Make sure that you use a powered USB hub if you are adding 4 ports.  You can probably get 5v from internal power, but 'safer' I guess to use the supplied PS for the hub.

My cab is on ebay now.  I don't want to violate any thread rules by posting a link in the wrong place, but search ebay.com.au for GALAXY MAME and ARCADE and see what you find.   

[vidmouse]

Kind of already started one, albeit that was not my original intent...

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=66711.0

I'm using a non-powered hub on my desktop now, but two of the devices
connected to it have their own power, so I guess that doesn't count.  Thanks
for the tip.

   Just got Asteroids to run at a decent speed finally by tuning the audio
sample rate down to 22050... don't know why it bogs down so much on my
system at 44100.  As a side effect I think Smash TV got faster too.

Huh... a search for galaxy mame turned up no results on ebay.com...
the domain for Australia is different, something like ebay.com.au
I doubt very many US buyers would even see this... I found it via a search
on Google.    You might want to contact Ebay if you are interested in
broadening your selling circle.

[Zebidee]

It is advertised on oz http://www.ebay.com.au, not US - I doubt US buyers would pay the freight 

Will see how it goes .....

[vidmouse]

No new cab work for me this weekend, just a little twiddling with CLRMAME and my romsets, trying to piece together my v0.53 rom collection.  I figured I'd start there any anything not available in v0.53 (like Marvel vs Capcom) I can try in a later version that "might" still work on my cab.  Learned some things new... like how Light Bringer (lightbr) is a Japanese version of Dungeon Magic

[Anubis_au]

Sorry, only just came across this thread, but it touched several things dear to me...

Doom: I got into Doom a bit in 1995 but Quake was the game for me. Also got into Descent a fair bit, but my heart is with Quake. Nowadays, I carry it on my USB stick, for a quick game when I can...

AD&D: I played with 1st and 2nd ed, but 3rd ed is where it kicks ass. 3.5rd ed is even better too, although I stopped playing by then.

[Zebidee]

Anubis, I bet you are about 30-35??

I played (& dungeon mastered) AD&D 1st-2nd edn extensively as an RPG fremework, but eventually learned how to loosen the straps a bit as a Dungeon Master.  I came up with a new spell-points system that everyone loved, critical hits, and a DM fudge-factor that worked for everything else.

3rd edition had similar ideas, but weren't as well implemented as my own home-rules.  My spell points system was better, my critical hits system was better, I'd even developed a rough secondary skills guide, although I did like this part of 3rd edition better.    I guess I found that 3rd edition tried to formalise many of my tried and tested home-brew hacks, or "DM fudge-factor", that I used to balance things out and add a bit of variety.

By the time 3rd edition came out, other game systems like ROlemaster and GURPS were starting to take hold.   And I really miss Traveller...... it always reminded me of something between Blakes 7, Star Wars and Aliens. 

People don't really seem to play pen'n'paper D&D anymore .... it is all driven by computers now.  Which is a shame, because at school my friends and I would disappear into a true fantasy world every lunchtime!  Kids don't seem to get that experience anymore.  Computers just can't cut it compared to the human imagination. 

[vidmouse]

35+, guilty here. 

Admit I never got into D&D paper as much... but from what I remember
as a a kid it was good. 

Ran across a friend at work who gets a D&D group together in Ohio
every once in awhile.  Too bad it's long distance for me...  as it is
we get together for online Diablo II sessions once a month (or
at least we used to...)

Most of what I see instead of pen and paper these days at comic book
stores and such are kids playing collectible card games or miniatures
... seems kind-of in-between to me (not as much work as pen and
paper but more social than computer games)

[Anubis_au]

30 (31 in July). Nice deducting Zebidee

I played pen n paper D&D thru my uni years, with the same DM and same set of characters for years. But then, one by one, people in the group could no longer afford the time. Some of my friends still play, 3.5ed. Still have my 3rd ed PH and DMG... somewhere.

But I agree, pen n paper forced the imagination, which is a good thing.

Onto different but related topics... did you see the D&D movie? How badly did it suck... and I remember at the time, so looking forward to it. Haven't been that disappoined since Batman Forever, Matrix 2 and Spider-Man 3.

[Zebidee]

... did you see the D&D movie? How badly did it suck...

yeah, I'm still trying to forget that one.  Thanks for reminding me   

Another tragedy was Xmen3 - that was such a piece of crap.

On the other hand, I was refreshingly surprised by the Baldurs Gate series (old now), because it really implemented the 2nd ed AD&D rules very well with few compromises made for the PC platform.  I also prefer an isometric view, and appreciate how you can make it as turn-based as you want (with auto-pause).

And the characters/story is cool too.

[vidmouse]

Did either of you see the D&D movie sequel?  (Wrath of Dragon God)
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Wrath-Dragon-Widescreen/dp/B000B7QCG8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-9834320-7608418?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1180630290&sr=8-2

I'm with you on Baldur's Gate and on isometric games.  Did you try it with all the expansion packs?

After BG1 and 2 I couldn't really stomach going back to a single player in Neverwinter Nights until I tried playing Diablo and got it.

[Zebidee]

No, didn't know that anyone had the guts to make a second one

Yeah, I got seriously into BG1+2+exps, finishing it a few times.  Even played most of Icewind Dale.  I got moderately serious into BG modding, before real-life took over.  I like the fact that the BG engine can be used for creating custom AD&D adventures.

NWN seemed just like a FPS by comparison - I watched people play but wasn't overly grabbed.  I know there is a bit more but....  Having two little kids probably had something to do with it too.

I could enjoy watching a friend play Diablo for a while, but again it seemed too simplisitic to me.  Bit like Gauntlet on steroids.  As a seasoned DM known for having a devious mind  , I like to have more strategic and complicated elements to a game I guess. 

I must say that I like the mix of strategic and tactical elements in BG.  Another great game of similar qualities (but old) is UFO Enemy Unknown. 

[Anubis_au]

Did either of you see the D&D movie sequel?  (Wrath of Dragon God)

I think I got a Divx version from a LAN party, and flicked through it. All I remember is a beholder... but I wasn't about to invest two hours of my life into it after the first one.

Besides, there are already three perfectly good D&D movies... they are called The Lord Of The Rings.

ps if you are a LOTR fan, read George R R Martin's series, A Song of Fire and Ice.

[vidmouse]

I never got around to watching D&D2 but according to the reviews on Amazon it was better than 1 (not saying much).

If you liked the BG series and IWD series, did you pick up Planescape Torment?  As far as I know these were all the games made with Bioware's infinity engine.

I also liked Divine Divinity ..  a little more story than Diablo but still some hack n slash.

I would agree that Diablo isn't heavy RPG'ing but it is a good play, especially
if you get online with some friends who aren't local.  Even my buddy on a
wimpy 3300 kbps dial-up was able to join in.

[Zebidee]

You know, there are enough good games out there already to keep me happy until I'm an old man (ie, next month )

Diablo is one of those networked games I'd love to play when I get more time.

Looks like 'l have to look at PS Torment as well! I didn't understand before how closely it was related to BG.

After I've finished building my new house I look forward to having more time for the pleasures in life, including games and maybe even enough time for a occasional D&D session (or perhaps I am fantasising again).

LOTR rocks for ever, it is the biggest influence ever on D&D & RPGs, and Peter Jackson is a demi-god for finally doing the film and getting it 98% right.   

[vidmouse]

Make sure you include space for a D&D gameroom in your house, and then you will have to have an "excuse" to use it 

I really think you will like PS Torment.. it supposedly has an even better story than
BG1 -- I think it came out in '99, somewhere between BG1 and BG2 but other
than sharing the engine it's not related... ie not Forgotten Realms material.
I think Planescape was a similar worldset on paper as well...

While I agree that LOTR rocks, I'm always on the lookout for more
non-traditional fantasy fare... 

Anyone remember Krull?  (the movie not just the game)
Loved it when it came out but looking at it now it's dated.
Still a decent watch if a bit hokey.

Another topic...
Used MAME audio samples and artwork for the first time today, just
experimenting and playing around.  Oh my goodness, what a difference..!
I actually remember playing Space Invaders in the arcades and now
that I see the artwork, remember the planet background and so on.
Can't wait to load it into my cab...

[Zebidee]

I am a lucky man.

My new house will have plenty of room for D&D sessions

Even more importantly, my wife supports my arcade hobby.  And allows me the room for it.  She also knows that while my hobby keeps me busy, I won't have time for anything .... errrr ..... else. 

She can see that it makes me happy, and also that I can perhaps make a few $$ because I just sold my Galaxy Cab (sale #2).  Now I feel happy but also sad because I've invested a lotta love in that thing.  But then, a good craftsperson does ......

[vidmouse]

Congrats on selling your cab!  I can commiserate the good/bad feeling
but look at it this way, now you have an opportunity to build yet
another, better cab

Found some more PC-that-might-look-good-as-an-arcade games
to try:
Tomb Raider II
Metal Gear Solid
Virtual On Cyber Troopers
Guilty Gear X
Star Wars Battle for Naboo
Star Wars Starfighter (really, what's the difference between these two games??)

Found some of these at a used bookstore this weekend, and some over at
Home of the Underdogs... really a nice arcade download section there...