is adding network capabilities to our classics wishful thinking or could it be done?

fatherpain

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is adding network capabilities to our classics wishful thinking or could it be done?

I absolutely adore the high score save mods and multigame kits that have been produced to enhance our games... Which got me wondering if there ever will be a way enable network capability for multiplayer arcade games. Just imagine how much more awesome our beloved games would be if they could incorporate technology like xbox live... I'd be playing multiplayer games like Samurai Shodown, Puzzle Bobble, Rampart and others all night long, if I could link up with others, heh. Has anyone ever considered this? I'm sure itd be no easy feat, if not impossible.. Could it be done, if the determination was there? Could the existing coding for things like XBLive be utilized to make it happen? Could there be someway mod the roms to enable networking, then route the games thru your pc then link up with others to play? Hey a guy can dream, can't I? I'm so envious of pc and console gamers :D

Tom
 
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Xbox live has "game room" retro arcade, buy cabs, visit each others arcade....hasnt taken off as much as i thought it would but I still enjoy...
if anyone else here has it and has not added me, my xbox live arcade id is: falkenzr believe it or not, :p
 
While up loading saved high score to a web server should be easy.

Networking a game so you can play your buddy would be kind of hard.
you would have to steam the video across the net. His joystick and button movements would have to be sent also.

You will end up with a laggy unplayable game.

The right way to do it is to put the game on a server and Pipe tokens of where to put things on the screen.
While it would that work that way. You looking at Time and Money invested beyond the cost of the game.
 
Build a cab with an XBox 360 in it. Ultimarc has the control adapters you need, or you can hack a gamepad. You won't get all of the classics, but XBox Live Arcade has a lot of them with everything you want to do already built in.

My buddy and I play Robotron and Time Pilot online. Robotron has a crazy mode where one guy moves and the other shoots, and that function is switched every other level. In addition to the things you wanted, it also adds speech so you can talk to each other while you play.

I know a lot of guys don't like emulation here, but the emulation in Arcade is great and I think its the far more feasible way to attain what you're thinking about.
 
While up loading saved high score to a web server should be easy.

Networking a game so you can play your buddy would be kind of hard.
you would have to steam the video across the net. His joystick and button movements would have to be sent also.

You will end up with a laggy unplayable game.

The right way to do it is to put the game on a server and Pipe tokens of where to put things on the screen.
While it would that work that way. You looking at Time and Money invested beyond the cost of the game.
Yes, that would be unplayable. You don't stream the video....you only send the control status inputs. That's all. Each machine just runs as if the second (/first) player were standing right there. The only difference is that those player controls come from the wall instead of the CP. Completely doable.

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For some reason my browser didn't show the last part of your post. Yes, that's the general idea. But still...why do it the hard way? I guess it depends on if you want a "community" or if you just want to play some 4-player Gauntlet and your Gauntlet buddies live in different states. It also depends on if you're trying to mod existing games (easy), or if you're creating new games from scratch (hard). The remote CP would still be laggy, but it's a simple start.
 
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Maybe I read the OP wrong but I thought he was asking about turning a classic into a multiplayer networked game. Meaning networking two or more Asteroids machines, or Pac-Mans.

While I will say anything is possible, that would require reprogramming the game code and TTL to TCP/IP Hardware for starters. Not an easy task but maybe someone would feel brave.
 
yes, the ability for players play with/vs each other remotely is what I'm interested in. I like the idea of just transmitting the control movements for P2, P3 or P4.. seems like all we'd need for multiplayer mayhem and wouldn't be too laggy? For games like Rampart with a short window of time to join in, people could coodinate their start via text message, I suppose... for games where challengers can join anytime (like SF2 or puzzle bobble) it wouldnt be an issue... Hmm, now all I gotta do is win the Lotto and commission a team of tech gurus to get this done :D

Tom
 
Yes, that would be unplayable. You don't stream the video....you only send the control status inputs. That's all. Each machine just runs as if the second (/first) player were standing right there. The only difference is that those player controls come from the wall instead of the CP. Completely doable.

Not entirely. It would only work on some games - many games have random elements. You wouldn't be able to wire one control panel to two Donkey Kong machines and have the game play exactly the same way on both. Not to mention, that any millisecond lag you introduce with the networking protocol would cause it to fail spectacularly.

It would take a LOT of hacking to make something like that work, and work reliably. It would be doable with emulation, but I don't see it being too practical on the real hardware.

Best bet is to just get your friends to get off their lazy butts and come over to your house and play.

-Ian
 
It's emulation but if you want to play classics online you should check out MAMEHub.
 
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