Uncle DT's Random Image Thread

[Blaze]

Like you, I thought about the old school 70's or the new solid state types. And after watching a few pinball restoration videos, I think I'd be more comfortable with the solid state ones. Those old school ones looked like a wiring nightmare. I like those Stern machines. That Rush one looks fun, curious to know what happens when you go through that portal to 1978 AD. But if I had to choose one, I think I'd go for Iron Maiden...

[Kruger]

Ok, how big is my game room going to need to be now?  Getting some classic pinball games from the 70's, one from the 80's, then one or two from 90's or newer.  That Iron Maiden game looks really cool, and of course I will definitely need to add the Rush pinball to that collection.  As I did a bit more of a deep dive into modern pinball games, they are surprisingly complex and because they are programmable, they can be modified and updated with new side quests and stuff...

But then on the other side of the room will need a Space Invaders, Asteroids, OutRun, Star Castle, Defender, Centepede, Dig Dug, Galaga, Space Harrier, Tempest, Tron, Donkey Kong, Pole Position, BattleZone and Joust.  Plus a MAME cabinet that can play any of those plus any of the consoles as well.  I know there are a ton others that I forgot, but purposely left out PacMan, I never did like that goober...

Holy crap, I'm gonna need another 2000 sq ft house just for my arcade.  Or at least an out building sitting next to the brewery...

[Blaze]

Yeah, you're going to need another building for your arcade. But having your own private arcade with all those top notch games would be awesome. But you forgot one. I remember skipping school and walking to the Parkade and filling up the leader board with my initials on this game...

[Kruger]

Man, I thought I had included Gyruss in that first list.  Another "G" game that I forgot was Gauntlet.  Maybe it would be fun to collect a game that starts with each letter of the alphabet...

[Blaze]

That would be kinda neat. Although, as we've seen, the "D" and "G" games would be tough to pick just one.

While looking through images around Donkey Kong and Jumpman (Mario) I got an idea that I think would be kinda neat. What if you created a miniature table top cabinet for a specific game with very minimal hardware inside. Basically just the buttons/joysticks and a monitor and a small micro-controller or FPGA designed for that particular game. It would be more of a slave that would connect to a master "arcade" hub. When you plugged the cabinet into the hub, it would automatically determine the game it should play. This way you could have an arcade room where you could have multiple people playing a game instead of having that one fulll sized cabinet with the monster controller panel with the umpteen buttons and joysticks and track balls on it. Each cabinet would have the correct buttons/joystick and artwork...

[Kruger]

I think the "D" game would need to be Dragon's Lair.  It would be really cool to have one of the original games with the laser disc player (assuming it all still works).  Then the rest of the "D" games would be covered by the MAME cabinet.  But to be honest, I agree with your Defender statement that it did have awesome sounds, and while it was fun, my life expectancy was just a few screens.  And dammit when they took my last human (or I couldn't catch the poor bastard in time and he splatted the ground) and the planet exploded, just forget it.  That was pretty near impossible to get out of.  But it would be pretty cool to have an original Defender cab...

So I'm not sure I am understanding.  Are you thinking that you would basically have a bunch of mini cabinets, all true to the game that it's playing, including controls, side art, marquee, etc...?  Except it's just a mini?  And you can then fit a lot more into the same space, especially if you're going to have 26 of them.  That would work, except how to get them all at playing height.  Maybe on some sort of desk like a standing desk, you adjust the height to what's comfortable for you.  So Nancy could leave it at the "shorty" setting and yours would be a bit taller...

[Blaze]

I was always optimistic when playing Defender. So optimistic that my game would be over and I still had all of my smart bombs. But I played just like you. Only made it a few screens at most and I was certainly not the right person to be in charge of saving the humanoids.

But yeah, you have the right idea. Individual mini cabinets true to the originals. Doing this also allows for positioning the display either portrait or landscape. Now I was thinking more of a shelf or a bar top to put them all on. Standing is an option, but tall bar stools would be allowed. I should add this to my list of "retirement" fun things to work on...

[Kruger]

What if instead of a bar top or table, you just wall mounted your collection?  Want to move them around, just rearrange the order that they are in.  When building the room, you would want to use plywood for the walls, then cover with drywall so you don't have to worry about putting the anchors into the studs...

[Blaze]

I like that idea. You could also go with a French cleat system. That way you can just hang the cabinets without needing to screw them down. But where am I going to put my beer when I play...

[Kruger]

Ooooh, nice!!  I had completely forgotten about French Cleats, those would certainly be the best functional solution and handle the cabinets no matter how wide each is.  And the beer solution is easy as well, a bar down the middle of the room where you can sit with friends and chat and take breaks would be my choice...

[Blaze]

Well, the bar down the middle is definitely a given, but I was thinking for those rare events where you're just crushing it and need to wet the whistle. I wouldn't want to have to revert to this method...

[Kruger]

A few options: limit your games to only those like Stargate where your quarter lasts two minutes or less, get a backpack hydration system, or build a few small shelves that will work with your French cleat system...

[Blaze]

I think a glass holder that can attach to the cleat would be a viable option as well...

[Kruger]

Make sure that glass holder has an indent to keep the glass secure.  Kind of like a cup holder.  That way a stray bump wont send your beer tumbling.  There's nothing worse than spilling your beer and wasting it...

[Blaze]

Of course. I was also thinking of making it look like one of those plant holders that has the ring/cage that the glass would drop down into...