How often do you play your Mame cab?

[BrentRadio]

Just curious as to how often you guys play your cabs once they are finished? Are you happy with the game play?

How close does it feel to the real thing?

Brent

[TelcoLou]

Every day. And it's not even finished yet! Once I get the new PC and CP installed, I'll have to get someone to pry me away from it 

[leapinlew]

I play my cabs for about 31 hours in a normal day, on a good day I get to play them for about 49 hours.

It plays great - otherwise, I wouldn't play them so much.

[severdhed]

i played mine alot while i was working on it, however once it got to the completed stage, it doesn't get used all that much. It gets used when my friends come over, but I very rarely just go and play it by myself.  It will sometimes sit for months without even being turned on.  Now, it the last week or so, i have been using it alot again.  I created a new MALA layout the other day which renewed my interest in playing it again..and this morning, i installed my dreamcast into the cabinet.  so i will probably be using it a good bit in the next few days, but probably more workign on it than actually playing it.  It is weird, i find working on the cabinet way more injoyable that just playing it.

[RayB]

I play my cabs for about 31 hours in a normal day, on a good day I get to play them for about 49 hours.

It plays great - otherwise, I wouldn't play them so much.

What's the joke?? I don't get it.

[Turnarcades]

Almost never at the moment - since losing use of my left arm, I'm still trying to regain full movement and strength in it. I might be good for simple joystick movements, but I'll never be a wiz at Street Fighter again or the old hand/eye dependant games like DK or Pac-man.

Plus I got business to take care of; I'm too busy working on other people's cabinets!

[telengard]

I play mine quite a lot.  I'm *very* happy with gameplay.

TelcoLou:  Hey, we miss you on gp32x.com!     

~telengard

[DeLuSioNal29]

I fire it up once a day for a quick game.  When the wifey's not home I crank it!   

~ DeLuSioNaL

[javeryh]

It is weird, i find working on the cabinet way more injoyable that just playing it.

You are not weird.  I feel exactly the same way.  About 3/4 in to every build I start planning out the next one!  I also love tinkering with my 2 "finished" ones - I'm in the process of overhauling my cocktail cabinet.  I need to redo the CPs, replace the iPac2 with an iPac4 so I can have the screen face the right way, replace the glass top with something a bit thicker, install new artwork, wire the coin door, install a volume knob, install the end frosted plexiglass panels and lights and I have to install and configure MaLa.  Whew!  That's actually quite a lot of work.  Still, mine gets turned on at least once a week and I have a feeling as my kids get older it will be much more frequent than that.   

[ark_ader]

I play mame more on my PSP than I do on my new cabinet.

Probably it is due to having more time away from home than I do when I get in.

[ArtsNFartsNCrafts]

You should do a thread on getting mame onto a PSP, if there isn't one already.  Only reason I haven't purchased one is because I don't know how to put MAME on it!

[DeLuSioNal29]

You should do a thread on getting mame onto a PSP, if there isn't one already.  Only reason I haven't purchased one is because I don't know how to put MAME on it!

I'd like to know this as well.

[Sir Auros]

Not as much as I thought I would. It gets used for MAME more at parties now, but I use the cabinet for internet radio in the basement more often.

[protokatie]

since losing use of my left arm, I'm still trying to regain full movement and strength in it.

Ouch, That sucks. How bad was the stroke? Entire left side? Or just some parts of your left side. I remember you stating you couldnt grin the same. Hopefully with a bit of effort, you will be kicking the little whip-er-snappers at their own game!

[Cakemeister]

Truth be told, I haven't played mine in more than a year. I took the control panel apart and it hasn't been put back together yet. Then I got distracted with other projects.

[fjl]

Every day. And it's not even finished yet! Once I get the new PC and CP installed, I'll have to get someone to pry me away from it 

Apparently a lot of people do this. I'm not going to allow myself to do that. I'm going to finish it completely before I ever install the computer in it. cause I know I'll end up playing it and never finishing it just like you.

[Turnarcades]

since losing use of my left arm, I'm still trying to regain full movement and strength in it.

Ouch, That sucks. How bad was the stroke? Entire left side? Or just some parts of your left side. I remember you stating you couldnt grin the same. Hopefully with a bit of effort, you will be kicking the little whip-er-snappers at their own game!

Entire left side which, being a buff bloke like I am, meant I looked very odd over time when muscle atrophy set in. The real pisser though is that I never lost any sensation, so I could feel my leg and arm pulling at the joints where the muscles had become so wasted they could not pull the joints back into the sockets at my hip and shoulder. The Doctors said at 27, it was such an extreme stroke to experience.

6 months on though and things are looking up. I'm beefing back up, I'm almost walking permanently without a stick, and my arm's efficient enough to do a bit of lifting, just not controlled enough for intricate work.

I did manage to go through Final Fight in one sitting quite well though the other day, so I'm not giving up. When they asked me if there's anything I missed and was working towards, I even said I wanna be able to play video games again!

[ids]

Every day. And it's not even finished yet! Once I get the new PC and CP installed, I'll have to get someone to pry me away from it 

Apparently a lot of people do this. I'm not going to allow myself to do that. I'm going to finish it completely before I ever install the computer in it. cause I know I'll end up playing it and never finishing it just like you.

You are the wise one - the keyboard on my desk at home has been replaced by a prototype panel.... I realize now it's going to take a very long time to build a cab!  Oh, I guess my answer to the original question then is: every day (but it's a half-built proto desktop panel, not a cab yet).  It's not all bad though 

[Jouster]

Mine mostly gets played when friends come over to watch UFC.  In between fights someone usually gets up and plays a round of something.  I put it upstairs so I'd be less tempted to just stop by and play on it...got too much work to do.

Jouster

[protokatie]

I did manage to go through Final Fight in one sitting quite well though the other day, so I'm not giving up. When they asked me if there's anything I missed and was working towards, I even said I wanna be able to play video games again!

Video games as physical therapy! If you think about it, it makes sense. The "forcing" yourself to do things that require agility and dexterity like that can only help.. Plus: You bastard! I NEVER got to complete final fight, even when I had it on the SNES!!!

[TOK]

I have 3 cabs... The vert cab pretty much gets played an hour or so weekly. The other two get a bit less time just because I just find myself in the mood for vert games like Time Pilot or Donkey Kong after work.
When I have friends over, all 3 get played for hours.

Most games are indistinguishable from the arcade versions. The only one I've actually had the opportunity to test real hardware side by side with MAME is Twin Eagle. The game timing, play, and sound effects was dead on.
I know this isn't true for all games, but for most it isn't an issue.

[Kangum]

not very often. my cab is in storage. dont have the room for it even as a coctail. costs an extra 85 bucks a month but its worth it.

people say you cant use a tft in a coctail because of the angle. id really like to try this in my cab anyway. that is the first thing i want to try when i get my cab back. i think about it all the time. sucks to not be able to tinker with it.

[lcddream]

I go through periods where it doesn't get play at all for months, then there are times like now where I can't stop thinking about playing, for weeks at a time.

I love my cab either way. It's always there when I need to get that quick game in!

[CrazyKongFan]

Probablya  couple times a week. I have it in the basement, so sometimes, if I'm down there doing laundry, I'll fire it up while waiting for the machine to finish It's more fun than playing on my keyboard on my regular PC, but some games, I actually play better with the keyboard  I bought an old gutted cabinet at an auction, and am still using the joysticks that came with it, which don't work very good. I think it's the actuator at the base, it doesn't hit the microswitches very well. I did wrap some electrical tape around it to make them trigger better, which did help ALOT, but it's still not that great. I suspect once I get some good joysticks, it'll be alot more fun to play. I also want to replace the mircroswitch buttons with leaf switch buttons eventually.

[ark_ader]

You should do a thread on getting mame onto a PSP, if there isn't one already.  Only reason I haven't purchased one is because I don't know how to put MAME on it!

I'd like to know this as well.

Search the net for the downgrader utility called Pandora - then buy a cheap battery.  Find a mate who has a 1.50 firmware and ask him to make the Pandora's battery for you.  I'm sure there are others here who could offer the service.

Once you have downed the PSP, then look on net for the Mame4All package and install it.  Compatibility is 90%.  Well worth the hassle and tempest rocks, Starwars vector is fast and Dig dug...priceless.

Apologies to Saint for the "Dark Side" explanation.     Do do not condone piracy.  Just my bad habits.

Or..  You can do what I used to do.

I have a White Jap 2.70 upgraded to the latest Sony Firmware and I buy the Namco Classics and the other old school titles like the Metal Slug games.

I also have a Black UK 3.40OE which all my ems go on.  Which ever you do please be careful or you can have a $$$ brick to play with instead. 

There are better explanation and in depth coverage on the net for this procedure.  I bought a 1.50 PSP as there are so many sad stories of peeps bricking them.

Have fun.

[Chris2]

Mine's not even finished, but I'm still playing it very often. Right now, I'm playing a lot of Mugen, which, while not an arcade game per say, is excellent on an actual arcade stick.

[deadkenndys1105]

Well mine is taken apart right now because I was working on it and then winter came.  I played mine quite a bit.  My millipede cabinet gets at least some play at least once a week.  It doesn't have the new feel to it but I still play them.

[Kabukiman]

used to play it everyday, but since the build the Arcade scene has sparked my interest and I have been repairing and collecting dedicated Cab's, Ill play more when I move the cabinet out of the basement.

[NoOne=NBA=]

I used to play mine every day.
I'm in the middle of a complete rearrangement of my house at the moment, and haven't been able to play any of my real cabs, or my Playstation, for about a month now.
I get a bit of a fix off the computer, but continue to look hopefully toward the day that my game room will be complete, and I can spend my evenings in MY arcade again.

[havic626]

I havnt even started making one yet  ..........but thats why im here to learn about making one

[Antix]

Never for the last 7 months or so. My machine is at my sisters place in storage as I didnt have the room. However, renovations have started on the house now, so once they are done,  I can move it back in!!

Then Im going to finally complete it and set it up properly. Once I finish painting the house that is.........

[Zebidee]

Right now?  Never.  My five cabs are all locked up in a container to go to Thailand, but they'll never get there because I've found out about Thai import restrictions on gaming machines.

So now I'm in Thailand, dreaming of my dream machines and posting on this forum to make myself feel better.  Oh well, life could be worse.

I probably won't be able to play them until October.

[CheffoJeffo]

The only MAME cab I have right now is at the cottage and, when we're there it gets played every day, usually before breakfast and after dinner.

I recently pulled the PC from my vertical MAME at home and dropped in a 48-in-1 and that now gets more play than the vertical MAME ever did, despite the fact that it has fewer games. 

The machine that gets played the most in my house is the Neo Geo 2-slot. Always has been and it seems that it always will be, despite the fact that I haven't played on it in 6 months (I've been on a big Rygar kick lately).

The dedicated Golden Tees are always popular with the adults (and my daughter).

Personally, I am really glad that I turned to the dark side instead of building the "one cab to play them all" as I had originally intended -- I love it when the whole family is downstairs, everybody playing a different game -- it really is like an arcade.

[superart]

Mine gets lots of play time, usually a friend or two will stop by announced, unless I have to study. After studying for a few hours I reward myself with a few games (On line if friends aren't at arms lengths, via xbox 360, reg dreamcast, reg ps2, etc). If am not studying am drawing artwork that will go on the cabinet, after drawing about 5 characters I take a break and start playing. Then when schools out, I play it non stop, unless am working (in which case I play the games in my head).   

[Dazz]

My cabinet was down for about 6 months due to a bad motherboard.  I had to upgrade everything to get it back into a working state so that took me a little while to get everything.  Since it is back up and running the cabinet is played daily...  I work from home quite a bit so throughout the day I will take a break and go play a quick game to relax for a few minutes.  Once the kids get home from school they or their friends are always playing it until I kick them off.  My cabinet is definitely one of the best investments that I've spent money on in a long time...

[Negativecreep0]

I fire it up once a day for a quick game.  When the wifey's not home I crank it!   

~ DeLuSioNaL

shame once your married you have to wait for your wife to leave before you crank it, I crank it 3 times a day minimum.......... BOOOYA

[RecycledPast]

I can't remember the last time I played my two machines.  I only turn them on when I have big parties which is only a few times a year. I keep thinking of building a new machine that playes more games but I know I'll never play it.

I never use my PSP, I barely use my DS, my Wii gets used once a week.   I use my 360 daily. 
I only like playing with other people which is why I play the 360 so much.

[psychotech]

 

You REALLY think these cabs are built to be used? 

Alright, maybe twice a month on average ..anything from 2 to 10 hours of activity(?) ..depending on the kind of booze available at that particular evening/night and  ..so, not just gathering dust 

[Fozzy The Bear]

Just curious as to how often you guys play your cabs once they are finished?

As often as the domestic authorities will let me..... either that or when she's out.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Paul Olson]

I had mine finished once. I had 2 8-ways and buttons, a trackball, and a spinner. I played it once in a while, mostly when friends are over. I seemed to mostly want to play 4-way games and that kept me from using the cab much. Playing a 4-way game with an 8-way stick is just not worth the effort to me.

I do not know if my cab will ever be finished again; certainly not until I get out of school. I can play 4-way games now after changing to my neverending modular panel, but so far I don't play it much more than I used to. I play a couple of games, then decide to make a couple more panels so I can play different games. Then I run out of time, and the new panels - and sometimes the cab - sit unusable for a few months. I have 2 360 wheels that only need to be mounted to the panels, everything else is done, but they have been sitting like that for almost 2 months.

Now that I am thinking about the cab instead of homework, I think I will throw on the tron panel and play a couple of games.

I think this cab will always be a really expensive favorite toy that is rarely used. It is worth every penny as a stress reliever though. Deciding on a change to make, then figuring out how to make it work is really my favorite part of this hobby.