Programmable Multi-Game JAMMA Boards

[rescue161]

How many people out there are using the Multi-Game JAMMA boards offered by ArcadeShop?  They look very good, but $379.00 seems a little steep to me.  I'm trying to convince myself to get one (vertical) to put in a cocktail cabinet.  Do you have to supply artwork images for the frontend like you do in MAME, or is that part of the board?

I would go for a 48in1, but I want the sound/game-play to be perfect.

Thanks!

[pogo]

I've got one in a cocktail cabinet.  It's a pretty nice board and a lot less trouble than setting up a Mame cabinet.  All you supply are the roms.  It has it's own interface with artwork built in.

[CheffoJeffo]

I believe that FrizzleFried picked one up recently to replace a 60-in-1 because he also wants perfect sound.

[FrizzleFried]

Yes sir...I replaced a 60-in-1 with an AS board.  I actually have two AS boards.  I wouldn't have bought the 2nd,  but I found a source who had 3 of them for $275 each shipped... still way more than the 60-in-1,  but I managed to sell the used 60-in-1 for $170.00 (right before the recent price drop) so I essentially paid $105 more for the AS board.

PROS: Menu is much better than 60-in-1 boards.  Sound is better (though still not 100% perfect).  High scores are saved (most games...there are a couple that don't - Liberator, Sinistar, Tetris, and one or two more).  High score initials are saved.  INSTANT ON...amazing how much I like this.  Flick the switch...game is up and running.  No waiting.  You can set the menu to display games in any order you want (must do this as you populate the board).  The PAC games have normal and speed mode at the push of a button.  Just play to play normal speed...hold down button 1 and it goes in to speed mode.  Moon Patrol and Mario Bros play surprisingly well on a Vertical monitor.  DONKEY KONG II.

CONS: Much more expensive.  The 60-in-1 is a better solution if you are in to the 8-way games as AS only has three 8-way games (Sinistar (which is actually a 49-way game originally), Zaxxon and Super Zaxxon).  Not all the sounds are perfect.  There are some minor sound bugs (Mappy's extra man sound jacks up if it plays while other sounds are playing),  Donkey Kong II can only be uploaded to the board once per update...which means that if you want to re-order your games or add games to the board,  you have to flash the memory thereby losing Donkey Kong II and you are ASS OUT until the next update...which really pisses me off frankly (I paid for the damn ROM I should have unlimited access to the damn thing).

I decided to go to the AS board because it supports more trackball games and my Multipede is a primarily trackball cab... instead of the 60-in-1's 4 titles (Centipede, Millipede, Super Breakout, and Arkanoid),  the AS board has those 4 plus Crystal Castles (I really enjoy this game), Liberator,  Missile Command (which also plays pretty damn good on a vertical monitor),  and GridLee.

Right now the 60-in-1's can be had for a little over a hundred bucks...  hard to argue $110-$120 vs $379 though... On top of the $379 you need to purchase a 5v power cord for programming and a serial cable.  WHY Steve doesn't include these in the price?  You tell me.  I simply don't understand why Steve hasn't lowered the prices on these units considering he's losing a TON  of business to the 60-in-1 boards.  A TON.  If he lowered the price to $200 or so these boards would fly off the shelf.  Of course i am not privy to what Clay is charging him for a board...

Bottom line:  If high scores saves,  more correct sounds,  more trackball games,  and/or Donkey Kong II are important to you,  get the AS board.  If they aren't,  save your dough and get a 60-in-1.

PS: Anyone who says Clays board doesn't contain MAME code is smoking some serious crack.  The only thing I can think of as to why MAMEDev isn't all over this board like they are the 60-in-1 boards is because Clay is/was a friend/contributor to MAME and the fact they don't sell the ROMs with the boards. 

[SavannahLion]

If DKII that important, would it be better to pay Jeff directly and get the kit he's selling? I can't see paying $85 minus the actual board just to get the components you need to get it going but uh... yeah.

Anyways, What's with DKII on the AS boards? Is the DKII rom included within the board and you just need to activate it? Seems kind of silly not to allow someone to reactivate it when they need to.

[the King]

I have a 48 in 1 and i gotta say the not being able to save high scores and initials is annoying as hell and I have seriously been considering replacing it with something else.  Other than that I'm pretty happy with it, but then again I'm not a purist and the sound issues don't bother me although I would like a better game menu.

[FrizzleFried]

If DKII that important, would it be better to pay Jeff directly and get the kit he's selling? I can't see paying $85 minus the actual board just to get the components you need to get it going but uh... yeah.

Anyways, What's with DKII on the AS boards? Is the DKII rom included within the board and you just need to activate it? Seems kind of silly not to allow someone to reactivate it when they need to.

The DKII rom is encrypted in the menu software and you need to put a code in to decrypt it.  That code only works once per release...

[Ummon]

The only one I easily found there was the Williams Multicade. Is this what you got? Also, on Cowgill's site, I only found his multi-jamma controller board. I was thinking of picking up one of the 48-in-1s going on ebay, but what I'd like to know is are the controls configurable in these? (Guess I'll have to ask there, but thought I'd see if anyone here knew.)

[BORIStheBLADE]

Yes sir...I replaced a 60-in-1 with an AS board.  I actually have two AS boards.  I wouldn't have bought the 2nd,  but I found a source who had 3 of them for $275 each shipped... still way more than the 60-in-1,  but I managed to sell the used 60-in-1 for $170.00 (right before the recent price drop) so I essentially paid $105 more for the AS board.

PROS: Menu is much better than 60-in-1 boards.  Sound is better (though still not 100% perfect).  High scores are saved (most games...there are a couple that don't - Liberator, Sinistar, Tetris, and one or two more).  High score initials are saved.  INSTANT ON...amazing how much I like this.  Flick the switch...game is up and running.  No waiting.  You can set the menu to display games in any order you want (must do this as you populate the board).  The PAC games have normal and speed mode at the push of a button.  Just play to play normal speed...hold down button 1 and it goes in to speed mode.  Moon Patrol and Mario Bros play surprisingly well on a Vertical monitor.  DONKEY KONG II.

CONS: Much more expensive.  The 60-in-1 is a better solution if you are in to the 8-way games as AS only has three 8-way games (Sinistar (which is actually a 49-way game originally), Zaxxon and Super Zaxxon).  Not all the sounds are perfect.  There are some minor sound bugs (Mappy's extra man sound jacks up if it plays while other sounds are playing),  Donkey Kong II can only be uploaded to the board once per update...which means that if you want to re-order your games or add games to the board,  you have to flash the memory thereby losing Donkey Kong II and you are ASS OUT until the next update...which really pisses me off frankly (I paid for the damn ROM I should have unlimited access to the damn thing).

I decided to go to the AS board because it supports more trackball games and my Multipede is a primarily trackball cab... instead of the 60-in-1's 4 titles (Centipede, Millipede, Super Breakout, and Arkanoid),  the AS board has those 4 plus Crystal Castles (I really enjoy this game), Liberator,  Missile Command (which also plays pretty damn good on a vertical monitor),  and GridLee.

Right now the 60-in-1's can be had for a little over a hundred bucks...  hard to argue $110-$120 vs $379 though... On top of the $379 you need to purchase a 5v power cord for programming and a serial cable.  WHY Steve doesn't include these in the price?  You tell me.  I simply don't understand why Steve hasn't lowered the prices on these units considering he's losing a TON  of business to the 60-in-1 boards.  A TON.  If he lowered the price to $200 or so these boards would fly off the shelf.  Of course i am not privy to what Clay is charging him for a board...

Bottom line:  If high scores saves,  more correct sounds,  more trackball games,  and/or Donkey Kong II are important to you,  get the AS board.  If they aren't,  save your dough and get a 60-in-1.

PS: Anyone who says Clays board doesn't contain MAME code is smoking some serious crack.  The only thing I can think of as to why MAMEDev isn't all over this board like they are the 60-in-1 boards is because Clay is/was a friend/contributor to MAME and the fact they don't sell the ROMs with the boards. 

Good info, thanks for sharing.
Is there any pictures of the frontend for scrolling through the games?

[spacies]

Yeah good info Frizzle. (love the avatar  )

Yes the are expensive and it sucks about DKII but there aren't any other options really.
I also love the instant startup. Its friggin' great. So is the test switch which you can do while running. Thanks again.


To the others:
You can't edit the frontend. Only thing you can do is arrange the games in order that you want.
You can't remap the controls either. No need to.



Thats a pic of the board running Williams games. Don't have one of it running vertical games on this PC. Maybe Frizzle will post one?

[rescue161]

Well, it appears that this board is no longer available for purchase...

Just as I was able to buy the PCB, I see that it is no longer availabe for sale...  WTF?

I guess there were not enough buyers?  Oh well, I guess I lost out on that deal.  I suppose it was priced too high.

I HATED coding everything on my MAME and KNEW this was the answer.  DAMN!

Oh, well...  I guess my money will be going towards something else.

[CheffoJeffo]

One of the reasons that the board was discontinued was due to the knockoffs that appeared on the market.

[Haze]

PS: Anyone who says Clays board doesn't contain MAME code is smoking some serious crack.  The only thing I can think of as to why MAMEDev isn't all over this board like they are the 60-in-1 boards is because Clay is/was a friend/contributor to MAME and the fact they don't sell the ROMs with the boards. 

MAMEDev haven't ripped one apart to see what it contains.

I don't think Clay would be considered a friend / contributor?  Most of what I've heard about his has been negative, eg. only making his own hacked versions of the Tempest prototypes available and such.

[rescue161]

One of the reasons that the board was discontinued was due to the knockoffs that appeared on the market.

Well, are the knock-offs any good?  I guess I'll have to get one of them since the original isn't available.

[Dariusz]

Can any one recommend a programmable JAMMA board available on the market to use on a table top (60 games or less)?

Do any of the programmable boards have the game - Elevator Action?

D