Is the arcade hobby ending up in the closet?

[yotsuya]

Cory, if you don't kick that dude in the nuts, I'll never speak to you again.

But money.....

Hmmmmm.... maybe the wrong dude needs to be kicked in the nuts....

[Vigo]

The world does not need another computer space mame cab.  We have been around this block before and even a tasteful conversion makes me feel dirty.

[ChadTower]

Cory, if you don't kick that dude in the nuts, I'll never speak to you again.

But money.....

Hmmmmm.... maybe the wrong dude needs to be kicked in the nuts....

That's pretty much where this one is going to go if it continues. 

Tell him to sell the Computer Space and get a cab that's viable for MAME.  How happy would he really be with a 13" monitor for MAME anyway?

[yotsuya]

---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, Cory, build him one of your standups in trade for that CS, then YOU flip it.

[drventure]

People appreciate good things and that seems to be both timeless and has nothing to do with actually experiencing a product/whatever when it was released. 

There are still car collectors buying up and restoring cars made in the 30's and 40's although hardly any of them are old enough to have even sat in the cars when they came out, much less drove them. 

+1

Many coin op arcade games were the first of their kind, so they're a fairly unique phenom. I suspect there will be continued interest in them, just as there's continued interest in old cars like Howard mentioned or classic rock.

It might not be as high as it is today, because the nostalgia factor, but the interest will persist.

[SavannahLion]

I understand now that I know more about the background

but, the control panel is bigger on his, it is the 2-Player version

I missed that. Anyhooo visualize a set of buttons on there.

[danny_galaga]

I've just come back from Europe. In Berlin, there is the Computer Spiele Museum. They have both a working Computer Space AND Pong machine on display They turn them on on Mondays, and you have to book to play them. Of course I was there on Tuesday    I did get to play that East German cab, although for some reason it had been repaired with an LCD screen. Even if it's running an emulator in there, how hard could it have been to run the CRT in it?

[ChadTower]

Heh, and yet at Funspot in NH, there is a line of Pongs and a Computer Space on 14 hours a day.   

[CoryBee]

I called the guy back to see if I could convince him to sell the Computer Space and get a different cabinet for MAME-ing.

He wasn't having any of it. He likes it a lot and said he would have restored it but it is gutted and would cost him way too much to get the board\monitor etc. So he just wants the shell to stick around in his game room.

 

Whatcha gunna do in a situation like that? Well besides taking the money before he hires someone else to do it of course.....

[Vigo]

Historical signicicance aside, the big problem I see with Mame-ing that cab is that is just is not a fun cab to play on for most games. You have a tiny screen, hyper-angled control panel, and I think it would just feel funny playing TMNT on a cab like that. To me, the whole thing would feel as dirty as a $2 whore.

I know there was a thread here earlier about a dude who mamed his Computer Space, and he did about as much justice to it as feasibly possible. You can search for that thread to see how he did it. He made the same argument. He loved the thing but it was just a shell. It would cost too much to have it restored. I was pretty much on the fence about it, cuz I know cost is a big issue for most of the population, and when people were telling him to sell the cab off or give it to a collector, I never felt there should be any obligation of an owner to do that.

The best Idea I remember hearing, I think, was from Chad. He mentioned that it might just be the most economical to program a clone of computer space and run it on the machine through a tv mounted in there. I have  never played the game, but I figure it has to be one of the easiest games in the world to program.

[ChadTower]

There is no "monitor" in that cab.  It's a generic 13" black and white TV using the antenna screw inputs.  Given that you could run a Computer Space clone on anything more powerful than an abacus it's almost a no brainer to either write that app or hire someone to do it for you and run it through composite output to any 13" CRT TV.

[ark_ader]

Actually MAME would be a good solution, like pong it is more hardwired than software.

We would have a practical  use for MAME than an instrument of piracy.

[SavannahLion]

http://www.computerspacefan.com/Simulation2.htm

As I've said, I played the simulated version. I did not find it particularly fun.

[ChadTower]

The game isn't much fun.  The buttons are square and they tend to get caught in the control panel because they have no collar.  It's really easy to lose track of your ship because it's made up of dots thare aren't much closer than the background star dots.

I still play it every time I go to Funspot.  It's a privilege to have access to a working Computer Space.

[CoryBee]

Looks like I get to mess with it next week

Don't hate me.....

[ChadTower]

Steal it and leave behind $500.  We're talking about your immortal hobby soul here.

[CoryBee]

Steal it and leave behind $500.  We're talking about your immortal hobby soul here.

But he is going to put a 60-1 board in it......

I figure I could at least put the Computer Space game on there

[Malenko]

tell him you'll take the computer space cab, and knock $XX off building him a machine. Im sure you can sell the shell for $XX to one of these people giving you ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- for converting it. XX being a value of your choice.

[CoryBee]

tell him you'll take the computer space cab, and knock $XX off building him a machine. Im sure you can sell the shell for $XX to one of these people giving you ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- for converting it. XX being a value of your choice.

Can I sell it for three X's?, two X's doesn't sound like enough.

[Malenko]

maybe and X and a Y, but 3 X is just being greedy.

[yotsuya]

I love you, Cory, but wear a cup if I ever meet you.

Did you explain to him that the 60-in-1 is vertical, and that the cutout on that thing is for a horizontal monitor?

[CoryBee]

maybe and X and a Y, but 3 X is just being greedy.

hehe

Did you explain to him that the 60-in-1 is vertical, and that the cutout on that thing is for a horizontal monitor?

No because I was not aware of that, never touched one in my life. MAME all the way! He didn't say 60-1, just multi game board and I told him how crap those usually are.

Look, main thing is this guy  wants the cabinet shell in his house. I told him already that I probably know some people that would be interested in buying it and then he can just buy one of my pre-made machines. But he was not having any of that.

He said if he could afford it he would restore it, but said it would cost him around $8k.

[CoryBee]

I love you, Cory, but wear a cup if I ever meet you.

[TopJimmyCooks]

tell him you'll take the computer space cab, and knock $XX off building him a machine. Im sure you can sell the shell for $XX to one of these people giving you ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- for converting it. XX being a value of your choice.

\

aaaaand therein lies the problem.  All these Klov commandos saying save the poor computer space shell for posterity, then when you post it up for sale, you hear crickets chirping.  Don't count on being able to sell it for all that much unless it's gloriously complete and perfect.  Otherwise it's lowballer city if anything. 

[yotsuya]

Well, given that it's just the shell, and there's no boards or anything too, it's not as bad. But with a cabinet like that, there's just something inherently wrong with anything but the original game.

[CoryBee]

Find the man a cheaper way to restore the thing for like $3k - $4k and I will take that information to him. But he seems to know his stuff when it comes to this machine.

And yea it is just a shell, missing everything. No screen, no controls, no game board, no wires.

Also, I wont have to do much besides providing the screen and computer system with MAME and a a decent front end installed. Setting all the crap up. Apparently he works in some kind of fabrication business or something (can't remember) which he said allows him to make parts for it that look stock. I dunno, whatever floats his boat I suppose.

[yotsuya]

Find the man a cheaper way to restore the thing for like $3k - $4k and I will take that information to him. But he seems to know his stuff when it comes to this machine.

And yea it is just a shell, missing everything. No screen, no controls, no game board, no wires.

Also, I wont have to do much besides providing the screen and computer system with MAME and a a decent front end installed. Setting all the crap up. Apparently he works in some kind of fabrication business or something (can't remember) which he said allows him to make parts for it that look stock. I dunno, whatever floats his boat I suppose.

Flippers.com has one they will sell you restored for $5k, so your friend might be prone to hyperbole.

Just don't give him this:

[CoryBee]

No worries, I wont be sharing what happens to the CS if I end up modifying it......

 

[ChadTower]

Find the man a cheaper way to restore the thing for like $3k - $4k and I will take that information to him. But he seems to know his stuff when it comes to this machine.

If he knew his stuff he wouldn't need someone to MAME it for him.

Where is it located?  Just curious.  I'd love to buy a CS shell.

[yotsuya]

No worries, I wont be sharing what happens to the CS if I end up modifying it......

 

No, post it. I'd like to see it. 

[CoryBee]

Find the man a cheaper way to restore the thing for like $3k - $4k and I will take that information to him. But he seems to know his stuff when it comes to this machine.

If he knew his stuff he wouldn't need someone to MAME it for him.

Meant knew his stuff about the CS machine

Lives near the Sacramento area, maybe outlying areas, don't remember.

[Malenko]

tell him you'll take the computer space cab, and knock $XX off building him a machine. Im sure you can sell the shell for $XX to one of these people giving you ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- for converting it. XX being a value of your choice.

\

aaaaand therein lies the problem.  All these Klov commandos saying save the poor computer space shell for posterity, then when you post it up for sale, you hear crickets chirping.  Don't count on being able to sell it for all that much unless it's gloriously complete and perfect.  Otherwise it's lowballer city if anything.

That was exactly my point

I personally think the game sucks and the shell is weird. If you do mod it, I'd like to see the end result too.

[CoryBee]

Word.

I will show it, I can take the hate 

(haven't received the machine yet though so don't hold your breath)

[yotsuya]

tell him you'll take the computer space cab, and knock $XX off building him a machine. Im sure you can sell the shell for $XX to one of these people giving you ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- for converting it. XX being a value of your choice.

\

aaaaand therein lies the problem.  All these Klov commandos saying save the poor computer space shell for posterity, then when you post it up for sale, you hear crickets chirping.  Don't count on being able to sell it for all that much unless it's gloriously complete and perfect.  Otherwise it's lowballer city if anything.

That was exactly my point

I personally think the game sucks and the shell is weird. If you do mod it, I'd like to see the end result too.

Whether or not the shell is weird is beside the point. The problem is that the original owner probably thinks he's sitting on a goldmine and wouldn't sell the shell to anyone for a reasonable amount, especally if he's telling Cory it would cost him $8k to restore it. There are people that WOULD take it on, but his asking price would probably be insane.

[Malenko]

thats why I only put 2 Xs in the price, I originally had $50 there, but I wanted to turn it into an algebra problem.

[SavannahLion]

Find the man a cheaper way to restore the thing for like $3k - $4k and I will take that information to him. But he seems to know his stuff when it comes to this machine.

If he knew his stuff he wouldn't need someone to MAME it for him.

Meant knew his stuff about the CS machine

Lives near the Sacramento area, maybe outlying areas, don't remember.

I'll kick him for you then. With my luck he's probably in South Sac or worse, Arden Arcade. At least he's not in Stockton.

[danny_galaga]

Heh, and yet at Funspot in NH, there is a line of Pongs and a Computer Space on 14 hours a day.   

Bet you didn't play POLY PLAY though 

[monkeychunkuk]

I have noticed a dip in finish builds lots of pages on here of projects announced but not many updates,owning a gaming website and podcast this time of year can be very slow for gaming.

It's hard to sit inside when the suns out and people want to do stuff.

But with the year coming to a end the winters coming people will be getting out their plans and hitting garages,and at nights with the new consoles coming game nights will be filling up.

[ark_ader]

Load the cs on a truck bed, and video it falling off the back on to the freeway.  You will be famous on YouTube and that dude will not get his bastardized cabinet.

Simples.

[Le Chuck]

Mount a 32" LCD where the CP goes, put a CP in the original screen area, add some LEDs, and mount the sucker with the base on a wall, sticking out like a big gaming phallus.  Just make sure and add some exer-balls to sit on while you play to complete the look.  Sell for a bajillion dollars as pop art!