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midwinter

Aussie Arcade Member
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  1. Hey Dave - OK if your willing to look at packing it up and sending up to Brissy at $2K I'm interested and will send you a PM to discuss.
  2. Hey Dave - Have you had any takers? A quick component price check was just under $3.5K so as commented above a good deal so could be interested. I'm in the market for a system and had a ~$2K budget however my last couples of systems have been laptops (as desktop replacements so using a couple of external monitors and keyboard and mouse etc.) so that's where I was planning to go again (Metabox i7-8750 RTX2060 based system was ~$2K) but not adverse to a better spec good deal desktop. I'm Brissy based so pickup wouldn't be an option but as you said you were willing to post - how much to package it up and courier to Brissy? You haven't specified OS - was an OS included and if so what? I know you said the monitor was boxed - you fired it up and tested it (no dead/stuck pixels etc.)? Anyway, let me know and I will give it some thought if it was still available :) Quick Edit:- I'm assuming above when you say just buy the machine that you mean system and monitor?
  3. If you were building a custom cab what are peoples thoughts basically sizing the cabinet to the size of the screen used (so a big lcd like 32 etc.) and then using a software bezel for games that are 4:3 - or whatever (rather than physically masking the ends of the screen as per above - so centre game image in the LCD)? - - - Updated - - - Thanks @tas1981 - no idea what screen I grabbed - actually haven't fired up the cab for ages and cant remember how I had it setup (video filters etc.). I think I salvaged the power supply out of the desktop that was in there for a friends kid so now I am using so old netbook and vaguely remember it struggled with the display filters etc. Reason I was wondering about using a bigger screen but then only using a particular section of the screen (so 4:3 or whatever) is seeing some of those virtual pinball builds that do similar for the back screen etc.
  4. So what is the native resolution of the 19 or 22" Arcade LCD screens listed above? I grabbed a 27" I think for my cabinet so am curious what the actual size difference would be maintain correct aspect ratio between say the 22" and the wide screen 27" For those not happy with using a bigger Wide Screen - what's your reasoning? I actually think some games look fine stretched to fill the screen (so bigger image) and for those that don't you can still maintain the correct aspect ratio (albeit with black bars - as per above not sure of the difference in physical displayed size) so was just curious. Like if you went a big Viewlix or equivalent and run older stuff your going to have to decide one way or the other. Also for those using LCD in cabinet are you adding scan lines etc. (either hardware or software) and other filters to try for more authentic CRT look? The last question I had what are people using for a bezel if mounting LCD? I used some art card but wondered what others have used.
  5. Likewise I had been meaning to check it out after hearing about it on AA. Main attraction with kids in tow etc. for me was the fixed price entry - kind of like the Timezone lock in sessions (for $20 odd way back when) I liked when I was younger. Was expecting to pay $25 and was pleasantly surprised to find it was only $20 (Thursday deal) so $40 for me and the boy - bargain :D Check for pricing - I think as a general rule it is $15 for either arcades or Pinnies or $25 for both but they obviously do have other deals (like bit cheaper yesterday) and weekly and monthly memberships etc. Had it in my mind that it would have been open before lunch so was a l little surprised to see the hours were 2PM - 10PM but can understand the market they are going for (after school then after work and for weekends the "going out" crew) so makes sense. I would have rather gone on a different day as we had a commitment at 5PM but the others had locked in Thursday so arriving at 2PM only really had a bit over 2 hours but at $20 that's still a decent outing and good value. I texted the others and they were still there after 6PM and infact at least some of them didn't leave till 8.30PM odd. Given we all got there around 2PM that's not a bad effort and represents excellent value for money. For $20 or $25 will happily head back because for just over 2 hrs I didn't actually play too much (more about the kids so I was talking to other parents etc.). They did have a selection of drinks (small cans - what's with that?) and nibbles but my tip would be to bring your own if you were planning a decent session. Young fella was nice and helpful and was happy to talk and explain things about games etc. if you asked. In regards to the games there were a couple of Pinnies out of commission (like Whitewater which seems to be popular amongst you pinball folks) as well as maybe a handful of arcade games but given the numbers that were available that wasn't an issue. Out of the Pinnies I only really knew Adams Family and Dr Who but I did quite enjoy a couple of games on Dirty Harry (liked the shooting the ball out of the gun mechanic). Having not that long ago been to Pincadia I would have said they have a bigger and better selection of Pinnies as 1UP has a few more older style tables but I wasn't going for the Pinnies as I am more of an Arcade fan so that wasn't an issue for me (they arcades I remember were all about the arcade games and there was only ever a selection of Pinnies anyway). Arcade games there was a wide selection and plenty to check out. I enjoyed having a couple of goes on Daytona and Sega Rally and then trying games like silent scope and the TT race (very dull screen on one unit). Like I said only really played a handful so will look forward to playing some more on another visit. The young fella made a point of commenting about original hardware etc. and that's great but I had a go on Magic Sword (fave game from said Timezone lock in sessions) and the crappy CP with the 6 odd weirdly placed buttons was decidedly not original :lol Thought it was really funny seeing one guy in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt playing TMNT game and the dude on the Bang machine doing his rapid fire move. When I was playing Silent Scope and I first saw him doing it I quipped that he had obviously played it before and I think the kids were amazed as well - methinks he liked that machine - not sure I saw him on anything else - kinda reminded me of the oldschool hack to Hyper Sports with a lighter or can etc. back in the day. Anyway, would have preferred to have spent a bit more time there yesterday but will definitely head back for another visit. Wasn't that busy whilst we were there but folks were coming in gradually so I think it got busier towards 6PM or so but then my mate reckoned it went quiet again so not sure what the deal was with crowds etc. At no time whilst I was there were you waiting for a machine (which is great) but not sure if it ever gets so packed that's an issue - maybe others can comment when the busy periods are (Friday or Sat nights maybe?). If you hadn't been for the sake of $25 I would say check it out :)
  6. I used to have a modded PS2 (game it to an old neighbour years ago as his kids didn't have any gaming systems and as per below I was messing around with PS2 emulation so figured I wouldn't need the hardware - maybe should have kept it :redface ) so SOTC was one of the games I had for that. Don't think I ever did get that far and when I was also playing it on my PC via emulation (PCSX2) it was more about messing around than gaming so again not sure I got that far. I thought I was a decent way back into it on PS4 but a quick google shows I have only done 7 Colossi!!
  7. Both the Last Of Us and Uncharted IV seem to be about the same length at 15-20 odd hours (according to https://howlongtobeat.com ) so yeah - I should probably be looking at these sort of titles rather than DOS and Skyrim prior to that!! With a 1 and 3 YO your probably doing OK to get any game time :D
  8. Planning to which is why I have brought it twice!! Did the same thing with Shadow Of the Colossus - took me ages to grab the PS3 game disc (2nd hand for $20 I think) then never fired it up and have since grabbed it again on the PS4 which I did play but stopped and never been back (think I started Skyrim). Actually have a few titles that I need to get around to firing up on the PS4 (Like Uncharted 4, MGSV etc.). Currently almost finished Divinity Original Sin which I think I am at 127Hours :o Anyway - maybe when I finish DOS I should make this my next game on the PS4 :D
  9. Hi Folks, Grabbed it meaning to play it on the PS3 but never got around to it (Never even taken the disc out of the case so as new condition). Also grabbed it on the PS4 but have yet to even start it (Grabbed the digital version in a sale ages ago - I know - I'll get around to it :D ) so as I have purchased twice I want to at least get a few bucks for back so how about $5 I'm Brissy based so happy to try and get it to you if you are likewise based otherwise if I have to post it the postage might not make it worth while but can do at your cost. Cheers
  10. Hey Folks, Sorted it ages ago so might as well list it - PS3 Skylanders Giants Bundle Includes all shown in attached Pic - Game Disc, Portal, Selection of Characters (one or 2 are swap force or whatever one of the newer games was so not compatible - think it is the 2 next to the game disc - cant even remember if they are recognised in giants), lunchbox and cards. Lets say even $20 I'm Brissy based and happy to try and get it to you - I could try and post it if you were interested but guessing it will add at least $10 in postage Let me know if you were interested - TIA :)
  11. Hey @dragondave - Thanks for the pic of the dome - not sure what I was thinking with the death star then. Will have to have another look at your table - I remembered thinking it looked "plasticy" and then when I googled and saw the un detailed dome I was thinking "yeah it was like that" but as your pic shows I guess not. Argh - maybe it was the lighting :redface Checking the site search for Star Wars Data East sees me making a few comments about the game back in 2014 so I probably shouldn't have spammed this thread with SWDE stuff :D @Andyj965 - You one of the folks hosting the Brissy house comps? Might have to get to one if I know a SWDE is one of the tables. Been checking that thread and man some of you folks have some impressive setups.
  12. Directed at me? Only made the initial post because I had stated that Pincadia had been mentioned to me in that introduction post and I had said I would try to get there - figured seeing as I did go check it out might as well post that I had. Anyway the new revision of the Star Wars DE software is discussed in detail here by the author and others https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-mod-data-east-star-wars-pinball-with-added-timed-ball-save-feature/page/8 Linked to that page of the discussion due to the comment:- adjustment 46 very hard one moon no spotting moons on the next ball hard three moons and three each ball after giving you Death Star on third ball Factory same as Hard Easy same as hard very easy I think spots you the 5 moons. and then the author of the revised commenting Previously the default was "easy". I changed the default to "very hard". I recommend leaving it on "very hard" since this forces you to earn the Death Star battle. So looks like my issue relates to that very hard setting. No doubt the machine I used to play was simply left with default difficulty. The below vid is interesting because he talks about the game and how more serious players despised the old version (unbalanced - and just shooting ramps etc.) and his gameplay shows him hitting ramp after ramp and I was thinking you don't have to just hit ramps. Guess I was never a more serious player :D
  13. Hey @dragondave - Like I said a couple of people had mentioned you (as in verbally) because otherwise I wouldn't have known you guys existed. I'm mostly a lurker of the site and hadn't seen you mentioned but I'll be honest and say I am less likely to be looking at Pinball threads so that's probably why (where as nobody has ever mentioned Netherworld to me but have seen it referenced on AA - yet to go but one day will make the effort). When I searched the forum I was surprised you guys didn't have an ongoing thread (news and reviews and the like). Now that I do know you exist will come back for a couple of games (I probably should have had a try on that other Star Wars game that looked ok). Re the food comment I know that's a tuff one and value is very subjective - from your perspective you have costs (rent and wages as cited etc.) and set your prices accordingly and I get that. I've paid a hell of a lot less for a burger and chips (like yesterday from the canteen at districts XCountry) and I've paid a hell of a lot more - not that long ago was entertaining family and reckon I must have had about 10 burgers from different places in a week. Over $20 (for me at least) is an expensive burger (but not uncommon) but I was probably mostly comparing to my semi regular beer/feed where the burger and chips is $15.95 (and I would rate that a fair bit better).As I said probably didn't help thinking it was burger and chips at $12 and then realising chips were extra when I was there. Guess I am used to getting a burger and side (has to be chips - none of this salad stuff :D ) for $X but maybe separating them is a thing now because the meals the other week down at one of the Surfers surf clubs also had sides separate - I mean who would just have a burger without a side (but that's probably another conversation :lol). What did you mean by it will not be 2 hours for $40 on a Sunday? What sort of pricing did you have in mind (Sunday or otherwise)? I just threw out the 2 hours for $20 because that what I vaguely remembered but that was 20+ years ago and from memory it was probably non peak hours (like a Tuesday evening etc.). I was just curios if you (or the others establishments) did the fixed price gaming sessions? Sounds great if you are about to introduce something like that and I would be interested. The advantage you would have is knowing you were going to make $ from the tables for that period (possibly pre book so you know numbers) plus the possibility to make $ from meals and drinks etc. Like I said I probably wouldn't feed $ into a machine (I wasn't good at etc.) but if my spend was capped then I would definitely play and this would be more relevant for the kids (reckon on some tables the boys wouldn't have lasted a min). Re the return v time - maybe you need to record play time against some of those big scores you have for each machine :o (would be an interesting metric - not sure how practical to capture - even roughies). Re the Monday night comps - guessing its a silly question - so the machines are on freeplay during the actual comp I assume - when you say practice before, during and after - that's obviously paid yeah? Further to the above I thought the comp might have been like a lock in session. Its was great that you did have a couple of games downstairs on Freeplay - one of the dads with me mentioned on the evening he went prior to the GABBA game you also had a couple of the pinnies on freeplay and he also commented that that was great. Also before I get onto the serious discussion (Star Wars :D ) I never mentioned it in the original post but on at least a handful of occasions the machines ate our money. Only happened once (that I was aware of) on the pinnies where we had credit on the machine and then it disappeared (weird - cant even remember what the machine was and from memory it didn't even seem to glitch) but happened several times on the machines downstairs (couple of times on that boat race game in the corner - the boys quite liked that). Not sure if the other dads said anything (if they experienced it) to you or the staff but I never bothered mentioning it because I wasn't going to bother you guys for the sake of a dollar here or there but just something to be mindful of. Highlighting the fact the boys liked that linked boat game - how can you not have a couple of Daytona's :p Arcade stable (even these days??) and would have taken a couple of dollars off me even though I could play it at home if I wanted - reckon it would have been a hit with the boys. So Star Wars DE Like I said I haven't played an actual machine for 20+ years but certainly played it a lot back in the day. Couple of great virtual tables (using vpinmame) so over the years on the odd occasion will fire it up (plays great actually virtually) to scratch my itch. I freely admit I'm out of practice (and as I said not much of a pinball player generally) but I reckon I had enough games on Sunday that I should have been able to if not activate multi-ball at least start the "shoot the deathstar" sequence. Nope - now I'm sure some are thinking "well you just suck" and maybe there is some truth to that :p but there was a couple of other things I thought I should have seen (at least once) during play but as I said the big one is that whole "shoot the death star" and the door opening etc. - its iconic and a big part of the table. Its no surprise you're able to get multiball given you said you like the table so I assume have more than a few games on it!! I tried to Google for the settings but the technical manual I found was just all the schematics etc. I know there has been changes in the software as you indicated and checking the net lists them etc. but from my perspective after 20+ years it just didn't play as I remembered which as I said was a disappointment. I had a quick look just before at the virtual tables I had and the associated ROMS and looks to be USA version 1.03 and the death star behaviour is as I remember it from the original table I used to play a lot. Basically the death star advances with each ball so by ball 3 you will get the death star approaching and the have the death star door open and get the shoot the death star etc. No means a certainty as you still need to make the shot and its on a timer etc. but yeah - obviously much easier than the current code and given that shooting the death star (actually putting the ball into the death star) and all the associated DMD imagery and sound are (for me at least) what makes this table then yes I'm disappointed. There are probably going to be people that will put $5 or $10 into this and think yeah - whatever and move on never getting to experience what the table has to offer where as my thinking you don't want to lock that stuff behind an experience wall etc. but that's just me. No biggie - just played a bit different than I remembered. In regards to the actual Death Star - I didn't actually mention metal but a quick Google I think shows the problem:- What I remember Pretty sure what you had It really stood out to me - that the Death Star was this bland shiny plastic dome. Not what I remembered - and again to me an iconic part of the table - needs that level of detail. In fact thinking about it I cant really remember R2D2 (but maybe that was because I never activated it to make it jump up and down). I probably should have taken a few pics - next time. Anyway Dave - looks like I have written war and peace - the consensus was a fun day out :)
  14. No more posts since that original flurry in Oct last year? Was there another Pincadia thread? I used the search and couldn't find any specific ones (was expecting a generic one to post in) so here was my experience posted here rather than starting a new thread. I have had 2 people mention Pincadia to me over the last few weeks so checked it out online and after finding out it had a DE Star Wars (which was one of 2 favourite pinballs from my youth - I was more of an arcade guy) I decided I would take my boy and check it out. Easy bike ride for me so organised a couple of others to join us including one of the guys that had mentioned it (he checked it out taking his boy to a Lions game). Decided on Sunday from open to play for a couple of hours then have lunch - 8 of us being 3 dads and 5 kids. Have to agree on all the previous comments regarding the actual venue - its a nice setup. Looks great with all the pinballs up stairs and I actually really liked the basement setup - had a real nice enclosed feel to it. Spoke to both the owners who were nice and helpful. Now I have to confess I get my arcade (and retro gaming) fix from emulators and am happy enough doing so on my main PC, Main TV (via another PC - with various peripherals such as arcade sticks and light guns etc.) and have a dedicated MAME cabinet in the front room so whilst I was happy to check out the arcade section downstairs I was never going to get overly excited about it. Given the way my boy (and his mates) spam the credits button on the Arcade machine at home I wasn't looking forward to similar behaviour from them at $1 a pop :o Did try to talk to them about learning the game and not wasting money but not sure my anecdotes about lasting an hour on a 40 cent game really meant anything to them :D We were there probably 5 hours with the kids seeming to spend more time downstairs than up so the fact we were there so long translated into a lot of money spent on the actual games. I probably should have controlled their spending a bit better but being first time visit I was a bit more lax than I should have been. If we ever visit again I would definitely set a hard limit like $10 or $20 etc. and once that was gone we are done and I would probably try and keep them upstairs on the pinballs rather than playing the games downstairs. For me as a youth I used to love going to Timezone when they had lock in sessions (like 2 hours) and you paid a fixed price ($20 or around that rings a bell) and could play whatever you wanted during the session. It was a great way to learn games because you could basically just keep playing the game you wanted without the worry of "wasting" money. Not sure if a similar concept would work here - I reckon it might as if I knew it was going to cost $20 for 2 hours gaming I would definitely be keen on playing a few more of the tables. Having never been to anywhere else in Brissy do the other places like Netherworld (or was it 1UP?) do anything similar - I.e. a fixed price gaming session? I had checked the menu prior to going and I remember thinking it seemed reasonable (knowing we were going to be spending on games) but on the day realised the chips were not included and at $6 a serve that probably pushed the meal cost a little bit over reasonable for me (because to be fair - it is pretty basic fare). For 8 of us that was almost $50 for chips so I did the $36 platter of chips and yeah that's some pretty expensive chips. I reckon the meals at $14 or $15 (or $2 or $3 extra) would have kept it reasonable IMHO. The hot dogs certainly looked good and my burger was tasty enough. For me I was only really interested in having some games on the Star Wars DE machine and............yeah........it has been a lot of years but its not the game I remember. I mentioned that to Dave and he explained the software had been revised and doing a search after the fact does see some discussion (although I dindt see anything specific to the version Dave said he was running but it was only a quick search) with most saying it makes it a better game and ...........yeah..... Like I said it has been a lot of years but even some of the physical stuff on the machine seemed not quite right (for example the death star seemed to be a plastic dome - don't think the original was like that). Anyway - I put a fair few $ into it and whilst I am a bit out of practice not one of us achieved multiball. Back in my day you always (or mostly) had a chance at Multiball on the 3rd ball which I think might have been to how it advanced the Death Star with each ball. Its like (or was for me at least) an iconic part of the game - the "shoot the death star" and the actual DMD sequence firing the Laser etc. so if the new code/software limits this bah humbug :realmad: Just......kind of disappointed. Wasn't as fun as I remember so whilst I can appreciate you are able to configure the machine a particular way and change the software etc. I'm not sure why you wouldn't make it as fun as possible and it that means easy ramps (or big score off them) so be it. Guess I not a Pinball purist and as I said when I googled software revisions most of the discussion did seem to have people favouring the changes. I guess the configurability of the machines is to allow operators some balance between playability (ease etc.) vs. take ($$'s) so perhaps some of you home pinball owners might comment how you set yours up. As I said I was really an arcade kid and whilst pinball was prevalent I wasn't really big into them except for 2 games with the Star Wars DE machine being one of them. What was interesting was playing with the other 2 dads and seeing one of them especially having the pinball skills. He was definitely a product of the pinball era (he was onto other things when arcade machines became big) and it showed in how he played any table - guess you are either a pinball player or not :D Anyway - a fun Sunday and as I said I would do it differently next time. Next time I will just have a set budget and play a few games on a couple of tables.
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