Arcade Gaming General

[FunnyStarRunner]

[I]~fancy logo goes here~[/I]

Since Facepunch is working on a game about recreating the experience of playing in an arcade, why not have a thread about arcade gaming in general? This applies to both emulation and playing games in real life.

[B]Why Emulate?[/B]
Arcades are a dying breed in America. They seemed to be everywhere in the late 20th century, but now that we live in the future where gaming at home is the more popular option, nobody wants to leave their house to play a video game anymore. Oh sure there's still some arcade games out there, but they've been restricted to places like bowling alleys and seedy dive bars. And even if some other business has an arcade game available, 90% of the time it's that goddamn Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga machine from 13 years ago.

So unless you live a place like Japan where arcades are still being played in to this day, emulation is the easiest way to go.

[B]Emulators:[/B]
- [B][URL="http://www.mamedev.org/"]MAME[/URL][/B] is the most well known and comprehensive arcade emulator to date. Can play thousands upon thousands of games
- [URL="http://www.supermodel3.com/"][B]Supermodel[/B][/URL] can (somewhat) emulate games from Sega's Model 3 arcade board. Last updated 4/1/2013.
- [URL="http://www.daphne-emu.com/site3/index_hi.php"][B]Daphne[/B][/URL] emulates Laserdisc games like Dragon's Lair and Space Ace.
- [URL="http://demul.emulation64.com/"][B]Demul[/B][/URL] functions both as a Dreamcast emulator and an emulator for Sega's NAOMI board.
- [URL="http://hbmame.the-chronicles.org/"][B]HBMAME[/B][/URL] is essentially MAME but loaded with hacks and homebrews that the original doesn't have.
- [URL="http://adamulation.blogspot.com/"][B]DICE[/B][/URL] emulates incredibly old games from the 1970s that didn't have CPUs and used monochrome displays. Very few games have color support.
- [URL="http://nebula.emulatronia.com/"][B]Model 2 Emulator[/B][/URL] is exactly what it says: an emulator for Sega Model 2 games. This includes classics like Virtua Cop, Dead or Alive, and [I]DAY-TO-NAAA[/I].
- [URL="http://www.emulator-zone.com/doc.php/arcade/zinc.html"][B]ZiNc[/B][/URL] emulates games using the Z1, Z2, and System 11 boards, all of which are PlayStation-based.

[B]ROM Downloads:[/B]
Unfortunately because of that "gray area" bull honkey that people take seriously, I can't link ROM downloads without possibly getting banned for warez. Go use AltaVista for your game searching.

[B]Misc. Links (Mostly MAME Related):[/B]
- [URL="http://www.mameworld.info/3darcade/"][B]3D Arcade[/B][/URL] is a fronted the makes you feel like you're in a real arcade (similar to FP's Arcade minus MAME support [still wishing]). Hasn't been supported in years and is pretty cumbersome to set up properly.
- [URL="http://www.arcadelocations.net/"][B]Classic Arcade Game Locations[/B][/URL] allows people to discover the locations of real arcade games in their state, providence, or town. May not be that up-to-date.
- [B][URL="http://ggpo.net/"]GGPO[/URL][/B] is a networking library client that allows people to play multiplayer arcade games with others online. Mostly used with fighting games, but games like Metal Slug work as well.
- [B][URL="http://www.mamedb.com/"]mamedb[/URL][/B] is a slightly outdated website but still very useful place for information on every single MAME game up to version 0.147. Game information, dip switch functions, what's supposed to be in a zipped ROM, etc.
- [URL="http://sourceforge.net/projects/mewui/"][B]MEWUI[/B][/URL] is a great frontend for MAME/MESS/UME and the one I'd personally recommend. You'll need the correct version for each emulator, though.
- [URL="http://mrdo.mameworld.info/mame_artwork.php"][B]Mr. Do's Arcade[/B][/URL] is a project dedicated to adding high-resolution bezel artwork to your games and make them look prettier.
- [URL="http://www.progettosnaps.net/index_en.html"][B]Progetto-Snaps[/B][/URL] contains thousands of pictures you can use for your MAME frontends. Also has a separate section for MESS.

[QUOTE][B]How to check if a MAME ROM is working:[/B]
1. Open up the Command Prompt.
2. Type in "cd C:\[emulator directory]\MAME" and hit enter.
3. Now type "mame [ROM name] -verifyroms". If you're using the 64-bit version of MAME, use "mame64" instead of "mame".
4. If everything clears out, it should say the ROM is OK. If not, it tells you what file is missing and promptly label the game not OK.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE][B]Adding CHDs to MAME games:[/B]
In the "roms" folder, create another folder with the same name of the zipped ROM that requires a CHD and throw the proper file in there.[/QUOTE]

[ashxu]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N_K8-WQxfA[/media]

[Crimor]

You forgot the GGPO client in emulators, which is special since it allows you to play multiplayer in arcade games. It's mainly fighting games, but there's stuff like metal slug too.

[xelivous]

as far as mame frontends are concerned, i've used and enjoyed:
[url=http://attractmode.org/about.html]attract-mode[/url] (windows/macos/linux)
&
[url=http://hyperspin-fe.com/]hyperspin[/url] (windows)

[FunnyStarRunner]

[QUOTE=Crimor;46177942]You forgot the GGPO client in emulators, which is special since it allows you to play multiplayer in arcade games. It's mainly fighting games, but there's stuff like metal slug too.[/QUOTE]

Added. I didn't know that was a thing.

[Durrsly]

I still have a local arcade near me, but their selection of good games is dwindling.
They got rid of Tekken 2 for seemingly no reason, but still has War Gods.
At least it has essentials like Namco games, Double Dragon, Metal Slug, and a Street Fighter game (X-Men vs Street Fighter).

I have faint hope that one day Nickel World will be blessed with the beauty that is [I]Trio The Punch: Never Forget Me[/I]

[Massaki]

I got an aimtrak lightgun a few weeks back, works great with Demul, Supermodel, Model 2 and Mame played a lot of The Maze of The Kings, House of The Dead 2 and the Lost World with it.

£70 was a bit expensive for it however and the plastic feels very cheap, however it's pretty much your ideal lightgun for arcade emulation purposes, much better than the fucking TopGun anyway.

[ashxu]

There used to be an arcade that was "near" me but it closed down a few months ago although I can't really be that sad about it. It only had old games that were everywhere like Time Crisis 2 and Daytona.

Not even the fighting game community here could support it because it only had Tekken, KOF98 and SSF4AE. SF4 was played but then Ultra came out and people lost interest because AE was outdated. I sorta blame Capcom for having a shitty Arcade distribution model otherwise we could of gotten Ultra cabs and I'm sure the Arcade would of gotten a lot more customers in the time period between Ultra's arcade release and console release.

Also they removed 3rd Strike so all the old gen 3rd Strike players stopped going there too. I don't really blame anyone ultimately for the place shutting down, just a shame I guess. I personally didn't go because only sometimes there was someone playing SF4 and I wasn't in the mood to spend a dollar to get my ass handed to me. I can do that online for free.

[editline]8th October 2014[/editline]

[QUOTE=Crimor;46177942]You forgot the GGPO client in emulators, which is special since it allows you to play multiplayer in arcade games. It's mainly fighting games, but there's stuff like metal slug too.[/QUOTE]
GGPO is the greatest netcode created and it's still like fucking magic, especially how a 150 ping Super Turbo game can feel like you're playing local.

[FunnyStarRunner]

Allow me to bump this thread with some ice breakers: what's your favorite arcade game? Your least favorite?

[Spectre1406]

Arcades near I live got bunch of stuff.

Time Crisis, Ghost Squad, HOTD, they even got Sega Touring Car Championship and Daytona USA

And the most popular one, Maximum Tune

[TheNickle]

I still play Initial D with my brother during the weekends.
I always get my ass kicked.

[DeVotchKa]

Arcade Crewman represent. I work at the arcade in Circle Center Mall in Indianapolis, solid arcade over all with shitloads of games for whatever you want to do. We have, in a sort of response to ChronoBlade, I believe four Initial-D cabinets and two Cycraft simulators with Initial-D on them. For shooters we have several Time Crisis 2 and 3 (including the special Japanese TC3 machines), House of the Dead 4, Swarm, Rambo and a few others.

For fighters, we have MVC 1-3, SSF4AE, Tekken 6 and Tag, Guilty Gear XX and KoF I believe 11 to name a few. I can be more specific if y'all want me too.

My favorite game there though is probably Afterburner: Climax. Fun as hell. I understand why we don't but I wish we had some older games too, like Third Strike, Metal Slug and some of the retro games. Thinking about asking them if they'll pay me a bit extra to build cabinets for them.

[SteakStyes]

Only times I really ever got to go to an arcade when I was younger were on my birthday or if we happened to have been on a errand nearby and had some time to kill. When I was finally old enough that I could go on my own the arcades near me had closed down.

Still, it was fun to join a game of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that was in progress and for some reason no one was using Donatello(until I joined). Or a game of Capcom's take of Alien Vs. Predator. It was even fun to think that I was hot shit because I could do well in Street Fighter 2 on SNES and then get my ass handed to me in an arcade by a "pro".

.................Great, now I feel even older.