what do you do when you are "so close" with getting a game working??

vintagegamer

Well-known member

Donor 2024
Joined
Sep 1, 2007
Messages
21,092
Reaction score
2,602
Location
Bear, Delaware
what do you do when you are "so close" with getting a game working??

When I'm down to trying to troubleshoot the last things from keeping a game working, I go into this obsessed mode where I keep meticulously going over and over stuff, sometimes fixing things that may not even need to be fixed, just to resolve the blasted issue. It turns into a frenzy for me.

I know others can just walk away from that project and do something else, or mess with another game but, for whatever reason I can't leave it alone until it's 100% again. I hate being this way because whatever the issue is, it starts to become my prime directive over everything else in my life (including game and non-game related duties!)

What does everyone else do when in this predicament?
 
You've already said it. Walk away and do something else for a while. Then come back with a fresh perspective. It's amazing how many times it is suddenly obvious what the problem is when you come back to it fresh.

ken
 
i dont know realy,i got that many stacked up waiting,curently working on my second missile command cocktail.what can you do when the postman does not bring that item you need?

all i got to say is,you got it bad!mind you saying that,dont we all got it bad!?

no disrespect intended
;)
 
i dont know realy,i got that many stacked up waiting,curently working on my second missile command cocktail.what can you do when the postman does not bring that item you need?

That's where I'm at right now, waiting on a big blue to arrive from WonderBob before I can proceed. He ships fast, but man I hate waiting for mail! :(
 
I've spent hours upon hours trying to figure something out, only to have it be something soo stupid (See my Video Pinball threads). Sometimes it helps to take a break and get a fresh perspective.
 
i got world record with him,it took 19days for my first order to arrive.saying that i am in uk,your just soo damn lucky to be in usa,unless your postal service sux's or you live like 1,000's of miles away.

you are seasoned fanatic,hang in there you will get your bits,you can always find something to go and tinker with in your mancade and get your fix?

go on be a devil and make up an excuse!
:lol:
 
i got world record with him,it took 19days for my first order to arrive.saying that i am in uk,your just soo damn lucky to be in usa,unless your postal service sux's or you live like 1,000's of miles away.

you are seasoned fanatic,hang in there you will get your bits,you can always find something to go and tinker with in your mancade and get your fix?

go on be a devil and make up an excuse!
:lol:


Heh, seeing where you are located I'd have to agree that you most likely have to wait longer for parts than me! :D
 
Between wife, kids, work, scouts, church, and life in general it seems like I get very little time to actually work on games. I often will grab a half-hour and then just have to walk away for a few days. Frustrating in some ways. But it also gives me time to think about what to do next. And right now I've got waaaay to many projects so they just sort of mock me whenever I see them.
 
I work on another game and wait for my parts to come in. It's pretty hard though, especially when you have a game you're anxious to get going.
 
i'll say you've got it down pretty accurate, jim. my wife didn't see me for 2 or three days last week while i was in the garage working on the ice cold beer. you know, it's funny. i get projects thinking it'll be something fun to work on and take up my spare time for a while, but as soon as i get it i try to fix it upas fast as humanly possible.
 
I've been stuck on my Space Invaders "forever". Finally tracked it down to the monitor (yea, yea, hindsight, etc). Capped it and that fixed the brightness and other problem but now it won't sync.

The chassis has been sitting on the workbench waiting for me to check the hsync POT for the past 2+ months and I'm having a hard time finding the time to get to it....

I hate when real-life gets in the way of my hobby :(
 
It prob wouldn't bug me so much if the games in question were totally dead, but the monaco gp does everything but coin up, and tempest does everything but create the shape for the level you're on.. If those 2 examples aren't the equivalent of arcade blue ballz, then i don't know what is!
 
I am the same way,i damn near lose sleep over a game that i know is close to being done.I don't let it affect family time too much.Last night i sat on the couch and replaced 13 or 14 rom sockets on one of my crazy climber boardsets.So i wasn't really watching tv,when they laughed i would glance at tv and laugh.I think i have them fooled .Most of my work can be done in the living room,control panels,pcb's and monitor chassis.I just need to disappear for the installation and testing.And yes,waiting on parts sucks .
 
and tempest does everything but create the shape for the level you're on..

My tempest started this a couple days back after working great for years. I simply pressed down on the socketed chips and reset the board connectors and the prob went away. Maybe not so simple in your case but I thought I'd offer it for what it's worth.
 
My tempest started this a couple days back after working great for years. I simply pressed down on the socketed chips and reset the board connectors and the prob went away. Maybe not so simple in your case but I thought I'd offer it for what it's worth.

Thanks Kazoo- I'm actually convinced it's one of the chips on the math/aux board, because I put all of the chips in another math/aux board and it did exactly the same thing. But, to keep certain klovers happy (coughbungycough), I'm following the rules and swapping out the big blue etc... Wife is to contact me IMMEDIATELY today if a box arrives in the mail today.. She's also been strictly advised NOT to leave it sitting out in the rain!!! :( :( :(
 
I hate when real-life gets in the way of my hobby :(

My wife and I had a disagreement over the weekend because whenever I say I need to run up and check something on the computer (usually for a game fix), she gets all bent bc it leaves her with the 2 kids (who, sadly, are like C4 when you put the 2 of them together). I asked what the fix was, and she asked if I could do that after at least the youngest of the 2 was in bed.. The disagreement was on Saturday, so being the dedicated husband that I am (coughhackcough), I did what she asked. I put the boy down to sleep at 8:30PM, and went in to check what I needed to on the Web. Just one problem: the red light was on on the DSL modem.. (meaning service was down) I went downstairs and basically had a Tohret's fit, and told my wife "see what happens when I wait till the kids are in bed??!!!"
 
Yea, for me family isn't the issue currently, its work. Work, home with family and then, after the kids are in bed, 2-3 more hours of work.

If my DSL went out then I'd feel a little better about NOT working, haha.

Stupid lottery numbers :cool:

My wife and I had a disagreement over the weekend because whenever I say I need to run up and check something on the computer (usually for a game fix), she gets all bent bc it leaves her with the 2 kids (who, sadly, are like C4 when you put the 2 of them together). I asked what the fix was, and she asked if I could do that after at least the youngest of the 2 was in bed.. The disagreement was on Saturday, so being the dedicated husband that I am (coughhackcough), I did what she asked. I put the boy down to sleep at 8:30PM, and went in to check what I needed to on the Web. Just one problem: the red light was on on the DSL modem.. (meaning service was down) I went downstairs and basically had a Tohret's fit, and told my wife "see what happens when I wait till the kids are in bed??!!!"
 
Usually, I end up cutting corners, and that rarely ends well.


You've already said it. Walk away and do something else for a while. Then come back with a fresh perspective. It's amazing how many times it is suddenly obvious what the problem is when you come back to it fresh.

ken

I've spent hours upon hours trying to figure something out, only to have it be something soo stupid (See my Video Pinball threads). Sometimes it helps to take a break and get a fresh perspective.
That works wonders when actually playing games too. Stuck???? Do something else for a few hours... Come back and figure it out.
 
You've already said it. Walk away and do something else for a while. Then come back with a fresh perspective. It's amazing how many times it is suddenly obvious what the problem is when you come back to it fresh.

ken


This for sure^^^^^^^

It's easy to get frustrated, after stepping back I amaze myself at the clarity I can get and solve problems shortly thereafter.:cool:
 
Well I'm basically back to this place once again.. Ever since I decided to start working on my Omega Race (again), all of the other games are starting to fade into the background once more- including the Tempest I couldn't wait to get back up and running!

I think tonight I just need to play the games that work and leave OR alone (at least after I do one quick follow up check on its PS LOL)
 
Back
Top Bottom