Build an arcade machine at home
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Build an arcade machine at home
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Re: Build an arcade machine at home
#2I can't see that cardboard lasting more than a month of regular use. Arcade buttons are hit hard, and the substrate needs to be able to withstand those forces.
Given that you can source basic hand tools (which can do almost everything power tools can do) for a low price, this particular cost saving measure doesn't have a great ROI.
Re: Build an arcade machine at home
#3i built a mame machine in college and we loved that thing. it was just an ikea cabinet with an xarcade stick and a computer monitor hung on the wall with an old computer inside but man did we play that thing. I even remember ordering the MAME roms on a DVD set online and having them shipping.
i always dream of building a new one but its not like i live in a house with 5 other dudes have parties every night of the week like in college. would I play it? would my three kids (6, 3, 1) play it in a few years? just a pipe dream i guess. just for kicks i just loaded up golden tee fore 06 on my thinkpad and the sound still stutters, guess you still need a lot of oomph for the newer stuff
Re: Build an arcade machine at home
#4This is one of the coolest uses for a Raspberry Pi for those who just being introduced to them. I made something similar with them way back in high school and it really started to give me an appreciation for it.
As soon as the Raspberry Pi can run N64 (I believe they're a bit sluggish at the moment) and GameCube/PS2/Xbox (might take a while, but Dolphin is incredibly optimized at least) games well, that will be incredible. If you wanted something like that now, I think a cheap ebay pc would be the route to take, but I'm looking forward to the Pi's future.
Re: Build an arcade machine at home
#5I can't see that cardboard lasting more than a month of regular use. Arcade buttons are hit hard , and the substrate needs to be able to withstand those forces. Given that you can source basic hand tools (which can do almost everything power tools can do) for a low price, this particular cost saving measure doesn't have a great ROI.
I thought it was a prototype until I got to the end of the article, I was looking for the finished version in something more permanent.
Yes there's no requirement to own a circular saw etc.- as well as hand tools the hardware store will accurately cut wood to sizes you specify for a small fee.
Re: Build an arcade machine at home
#6This is one of the coolest uses for a Raspberry Pi for those who just being introduced to them. I made something similar with them way back in high school and it really started to give me an appreciation for it. As soon as the Raspberry Pi can run N64 (I believe they're a bit sluggish at the moment) and GameCube/PS2/Xbox (might take a while, but Dolphin is incredibly optimized at least) games well, that will be incre…
I have a crappy model-or-two-old Asus Chromebox that runs Retroarch well and cost about as much as a Pi with trimmings back when I bought it new. Runs N64 just fine. 2GB RAM and a low-clocked dual-core Celeron. Actually with a RAM upgrade (doable) it’d make an Ok dev workstation if you avoid “webapps” and Electron and are comfortable with lighter editors rather than e.g. heavy Java IDEs, and can run your VMs and Dockers somewhere else. Admittedly a lot of caveats but would work for some people.
Re: Build an arcade machine at home
#7i built a mame machine in college and we loved that thing. it was just an ikea cabinet with an xarcade stick and a computer monitor hung on the wall with an old computer inside but man did we play that thing. I even remember ordering the MAME roms on a DVD set online and having them shipping. i always dream of building a new one but its not like i live in a house with 5 other dudes have parties every night of the wee…
The design proposed by the article is very interesting - it's cheap and compact (in an amusingly humorous way, I find).
Considering it's not demanding in terms of space, it can be built and used as "filler activity" with children. While the geek's dream is certainly playing arcade games on a real-world cabinet for hours, with a child, it can be an activity to do more or less frequently on small sessions (e.g. half hour).
My very wild guess is that children should be able to enjoy arcade games when they're around 7+ years old - arcade games are on one designed to be quickly challenging, on the other, at home, they have virtually infinite lives; every child is different, of course.
On the other hand, a real PC with a couple of arcade joysticks, and maybe Wii remote controllers, is considerably more flexible, and can be a good test drive to see if the activity works :-)
Re: Build an arcade machine at home
#8This is one of the coolest uses for a Raspberry Pi for those who just being introduced to them. I made something similar with them way back in high school and it really started to give me an appreciation for it. As soon as the Raspberry Pi can run N64 (I believe they're a bit sluggish at the moment) and GameCube/PS2/Xbox (might take a while, but Dolphin is incredibly optimized at least) games well, that will be incre…
I have a crappy model-or-two-old Asus Chromebox that runs Retroarch well and cost about as much as a Pi with trimmings back when I bought it new. Runs N64 just fine. 2GB RAM and a low-clocked dual-core Celeron. Actually with a RAM upgrade (doable) it’d make an Ok dev workstation if you avoid “webapps” and Electron and are comfortable with lighter editors rather than e.g. heavy Java IDEs, and can run your VMs and Dock…
Old laptops are great for things that the RPi gets attention for. With a bit of hunting, you can get them dirt cheap, and the integrated monitor is a huge bonus.
Re: Build an arcade machine at home
#9Fairly accurate USB clones of NES/SNES/Sega/etc controllers were about $20 on Amazon last time I checked. I have some for my Raspberry Pi.
They’re great.
Re: Build an arcade machine at home
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a crappy model-or-two-old Asus Chromebox that runs Retroarch well and cost about as much as a Pi with trimmings back when I bought it new. Runs N64 just fine. 2GB RAM and a low-clocked dual-core Celeron. Actually with a RAM upgrade (doable) it’d make an Ok dev workstation if you avoid “webapps” and Electron and are comfortable with lighter editors rather than e.g. heavy Java IDEs, and can run your VMs and Dock…
Old laptops are great for things that the RPi gets attention for. With a bit of hunting, you can get them dirt cheap, and the integrated monitor is a huge bonus.
The one thing I really miss using x86 boxes rather than Raspberries Pi is the dd-to-sdcard-and-boot workflow. Makes recovery easy, trivial to back up the exact software you’re running on one. If the whole thing goes up in a fire, buy another identical Pi, write a new sdcard, and you’re back in business.
But yeah, otherwise if you’re not using the io features you get a lot more bang-for-the-buck buying used low-end x86 gear.