WANTED: Double Sided Cocktail Games List

[Ren Hoek]

Just wondering if anyone had a comprehensive listing of cocktail cabinet
games (that is, games that are either played simultaneously by a player at
opposite ends, or alternating plays whereby the action turns 180 degrees
when it's the other player's go).

Cheers.

[Boris the Spider]

I too am looking for this information. I've recently started planning a cocktail cab project and am stuck on the control panels' setup. I simply haven't had the time to go to KLOV and research all the games that play vertically, or as Ren stated:

"(that is, games that are either played simultaneously by a player at opposite ends, or alternating plays whereby the action turns 180 degreeswhen it's the other player's go)."

I'd like to have a rollerball, for example, on the head-to-head sides....but I'm not sure if there are enough games that would justify a rollerball on the player two side of a cocktail cab; I can't think of any off the top of my head anyway.

If anyone does have such a list, please share it if you can. If not, could someone just tell me if there are enough games to justify the rollerball on the player two side? Or what about a spinner in the same situation; enough games to justify a spinner?

Obviously, I'm limited to the amount of space for controls on a cocktail cab so I'm trying to make the right decision the first time around...beacuse I'm sure there will be plenty of other things I'll mess up later. Thanks.

[javeryh]

I'd also love to see a "definitive" list but I think Maws can give you a pretty good idea of the games that work with certain controls.  I built a cocktail cab with a spinner on the vertical player 1 control panel because my wife loves arkanoid and breakout-type games.  I also put a trackball on the long panel for games like golden tee even though you can't do a full follow through without breaking your hand...

[NOP]

You can use my new fangly utility to help build that list:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=55636.0

The utility essentially takes the massive list of games that MAME generates in xml format, and helps you reduce it down to just the ones you're interested in.

I used it to find the roms that support cocktail mode, then found only the vertical ones in that list, then found only the ones that supported my control panel setup. 

-jeff!

[NOP]

just to give you an idea of what this utility does, here's a listing of the cocktail games with vertical monitors that use a trackball:  (this is from mame103, so perhaps a bit outdated)


poundfor
poundfou
sbowling
marinedt
bking
bking2
bking3
bigevglf
capbowl
capbowl2
capbowl3
capbowl4
clbowl
bowlrama
stratab
stratab1
mjleague
teedoff
bladestl
bladstle
centiped
centipd2
centipdb
caterplr
millpac
magworm
usclssic
krzybowl
brickzn
brickzn3


here's the vertical, cocktail, spinner games:

moonwar
moonwara
strtheat
kicka
tron
tron2
tron3
tron4
arknoidj
arkbl2
arkbl3
paddle2
arkatayt
arkblock
arkbloc2
arkangc
arknoid2
arknid2u
arknid2j
tacscan
blockgal
blckgalb
turbo
turboa
turbob
tempest
tempest1
tempest2
tempest3
temptube
tnk3
tnk3j
ikari
ikarijp
ikarijpb
victroad
dogosoke
gwar
gwarj
gwara
gwarb
bermudat
bermudao
bermudaa
worldwar
tdfever
tdfeverj
tdfever2
jongbou
goindol
goindolu
goindolj
gigasb
gigasm2b
oigas
freekick
freekckb
homo

Just recycle the output from the utility as the input for the next search to continue refining it down, and you should be able to get exactly what you're looking for, provided the xml file is accurate.

Of course, there are always games that slip through the cracks: on my cocktail setup with only a 4way joystick for both players, I found that there are a few games that are completely playable but are listed as 8way joysticks, such as time pilot.  Those you'll have to dig out and test by hand.

[Boris the Spider]

Cool NOP, thanks! You should have gotten more props for this where you posted it!

I don't have MAME installed on my box right now so I can't run this proggy...so thanks for the output. Can anyone identify which games from that output for both the trackball and spinner games are:

"played simultaneously by a player at opposite ends, or alternating plays whereby the action turns 180 degreeswhen it's the other player's go."

I keep copying and pasting that because Ren couldn't have phrased it any better. My point is that I'm trying to justify putting either a trackball or spinner on the SECOND PLAYER side of a cocktail cab (ie. Centipede...is there a head to head version of centipede?) If there is only one or two games that support head to head style vertical play with a trackball or spinner, then  I won't bother using one or the other on that side.

[NOP]

I don't have MAME installed on my box right now so I can't run this proggy...so thanks for the output. Can anyone identify which games from that output for both the trackball and spinner games are:

"played simultaneously by a player at opposite ends, or alternating plays whereby the action turns 180 degreeswhen it's the other player's go."

Ok, here's an even more pared down listing for both trackball and spinner.
I ran the old output back through and checked for "input players=2" which should get you even closer to your goal.  (I don't think there are very many 1 player cocktail machines)



cocktail, vertical, 2 player, spinner games:
moonwar
moonwara
strtheat
kicka
tron
tron2
tron3
tron4
arknoidj
arkbl2
arkbl3
paddle2
arkatayt
arkblock
arkbloc2
arkangc
arknoid2
arknid2u
arknid2j
blockgal
blckgalb
tnk3
tnk3j
ikari
ikarijp
ikarijpb
victroad
dogosoke
gwar
gwarj
gwara
gwarb
bermudat
bermudao
bermudaa
worldwar
jongbou
goindol
goindolu
goindolj
gigasb
gigasm2b
oigas
freekick
freekckb
homo

cocktail, vertical, 2 player, spinner games, clones removed:
moonwar
strtheat
tron
arknoid2
blockgal
tnk3
ikari
victroad
gwar
bermudat
jongbou
goindol
gigasb
gigasm2b
freekick

(this was interesting-there appears to be no original arkanoid 1's-they are all listed as clones!)

cocktail, vertical, 2 player, trackball games:
poundfor
poundfou
marinedt
bking
bking2
bking3
bigevglf
capbowl
capbowl2
capbowl3
capbowl4
clbowl
bowlrama
stratab
stratab1
mjleague
teedoff
bladestl
bladstle
centiped
centipd2
centipdb
caterplr
millpac
magworm
krzybowl
brickzn
brickzn3

cocktail, vertical, 2 player, trackball games, clones removed:
poundfor
marinedt
bking
bking2
bking3
bigevglf
capbowl
bowlrama
stratab
mjleague
teedoff
bladestl
centiped
krzybowl
brickzn

...and here's reason to take this list with a grain of salt.  I noticed that millipede wasn't appearing on the list.  Checking the master XML list that MAME generates, there appears to be no dip switch setting to put millipede into cocktail mode, so my program wasn't finding it.  Apparantly there is no dipswitch for it, just a hardware pin that may or may not be properly emulated in MAME.

Tempest also got itself removed from the list, as MAME is listing it as only 1 player, even though it has a cocktail mode with 2 players alternating play.  Not sure why this is.

The only simultaneous, trackball, cocktail machine I can think of was that black+white football game.  Wasnt it called X's and O's?  I think it was an atari game.

I'd probably say that it's not worth putting a trackball or spinner onto player 2's side, unless one of the above games is one of your top favorites, and the favorite of whomever you're going to be playing against.  Otherwise the expense just isn't worth it.


-jeff!