Bulls in the China-Cade?

[FrizzleFried]

What qualifies as "destructive behavior" in your book? For example, would you have hollered at the person pounding on the trackball in the previous post?

Likely not... unless they were pounding on it with a hammer or some other device... no one is going to beat a trackball out of the control panel...

Destructive behavior includes:

Peeling/chipping artwork or paint in purpose (with nail, hand or other device).

Literally "hanging" off a stick or yoke.

Whacking the stick back and forth... during attract... no other reason than to make the noise...

Using ANY tool or device on the machine... be it a hammer, comb, pencil, piece of wood, etc.

Kicking any machine on purpose.

Etc... it's pretty easy to determine destructive behavior when it's happening.

 

[paulliadis]

It almost makes want to unplug certain games and say theyre not workin lol.
Tom

That's not a bad idea, actually. If there are some games you're worried about unplug 'em. You'll be less stressed and have more fun. People really don't understand or think that this stuff is old and not all of it is easily replaced.

 

[savit4l8r]

Have any of you guys experienced this? You know... visitors to your Cade that are unneccesarily brutal on the controls? Whether overly enthusiastic using the joysticks or insane button mashers.... what's a polite host to do? I feel kinda like a douche asking people to go easy on the games, but at the same time it kinda bothers me so I'm compelled to say something, heh. How do you guys handle this situation when it arises? Does this bother you also?

Tom

Scratch him off the invite list for next time.

 

[Adamdiz]

I dont have this problem, because my games are incased in glass and have a red rope around them to portect anyone from touching them. I mean these 30 year old games are srs business, and should never be used.

This thread screams LOOK AT ME.

 

[Alpha-tron]

Naw man... the machines are made to be played. Short of absolute destructive behavior... I try to ignore the joystick/button brutality. Plus, say one breaks... what's a new stick cost? $10-$12? What's a new button cost? A buck or two?

If you saw Father pain's arcade machines. You would have seen really nice control panels and overlays I think All if Not Most are original if not all with original Joysticks original buttons.

Playing them is like finding that a new or near new machine in the wild. You can get the feel of what they were like when they were new.There is a big difference playing father pains Tempest and My field survivor tempest with a personality.

Little kids don't always know better but adults should. If Father pain is gracious enough to throw a party, provide food and drinks and give the people there an experiences to play on some minty type machine. I think the least a guest can do is to take it easy on the controls.

 

[FrizzleFried]

To each his/her own...

...if you intend to keep museum quality machines in tip-top shape, don't allow people to play them or come down hard on them when they do... there's nothing wrong with that... I'm just explaining how I deal with things (which is what the OP asked for, right?)

Sorry if my view doesn't jive with yours.

 

[Adamdiz]

Jives with me. I agree with ya.

To each his/her own...

...if you intend to keep museum quality machines in tip-top shape, don't allow people to play them or come down hard on them when they do... there's nothing wrong with that... I'm just explaining how I deal with things (which is what the OP asked for, right?)

Sorry if my view doesn't jive with yours.

 

[Robotron Jon]

Back in the glory days my brother had a habit of hitting the control panel or bezel when he got pissed. The arcade guys were always telling him to cool it. He claimed the games were "cheating"...ha ha.

 

[Ghostnuke]

I dont have this problem, because my games are incased in glass and have a red rope around them to portect anyone from touching them. I mean these 30 year old games are srs business, and should never be used.

This thread screams LOOK AT ME.

If anything screams LOOK AT ME, it's you, shitting on every thread you come across.

 

[fatherpain]

ok Adam... I'll see you in chat!! lol

This thread screams LOOK AT ME.

 

[RetroHacker]

Not an original orange DK button, and those guys are brittle. I have had to reprimand people for smacking it like a whack-a-mole. I guess they think if they hit it harder, they will jump higher.

Is it even possible to break or otherwise damage the jump button on a Donkey Kong by hitting it with your hand? I mean, really. Think about it. It's a piece of plastic, designed with the express purpose of being pressed. The only way I could envision anyone damaging one is by melting it with a cigarette (which is why the start buttons on DK's are always trashed), or smashing it with a hammer.

On a standard arcade machine, with normal buttons (leaf/microswitch/etc), you aren't going to damage them with your hands alone. Same with pinball flipper buttons. People like to hit them harder, as if that somehow hits the ball harder. But no matter how hard someone smacks the button with their fingers, they're not going to break it. Remember, this is commercial equipment designed for this exact purpose.

Some of the special controls, yeah, you might be able to break them by being rough. Guns from gun games, definitely. Slam them into the floor a few times, you'll break them. That's why many games had chains preventing the guns from hitting the floor. But even on Tron or GORF, the controllers are incredibly durable - and it's easy to sling them pretty hard when avoiding stuff in the game, they're not as stiff as normal sticks. I frequently find myself making a lot of noise playing GORF. But it's not as if I'm slamming it with tons of force - it just happens. And it's not going to hurt it.

Sometimes I see people really slamming the stick around on Ms. Pac-Man, as if pushing it harder is going to outrun ghosts better. It won't. But you're also not going to hurt the stick.

I frequently see kids banging on games on location - they bang on the buttons and rattle the joystick around - but that's not going to hurt them. It's when kids *hang* on the sticks, that's going to definitely damage them. I had to replace the sticks (standard Happ microswitch sticks) on one game I bought because they were bent pretty badly. Now I know how that happens.

There are *definitely* ways to damage games. But hitting the buttons hard isn't one of them...

-Ian

 

[jow]

If you saw Father pain's arcade machines. You would have seen really nice control panels and overlays I think All if Not Most are original if not all with original Joysticks original buttons.

Playing them is like finding that a new or near new machine in the wild. You can get the feel of what they were like when they were new.There is a big difference playing father pains Tempest and My field survivor tempest with a personality.

Whats the point of having them if you don't want anyone touching them?

Im with Fritz. Short of taking a shit on the games or completely destroying them, let them be. They were meant to be played. How many times did you kick the shit out of a coin door if you played poorly or punched the bezel out of anger in the arcades? It happened all the time. These things will be fine.

 

[savit4l8r]

Back in the glory days my brother had a habit of hitting the control panel or bezel when he got pissed. The arcade guys were always telling him to cool it. He claimed the games were "cheating"...ha ha.

Are you my long lost brother? I did the same thing BITD... I used to have a Museumcade. Then one day my friend's sisters kid knocked a big metal candle holder over and it fell into my fairly newly installed 'pede cabaret side art *ding* and I said fuck it. I can honestly say I have been much happier since for having done it.

 

[cadillacman]

considering what these machines saw on a daily basis for years, its all not too bad.

This is exactly why i dont go for perfection when fixing up my games anymore. They were made to be played and played hard folks. If you dont want people playing your games, dont let them play.

As long as people dont spill drinks all over them, kick them etc i dont have an issue with them playing. If the controls cant take a mashing then the machine shouldnt be allowed to be played.

I compare it to a classic car. Yes a perfectly restored museum grade car is nice to look at, but if you cant drive it because you will be too afraid od a little ding, whats the fucking point?

 

[FrizzleFried]

I knew a guy who spent (get this) $98,000 on a fucking long-travel buggy. No... I am not kidding. We'd go out to the desert and I had a TON of fun with my $3,000 little sandrail all the while Barry would put-put around too afraid that his $10,000 paint job was going to get scratched.

 

[RetroHacker]

I knew a guy who spent (get this) $98,000 on a fucking long-travel buggy. No... I am not kidding. We'd go out to the desert and I had a TON of fun with my $3,000 little sandrail all the while Barry would put-put around too afraid that his $10,000 paint job was going to get scratched.

Hahaha. Gotta love it.

I still like the very ending part of the movie Cars, during the credits, where all the SUV's are afraid to go off road, and the one Hummer is like "awww, I got dirt in my rims!"

-Ian

 

[Jeff F]

considering what these machines saw on a daily basis for years, its all not too bad.

This is exactly why i dont go for perfection when fixing up my games anymore. They were made to be played and played hard folks. If you dont want people playing your games, dont let them play.

As long as people dont spill drinks all over them, kick them etc i dont have an issue with them playing. If the controls cant take a mashing then the machine shouldnt be allowed to be played.

I compare it to a classic car. Yes a perfectly restored museum grade car is nice to look at, but if you cant drive it because you will be too afraid od a little ding, whats the fucking point?

Couldn't agree more if my life depended on it. I've actually been known to throw a little jab to the bezel of DKII or DKjr once in a while when I've reached "the breaking point". I've also been known to give a little kick to Sinistar but I shouldn't admit to that really because I don't own it anymore.

 

[Alpha-tron]

To each his/her own...

...if you intend to keep museum quality machines in tip-top shape, don't allow people to play them or come down hard on them when they do... there's nothing wrong with that... I'm just explaining how I deal with things (which is what the OP asked for, right?)

Sorry if my view doesn't jive with yours.

Don't Be sorry about your views. They are your views. I just disagree your view on taking it easy on a minty machine. I understand a game should be played and enjoyed and not kept in a box in a museum quality.

There should be a happy medium somewhere in between. I am sure that the OP expect normal wear and tear on his machine.

I just wondering what you would consider beyond wear and tear. Surely you can agree that having someone hanging off the joysticks is beyond the wear and tear factor. I am sure that smacking a button down on a game that it bends the control panel is unacceptable and pulling on the joystick so hard that the cab moves is beyond normal wear and tear. Surely you would want a person to wash their hands after they grease up their truck and spread manure on their garden.

Yes, these games are design to be played and the should be. There are always going to be a gray area on how much force it too much. We can all agree on the extremes control panels abuse is something we rather not experience.

If your control panel is built with 8 dollar joysticks and dollar buttons and has a CPO that torn and missing sections. I think most will tolerate more above normal wear and tear compared to if you just spent spent 300 bucks to rebuild a LL control panel. Surely you don't want someone to spill drinks, scratch up your new CP and drag your game by the thruster? I sure most will have throw out some choice words.

 

[fatherpain]

I've got no problem with touching...I like the games to be played, just not abused. Bringing games back to original condition can be on the expensive side and time consuming, but thats not what bothers me... having a mild (ok chronic) OCD side compells me to stock extra parts... but I just don't have replacements for some games. The original controls that needed replacing didn't get loose, worn and crappy feeling for no reason.. And while it probably didnt happen overnight, seeing some neanderthal play bitd probably didnt help. I would prefer people to play games normally, not overhard is all. Save that bullcrap for CAX
Tom

Whats the point of having them if you don't want anyone touching them?
.

 

[tigerstyle]

People acting like idiots will get yelled at, but regular heated play is fine by me. All my games are VS 2 players competitive, so people usually really get into them. My restored mk1 cab is the cab that i am the most proud of, and it gets lots of played.. I actually had to change the joystick twice in 3 years now. When people break them, I just shutdown the machine for the rest of the evening. It's a worthy enough punishement