Ultracade in real arcade

[shmokes]

Maybe this is old news, but I've never seen it before.

I was at Wal-Mart yesterday and there's a small arcade with about 15 cabinets and an air-hockey table in the front of the store.

One of the cabinets was an Ultracade where you could choose between a ton of differenct games from Pac-Man to Street Fighter.  It had a really great front-end too.

I didn't know that these were being used in any commercial arcades.

[HeadRusch]

Yeah, I think the place that sold them was here in Connecticut (Could be wrong ont his one..maybe down in Milford or Orange?).....and I think it was an operator or distributor business, so I;m sure the intent was to sell them privately and I guess to be put on routes as well...??

[rampy]

I saw one in the arcade on the carnival cruise I went on in Feb.  *Shrug*

Didn't actually play it though.

rampy

[Generic Eric]

I saw one at a truck stop off of I-10 in Texas.  I played it, it was neat.  I liked the front end it used.  To chose the game, a marquee was chosen.  

[jakejake28]

I saw one at a truck stop off of I-10 in Texas.  I played it, it was neat.  I liked the front end it used.  To chose the game, a marquee was chosen.  

you can do that with advanceMENU y'know

[shmokes]

But in adition to the marquees, which scroll around in a circle counter-clockwise, there were other cool graphics that popped up.  If you stopped on a game a window would open up showing that game in action.  It was all very professional and polished.  Good sound effects in the frontend, too.

[jakejake28]

i gotta check these out. do they have multiple JAMMA harnesses and each game has it's own pcb, or do they have all on one? do they run officially licensed roms on a mame-like software? very interesting

[AlanS17]

Yeah they use ROMs with their own emulator. They get loaded on CD game packs and a certain amount come with the machine. You can buy additional packs. But I think the company went out of business. Like computer software, you had to enter a registration code to make it works.

[BobA]

Ultracade did go out of business about a year ago  but seems to have been brought back to life.  You can still buy the units and get your rom registrations. They say it now ships with 86 games.  Probably the largest selection of legally licensed ROMS if that is true.

Ultracade

BobA

[paigeoliver]

I do think the $299 pricing on the single game Frogger and Donkey Kong packs are pretty crazy. I doubt they sell many of those packs.  I seem to recall the 8 game packs being only $199 back when they all came in sets of 8.

[SirPoonga]

I saw one at a truck stop off of I-10 in Texas.  I played it, it was neat.  I liked the front end it used.  To chose the game, a marquee was chosen.  

Yeah, my next idea is to steal the code from stepmania to do a scrolling menus/list FE for mame.

[Chris]

I do think the $299 pricing on the single game Frogger and Donkey Kong packs are pretty crazy. I doubt they sell many of those packs.  I seem to recall the 8 game packs being only $199 back when they all came in sets of 8.

They are crazy for us, but those prices aren't crazy for commercial use licenses...

--Chris

[jakejake28]

yea, remember that at a quarter (or more) per play 299 can be earned back pretty fast.

[paigeoliver]

yea, remember that at a quarter (or more) per play 299 can be earned back pretty fast.

If it was an entire Donkey Kong or Frogger kit for $300, yes sure. But just adding Donkey Kong or Frogger (for $300) to a machine that already has 90 games, probably would not pay for itself for years and years

Especially once you factor in the fact that I have never seen an ultracade with a 4-way stick. I believe the kits come with those cheapo Happ 8-ways that favor the diagonals (at least every one I have played has had those same sticks). I'll bet most people would play DK or Frogger once, and say "this sucks" and then never play it again.

[Aceldamor]

There's one in my local arcade in a showcase cab....with all the game packs.  I do like the FE, I would change the little animated chick doing all that goofy crap.  

I did like the little gameplay movie and when you select the game you get the animated controller function movie...pretty cool stuff. The circular marquee selection piece was pretty cool also.

I wonder how difficult it would be to get the code from an actual board

[Chris]

I have Lazarus set up to pick by marquees:



--Chris

[BobA]

There's one in my local arcade in a showcase cab....with all the game packs.  I do like the FE, I would change the little animated chick doing all that goofy crap.  

I did like the little gameplay movie and when you select the game you get the animated controller function movie...pretty cool stuff. The circular marquee selection piece was pretty cool also.

I wonder how difficult it would be to get the code from an actual board

As far as I know there is no board as such, it is a PC with their own emulator (?) and FE. There must be a dongle or some other protection as well or someone would have already copied it.

BobA

[nighthawk2099]

Sort of, it's a mini--(very mini)--something.....
Ah heck, you figure it out..

http://www.ultracade.com/kit.htm

I know it hooks up to Jamma.....

[F|end]

I've saw a guy wich uses a front-end skin, just like the ultracade! I want to get one like them!

If i'm right, the guy uses a Centipede (not mutilated) and Mame also cab!

I wonder if i can skin Mamewah with that skin! It would be perfect!

Any sugestions or i should ask Minwah?


Thks in adv!

[Brax]

There still seems to be some Ultracade controversy.

http://www.casbox.com/Stinger/Sting143.html

AND........
From Ultracade:

"This product no longer contains any content from Microsoft Corporation and is no longer associated with the Microsoft Return of Arcade product.  All ROM images contained in this product are the property of UltraCade Technologies, licensed from the original owner, are freeware or are legal copies acquired from original equipment boards.

If you purchased a copy of the UltraCade Return of Arcade game pack, please contact UltraCade Technolgoies, and we will exchange it for a Pac-Family classics gamepack at no charge to you."

[Magnet_Eye]

here is a screenshot of Ultracade. I have played it, and it is the coolest frontend I have seen. I wish someone in this community would make something as cool. I really like how the screenshot to the right is actually a vid of gameplay. too cool. also, unlike some peoples skin designs using marquees, if you notice the marquee is highlighted when you move over it.




 

[BobA]

Sort of, it's a mini--(very mini)--something.....
Ah heck, you figure it out..

http://www.ultracade.com/kit.htm

I know it hooks up to Jamma.....

I think that item 2 is a single board PC.  Roms load via CD ROM and it uses USB and stores programs and ROMs on a harddrive so it sure sounds like a PC.  Maybe ruggedized means its and industrial model.  Hooking up to jamma just means including the features of an interface like the JPAC.

There front end seems to be what sets them apart.  Looks like alot of work went into it and they seem to  have knowledge of the arcade industry as it has alot of features that operators would want.

Again just guessing because I have never touched one in real life.

BobA

[F|end]

If i'm not wrong, i've saw a guy in the 'scene' that uses a circular font end menu for the games selection, just like ultracade!

Humm, i'm gonna search him and see if i can get a copy!  

If i find him, i'll post imediatly!  

[Generic Eric]

I saw another Ultracade at Casino Coushatta in Kinder La.  This one was different.  It had a wheel on the right and the up/down function of the joystick was used to move the "wheel."  On the wheel low res marquees were used to select the game.  Personally, I liked the version that displayed the marquees (like Magnet Eye posted) better.

[johnws]

I personally prefer this front end. It looks much cleaner, and that wheel of marquees is just so damn cool!  

How hard is it to make video clips of roms? I know there is a screenshot feature in mame, but is there a way to record short animated gifs or media files? (although GIFs may not be possible because there is still a year left on the patents for most countries). Ahem, besides that, any ideas anyone?  

[nipsmg]

Yeah, I think the place that sold them was here in Connecticut (Could be wrong ont his one..maybe down in Milford or Orange?).....and I think it was an operator or distributor business, so I;m sure the intent was to sell them privately and I guess to be put on routes as well...??

Head:

You ever checked out that EXCESSIVELY EXPENSIVE arcade retail store on the post road in orange?

Nice store, but the prices on machines are out of control....

There's a nice distributor in berlin tho on the turnpike

--NipsMG

[rampy]

Yeah, I think the place that sold them was here in Connecticut (Could be wrong ont his one..maybe down in Milford or Orange?).....and I think it was an operator or distributor business, so I;m sure the intent was to sell them privately and I guess to be put on routes as well...??

Head:

You ever checked out that EXCESSIVELY EXPENSIVE arcade retail store on the post road in orange?

Nice store, but the prices on machines are out of control....

There's a nice distributor in berlin tho on the turnpike

--NipsMG

that's right... on the same road as 3 strip clubs and hooters no less!

Gotta love the berlin tpke!

Rampy

[HeadRusch]

Woah Woah there fellas....the Post Road in Orange is I think *THE* place that was the distributor for that ultracade, and no I never went there........I know where it is, but haven't been to Orange or Milford in like 10 years

Once CompUSA moved up north I had no reason to go that far south!

PS: The Berlin Tpke only has 2 strip clubs on it...Centerfolds and The Kitchen
The Arcade place ont he berlin Tpke might be Newman Brothers Amusements...

...and if I were you, I'd avoid it.....if you're from the NB/Berlin area (as I am), you know alot about Newman Brothers

Cough Cough <Sopranos> Cough...
 

[rampy]

Woah Woah there fellas....the Post Road in Orange is I think *THE* place that was the distributor for that ultracade, and no I never went there........I know where it is, but haven't been to Orange or Milford in like 10 years

Once CompUSA moved up north I had no reason to go that far south!

PS: The Berlin Tpke only has 2 strip clubs on it...Centerfolds and The Kitchen
The Arcade place ont he berlin Tpke might be Newman Brothers Amusements...

...and if I were you, I'd avoid it.....if you're from the NB/Berlin area (as I am), you know alot about Newman Brothers

Cough Cough <Sopranos> Cough...
 

No it doesn't... It used to have like 5.  The skeeeviest one at the beginning of 15 (or the end) is probably now closed...

There's some weird "upscale" one a little further down the road on the right "pussycat" something or other that is like an exclusive lapdance only skeevy coke den type place...

There's centerfolds... Then there's the 2 places by club 2001... the gold club which is right next to the kitch IIRC (but don't konw for sure as I don't visit such establishments)  and then there's hooters...  which is like strip club lite (from what I've been told)

=P  that doesn't count all the adult "book" stores on that road too.

Yes that place in orange is ONE distributor of ultracades... I'm not sure how we got on the other topics... *shrug*

NEXT TOPIC ==> bars with wifi access (harbor park in middletown for example)

rampy

[Molloy]

www.cristaltec.com do a similar thing. A couple of arcades in London have it.

The frontend is also nice. No marquees but there's a little video of the game play on the right much like the Ultracade one.