Do you think people will ever make "retro" MAME cabinets?

[MaximRecoil]

By "retro" I mean, keyboard hacks, 17" PC monitors, marble shelf paper, Pentium II's, MAME .37b, etc.

You never know what will be considered cool 15 or 20 years from now. Maybe emulating the BYOAC pioneers will be the "in" thing...

[SavannahLion]

By "retro" I mean, keyboard hacks, 17" PC monitors, marble shelf paper, Pentium II's, MAME .37b, etc.

You never know what will be considered cool 15 or 20 years from now. Maybe emulating the BYOAC pioneers will be the "in" thing...

Only if you're poor ass broke and trying to do an entire project as close to $0 as possible. At that point, that person might want to reconsider his or her priorities.

[MaximRecoil]

Only if you're poor ass broke and trying to do an entire project as close to $0 as possible. At that point, that person might want to reconsider his or her priorities.

That's not the point.

Imagine Junior played his father's MAME machine back in 1998 when he was 7 or 8 years old. When he hits 30, what is he going to be nostalgic about? His father probably built the machine because he was nostalgic about original arcade machines from the 80's, but Junior never played original arcade machines, he played Dad's MAME machine, with marble shelf paper...

[somunny]

Only if you're poor ass broke and trying to do an entire project as close to $0 as possible. At that point, that person might want to reconsider his or her priorities.

That's not the point.

Imagine Junior played his father's MAME machine back in 1998 when he was 7 or 8 years old. When he hits 30, what is he going to be nostalgic about? His father probably built the machine because he was nostalgic about original arcade machines from the 80's, but Junior never played original arcade machines, he played Dad's MAME machine, with marble shelf paper...

What if Dad's machine is a top notch, fully laminated, 27", ipac equipped unit?

[MaximRecoil]

What if Dad's machine is a top notch, fully laminated, 27", ipac equipped unit?

Then that may be what he ends up wanting. It would be no different than it is now—some people are nostalgic for pinball machines, others for Pac-Man, still others for SFII, etc. It is all about what you did as a kid.

[somunny]

What if Dad's machine is a top notch, fully laminated, 27", ipac equipped unit?

Then that may be what he ends up wanting. It would be no different than it is now—some people are nostalgic for pinball machines, others for Pac-Man, still others for SFII, etc. It is all about what you did as a kid.

Well, I went ahead and built him one, too. 

[AMDman13]

I never thought about this.. I'm sure my children will get nostalgic about our Mame cabinet.. I'm glad I spent the time and money to do it right! I would hate to see them build a book shelf with a TV in it..

[kameroti]

What if Dad's machine is a top notch, fully laminated, 27", ipac equipped unit?

Then that may be what he ends up wanting. It would be no different than it is now—some people are nostalgic for pinball machines, others for Pac-Man, still others for SFII, etc. It is all about what you did as a kid.

Well, I went ahead and built him one, too. 

ahhahahahah

[vidmouse]

My boy's in that "want to grow up to be just like Dad" phase...
keeps telling me he'll build me a Transformers video game when
he grows up.

Also says he'll make me a Composite Superman (re:  my action
figure hobby) too.  I'm more impressed that a 4-year old knows
what "Composite" means.   

[danny_galaga]

By "retro" I mean, keyboard hacks, 17" PC monitors, marble shelf paper, Pentium II's, MAME .37b, etc.

You never know what will be considered cool 15 or 20 years from now. Maybe emulating the BYOAC pioneers will be the "in" thing...

Only if you're poor ass broke and trying to do an entire project as close to $0 as possible. At that point, that person might want to reconsider his or her priorities.

actually, if you were trying to recreate something from 1998 twenty years from now it could cost a bit because you will find it hard to find any working hardware from that era- ps2 keyboards, 500mhz processors, and especially monitors...

[knave]

...500mhz processors, and especially monitors...

I'll save you one, I have a handful in the garage... 

Take your pick 14, 15 or 17 inch... 

Who knew they'd be worth something again...

[SavannahLion]

By "retro" I mean, keyboard hacks, 17" PC monitors, marble shelf paper, Pentium II's, MAME .37b, etc.

You never know what will be considered cool 15 or 20 years from now. Maybe emulating the BYOAC pioneers will be the "in" thing...

Only if you're poor ass broke and trying to do an entire project as close to $0 as possible. At that point, that person might want to reconsider his or her priorities.

actually, if you were trying to recreate something from 1998 twenty years from now it could cost a bit because you will find it hard to find any working hardware from that era- ps2 keyboards, 500mhz processors, and especially monitors...

That's entirely true. However, what are the chances that a vast majority of kids today are actually going to accurately remember or recall the technical specifics of the MAME cabinet in question? And chances are really good that those same kids are going to want to include some updated game or hardware that can't be played on a PII.

Therefor, I still stand by my original statement.

The only thing I really see on that laundry list as being "emulated" would be the 17" monitor and the marble shelf paper, both cosmetics. Everything else can easily be substituted by whatever is available twenty years down the road.... Unless Ultimarc or GGG goes out of business and no one replaces them. Then I guess we will see keyboard hacks then.

[ahofle]

That's entirely true. However, what are the chances that a vast majority of kids today are actually going to accurately remember or recall the technical specifics of the MAME cabinet in question?

"Hey why aren't the two extra pixels staying when the cliff in Joust disappears? This isn't MAME cabinet accurate!"

[MaximRecoil]

That's entirely true. However, what are the chances that a vast majority of kids today are actually going to accurately remember or recall the technical specifics of the MAME cabinet in question? And chances are really good that those same kids are going to want to include some updated game or hardware that can't be played on a PII.

Therefor, I still stand by my original statement.

They don't need to remember the technical specifics, they just need to find someone who does. Research is the first step for most any nostalgic purchase/project. I find that a strong sense of nostalgia and perfectionism tend to go hand in hand, which often drives people to get things exactly as they remember them, or as close as is possible.

"Hey why aren't the two extra pixels staying when the cliff in Joust disappears? This isn't MAME cabinet accurate!"

Exactly (lol).

[SavannahLion]

That's entirely true. However, what are the chances that a vast majority of kids today are actually going to accurately remember or recall the technical specifics of the MAME cabinet in question? And chances are really good that those same kids are going to want to include some updated game or hardware that can't be played on a PII.

Therefor, I still stand by my original statement.

They don't need to remember the technical specifics, they just need to find someone who does. Research is the first step for most any nostalgic purchase/project. I find that a strong sense of nostalgia and perfectionism tend to go hand in hand, which drives people to get things exactly as they remember them, or as close as is possible.

You're missing something. Unlike true arcade cabinets (and even then), DIY MAME cabinets are unique to whomever constructed them (with exceptions for commercial MAME cabs). Unless Daddy documented the construction of that cabinet (on-line or otherwise) the only person who is going to remember the technical specifics is the person who was there when it was built. That person may not be alive or that person may not even remember.

Sure, you can do research on other cabinets and even pick up Saint's book. But in the end, the problem is the same, only the person(s) who constructed that particular MAME cabinet knows the specifics. If something about that cabinet is truly custom, ie custom GUI software, then no amount of research is going to locate it if the person who wrote it never documented it.

About the best a vast majority of people who might actually want to try this could hope for would be to match the early MAME cabinets cosmetically or to have the actual one in their possession.

[MaximRecoil]

Well in the areas where one couldn't be exact (due to a lack of available information), one could at least be "period correct" with regard to choosing hardware and the version of MAME.

[ark_ader]

My kids will find one of my submini cabs in the attic and power it up, only to find that the IBM 365x laptop is still working over 80 years.

I find it a challenge to make cabs for less than lint.

I would not think any different of my offspring too, when they book me into a cheap retirement home. 

[SavannahLion]

I would not think any different of my offspring too, when they book me into a cheap retirement home. 

You expect too much. I put my dad into cold storage. It's a lot easier that way.

[danny_galaga]

Sure, you can do research on other cabinets and even pick up Saint's book. But in the end, the problem is the same, only the person(s) who constructed that particular MAME cabinet knows the specifics. If something about that cabinet is truly custom, ie custom GUI software, then no amount of research is going to locate it if the person who wrote it never documented it.

actually, thats a good point. much research will lead back to saints book, and so a 'proper' mame cabinet will be one that is described there. i havent got the book, but i bet it details a lot of specific hardware and software. this is what our future retro-mamer might be looking for on ebay...