Not much going on?

[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.