Ask kyleb about old-school video games (or coin-ops)

kyleb · #1 10-23-2006, 01:26 AM

I had this idea some time ago here, and it worked out rather well. Some people have suggested I run the thread again, so, I'm bringing it back. In good Ask Me fashion, I'll be around for the next 1.5 hours or so to field all the questions you have, then I'll review tomorrow afternoon and catch up on the more important ones that I missed.

Now, I know a LOT about NES/SNES/Genesis/Playstation/N64/Dreamcast, and a good amount about XBox/PS2 and newer (but not too much more than a serious hobbyist).

I also know a significant amount about coin-op machines, having run a few arcades (read: Not "I worked a minwage changemaking job") in my time.

So, coin-op questions are preferred, but I'll take old console questions too. My knowledge of Atari is somewhat on the weak side, but anything Nintendo/Genesis era is fair game.

Have at it!

SamIAm · #2 10-23-2006, 01:31 AM

How hard is it to put PacMan in the arrangement of man + ghosts so I can go take a break and leave the game running?
-Sam

SamIAm · #3 10-23-2006, 01:34 AM

Are there any games where 1 player just gets too good, and the house has to ask him to leave?

Similarly, is it EVER possible to get SO good at an arcade game that it can be +EV with those little prize tickets? Are there professional skee-ball players out there?
-Sam

kyleb · #4 10-23-2006, 01:35 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Are there any games where 1 player just gets too good, and the house has to ask him to leave? I suppose this relates to my pacman question. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
-Sam

[/ QUOTE ]

Nah. Typically these players bring in other players since they are the "pros" of the arcade, and they even get "fans." Example of this in my arcade included dominant Street Fighter 2 players, Tekken Tag Tournament players, and Soulcaliber II players.

kyleb · #5 10-23-2006, 01:47 AM

[ QUOTE ]
ASimilarly, is it EVER possible to get SO good at an arcade game that it can be +EV with those little prize tickets? Are there professional skee-ball players out there?
-Sam

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't see this, you must have edited it before I could get it! :P

Anyway, yes, this is definitely possible. My friend has a positive ROI at the Cyclone ticket machine game, and has proven it to me on several occasions.

SamIAm · #6 10-23-2006, 01:52 AM

[ QUOTE ]
My friend has a positive ROI at the Cyclone ticket machine game, and has proven it to me on several occasions.

[/ QUOTE ]
Very cool. Do you mean one of these?:

How does he get the best return for his tickets? What's the best value/ticket on the gift wall? (Please say bouncy balls. Please say bouncy balls.)
-Sam

kyleb · #7 10-23-2006, 02:00 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
My friend has a positive ROI at the Cyclone ticket machine game, and has proven it to me on several occasions.

[/ QUOTE ]
Very cool. Do you mean one of these?:

How does he get the best return for his tickets? What's the best value/ticket on the gift wall? (Please say bouncy balls. Please say bouncy balls.)
-Sam

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, one of those indeed. He is uncanny - I would say he can hit the jackpot 30%+ of the time. With practice, he hits it around 40%. It's sick.

You have to wait for the jackpot to get to a high enough point before whoring it repeatedly, otherwise it's not worth it. Luckily the Dave and Busters place in Cleveland has multiple Cyclone machines!

The best return on his tickets is not bouncy balls, unfortunately. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] It is indeed XBox games that can be resold easily.

Paul B. · #8 10-23-2006, 01:54 AM

I'm guessing you've run into some slugs in your time. What did you do with them? Do you know how they are made? Did you ever try putting a stop to them?

What tools would one need to trick coin-op machines into thinking that quarters were being inserted?

Who is your avatar?

SamIAm · #9 10-23-2006, 01:57 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I'm guessing you've run into some slugs in your time. What did you do with them?

[/ QUOTE ]
Go to the vending machines and buy lunch?
-Sam

kyleb · #10 10-23-2006, 02:02 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I'm guessing you've run into some slugs in your time. What did you do with them? Do you know how they are made? Did you ever try putting a stop to them?

What tools would one need to trick coin-op machines into thinking that quarters were being inserted?

Who is your avatar?

[/ QUOTE ]

Slugs were not too common in my arcade, actually. However, when I was younger and worked for a Namco arcade, people would buy tons of tokens from Ebay and bring them in to our arcade - they were called "walk-ins," and you really can't stop them.

It's fairly easy to defraud the older machines - in fact, the string and quarter trick works on a surprisingly large amount of them still. As for the newer machines, it requires a lot more work than is worth it, trust me.

My avatar is none other than Jodie Sweetin.