Star Wars Racer - PC Game or Arcade Game?

[vidmouse]

Do we consider Star Wars Episode 1 Racer to be a PC game or an
arcade game?  I've seen both, and had the idea to play my
PC game copy on my cab ... turned out great, even on my low end
PII 300 Mhz system.  (But with dual joystick controls, it felt more
like an arcade).

Anyone else try this?  Don't want to spark a PC vs Arcade debate here
but thought it was kinda cool since my PC would never be able to
emulate the real arcade SWR rom.

[ahofle]

I'd call them different games.  I thought the PC version was a little bit different (not as hard).  How did you get it to work with dual joysticks?  That's one thing I liked better about the arcade version -- the controller.

[Cananas]

One of the main differences is the dual joystick control of the arcade game. I don't know how is possible to remap the control on the PC version to play like the arcade. Playing the PC version with one joystick, pad or keyboard is too easy.

[unclet]

I do not think vidmouse was saying he got it to work with dual joysticks, but rather stating that using two joysticks (like in the arcade version) makes it feel more "arcade-ish.   

I could be wrong in my interpretation ..... and if I am then I would be interested in knowing how you got the PC game version to work with two joysticks.

[vidmouse]

I didn't actually hookup dual joysticks in the sense that the game software knows to look for dual joys... what I did was map the keyboard commands over to the arcade joysticks that I use (ie.  the arcade joysticks that are wired in via my keyboard encoder).  I'm not sure how the actual arcade dual joystick system worked, but the way I mapped it, my two eight way joysticks work like:

Left joystick:
up:  nose down
down:  nose up (no those aren't mistakes)
left:  turn left
right: turn right

Right joystick:
up:  accelerate
down:  brake/decelerate
left:  bank/roll left
right:  bank/roll right

The buttons I mapped over for various other functions:  camera control, rearview mirror,
and so on.

To continue this thread, I'm wondering what other games make good "cockpit" style games for this type of conversion... I noticed at Dave and Buster's they had a Mechwarrior/ Crimson Skies game with full motion -- I'm probably going to give that a try next...

[ahofle]

So you're playing it without analog controls?  Ouch.
The arcade version had two analog levers (one for each hand) which controlled the thrust from the two respective engines (just like in the movie).  Pushing further on the right thrust lever caused the ship to go left and vice versa.  The game would've been just another ordinary racing game IMO without that awesome controller configuration.

[btp2k2]

Yeah, I would agree....they are two completely seperate games.

The PC version is a rehash of the N64 game, whereas the arcade version was a completely new game.

I bet that dual stick setup would work well with games like Assault and Virtual On

[vidmouse]

Mechwarrior (3) works... albeit it's difficult w/o a top fire button.

Didn't realize the PC rehashed the N64 version... unfortunately my cab pc is too slow to run an N64 emulator.

I know I've seen Mechwarrior, Crimson Skies, Star Wars Racer, and a version of Star Trek Elite Force in Dave and Buster's (and other places) before... any others treading the line between PC/console and arcade?  It's interesting that the Racers are two different games -- purely on the control method and motion feedback?  I would argue that the way I am controlling it makes it feel a lot different than when I played it on my gamepad... granted not the same as the true arcade version but a good experience nonetheless.

A few shots of the games...  I guess part of me is impressed my clunky PII can keep up with these,  and that 640x480 can look this good...

[Joystick Jerk]

The PC version is a rehash of the N64 game, whereas the arcade version was a completely new game

The PC version came out before the N64 version.

[ahofle]

any others treading the line between PC/console and arcade? 

The PC version of Crazi Taxi is pretty much indistinguishable (to me at least) from the arcade version if you have a steering wheel.

[Marky_1979]

Not sure if its been mentioned before but is there a list of pc games that work well with arcade controls? I really like this idea with the star wars racer game

[vidmouse]

Tried Mechwarrior 3 -- works, but need to fiddle a bit w/ all the key mappings.

Tried Spider-Man -- heh, am equally as bad on on it w/ an arcade controller as with a gamepad.  But, better than using a keyboard.

Am hoping to get time to try soon:
Battlezone 2
Heavy Gear
The Hulk (but don't think this will work on my system)
Combat Flight Simulator

One thing to mention about doing this... one of the cool aspects is that even at the lower resolution, the gameplay is still pretty good b/c my cab has an overall larger screen than my desktop monitor (27" vs a 19" monitor) and the sound is blasted right at me due to positioning the speakers up high -- really a better gaming experience, even tho the controls aren't 100% arcade-accurate.

[ahofle]

Battlezone 2

FWIW, Battlezone 2 is one of the greatest games I've ever played.  It's like an RTS, but you get to play as an FPS so you're not just sitting there watching battles happen -- you can hop in a tank and join the fight.  I wished they came out with another sequel.

[Organic Jerk]

Some awesome game threads around lately...  from this and that best 100 thread I've been definitely introduced to some great cab worthy games!

[crashwg]

For those with PCs beefy enough to run an N64 emulator and dual analog joys...

I recall being able to use one N64 controller per hand ala the way the arcade version plays.  If I recall correctly, it was a code you had to enter.

[JimmyU]

For those with PCs beefy enough to run an N64 emulator and dual analog joys...

I recall being able to use one N64 controller per hand ala the way the arcade version plays.  If I recall correctly, it was a code you had to enter.

Yep, go here for the code:

http://cheats.ign.com/ob2/068/010/010490.html

[vidmouse]

Heh, have to sticky this one in case I ever get a beefier cab PC
and dual analog sticks..

Any chance there's a similar code for the PC version?

[AtomSmasher]

Battlezone 2

FWIW, Battlezone 2 is one of the greatest games I've ever played.  It's like an RTS, but you get to play as an FPS so you're not just sitting there watching battles happen -- you can hop in a tank and join the fight.  I wished they came out with another sequel.

That was a great game when it came out.  Another game that had a similar type of RTS/FPS setup was the game Giants: Citizen Kabuto.  Sacrifice also had a RTS/FPS style, but it focused less on building bases and more on ordering units around.  All of these were great games, which is why its surprising this gameplay type isn't used more often.

[ahofle]

Exactly, I never understood why you don't see more games like that.  I keep hoping for a Battlezone 3 to come out.  Thanks for the tip on those other two (I've never even heard of them). 

[vidmouse]

I think Giants:  Citizen Kabuto was just one game (?)

Some awesome game threads around lately...  from this and that best 100 thread I've been definitely introduced to some great cab worthy games!

Cool.  I was afraid when I orignally started this thread that I'd get flamed bad for discussing PC vs arcade games but I guess we treaded the line well enough...  keep 'em coming!

Reading the Hulk system requirements, I don't think it will work, at least not with my setup -- needs a more powerful processor than what I've currently got

Can't imagine any of my RPG's playing exceedingly well here except maybe Morrowind b/c it's first person.  Even then, it'd be too much for my system.  The other RPG's I have like Baldurs Gate or Diablo would work, but I'm not sure I'd like the joystick control over an isometric perspective as much.

Found another few games to try though:
System Shock 2
Return to Castle Wolfenstein (heh, imagine if you ever saw this in a real arcade)
Need for Speed High Stakes

Here's another thought... if you had a DVD player in your cab, could you play this D&D DVD adventure called "Scourge of Worlds" and have a similar experience as Dragon's Lair or some of the other "make-your-choice" laserdisc games?

http://www.amazon.com/Scourge-Worlds-Dungeons-Dragons-Adventure/dp/B00009KU8L/ref=sr_1_5/002-1196373-6576803?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1179374215&sr=1-5


endless possibilities...

[Joystick Jerk]

Can't imagine any of my RPG's playing exceedingly well here except maybe Morrowind b/c it's first person.  Even then, it'd be too much for my system.  The other RPG's I have like Baldurs Gate or Diablo would work, but I'm not sure I'd like the joystick control over an isometric perspective as much.

Hey, one more reason to install an angled Q-Bert style stick!

[AtomSmasher]

I think Giants:  Citizen Kabuto was just one game (?)

Right, its just one game.  Looks like theres wikipedia pages on both of the games I mentioned if anyones curious about them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giants:_Citizen_Kabuto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrifice_(Computer_Game)

[vidmouse]

Ah, sorry, didn't see the Sacrifice game you mentioned before 
Good choice..

Found some other games to try which I think will work well...
awhile back I picked up an EA Sports Pack at Target for $10..
had all these:

Nascar Thunder 2003
MVP Baseball 2003
Tiger Woods Golf 2003
Madden Football 2003
NHL 2003

LOVED playing baseball this way w/ a gamepad, can't wait to
see what it's like on the cab w/ the volume pumped up (so
that you can _feel_ the crowd cheer  )

I realize Sierra/Papyrus' Nascar series is generally considered
better than Thunder but it was all part of the same package,
and hey for $10 who knocks it.

[Lilwolf]

A great game to put on a cabinet is Legos starwars!  Works great with a joystick and 4 buttons (or 5... can't remmeber0

[Organic Jerk]

A great game to put on a cabinet is Legos starwars!

Quoted for truth... great game for some multiplayer family fun!

[vidmouse]

Found another few to try:

Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3d (now, was this an N64 convert?)
Anachronox -- this RPG even has an arcade in it that allows you to play it's games!
(admittedly the controls here are more mouse-driven -- maybe w a trackball not so bad?)
MS Train Simulator?  Wanted to try this one
Jane's WW II Fighters
European Air War

[Organic Jerk]

Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3d (now, was this an N64 convert?)

Almost impossible to play on XP, and IF you do get it working, It's MAJORLY buggy...

I had severe woes with trying to get this thing to run on XP... it's a really fun game...

[vidmouse]

Maybe you can run the N64 emulator version?
I'm pretty sure I got that running on my desktop or laptop (can't remmber) w/ XP

I'm only using Win98SE in my cab, so didn't notice
the difference.  Thanks for the tip.

Rogue Squadron ran great BTW... I read some reviews that kinda canned it
b/c it was too "arcade-ey" but hey for this community that's a selling point

[DarthMarino]

I hooked up two throttle controls to the emulated version of Episode 1: Racer on Project64.  Here is a video of it in action.  For now, this is probably the closest you can get to the actual arcade experience without actually owning it. 

[paigeoliver]

Also a note, the PC version of Racer used some obscure 16 bit hardware calls that all the cardmakers dropped support for many years ago. It won't run on anything newer than a radeon 9200, which went out of production about 10 years ago.

[Red]

I hooked up two throttle controls to the emulated version of Episode 1: Racer on Project64.  Here is a video of it in action.  For now, this is probably the closest you can get to the actual arcade experience without actually owning it. 

Very cool.  What is the brand/model of those two throttle controls?

[DarthMarino]

Very cool.  What is the brand/model of those two throttle controls?

Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X.  It's one of the cheapest flight sticks with a throttle and it's actually a decent product.

[Red]

Thanks!  I'll have to get a couple.