I’ve just been checking my blog stats at the end of this month, and can’t believe the figures have jumped up so high! Feb was a record high for me and it’s nice to see the graph-thingy go from just a few in Jan 2009 to what it is today.
I’m not stat mad or anything like that but it’s nice to see that folk are paying me a visit from time to time. Apologies all round for the typos though, even the spellchecker doesn’t know what I’m on about most days 
To you all, my sincere thanks
Today I’ve removed the original CP and taken various measurements which I’ll be using to construct a new replacement.
It looks like the insides could do with another scrub, it’s been a while since I’ve had the CP and back panel removed!
When fitted, the original CP tilts downwards very slightly towards the player with the furthest away part being used to help secure the glass monitor bezel. The CP is a heavy block of wood that’s been routered on the underside reducing th thickness in places for the rear mounted joystick & buttons. The two metal brackets in the picture below attach to adjustable ‘hook/bracket things’ inside the cab and when tightened ensure that the CP is securely attached. I’ll be reusing these on my new CP.
Most of the CP actually sits inside the cab, with only a few millimeters raised about the cab frame. Here’s the front of the CP showing the routed lip which provides a nice rounded front edge.
and here’s the back end showing the angled cut to compensate for the slight angle the CP is tilted towards the player.
My routing skills aren’t up to the job of recreating an exact replica so what I’m aiming to do here is to use a thinner piece of wood overall and use wooden batons on the underside to build up the thickness in areas needed (mainly the sides and front). The Sanwa joystick I’ll be using will be mounted underneath the CP so the thinner the wood, the more joystick shaft I’ll have to play with….er hmm
In the end, I settled on a board with a thickness of 18mm. Quite thin but rigid enough for intense gaming. I’ve also found wooden batons that are exactly the right size so when added to the 18mm board, the overall thickness is exactly the same as the original.
Here’s a rough idea what the joystick/button layout will look like. Tomorrow, with the help of Alan, will be cutting and drilling. Once that’s done, next will be the bit i’ve been looking forward to…wiring, wiring and probably more wiring…and maybe quite a lot of swearing too
The wooden surface doesn’t look smooth in this picture. However, it’s just the rough plastic sheeting that’s making it look this way.
I’ve decided to continue with my ‘will it every be completed’ Mame arcade machine and first job on the list of to do’s is to create a new control panel (CP). It’s a shame I can’t reuse the existing CP but the inclusion of two very large player buttons in the wrong area means it’s probably best to start from scratch.
Old and battered original CP.
This first CP will contain one joystick, and after much deliberation, four player buttons plus one for credit & one for the start button. I’ll also be adding two extra control buttons for various functions but I’ll talk more about these specific functions later on.
After a few rough sketches on paper containing various button layout I settled on something along the lines of the Neo-Geo/Sega layout that sees player buttons one-four in a slight arc. (thanks for the tips Jon )
I’ve created a quick mock-up using MSpaint.
MSpaint proved to be a bit of a pain to work with and at one point I did decided to use layers in Adobe Photoshop. However, for ease and speed, I installed the software shipped with my IPAC interface board which is better suited to CP layouts.
Not only is WinIPAC great for contructing layouts, it can also be used to test/program the IPAC when connected to the PC.
I’ve also transferred the design to Blender & rendered a simple 3D image to get a better idea of what the CP will look like. I’ve not bothered with fancy detail just yet though.
I’ll start taking measurements during my free time next week and then it’s off to the hardware store to pick up materials.
The Sanwa joystick and buttons I’ll be using can been seen on a previous post however I’ll be replacing the player buttons because sadly I’d purchase the wrong ones! – I want the classic concave type rather than the flat topped type.
http://stiggyblog.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/mame-arcade-controls/
Every last Tuesday of the month The Lass O’Gowrie pub in Manchester hosts a retro gaming evening and having the next day off work, thought I’d make the journey up there & meet a few mates.
I haven’t been up this way since The Lass hosted last years fantastic Eurocon (see blog posts -
http://stiggyblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/06/eurocon-weekend-friday/
http://stiggyblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/06/eurocon-weekend-saturday/
http://stiggyblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/06/eurocon-weekend-sunday/
I decided on the scenic drive up there via Snake Pass which would see me through the high peaks and valleys of the Peak District and around Ladybower reservoir. Sadly, the heavy mist and rain prevented much in the way of whipping off a few snaps, but i plan to return in the next week or so depending on if the weather calms down a bit.
Through rush hour traffic into the heart of Manchester City centre, complete with failing sat-nav, appeared to play out like some kind of high-res video game! Got there in one piece though..just
Grabbing a drink and a bite to eat and settled down next to one of a handful of arcade cocktail cabs and waited for the others to arrive.
It looks like The Lass has a new/old Pac-Man upright cab. Sadly no pictures as it seemed to be very popular this evening. R-Type it is then!
With DPrinny having set up a small collection of consoles in one of the side rooms (The Snug) sat down with Mark next to one of the Sega Megadrive, one hand on the controller and the other grasping one of the Lass’s amazing 2″ thick burgers.
Sensible Soccer friendly’s begin.
This evenings console collection would include Nintendo’s NES & Gamecube & Sega’s Megadrive, Saturn & Dreamcast with each having a good selection of carts & discs.
Both Gamecube (4-up Wario Ware/4-up Pacman) & Dreamcast (Soul Caliber & Sega Rally) seemed to be going down well amongst fellow gamers. For me, I was happy with Contra & Mario 3 on the NES, Panzer Dragoon on the Saturn & more & more Sensible Soccer on the Megadrive.
‘Snug’ it was. Note the shelves at the back – full of vintage Crash, C&VG, Zzap64 mags as well as a hefty collection of Retro Gamer magazines.
I need to practice my Sensi soccer skills as Mark gave me a right good ol’ thrashing. Dirty tactics & copious amount fo red cards given on both sides I managed to at least equalise a few matches
‘Stick to the rules, I will if you do..etc etc’
Had a great time yesterday evening and nice to catch up with folk again. Will be back again for more gaming nights especially the big weekend event scheduled for 16th-17th July.
There’s little doubt that David Braben and Ian Bell’s classic Elite is one of the most enjoyed games on many early 8/16 bit home computers and I’d hazard a guess that it’s easily included in most retro gamers top 50 all time favorites. However, rather than rattle on about the actual game (which I could do for many hours), I thought it might be interesting to focus on the actually game packaging & contents which was famed for being quite extensive at the time compared to other games and provide a few pictures that might bring back a few memories to all that owned it.
Although my first encounter with Elite was just after it’s release on the BBC Micro’s (we’d use Elite to demonstrate the Beeb to mums & dad’s that would wander into the computer computer shop where i spent most of my Saturdays) the first copy I actually purchased for myself was for the Commodore 64.
Unlike most of the games at the time which usually contained just the game tape/disk, instructions booklet & if you were lucky the odd poster or badge, Elite’s contents contained a real treasure trove of goodies.
Firstly there was the very handy keyboard control overlay that was cut to fit the C64 numerical & function keys and served as a quick reference for your ship’s on-board computer controls. A very handy resource in combat especially if you needed to take a quick peek at the bounty hunter behind you and couldn’t remember the correct button to press! It was such a novel idea that I thought worked really well at the time.
No longer just a breadbin, welcome to my Cobra MKIII flight controls.
Next is the ship identification chart (poster), again serving as a reference guide to all the ships that you might encounter, attack or need to get the hell away from. As a kid I proudly stuck this to my wall and even now, all those polygon shaped ships and logo still look kinda cool.
Of course the most useful of all the contents is the Space Traders Flight Training Manual. Not only a definitive instruction manual for the game comprising of navigational, trading and combat details, but also provides a wealth of data regarding ship types, political profiles of the Galactic Federation, and helpful advise for intergalactic traders. It’s all a load of piffle really, but the incredible amount of detailing contained within the book just pulls you in to the Elite world and you can’t help but admire the work that had gone into producing such a fine book.
Next up we have the Quick Key Control Guide, a 2 page reference to every key control in the game.
All pilots shouldn’t leave home without it!
The two other bits included in the box was an offer to upgrade the cassette version of the game to the floppy disk version (for a knockdown price of £4). Very handy at the time because it wasn’t long before I’d splashed out on a 1541 disk drive and eagerly took up this offer. The second bit is an application form to for entrance to the ‘Order of Elite’. All ‘Elite Cadets’ were eligible to join after attaining the rank of competent or higher and would in return receive a full color poster and the official Order of Elite’ insignia. Every three month, the ‘Elite Elders’ would select three of the most skilled cadets and award them with the Order of Elite. As a bumper prize, said cadets will also receive the the complete range of Firebird’s Commodore 64 software and the top cadet each month would receive a framed and personally inscribed Elite award and invited to to the play-off to win a week in Manhatten.
Sadly, I didn’t recieve anything but with all the years of practise, I wonder if i’d make the cut this time…..oh, have just read ‘offer ends November 1985′
..and on to the final and best piece of Elite goodness was the inclusion of the novella ‘The Dark Wheel’ by Robert Holdstock. Not only is it a cracking Sci-Fi read itself, enriched in the Elite universe, it provides a great backdrop to the game like no other at the time.
For those interested, the full transcript from the book can be found here – http://www.iancgbell.clara.net/elite/dkwheel.htm
Elite was/is such a fantastic, engrossing and rewarding game made even more special by the those wonderful box contents. There have been many others like it since, but it’s with Elite and the excitement when first opening the box is what I remember the most.
After all these years, I finally brought the Beeb version last year at the Vintage Computer Festival at Bletchley park – see my previous post - http://stiggyblog.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/vintage-computer-festival/
Firebird or Acornsoft box artwork, which do you prefer?..The latter for me please
Another dip into my retro game collection and this time it’s Super Wonderboy: In MonsterLand for the Commodore 64. Released in 1989 by Activision a couple of years after the arcade original, this sequel sees Tom-Tom return for more classic platform action and swaps his hammer & skateboard for shiny new sword..and a bit later on, a shield…and helmet…and boots…and etc etc.
This time around our heroes quest is to defeat the fire breathing dragon Meka and his minions who have turned Wonder land into Monster land.
Gold coins as rewarded for defeating enemies as you progress through each level and can be exchanged for weapons, magical items, armour and many other items to help you along the way.
Right, there should be a hidden life heart around here somewhere I think!
Graphically the C64 port is full of color and renders a pretty good arcade conversion despite the limited hardware. Animation can be a little ropey sometimes and the choice of colors used can often make enemies hard to spot but best of all, most of the original arcade music is present and played out very nicely thanks to talented SID chip.
Face off time and one of us is going to get hurt.
If you can live with the annoying multi-load section after each level, the C64 version is a fun little title to play and I bet it can be picked up for next to nothing nowadays.
1989 – Three paper rounds worth of wages, a trip into the city to visit the computer shop, pick up a game and just enough change left for the bus fare home. Sadly the computer shop (Intoto in Nottingham) is no longer there…it’s a coffee shop now.
If you’re lucky enough to own a PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16, I highly recommend tracking down the Hudson Soft conversion as it’s practically arcade perfect and comes under the name Bikkuriman World. Alternatively, it’s also out for the Nintendo Wii virtual console although I think this is the Sega Master System Version.
Take one iPad & stick it into the shell of a old Macintosh Classic – Simple but very effective. Totally love it!
I’ve always like the ‘MacQuarium’ mods for Macintosh shells, but this one is just utterly brilliant.
iPad arcade cabinet anyone?
