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Games supplied with multi-game cabinets
ArcadEd:
I spent easily over 100 hours getting all the game packs working with the arcade-in-a-box. I worked very closely with Tom at GameEx and together we got them working well.
Many of the packs we had to use scripts to remap keys on launch. Others, like the Taito and Namco packs, use automated scripts that launches the software's frontend, then automatically scrolls to the game you selected from GameEx and selects it. It's all automated and does not allow any user input during the time. The midway packs were fairly easy to figure out how to launch specific games from a command line. Same would be true with Namco, but weird things happened when we did it that way.
It was a huge amount of time getting them all working. But now, all the games show up in GameEx in one list (like if you were using MAME) with screenshots/movies.
I will also note that I did talk with the Midway Lawyers and they had no problem with what I was doing with their game packs. As long as I made it clear that any support should go through me and not midway.
I also chatted with Aaron Giles a lot when I doing all of this. Since the Taito packs do use mame, it MIGHT be ok to use mame with those roms since that is how they are packaged on the CD. However, he still wasnt' completely sure about that. He did say that just because you have the Midway pack, for example, you can't just install mame and run the ROMs of the games that come on that pack.
I researched this to death for months and months :).
You can also reseach PC games that work with your systems as well. I did that approach for a while with www.iRetroGames.com If anyone wants to take over that project I would be more than happy to give it up. I don't think I have touched the website in at least a year. It was very time consuming to research games and find ones that would work well with an arcade setup.
ark_ader:
--- Quote ---I also chatted with Aaron Giles a lot when I doing all of this. Since the Taito packs do use mame, it MIGHT be ok to use mame with those roms since that is how they are packaged on the CD. However, he still wasnt' completely sure about that. He did say that just because you have the Midway pack, for example, you can't just install mame and run the ROMs of the games that come on that pack.
--- End quote ---
If there was a quick way about all of this, I'm sure the community would have explored that option. I know you had to find out anyway ;D but in cases like these its better to use off the shelf packages. That way you are not setting yourself up as a hot lunch.
I met and spoke with some C64 coders a few months back, and they like the way their work is still being played on emulators, but these guys are not seeing a penny from it. Torrent sites are just rubbing it in.
The way I see this hobby as a commercial venture, is in the cabinets. Anything else like rom bundling is deemed as a negative. To contact Aaron about it, should have raised alarm bells in your head from the start. If in doubt there is no doubt, right?
As a positive look into building cabinets and placing games within it, your search into other forms of games is very exciting, and should be taken up by the community.
In case we are missing something like that cool The Last Starfighter game.
surface tension:
ArcadeEd
Thanks for the reply, that's cleared up a lot of questions I had, and you have obviously put the time in. I wonder if a lot of the manufacturers offering all those games do it this way.
I did get in contact with Tom, who was very helpful, but in the end time was an issue and I persevered with MAMEWah.
I also spoke a lot with the Interactive Entertainment marketing department, and he was pretty clear on MAME with respect to the Taito Legends package.
ark-ader
Thanks. Are you suggesting that you can purchase the x-arcade game packs on their own?
3rd party games are a good option, but there's no name-familiarity for a buyer.
ArcadEd:
If you need any help getting them setup just let me know. Shoot me a PM or an email, I'd be happy to help, share my scripts, etc.
I'm actually going to stop offering any kind of software on the Arcade-in-a-Box systems and drop the price on them. I might even consider just start selling empty shells and people can put in their own PC components.
Good luck.
ark_ader:
--- Quote from: st on February 25, 2008, 03:14:32 am ---ArcadeEd
Thanks for the reply, that's cleared up a lot of questions I had, and you have obviously put the time in. I wonder if a lot of the manufacturers offering all those games do it this way.
I did get in contact with Tom, who was very helpful, but in the end time was an issue and I persevered with MAMEWah.
I also spoke a lot with the Interactive Entertainment marketing department, and he was pretty clear on MAME with respect to the Taito Legends package.
ark-ader
Thanks. Are you suggesting that you can purchase the x-arcade game packs on their own?
3rd party games are a good option, but there's no name-familiarity for a buyer.
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Gremlin solutions had some on sale a while back. I have also seen them on ebay.
Check out their website: www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk