NotesHighlight:I've seen a number of folks with questions lately about bringing up 6100 monitors. On that topic, I have a set of notes that I'd been compiling and adding to over time, with info I've learned (sometimes the hard way) from repairing many 6100 monitors and boardsets.
How to bring up a 6100 color vector monitor (A PDF guide)
Hi all,
I've seen a number of folks with questions lately about bringing up 6100 monitors. On that topic, I have a set of notes that I'd been compiling and adding to over time, with info I've learned (sometimes the hard way) from...Unfurl
NotesIt’s an open secret that with the advent of the high score table in arcade video games, designers would hide their signatures in lieu of being directly credited for the games themselves.FeedEmbedUnfurl
NotesA Harmonograph is 19th-century mechanical device which draws geometric patterns based on the motion of pendulums. (For a real example, see Marie-therese's Maker Faire project - A 3-pendulum Harmonograph. Also, search youtube for videos like this one) By adjusting the physical parameters of the device, and initial conditions of the pendulums, you can vary the patterns it can make.Unfurl
NotesMuch of this document is either inadequate due to my (still) limited understanding of the workings of Tempest. Additional information is always welcome.
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NotesWhat happens is that the contacts on the harness loosen over the years. The connectors also oxidize and start making bad connection with the board. As the resistance to the current goes up, so does the heat which burns up the connector.Unfurl
NotesYour 1080p HDTV may be great for Blu-ray movies, but it sucks for SNES games. Adopting new television technology means saying goodbye to the advantages of older hardware. And yes, there are advantages. There's no such thing as a best TV for all eras of content. And for retro gaming, diehard gamers and collectors turn to old CRTs and specialty scaling hardware in search for that perfect picture.Unfurl
NotesSteve and I had talked about making a tiny arcade machine for his little chibi Street Fighter guys (street fighter guys fighting each other but in their own game – very meta).FeedEmbedUnfurl
NotesOkay, so now I've got your attention - it's true - the cabinet construction was completed in 24 hours, but it took about three months to get around to the last few bits (like decorating the unit), so don't complain if after one day you don't get something that looks like the unit on the left!Unfurl
NotesThe vector lines, which are created by aiming a beam DIRECTLY AT YOUR EYES only to be stopped by a coated piece of glass, have a completely different feel. The phosphor glows, the shots look like small stars floating across the glass, and a raster line is not to be seen. It’s an entirely different experience, and the teenagers at MAGfest had never seen it before, and unfortunately, it is well on its way out.FeedEmbedUnfurl
NotesDuring the Retroist Arcade Meet Up last week, our very own Plcary asked the gurus of 1984 if they remembered an arcade game where you were positioned in the center of the screen and had to defeat wave after wave of enemies as they came rushing at you, not using a joystick but four directional buttons and a firing button. The gang at 1984 and myself were stumped on this one, but Plcary kept at it and found out the name of the arcade game and it is Midway’s Space Zap from back in 1980.Unfurl
Notes"Several arcade game manufacturers decided it would be a good idea to put a battery on their game boards that, when they die (and they will die), disable the game. Why they did this isn't exactly clear. Usually the way suicide batteries work is, the batteries supply power to a bit of RAM that holds a decryption table. This table is the key to decrypting the encrypted program stored in the board's ROMs. When the battery dies, this table goes away and the program code can no longer be decrypted. The CPU no longer has valid code to execute. The board stops working."Unfurl
NotesWishing I was there! "California Extreme 2009, an annual celebration of classic arcade games and pinball, takes place July 11-12 at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Clara."Unfurl
Notes"GGPO is a networking library that game developers can use to add networked gameplay support to arcade style games. GGPO's latency hiding techniques give each player a gameplay experience that is nearly indistinguishable from playing with their friends locally, even against players around the world. "Unfurl
Notes"Remember the classic video games? The 8-bit masterpieces of our sweaty-palmed youth. Inviting some friends over for a Maniac Mansion all-nighter, huffing asthmatically into a cartridge to clear out the dust, or the thrill and crushing disappointment of rescuing a princess, only to discover you’ve really just saved a fungus. ... These games aren’t lost forever. You can still play many of them online. If you love the old classics, this list should have you busy for months. Below is a list of 95 old school video games that you can play online. Click on each title to link directly to the game. Also, we’ve reviewed and rated each game for you, our loyal AMOG readers."Unfurl
Notes"Pac-Man suffers from the well known split screen when level 256 is reached. We will examine how and why this occurs, and create a patch to fix the program’s bug."Unfurl
Notes"The arcade is housed in a seperate dedicated building, right next to our house. The arcade building is 60' x 40' with 2 stories, a bathroom, and 12' ceilings."Unfurl
Notes"Indie plush toy artists Amy and Jude Buffum have made a series of eight Space Invaders plush toys for their in a limited edition of 25 for each set."FeedEmbedUnfurl
Notes"In a nutshell, it's an annual celebration of coin operated pinball machines, video games and other novelties you once found in game arcades."Unfurl
Notes"A subset of the iPodLinux project, iPodMame aims to bring the MAME game emulator to iPods, allowing owners to play classic games on their audio players."Unfurl
Notes"The A-PAC is an analog/digital interface which emulates two gamepads. It can be used for buttons only, or various combinations of buttons and analog potentiometer (pot) devices."Unfurl
Notes"The character design, the bizarre denture-throwing super that the old lady has, the ridiculous juxtaposition of sleek&sexy characters with hideous beasts...I just really enjoy it."Unfurl
How to bring up a 6100 color vector monitor (A PDF guide)
Arcade Authorship – High Score Table Credits – The History of How We Play
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Tempest: Detailed theory of operation
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What a Wonder is a Terrible Monitor « ASCII by Jason Scott
GGPO.net - Home - Lag Free, Online Arcade Gaming Goodness
DONHODGES.COM - PAC MAN'S SPLIT SCREEN LEVEL ANALYZED AND FIXED
Retro Sabotage: Dysfunctional time machine - Flash Games [ver.9.0 req.]
Space Invaders Plushies « Arcade Heroes