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ZXSpectrum16k

Craig Cole's Video Gaming & Pinball Blog

Tag: Arcade

  • Welcome The Getaway: High Speed II Pinball to the collection. A future project

    Welcome The Getaway: High Speed II Pinball to the collection. A future project

    I just managed to get “The Getaway: High Speed 2”. Ever since playing it at Pinfest24, I have been thinking about getting one. It’s such a fun game, and I enjoyed the game flow. It has some solid shots, and the “SUPERCHARGER” mode is fantastic. A small elevated loop, fed by the left ramp and fitted with a magnetic ball accelerator, makes the balls go mega fast around the loop, sometimes five times, sometimes ten times.

    When I came across a great deal on the pinball info forum, I couldn’t resist checking it out. The pinball machine is being sold as a project and comes with a new playfield, decals, and side rails that need to be installed. The machine is currently playable, so I’m planning to replace the playfield next summer when I feel more confident about taking on a full playfield swap. The playfield is made by Buthamburg.

    I had the pleasure of meeting Andy from Hull, who happened to be selling a pinball machine not too far from my place. I popped over to his place, checked out the machine, played a few games, and had a great chat about pinball. A few hours later, his friend was driving to SouthCave with the pinball machine in his van, to drop it off at my place ;-)

    This is my first Steve Ritchie game.

    The Getaway: High Speed II is a pinball machine from February 1992, manufactured by Williams Electronic Games, Inc. 13259 units were produced.

    Design team

    Game Design: Steve Ritchie

    Mechanics: Carl Biagi

    Software: Dwight Sullivan

    Artwork: Doug Watson Mark Sprenger

    Animation: Scott Slomiany

    Sound: Dan Forden

    Music: Dan Forden

  • Modding Millipede PCB (Centipede, Millipede, Super Breakout and Warlords)

    Modding Millipede PCB (Centipede, Millipede, Super Breakout and Warlords)

    One of my all-time favorite games is Centipede, and I recently installed the Super Multipede v2.0 on my Millipede Arcade machine. This upgrade extends the capabilities of the Atari Millipede board, allowing me to play Centipede, Millipede, Super Breakout, and Warlords.

    In addition, it includes a High Score Kit that enhances the high-score features of the games and stores high scores for all of them. The installation process was super easy, and it only took a few minutes to set up and get used to it.

    So happy, bloody love playing these games.

    Details

    Super Multipede v2.0 

    Game List – 

    • Centipede
    • Millipede
    • Super Breakout Double
    • Super Breakout Cavity 
    • Super Breakout Progressive
    • Warlords (single player)
    • Easy install – No soldering, board modifications or special wiring. Plug in and go!
    • Save your scores forever – We use a serial eprom, not failure prone NVRAM or batteries
    • High Score Save – Saves the Top 8 scores! Super Breakout and Warlords save the top 5 scores
    • Has separate score tables – Different high score saving for Centipede, Millipede and Super Breakout with number of lives chosen (SBO saves also with different Game Modes) and Warlords has 1 High Score Table. 
    • ROM Revisions – Uses most current rom revisions
    • Attract Sounds – Hear what you’ve been missing! Set at 25%, 50% or 100% of the attract screen rotation for each game!
    • Freeplay – No more coins or opening up the coin door!
    • Coin Up – Still supports coins if wanted (Warlords only Free Play)
    • Attract Mode – Minimize your screen burn. No more “static” screens!
    • Change DIP settings – Menu driven. No more pulling out your game to get inside to change dip switches!
    • Rom Saver – Original program roms CAN be removed (4 eproms in row 1)
    • Support – Can be used in an Upright or Cocktail cabinet!
    • Backup and Restore – Able to backup high scores and restore them later! Ideal for before and after game room parties!
    • Reset Button – Restart a game without turning the entire game off (Requires to be ENABLED in menu)
    • Choose your game! Centipede, Millipede, Super Breakout and Warlords!
    • HIgh Score Table – Save your top 8 scores with initials (Top 5 on SBO and Warlords)
    • Cocktail or Upright. Flips for cocktail mode on Centipede and Millipede. SBO will play on P1 side, Same as Warlords (single player)
    • Free play or coin/token
    • Separate High Score Tables
    • Attract Sounds that you can set for 25%, 50% or every attract screen! 
    • Coin per credit if not on freeplay
    • Show original Atari logos or the website logo
    • Menus for normal dip settings, custom settings
    • Save all 8 scores, only top score, top 3 scores
    • Backup and restore scores before and after your next party
    • Menu for game select
    • Able to enable or disable the sub menu for settings (now guests cannot get in)
    • “Stealth Mode” – Choose what game the kit boots to! (Game is last game played or from game list)
    • Rom Saver – all original program roms CAN be removed with kit installed (1H – 1M)
  • Millipede Arcade, YES

    Millipede Arcade, YES

    Centipede is one of my favourite games, and the arcade cabinet has always held a special place in my heart. I remember spending countless hours playing it at both Sunspot and Golden Nugget arcades in Hull City Center. The music is iconic, and I can still hear it blasting out from the speakers.
    I have been wanting to buy a Centipede arcade cabinet for a while, as my MAME Cabinet is great, but without the rollerball, it just doesn’t feel right. Luckily, I managed to find a Millipede cabinet at a great price. Although it needs some work, the monitor, game, and controls are all in good working order. The rollerball could be better, but it’s good enough for now.

    I chose Millipede instead of Centipede because I discovered that I could modify the PCB and allow it to run three additional games – Centipede, Warlords, and Breakout. So, it’s like having a 4-in-1 cabinet.

    Luke is just like me when it comes to gaming. As soon as we booted up the cabinet, we went straight into playing for a high score (and I even managed to get on the scoreboard with my first game). The game is brilliant and addictive, with that “just one more game” feeling.

    I am thrilled to have this cabinet and am looking forward to fixing it up. There will be many gaming battles ahead

    Millipede was released in arcades by Atari, Inc. in 1982. The sequel to 1981’s Centipede, it has more gameplay variety and a wider array of insects than the original.

  • Exciting Visit to Arcade Club Blackpool, Luke and I

    Exciting Visit to Arcade Club Blackpool, Luke and I

    During our visit to PLAYExpo Blackpool on October 7th, 2023, we decided to check out Arcade Club in Blackpool for the first time. Although we were slightly disappointed to find that some of the pinball machines had some issues, we were impressed with the wide variety of arcade games available and the fact that they were all well-maintained. We had a great time playing the games, and I particularly enjoyed watching Luke play Marble Madness – it was hilarious! We also played Star Wars, which is one of the best arcade games ever made. I even had to help Luke with the proton shot! :-)
    We took lots of pictures/videos of the machines; I loved photos/videos of Luke playing the sit-down version of the STAR Wars game, which is housed in a fantastic cabinet. We had a WHAMTASIC time
    . #ArcadeClubBlackpool #playexpo #arcade #starwars

  • PlayExpoBlackpool 2023 with Luke

    PlayExpoBlackpool 2023 with Luke

    Luke and I had an amazing time at PlayExpoBlackpool 2023, despite the early start. The arcade games and pinball machines were in excellent condition and there was a great selection to choose from.

    We had some funny moments too. For instance, Luke played Tron for so long with just one ball that people stopped waiting for him to finish and have a turn. On the other hand, I showed him who was the Hypersports Champ.

    We played Centipede on a machine with a flickering monitor, which was not ideal, but I still enjoyed the sound of the game.

    Although Luke had never played pinball before, he beat me on all the pinball machines, except for the first game on The Adams Family. Moreover, Luke even scored higher than a professional pinball player who joined us to play a game of DR No.

    One of the highlights of our trip was meeting John Romero, who is a legend in the gaming industry. I was star-struck by him, and he was an awesome person to talk to. Interestingly, the only souvenirs I brought back were all DOOM and John Romero-related.

    Overall, we had a great time!
    #playexpo

  • Ready for Retro, on route to PLAY Expo Blackpool with Luke

    Ready for Retro, on route to PLAY Expo Blackpool with Luke

    Ready for Retro, on route to PLAY Expo Blackpool #PLAYexpo with Luke. We want to check out some arcades pinballs and hope to meet the Legendary John Romero (Doom Guy).
    My fingers crossed that they have a Jurassic park and Godzilla pin, as I want to know what Luke thinks of them. We aim to buy our first Pin in the next few weeks.

  • Updated Arcade Cabinet, Arcade Monitor, CRT Emudriver, GroovyMAME

    Updated Arcade Cabinet, Arcade Monitor, CRT Emudriver, GroovyMAME

    Showing a few games running on the updated Arcade Cabinet. I updated the machine with New MB/CPU/HD installed, modded HD 5450 GPU with CRT Emudriver 2.0, installed Windows 10, and now using Groovymame, super resolutions.

    I am still using Arcade Maximus as a front end with an Arcade Monitor (supporting 15khz) and running all games in their original resolution. Looks brilliant and plays so well. I also managed to port the high scores from the original cabinet across to this one (took some doing, with no info online), so that’s over ten years worth of all my mates’ scores, result :-) 

    Video by Luke Cole

  • MiSTerFPGA, arcade, Zxspectrum, Amiga

    MiSTerFPGA, arcade, Zxspectrum, Amiga

    Just setting it up, had it a few hrs. already impressed with how the games play, feel original, Loving it. Arcades, ZXspectrum, Amiga, Looking forward to building something special. #MiSTerFPGA