Equipment/The Beast

"The Beast" arcade machine
Model	Unknown
Sub-category	Audio/Visual
Status	Good working order
Consumables	Unknown
Accessories	Unknown
Training requirement	no
Training link	Unknown
ACnode	no
Owner	Unknown
Origin	Unknown
Location	Ground floor, ?A?, in front of the laser cutter

People playing with The Beast

This is the big arcade machine that lurks in the space.

It has indie games on it, and emulators.

It runs Windows (sad face) for perfectly sensible reasons.

Keymappings

Don't change these, as it'll break all the indie games that rely on them.

Player 1

• Directions: Left Arrow, Right Arrow, Up Arrow, Down Arrow
• Buttons: Z, X, C

Player 2

• Directions: J (left), K (down), I (up), L (right)
• Buttons: N, M, B

Launcher software

This lives at http://github.com/v21/Boinger. Any improvements gratefully welcomed, although you will need a Pro version of Unity3D to compile it. I know, sorry. One improvement would be rewriting it to not require this.

Adding games to the launcher

All games should run fullscreen at 1024 * 768 resolution. They should also survive being exited abruptly, as the launcher software isn't particularly gentle when it quits things.

The launcher reads the games avaliable from a json file called local.json, which sits in the arcade_games folder linked on the desktop. If The Beast is plugged into the network, it should appear as a Windows fileshare on machine //INDIEBOX/

The format looks like this:

{"games" :

[
	{
		"name" : "game2", 
		"author" : "me" , 
		"filePath" : "C:/Users/Public/arcade games/SumoBOSSRace.exe",
		"splashScreenPath" : "file://C:/Users/v21/Documents/My Dropbox/Launcher/Assets/tex2.png"
	}
]
}

The splash screen is the screen that's displayed on the arcade machine when cycling through the games. This works best if it's a 1024 * 768 png. Ideally it'll be exciting and eyecatching, tell people what the game is and who made it, maybe tell them what keys to press and maybe exhort them to push start. But it's up to you.

Alternatively, you could load a splash video. This needs to be in ogg format, and goes in the "splashScreenPath" variable. You also need to set the variable "splashIsVideo" to true.

I've just been dumping all the games into the arcade_games folder, accessible via the public share.

Current state

• Jacks for headphones on the underside need installing so people can play without distracting the rest of the space
• Wiring harness for LEDs needs finishing
• Shuttle PC power supply dead, needs replacing
• New buttons and joysticks installed, side art trimmed and cleaned, parts resprayed
• Both joysticks broken again, needs replacing, CRT replaced with LCD, new sound system installed
• The left joystick is now fixed, however the tabs on the new microswitch where too wide for the spade connector so a connection was bodged with a bit of wire
• Sound dosn't work, i've not really investigated.
• It could do with a through clean
• The joystick to usbhid adapter board is loose inside the cabinet and needs to be screwed down.
• In general better cable management would be nice.

Log

All the control have been replaced, rewired and confirmed working, the side art has been trimmed and cleaned and mame has been installed, the bezel for the monitor has been sprayed black along with the metal trim around the edge of the marquee. 2 locks need replacing and a power button for the shuttle PC needs adding. --YetiFiasco 21/10/2013

New speakers have been fabricated and installed from the google TV speakers, the CRT has been replaced with an LCD mounted to the original board in its original position (upright), still needs aligning properly, given a general tidy. Both joysticks need replacing at ~£30 due to tape being applied instead of the proper collet fouling the dip switches, buttons could be replaced at the same time, wiring also needs replacing, lots of brittle wire and loose connectors. --YetiFiassco 18/08/2013

The flouro light behind the perspex up top is now running, but needs re-wiring properly to be safe. Top taken off and the last vestiges of the broken speaker system removed. Cleaned a bit more.. --TimRTerrible 13/08/2013

The logitech 2.1 system that is installed in the cabinet has a busted amp/sub unit. The satellites work (just) but are naff without amplification. Have installed the old Google TV speakers temporarily, removing the old ones will involve taking the cabinet apart. One of the (mains!) cables that feeds the neons has been yanked out and is hanging loose. Unplugged. Fixing this will involve taking the cabinet apart, too. Tidied all the cables in the back, removed unused stuff. Currently running by the hackspace front door for opening evening. --TimRTerrible 13/08/2013

Outings 2012

• The Wild Rumpus Thursday, 2nd of February at 93 feet east. 18:30-23:00.
• Bit of Alright: Indie focused game design conference at the BAC. 3rd of Feb. 25ukp.
• GameJam at LSBU 4-5th February.