General Arcade and Retro Chat - Insert Coin -

um7y1h83ge06nx · 06-08-2018 3:26pm

I've been thinking about the inevitable next gen of consoles and feeling a bit jaded by it. I'm lucky enough to have a PS4, Xbox One and Switch so will probably just stick with them when the new consoles come out and pick up games on the cheap.

Instead of new consoles i have been thinking of building/buying a modestly speeches mini PC that could be put under or beside the TV and use a wireless keyboard, mouse and controller. Instead of using it to play the latest PC games, use it to catch up on all the classic PC games I have missed as I've always always been a console gamer. I'm targeting specs that would allow me play PC games up to about the launch of the PS4/Xbox One (so 2012 or 13) and maybe emulators up to Dolphin.

Be great to grab classic older games from GOG or other sources and add good quality of life and graphical mods to them.

I could go for older parts and build a PC from a certain time but a more modern PC might offer better flexibility.

Any thoughts and has anyone put together a PC solely for the older games?

CiDeRmAn · 06-08-2018 3:50pm

Nerdkiller1991 wrote: »

But there's two slots in each Dreamcast controller. Surely you meant to say 8?

:eek:

I am sorry...

A fool I have been...

Inviere · 06-08-2018 5:05pm

Josiah Clever Shin wrote: »

Any thoughts and has anyone put together a PC solely for the older games?

You'd get away with very little really. Something like a Z170, i5 6600, & 8GB of ram would likely see you from ancient dosbox stuff right up to todays stuff (at medium settings for todays stuff). If going this route, buy second hand parts and it shouldn't come in too dear at all. If buying new, go Ryzen, better value for your needs.

Shapey Fiend · 06-08-2018 9:46pm

PC gaming is so cheap these days I can't imagine going back to consoles.

You still miss out on a certain amount of exclusives but the trend at the moment is a lot of stuff is getting ported to PC. The Japanese ports are still a bit hit and miss but people often mod them to fix problems if they're not too obscure.

You never know though maybe the next gen will be more innovative than the last couple. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all know that making quasi PC type consoles isn't very cost effective and a big idea could sell a lot more units than a conservative choice.

DaveyDave · 06-08-2018 10:19pm

So the Dreamcast is randomly restarting on me. Load times seem a bit fecked too. There was a long pause between stages on House of the Dead and it restarted on Shenmue before I saved it. Marvel Vs Capcom was grand though. It doesn't boot to the console menu or throw up any disc errors. Just restarts and boots the game again.

KeRbDoG · 06-08-2018 10:23pm

DaveyDave wrote: »

So the Dreamcast is randomly restarting on me. Load times seem a bit fecked too. There was a long pause between stages on House of the Dead and it restarted on Shenmue before I saved it...

Some simple things to check first;
- Dreamcasts that I remember have a cooling fan to one side, beside the modem adapter. Is that moving air?
- Have you opened it up to ensure there isn't any dust etc?
- Do you have an SDCard type adapter installed in the place of the optical drive? I remember reading that without a plastic case/shroud those adapters, the air flow doesn't pass across the PSU so the system tends to overheat.

CiDeRmAn · 06-08-2018 11:14pm

DaveyDave wrote: »

So the Dreamcast is randomly restarting on me. Load times seem a bit fecked too. There was a long pause between stages on House of the Dead and it restarted on Shenmue before I saved it. Marvel Vs Capcom was grand though. It doesn't boot to the console menu or throw up any disc errors. Just restarts and boots the game again.

Dodgy burned disks and the load on the laser motor as a result of it not being the format it's designed for means they break quicker.
That said, this may be more apocryphal than true, it could be simply a moving part doing what moving parts do, wear out.

megaten · 07-08-2018 11:17am

Josiah Clever Shin wrote: »

Be great to grab classic older games from GOG or other sources and add good quality of life and graphical mods to them.

I could go for older parts and build a PC from a certain time but a more modern PC might offer better flexibility.

Any thoughts and has anyone put together a PC solely for the older games?

They're a large amount of great PC games you can play regardless of whatever kind of specs you have. I know PC gaming can have this notion that its about they highest specs but in practical terms most people probably play PC games on their laptop and the biggest PC games generally have modest spec requirements.

Mr.Saturn · 07-08-2018 6:42pm

DaveyDave wrote: »

So the Dreamcast is randomly restarting on me. Load times seem a bit fecked too. There was a long pause between stages on House of the Dead and it restarted on Shenmue before I saved it. Marvel Vs Capcom was grand though. It doesn't boot to the console menu or throw up any disc errors. Just restarts and boots the game again.

The most common source of this issue is the little metal pins that connect the power supply and the laser can get dusty and dirty and shorts out the system. Had this issue a couple times and was literally just a case of taking the top off the system and giving the pins a wee clean. Very easy fix and ran grand afterwards.

DaveyDave · 07-08-2018 7:04pm

I had it open to clean the laser rails so maybe I moved the ribbon out of place. I'll have to crack it open again. I'll check the fan is moving air, clean up any dust and check the connections.

I believe there's a screw missing that holds the laser enclosure down so it seems I wasn't the first to open it, maybe someone adjusted the laser screw? Regarding burned discs causing the laser to crap out, maybe. I've only used utopia myself a few times unsuccessfully to try boot an NTSC disc so who knows if the previous owner was a fan of CD-Rs.

CiDeRmAn · 08-08-2018 1:21pm

Just realised the floor in the building I'm working in is packed full of meeting rooms going unused, but all with big screens and HDMI ports.
Time to bring the Nintendo mini consoles to work!

rubadub · 08-08-2018 1:46pm

I have some old arcade games on the PS3 which were updated, just wondering if there are any more.

R-type dimensions is great, you get rtype 1 & 2 and can change to enhanced graphics or switch back to original arcade graphics even midplay.

Final fight can change graphics to simiulate a CRT like those retroarch shaders, or smoothen the graphics. Or you can have an arcade bezel.

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo : HD Remix can also play original graphics or updated ones.

Are there any others like this?

I was also looking for other simple arcade games or old classic computer games updated with better graphics. These might be clones with different names than the original so harder to search for, the likes of arkanoid, pipemania etc. I have retroarch but just wondering if there is a site which would show similar games easily.

DaveyDave · 08-08-2018 1:57pm

Feck sake. Bidding on some juicy boxed goods on eBay but there's a load of bids going in on them now they're going for strong money. Could probably up my bids a little bit but not much more. Seems like anytime there's a bigger number of bids people jump in and start putting in silly money.

Am I better off just setting a good max bid and leaving it or waiting til the end? I think if I bid again now it gives others time to think about raising it more. They're going to be Christmas presents from the family so I can put in a strong bid but probably going to lose out due to overpriced bids. Not looking for a bargain but don't want to overpay for 4-5 items...

o1s1n · 08-08-2018 2:15pm

Never bid before the last 10 seconds of an auction, you're just over inflating the price.

Throw down your max bid at the very end, I usually try 3 seconds if I'm on a good connection. Then let ebay's proxy bidding do the rest for you if someone also throws in a 3 second bid.

Retr0gamer · 08-08-2018 2:15pm

Always be sniping.

o1s1n · 08-08-2018 2:31pm

Sure the adrenaline rush is half the fun

megaten · 08-08-2018 2:36pm

Anyone know the normal price for a psp go? I'm thinking of another playtrough of persona 3 portable in the near future. I have a psp 1000 but its kind of ****e.

Retr0gamer · 08-08-2018 2:52pm

Hard to believe people used to praise the psp 1000 screen. It ghosts like crazy. 2D games in particular are really bad,

I'd say just go with a Vita!

megaten · 08-08-2018 2:58pm

I already have a vita put the sticks make me nervous of putting it loose in a bag and I was thinking of just getting a cheap psp go so I wouldn't have to worry about it breaking.
Just after reading psp slims can be charged via USB? I might just get one of those if I can't get a psp go cheap.

08-08-2018 3:03pm

EmuParadise has ceased distributing roms.
I know theres a million other places to get such files but EP was one of the best in its field:o

rubadub · 08-08-2018 3:08pm

o1s1n wrote: »

Never bid before the last 10 seconds of an auction, you're just over inflating the price.

Throw down your max bid at the very end, I usually try 3 seconds if I'm on a good connection.

There is sniping software to do this for you, lets you select the time. I think 3 seconds is too close as you could have been outsniped.

The software allows you to schedule lots of auctions, and apply logic, like if you win one auction it will cancel the rest of them, which you have yet to even place a bid on anyway. If you win one auction you might automatically want to increase or decrease the bids on another upcoming auction.

This is an old lengthy post I had about it, some bits might be out of date, e.g. I do not know about the cancellation process anymore.

rubadub wrote: »

I simply avoid bidding wars, I bid in the closing moments so nobody has time to enter a counter bid when they are outbid. There is no real way to know how much I have truely saved on an individual auction, but if you know how to read auction histories you can see what typically happens. People get caught up in bidding wars.

How I figure I have saved is by checking out completed listings- another little known ebay tool.

If you do a search you can go to advanced and select "completed listings" this shows all the auctions for the item you want that were sold in the last month. Now you can see "the going rate", especially for high volume items, such as memory cards. You might see that the going average is €50, while many may go for €40, some €60. So if you win your auction for €40 you know you got a better than average deal.

Many people will not use ebay properly at all, they do not realise it is proxy bidding, they think the bid they put in will appear right away and must pay it. Some do realise it is proxy but STILL do not use it right, they do not put in their TRUE maximum.

Say you start a auction for a new bike, starting bid must be €50, the bikes shop value is €500. The ONLY reason I would bid at this stage is to stop you cancelling the auction. If there are no bids you can cancel at any time.

So I do not bid my max, but I do it with good reason. I bid €100 and you now cannot (easily) cancel the auction. My true max is say approx €400. Instead of bidding €50 I might go €100, for a good reason too.

I bid €100, but the current price is €50. Now another bidder comes along and typically will bid €55, not his true max, you can see this in many histories, though harder these days. Now he is instantly outbid as I am €100. He goes up in increments, loves the buzz of not knowing. Then he hits €100, I still outbid him. Now he might go €105 and be the highest bidder, and is delighted.

If I left it at an opening bid of €50, and he scored at €55, I figure he is now more likely to put his TRUE max in, as the bid is very low and he has not gotten any fun out of the auction, and sees he is likely to be outbid. But going to €105 he thinks he is really in a good bidding war, and is winning.

If I go €110, he will likely go €115, or higher. So I leave it. Most will go check on the auction to see what is happening. It may be days from finishing.

Now I go in and bid in the last few seconds, I bid €405 (not €400) in the last few seconds. Now he has NO TIME to react with a counter bid.

Many people put round figures in too, that is why I would pick €405, not €400. It is more likely somebodys max is €400, and if they had time they would say, "ah, 400 was my max, but I will go the extra tenner", but they have no time.

This bidding is called sniping, and ebay are against it since they lose out on profits, because the buyer ends up getting it cheaper.

Some do not think it is fair, but only those people who have used ebay incorrectly! it is stated in ebays rules/guidelines, enter your max, YOUR TRUE MAX.

If you get pissed off because you got sniped on an item at 405, when your bid was 400, then you cannot complain about anything, if you really were willing to "go the extra tenner", then why not do it from the start.

I have seen powersellers selling 10 identical items, most starting at €40, they also had 5 of the exact same items as buyitnow for €50. Yet I have seen people get caught up in bidding wars and ended up paying €60!

I get sniped all the time myself too, you will be outbid by a small increment, say €5, but that does not mean if you went €10 more that you would have got it for that, you do not know the other guys true maximum, it could be €100 more. If I did have time I might throw the extra tenner on and lose, this forces the other sniper to pay more. Ebay & the seller win, the bidder loses out.

rubadub wrote: »

Sniping also protects you from the seller himself, if he does choose to have a 5 min extention (if it does get offered in the future), then he can have a mate bid an extra euro to try and squeeze more out of you. This is called shilling.

This is the site I used to use, dunno if it is still any use
https://snip.pl/

The Last Bandit · 08-08-2018 3:16pm

Cake of Tremendous Power wrote: »

EmuParadise has ceased distributing roms.
I know theres a million other places to get such files but EP was one of the best in its field:o

:(

Was a decent site alright and had great nointro sets.

Doge · 08-08-2018 3:23pm

megaten wrote: »

I already have a vita put the sticks make me nervous of putting it loose in a bag and I was thinking of just getting a cheap psp go so I wouldn't have to worry about it breaking.
Just after reading psp slims can be charged via USB? I might just get one of those if I can't get a psp go cheap.

I'd still say go with a vita. I bought this case for like and it protects it really well.

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-EVA-hard-Carry-Case-for-PS-Vita-PlayStation-Vita-Slim-/151624220649

Funnily enough I was playing Kula World the other day on the Vita via the adrenaline app and it black screened on me!

Had to hard reset the Vita and now all my applications are corrupt! The only thing that seems to run is the henkaku app.

Not sure what happened there!

Inviere · 08-08-2018 3:36pm

Cake of Tremendous Power wrote: »

EmuParadise has ceased distributing roms.
I know theres a million other places to get such files but EP was one of the best in its field:o

Wow, that's a big name to drop out. Fear of the big N's unlimited power budget has made operating big rom sites quite risky these days it seems. For me it's a double edged sword; on one hand, I'm with Nintendo in shutting down big sites which distribute roms and make a ton of cash while doing it via ads etc. On the other hand however, the majority of people who possess the where-for-all to download emulators and roms aren't going to be the ones handing Nintendo €10 per rom anyway, so it's a big of a waste of time. Secondly, the monetary amounts they're suing for are just absurd (something like $150k per rom)...that's just wrong.

o1s1n · 08-08-2018 4:05pm

rubadub wrote: »

There is sniping software to do this for you, lets you select the time. I think 3 seconds is too close as you could have been outsniped.

Yeah I've tried sniping software over the years, but gave up on it when I realised it was taking some of the fun out of ebay. I actually actively enjoy sniping

3 seconds is perfect as it means non sniping types (so those people who enjoy incremental bids for whatever reason) have zero time to get the next increment in, wiping them out. As long as your internet connection is up to the task of course!

If someone also comes in at the last few seconds with a snipe bid too that's higher than yours then you were going to lose out either way. You shouldn't be sniping with an aim to increase your bid to beat another snipe, your snipe should be one shot with your maximum bid at the very end and that's it.

One thing I find amazing about ebay is the psychology of bids drawing in more bids. I've seen so many items over the years that will end, be relisted, end etc with no bids - as soon as one person decides to bid you suddenly have one or two other bidders. It's like the bid acknowledges the value to everyone. This is the danger of bidding too early too.

...

I suddenly have an urge to hit ebay

DaveyDave · 08-08-2018 5:38pm

The bids drawing in other bids is what pisses me off. People bidding £2, £3, £4 on the likes of Shenmue. It's always high feedback sellers, scratching each others backs I presume.

The auctions I'm looking at already have a ton of bids so I'm likely going to take a loss on most of the stuff, annoying as I'd prefer to get a strong bid in and just get the stuff rather than play the waiting game checking email notifications but I've seen some stuff go for absolutely stupid money recently.

I have some backup listings if they fall through though, also annoys me about the flood of bidders because there's other listings and it's likely these will exceed the cost of the buy it now stuff already up.

rubadub · 08-08-2018 6:11pm

o1s1n wrote: »

3 seconds is perfect as it means non sniping types (so those people who enjoy incremental bids for whatever reason)

I would always go higher than the default setting in sniping software, if someone comes in a second later with the same max as yours then you win. 3 seconds is very short, there is time needed for someone to place the bid and then verify the bid. When I used to do it manually it took a long time. It might be faster these days though.

DaveyDave wrote: »

rather than play the waiting game checking email notifications ....

I have some backup listings if they fall through though

That is the beauty of the ability to line up loads of auctions, with advance planning on which to cancel. You can do it calm & collected. Then just forget about it. I remember I used to have alarms on my phone and be running to a PC to get a bid in. With the software I just just forget about it.

You also have to be careful looking at finished auctions, nowadays they have "sold" and "completed listings". I am not sure if sold really means it is always sold. In the past it was only completed listings which people presumed sold if they were in green text. I learned this was not the case, a pulled auction was "complete" but not sold at the price.

Before I learned this I was kicking myself -I was often looking for concert tickets and they were seemingly selling for next to nothing. In reality they had low bids and were pulled early, this was especially happening with concert tickets as they were going to be useless in a few days time, and sellers might have found other buyers offline.

Steve X2 · 08-08-2018 7:18pm

Private sites are definitely the way to go for Roms and whatnot these days.

Inviere · 08-08-2018 7:35pm

Steve X2 wrote: »

Private sites are definitely the way to go for Roms and whatnot these days.

As in private torrent sites? Or invite/access only non torrent websites?

CiDeRmAn · 08-08-2018 10:33pm

Steady on lads and lassies.
While not against the charter we are surely skimming the edges here.

um7y1h83ge06nx · 08-08-2018 10:46pm

A bit of chat about that on IGNs latest Nintendo Voice Chat podcast.

Nintendo are really fighting against the tide there. With EmuParadise it was individual ROMs. Plenty of other places that will allow you download every game for a console in one go.

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy · 09-08-2018 12:20am

megaten wrote: »

I already have a vita put the sticks make me nervous of putting it loose in a bag and I was thinking of just getting a cheap psp go so I wouldn't have to worry about it breaking.
Just after reading psp slims can be charged via USB? I might just get one of those if I can't get a psp go cheap.

Can you not get a hard case for it? I'm wary of it too but have mine since around 2014, part of it though is I actually have a strap on it because I'm a bit clumsy.
Hard case works great though

Steve X2 · 09-08-2018 12:57am

Inviere wrote: »

As in private torrent sites? Or invite/access only non torrent websites?

There's only one site i use. I of course won't link it here, but it isn't the normal sort of site you'd come across on a google search.

Tom Mann Centuria · 09-08-2018 8:21am

Steve X2 wrote: »

There's only one site i use. I of course won't link it here, but it isn't the normal sort of site you'd come across on a google search.

How do you Google it, and discuss it here on boards without breaking the charter? Darn you boards, gosh darn you to heck.

Inviere · 09-08-2018 9:41am

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

How do you Google it, and discuss it here on boards without breaking the charter? Darn you boards, gosh darn you to heck.

From the Charter:

Charter wrote:

NO LINKING TO ROM SITES

So it seems once you don't link to sites (common sense really), or otherwise assist people in finding such sites, it's all good.

Roms.

CathalDublin · 09-08-2018 10:11am

a quick google for .....

megaten · 09-08-2018 10:14am

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy wrote: »

Can you not get a hard case for it? I'm wary of it too but have mine since around 2014, part of it though is I actually have a strap on it because I'm a bit clumsy.
Hard case works great though

I just dislike how much thickness cases add even them slim ones. Plus I have an oled Vita and there aren't many cases. Maybe I should just get a second vita I don't care about getting damaged.

CathalDublin · 09-08-2018 10:58am

Last edited by CiDeRmAn; Today at 10:19. Reason: Nopedy nope!

booo, that didn't break the charter, it didn't even mention rom

CiDeRmAn · 09-08-2018 11:34am

CathalDublin wrote: »

booo, that didn't break the charter, it didn't even mention rom

CathalDublin · 09-08-2018 11:47am

CosmicSmash · 09-08-2018 12:27pm

I wonder will all the fake Pokemon and SNES carts on eBay be next. I thought that would have been their first port of call. It would probably be harder to stop sales through AliExpress but surely it wouldn't be too hard on eBay.

KeRbDoG · 09-08-2018 3:05pm

Looking for some suggestions - I bought a iCade 60in1 board for one of my Dino King cabs without thinking that its vertical and I can't run that cab in vertical with a good bit of hacking of the cab which I'm not gonna do.
Ideally aiming for a low number multi board (not a Pi), the best I've found is a Taito 70in1.

Any other suggestions?

CathalDublin · 09-08-2018 3:44pm

KeRbDoG wrote: »

Looking for some suggestions - I bought a iCade 60in1 board for one of my Dino King cabs without thinking that its vertical and I can't run that cab in vertical with a good bit of hacking of the cab which I'm not gonna do.
Ideally aiming for a low number multi board (not a Pi), the best I've found is a Taito 70in1.

Any other suggestions?

I've tried the pandora box 3 and its got very bad screen tearing in horizontal games, I'm not sure if the 5 is better.
The price of that Taito board, why not run the arpicade? Mine boots to just my favourites so the list isn't huge.

KeRbDoG · 09-08-2018 3:53pm

Bounced that person a mail to see what options they might have - wanted to stay away from a Pi as I just foresee the need for lots of configuration which I wanted to avoid. Plug'n'Play baby! etc.

CiDeRmAn · 09-08-2018 4:03pm

What about a cheap PC, just load it with the classics and off you go.
Easy to configure as well

DaveyDave · 09-08-2018 4:03pm

Further to the bids I've been placing on eBay, the seller has Bart Vs The Space Mutants for example. Currently around €21 in bids, and there's two CIB buy it now for less. I don't understand why people are racking up the bids.

Also when checking the sold listings this seller seems to have recently sold a lot of the same items. It's possible they're relisted, but surely not that many? Having the same problem with House of the Dead on Saturn, keep getting emails notifications of the same seller listing the game after it selling.

Inviere · 09-08-2018 4:08pm

^^ fake bidders, drive up price, hence resisted items as they’re never actually sold in the first place

KeRbDoG · 09-08-2018 4:10pm

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

What about a cheap PC, just load it with the classics and off you go.
Easy to configure as well

Have all the bits to do that already but still look for plug/play'ness - the Taito 70in1 is looking like better idea.
Have a pandora in another cab, not a fan of the forced intro crap. Don't want/need newer titles. The auld 60in1 would have been awesome...there is a 17in1 but a chunk of those titles need two sticks which this cab won't have.

The search continues!

CathalDublin · 09-08-2018 4:12pm

KeRbDoG wrote: »

Bounced that person a mail to see what options they might have - wanted to stay away from a Pi as I just foresee the need for lots of configuration which I wanted to avoid. Plug'n'Play baby! etc.

I've seen some nice videos of the ArcadeSD too, its menu system is attract mode(same as Arpicade)
The arpicade software has come a long way since the first release, generally just resize your SD while creating it from the image, set your monitor resolution - default is usually OK, set your shortkeys exit/credit and then just add the roms you want, I admit, it did take me a couple nights to get it up and running in the early days but recently I wiped my setup and installed the latest version and it only took me a couple minutes to get it up an running, longest bit was waiting on the romlist to generate

I'm adding a link to Deezers/arpicade homepage https://arpicade.com/

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy · 09-08-2018 4:41pm

megaten wrote: »

I just dislike how much thickness cases add even them slim ones. Plus I have an oled Vita and there aren't many cases. Maybe I should just get a second vita I don't care about getting damaged.

I guess? Pretty expensive option imo.
I got a set like this https://www.bigbeninteractive.com/bigben-products/gaming-accessories/essential-pack-psvita
It's not a small handheld so it'll be a bit extra bulky, can't have it all ways, I dunno what other ideas to give, sorry. Hope you get sorted with something that suits

General Arcade and Retro Chat - Insert Coin -

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