4/22/04

Older versions of MAME
With each new release of MAME, the executable grows in both physical size and in system requirements.  Older PCs tend to show this 'bloat' more than the newer, 2+Ghz racehorses.  For  that reason, I run older releases on my slower (350Mhz) machines.  However, finding older versions of MAME32 is not always easy.   Two sites will make your life easier, JoyMonkey.com and MAME.net..  JoyMonkey.com has a nice archive of MAME32 releases from v.29 to present.  You will find that you can fit v.34 on a floppy uncompressed.

The always helpful MAME site includes a page of the previous releases of MAME, from v.1 forward.  These two pages might help save you time if you inherit any lower end machines.   

4/19/04

Indoor Golf Simulator
Another concept that has interested me for a while is indoor golf systems.  You may have seen these in larger-scale sports bars and in golf course clubhouses.  They allow a player to use real clubs and balls to play a simulated round of golf.  There are a number of competing products available for sale but all of them are well beyond my financial means.  AboutGolf, whose product is displayed to the right, is one of those companies.  You can see that even the space required for the golfing system is large.

What has interested me is if a system could be built as a DIY project at substantially less expense than the system it would model.  A comparison would be a new Golden Tee cabinet purchased through a distributor versus building your own look-a-like cabinet with the PC version inside for home use.  You can get 90% of the playability for a fraction of the price.  And you can tweak the construction to your personal tastes. 

I consider this just a slight spin-off of my usual arcade projects; just larger.  The only piece of this system that I cannot seem to find a less expensive option is the sensor that is used to read the ball's path, in 3D.  If anyone has any information about sensor alternatives, I'd love to hear about them.  Just email me.

4/18/04

Build your own PVR (Personal Video Recorder)
TIVO has been calling me for at least six months but so far I have been able to resist it's tantalizing lure. The recurring subscription is the factor that breaks the deal for me ($13/mo is a little high, in my opinion).  It turns out that there are other options available to those who are PC savvy, which would include most all the visitors to this site.  Build your own PVR is an excellent resource for creating your own version of TIVO but without the subscription fees.  It does this with a PC.  This site is a wealth of information and will take you a while to get through all the material.  The site was created and is maintained by Rampy, an active member of the BYOAC forums.  I can see myself building one of these units in the near future as the co-workers who have TIVO continue to rub it in.  They know who they are.:-)

4/10/04

UltraStyle Frontend
A new MAME/MAME32 front-end has been released, ultrastyle.  It was created by Chris, a fellow enthusiast whom I have communicated with a great deal over the past four months.  The list of features (from his site):

• "customizable background (in .jpg format) default is black screen with logo in corner
  

• upright or cocktail mode - clockwise and counter-clockwise
  

• custom font under screenshot cube and on marquees for games without .pngs
  

• customize font color for game name under cube *Upright and now Cocktail too!
  

• customize resolution 640x480,800x600,1024x768
  

• easy to setup
  

• 3 wheel sizes
  

• Mouse/Trackball wheel control"

It is a very nice alternative to the 'boring' MAME32 interface.  Give it a look at http://www.mameworld.net/ultrastyle/index.htm.  It is obvious Chris has put a great deal of hard work into the design.  I downloaded it and had it running in under two minutes.  It is a free download, although he will graciously accept donations for his efforts, if you find the front-end useful.  

4/1/04

ArcadeCab Ultra-Trackball on ebay
The newest controller has made its appearance on ebay.  You can find it here. 

3/31/04

The Store is finally open!
After a very hectic several weeks, the store reopening has arrived.  There is a 2-player custom controller that is available, with a fair number of available options.  Check it out.

A new item is the ArcadeCab Ultra-Trackball Controller (for want of a slicker sounding name).  It sports a 3" PS2 arcade trackball and three buttons in a very solid case.  It is great for any Tiger Woods or Golden Tee aficionado who may not have the room (or cash) for a full blown cabinet.  It will also work well with any MAME trackball game.  Another selling point is that this controller is small enough (10d"x16w"x5"h) to travel with you easily.  Plug it into your laptop when you are away from home and you've an instant arcade.  See what you think.  Both these items are in the Store.

It will be a little while longer before the new cabinets show up for sale.