Not much going on?

[Ond]

OND rant..

Is it just me or is there not much going on in the BYOAC these days?  I had a browse through popular threads from a few years back (not my own) and there just seemed to be more actual building going on.  I'm not talking about general discussion or people offering opinions, or noob questions, I mean project content.

There are still plenty of new members coming on board.  I suspect there are people who ARE building stuff but not posting their projects.  If you know me, you know that right now I'm posting a few different things.  It doesn't have to be exciting earth shattering ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, just SUMPTHIN.

As much as I like the banter I'd like to see more projects.  What do y'all need, some incentive? 

I will say this, the standards these days are higher than back then. Various members have set the bar WAY high, which I guess sets expectation high as well.  I do miss the days of marble contact paper, Christmas tree LED lighting and nine hundred buttons because there was more going on.  In short, we were having more fun.

Oh, and while I'm ranting, you know what really gets my goat?  Some guy whose built something amazing, joins the forum and posts.......one pic, while I post everything, "oh look, two flys sitting on my bench" snap and posted!  WTF.

Sad to see many veterans gone quiet or absent, but maybe it's time for newbies to jump on the horse and show us what you got! I have an idea to improve the build rate but I'll reserve it while I check for signs of life.

By the way....much respect to my fellow builders who are building and posting their projects right now.  You know who you are.

[pbj]

For me, it's just fatigue with the same old games.  I've got a mostly complete bartop project that totally fizzled out because I realized all I'm gonna do is play Pac-Man and Final Fight on it twice and never touch it again.  Don't get me wrong, it took me 20 years to get to this point, but here I am.  There's some fun retro-style stuff on PC/Consoles, it'd be nice to see some of that ported to Pis.

 

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Having recently returned to the forums after many years, I certainly have had the same impression.

PBJ makes a good point too.. the cabinet that I put together years ago has had a few computer upgrades, but the same base design has served my family's gameplay needs, and most people don't have room for more than one cabinet, and a big chunk of the main demographic of people who are going to have a nostalgic drive to own a cabinet, coupled with the time and ability to build it, have probably already done it. Also, there's so much turnkey stuff now, I feel like there's a lot less end-user innovation happening.

I do miss there always being like a dozen projects going on at the same time constantly.

[Malenko]

I might have 1 last full sized VPIN build in me, but my project days are pretty much behind me.  I had more to type, but no one cares.

[Ond]

I might have 1 last full sized VPIN build in me, but my project days are pretty much behind me.  I had more to type, but no one cares.

   I care brother.

I totally get the lack of build activity for veteran members for all the reasons given.  I'm talking more about newer members who join up and just lurk.  You don't need to be a member to do that.

So I had this idea.  We used to have awards like the Mamey or UCA for innovation and contribution, build quality etc.  I don't think there's the collective appetite to organise another similar award these days, with a judging panel and all the rest of that.  I hope I have some credibility as a member who innovates or contributes.  I'd like to offer my own recognition for excellence for new builds this year.

Here's a little story before I head off to the workshop, since I need to give the coffee time to hit my brain this morning.

At the end of my eldest daughter’s junior school final year they gave awards for various categories.  I sat in the audience and watched as each kid got their award for Maths achievement or Music or whatever.  Award after award came and went.  But nothing for Suzi.  I was grumpy.  Goddamit she worked so damned hard and nothing for her?  What Gives?  Then came the final award for the night.  I have a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye just typing it…  This award was the big one.  This award was for overall excellence and outstanding achievement for that year.  I heard my own daughters name announced and nearly did a ---smurfing--- backflip out of my chair I was so happy for her.  Any dads here who know that joy?

She was to keep the engraved crystal trophy for 1 year until it was time to hand it to the next recipient.  It bore the names of all the previous year’s winners.

It’s just an idea but I would love to give that recognition to someone here for the same thing.  In the same way, to keep for a year and then pass on. Should the hobby be a competition?  No, but we should encourage new builders, recognise excellence and get some momentum/innovation back into the forum.  I say yes.  What say ye?

[Gilrock]

All I can say Ond is I've spent a lot of time reading some of your painting threads and watching your videos.  I will say I'm not sure I got the patience to sand 2000 grit for an hour though...lol.  I ended up buying a really nice Fuji HPLV gravity sprayer to try to get better finishes.  I've only gotten to spray a small control panel so far but it sprayed really sweet.

When I build stuff I enjoy copying what I've seen others build because it always ends up having a lot of things I've got to figure out myself or things I end up changing to fit my own taste or ideas.

[Ond]

All I can say Ond is I've spent a lot of time reading some of your painting threads and watching your videos.  I will say I'm not sure I got the patience to sand 2000 grit for an hour though...lol.  I ended up buying a really nice Fuji HPLV gravity sprayer to try to get better finishes.  I've only gotten to spray a small control panel so far but it sprayed really sweet.

When I build stuff I enjoy copying what I've seen others build because it always ends up having a lot of things I've got to figure out myself or things I end up changing to fit my own taste or ideas.

Hey Gilrock, it's great that you've got value from that tutorial.  You’re right, the forum is a huge asset when it comes to learning.  As an example I'm learning a ton of stuff from experts in the CRT monitor area.  Without those guys and their efforts I wouldn’t be able to build my CRT based project.  Speaking of excellence in builds you are a current excellent builder!  I'm enjoying following your builds very much.  OND will be buying you a beer at ZapCon at the very least. 

[yotsuya]

I just don’t think many people are interested in building anymore. They want to be able to buy something that affords them a quick and easy availability to play games. That doesn’t mean they won’t hack it and add stuff to it, I just don’t think they’re interested in building full-size cabinets anymore, based on the popularity of kits, CNC plans and Arcade1Ups. It just is what it is.

[opt2not]

I just don’t think many people are interested in building anymore. They want to be able to buy something that affords them a quick and easy availability to play games. That doesn’t mean they won’t hack it and add stuff to it, I just don’t think they’re interested in building full-size cabinets anymore, based on the popularity of kits, CNC plans and Arcade1Ups. It just is what it is.

^Exactly this.  And people here say those A1Up cabs are good for the hobby. At least with CNC plans you can build a cabinet with your own theme, and quality controls. That's halfway to BYOAC.  But the A1Up fad is killing the building scene.  I'm sad that some you lot think they're a good thing.

[Arroyo]

I just don’t think many people are interested in building anymore. They want to be able to buy something that affords them a quick and easy availability to play games. That doesn’t mean they won’t hack it and add stuff to it, I just don’t think they’re interested in building full-size cabinets anymore, based on the popularity of kits, CNC plans and Arcade1Ups. It just is what it is.

I’ll drop my two cents as a noob.  Seeing the quality that some people achieved made it intimidating to even start posting.  Hell I was inches from buying a cab until I didn’t hear back from the company on some specifics I wanted.  That led me here, and my stubbornness for wanting things to be a certain way forced me to try.

Now that I’ve started, I think I’m may end up enjoying building more than playing games   The stuff this hobby has forced me to learn is fascinating, I look at the world differently now, constantly wondering how the hell people made all the stuff around me.  Maybe I’m in the minority, but up until I started I guess I was in the majority. 

Seeing step by step instructions on how to build things is what gave me the courage to start, I think it’s why Flynn’s arcade and OND’s Metropolis is so heavily copied/used.

I always thought it would be a kick to see a BYOAC collaborated machine with step by step how it was built, put together the best designers, have them explain how they do it, pass it to the best builders, have them show how they do it, then paint, then wiring, then art.  Hell I bet you could even get a go fund me from the community to build it.  Now that would have definitely got me going quicker!

[yotsuya]

I just don’t think many people are interested in building anymore. They want to be able to buy something that affords them a quick and easy availability to play games. That doesn’t mean they won’t hack it and add stuff to it, I just don’t think they’re interested in building full-size cabinets anymore, based on the popularity of kits, CNC plans and Arcade1Ups. It just is what it is.

I’ll drop my two cents as a noob.  Seeing the quality that some people achieved made it intimidating to even start posting.  Hell I was inches from buying a cab until I didn’t hear back from the company on some specifics I wanted.  That led me here, and my stubbornness for wanting things to be a certain way forced me to try.

Now that I’ve started, I think I’m may end up enjoying building more than playing games   The stuff this hobby has forced me to learn is fascinating, I look at the world differently now, constantly wondering how the hell people made all the stuff around me.  Maybe I’m in the minority, but up until I started I guess I was in the majority. 

Seeing step by step instructions on how to build things is what gave me the courage to start, I think it’s why Flynn’s arcade and OND’s Metropolis is so heavily copied/used.

I agree with a lot of the points stated in this post

[opt2not]

Seeing step by step instructions on how to build things is what gave me the courage to start, I think it’s why Flynn’s arcade and OND’s Metropolis is so heavily copied/used.

Yup. Even if they steer people in the wrong design directions. I don't know how many times I gotta mention how that CP shape design doesn't ergonomically work for 4-player position in Chance's design. But his thread is a tutorial, so sheeple just follow along and don't bother making common sense decisions for themselves.  But hey, as yots says: build what you dig.

[Nephasth]

I've been dumping ALL my efforts into my dart hall. And that includes arcade and pinball repair... more regularly than I'd like. 

I play more games while at Zapcon than the rest of the year combined, and I don't feel like I play that many there. I'll be lifting my drinking ban that weekend...

[Titchgamer]

Think my building days are gone unless someone asks me to.
My interests have swayed more towards the real hardware side of things.

Once Opt2not hooks me up with some artwork I will prob do a little thread on my A51 cab improvements but lifes kind of in the way of anything else atm.

[yotsuya]

Think my building days are gone unless someone asks me to.
My interests have swayed more towards the real hardware side of things.

I think most of us have gone that route

[hurricanefan]

As a new member, I really love reading about the in's and outs of making a cabinet.  I spent the past year playing with RetroPie and want to branch out to pc emulation so I can play light gun games . I just ordered some computer parts that will get here next week. Once I have the computer up and running, I'll then get into the actual design of what I want my cabinet to look like.  I really wish a lot of the posts on here had working pics but I totally get it was different image hosting options over the years.  I don't have a clue how to uses sketch up so the design part will be kinda challenging. I appreciate how much you guys have put into populating the forums with good builds and answering questions.

[Zebra]

The main issue for me is the total lack of arcade quality peripherals available for the PC. I'm tired of being disappointed. I like arcade shooting games but I would rather play nothing than use my Aimtrak...

also.... the supply of affordable used arcade parts has dried up. They want $150 for a broken Time Crisis gun on ebay these days and $200 for an "untested" operation wolf gun.... it just costs too much to experiment with new build ideas.

The only reason to build a cab for me would be to preserve the arcade experience. I feel totally uninspired by most recent attempts with awful LCD monitors and nothing but a pair of joysticks in a wooden box. I'd rather save the space and use a pad.

My memory of arcades is realistic guns with recoil and sit down dedicated cabs with moving seats and quality force feedback. The home console caught up and overtook the arcades for everything else decades ago...

And a side issue.. this forum has too many sub-categories. It's a mess and I can rarely be bothered to search through it. It's hard to be motivated to write up projects for a sub-sub-forum that gets 3 views a month. It makes you feel like nobody would care if you posted your build.

[Ond]

I've been dumping ALL my efforts into my dart hall. And that includes arcade and pinball repair... more regularly than I'd like. 

I play more games while at Zapcon than the rest of the year combined, and I don't feel like I play that many there. I'll be lifting my drinking ban that weekend...

That's fair enough, you have a real growing community with your darts hall.  It's a cool path you've taken related to the arcade hobby in many ways.  I aim to play more games at Zapcon than I did on my first visit.  It will be just me this time.   

As a new member, I really love reading about the in's and outs of making a cabinet.  I spent the past year playing with RetroPie and want to branch out to pc emulation so I can play light gun games . I just ordered some computer parts that will get here next week. Once I have the computer up and running, I'll then get into the actual design of what I want my cabinet to look like.  I really wish a lot of the posts on here had working pics but I totally get it was different image hosting options over the years.  I don't have a clue how to uses sketch up so the design part will be kinda challenging. I appreciate how much you guys have put into populating the forums with good builds and answering questions.

Great that you're doing your research. It's you guys I'm directing my comments to mainly.  There's enough existing information within this forum to never have to ask ANY questions in order to build a real quality cabinet.  The questions you have, have been asked and answered many, many times over.  I get impatient (as do other veterans) when the same well covered questions are asked by people who can't be bothered to search first.

Actually that reminds me of this one weird dude on here some years back who did this opposite over the top documentation thing where he continually cross referenced every bit of information from the forum with links within his project   I’m not sure if he ever actually built anything, he just went crazy with his info gathering references!
 
I encourage you newer guys to post your projects.  Yes it’s a bit intimidating, so what, everyone starts somewhere.  Just please PLEASE, do your research first.  You can quickly build up some knowledge about good design principals, artwork and technology.  Download Sketch-up and have a play.  It’s completely fine to hand draw your plans (I have before). 

For my own part I Intend to keep building and sharing for at least this year and the next.  There will come a time when I’m done with building anything arcade related for good.  I’ll still be here but my focus will be on other things.
 
I’ll re-assess my idea for an OND award for excellence during and after ZapCon.  It would be something nice, sparkly, SHINY and cool.  Or maybe just clouds in my coffee ……

@ Zebra - just post your project in the Projects main sub forum for views and feedback.   The forum may be a mess but its worth searching through.

[J_K_M_A_N]

I would agree with Arroyo. I went back and forth on if I should post my first build because I know it is crap. I am the first to admit that. But I did not have as many tools as I have now (didn't even have a router which is now my favorite tool) and I had not yet learned things I have now learned by lurking on this site and watching a lot of woodworking videos on youtube. I did end up posting it to try and get more people to see that not all projects are like the ones we see so often here. I cannot tell you how many "first" builds I have seen on here that make me think, holy crap, I have NO talent and should not share anything I have done. But I wanted to show what I started with and I tried to post that I had learned a lot on that build and would do better on the next. I think many people cannot build things like what the great builders on here build (I want to just hang out and watch some of these builds...crazy talent). Also, I cannot help but wonder how much money goes into some of these projects. That may be a deterrent for some.

I have been a member on this site since before the crash which showed everyone starting an account on about the same day around February 2002 (I probably joined around 1999ish or maybe 2000?). It has slowed down quite a bit but I think that is because there has been so much innovation, it is hard to come up with something new and if you do come up with something new, it is because you have crazy talent (looking at you OND). I am guessing there are quite a few people that have come here for ideas and help and have built great cabs but they maybe feel like they just have a regular cab and it is not worth posting. Personally, I like to see all of them and I love the step by step (mostly because I don't know how to do a lot of the things done here so it is cool to see and learn from).  Not sure how to get more people to post all their projects. Good or a learning experience. 

J_K_M_A_N

[leapinlew]

As a previous Mamey judge, I can tell you that the project count has dropped pretty steadily since 2008. I used to keep a "Projects to Watch" thread and rarely did anything spark much interest. Interesting projects became so infrequent, that the team just lost interest.

The Arcade1up cabinets seem like they got the last mile of arcade fans. Many of the people who are excited about them and using them to build arcades in their homes aren't the BYO type. It'll definitely convert a few users to traditional arcades. They are super excited and it's enjoyable to see people so happy about Nostalgia. At this point, if I were new and looked around to see what options I had, I doubt I'd build from scratch.

As for me, I'm building a few things and doing a few other arcadey things. Nothing Project Announcement worthy - some Rpi stuff, some A1up conversions, and Wii-U stuff.

[Howard_Casto]

I just don't have the time or energy anymore.  I used to have at least one hardware-related project and multiple software projects in the pipeline at any given moment.  I'm currently working on jack and squat.  My situation is extreme, but still... life just gets in the way as you get older and our community isn't bringing in a lot of the younger generations.  Translation:  We're getting too old for this ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

[Titchgamer]

We're getting too old for this ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

Probably true! LMAO

[jennifer]

You guys have a choice?...Stop swinging that hammer or dragging that air hose and you will die, perhaps not from starvation, but most likely from a head full of ideas and a broken heart.

[Laythe]

Well said, Jennifer.

[ark_ader]

It is like every project in life.  You start by researching, learning to put everything together, maintain it, and then close it down and learn from your mistakes.  Same can be true to this hobby.  The software used to drive it is pretty much complete, then there is the ethics issue of what is allowed to be played on it. New hardware to drive it like the pi, and long assumed dead copyright licenses coming out of the closet with new retro products.

Since the hobby is 20 years old, you have probably moved on with family, work or jail, and you have found something better to occupy yourself.

Yes there are the new devices that awaken that initial curiosity and build, and there are dust covers hiding your last project, with the view to good willing it to someone who is entering the hobby for the first time.

Personally I have way too much in my life to even get my Stargate completed (its all there including the dead boards), and that 1Up is perfect for those one game sessions I have time for.  It is just life, and I am sure I am not alone in that situation.  Maybe one day if I retire I will get another crack at the hobby again, or by then the 1Up will be that last victor standing.

I'm sure someone will come along and start a new build, or we will see the latest 1Up cabinets and piss and moan about it.  It has been a fun 20 years, and we have seen all the arcade games being emulated in Mame and the drama surrounding it.  We have seen amazing builds, and learned from some incredible talents in woodworking and graphic manipulation. 

I would never in a million years realized how popular this hobby is, and to some extent lucrative, in regards to parts and builds.  There is something for everyone, but I too see the light at the end of the tunnel (and it is not someone with a torch), and thanks to Saint for putting up with us and maintaining this site.  For what it is, a vessel of information.

There is definitely enough material on here for another book.   

[Ond]

It is like every project in life.  You start by researching, learning to put everything together, maintain it, and then close it down and learn from your mistakes.  Same can be true to this hobby.  The software used to drive it is pretty much complete, then there is the ethics issue of what is allowed to be played on it. New hardware to drive it like the pi, and long assumed dead copyright licenses coming out of the closet with new retro products.

Since the hobby is 20 years old, you have probably moved on with family, work or jail, and you have found something better to occupy yourself.

Yes there are the new devices that awaken that initial curiosity and build, and there are dust covers hiding your last project, with the view to good willing it to someone who is entering the hobby for the first time.

Personally I have way too much in my life to even get my Stargate completed (its all there including the dead boards), and that 1Up is perfect for those one game sessions I have time for.  It is just life, and I am sure I am not alone in that situation.  Maybe one day if I retire I will get another crack at the hobby again, or by then the 1Up will be that last victor standing.

I'm sure someone will come along and start a new build, or we will see the latest 1Up cabinets and piss and moan about it.  It has been a fun 20 years, and we have seen all the arcade games being emulated in Mame and the drama surrounding it.  We have seen amazing builds, and learned from some incredible talents in woodworking and graphic manipulation. 

I would never in a million years realized how popular this hobby is, and to some extent lucrative, in regards to parts and builds.  There is something for everyone, but I too see the light at the end of the tunnel (and it is not someone with a torch), and thanks to Saint for putting up with us and maintaining this site.  For what it is, a vessel of information.

There is definitely enough material on here for another book.   

I have a challenge for you.  I bet you can't answer the following question in 15 words or less. "How old are you and when did you last post a build on BYOAC?"  If you can properly answer that question in 15 words or less you can take ten American dollars from my hand at ZapCon when you meet me. A single word more in a response post = challenge failed.

[bperkins01]

I love the build threads in just about any forum.  On mine - there were way more watchers than people who added to the thread..  But maybe that's how it goes.
I agree as stated earlier - I think people don't get into building much for the love of building any more..  i.e.  I love the journey more than the destination about 95% of the  time...
But I think that's the exception more than the rule.

[jdbailey1206]

I have built one arcade and five years later it does not get played.  There are just more important things in my life as of right now.  I often find myself thinking "Why should I build another cab and waste all that time for it to collect dust?"  I also have a collection of parts that were intended for "grand ideas" and now they too are collecting dust.  I feel like I have wasted too much money on what could have been compared to what has come to fruition.  Maybe that was poor planning on my part.

Before I came on here to just get advice from everyone for my FFJR build and to my surprise I have made good friends along the way which is hard for me to do IRL.  That is why I keep coming on without any new builds.  Its good to ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow--- with you guys and hopefully one day I will have something new to show when I have the time and money.

[Zebra]

Funny. That same lack of time is what got me back into arcade games. Modern games require a large time investment. I don't have hours to spend in front of a screen. Arcade games can be played for 5 minutes here and there.

[ark_ader]

It is like every project in life.  You start by researching, learning to put everything together, maintain it, and then close it down and learn from your mistakes.  Same can be true to this hobby.  The software used to drive it is pretty much complete, then there is the ethics issue of what is allowed to be played on it. New hardware to drive it like the pi, and long assumed dead copyright licenses coming out of the closet with new retro products.

Since the hobby is 20 years old, you have probably moved on with family, work or jail, and you have found something better to occupy yourself.

Yes there are the new devices that awaken that initial curiosity and build, and there are dust covers hiding your last project, with the view to good willing it to someone who is entering the hobby for the first time.

Personally I have way too much in my life to even get my Stargate completed (its all there including the dead boards), and that 1Up is perfect for those one game sessions I have time for.  It is just life, and I am sure I am not alone in that situation.  Maybe one day if I retire I will get another crack at the hobby again, or by then the 1Up will be that last victor standing.

I'm sure someone will come along and start a new build, or we will see the latest 1Up cabinets and piss and moan about it.  It has been a fun 20 years, and we have seen all the arcade games being emulated in Mame and the drama surrounding it.  We have seen amazing builds, and learned from some incredible talents in woodworking and graphic manipulation. 

I would never in a million years realized how popular this hobby is, and to some extent lucrative, in regards to parts and builds.  There is something for everyone, but I too see the light at the end of the tunnel (and it is not someone with a torch), and thanks to Saint for putting up with us and maintaining this site.  For what it is, a vessel of information.

There is definitely enough material on here for another book.   

I have a challenge for you.  I bet you can't answer the following question in 15 words or less. "How old are you and when did you last post a build on BYOAC?"  If you can properly answer that question in 15 words or less you can take ten American dollars from my hand at ZapCon when you meet me. A single word more in a response post = challenge failed.

 
60 years young and look here   

[nitrogen_widget]

i've had to many little projects that needed doing on the house to work on arcade stuff.
so last summer I banged out 90% of my outside stuff.
doing the inside stuff this winter and purging my basement of all the clutter and crap I have so I can have a dedicated workshop.
I have the tools but not the space anymore.

i've got a RPI powered cabaret cab that needs painting and no place indoors to paint it.
I have a cp panel all ready for a bartop that needs cutting but again no place to work on it.

the rest of my rpi's have found their way into dedicated mini consoles and i'm starting to lean towards building replica cabinets for original arcade hardware hooked up to CRT TV's with JROK boards and eventually RGB mods will be used.
i picked up a phoenix board set dirt cheap.
no idea if it works but it is pristine clean and cost me less than a case of beer so i'm good if it's bad and I for some reason can't fix it.
the thought of building a phoenix cab from scratch appeals to me though.

also, my kids are now at the point where I don't need to watch them all the time so I have more time to work on projects.
Hell I can run to Home depot for a few minutes without having to pack them up in the car now.
which is huge.
So what i'm saying is I feel this summer I will actually finish some of the projects i've started and post some up.

[Nephasth]

I have a challenge for you.  I bet you can't answer the following question in 15 words or less. "How old are you and when did you last post a build on BYOAC?"  If you can properly answer that question in 15 words or less you can take ten American dollars from my hand at ZapCon when you meet me. A single word more in a response post = challenge failed.

 
60 years young and look here   

A link to a wall of text is an automatic disqualification. Do not pass Go. Do not collect ten American dollars.

[jdbailey1206]

also, my kids are now at the point where I don't need to watch them all the time so I have more time to work on projects.

I am waiting to get out of this stage.  My daughter is too young to be left alone to her own vices.  The awesome thing though is she is starting to take interest when I am working on anything so I cannot wait until she can help me with building.

[Gilrock]

Its an interesting hobby.  I run into people I would think share the same interest and then they just seem snobby if you mention building something instead of only owning originals.  I like both and I do own a real pinball machine.

[Ond]

I feel for the members who simply don't have the time to be building right now.  Job or family commitments can fill nearly all of your time.  I do have a bit more time these days for personal interests than I did a few years ago. 

There used to a good variety of indirectly related projects I remember on BYOAC.  People were building things like photo booths, sheds, game rooms, home theatres and posting those up.  Nephasth’s darts hall is a current example of that kind of thing.  It doesn’t just have to be cabinets to post and share. 

I don’t think I’ll be starting any more builds this year, I have enough on my plate but I’m still excited about Vpins like Malenko’s or Gilrock’s or Laythe’s amazing hybrid or restorations like jennifer’s.  Thank you for sharing those I mean it, they really inspire me.

Oh yeah, I am also working on a comic book, again, not really related to the hobby except this comic will be about one of my builds.  I’ll post something of this in the future.

So the current stats say Average registrations per day:  15.57.  I’m not sure what the sample base for that is.  Is that for all time or some smaller time period?  Anyway at the very least new members are still coming on board.

The general murmur amongst some veterans seems to be the crowd don’t want to build their own machines and that Arcade1ups are the future of the hobby.  Maybe so, (I hope not).  The first word in the forum name BYOAC is “Build” Your Own Arcade Controls.
   
Are YOU a new member just freshly minted and reading this?  Introduce yourself and tell us (me) why you joined up?  Was it just for the banter, to ask questions? What is your interest in the hobby?  It’s not a trick question, I’m not trying to be clever I just want to know your thoughts.  The future of this hobby does not rest with long time members who are over building stuff, it rests (mainly) with fresh blood who have discovered or are re-discovering the joy and art of games from a different era.
 
I love those games not because I’m a gamer, I’m not skilled at playing them.  I love them for the art and incredible creativity that went into them.  Arcade games were designed to be challenging, so challenging that many were over in seconds or minutes at best for new players. I watched my friends master them when I was young.  I’m in awe of my friends here that are skilled arcade gamers.   


 

[out51d3r]

I'm new here, though the first time I lurked here was probably around 2000.  Settled with building sticks back then, due to lack of space and lack of funds to build a full cabinet.  Built a few sticks over the years.  Landed a pretty good job a couple of years ago, so now i'm looking at toys to spend my money on.  There's still several arcade games I play on a regular basis, so a cabinet will see use.

I'm the type of person that doesn't consider something to be "mine" unless I built it(or at least modded it), so I'm building instead of buying.  I've built joysticks and controllers of various types.  Been building computers for 25 years, and wrote my first program around 32 years ago.  Most of my project work involves either electronics or programming, so I won't have a problem on that side.  I'm mostly here to research building the cabinet itself, and to ask questions about that.  Working with wood isn't something I've done alot of.

[nitrogen_widget]

also, my kids are now at the point where I don't need to watch them all the time so I have more time to work on projects.

I am waiting to get out of this stage.  My daughter is too young to be left alone to her own vices.  The awesome thing though is she is starting to take interest when I am working on anything so I cannot wait until she can help me with building.

when i make them take a break from fortnite they will do some stuff with me.

[PL1]

So the current stats say Average registrations per day:  15.57.  I’m not sure what the sample base for that is.  Is that for all time or some smaller time period?  Anyway at the very least new members are still coming on board.

There are usually 6-10 new member accounts created on a typical day.
- Some post right away.
- Some are lurkers that log in, but don't post.
- Some are "sleepers" that go to the trouble of creating an account but they never log in.   
- And then . . . there are the spammers.         

Pretty sure that 15.57 number is the average since BYOAC started using SMF software in 2002.
- 2014-2018 average is 8.7 per day.
- The unusually high number of accounts created around 2011-2013 partly reflects a time when spammers increased targeting of forums and before forums found ways to make it harder for them to create accounts.

You can see the annual/monthly/daily numeric breakdown at the bottom of the stats page.
- Click on the icon on the left to show the stats for that year's months or that month's days.


Scott

[Ian]

I am done building for the sake of playing pacman again. I am with PBJ. I found love in restoring old games, but due to barcades and arcades popping up by me all the projects have dried up. So now I play pinball.

[Laythe]

When I first joined a few years ago, this forum was more active than it is now - and yet there also seemed to be a number of people with the feeling that the best days of this place were already gone, even back then.

In my own way, I'm stubborn, and won't take that hint.  This party's not over, I just got here and I'm not done.

It was more fun when there were more projects going on, absolutely.  I'd love to see that kind of traffic again.  I don't know if it will happen, I'm greatly cheered to see Ond shake the tree.  But even if it doesn't happen, I'm not going to give up or stop just because some other people did. 

Think about this:  Arcades died.  Most people left.  We're still here, and through creativity, sweat and pure enthusiasm, we make arcades live again.  Every member of this chosen community shares having survived that.  We're on the far side of that apocalypse already - and having been through that, I can't imagine that a slowdown in board traffic or fatigue of some of the old guard is going to be a reason to call it all off.

If Saint gets tired of hosting BYOAC, then maybe I'll admit this particular party's over.  But not till then.   

[Ond]

I'm new here, though the first time I lurked here was probably around 2000.  Settled with building sticks back then, due to lack of space and lack of funds to build a full cabinet.  Built a few sticks over the years.  Landed a pretty good job a couple of years ago, so now i'm looking at toys to spend my money on.  There's still several arcade games I play on a regular basis, so a cabinet will see use.

I'm the type of person that doesn't consider something to be "mine" unless I built it(or at least modded it), so I'm building instead of buying.  I've built joysticks and controllers of various types.  Been building computers for 25 years, and wrote my first program around 32 years ago.  Most of my project work involves either electronics or programming, so I won't have a problem on that side.  I'm mostly here to research building the cabinet itself, and to ask questions about that.  Working with wood isn't something I've done alot of.

Thanks for responding and welcome! A few more guys just like you who are interested in building could ramp up the projects activity again.  It's infectious you know the build scene, you get a few people with well documented, quality builds rolling and watch em all come out of the woodwork!
It sounds like you have a good background across a range of useful skills, if you’ve already built some controls the step up to a cabinet will feel natural.  If you haven’t already, think about equipping yourself with the basic tools to fashion cabinets with. A saw table and router are two things that come to mind.  Power tools have best practice usage for safety and precision, take the time to learn them and practise on scrap wood before committing to your project.  I look forward to reading about your plans and ideas for building.   

So the current stats say Average registrations per day:  15.57.  I’m not sure what the sample base for that is.  Is that for all time or some smaller time period?  Anyway at the very least new members are still coming on board.

There are usually 6-10 new member accounts created on a typical day.
- Some post right away.
- Some are lurkers that log in, but don't post.
- Some are "sleepers" that go to the trouble of creating an account but they never log in.   
- And then . . . there are the spammers.         

Pretty sure that 15.57 number is the average since BYOAC started using SMF software in 2002.
- 2014-2018 average is 8.7 per day.
- The unusually high number of accounts created around 2011-2013 partly reflects a time when spammers increased targeting of forums and before forums found ways to make it harder for them to create accounts.

You can see the annual/monthly/daily numeric breakdown at the bottom of the stats page.
- Click on the icon on the left to show the stats for that year's months or that month's days.


Scott

Thanks for clarifying that Scott,  I guess there are plenty more reasons to join the forum than the one I joined for.  In fact after all the time I’ve been here I’m only now starting to explore some of the other sub forums.  It’s naïve of me to think that most people sign up with a build focus.

I am done building for the sake of playing pacman again. I am with PBJ. I found love in restoring old games, but due to barcades and arcades popping up by me all the projects have dried up. So now I play pinball.

Nothing wrong with moving on to playing pinball, I'd be happy ending up the same way, but not just yet.

When I first joined a few years ago, this forum was more active than it is now - and yet there also seemed to be a number of people with the feeling that the best days of this place were already gone, even back then.

In my own way, I'm stubborn, and won't take that hint.  This party's not over, I just got here and I'm not done.

It was more fun when there were more projects going on, absolutely.  I'd love to see that kind of traffic again.  I don't know if it will happen, I'm greatly cheered to see Ond shake the tree.  But even if it doesn't happen, I'm not going to give up or stop just because some other people did. 

Think about this:  Arcades died.  Most people left.  We're still here, and through creativity, sweat and pure enthusiasm, we make arcades live again.  Every member of this chosen community shares having survived that.  We're on the far side of that apocalypse already - and having been through that, I can't imagine that a slowdown in board traffic or fatigue of some of the old guard is going to be a reason to call it all off.

If Saint gets tired of hosting BYOAC, then maybe I'll admit this particular party's over.  But not till then.   

When I read your forecast for your current projects likely progress I was greatly cheered.  There will be plenty from you to keep me happily reading for ages. Phew!   You just keep doing your thing buddy, I’ll be watching.

[Jimbo]

I've been a member over 10 years.  My first project was shocking, but it's still used at work daily now and gets hammered every lunchtime so I'm still proud as heck about it.  My second project is still ongoing after about 5 years (jimbovision rotating cp cab)... my third project (bartop for kids) was done in about 3 months from start to finish.

I don't know what it is, but kids/family/work/other hobbies take up a lot of time.  I co-run a company with ~50 staff, have 3 kids (10, 8 and 2), enjoy spending time with the wife, like composing music, playing keyboard and guitar, playing snooker and golf, watching cool tv series and sport on tv.  I seriously don't know how I get *any* time to do BYOAC projects..... but somehow I do... but it comes in phases.  I'll have 3 months where I touch nothing, then I'll get the urge again and do an intense 3 week period where my bartop or whatever is my #1 focus.  I'm like an addicted maniac.

Lately I've been robbed, had over £1000 tools stolen, am redoing my garage into a workshop and game room, waiting for new garage doors, having to put up stud walls and do electrics etc.

Also, I think I'm becoming more of an arcade purist as I get older.  I used to not care too much as long as I could play the game.  Now I'm thinking I want a jamma cab with some original PCBs in so I don't need to care about emulation glitches/speed and lag etc.  I want to know the score I got on Commando was the real deal, on the real hardware.   I'm also swaying towards trying to get a couple of old original arcade machines.  I've recently joined ukvac forums... to be honest, I'm on there much more than I'm on here these days.  I'm shamefully even thinking for time-sakes I'll buy and customise an existing generic jamma cab.  But if I can't find one, that'll be a build on here coming soon no doubt.

That said, I still want to finish my jimbovision rotating cab, and I will... at some point.  Life just takes a lot of time up!

I agree recently this forum just seems to have a load of posts about groovymame.  There used to be loads of project builds going on.  Maybe we're just older now and slowing down, hah.

For those noobs starting out on your first builds.  Don't be silent.  There are lots of experienced people here.  Personally I got a lot out of their advice and opinions.  It sure is annoying when a "First post - look at my completed build" thread pops up.  I don't even bother looking at those.  Why post that instead of sharing your experience as you go?   Maybe facebook is taking over.  There is far more activity on that with people posting their builds in facebook groups than there are on here.  Which is a shame because FB sucks.

[BGoulette]

I'll throw in a couple of cents' worth of words. I've been registered here for...well, it feels like a long time, but I have yet to build anything. Anything. I started a fight stick a few years back and, after three iterations, left all the parts in a box that's now covered with sawdust and, uh, dust-dust. I have Sketchup files I've designed from the ground up for an upright and a bartop. Those models are, in my uninformed opinion, fairly detailed. Detailed enough to create 1:1 line drawings for parts profiles. In fact, regarding that aforementioned bartop, I've got templates waiting to be picked up later today.

I've been tweaking software for quite some time, and I find I'm already not happy with it. That's largely irrelevant and of note only to me. Maybe the biggest hurdle for me is money. With a bride and two young boys, justifying expenses on such things is a hard sell. Even to myself, sometimes. Having admitted all that, though, I'll agree with Ond's frustration about the dwindling amount of build posts and updates. That's one thing I'm hoping to get right (in lieu of all the things I know I'll get wrong): photograph everything a bunch of times and post it all. All. With meaningful commentary, so it's not just a useless collection of pixels, but something that contributes. Mistakes, too, when they're noteworthy.

Because I don't know what else to contribute, I'm including a link to an imgur album of the shed I built in my backyard. It's the most involved project I've done, and it has nothing to do with arcades or controls or anything interesting.

[out51d3r]

If you haven’t already, think about equipping yourself with the basic tools to fashion cabinets with. A saw table and router are two things that come to mind.  Power tools have best practice usage for safety and precision, take the time to learn them and practise on scrap wood before committing to your project.  I look forward to reading about your plans and ideas for building.   

Unfortunately, table saw is probably out as I live in a condo, and don't have a great place for it.  My balcony is large(around 8'x20') enough to do my woodworking on, but I wouldn't want to store it out there(and don't have anyplace else great for it).  How necessary would you consider it?

I'm thinking circular saw, jigsaw, and router would probably cover me.  I might farm the cutting out to a cnc place instead, undecided on that.  I'd feel like a bit less of a man if I did that, but handling the design/assembly/electronics/software would probably be good enough for me to call it mine.

[Gilrock]

Yeah sometimes I wonder if many people even read the build posts.  I know most of the time I'm just posting what I've done but sometimes I'm looking for feedback and those seem to be the posts where I keep hitting refresh and nothing.  Then I stare at recent posts and watch 100 posts arguing about Arcade1Up roll by and I'm thinking guys legitimate question over here...anyone? LOL

[Haze]

It's the same as any scene, without some innovation it will stagnate.  As people grow older, with no real influx of younger minds + ideas because the nature of the place is alien to them, eventually it dies out.

This is very much applicable to arcades, they're really not a big part of culture anymore, and haven't been for many years, so fewer and fewer people are growing up with a desire to replicate an experience because they never had it.

You saw the same with MAME, how the project has shifted direction, how the things being covered reflect the direction the industry went, with more casino stye things, and of course the coverage of the home systems; those are the things people grew up with and remember, although even then not really with the same fond memories in all cases (we've had plenty of positive comments over the recent work tho)  This shift was necessary because arcade emulation was a complete dead end, the interest isn't there.

The 'build it yourself' scene has seen a similar shift, people these days are more likely to want to build replica cases that resemble consoles they grew up with, not arcade machines.  As grossly unsuitable as they are for emulation, people want to build cases for Pis and the like, not massive hunks of wood; even a lot of the 'arcade machine' builds people are doing are small scale gimmick things that they don't really intend to play properly.

[MikeyJ122]

I can only speak for myself here, but I agree with some of the comments. As much as I love the old arcade games, I ALSO love newer games. If my machine ONLY plays older stuff, then it will get a little "boring" at times. That's why (despite what some people on here have advised against), I'm planning on building a machine that can do a bit of everything. So no matter what type of "mood" I'm in, I'll have something that's interesting.

That's why I am actually planning on going with the xarcade boards as opposed to IPacs. I can hook up newer systems to my arcade controls EASIER with the Xarcade route than with the things Ultimarc has to offer. My plan is to have a 4 player control panel (with 2 or 3 Xarcade boards), that can play everything that's on my PC (Mame, NES, etc) as well as OG Xbox, 360, Gamecube, and Nintendo Switch. I could get a PS4 or Xbone if I wanted, but the Switch has a lot of great games coming that'll scratch my itch. I just feel the xarcade boards are more user friendly for these types of transitions.

I was playing Diablo 3 ultimate edition on the Switch yesterday with the wife and kids (we love that game). It's the PERFECT kind of game to play with arcade controls, so why not? 4 people playing Diablo with arcade controls... Yes please. Not to mention Mortal Kombat 11 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 are on the horizon.

I just look at it like this, the games of yesterday were great, yes. But if I want to provide a truly unique arcade experience I cant rely on 30 year old games. If arcades were still popular, they would of evolved, so I want to as well. It might not be the "easiest" machine to operate out there, but itll be unique.

[TOMMYGUN]

I will build late this year with detailed instructions and full video coverage, right now i am in a hospital so can'tbuild, only dream about a project.

[pbj]

Are you gonna make it?

[Ond]

I agree recently this forum just seems to have a load of posts about groovymame.  There used to be loads of project builds going on.  Maybe we're just older now and slowing down, hah.

There is a lot going on with CRT emudriver and Groovymame.  Actually I'm really glad about that because apart from allowing me to use a CRT TV in my project the push and interest in Groovymame is all about a better gaming experience using Mame.  Mainstream MAME may well have become bloated with all manner of things.  But if you take a latest release of MAME and dust it with Groovymame magic the result is impressive!  Kudos to those driving that initiative 

But now my criticism... I continually hear guys in those sub forums saying "I've started my project using Groovymame and I have all these questions  But no posted project ,no pictures, well at the most very few project build details.  So you've started a cabinet build but aren't posting the project, why the ---fudgesicle--- not?  Newsflash!  We are not a separate groups of people we are all BYOAC brothers and sisters.  Post your build progress and SHARE.

If you haven’t already, think about equipping yourself with the basic tools to fashion cabinets with. A saw table and router are two things that come to mind.  Power tools have best practice usage for safety and precision, take the time to learn them and practise on scrap wood before committing to your project.  I look forward to reading about your plans and ideas for building.   

Unfortunately, table saw is probably out as I live in a condo, and don't have a great place for it.  My balcony is large(around 8'x20') enough to do my woodworking on, but I wouldn't want to store it out there(and don't have anyplace else great for it).  How necessary would you consider it?

I'm thinking circular saw, jigsaw, and router would probably cover me.  I might farm the cutting out to a cnc place instead, undecided on that.  I'd feel like a bit less of a man if I did that, but handling the design/assembly/electronics/software would probably be good enough for me to call it mine.

There’s nothing wrong with farming out the cutting of panels or buying kits etc.  If you’re building, you're building.  You can still grow you carpentry skills along the way.

Because I don't know what else to contribute, I'm including a link to an imgur album of the shed I built in my backyard. It's the most involved project I've done, and it has nothing to do with arcades or controls or anything interesting.

That's a beautiful little shed, build and joinery quality is high my man.  You have the skills.  I hope you can get building your dream cabinet soon.

.....  Then I stare at recent posts and watch 100 posts arguing about Arcade1Up roll by and I'm thinking guys legitimate question over here...anyone? LOL

Arcade1Ups are not a bad thing IMO, it's just a bit of a shame they are the main thing lately.  let's change that.

It's the same as any scene, without some innovation it will stagnate.  As people grow older, with no real influx of younger minds + ideas because the nature of the place is alien to them, eventually it dies out.

This is very much applicable to arcades, they're really not a big part of culture anymore, and haven't been for many years, so fewer and fewer people are growing up with a desire to replicate an experience because they never had it.

You saw the same with MAME, how the project has shifted direction, how the things being covered reflect the direction the industry went, with more casino stye things, and of course the coverage of the home systems; those are the things people grew up with and remember, although even then not really with the same fond memories in all cases (we've had plenty of positive comments over the recent work tho)  This shift was necessary because arcade emulation was a complete dead end, the interest isn't there.

The 'build it yourself' scene has seen a similar shift, people these days are more likely to want to build replica cases that resemble consoles they grew up with, not arcade machines.  As grossly unsuitable as they are for emulation, people want to build cases for Pis and the like, not massive hunks of wood; even a lot of the 'arcade machine' builds people are doing are small scale gimmick things that they don't really intend to play properly.

I think Laythe addressed this best in his comments.  But I will add that BYOAC and popular culture are not and never were an equitable or reciprocal thing.  BYOAC exists BECAUSE the arcades died out.  I guess the real question is, will younger generations that never knew arcades (or even early consoles) take up the interest?  They said Vinyl was dead in a similar way to your analysis of culture.  Then a generation that never knew or grew up with vinyl embraced it, causing a revival and now continuing increase in Vinyl production.  We are not about trends.  Although we may have our own internal trends in appetite for hands on work, or some tiredness with overplayed games, new members continue to join at a good rate.  "Massive hunk of wood" is just emotive.  Controls for gaming are either comfortable for sit down or stand up play or they're not.  So the old guard are bored of the games they grew up with?  That’s OK.  That doesn’t diminish the inherent magic in arcade games.  The magic just needs to be re-discovered by a new crowd.

I can only speak for myself here, but I agree with some of the comments. As much as I love the old arcade games, I ALSO love newer games. If my machine ONLY plays older stuff, then it will get a little "boring" at times. That's why (despite what some people on here have advised against), I'm planning on building a machine that can do a bit of everything. So no matter what type of "mood" I'm in, I'll have something that's interesting.

That's why I am actually planning on going with the xarcade boards as opposed to IPacs. I can hook up newer systems to my arcade controls EASIER with the Xarcade route than with the things Ultimarc has to offer. My plan is to have a 4 player control panel (with 2 or 3 Xarcade boards), that can play everything that's on my PC (Mame, NES, etc) as well as OG Xbox, 360, Gamecube, and Nintendo Switch. I could get a PS4 or Xbone if I wanted, but the Switch has a lot of great games coming that'll scratch my itch. I just feel the xarcade boards are more user friendly for these types of transitions.

I was playing Diablo 3 ultimate edition on the Switch yesterday with the wife and kids (we love that game). It's the PERFECT kind of game to play with arcade controls, so why not? 4 people playing Diablo with arcade controls... Yes please. Not to mention Mortal Kombat 11 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 are on the horizon.

I just look at it like this, the games of yesterday were great, yes. But if I want to provide a truly unique arcade experience I cant rely on 30 year old games. If arcades were still popular, they would of evolved, so I want to as well. It might not be the "easiest" machine to operate out there, but itll be unique.

Build it Mikey, I'll be cheering you on.

I will build late this year with detailed instructions and full video coverage, right now i am in a hospital so can'tbuild, only dream about a project.

Are you gonna make it?

+1, what PBJ said.

[Mike A]

I have been too busy with projects for other people the last few months. I really enjoy helping other people. It is hard for me to do any real building in the winter anyways. Dragging full sheets of ply into my basement is a real PITA. It is easier when it warms up a little. I can work in my barn. Right now I am just doing maintenance. My Vanguard has sounds missing. I have a chip that burned out so I ordered a replacement. I am refurbishing the joystick on my Pac-Man cabaret. A couple of my cabs are still set on freeplay with no coin mechs. They came that way when I bought them. I need to reverse that. I still have 2 project cabs at a friend's house in Minnesota. When the weather improves I need to head up there and pick them up. I have a Centuri cab that I am restoring...slowly. It was a Vanguard converted to a Bowling game. The sides were beat to hell so I stripped them down, and then winter set in. I will finish that up in the springtime. I think I am going to make it a Phoenix cab. I have at least three other major projects in the pipeline. I decided to use the winter time to do the maintenance.

[markc74]

I agree with pretty much most of the posts here. I've been on here for a looooong time - since 2005 but a lurker before then. It's quite fun to look back on the first full project I fully posted it here back in 2009 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=92156.0).

There are less full build threads here now - a lot of peeps seem to post finished builds  but I still read most of them even if I don't post on them. I play way less than I used to (kids n all) but damn it I do enjoy building machines. I think I have a few left in me as there's some cool stuff I'd like to do. I've got a Pi mini build and a vpin in an early planning stage that I'll be starting before Summer and an off the wall idea for something a bit more different but hopefully keeping the vibe.

Groovymame keeps being awesome and with new lightgun tech potentially on the way then things aren't dead yet.

TBH the real reason I'm here is to see if OND actually ever finishes his cab or if he's just trying to get the record for longest build... 

[MikeyJ122]

@OND,

I WILL build it!!! That's for certain!! It's just a matter of financing right now. I've been kinda doing the Johnny Cash method this far "One piece at a time." I actually just bought the steering wheel for racing games (just waiting for it to arrive). I was hoping to put a good chunk of money into with our tax returns, but after crunching the numbers... Adulting sucks sometimes, lol.

As of now, my PC is done and I have a tankstick, so I CAN (and do) play games. But it's only 2 players (not the 4 that I want). It's also not in a cabinet, but I do have a dedicated "station" set up in our house, it's just not real pretty at the moment.

What I already have
1. PC with ALL the emulators I want from MAME to N64 and PSX. Plus I have Mala installed and am happy with the "presentation." It actually plays You Could be mine by Guns N Roses as the "main" display for my machine.
2. TV
3. Tankstick
4. All the systems I plan on hooking up to it (OG Xbox, 360, Gamecube and the Switch).
5. I just bought the racing wheel

The things I will need are as follows
1. Wood
2. 2 more Xarcade boards and control wires (I plan on gutting my tankstick, so that'll be 3 boards total in the machine. I want ALL of my buttons)
3. Adapters for OG Xbox, 360, and the Switch. As sell a the box to switch between the different systems.
4. 4 IL Eurosticks, buttons, zippy stick (4 way games) and a spinner.
5. Aimtrack lightgun (at least one, possibly two).
6. Artwork for the cab
7. Marquee


So its gonna happen eventually. Hopefully sooner as opposed to later. I'm sure my wife wants it done also (that way I'll stop talking about it so much, lol).

[Pacmaniac]

I feel for the members who simply don't have the time to be building right now.  Job or family commitments can fill nearly all of your time.  I do have a bit more time these days for personal interests than I did a few years ago. 

There used to a good variety of indirectly related projects I remember on BYOAC.  People were building things like photo booths, sheds, game rooms, home theatres and posting those up.  Nephasth’s darts hall is a current example of that kind of thing.  It doesn’t just have to be cabinets to post and share. 

I don’t think I’ll be starting any more builds this year, I have enough on my plate but I’m still excited about Vpins like Malenko’s or Gilrock’s or Laythe’s amazing hybrid or restorations like jennifer’s.  Thank you for sharing those I mean it, they really inspire me.

Oh yeah, I am also working on a comic book, again, not really related to the hobby except this comic will be about one of my builds.  I’ll post something of this in the future.

So the current stats say Average registrations per day:  15.57.  I’m not sure what the sample base for that is.  Is that for all time or some smaller time period?  Anyway at the very least new members are still coming on board.

The general murmur amongst some veterans seems to be the crowd don’t want to build their own machines and that Arcade1ups are the future of the hobby.  Maybe so, (I hope not).  The first word in the forum name BYOAC is “Build” Your Own Arcade Controls.
   
Are YOU a new member just freshly minted and reading this?  Introduce yourself and tell us (me) why you joined up?  Was it just for the banter, to ask questions? What is your interest in the hobby?  It’s not a trick question, I’m not trying to be clever I just want to know your thoughts.  The future of this hobby does not rest with long time members who are over building stuff, it rests (mainly) with fresh blood who have discovered or are re-discovering the joy and art of games from a different era.
 
I love those games not because I’m a gamer, I’m not skilled at playing them.  I love them for the art and incredible creativity that went into them.  Arcade games were designed to be challenging, so challenging that many were over in seconds or minutes at best for new players. I watched my friends master them when I was young.  I’m in awe of my friends here that are skilled arcade gamers.

I'm still relatively new here, all things being equal. I spent the last couple of years scouring these boards and few other places as I contemplated a build. I joined up once I got started b/c I felt like I'd have something to contribute to the conversations. It's also given me the chance to ask a few targeted questions when I've run into obstacles, etc.

Through the process, I've found that I really enjoy the process of building, and picking up a bunch of new knowledge and skills along the way.

My interest in the hobby goes back a long way. I always had a fascination with some of these games-Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Journey (of all things), etc. I grew up playing these games as a little kid in the mall or the places my parents would take me. And even then, I thought the coolest thing would be to have one of those machines in our house. That little inkling of an idea never really went away.

Now, the impetus behind this was one part that, one part seeing if I could cobble together the necessary carpentry, electronics and software skills to put something together that was both functional and at least not an eyesore in our basement. Then another part b/c playing these games with a real joystick and arcade button set up is head and shoulders above playing on a handheld controller or game pad to me. And finally, the chance to share these games with my daughter and have something friends and I could do at our house. To play games with my buddies from college that we reminisced about (b/c they were from our youth) but never had the chance to play together.

So, that's sort of how it came together for me.

[TOMMYGUN]

Are you gonna make it?

I am in a mental hospital so yeah pretty sure i will pull trough, and yes i will make a brand new retro arcade cab.

[Zebra]

Here is your answer. People are not building cabs because they are all playing in VR arcades....




It's crazy tech. You put on your HTC goggles so you can't see that you're holding a dildo instead of a light gun, then it takes you to a virtual arcade which you can walk around and play emulated games as if they were a real cab.... or something.

Us guys in the real world are out of date. Everyone else now lives in a virtual world. At least there should be more parking available at Trader Joe's....

[Haze]

I think Laythe addressed this best in his comments.  But I will add that BYOAC and popular culture are not and never were an equitable or reciprocal thing.  BYOAC exists BECAUSE the arcades died out.  I guess the real question is, will younger generations that never knew arcades (or even early consoles) take up the interest?  They said Vinyl was dead in a similar way to your analysis of culture.  Then a generation that never knew or grew up with vinyl embraced it, causing a revival and now continuing increase in Vinyl production.  We are not about trends.  Although we may have our own internal trends in appetite for hands on work, or some tiredness with overplayed games, new members continue to join at a good rate.  "Massive hunk of wood" is just emotive.  Controls for gaming are either comfortable for sit down or stand up play or they're not.  So the old guard are bored of the games they grew up with?  That’s OK.  That doesn’t diminish the inherent magic in arcade games.  The magic just needs to be re-discovered by a new crowd.

I think what you're seeing is the answer to that.

BYOAC existed for a few generations, who didn't want it to die out / couldn't accept that it had died out, but the generations beyond that don't have that attachment, their attachments are to other things.

So what you end up seeing are evolutions of the art form; taking bits and pieces they see in the culture and like, but putting their own spin on it, mixing it with things from their generation etc.

Even as long of the longest involved people in developing MAME at this point even I was in the middle of those generations, most of the older generation won't even check their emails more than twice a month at this point as they're at a different stage in their life.

[Gilrock]

I'm just not seeing that many younger folks that know how to run a piece of wood through a table saw.

[jennifer]

Firstly before you  go all scalp hunting on older members talking about raising the bar and overbuilding, You may want to stop and consider what it is you are wishing, Speaking for myself Jenn knows full well what I am capable of and contributing, And it is not just her fun little chatbox dances Pesonally Jennifer is offended at the accusation. Spilling secrets, or hanging Christmas lights on a arcade1up whatever? think about the group as a collective, what is it Malenco, Pbj, Napseth (and everyone else here:applaud:) are NOT saying, Is it knowing full well that's what makes them great builders not only as a people but just as importantly as a collective community.... Take a look in the mirror if you need that kind of overbuilt validation... As for you Haze that is just stupid and you are wrong.

[Gilrock]

Hey if someone does need to hang Christmas lights on anything I will claim to be an expert in that area.  My house:

[Mike A]

Is your last name Griswold?

[MikeyJ122]

The problem I see with the next generation or generations, is they have to be exposed at an early age to arcade controls in order for them to "stick." I can only speak from my personal experience here, but I have a 14 year old and a 3 year old. The teenager just doesnt see the appeal or "point" to playing games with those controls, or in that manner. She would rather use a controller and play sitting back on the couch. That's what she has grown up with, that's her "ultimate" gaming style, anything else is less than ideal.

My 3 year old son on the other hand has grown up with my machine in the living room, he grabs and plays with the controls for fun. So I think I have a better chance at making him love arcades as opposed to my daughter. Which the only difference is he was exposed to them at a younger age.

[ZTylerDurden717]

I'm just not seeing that many younger folks that know how to run a piece of wood through a table saw.

Ok so before I start I'll want to comment on this one.  I'll tell you what: the younger gen loves gaming...and getting high.  Using a saw of any sort while being completely toasted probably isn't gonna work out. 

Anyway, I feel like I should brighten the situation here.  My generation, *coughmillennials*, we ADORE arcade cabinets.  Barcades are super popular hangout spots because guess what, no one really gives a ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- about an Irish Tavern themed bar.  What does that even mean especially if you don't serve food?  Point being, arcade cabinets are still heavily admired especially for my generation.  Standing up while playing makes it social and healthier (I know that sounds cheesy but it's better than sitting on your ass).  I will admit I'm not the biggest fan of some OG titles but Sega Naomi games rev my engine and strike that gaming chord for me.

Anyway, back to building my Ond cab

[pbj]

Right, neat.  So, does anyone know of any cabinet friendly newer games that can be played on a Pi?  Streets of Rage Remake is kind of doable.

[Gilrock]

Yeah I don't know all the interests of millennials but I do have a son that's 19.  As much as I tried I could not get him interested in learning how to use all the cool power tool toys I have.  I mean I've got a CNC router, metal lathe, 2 wood lathes, drill press, bandsaw, table saw, and tons of hand power tools.  The main thing building wise I got him into was 3D printers.  I bought a cheaper $300 printer and within 2 weeks he wanted a better one.  I found plans for an Ultimaker 2 clone so I said I'll buy the parts if you build it.  So he used the 1st printer to print all the parts needed to build a better printer.  I never touched it and I don't even know how to run it.  He prints out better parts than any of my older friends online in a 3D printer group.  If I need a part I just design it and send him the file.  Other than that I watched him play RocketLeague for at least 3 years straight and before that it was Minecraft and I attended two different Minecon's with him.  But he is awesome at writing software and is in his 1st year in Engineering school for Computer Science.  At one point he setup his own website selling Minecraft plugins.  I like to see kids get outdoors more often.  I was able to encourage my son all the way through Scouts and he got Eagle Scout at 17.  So when I complain about millennials I'm really talking about my own kid and his friends...lol.

[shaolindrunkard]

The hobby still excites me, but like a lot of people I think it comes in ebbs and flows. There is the time issue for sure, but more than that is the motivation issue. Its really hard for me to go into my freezing cold basement to work on arcade projects during the winter. I've got 3 mini cabs that are waiting for me in the basement that are fully built from a woodworking standpoint. Just haven't had the drive to continue right now. But I will once the spring hits. I went down to do laundry the other day and felt the call. Got me thinking about them again...

[meyer980]

I'm an old-ish millennial (31 yrs) and have very little memory of visiting arcades. There weren't many in my area. The first video game I ever played was Frogger - but on a PC!

That said, I love old stuff (someone mentioned vinyl, I collect it) and after watching King of Kong and Wreck It Ralph, couldn't wait to build a full-size cabinet. I'm glad I did! But to do that, you need disposable income and space to store it. I can see the appeal of a 1up arcade to people my age, sharing a single bedroom apartment, and paying off student loans. The space issue is exactly why I ended up donating my full-size cabinet to a friend with a pizza restaurant. Now, I just build miniatures.

I might not be ordinary; I love learning how games work, how they're wired, etc. But to someone who just wants to PLAY, why build? Buy the $25 handheld thing at Target or the $300 1UP.

P.S. Gilrock's house sounds like the place to be. Is there a formal adoption process before I can move in?

[SpatzST]

I just don’t think many people are interested in building anymore. They want to be able to buy something that affords them a quick and easy availability to play games. That doesn’t mean they won’t hack it and add stuff to it, I just don’t think they’re interested in building full-size cabinets anymore, based on the popularity of kits, CNC plans and Arcade1Ups. It just is what it is.

I’ll drop my two cents as a noob.  Seeing the quality that some people achieved made it intimidating to even start posting.  Hell I was inches from buying a cab until I didn’t hear back from the company on some specifics I wanted.  That led me here, and my stubbornness for wanting things to be a certain way forced me to try.

Now that I’ve started, I think I’m may end up enjoying building more than playing games   The stuff this hobby has forced me to learn is fascinating, I look at the world differently now, constantly wondering how the hell people made all the stuff around me.  Maybe I’m in the minority, but up until I started I guess I was in the majority. 

Seeing step by step instructions on how to build things is what gave me the courage to start, I think it’s why Flynn’s arcade and OND’s Metropolis is so heavily copied/used.

I always thought it would be a kick to see a BYOAC collaborated machine with step by step how it was built, put together the best designers, have them explain how they do it, pass it to the best builders, have them show how they do it, then paint, then wiring, then art.  Hell I bet you could even get a go fund me from the community to build it.  Now that would have definitely got me going quicker!

building for me is more fun than the outcome.  I can certainly relate.

[ZTylerDurden717]

P.S. Gilrock's house sounds like the place to be. Is there a formal adoption process before I can move in?

+1 I'll provide sound financial advice and be a good son as well.

[Gilrock]

P.S. Gilrock's house sounds like the place to be. Is there a formal adoption process before I can move in?

+1 I'll provide sound financial advice and be a good son as well.

Haha...yeah financial advice....that's an area I struggle...when I hit 50 and my dad passed I started using my credit cards more.  I was like hey I might only have 20 years to live I want to have fun now I don't have time to save the money. 

[yotsuya]

Honestly, I think a lot of builders in my situation have graduated to collecting actual cabinets and just simply move on from this site. I stay because I like most of you peeps. But I know a fair amount of people online and in real life who started here but no longer check in because they collect real machines or have become pinheads. Once you get into the real things, you see one cab that plays a great game perfectly is optimal to one that plays 5000 games with compromises.

[SpatzST]

I'm just not seeing that many younger folks that know how to run a piece of wood through a table saw.

Ok so before I start I'll want to comment on this one.  I'll tell you what: the younger gen loves gaming...and getting high.  Using a saw of any sort while being completely toasted probably isn't gonna work out. 

Anyway, I feel like I should brighten the situation here.  My generation, *coughmillennials*, we ADORE arcade cabinets.  Barcades are super popular hangout spots because guess what, no one really gives a ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- about an Irish Tavern themed bar.  What does that even mean especially if you don't serve food?  Point being, arcade cabinets are still heavily admired especially for my generation.  Standing up while playing makes it social and healthier (I know that sounds cheesy but it's better than sitting on your ass).  I will admit I'm not the biggest fan of some OG titles but Sega Naomi games rev my engine and strike that gaming chord for me.

Anyway, back to building my Ond cab

I built my first arcade control panel after visiting a barcade.  Now I want to build a sitdown fighter cab after visiting a regular arcade.

[Ond]

I can't understand Jenn's post.....I think I need an interpreter 

Some interesting reading and feedback.  Just to be clear, I'm not taking a swipe at the old guard here for not building much anymore.  Many of them have built, documented and completed numerous projects over the years - more than I've yet to achieve.  Many of these guys already have a successful build history behind them and much in the way of contributions to the community here.  Moving on to genuine collections or tinkering with existing ones seems a natural progression to me.  My first ranty post was me trying to reconcile the continuing influx of new members with such a slowing down of current or new builds.  Comments back have given me a few answers to that, so thanks. 

There's some irony in me getting all nostalgic about 'the good ol days' of a forum whose key reason for existing is nostalgia.

I'm excited to be a current builder.  Plus I'm heartened to see new folks coming in excited as well.  Building for me is also more fun than the outcome.

[pbj]

I'm an old-ish millennial (31 yrs) and have very little memory of visiting arcades.

Millennials are 25-39, so I'm not sure how 31 is "old-ish".  People do use "millennial" when they mean, "those damn kids" which I find humorous given that most of them are solidly in their 30s now.  Anyway, by the time you were 12, arcades were done and you were in the "two games in the corner if you're lucky" era.

[Malenko]

If you work with your hands, you'll never be rich but you'll never go hungry.

[jdbailey1206]

Millennials are 25-39...

Clarify when you plan on grouping Gen X'ers with Millennials you monster.

[Drnick]

Eventually all the joy of putting in stupid hour weeks will be made worthwhile with a redundancy payment.  After which I can actually get on with my planned build. Because I will have A) Time and B) Money 

You guys have a choice.

Sorry Jennifer for taking your quote out of context here,   But it's something my so called Boss at work has said to us on innumerable occasions. Always makes me chuckle

Ok so before I start I'll want to comment on this one.  I'll tell you what: the younger gen loves gaming...and getting high.  Using a saw of any sort while being completely toasted probably isn't gonna work out. 

Quoted for Truth 

Woo I'm a Generation X 

[Gilrock]

I just keep making up my own names for the generations and maybe someday there will be a graph that says "Source: Gilrock"....lol

[opt2not]

GenX’rs are the best. Right inbetween 2 “entitled” generations.

[MikeyJ122]

Millennials are 25-39...

Clarify when you plan on grouping Gen X'ers with Millennials you monster.

I dislike these defined parameters. I was born in 1981, so according to this chart... I'm a millennial. Although I have more in common with the previous generation. I'm 37 years old, married with 3 kids. I listen to 80s and 90s music, played in arcades, my first console was an Atari 2600. Hardly "millennial" imo.

[Ian]

Millennials are 25-39...

Clarify when you plan on grouping Gen X'ers with Millennials you monster.

who cares 

[pbj]

Depends on the source but most draw the line at 1980.  My wife and I are right on either side  of it, so I do enjoy teasing her about being a bitter Gen Xer.

For trend setting purposes, you stop being relevant at 27.

 

[Zebra]

Yeah I don't know all the interests of millennials but I do have a son that's 19.  As much as I tried I could not get him interested in learning how to use all the cool power tool toys I have.  I mean I've got a CNC router, metal lathe, 2 wood lathes, drill press, bandsaw, table saw, and tons of hand power tools.  The main thing building wise I got him into was 3D printers.  I bought a cheaper $300 printer and within 2 weeks he wanted a better one.  I found plans for an Ultimaker 2 clone so I said I'll buy the parts if you build it.  So he used the 1st printer to print all the parts needed to build a better printer.  I never touched it and I don't even know how to run it.  He prints out better parts than any of my older friends online in a 3D printer group.  If I need a part I just design it and send him the file.  Other than that I watched him play RocketLeague for at least 3 years straight and before that it was Minecraft and I attended two different Minecon's with him.  But he is awesome at writing software and is in his 1st year in Engineering school for Computer Science.  At one point he setup his own website selling Minecraft plugins.  I like to see kids get outdoors more often.  I was able to encourage my son all the way through Scouts and he got Eagle Scout at 17.  So when I complain about millennials I'm really talking about my own kid and his friends...lol.

I completely lost interest in all video games when I was 19. That was college time. Parties, drinking and woman. I didn't become interested again until I bought my own home when I was 27. Arcade cabs were the last thing I cared about.

[Howard_Casto]

Depends on the source but most draw the line at 1980.  My wife and I are right on either side  of it, so I do enjoy teasing her about being a bitter Gen Xer.

For trend setting purposes, you stop being relevant at 27.

 

Yeah that chart is totally wrong.  I'm born in 79... I've been called gen x my entire life until around 5 or 6 years ago when a few idgits started calling my generation millennials.  Look we weren't born on or near the millennium so even for those younger than me the term still doesn't make any sense.  All I know is anyone significantly older or younger than me sucks and as a result my generation rules. 

[jdbailey1206]

Yeah that chart is totally wrong.

[pbj]

Look we weren't born on or near the millennium so even for those younger than me the term still doesn't make any sense.

You came of age around the time year 2000 rolled around.  That's the cut-off.

 

[Gilrock]

I always thought I was a BabyBoomer but that says I'm a GenXer.  I'm close to the transition so I'm calling myself a BoomXer.

[Malenko]

For trend setting purposes, you stop being relevant at 27.

Joke's on you, I was never relevant.

[schmerzkaufen]

Some call us late70ers-early80ers 'Xennials', portmanteau term and generation.

This morning I had an appointment at the IRS (or more precisely at my country's social security bureau that's as voracious and vicious as our IRS) to endure for half and hour a boomer lady working over retirement age, getting angry at me because she didn't know tf how their own crappy website works, the one I'm supposed to use to pay the contribution for her upcoming queen-size pension. Had to resist kicking her fat ass off that chair and steal her damn job and salary in order to ease mine and many fellow contributor's lives.

As a Xennial I feel like my real life ended in 1999, so I can't resist but look almost exclusively at the stuff of my past and waste what's left of my money on obsolete hardware 'n pop culture stuff, you know, to forget this 21st Shitury is even a thing.
Still, what's changed this 2010's decade is that I cannot buy these old pcbs and cartridges anymore, as they exchange for absolutely ridiculous money.
What's left is emulation and restoring or building the hardware environment.

But I did the 'Xennial thing', not build a legit custom cab with the woodwork, solder and CRT tinkering, but find a peculiar LCD that manages off-60Hz refreshes like its mother slept with a CRT, and a PC that can do GroovyMAME like a boss.
Not like I wouldn't enjoy a custom or modified cab proper, but that's just too much hassle and additional cost for the same thing gameplay-wise.
In fact as long as the emu side is working to play the games as intended (minus the beautiful phosphors but heh) I'm happy-enough, I feel that's the more important part.
(also I rotate the screen pretty often, and in a cab unless you manage some fashion of easy rotation mechanism, well, it's really annoying)

Not satisfied with my stick and buttons tho, but that's one thing I'm willing to fix asap and doesn't represent a massive investment in time and money.

[Mike A]

I think somebody needs a hug.

[jdbailey1206]

I think somebody needs a hug.

Right?  It was just a joke to PBJ.  Didn't think ya'll would get offended. 

To get this thread back on track I will post, Ond, that I took a class two months ago on how to use a CNC machine.  I want to learn so I can CNC out a Star Wars cab and build one from scratch to house arcade Star Wars games.  But like I said...time and money.

[gildahl]

Well, I built the BYOAC of my dreams in 2012.  It came out spectacular and I thoroughly enjoy it.  I also have a room scale VR system and do console and high-end PC gaming too, but the arcade machine fits into the mix seamlessly, gets played regularly, and I don't suspect that will change with any new gaming tech that comes along.  There's no question that nostalgia played an important role in my building the machine.  I was in my wonder years during the late '70s and early '80s, so that happened to be a big part of MY motivation to build.  But I do have to say though, that while I once seriously considered building a second machine, the first one has been so versatile that I doubt I'll ever build another--not because I've lost any interest, but simply because I don't need another and don't want to have to maintain two.  Yeah, the guts continue to evolve, and I still need to replace parts from time-to-time, but the cab itself is so solid that it should last the rest of my life, literally.

I too have noticed how the traffic here on the forum has slowed in the past few years; but honestly, this is one hobby where archival posts will tell you almost everything you need to know.  I don't think this hobby is dying, but rather that it has just matured to a point where if you were "of the age" where nostalgia was the chief driver, you probably already built your cabinet a few years ago during the "surge" when all we late Boomers and early X'ers reached middle age and found a little extra money and time to spend on our mid-life crisis projects.  If you are younger, however, you are almost certainly part of a much smaller group of arcade enthusiasts who are not driven by nostalgia as much, but more by a true love of classic gaming.  The cool thing about this is that if you are in this category, you might actually be more of a  "pure" arcade game fan than some of us older folks who can't quite decide whether we like doing this because the games of that age really were great and timeless or merely because they "take us back".  This is why I think that if arcade cabs are going to continue being built by future generations, it is going to have to be due to a continual re-discovery of what makes arcade gaming on dedicated cabinets so unique and not really possible to fully virtualize. 

One thing we can be sure of is that you can't pass nostalgia on to the next generation--they're busy making plenty of their own.  But if classic gaming played on dedicated arcade equipment in the home is able to be recognized as a worthy form of entertainment in and of itself, independent of the nostalgia--like say, table tennis or pool or foosball, which I enjoy but have no nostalgia for, then the future should continue to see classic arcade cabs as desirable gameroom fixtures for the foreseeable future along with people building and buying them.  Sure the traffic here has slowed, but I don't think it's death; I think its just what the new normal in this hobby probably looks like.

[opt2not]

Keeping the thread on track:

For me, I'm not done with building, yet. I wasn't as active of a builder as some of you guys, rolling project after project. I enjoy building, but I enjoy playing a lot more.

My problem right now is space, and lack of tools.  Having moved from Canada to California 2 years ago, I've have to downsize a lot of stuff, including selling off a majority of my tools before the move. Also, I no longer own my old condo which I dedicated a room for my office/workshop.  My wife and I are planning on buying a house, hopefully by the end of this year, so I should be able to get the space to build stuff again.  I must be crazy to up-end our life at this age (40) but we're in a better situation now for family support, and there are a lot more opportunities for work down here in Cali.

I still have plans to build Alpha One, though it'll be a scratch build rather than a renovation as I originally planned.  It's just going to be a little while before I can start that up again.  I also have plans for a couple smaller projects that I'll reveal later on, but for now, all building projects are on hold till we can finally settle in a new home.  I'm not done yet.

[schmerzkaufen]

Didn't think ya'll would get offended.

Hope I didn't sound so, I only made that rant to justify my lack-of-DIY laziness. 

I think somebody needs a hug.

I could use a life-sized Astro City plushie now tho, yeah. *sob*


EDIT: they don't exist, do they? cab plushies... hey this could sell.

[Ond]

Heh, I never thought of myself as a boomer but technically, according to that chart, I am one.  I have this whole fascination with the baby boomer years which pre-date me being born.  There was pinball even back then!  Anyways, now I'm getting off track.

Well, I built the BYOAC of my dreams in 2012.  It came out spectacular and I thoroughly enjoy it.  I also have a room scale VR system and do console and high-end PC gaming too, but the arcade machine fits into the mix seamlessly, gets played regularly, and I don't suspect that will change with any new gaming tech that comes along.  There's no question that nostalgia played an important role in my building the machine.  I was in my wonder years during the late '70s and early '80s, so that happened to be a big part of MY motivation to build.  But I do have to say though, that while I once seriously considered building a second machine, the first one has been so versatile that I doubt I'll ever build another--not because I've lost any interest, but simply because I don't need another and don't want to have to maintain two.  Yeah, the guts continue to evolve, and I still need to replace parts from time-to-time, but the cab itself is so solid that it should last the rest of my life, literally.

I too have noticed how the traffic here on the forum has slowed in the past few years; but honestly, this is one hobby where archival posts will tell you almost everything you need to know.  I don't think this hobby is dying, but rather that it has just matured to a point where if you were "of the age" where nostalgia was the chief driver, you probably already built your cabinet a few years ago during the "surge" when all we late Boomers and early X'ers reached middle age and found a little extra money and time to spend on our mid-life crisis projects.  If you are younger, however, you are almost certainly part of a much smaller group of arcade enthusiasts who are not driven by nostalgia as much, but more by a true love of classic gaming.  The cool thing about this is that if you are in this category, you might actually be more of a  "pure" arcade game fan than some of us older folks who can't quite decide whether we like doing this because the games of that age really were great and timeless or merely because they "take us back".  This is why I think that if arcade cabs are going to continue being built by future generations, it is going to have to be due to a continual re-discovery of what makes arcade gaming on dedicated cabinets so unique and not really possible to fully virtualize. 

One thing we can be sure of is that you can't pass nostalgia on to the next generation--they're busy making plenty of their own.  But if classic gaming played on dedicated arcade equipment in the home is able to be recognized as a worthy form of entertainment in and of itself, independent of the nostalgia--like say, table tennis or pool or foosball, which I enjoy but have no nostalgia for, then the future should continue to see classic arcade cabs as desirable gameroom fixtures for the foreseeable future along with people building and buying them.  Sure the traffic here has slowed, but I don't think it's death; I think its just what the new normal in this hobby probably looks like.

This is a great post!  Thank you, I couldn't agree more with your comments on generational nostalgia.  You can't be nostalgic for something you never experienced.  I get excited though when my kids discover something for themselves from before their "time" which they are enthusiastic about.  I don't try to impose my emotional spin on it I just let them enjoy it in their own way.  I'm hoping that's how it goes with arcade games. A few kids here and there find the joy in it for themselves.

Keeping the thread on track:

For me, I'm not done with building, yet. I wasn't as active of a builder as some of you guys, rolling project after project. I enjoy building, but I enjoy playing a lot more.

My problem right now is space, and lack of tools.  Having moved from Canada to California 2 years ago, I've have to downsize a lot of stuff, including selling off a majority of my tools before the move. Also, I no longer own my old condo which I dedicated a room for my office/workshop.  My wife and I are planning on buying a house, hopefully by the end of this year, so I should be able to get the space to build stuff again.  I must be crazy to up-end our life at this age (40) but we're in a better situation now for family support, and there are a lot more opportunities for work down here in Cali.

I still have plans to build Alpha One, though it'll be a scratch build rather than a renovation as I originally planned.  It's just going to be a little while before I can start that up again.  I also have plans for a couple smaller projects that I'll reveal later on, but for now, all building projects are on hold till we can finally settle in a new home.  I'm not done yet.

Don't worry mate, 40 is young, up-ending your life can be one of the best things you can do.  Making the big move to California would have been a big deal for a young family.  My last kid is finishing school now.  After that, my wife and I are moving north to warmer coastal country living.
I'm looking forward to watching over your shoulder as you work the magic at ZapCon on Robotron or whatever.  I have a feeling that Pinball is going to become my passion in the next few years so that's mainly where you'll find me.  I want to actually get good at playing it, and not just Gorgar either! 

[yotsuya]

I have a feeling that Pinball is going to become my passion in the next few years

This, unfortunately, is also a reason why some of us disappear from the arcade realm.

[pbj]

Pinball has fully entered the ranks of financial unobtanium, IMO.  Don't even bother unless you've got $5k to throw at it.  Better off bringing $10k.

[yotsuya]

I have no nostalgia for pinball, so I’ll never become a pinhead, but I know plenty of dudes who started with MAME or arcade games, got a pin, then chucked it all for the silver ball and now regard all arcade games as if they were Arcade1Ups. We call it “Going Full Bret” here in AZ.

[opt2not]

Don't worry mate, 40 is young, up-ending your life can be one of the best things you can do.  Making the big move to California would have been a big deal for a young family.  My last kid is finishing school now.  After that, my wife and I are moving north to warmer coastal country living.
I'm looking forward to watching over your shoulder as you work the magic at ZapCon on Robotron or whatever.  I have a feeling that Pinball is going to become my passion in the next few years so that's mainly where you'll find me.  I want to actually get good at playing it, and not just Gorgar either! 

Yeah it's a pretty big deal. I hate not owning property now, but that'll change soon. We had our daughter pretty late, I was 38 at the time, my wife 34 (heh, she's the millennial).  This move has really been a reset on all the life momentum I've gained. Right now I feel like we're back in our 20's, paying rent, scraping whatever we can to save for a home. The only difference is going out and partying is no longer a priority. I'd much rather get smashed at home and at arcade convention trips

Yeah buddy, I'll be on the Robotron there. Last year I didn't put up a big enough score to be proud of, but this year will be different.  My 3 games I'll likely put the most time in are Robotron, Gyruss, and 1942 if it's featured this year. I didn't see a 1942 there last year.  Funny, I plan on playing all the games I play regularly at home! It's all about putting up a high score for the weekend. 

[leapinlew]

I have no nostalgia for pinball, so I’ll never become a pinhead, but I know plenty of dudes who started with MAME or arcade games, got a pin, then chucked it all for the silver ball and now regard all arcade games as if they were Arcade1Ups. We call it “Going Full Bret” here in AZ.

True. Well, I can't confirm the Full Bret story, but I have witnessed the transformation to full pinhead. 

[Malenko]

Love my pins. Love my cabs. Love my Gingerballs.

[Ond]

Love my pins. Love my cabs. Love my Gingerballs.

That's a bit pushy, but I guess I can learn to love them. What's in it for me? 

[bperkins01]

I'd like to restore a pinball machine - just because I love the complexity of the whole thing.  No real place to put one however..
But stranger things have happened..  My wife wants to get a real Skee ball machine..  the only place for that would be in a cold garage..  which of course would open up space for a pinball machine..  and then some original cabinets..

I love my Mame cabinet..  I use it all the time. 
and ..
this is a good thread

[yotsuya]

I own a pinball machine. It’s in my storage unit. It might be my next restore thread.

[bperkins01]

Guaranteed follow from me on that thread..  and I will comment just to cheer you on
 

[Gilrock]

I bought one about 15 years ago and its still all working.  It was the one I played the most as a kid.

[yotsuya]

Guaranteed follow from me on that thread..  and I will comment just to cheer you on

Thanks brotherman. It’s actually going to be a minor restore.

[Howard_Casto]

The only two pins I've ever really been nostalgic about are Star Trek TNG and the Addams's Family because they were around during my prime arcade years.  Unfortunately they are two of the most popular pins of all time, so I'm not getting them anytime soon.  I still think I need to build a virtual pin. 

[Malenko]

First one I bought was literally the actual first pinball machine I ever played when I was a kid.  It was a Comet, my uncle bought it when the go kart place shut down, I bought it off him a couple years ago. Dumped more into it than it's worth but other than the body, everything is  mint.  Only pin I ever sold was my Street Fighter II. Guy I knew gave me a sob story on how it was his grail , so I sold it to him at a great price cause I'm a sweetheart.  He went it flipped it a few days later.

I still have comet, T2, Lethal Weapon 3 and TMNT

[Malenko]

Love my pins. Love my cabs. Love my Gingerballs.

That's a bit pushy, but I guess I can learn to love them. What's in it for me? 

A warm fuzzy feeling, obviously.

[Howard_Casto]

It's not something I really want to have, but T2 was legit.... that was also in my local arcade bitd. 

[Jimbo]

It *IS* possible to keep nostalgia alive on these old arcade machines. Keep building them with mame or jamma boards, or buying original cabs.....  and LET YOUR KIDS PLAY THEM,

That's the way to pass nostalgia on.  If kids play them and enjoy them, it'll be part of their childhood memories to pass on to their own kids.

[Malenko]

Pfffft, who wants kids?

[Gilrock]

There are a few exceptions out there but mostly it just won't be the same for kids today.  Playing at home with dad's machine even if it's a real arcade machine that kid doesn't have the same experience of losing a quarter he earned mowing a lawn and then riding his bike 2 miles to play.

[schmerzkaufen]

A good part of what made arcades attactive to me was the technical wonder, every year (if not every month during the maddest periods) there were new games more an more astonishing, far better than what we could have at home.
Can't reproduce that today.

[pbj]

T2 and Lethal Weapon 3 are the same damn game.     LW3 is better, though.

[Malenko]

T2 and Lethal Weapon 3 are the same damn game.     LW3 is better, though.

Nah, they have very similar layouts but the modes and rule sets aren't even close. I got LW3 for 1300, I couldnt pass up the purchase. I do like LW3 more.

[Howard_Casto]

I don't remember seeing that one in the wild... like ever. 

[Ian]

Pinball has fully entered the ranks of financial unobtanium, IMO.  Don't even bother unless you've got $5k to throw at it.  Better off bringing $10k.

Yeah but you can sell it for just about the same amount if not more to buy another machine. These things hold value. So instead of having 5 grand in the bank, its in my basement in the form of a pinball machine I get to enjoy. When I get sick of it I will trade it in for another model. Pinball is still being made, sorry to say I cant just play the same old arcade games. Nostalgia only works for so long. Plus I like the random element in Pinball. Arcade machines you can figure out if you play them enough. You can learn the patterns, I find that once you get to that point on a game it because so incredibly boring. But that is my opinion. Pinball is going to be around for a while, I plan on enjoying it as long as I can.

[Ian]

"I have no nostalgia for pinball"

I dont think that matters. Not everyone is nostalgia for Pinball... hell when I was at the arcades in the late 80s I remember the pinball machines would be in the back corner covered in dust. I never enjoyed it. Now I realize it is a far superior game to play vs Arcade games. There is just a lot more strategy and skill required. And I like the challenge.

[Nephasth]

"I have no nostalgia for pinball"

I dont think that matters. Not everyone is nostalgia for Pinball... hell when I was at the arcades in the late 80s I remember the pinball machines would be in the back corner covered in dust. I never enjoyed it. Now I realize it is a far superior game to play vs Arcade games. There is just a lot more strategy and skill required. And I like the challenge.

Eh... When I was a kid in Time-Out's twilight years I distinctly remember a handful of pins around. But I always saw older kids and adults playing them. When I played them, it was sensory overload. I always felt like I got more bang for my quarter on vids and redemption machines. It always felt like chaotic chance playing pinball as a kid. I was 5-7. Now it's a complete 180. I feel like I have more control over a game in pinball vs vids.

[yotsuya]

"I have no nostalgia for pinball"

I dont think that matters. Not everyone is nostalgia for Pinball... hell when I was at the arcades in the late 80s I remember the pinball machines would be in the back corner covered in dust. I never enjoyed it. Now I realize it is a far superior game to play vs Arcade games. There is just a lot more strategy and skill required. And I like the challenge.

Yet another one has gone Full Bret. I’ll pour one out....

[Gilrock]

Geez can't you just enjoy your pinball without trying to insult everything else?  How did I end up owning a pinball and not becoming a pinsnob...lol.

[gildahl]

Nostalgia was certainly a motivation for me to build and it was also solidly behind my enjoyment of the machine in the first few months as I replayed all my old favorites.  However, now, some seven or so years later, the arcade machine still gets lots of use but many if not most of the games I play I never played in the arcades and so the role of nostalgia has faded from the forefront.  I'd also say that the arcade machine has been instrumental in changing the hobby for me from just "retro video gaming" to more of a "pop culture/history" hobby with a time window considerably wider than the short 4-year span I spent going to the arcades; so it never really gets boring.  Games of all periods and genres are now welcome and get played routinely.  This shift has also influenced my desire to eventually get a pinball machine even though I previously had little interest in that genre (and no nostalgia for it).  In fact I'm 100% certain that I'd buy a pinball table before I'd ever build a second arcade cab.  But then again I'm also 100% certain that the cab would still continue to be played the most--though perhaps not for the first month or two.

[Malenko]

When I did play my mame cab....when I had one  it was a combination of playing games from my youth and playing all the cool ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- I never heard of, never would have known about DoDonPachi if not for MAME. That and mucking around with the Japanese versions of games I knew to see all the wacky differences (Salamander, Moero!! Pro Yakyuu, Final Fight,etc)

I have a bunch of machines that have multigame kits but no emulation (like Area 51/Max Force combo, Multi CPS2, MultiMVS) but I don't play games much. My focus really has been on learning about and fixing up Pinballs. Its the same thrill all over that I had restoring arcade machines back in the day. I do find myself working on the pins more than playing them , but its cathartic.

[pbj]

At some point, just about every pinball I remember from my youth has gone through my collection.  Many of them held up, some didn't.  The only nostalgia machine I've kept is WCS 94 and it's my "bury me in it" machine.

I talked myself out of buying a Williams Fire for $800 when the beach bar went under 20 years ago and I was damned glad I did when I replayed it last month and realized what a turd it is.  Other one that's always eluded me has been Flash.  I recognize that Firepower (which I currently own) is a better game but it's not the one I grew up playing.  Some day.

 

[Malenko]

I'd love a WCS94.  I get sad when I see big name reskins like Strikers Xtreme/NFL  and Shrek/Family Guy. The only recent release Id like to have is a Deadpool. I had a lot of fun playing it at Whiterose. Comet is gonna be my bury me in it game because I've spent WAYYYYY more than it's worth in updates

[pbj]

Comet's an excellent game, though.  I had a super rough one that played well and it's one of the few I miss.

[Ian]

Geez can't you just enjoy your pinball without trying to insult everything else?  How did I end up owning a pinball and not becoming a pinsnob...lol.

Ouch... Just a fan. ha ha ha...

[Howard_Casto]

Other one that's always eluded me has been Flash. 

Ahh-aaa!  He'll save everyone of us!

[Gilrock]

Geez can't you just enjoy your pinball without trying to insult everything else?  How did I end up owning a pinball and not becoming a pinsnob...lol.

Ouch... Just a fan. ha ha ha...

That was so 5 days ago...  I sounded kinda harsh must have been in a bad mood...lol.

[surtr]

Hey all - thought this was as good of a place as any to drop this.

My daughter and I built a cab about a year and a half ago -- mainly to get her comfortable with power tools (she was starting shop class and her best friend had accidentally fed her hand into a bandsaw the prior year).  It was certainly intimidating looking at some of the builds on here -- the quality of some builds and the dedication to authenticity on others.  We built what we wanted to build -- not as high quality as many, definitely not authentic, and came out with something we were very happy with.  I still owe this board pics...  I found these forums to be extremely helpful and overall a friendly place. 

Even after completing my project, I still like to come on here to see what other people are doing;  I sincerely hope that things continue to be active here.

Oh, and Ond - I love your avatar -- plasma balls are a total nostalgia for me.  I wonder if there's a reasonably feasible path to building a plasma ball marquee...

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Had it not been for this thread I probably wouldn't have posted the project thread for the cabinet I pieced together for our office break area!

[surtr]

I've been following that one -- very cool build, and I dig your idea for the monthly competition.  Much props!

[Ond]

Hey all - thought this was as good of a place as any to drop this.

My daughter and I built a cab about a year and a half ago -- mainly to get her comfortable with power tools (she was starting shop class and her best friend had accidentally fed her hand into a bandsaw the prior year).  It was certainly intimidating looking at some of the builds on here -- the quality of some builds and the dedication to authenticity on others.  We built what we wanted to build -- not as high quality as many, definitely not authentic, and came out with something we were very happy with.  I still owe this board pics...  I found these forums to be extremely helpful and overall a friendly place. 

Even after completing my project, I still like to come on here to see what other people are doing;  I sincerely hope that things continue to be active here.

Oh, and Ond - I love your avatar -- plasma balls are a total nostalgia for me.  I wonder if there's a reasonably feasible path to building a plasma ball marquee...

This a great story, you working with your daughter to help her after a scare like that. I still get a bit nervous around some of my power tools.  A healthy respect for the POWER in power tools keeps me safe. 

A plasma marquee is totally do-able.  Take one ultra narrow LCD panel and one custom plasma video animation (created by me) and voila! Zappy, sparky, arcing, glowing joy. 

[sealcouch]

I want to build more. My garage got filled up when my wife's uncle asked to store a bunch of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- in there. I'm trying to help him sell a bunch of it, but once it's out I have so much I want to do. I want to finish my Toxic Crusaders build, finish restoring my Contra and scratch build 2 new cabinets.

[Le Chuck]

I build here and there, post a lot less than I used to. At this point, I've personally committed to not taking on any more projects until I put to bed a few that have been moving with me across the country for the last few years. I have maybe three good ideas that I'd like to build, but they'll have to wait.

For me, work and life and age have shifted my priorities and my time. I used to run the UCA but people took all the fun out of that. This place doesn't seem to be any worse for wear with it gone. It was an interesting run. I've got hundreds of PMs to remember it by in case I ever feel crazy enough to do it again.

I run a program in my career field that teaches those who aren't social media savvy how to communicate effectively in the digital space. A fair amount of it involves teaching them to Think>Type>Post and how not to feed the trolls. I noticed I was spending more of my personal time than I was comfortable with feeding the trolls here. I also noticed that I was a troll needing to be fed from time to time myself. I didn't need BYOAC doing that to me, and BYOAC didn't me doing that here.   

[Mr. Peabody]

For trend setting purposes, you stop being relevant at 27.

 

27 is the end.


Generation was more like three to five years. While there was some overlap of experienced things, many of them were different that quickly. With the rise of video games/augemented reality and Fantasy/Scifi, the differences have faded.

[surtr]

This a great story, you working with your daughter to help her after a scare like that. I still get a bit nervous around some of my power tools.  A healthy respect for the POWER in power tools keeps me safe. 

A plasma marquee is totally do-able.  Take one ultra narrow LCD panel and one custom plasma video animation (created by me) and voila! Zappy, sparky, arcing, glowing joy. 

Well damn, wheels are now turning and plans for a new build are taking shape in my head...  AFTER I finish my current CP rebuild (cramming a couple of 2" trackballs on to play marble madness)...

Oh, and shop turned out to be my daughter's favorite class, so mission accomplished   

[javeryh]

I am always thinking about arcade projects.  Unfortunately, I never seem to have the time to work on stuff.  My kids are 14, 11 and 6 and I'm just busy all the time.  Maybe in a few years things will let up but they are really active and I don't want to miss anything because I will not take them for granted and I know these are the best years of my life.  There will (hopefully) be time for this stuff when they are grown but I don't even want to think about that. 

Another issue is that I am completely out of space in my house, which stinks.  From 2014-2017 I took a long break from here to finish my basement and put in a home theater.  I love reading about projects and wish more people would post.  Whenever I'm working on something I tend to go overboard with posting pics and stuff in the hopes that others will want to talk about it or maybe see something I don't. 

I used to think the Arcade 1UP cabinets would help this hobby but now I'm not so sure.  I envisioned it sparking an interest but it's actually turning out to be a lazy solution for people who never really cared in the first place.  I mean, people don't seem to mind playing DK with an 8-way stick on a widescreen monitor!  WTF is that?

[Malenko]

Im gonna clean up , take some pix, and post up my 2 driving projects for sale. Hopefully someone  wants them. Empty Midway Cab is probably getting tossed too. Converting my basement workshop into a finished game room was like the nail in the coffin of working on things.

[luizw81]

I just put the deposit down for a new detached garage so I can have some room for woodworking/projects.  After it's done I hope to be able to hop on a new build.  My goal is to replace my 1st build....which is the true definition of a hack job.  I'll post a build log once I get started this summer...hopefully.

[Mr. Peabody]

I used to think the Arcade 1UP cabinets would help this hobby but now I'm not so sure.  I envisioned it sparking an interest but it's actually turning out to be a lazy solution for people who never really cared in the first place.  I mean, people don't seem to mind playing DK with an 8-way stick on a widescreen monitor!  WTF is that?

But of course. They're the public. Like with music: nearly everyone loves it - and they know nearly nothing about it - which is fine as long as they care about what they like, versus whether something is 'any good'. Those who know about a thing can discuss and perhaps inform those who don't, if asked.....

[Malenko]

I need to take new pix and finish up the front end, but Ginger 2.0 is practically done.  Rails and lock down got the flat black treatment with a semigloss clear coat. I'm chuffed.  Got all the pins and all but 1 arcade put into the new game room. Area 51 went to storage and the future CPS1 machine hasn't made the 22 foot journey into the game room from the garage....yet.

[Arroyo]

This thread feels relevant at the moment, particularly on a boring day at work.

[leapinlew]

We no longer build as much, we assemble, which is a good thing. Many thanks to the various vendors who can supply us with electronics, artwork, kits, etc which make the dream of owning an arcade a reality. If you are just coming onto the scene now, you have a whole plethora of options and may not even find this site. If you do find this site, you may not post your build since it breaks no new ground.

Pre-built is now an option. You can go with an Arcade1up or a variety of other manufacturers and ikea style build a machine. Without getting into an argument on how close it is to the real thing, I believe it scratches the itch enough for many folks so their dreams of a real arcade in their house is accomplished from a trip or two to Wal-mart.

The environment has changed. Like Soul Asylum said, nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd, and a crowd we don't have.

Bottom line, just like real arcades, the niche community we have has it's heyday behind it. It's not a good or bad thing, it's just a thing.

[jennifer]

We no longer build as much, we assemble, which is a good thing. Many thanks to the various vendors who can supply us with electronics, artwork, kits, etc which make the dream of owning an arcade a reality. If you are just coming onto the scene now, you have a whole plethora of options and may not even find this site. If you do find this site, you may not post your build since it breaks no new ground.

Pre-built is now an option. You can go with an Arcade1up or a variety of other manufacturers and ikea style build a machine. Without getting into an argument on how close it is to the real thing, I believe it scratches the itch enough for many folks so their dreams of a real arcade in their house is accomplished from a trip or two to Wal-mart.

The environment has changed. Like Soul Asylum said, nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd, and a crowd we don't have.

Bottom line, just like real arcades, the niche community we have has it's heyday behind it. It's not a good or bad thing, it's just a thing.

However...There is little to no satsfaction to owning a disposable machine or filling your house with W/mart junk, You want that as your legacy when your gone?...Try a Pre war Wurlitzer friend, The quality has not only stood the test of time but will outlive all of us as a machine.

[Vigo]

Jenn - that is spot on in my book. Heck, even buying a real machine and doing nothing with it is still a bit hollow to me. Give me a fixer upper. I need a project, and it is all about the build. Then I have something with a bit of pride behind it. The same goes for about any hobby I dabble in.

I need to work on something more than something to use. Arcade related items are just my weapon of choice because it involves everything from electrical to mechanical to woodworking, and you generally end up with something that the regular joe-schmo, even with a fat wallet won't have in their house.

[Mike A]

Building and repairing arcade machines helps preserve a little bit of history. At least for awhile. My little arcade room allows my friends to recapture their youth, and to share that experience with their kids. It would not be the same experience if my arcade was full of waist high garbage cabs.

[Vigo]

I take that for granted. I'm always a bit amazed at how people I meet often have had zero exposure to arcade machines for decades and seeing and playing a machine again really lights them up with excitement. Even the old electrical smells and imperfections mean something.

[Mike A]

My arcade room is also the main entrance to my house. I am amused at how many times I have been asked to flip on the games by complete strangers. It is lots of fun.

[jennifer]

It is nice to know the whole world hasn't gone insane, and sometimes the night still lights up with OEM...It should be pointed out however, this comes at a price, In time, money, Equipment, tools, space, and in my case family and friends. Involving a commitment few could ever
understand. Building/restoration is a lifestyle not a choice...Ps, Mike "Go buy a welder already" (*Jenn laughs).

[leapinlew]

Yeah - all 3 of you can keep this site alive. 

I tried not to use inflammatory language cause I know how sensitive you guys. The fact is, a lot of people have found alternatives to the build-your-own arcade lifestyle we live. I used that to explain why it's slow around here. That.is.all.

[Arroyo]

I was mostly wondering why the slowdown in projects.  In the 2 years that I've been coming here there appeared to be a lot of activity in Project Announcements up until very recently.  Summer break maybe?

I enjoy watching other people’s builds almost as much as building myself, and perhaps Lew is right and it has to do with lack of interest in building.  But as was pointed out earlier in this thread there are (8?) new people signing up every day which would seem to contradict that perspective.  If you wanted to learn about Arcade1up’s or other prepackaged cabinets then it seems there are plenty of other sites dedicated to those, so why come here?

I’m guessing it has more to do with people being intimidated to post, or feeling like they don’t have the skills to get going.  I can relate to that as I felt the same way before I posted anything.  If anyone out there is reading this and you fall in this camp, please post.  A lot of veterans are happy to help, and it keeps the vibe and enthusiasm going.  No one is good at anything until they try, and as was stated above, it sure feels good when you can point at something and say I built that.

[jennifer]

Yeah - all 3 of you can keep this site alive. 

I tried not to use inflammatory language cause I know how sensitive you guys. The fact is, a lot of people have found alternatives to the build-your-own arcade lifestyle we live. I used that to explain why it's slow around here. That.is.all.

Do you even know what your saying anymore, Perhaps all that pre fab has rotted your brain or something...Us 3 are not the future of this site, There are many folks here that DO TAKE PRIDE IN THERE WORK...not to mention the guys behind the scenes that even makes this site possible...All under the direction of Saint who not only dresses up like a Pac man, but makes the noise too when he walks, That kind of creativity can not be bought at W/mart and coveted in 1/3 scale in your basment...Your Arcade1ups are not the holy grail, they actually make me feel sick.

[Mike A]

Yeah. All of that vibrant activity in the A1up subforum will save us all.

[leapinlew]

You guys are, well, you’re being ugly.

I’m not talking about A1ups exclusively. I’m talking about the weecade invasion, the tons of kits available from online flat pack to microcenter, not to mention all the barcades. All those thing chip away at the novelty and nostalgia which means less traffic here.

[Arroyo]

I understand your points Lew, and I’m sure there’s truth in.  But why then do people continue to signup on the site at a rate that appears to be in line with historical averages?(according to Scott)

[opt2not]

Building and repairing arcade machines helps preserve a little bit of history. At least for awhile. My little arcade room allows my friends to recapture their youth, and to share that experience with their kids. It would not be the same experience if my arcade was full of waist high garbage cabs.

I take that for granted. I'm always a bit amazed at how people I meet often have had zero exposure to arcade machines for decades and seeing and playing a machine again really lights them up with excitement. Even the old electrical smells and imperfections mean something.

^ These two posts nail it.  You're not going to invoke that nostalgia with weecades and A1ups.  The most reaction you'll get is, "oh that's cute"...

Sure, if you're buying those pre-mades to scratch that itch, go right ahead. But it's not a replacement to the real experience, and it never will be. Period. They're fun toys that have a short lifespan, and will be forgotten in the very near future.  They definitely won't hold their worth in years to come...

Which also brings me to my next point. Value.  Original cabs, or even scratch built unique designed cabinets could hold their value years to come. For OG cabs, the value increases as time goes on. For scratch built, you most likely break even or have a slight reduction in value.

Try reselling a 1Up Arcade or Weecade in a year or two from now, I'm 100% positive you won't make your money back. You'd be lucky to make even half of it. These things are depreciating products. They're "throw-away".

[leapinlew]

Building and repairing arcade machines helps preserve a little bit of history. At least for awhile. My little arcade room allows my friends to recapture their youth, and to share that experience with their kids. It would not be the same experience if my arcade was full of waist high garbage cabs.

I take that for granted. I'm always a bit amazed at how people I meet often have had zero exposure to arcade machines for decades and seeing and playing a machine again really lights them up with excitement. Even the old electrical smells and imperfections mean something.

^ These two posts nail it.  You're not going to invoke that nostalgia with weecades and A1ups.  The most reaction you'll get is, "oh that's cute"...

Sure, if you're buying those pre-mades to scratch that itch, go right ahead. But it's not a replacement to the real experience, and it never will be. Period. They're fun toys that have a short lifespan, and will be forgotten in the very near future.  They definitely won't hold their worth in years to come...

Which also brings me to my next point. Value.  Original cabs, or even scratch built unique designed cabinets could hold their value years to come. For OG cabs, the value increases as time goes on. For scratch built, you most likely break even or have a slight reduction in value.

Try reselling a 1Up Arcade or Weecade in a year or two from now, I'm 100% positive you won't make your money back. You'd be lucky to make even half of it. These things are depreciating products. They're "throw-away".

First off: welcome back! Not sure where you been but glad you’re back.

Now that the pleasantries are over, Im not tracking. You realize original arcade games are 25+ years old, are scarce because they are no longer being made, and also the vast majority of original arcades can’t be resold for half of what they cost new. Am I missing something? It’s not really a good comparison. I much prefer the real deal arcade games but I see what’s happening in the arcade world and trying to say the originals are better financially is a bad argument.

I have full sized machines, bar tops and arcade 1up. The reactions are always positive. Never had anyone said “that little arcade is cute, but I want to play the big one”   

[Ond]

I'm still wondering about the new member stats vs build activity thing.  People obviously join for quite different reasons I guess. 

Arroyo is a good ambassador for the forum, relatively young, passionate about designing and building his own cabs AND appreciative of the classics.  Give me just five new members like him and this place will boom and bloom again.

I'm not done here yet.  I'm just as keen about my projects as ever.  Life is throwing curve balls and I don't mean the weather.  I got home from work yesterday to find an order from our landlord to vacate the premises as he's selling it.  House hunting and moving are priorities but that will pass, as will the ---smurfy--- weather.

I'm still interested in acquiring a pinball machine as a fixer-upper.  With that in mind I found a local guy with a shopfront who sells and repairs various arcade related machines.  This guy was an oddball though, he appeared kind of passively aggressive when I got all keen about what he had to sell (including some Mame based cabinets).  He did let me wander into the much larger repair area and warehouse at the back of the shop.  There I saw dozens of cabinets, pinball machines and even an old Wurlitzer (the bubbler type).  Some stuff looked like it had been there for decades.  Some was customer repairs including the Wurlitzer.

Don't let the Arcade1up debate dominate your thoughts or loyalties.  It's a moot point.

[opt2not]

Thanks Lew, I'm still around, but just been lurking lately. I decided to take a step back from this forum, mainly after the whole A1up issue. Since then I've been lightly contributing here.

Now that the pleasantries are over, Im not tracking. You realize original arcade games are 25+ years old, are scarce because they are no longer being made, and also the vast majority of original arcades can’t be resold for half of what they cost new. Am I missing something?

Not talking about new price comparisons. I'm talking about current value.  For example, if you bought a Centipede cabinet today at it's current value, you can be certain that you can make your money back and perhaps more, years from now.

Yes, there are a lot of cabinets out there that cannot be profitable or break-even-able. But if you want to compare all the A1up games available to their original cabinet counterparts, my point is pretty clear.  Centipede, Final Fight, Missile Command, Tempest, Mortal Kombat, etc... all of these games in their original form most definitely retain their value than what you're going to get with a A1up, years from now.

Look, I'm not going to get back into this argument. That's the main reason I have taken a step back from this place. 

The bottom line is, a person like me comes to this forum to see scratch-built projects or restorations. BYOAC.  I don't come here for modding pre-made cabinets. I can go to Reddit or Facebook groups for that.
I enjoy the journey and logging of projects being built from scratch, the problem solving, the clever solutions and techniques, and the sharing of information. That, to me is the essence of this place.

If the essence is changing away from this, then that's fine. No worries. I can contribute to the handful of other forums that are dedicated to preservation or nostalgic experiences. At this point these pre-mades are a deterrent to a lot of the established community here. But if that's they way it's gotta be, then that's the way it's gotta be. 

[Laythe]

I got home from work yesterday to find an order from our landlord to vacate the premises as he's selling it.  House hunting and moving are priorities but that will pass, as will the ---smurfy--- weather.

Ouch.  You have my sympathy, that's rough.  I hope you'll be able to find somewhere else you can set up a good workshop without too much trouble.  Wishing you good luck.

[leapinlew]

Thanks Lew, I'm still around, but just been lurking lately. I decided to take a step back from this forum, mainly after the whole A1up issue. Since then I've been lightly contributing here.

lol. I can relate as I did the same thing.

[MiteWiseacre]

Hey uh, hi... so I’m like new around here... just looking for some help with this thing I’m working on... oh, you guys are talking aren’t you.. sorry. I’ll just go over to the high score thread.. uh later, nice to see you...

[opt2not]

Hey uh, hi... so I’m like new around here... just looking for some help with this thing I’m working on... oh, you guys are talking aren’t you.. sorry. I’ll just go over to the high score thread.. uh later, nice to see you...

[pbj]

I think what Zapcon reminded me of was that I like the ambiance and wandering from cabinet to cabinet.  The Texas shows are so crowded and pinball oriented you don’t get that 80/90s arcade feel.

I’ve got 3 mame cabinets in my garage now, all redundant game lists, but I like switching between them.  Well, I guess one is the “dedicated” Konkey Dong.  I like what I have, even that completely unnecessary Pac-Man 256.  So what am I supposed to do?  Post pics of the same machines I’ve owned for 15 years?

[JudgeRob]

I'm guilty of jumping in and out.  I think I have commitment issues or something.  Honestly, I still work on my cab every week.  Now it is just struggling through adding a system or how to make my friggin bezel work or something not very interesting.  I still need to post a few final pics and declare my project "finished!".  I admit I've been lazy too.  It is a lot of work to take pics, convert, post and link.  I usually have like an hour to work on something and then posting becomes an afterthought.  But sharing is caring for a forum...

I think it is all about nostalgia.  There are newer, flashier, smaller, grander, more powerful games and systems everywhere.  Even in your pocket.  If all you wanted was to just play a game, you can do it on your phone or PC.  It's all about 2 scenarios to me: Recreating something unique (historical) or creating something unique (something custom).  Walking up to a "real" cab is a sense of wonder.  For me as an adult looking back and also for the little tikes that stare up at something larger than life that they only see in places like the roller rink or the bowling alley or Disneyland.  I have mine in the middle of my house and it is a hit every time my daughter's friends or classmates come over.  What cracks me up is the amazement of 50% of the parents that get stoked on it.  It's just fun in every way.  I don't know if I'll ever build or own more than one.  I see myself more like eternally tweaking just one until it craps out.  But... a pinball would be pretty sweet ... 

Cheers to you all, I really enjoy this forum!    Happy 4th!

[Laythe]

Hey uh, hi... so I’m like new around here... just looking for some help with this thing I’m working on... oh, you guys are talking aren’t you.. sorry. I’ll just go over to the high score thread.. uh later, nice to see you...

Hi!  What'd you need help with?   

[MiteWiseacre]

Hey uh, hi... so I’m like new around here... just looking for some help with this thing I’m working on... oh, you guys are talking aren’t you.. sorry. I’ll just go over to the high score thread.. uh later, nice to see you...

Hi!  What'd you need help with?   

I was only joking 
This forum has been awesome, I’ve posted in a bunch of areas and someone always tries to help. ATM I’m just trying to get everything working with groovymame (and how do you flash a gfx card?) and put the finishing touches on my cab. Been a good hobby, combining so many of the things I like to tinker with.

[Arroyo]

Sorry to hear above the forced move OND, I friggin hate moving.

Back on topic.
The Arcade1Up debate has been thoroughly explored, and I understand Lew’s point that it and other prefab options are the reason for the lack of projects, however I’m not convinced for the reasons OND pointed out.  It would be great to hear from folks out there that are on the fence on starting or hesitating to post progress.  What’s the reason(s)?  Would love to hear from some of those 8 folks a day that sign up.

[KenToad]

Back in the day, many were blaming X-arcade for ruining the hobby.

As to why the activity/number of project builds may have diminished lately, my impression is that playing arcade games with authentic controls isn't as special as it was in the 2,000's. Not just prefabricated arcade cabinets, but arcade/fight stick controllers have become readily available, as well. This probably varies by region, but at least 3 barcades/arcades with decently large collections of original cabinets have opened up near me within the last 5 years. If I wanted to play original arcade games with authentic controls back in 2005, I pretty much had to build my own. Now, I can drive 15 minutes.

I'm still really glad that I built my projects and I still prefer playing in the comfort of my own home, but I can tell that the wow factor has diminished over the years because the first thing people tell me now when they see my arcade projects is "have you seen that barcade that opened up downtown?"

[leapinlew]

Here are some data points:

Looking at the members list, you can see folks who registered for the site:
Looking at the most recent month (June 4- July 4), I see 106 registrations. That's about 3.5 a day. 10 years ago, 2009, during the same time frame, there were 316 registrations. The year prior was 244.

Looking at the total post count of the last 40 folks who registered:
15 out of 40 have posted with a grand total of 26 posts between them.

You can do some more digging here:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=mlist;sort=registered;desc;start=0

[Gilrock]

Whether it was woodworking, astronomy, photographic, or arcade cabs it always seemed like it was declining.  Most people these days can't get their faces off their cellphones long enough to do anything real.

[leapinlew]

Whether it was woodworking, astronomy, photographic, or arcade cabs it always seemed like it was declining.  Most people these days can't get their faces off their cellphones long enough to do anything real.

Who knew Memes were going to be the destroyer of society.

[PL1]

Yes, there was a dip in new account creation in June, but the numbers aren't unusual.
- 189 in June 2019.
- 175 in June 2018.
- 160 in June 2017.
- 167 in June 2016.

Back in April, there was a huge surge of spam account creation, so exclude that month as an outlier.   

The rest of this year is averaging about 240 accounts per month, 8 per day.
----------
Most people only post a few times.

One account created less than a month ago has already posted 12 times.

Of the 49,607 accounts from the last 17 years, only 6,845 (13.8%) have posted more times than that.   

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=mlist;sort=posts;desc;start=6840
----------
The annual "Page views" count appears to confirm that it's pretty easy to lurk and find information when there are 1.65 million posts to choose from.   

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=stats

Most people these days can't get their faces off their cellphones long enough to do anything real.

Sad, but all-too-often true.


Scott

[pbj]

I hate to be all “people these days” but I was surrounded by people at the fireworks show tonight that couldn’t get off their phones.  Why even leave the house?

 

[Ond]

Hey, thanks Laythe and Arroyo for the kind thoughts re: getting a new place to live.  Good news!  We've found a new place and have been approved as tenants **PHEW**  .  The new place has a better workshop area and is in general better condition than where we are now.  We will sign the contract on Monday.

I hate to be all “people these days” but I was surrounded by people at the fireworks show tonight that couldn’t get off their phones.  Why even leave the house?

 

I was at a gallery the other day looking at art with a crowd of people.  The crowd moved from one exhibit to the next taking photos with their phones but not actually looking at anything.  There are better images of each piece freely available on the internet.     

[Howard_Casto]

They don't care about the art man.  They care about posting a pic of the art on their social media accounts so that they will get those precious, precious likes.

[javeryh]

They don't care about the art man.  They care about posting a pic of the art on their social media accounts so that they will get those precious, precious likes.

This is so true.  I've noticed that the majority of people building Weecades or any of the flat pack solutions really don't care about the way it looks or plays because they probably have zero nostalgia for the arcade scene because it never existed when they were younger.  A lot of the people who have been members for a while here view each cabinet (whether a restoration, imitation or a new design) as a piece of art that you should be proud to display in your home.  SomethingCADE with Sonic and Mario stickers randomly slapped on the side and Final Fantasy VI in the gamelist just doesn't cut it.

Not everyone needs to break new ground with every single project - in fact, only a few ever really do.  It is still valuable to see a project from start to finish.  Maybe it inspires the next person or maybe you see something done a certain way that you wouldn't have thought of before or maybe it's just cool to document your build for others to read.  So if there are any noobs reading this - please build something awesome (I promise you can do it with no experience) and please post a ton of photos as you do it.   

[Mike A]

SomethingCADE with Sonic and Mario stickers randomly slapped on the side and Final Fantasy VI in the gamelist just doesn't cut it.

Thanks for ruining my next project.

[javeryh]

SomethingCADE with Sonic and Mario stickers randomly slapped on the side and Final Fantasy VI in the gamelist just doesn't cut it.

Thanks for ruining my next project.

I think with your rare art talent you are all set for your next project.

[Mike A]

I thought about it, but I didn't want to embarrass everyone else so I have contracted someone to create the art for my next project.

[bsweet0us]

I was a big lurker, and occasional poster, many years ago.  I had nearly everything purchased for my cab build.  Monitor, PC, bezel, sticks, buttons, trackball, minipac....then kid #2 came along and took the third of our three bedroom house.  Space and time became the issues.

Fast forward to the end of July, 2019.  We are closing on a new house that has a full basement!  I already have plans for a theater room and that full-size, stand-up arcade machine.  (I personally don't see the appeal of the 1UP machines....They look too small, but I digress). 

I still have the sticks, buttons, wires, trackball, minipac in a plastic container in the shed.  I even had a binder with Lusid's designs and how to wire everything up and how to configure the sticks and buttons.  Unfortunately, that binder has been lost to time, so my data gathering begins anew.

These forums will once again become my home away from home....eventually.  The finances will have to rebound a bit after the home purchase, but, if everything still works, I've got most of the "guts" of an arcade cab ready to go!

For me, just having the access to play those old games in the format they were intended for is the main goal.  Are the games still great?  Yes.  Are they still fun? Yes.  Do I need to build a cab from scratch to enjoy them?  Hell no, but that's what I want!

Maybe, one day, a virtual pin would be nice, but let's burn that bridge when we get there!

[javeryh]

I already have plans for a theater room

Best thing I ever did to my house but it's a financial black hole.   

[bsweet0us]

I already have plans for a theater room

Best thing I ever did to my house but it's a financial black hole.   

Did you go full-on theater (projector, screen, sound, etc.) or more the big TV route?

I've already got the A/V receiver and enough speakers to do a 5.1.4 ATMOS setup.  I'll probably get another of the 65" TCL 4k TVs and run most everything off my HTPC.

Room treatments for sound seem to be the  biggest financial hurdle, but that's something I can deal with at a later date.

[javeryh]

I already have plans for a theater room

Best thing I ever did to my house but it's a financial black hole.   

Did you go full-on theater (projector, screen, sound, etc.) or more the big TV route?

I've already got the A/V receiver and enough speakers to do a 5.1.4 ATMOS setup.  I'll probably get another of the 65" TCL 4k TVs and run most everything off my HTPC.

Room treatments for sound seem to be the  biggest financial hurdle, but that's something I can deal with at a later date.

I went nuts.  Soundproof room, theater seating (with the riser), projector, 130” screen, fiber-optic coffered star ceiling, 7.2.4 surround with in-ceiling Atmos, etc. 

I posted about it here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=105618.0

[SJMarty]

I already have plans for a theater room

Best thing I ever did to my house but it's a financial black hole.   

Did you go full-on theater (projector, screen, sound, etc.) or more the big TV route?

I've already got the A/V receiver and enough speakers to do a 5.1.4 ATMOS setup.  I'll probably get another of the 65" TCL 4k TVs and run most everything off my HTPC.

Room treatments for sound seem to be the  biggest financial hurdle, but that's something I can deal with at a later date.

I went nuts.  Soundproof room, theater seating (with the riser), projector, 130” screen, fiber-optic coffered star ceiling, 7.2.4 surround with in-ceiling Atmos, etc. 

I posted about it here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=105618.0

WOW...now that's impressive.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

[fsflaquer]

Well, in response to OND’s original question, here comes my two cents from a newbie/lurker...

To me, owning an cabinet was something unreal. When I saw Tom Hanks’ Big, his apartment full of cabinets was the equivalent of having a Pizza Hut restaurant on your kitchen and stuff of kids dreams.

When emulators hit the computers I downloaded Goodroms in few weeks time with my Napster, but the experience was horrible on a computer...

When I first heard about building my own arcade, I was very excited. Bought the book (first edition), and my dream goal was to build the Supercade (it’s website is still at my favorites tab). But I didn’t have the time or the space to do it...

Life moved on, until work has let go of my weekends, I had a son (now 2 years old) and I had a garage and the fortunate event of a CRT TV without a purpose...

Then I got back here... bought the new edition of the book, started binging project posts and building up knowledge to start MY project!

Contrary to OND’s impression, I was mesmerized by how the community has grown! There was multiple cabinet styles, ORIGINAL designs and even a pinball/driving metamorph!!! And the market was awesome! Multiple companies making brand new products so that you could choose lights, color and quality of everything arcade related, shipped to your house in a week... they even have a f... LCD marquee!!!

The community has grown  to maturity... With it, companies started profiting by delivering ready to go cabinets, and also we bred what every other community gets... elitists...

And I am not saying this as an insult, but merely recognizing that my dream supercade project now its a common thing... boring to be honest...

My first cabinet is going to be a CRT upright 4 player MAME Cade-named large (and possibly little bit rough and ugly) project.

And I am guilty of doing exactly what OND exposed: I was going to post when it was complete... first because the community can be harsh, second because my project is so common that an incomplete post would add little to the forum, and third because the forum is so complete nowadays that almost all of my doubts where explained elsewhere...

But don’t undersetimate the power of the first project... I will finish it, but I have been addicted to it... partly it is your fault, because when I saw Rotoron, my mind was blown! I am already thinking of my next project, an indoor heavily themed non orthodox arcade... and maybe in the future, another dream, a force feedback flying /driving cabinet.

Well, you and the others veterans and inspirers in here... keep up the good work... it means a lot for us lurkers and arcade lovers out there...

[Ond]

It seriously lifts my spirits to hear from you newer guys.  Even if you've been a long time lurker.  I like hearing about the arcade dreams of new folks and their inspirations.  Welcome my friend, I'll be returning with various current (and new projects) just as soon as I can.

[fsflaquer]

Thanks!

And I will correct my mistake by starting my project announcement right away!

[Mike A]

I was going to post when it was complete... first because the community can be harsh

I think the backlash to valid criticism is more harsh than the actual criticism.

I think people tend to be way too defensive and that triggers hostility.

Post your build. If someone doesn't like it big flippin' deal.  It is only important that you like it.
Take time to absorb any criticism and see if it is valid. You will probably learn something.

As long as you try to do a good job and have a good sense of humor you will be fine.

You might even make some new friends.

[jdbailey1206]

I was going to post when it was complete... first because the community can be harsh

I think the backlash to valid criticism is more harsh than the actual criticism.

I think people tend to be way too defensive and that triggers hostility.

Post your build. If someone doesn't like it big flippin' deal.  It is only important that you like it.
Take time to absorb any criticism and see if it is valid. You will probably learn something.

As long as you try to do a good job and have a good sense of humor you will be fine.

You might even make some new friends.

*Puts Mike As quote into Google Translate
Translates Into:  "***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***"

[yotsuya]

I was going to post when it was complete... first because the community can be harsh

I think the backlash to valid criticism is more harsh than the actual criticism.

I think people tend to be way too defensive and that triggers hostility.

Post your build. If someone doesn't like it big flippin' deal.  It is only important that you like it.
Take time to absorb any criticism and see if it is valid. You will probably learn something.

As long as you try to do a good job and have a good sense of humor you will be fine.

You might even make some new friends.

*Puts Mike As quote into Google Translate
Translates Into:  "***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***"

Problem is, dudes don’t build what they dig, they build what they think other people SHOULD dig, then they get mad when people don’t dig it.

I’ve said this before, I’ll say it again - I wish guys wouldn’t preface their builds with “Purists won’t like this...” a) how do you know and b) who cares? Why start your project off on a negative tangent? I’d rather see someone take the time and do the work to design, plan and create something unconventional and well-thought out as opposed to ripping off well-known designs because it’s easy.

[javeryh]

I was going to post when it was complete... first because the community can be harsh, second because my project is so common that an incomplete post would add little to the forum, and third because the forum is so complete nowadays that almost all of my doubts where explained elsewhere...

This is wrong.  Even documenting you copying someone else's project would be valuable.  You are going to take unique pictures and explain things in your own way - someone else will learn something by reading it.  Also, your cabinet will come out better with input/feedback from everyone here.  Doesn't matter if it is harsh - use the suggestions you think are good and ignore the rest but just be open minded. 

[leapinlew]

Glad to hear from a new guy. My comment is still the same, I wish the community wasn’t viewed as harsh.

[Howard_Casto]

Honest can often be confused with harsh.  The people here aren't harsh, they'll just give you their honest opinions.  I think most of the guys are pretty fair about it. 

I never post any of my hardware projects either but that's mainly because I have the attention span of a distracted gnat at this point.... I take pics... mean to upload them but … oooo shiny, think I'll work on that for a while. 

[Mr. Peabody]

Sounds.....like the language, and feelings about it, need to change.

[arfink]

I joined up to have a place to lurk for the moment. We're house hunting and I can't build anything new yet, but I'm hoarding up some parts for a project. I do have a recent arcade-controls-y project, but it's not a cab. I did an MV-1C console with a unique shell and custom controller.

[danny_galaga]

I still try and maintain an interest but I’ve spread myself too thin withhobbies including re-learning to fly. With any sort of luck we’ll have a new house next year with, for the first time in my life a good workspace. Here’s a thread with review from another forum on the workspace and it’s associated landscaping. We are in Brisbane Queensland

https://www.aussiearcade.com/showthread.php/95735-Shipping-container-sheds-Anyone-done-this

And a YouTube clip



And if you can’t look at it a couple of pics to illustrate. I’m kinda more excited about the workshop than the house! Point is, once I have that workspace I’ll get stuck into a few projects including a custom C64 case and and rather specialised driving cab.

Of course, because we got reamed by the Cropper Brothers Landscaping for about an extra ten thousand bucks, we we have struggled with a deposit for the house! And the quality of this Brisbane landscapers work isn't great

[gumby510]

This forum for me at least was a stepping stone down the road to having dedicated arcade machines. I put my ugly mame on hold and just started restoring and learning to fix arcade machines. I have all the old timers around here to thank for that. If it wasn’t for all those awesome builds I would not have had the courage to move forward in this hobby.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Osirus23]

BYOAC taught me to use soup cans to draw the radiuses for the corners on my cab.

[pbj]

BYOAC taught me to use soup cans to draw the radiuses for the corners on my cab.

That's... genius.

The era that always made me laugh was when half the forum had children in a 2-3 year period and everyone was making glowing dust washers out of diaper wipe containers.

[eds1275]

I'd like to do more personally, have some great ideas in my head... but my life went to hell and it's at the point where I don't know if I can recover before it's time to call it quits.

[Drnick]

I still try and maintain an interest but I’ve spread myself too thin withhobbies including re-learning to fly. With any sort of luck we’ll have a new house next year with, for the first time in my life a good workspace. Here’s a thread with review from another forum on the workspace and it’s associated landscaping. We are in Brisbane Queensland

https://www.aussiearcade.com/showthread.php/95735-Shipping-container-sheds-Anyone-done-this

And a YouTube clip

And if you can’t look at it a couple of pics to illustrate. I’m kinda more excited about the workshop than the house! Point is, once I have that workspace I’ll get stuck into a few projects including a custom C64 case and and rather specialised driving cab

Signed up to read the thread,  Ouch 35K,  I did a similar wall but with sleepers,  I did look at the concrete/steel retainers, but the price was crazy.
I do hope they backfilled close to the wall with gravel and assorted size stones and only have about a foot or so of earth at top for finish. I really need to get my neighbours to put something like that in for their retaining wall.  They replaced part of it with Concrete boards, but they used gravel boards which should only be 2 high max,  They have gone 5 high and I bet it fails before the end of the decade

[Zilog]

I seem to get into MAME every 10 years or so.  I still have my files from MAME 0.32 Beta 10 from 1999.  Back then I just enjoyed playing the classic games of my youth again using keyboard or gamepad.  Then in 2009, while recovering from a major health setback, I started a OneNote notebook (definitely one of my top 5 apps of all time), where I put a ton of research and ideas about a MAME cabinet I knew I would never build.  It was lots of fun anyway.  I spent most of the time learning about the latest software and tools like CLRMamePro, etc.  I had not a single power tool to my name, or a garage or any other place to use them even if I did have tools.

Then two or three months ago, I opened that old OneNote notebook and thought about how some things had changed.  I DO have a few powertools.  I DO have a garage now.  I still don't have much in the way of woodworking skills, and unfortunately I still don't have the room for a full size cabinet, but my dream MAME machine took that into account anyway.  And other things have changed too.  Zero delay encoder boards with screw down terminals, instead of taking-apart-a-keyboard hacks and learning to solder. High-quality new spinner and track ball controls instead of cannibalizing old machines and more hacks. Not to mention more resellers carrying authentic pushbuttons, microswitches, real joysticks and all sorts of the stuff needed to make a high-quality arcade machine.  True, CRTs are harder to come by, and even though I certainly would have appreciated a nice Wells-Gardner tube and the authenticity of scan lines and shadow masks and bloom and all that, I'm kind of relieved too.  Tubes scare me, and like I said I have too much stuff and not enough room anyway.  A nice thin, light LCD with some simulated CRT effects will be just fine for me.
 
Absent this thread, there's a good chance I never would have posted my project.  Partly out of laziness, but mostly just because I wasn't sure anybody else would be interested.  For instance, reading this thread, there seems to be at least some hostility toward something called Weecades.  I don't know what those are, but my project is a small desktop machine, done a bit unusually perhaps as its inspiration is my old Vectrex console, but still, it's not a full-size arcade cab.  Will my little project be met with groans of disdain or boredom?  It's a real worry for some.  But I think I'll post something anyway.  No guarantee I'll finish it (I tend to be a bit of a hobby hummingbird - flitting from one to the next).  But I am going strong and still having lots of fun so I hope to complete something.  But if not, I'll hope to see you all here in 2029 when it seems that my next MAME-athon would be likely to happen.

[jennifer]

Your journey right or wrong means the world to someone on the same path, Idea or conceptions Not so good? Well, whatever your take or vision just may be you may just be the spark that ignites desire.

[yotsuya]

I seem to get into MAME every 10 years or so.  I still have my files from MAME 0.32 Beta 10 from 1999.  Back then I just enjoyed playing the classic games of my youth again using keyboard or gamepad.  Then in 2009, while recovering from a major health setback, I started a OneNote notebook (definitely one of my top 5 apps of all time), where I put a ton of research and ideas about a MAME cabinet I knew I would never build.  It was lots of fun anyway.  I spent most of the time learning about the latest software and tools like CLRMamePro, etc.  I had not a single power tool to my name, or a garage or any other place to use them even if I did have tools.

Then two or three months ago, I opened that old OneNote notebook and thought about how some things had changed.  I DO have a few powertools.  I DO have a garage now.  I still don't have much in the way of woodworking skills, and unfortunately I still don't have the room for a full size cabinet, but my dream MAME machine took that into account anyway.  And other things have changed too.  Zero delay encoder boards with screw down terminals, instead of taking-apart-a-keyboard hacks and learning to solder. High-quality new spinner and track ball controls instead of cannibalizing old machines and more hacks. Not to mention more resellers carrying authentic pushbuttons, microswitches, real joysticks and all sorts of the stuff needed to make a high-quality arcade machine.  True, CRTs are harder to come by, and even though I certainly would have appreciated a nice Wells-Gardner tube and the authenticity of scan lines and shadow masks and bloom and all that, I'm kind of relieved too.  Tubes scare me, and like I said I have too much stuff and not enough room anyway.  A nice thin, light LCD with some simulated CRT effects will be just fine for me.
 
Absent this thread, there's a good chance I never would have posted my project.  Partly out of laziness, but mostly just because I wasn't sure anybody else would be interested.  For instance, reading this thread, there seems to be at least some hostility toward something called Weecades.  I don't know what those are, but my project is a small desktop machine, done a bit unusually perhaps as its inspiration is my old Vectrex console, but still, it's not a full-size arcade cab.  Will my little project be met with groans of disdain or boredom?  It's a real worry for some.  But I think I'll post something anyway.  No guarantee I'll finish it (I tend to be a bit of a hobby hummingbird - flitting from one to the next).  But I am going strong and still having lots of fun so I hope to complete something.  But if not, I'll hope to see you all here in 2029 when it seems that my next MAME-athon would be likely to happen.

If I could go back, I would have told myself to use OneNote to keep track of everything as well. Good for you!

[Howard_Casto]

Probably my biggest problem with this hobby is my now swiss-cheese memory.  I've literally forgotten more than some people know in regards to the hobby.... I'll go to make an app or something only to discover that somebody already did years ago, or even worse I already made it.     I try to post any ideas and such somewhere on the forums.... mind you I lose the thread but at least it might help somebody.

[Mr. Peabody]

I felt a jennifer around here. I was wondering when I would scent her again.....

[jennifer]

I felt a jennifer around here. I was wondering when I would scent her again.....

*Jennifer puts on giant sunglasses as not to be recognized...Go sniff somebody else please.

[Mike A]

Yeah. That is more than a little creepy.

[jdbailey1206]

[yotsuya]

Just walked in the bathroom to take a pee - holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- someone dropped a load. Phew!!

[PL1]

"That sounds pretty nasty- how 'bout a courtesy flush over there?"   




Scott

[Mr. Peabody]

*Jennifer puts on giant sunglasses as not to be recognized...Go sniff somebody else please.

But. I just. Can't.

I think he was missing the clue.

[Ond]

There may appear to be not much going on with me that's arcade building related.  The irony eh? Well I've just gone through a stressful moving house ordeal and am now looking at organising a workshop space in the garage in the new place.  It's an opportunity to create a workspace which is comfortable and motivating to get back to hobbies in.  It's kind of a project in itself really.  My wish list for my workshop includes:

•   Workbench with drill press, vise, drop saw and grinding wheels mounted
•   Good lighting
•   Radio/Music source
•   Carpet on the floor in the workbench area
•   Peg board for tools
•   Organised shelving
•   LCD Monitor on the wall
•   Wall mounted heaters
•   Easy to access power strip
•   Fridge for beer
•   Arcade related decoration - framed pictures tokens and stuff

The garage is a grungy depressing area at the moment.  I’m going to transform it. I’ll take some pictures, because if I don’t – it didn’t happen.

 

[Arroyo]

My wish list for my workshop includes:
•   Radio/Music source
•   Fridge for beer

[Drnick]

There may appear to be not much going on with me that's arcade building related.  The irony eh? Well I've just gone through a stressful moving house ordeal and am now looking at organising a workshop space in the garage in the new place.  It's an opportunity to create a workspace which is comfortable and motivating to get back to hobbies in.  It's kind of a project in itself really.  My wish list for my workshop includes:

•   Workbench with drill press, vise, drop saw and grinding wheels mounted
•   Good lighting
•   Radio/Music source
•   Carpet on the floor in the workbench area
•   Peg board for tools
•   Organised shelving
•   LCD Monitor on the wall
•   Wall mounted heaters
•   Easy to access power strip
•   Fridge for beer
•   Arcade related decoration - framed pictures tokens and stuff

The garage is a grungy depressing area at the moment.  I’m going to transform it. I’ll take some pictures, because if I don’t – it didn’t happen.

I like the sound of this. I see you will have wall mounted heaters, But don't forget ventilation/cooling so you can happily work in there all year round. 

[danny_galaga]

I still try and maintain an interest but I’ve spread myself too thin withhobbies including re-learning to fly. With any sort of luck we’ll have a new house next year with, for the first time in my life a good workspace. Here’s a thread with review from another forum on the workspace and it’s associated landscaping. We are in Brisbane Queensland

https://www.aussiearcade.com/showthread.php/95735-Shipping-container-sheds-Anyone-done-this

And a YouTube clip

And if you can’t look at it a couple of pics to illustrate. I’m kinda more excited about the workshop than the house! Point is, once I have that workspace I’ll get stuck into a few projects including a custom C64 case and and rather specialised driving cab

Signed up to read the thread,  Ouch 35K,  I did a similar wall but with sleepers,  I did look at the concrete/steel retainers, but the price was crazy.
I do hope they backfilled close to the wall with gravel and assorted size stones and only have about a foot or so of earth at top for finish. I really need to get my neighbours to put something like that in for their retaining wall.  They replaced part of it with Concrete boards, but they used gravel boards which should only be 2 high max,  They have gone 5 high and I bet it fails before the end of the decade

Hey thanks man. It's Aussie dollars so not as much as you are thinking, so about 24,000 USD total and we are out by about 6,500 USD. Since we are in Brisbane, Australia and you in the US, you will never have the misfortune of dealing with Cropper Bros Landscapes 

[Drnick]

Hey thanks man. It's Aussie dollars so not as much as you are thinking, so about 24,000 USD total and we are out by about 6,500 USD. Since we are in Brisbane, Australia and you in the US, you will never have the misfortune of dealing with Cropper Bros Landscapes 

I wish I was USA but I am UK,  so about 20K English at current rates.  The pound has taken a proper beating because of Brexit..  Luckily no Cropper Bros here although a friend of mine once hired Yipee Kai Aye landscapers, and when they messed it all up he replaced them with a pair of Bros now known as Bodgeet and Scarper
 

[danny_galaga]

Hey thanks man. It's Aussie dollars so not as much as you are thinking, so about 24,000 USD total and we are out by about 6,500 USD. Since we are in Brisbane, Australia and you in the US, you will never have the misfortune of dealing with Cropper Bros Landscapes 

I wish I was USA but I am UK,  so about 20K English at current rates.  The pound has taken a proper beating because of Brexit..  Luckily no Cropper Bros here although a friend of mine once hired Yipee Kai Aye landscapers, and when they messed it all up he replaced them with a pair of Bros now known as Bodgeet and Scarper

So you didn't send ALL the crooks to Australia then

[Ond]

Great to see some new projects ARE going on lately.  My own production line is also underway again.  Builders, I salute you! 

 

Ond

[Kingcade]

I just joined and started my first project recently. Building a cabinet has been on the to-do list for awhile, and the Arcade 1up cabinets ironically inspired me to finally do it. I loved the concept of the Arcade 1ups, but I’m a tall guy, and they’re too short. Also, I’m kind of a hyper-creative person, and I would much rather build than buy so I can channel my own ideas. I also finally have the skills and tools to pull it off.

After having last looked at MAME about 10 years ago, I was under the impression that things might have stabilized by now. If anything, I found that things got more complex. Some of it is more options, and some of it is me being picky/purist. So, that was a bit of a deterrent, but I’m pushing through.

I’m documenting things on my build thread. I had originally wanted to post a ton of photos, but I found the photo-posting process to be too awkward and limited. Forums just haven’t aged well compared to other forms of social media, which may be a deterrent for some of the next-gen of cabinet makers. Just my two cents.

Still, I’m very happy to be here and very appreciative of the wealth of information you all have contributed.

[opt2not]

Forums just haven’t aged well compared to other forms of social media, which may be a deterrent for some of the next-gen of cabinet makers.

Except “other forms of social media” can’t get a proper search function implemented for looking up past information. While social media does have easy and accessible (grandma proof) buttons to quickly upload pics, it’s main focus is on current trends, and doesn’t support easy past information access at all.
Forums still reign supreme in search functions (vital to this hobby), and forums are widely community driven/owned and data isn’t owned by a big corporate machine.  Read the policies of some of these social media platforms, you’d be disgusted how much of the content you upload is owned by these corporations. Facebook and instagram is the worst, every picture you upload to their server is legally owned by them. That’s what you agreed to when signing the user agreement.

Picture posting on forums isn’t a one-button grandma solution, but at least you don’t have to worry about Saint stealing your content.

Also try doing any kind of reasonable page formatting on social media. That ain’t happening. I can’t post a write-up, embed images between bodies of text, alignment options, add a spoiler tag, change font sizes, etc...

[Kingcade]

Oh, I agree that forums have lots of advantages and Facebook has lots of drawbacks. I’m just a bit disappointed that forum software hasn’t evolved with the times, and it will be a deterrent to younger people. There really isn’t any technical reason that we can’t have all of the forum advantages along with easy uploading of photos.

[opt2not]

They have though. This forum doesn’t have the newest forum bells and whistles, but other forums do. Look at SRK for example. Not sure what software they’re using but it’s a lot more modern.

But I like BYOAC as is. Along with the other arcade forums. It’s not a big deal that it doesn’t have the grandma friendly buttons. I’ve been on forums for decades and am used to BB codes.  to me, this helps filter out the millennials, trendsters and of course my granny. Granny can stick to her social media, forums are for serious hobbyists.

[benarcade]

I'm back after being away for about 5 years, because I've decided to build a RetroPie unit. My interest dropped off after finishing my project back then.

I guess I should have posted photos of my build before, but I didn't think anyone would be interested - it's a bastardization of a real arcade cabinet.

I started out in the 90s with MAME and a keyboard, and then about 10yrs ago, I decided to buy an XArcade controller. The XArcade controller is great for people who don't mind micro switch joysticks, but it inspired me to get the real deal - leading to a custom-built control panel, using an original Pac-man joystick and old, original leaf switches for everything. My "cab" is a Chinese armoire in the living room that contains a Windows XP(!) PC and LCD, mounted in a wood sled that I can pull out to expose the control panel (also wood). By hiding it, no one can tell that I have an arcade cab in the living room, but on the other hand, no one knows that I have an arcade cab in my living room!

Back in 2014 or so, I knew my way around MAME - I had a custom front-end, all my ROMs worked, had all the samples in place, etc. But time passes, and I have to re-learn all that stuff now while learning how RetroPie works.

I envision the RetroPie to be a somewhat bar-top that fits into the armoire, with an original arcade marquee - probably Pac-man if I can find one for a reasonable price.

[It's amusing how many times I've read about how "easy" RetroPie is to get up and running. RU kidding me?]

After I get that running, I might set up another bar-top or maybe a small cab for dedicated vertical games. I use Raspberry Pi's for various things, and I can have them do double duty as arcades.

I'll try to be better about posting here. I've had a lot of help from all of you and couldn't do it without this forum.

[You know you've been around for a while when you Google a question and find an answer on a forum in an old post that you wrote.]

[Kingcade]

But I like BYOAC as is. Along with the other arcade forums. It’s not a big deal that it doesn’t have the grandma friendly buttons. I’ve been on forums for decades and am used to BB codes.  to me, this helps filter out the millennials, trendsters and of course my granny. Granny can stick to her social media, forums are for serious hobbyists.

Well, this thread was asking why there aren’t any new people posting builds. If nothing changes, then that won’t change either. 

I’ve been a part of 5 or 6 creative hobby communities that were all forum-based. They are all shadows of their former selves, and they could all benefit from an influx of millennials and trendsters. Some of them turn out to be serious hobbyists. (I’m Gen-X, but I fully appreciate the passion I’ve seen from creative millennials)

[opt2not]

So you think a one-button solution for image posting will solve the lack of project posts? 

If that’s your suggestion, then perhaps you should start a thread in the Forum Discussion section and see how that goes. Saint pays for this forum, so ultimately software changes are up to him.

I personally don’t think a Facebook-like solution is the answer, nor would I want this place to become like that.

Stick around a little while, get the lay of the land, know your audience.
No one likes new people showing up suggesting changes to cater to their personal needs. There are members here who have been active and contributing to this community for a loooooong time. Get to know them and the vibe of this place before trying to change it.

[Mike A]

You could just use Tapatalk. It is really easy to add pics using that.

[Kingcade]

You could just use Tapatalk. It is really easy to add pics using that.

Thanks! Giving it a try now...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Arroyo]

Not sure that I think making pictures easier to post is a deterrent from new people posting, having said that I wouldn't mind seeing the picture upload process be a little bit easier.  Resizing photo's and correcting orientation outside of the forum is kind of a pain.  Obviously doesn't keep me from posting, but yeah wouldn't mind it being easier.  I would agree with Mike on the Tapatalk thing, which I go to for a quick upload.  Only thing I worry about with that is the photo is uploaded to their servers and I worry about it becoming another Photobucket debacle.

[Mike A]

Yeah. I just leave paint open on my desktop and two BYOAC tabs open when I want to post pics. I just suggested TapaTalk as an alternative to not posting pics at all.

[leapinlew]

I just posted some pics last night and the orientation was wrong on the forum. I use the snippet tool to screen cap and repost. I used to used to use paint. I found snippet easier and it's already included in Windows.

I haven't found a way for Win10 to quit fixing my orientation for me.

[leapinlew]

But I like BYOAC as is. Along with the other arcade forums. It’s not a big deal that it doesn’t have the grandma friendly buttons. I’ve been on forums for decades and am used to BB codes.  to me, this helps filter out the millennials, trendsters and of course my granny. Granny can stick to her social media, forums are for serious hobbyists.

Well, this thread was asking why there aren’t any new people posting builds. If nothing changes, then that won’t change either. 

I’ve been a part of 5 or 6 creative hobby communities that were all forum-based. They are all shadows of their former selves, and they could all benefit from an influx of millennials and trendsters. Some of them turn out to be serious hobbyists. (I’m Gen-X, but I fully appreciate the passion I’ve seen from creative millennials)

I like new people showing up and giving suggestions, it keeps us young. There are some old crusty's here, try to not let them run you off. 

[opt2not]

I like new people showing up and giving suggestions, it keeps us young.

[opt2not]

After having last looked at MAME about 10 years ago, I was under the impression that things might have stabilized by now. If anything, I found that things got more complex. Some of it is more options, and some of it is me being picky/purist. So, that was a bit of a deterrent, but I’m pushing through.

[Ond]

Ha.  Hmm, what exactly is a purist in terms of BYOAC anyway?  I say BYOAC and not just the broader arcade hobbyist community. 

[opt2not]

Ha.  Hmm, what exactly is a purist in terms of BYOAC anyway?  I say BYOAC and not just the broader arcade hobbyist community.

Other people might have a different explanation, but to me, being a purist means you're sticking to somewhat traditional arcade design conventions and emulation is avoided. Especially poor emulation that introduces things like input lag (like a rasp pi) that deters from the experience of the original game.

I just found the statement of being a purist because of not agreeing/liking the extended features of an Emulator is kind of a contradiction.

[Ond]

Ha.  Hmm, what exactly is a purist in terms of BYOAC anyway?  I say BYOAC and not just the broader arcade hobbyist community.

Other people might have a different explanation, but to me, being a purist means you're sticking to somewhat traditional arcade design conventions and emulation is avoided. Especially poor emulation that introduces things like input lag (like a rasp pi) that deters from the experience of the original game.

I just found the statement of being a purist because of not agreeing/liking the extended features of an Emulator is kind of a contradiction.

I have to admit I'm a real skeptic when it comes to rasp pi being used for emulation.  It seems a compromised base to begin from.  Maybe that's changing as rasp pi advances in processing power.  I get that they are cheap to use but PC stuff is so easy to come by.

[Kingcade]

Ha.  Hmm, what exactly is a purist in terms of BYOAC anyway?  I say BYOAC and not just the broader arcade hobbyist community.

Other people might have a different explanation, but to me, being a purist means you're sticking to somewhat traditional arcade design conventions and emulation is avoided. Especially poor emulation that introduces things like input lag (like a rasp pi) that deters from the experience of the original game.

I just found the statement of being a purist because of not agreeing/liking the extended features of an Emulator is kind of a contradiction.

I have to admit I'm a real skeptic when it comes to rasp pi being used for emulation.  It seems a compromised base to begin from.  Maybe that's changing as rasp pi advances in processing power.  I get that they are cheap to use but PC stuff is so easy to come by.

I suppose purist means different things to different people. Maybe picky is a better word. The things I wanted to be picky about in my build are:
- Having a vertical screen for vertical games and a horizontal screen for horizontal games, hence a rotating display
- Having a CRT rather than LCD screen
- Running in native 15Khz - that seemed easier to do with a Raspberry Pi than a PC
- Having joysticks that could operate in 4-way or 8-way mode

I haven't actually run any games on my Pi yet, but my understanding is that it works fine for most arcade games. It apparently bogs down when emulating later consoles. If it doesn't work, I'll try a different approach.

[leapinlew]

My experience with the pi has been along the lines of it being a fine experience, as long as you are ok with the base installs available and you are average to good at many games. I think when you are really good at a few specific games, you'll notice things that will affect your game play that most players wouldn't. Also, some people are just more sensitive to audio and visual defects. I always thought it was blissful ignorance not to be blessed with a perfect ear or not being able to tell the difference between a 1080p and 4k displays. I'm one of those blissfully ignorant folks. On the flip side, I also wonder what experiences I'm missing out on. Guess I'll never know.

Bottom line, your mileage will vary, so check it out and report back.

The word purist gets thrown around here a bit. I've seen self proclaimed purists here build machines that are much better quality than the mass produced wooden boxes we were given. That seems to be ok.

[Mr. Peabody]

......4k looks like high-resolution videotape - as in cheap, like soap operas. Pretty damn obvious.

People are less ugly under 4k.

[Vigo]

Soap Opera effect is caused by frame rate and/or frame interpolation, not resolution.

[Mr. Peabody]

Yes. And 4K is at least 60. Film-style is, and according to 'informed opinions' will remain for a long while, 24 (23.xxx). I prefer this for 'high-production' video.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Yes. And 4K is at least 60. Film-style is, and according to 'informed opinions' will remain for a long while, 24 (23.xxx). I prefer this for 'high-production' video.

Huh? Frame rate and resolution are independant and most modern films that are released in a 4k resolution are still typical cinema fps.

The bigger issue of 1080p vs 4k is physical screen size and viewing distance. At a certain point your eye just can't resolve the difference (assuming the source media was shot with enough detail for there to even be a difference).

[Howard_Casto]

Yes. And 4K is at least 60. Film-style is, and according to 'informed opinions' will remain for a long while, 24 (23.xxx). I prefer this for 'high-production' video.

Huh? Frame rate and resolution are independant and most modern films that are released in a 4k resolution are still typical cinema fps.

The bigger issue of 1080p vs 4k is physical screen size and viewing distance. At a certain point your eye just can't resolve the difference (assuming the source media was shot with enough detail for there to even be a difference).

^This^

Got a 4k 50 incher last holiday season and honestly I can't tell any real difference between 4k and 1080p.  I mean maybe if I got 10 inches from the screen or something.  It's definitely not the same as the difference between ntsc broadcast and 720p or 720p and 1080p.  Now the HDR color.... sometimes that makes a difference depending upon the film.

[Osirus23]

I can't see much of a difference with films at 4K vs 1080. I can, however, notice a huge difference going from a 1080p to 4K PC monitor. When using 4K I set the Display Scaling to 200% so everything (taskbar, icons, etc.) renders at the same size in 4K as it does in 1080p, but the text is so much crisper and nicer to look at. I work as a programmer and this makes a big difference to me.

And regarding the "soap opera" video effect, no that has nothing to do with 4K. 4K is only a resolution. All the 4K movies I watch playback at 24 fps and do not have that issue.

[markc74]

^ double this ^

I truly dont understand the push for 4k visuals when it impacts performance so much. Yes it looks clearer and some content truly shines (bbc blue planet etc) but for gaming? Meh. Frame rate and responsiveness are king imo. Hdr beats 4k for me although they seem to be intrinsically linked (on xbox at least)

[Howard_Casto]

Well what kills me is they are already trying to roll out 8k or higher.  In the US at least, the cable/fiber infrastructure simply isn't fat enough to handle 4k, much less anything higher.  It all seems like a gimmick to sell tvs to me. 

[leapinlew]

It all seems like a gimmick to sell tvs to me.

Gee, you’re crazy man.

Now bring me my “8k ready” curved 3D smart tv already!

[Drnick]

......4k looks like high-resolution videotape - as in cheap, like soap operas. Pretty damn obvious.

People are less ugly under 4k.

This is so so true.  First thing I did with both my 46" 1080 and the 65" 4k was turn off all the processing and stuff.  I can't stand that cheap soap opera look  

My opinionion is that 4k resolution is ever so slightly better than 1080p for movies where the movie is being played from 4k source.
The difference with games is better though.  Spiderman on PS4 1080p  vs Spiderman on PS4 Pro 4k, I would rather play it in 4k, definitely looks nicer.
The main problem I have with 4k is if you have a low resolution item being upscaled,  upscaling of 240/480i video is absolutely crap
HDR is nice though The difference it made when I was playing Tombraider was a lot larger than I expected.

[Ond]

I can't see much of a difference with films at 4K vs 1080. I can, however, notice a huge difference going from a 1080p to 4K PC monitor. When using 4K I set the Display Scaling to 200% so everything (taskbar, icons, etc.) renders at the same size in 4K as it does in 1080p, but the text is so much crisper and nicer to look at. I work as a programmer and this makes a big difference to me.

And regarding the "soap opera" video effect, no that has nothing to do with 4K. 4K is only a resolution. All the 4K movies I watch playback at 24 fps and do not have that issue.

I have to concur with this.  I read a lot of eBook magazines on my 4K PC monitor, no not that kind, mainly 3D drawing mags and such.  Fonts are clean and sharp and much closer to a printed page than a pixelated screen. With gaming I prefer frame rate over resolution.  It's a big ask of most graphics cards to crank out 60fps for the very latest games at 4K. I guess in our hobby there's more scope for HLSL emulation using 4K, GSync  (HA! not with a Raspberry Pi you don't) but lower resolution screens seem fine to me.  Classic movies that have been restored or re-released from 4K or 8K scans are a real joy to watch.  It's like watching your favourites for the first time again with all the extra detail your eye picks up in each scene.

Hi def content is becoming increasingly more available but it's probably true that most people with 4K TVs are mainly watching content at 1080 or less so no wonder they can't tell the difference from their older 1080p sets!

[Jimbo]

I've built a few things... had a break, got more ideas but have to get the garage (game room / workshop) finished first.  Things always take twice as long as you think they'll take (at least) but when I'm done I plan to get back to my Jimbovision project.  Right now I have like zero room to do anything.

I am based in the UK, and I have slowly got more into buying and restoring original arcade machines.  I've recently bought an Outrun upright, Defender and an Asteroids Cabaret.  Also have 2 Electrocoin Midi Jamma cabs that I need to fix up.  I dunno, there's just something different about playing on the proper hardware than software/emulated setups.

I have too many projects though!  Since I'm in the UK I've been more active on the ukvac forum than here tbh.  I do have a soft spot for this forum though so I'll definitely be documenting my project progress on here (when I get back to Jimbovision and any other future builds) but probably on ukvac for the restorations, since that's more local to me and feels more relevant - plus the help and knowledge there in fixing up old machines is amazing.

Regarding the forum and facebook etc.   My process for posting here with photos is quite drawn out.  I write the post in notepad leaving gaps for the photos.  I have to get the photos off my phone, rename them, resize/crop them in gimp/paint/whatever.  Upload them separately in a project images thread.  Grab the URLs for each of them and paste them into my notepad post, manually adding the img tags around them.  Then I copy and paste the entire thing into the "new post" texbox on BYOAC.  At least this way I have it in case the post fails to submit (happened before) and I've lost it all.

So it's a bit of a faff, where FB and probably others make it a lot easier.  I don't mind it really... it means I can get the post right, think about it, crop images nicely etc.  But I can see how younger/less patient people could be really put off by it.

Also, I've joined a bunch of arcade building groups/pages on facebook, and to me, most of the stuff posted is right tat compared to the quality we see here.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

To the point of resolving detail at a distance where it pertains to video games.. when we first got a 4k TV, we were playing a lot of 4-player split screen games (Mostly Sonic Team Racing), Even at the  distance from the TV to the couch, being able to see that there was something in the distance, even if I couldn't tell what it was, was a pretty big improvement.

[markiej]

Well what kills me is they are already trying to roll out 8k or higher.  In the US at least, the cable/fiber infrastructure simply isn't fat enough to handle 4k, much less anything higher.  It all seems like a gimmick to sell tvs to me.

While film can be tricky to quantify - but I remember someone saying that even IMAX doesn't resolve to 8K

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Well what kills me is they are already trying to roll out 8k or higher.  In the US at least, the cable/fiber infrastructure simply isn't fat enough to handle 4k, much less anything higher.  It all seems like a gimmick to sell tvs to me.

While film can be tricky to quantify - but I remember someone saying that even IMAX doesn't resolve to 8K

https://www.tested.com/tech/459274-lets-clear-some-imax-misconceptions/
According to IMAX, 35mm film has a digital equivalent of 6000 lines of horizontal resolution (6K), while 70mm film has the equivalent of 18,000 lines of digital resolution (more like 12,000 in reality).

[pbj]

For the last 20 years, every time there's a new digital camera or fancy TV, I'm always presented with an article claiming that 35mm is juuuuuuust slightly higher quality. 

Who knows... there was someone selling vinyl records at the airport, maybe if Kodak keeps pushing lies we'll have one hour photo again.

[Howard_Casto]

Well it is true though.  This is why old tv shows like Star Trek TNG and Cheers, that were filmed in 35mm, look fan frikkin tastic in hd.  Of course the problem is any show that had any sort of special effects generally had it composited in ntsc 480i, so all the sfx have to be remastered.... sometimes they do a great job like TNG and sometimes they do a horrible job like Buffy.  The same can be said for films.... movies shown on imax rarely have their sfx rendered in imax resolution.  I think that's why modern film makers over-use crappy editing techniques that prevent you from focusing on the action. 

[Mr. Peabody]

The forum software has evolved - just not to the level of convenience of most contemporary things. Apparently due to storage and allowed file size and set limits.


@Howard: except in TOS, where they re-did all the space scenes, changing the ends of the Enterprise warp nascelles for example.....

I think the joggy editing and such is to mirror the mental space of people, especially under 20.