Adding cabinet styles to KLOV DB, VAPS, etc.

mclemore

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I'm inclined to start adding cabinet styles to the games database, to VAPS, etc.

For the games database, it would show what cabinet types are available for a particular game.

For some games, based on interest, there would be size/dimensions and weight/shipping weight (see as a test here: http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8715)

For VAPS, it would be helpful for the census (how many of X are cocktail?) as well as for sale and want listings (Duramold vs. standard upright).

A first step is trying to come up with a list of acceptable cabinet styles for the system to know about, and descriptions of same for user consistency.

Here is a first draft of a list. I'd expect issues with it as such.

http://www.arcade-museum.com/cabinets.php

Comments?
 
I think it's a great idea.

Although the information needs to be confirmed by real life measurements, not flyer measures, as those aren't always precise. To an extent, the Sketchup models I'm slowly trying to build up are supposed to be the 3D equivalent of what you're trying to accomplish. Anyone who has the Google Sketchup program can download the free cabinet and find out exactly how long, how wide, or how tall any part of a certain cabinet will be.
 
Are the ones on klov that are wrong, or a crappy example ever gonna be changed if a nice clean dedicated picture is submitted?
 
I think we also need a spot for what you can put into a cab that keeps it original.

Wind up with an Arabian cab that's got no art on it? No reason you can't make it a Dig Dug right?

I think this might help with the whole "Preservation" craziness...a tiny bit.

At least if one was going to part a cab for whatever reason, and they knew they could keep it original for a game they WERE really interested in, it might have a higher chance of survival right?
 
This would be a very good feature for those of us after a specific edition of a game. If I'm looking for a hydraulic deluxe G-LOC cab and the ones for sale are just listed as "Original/Dedicated", for all I know I could be bugging someone about buying an upright that I don't even want. This sounds like a great addition.
 
This would be really cool! Don't know if it could be arranged, but it would be neat if someone could make a cab identifier, like those font identifiers, where you could answer questions, and it helps you narrow down which cabinet yours could be.
 
Right now I have to put the cab type in the details/comment section. This change would make things a lot more organized and easier. I give it a thumbs up!
 
While most items on the list are synonymous, cocktail and table games are really two different beasts. As such, that category should be split, with some additional guidance in the instructions for determining which is which.

"Cocktail - short table cabinet, monitor faces upwards, and the common configuration of the cabinet is such that the user sits at the controls"

While a few of the Atari cocktails are actually configurable to be standing table games due to leg extensions, their common configuration was in cocktail mode.

"Table/Island - tall table cabinet, monitor faces upwards, the users stand around the cabinet on either sides in order to view the monitor"

So now I will be able to enter both my Eliminator cocktail and Eliminator 4-player cabinets, and this should now cover Bally Midway's Demolition Derby "Island" configuration (there is no cocktail, but I wouldn't want its cabinet description to contain that term anyways). Also, Indy 800 would fall under this, etc.
 
great idea.
several years ago I had created 3 klov entries just because I couldn't differentiate them in klov.
dale luck
dale cocktail luck
and
dale environmental luck

Hey, why does environmental say "no motion"? What about my 3 afterburners? Don't ask why I have 3. They go well with the three Hercules I guess.

dale
 
So now I will be able to enter both my Eliminator cocktail and Eliminator 4-player cabinets

Comment about table level games makes sense.... good add.

Now regarding Eliminator cocktails...in VAPS I see 2 people that mention a 2-player cocktail. I thought there were only 2 player upright and 4-player cocktail. Was there a 2-player cocktail factory option or ?

Hey, why does environmental say "no motion"? What about my 3 afterburners? Don't ask why I have 3. They go well with the three Hercules I guess.
dale

You have a lot of games... On the list I have 'Cockpit-Environmental', then 'Deluxe/Themed', then 'Deluxe/Themed w/ motion'. I'd put your Afterburners in the last category. That's one of my concerns though was that it wasn't clear enough...the distinction between a cockpit/environmental, and something more themed. So I thought cockpit/enviornmental was enclosed, deluxe/themed may or may not be enclosed but is in the shape of something and may or may not have motion. The challenge is that some of these games might have come in 4 or 5 different formats, especially recent Sega releases.
 
BTW - where are these pages accessible from? I remember you had a page with board pics, and you could search them by CPU, number of chips, etc. Dunno how to find that page from KLOV or VAPS. If I go find the thread here, I can get the link to it...
 
Currently the cabinet description page is only linked to from this thread.
( http://www.arcade-museum.com/cabinets.php )

As far as the other links... Until the main site's UI gets redone and we actually have some pull down menus, things tend to get tucked away. In the case of PCBs (and Google Sketchup) lists, links to them are hiding on the main Search Page (click 'Search' tab at the top of any page on the main site: http://www.arcade-museum.com/search.php
 
While a few of the Atari cocktails are actually configurable to be standing table games due to leg extensions, their common configuration was in cocktail mode.

Is there a list somewhere of which Atari cocktails did this?
 
Is there a list somewhere of which Atari cocktails did this?

If you can find a decent picture of the cocktail cabinet, you can tell by the leg extenders. For example, see this picture of a Crystal Castles cocktail:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73134604@N00/375817403/

I don't have a list, but I believe these are some others
Dig Dug
Asteroids Deluxe
Centipede
Missile Command
Warlords

I used to play Warlords in this format at an arcade BITD.
 
While most items on the list are synonymous, cocktail and table games are really two different beasts.

I updated the list at http://www.arcade-museum.com/cabinets.php to make a distinction between cocktail and table machine...

great idea.
several years ago I had created 3 klov entries just because I couldn't differentiate them in klov.
dale luck
dale cocktail luck
and
dale environmental luck

Remember that VAPS allows more than one of the same game to be added, so you could have all of these listed in the same profile, though it will make more sense once I add cabinet type to VAPS.

...Now regarding Eliminator cocktails...in VAPS I see 2 people that mention a 2-player cocktail. I thought there were only 2 player upright and 4-player cocktail. Was there a 2-player cocktail factory option or ?
..the distinction between a cockpit/environmental, and something more themed. So I thought cockpit/enviornmental was enclosed, deluxe/themed may or may not be enclosed but is in the shape of something and may or may not have motion. The challenge is that some of these games might have come in 4 or 5 different formats, especially recent Sega releases.

My 2 challenges are

1) what happens when a game doesn't fit the system well. Like when there were 2 different cocktail units available. I figure 2 vs. 4 player can be just added in the notes, but a drop down choice would be nicer.

2) Along the same lines, what happens when there is multiple 'deluxe' versions available?

In both cases, the choices are just leave it to people to list in the comment fields, or create some text box modifier that optionally could be added to any cabinet type, and then allow more than one of the same cabinet type to be added to any particular record. This is measurably more complex, but would allow, instead of just 'cocktail' to add things like 'cocktail - 2 player' and 'cocktail - 4 player'

I'm also wondering that instead of having 3 environmental categories (cockpit/environmental, deluxe/themed, deluxe/themed with motion) that maybe 2 of them only would be a better way to go, simply: Deluxe/cockpit/environmental, and the same with motion).

Thoughts?
 
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