Vegas Arcade-y Goodness and Amazon (AWS) Re:Invent

In late-fall / early winter every year, Amazon hosts 50,000 plus developers, systems, dev-ops professionals and technology decision makers for AWS: Reinvent.  AWS (Amazon Web Services) is the arm of Amazon that sells platform and technology services to businesses looking to use Amazon's cloud infrastructure for app, web app and online service delivery.   Each year, Amazon adds over a hundred pr....  vertical markets ... technical debt reduction .... scalable solutio......[snore]  ZZzzzzzzZzzzz   Zzzzz ZzzZzz.  

Still Awake?

I've been to this conference a few times.   Vegas is an expensive town and I'm not much of a gambler but each time I've been I've tried to build in some arcade and pinball discovery in the afternoons and evenings, when off the clock, so to speak.  Although this year, the arcade and classic gaming motif was felt more in the AWS Event itself than previous years. 

Re-Invent

AWS: Reinvent is massive, in terms of scale.  The conference lasts all week and more-or-less subsumes the Vegas strip.   There are two keynotes in the week, the primary keynote venue houses probably around 10,000 people and there are overflow viewing areas at each participating major resort that will hold about half that, each.

As an engineer that has worked for numerous start-up sized companies, I can say that I'm largely pretty cynical about the exhibitor floors of these shows.    I worked for a company years ago that had a fully stocked kitchen of snacks and goodies (soda, energy drinks, sugary pastries and other goodies) and an even more stocked room full of conference swag (pedometers, shirts, hats, mouse pads, gadget-du jour, which these days would take the forms of drones, Nintendo Switches or iPads. That same company, couldn't always make payroll in regards to the engineering staff and contractors...   

But, I digress.  Hopefully these guys have their houses in order. :)

Bo-bo Pac-man

One vendor went so far as to build demos of their product into arcade cabinets and port a version of Pacman over on a few of the cabinets.  "Cloud Crunch" - to exhibit all of the security goodness they could bring to your cloud infrastructure.

(I guess, I really still don't fully know what they actually *do* over at CTP.)

Notice they even went with Arcadey - Family Fun Center styled carpet. (above)

The controls on the arcade cabinet themselves were pretty crappy (below) - I think they were loose mounted in the cabinet.

Their leaderboard was used to control the output of swag.  I only played once but held first place for the better part of the day with my freshman effort.  For my efforts, a pretty decent Patagonia pull-over.

PHOF 

Those hoping this acronym is a reference to the venerable David Hasselhoff will be disappointed but maybe otherwise delighted to learn it is the Pinball Hall of Fame, aka The Las Vegas Pinball Museum.

I walked through the PHOF with my phone on a facebook live broadcast.   Unfortunately the iOS version of the facebook app ignored my preference to save the 4k version to my camera roll, so I'm stuck with this version, which was downloaded from Facebook after the fact.

Sadly, these classic EMs and early Solid States were not getting much play, as is the case every time I've been to the PHOF.   I wish I had time to come and just work my way down these rows and learn to appreciate the bits of character that each of these machines have.

Mostly pins (of all eras) but some arcades on the backwall, too.  

PHOF has an excellent range of eras represented in their lineup from modern LCD games, through B/W DMD games and back to EM Classics.   They were all reasonably well maintained and along the back of the building, an employee worked on an STTNG while listening to an audiobook.    There were very few people in the place and there almost never is when I go in the Winter months.   There was one etiquette-challenged older gent that was playing more than one game at a time and draping his jacket over 1-2 nearby games not in play and challenged me over recording the video walkthrough.   I offered to play him a round and he chose the new Star Wars.  I won and we had a fun conversation about pinball during the game.

For some strange reason, the most interesting machine at PHOF to me is this awesome popcorn vending machine. I want one!    

Have Quarters, Will Uber

Fremont Arcade

Last year, when I was on my way out from Vegas - waiting on my flight, I remember reading about Fremont Arcade on Pinside.  I was bummed because the OP of that post had posted all sorts of promising pictures of the line up at these neat arcade down in Old Vegas / Fremont.  

This year I made it a point to go check it out.   

Unfortunately, instead of a promising line up of pins, I found the pretty typical modern card-based almost-redemption arcade with the exception of the 5 Stern games pictured here.

The pins were all well-maintained but the volume was down and even in the empty arcade you couldn't hear them.

The Big Apple Arcade @ New York, New York

I ventured over to Big Apple Arcade located inside of the New York, New York Casino.

Here, I was impressed and spent more of my arcade dollars than probably at an other location in Vegas.  A nice layout of modern pins, each properly set up and well-maintained..    

Speaking of Star Wars, it was nice to get the opportunity to spend more time with an updated Star Wars Battle Pod.    Even though I built a redneck equivalent, I sure do enjoy this game.

On my way out of New York, New York, the Bally logo of a slot machine caught my eye and sort of develops a lump in my throat as to what might have been had Bally stayed in it, making Pinball after 2000.

Zero Latency VR at MGM 

In MGM, they've set up a pretty sweet full-suite VR experience called Zero Latency VR.  It is similar, though probably not quite as good as The Void.  While we were there, the options were a Halo-styled space combat sim and a Zombie battle style sim.

We opted for the space-sim, since the zombie genre is well covered in the PS4 and Vive VR offerings.  The gameplay last about 1/2 hour (for about $50/person).   The resolution of the experience wasn't 4k but the effect was quite good.   On more than one occasion I found myself reaching for a virtual-only cover (a crate) in the environment, to hoist over and shoot at the alien boss.   Therein lay the hack.  You can clip in the environment by nestling yourself inside parts of the environment. :) 

I could see a version of this with practical trip-hazards that are represented in 3D space, virtually - as being pretty awesome.   Me, I'm glad I got to play it and I'm definitely looking forward to trying out other full-suit VR experiences. 

Closing Night, the AWS: Reinvent, Re:Play Party

The last night of AWS: ReInvent, Amazon sets up three football-field-length structures in the parking lot of The Linq and throws one hell of a nerd party.  The middle structure had a bad with EDM, House type coding music blaring to an impressive laser light show.  The right-most structure included physical activities, like nerf bow-and-arrow in paintball gear - type battles, adult bouncy castles, etc.  The left-most structure was packed full of classic arcades, a dome VR experience, foosball, airhockey and all sorts of gaming awesomeness.   

Quick, shaky cam walk through to show the retro gaming goodness going on in one of the structures.

Of the classic arcades, some impressive collector titles were on the floor

The center structure of the three structure layout included a stage, lightshow, food, booze and tunes..

I thought the lighting assembly was impressive, especially considering this was a temporary structure!

By the end of the week, it was time to relax atop the balcony at Twin Peaks and bid Las Vegas farewell.   I attended 3 to 5 sessions each day and filled the evenings as best I could think to with arcadey and pinball fun, not the most risqué activities available in Vegas but these are the ones that interested my inner arcade nerd. :)

Merry Christmas!

Halloween 2017

What do you get when you take a 5.1 Outdoor movie experience, add in 98 glow ice cubes, 120 glow sticks, a makeshift haunted house, a table full of tasty treats and enough sugar to induce a diabetic coma?    Halloween 2017 at our house. :)

Here's a clip from our Nest cams from the block party & awkwardly appropriate halloween-era music track that captures the meta-narrative and sea of neighbors & friends that came out to enjoy some Arcade and Pinball fun.

Attack from Mars

Attack from Mars is one of those games that I've known that I want but I've let others' talk me out of pursuing.   

"It's just that center shot over and over again.."

In fact, when I bought my Star Trek Premium, I bought it with hopes that it would scratch both the STTNG and AFM itches based on layout and center saucer toy.

As a market-force, the the Chicago Gaming / PPS remakes have (generally) helped to bring some of the player's quality original AFMs (MM's to a lesser extent) to come down into more reasonable price ranges.   Before the remakes, it wasn't unheard of to find a player's quality AFM for $8,000.

Here, I found a player's quality AFM on Pinside, listed at a reasonable price by a flexible seller.
 
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/archive/51870

He provided plenty of pictures to convey the condition, which I've archived here:  https://images.eyedyllic.com/Hobbies/Attack-from-Mars-Pinside/n-ZMfNqc/

Initial Condition Survey

The game arrived via STI a couple of days before an open house / party.  So I did a mad-dash just to get it playing for the party.   The condition was in the range that I expected.   Heavy cabinet wear around the flippers, some sloppy mylar around the left ramp, the saucer lights didn't work most of the time and the strobe wasn't functional.

Note the fact that Ghostbusters playfield was also lifted..   Node board failures two days before an open house / pinball party... bleh!

Shopping List

ColorDMD: http://shop.colordmd.com/colordmd-replacement-display-for-attack-from-mars-pinball-machine/
Cointaker LEDs: https://cointaker.com/t/attack-from-mars
Mothership LED Board: https://ksarcade.net/attack-from-mars-mother-ship-led-board-a-20670.html
Enhanced Strobe Kit: http://www.pinbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_11&products_id=256
Mirror Art Blades: https://www.pingraffix.com/product-page/attack-from-mars-pinball-bladeskinz
Chrome Door: http://www.pinballplating.com/available-parts/bally-williams-coin-doors
Chrome Rails: http://www.pinballplating.com/available-parts/bally-williams-side-rails
Chrome Lockdown: http://www.pinballplating.com/available-parts/bally-lockdown-bars
Chrome Hinges: http://www.pinballplating.com/available-parts/bally-williams-93-95-hinges-pivot-bolts-set
Enhanced Strobe Kit: http://www.pinbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_11&products_id=256
Pinball Life Lit Flipper Buttons: https://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=3760
Pinball Life Glass: https://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=768
Duplicolor Metallic Gunmetal Rattle Can:
  https://www.autozone.com/paint-and-body/paint-spray-can-and-touch-up/dupli-color-gunmetal-metallic-perfect-match-paint/59700_0
Spaz Stix Holographic Rattle Can:
  https://www.amazon.com/Color-Change-Holographic-Paint-Aerosol/dp/B0015H1FG0
A mixture of black, orange, yellow and white acrylic paints
Convolux, Green Protector Set: http://www.shop.freddys-pinball-paradise.de/index.php?f=3&q=convolux%206507
LED OCD for Controlled Lamps: http://ledocd.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=22

Pictures along the way..

The combination art-mirror blades from Pingraffix really turned out awesome.   The animated, PowerBladez were just announced and I had saw them at a show but I thought the combination art and mirror really added a less-distracting and complimentary look to the game and goes well with the chrome accents.   The Cointaker kit was the most incomplete that I've received from them but I suspect that AFM might be a title where there were inconsistencies between runs with regards to bulb-base types.   That or being in the wild for so long, this game's lighting config had been molested by operator repair goons.

Can't say enough good things about Chris Royalty at PinballPlating.com.   Quick turnaround and excellent work!

Of all of the adds, I think the Convolux added the most "pop" to the game. 

Mid-Year Game Room Progress

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My Gameroom is finally back to being mostly-functional again, which is sort of a zen moment for me since I've had glass off of pins and games pulled out in the middle of the room under various repairs for the last couple of months.   

Not that it is completely done, I don't think anything in this hobby is ever actually completely done, right?  Plenty of little tweaks remain on various games but at least, for the moment being (knock, wood) everything is in its place and working. :)

Main Arcade Row

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To the left of the room sit the main arcade games, from left to right:

Tron
Donkey Kong
   - Arcadeshop.com reproduction, original boards & DK Remix / Deranged Chipset
Q*Bert
  - Arcadeshop.com reproduction, Mylstar PCB
A Hyperspin Multicade with NES, SNES, Sega Genesis
  - The cabinet is an unknown (maybe Mario?) nintendo cab  was dumpster bound, came to me        without any internals.
Mario Kart Arcade GP Cabs (linked)
  - Currently running Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 Triforce CPUs
 

Star Wars Area

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Towards the back of the room is the Star Wars Zone.  Currently I have Star Wars Trilogy Stand up and a HUO Data East Star Wars pinball table w/ Pinsound and ColorDMD LED.

The Dome

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I originally build the dome to emulate the Star Wars Battle Pod -type game play with eyes set on Star Wars Battlefront (the soon-to-be, old version).  Much to my disappointment after spending the summer on that project, when the game was released - the vehicle flight modes were mostly-land based and locked into online multiplayer playlists.   When Death Star was finally released, it also was online only.    Plans somewhat dashed, the dome is still a great cabinet for Playstation VR shenanigans (Star Wars Battlefront X-Wing VR Mission WIN) and racing titles.   Lately, we've been alternating between Hydro thunder on the X-Box 360 and WipeOut! on the PS4.

Mortal Kombat

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In the middle of the room, hulking ominously over the couch sits Mortal Kombat.    Currently running MK4, I'm looking forward to getting MK1, 2, 3 & 4 installed on a switcher finally this summer, with any luck.

The Minecraft & More Area

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Last year, I thinned out the Pinball addiction a bit to create a space for the kids (me too) to chill & play console games.   I don't "get" Minecraft, personally but I'm known to play other console titles.  It didn't seem right to have a family gameroom and not have the console-gaming bases covered.   

Recently, with the addition of another pin, Revenge from Mars & the Cocktail table Multicade started to encroach upon this zone again, it is a little tight but I think it seems to be working for all involved, so far.

The Pinball Row

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The Pinball row grew back with a +1 this year of Tales of the Arabian Nights. 

In the distance, is Revenge from Mars - still I think one of the best values in pinball.   Killer fun title!

Next is Ghostbusters Premium, I added the leg light ups from MustangPaul on Pinside, powder coated the rails, lockdown and legs to Metallic purple, installed a playfield protector and did some other playfield mods. It pisses people off that play it but I love it.

Star Trek Premium: Mine has mirror blades, interactive under cab lights, acryllic plastic protectors and the green laser mod.  

Tales of the Arabian Nights - Purchased from a stand up GAPAS member who was really very easy to deal with and fair.  It appears to be a re-import (three coin-door), has gold plated rails, legs and lockdown bar and ColorDMD - thanks to a SFGE show sponsor from the folks at ColorDMD.  

Finally, in the line up is my Williams Indy.  It has ColorDMD, Pinsound - and custom powder coating (Golden Vein) from Chris Royalty @ Hot Rod Arcade.   Check them out at www.pinballplating.com.

Southern Fried Shenanigans

Southern Fried Gameroom Expo (SFGE) 2017 was last weekend in Atlanta.   SFGE is a special show, made large by a tremendous group of people who are organizing it.   When I look at SFGE in comparison to other arcade & pinball events that I've been to, I see SFGE as a 'self-made' sort of success.   For instance, Pinball Expo takes place in essentially the cradle of coin op amusements & Free Play Florida happens in conjunction with IAAPA, an industry trade show. 

Not to diminish those shows one bit, they are awesome as well.  However, it is a treat to see an Oasis of gaming culture thriving in the Southeast, in a region without the rich amusement history & vendor presence.

I like that this show represents a variety of gaming: arcade, pinball, console gaming, indie games & more.

I did a quick Facebook live walkthrough of the show floor, looks like it got downsampled for streaming but probably good enough to put you in the Saturday peek action.

The Setup

Thursday night, through Friday morning - volunteer bring games through a service elevator and they get set up in the space.   In a span of hours, a-mostly empty ball-room is converted into an impressive and thriving functional free-play arcade.

I took possession of my new Tales of the Arabian Nights early Saturday morning and got the opportunity to install a ColorDMD and get it set up on the gaming floor for Saturday's festivities.

Attendance Impressions

Saturday is definitely the busiest day of the weekend with a steady stream of folks coming in all day long.  

The Games

I was excited to get to play Scott Danesi's Total (Nuclear) Annihilation pin that Spooky Pinball will be producing.  

So, how much fun can it be playing pinball on a prototype whitewood game?   Lots, actually!  The game has clever rules, a bad ass sound track and nicely thematic animations on the ColorDMD.    It features a nice multiplayer dynamic that was conducive to 4-Up playing. Here,  Charlie & I had to find some way to pass the time while Eric mercilessly stole our locked balls.

All weekend, I never saw the glass off of TNA.  It performed like a champ, chewing up and spitting out player after player.   One time, I saw Scott showing the internals and had to snap the picture out of appreciation for a job well done and innovation. 

 

Dialed In

It was great to get to spend some time on Dialed In.  Despite the luke-warm reception concerning the game's theme - this is a special game, for sure.  Tons of magnets, excellent flow and plenty to shoot at.   With headphones in, I got a chance to hear the games audio and it was impressive indeed!  JJP & Pat Lawlor have a hit on their hands with this game.

Houdini

American Pinball's Houdini was on the floor and available to play.  It was an impressive shooting game with excellent theming and a very "Williams" feel to it. 

Ice Cold Beer

I was pretty stoked to get to spend some time on Ice Cold Beer, which is a game I wouldn't mind owning eventually, unique & fun!

Quick N Crash

Speaking of unique games, Quick & Crash was a super fun shooting-alley game with practical effects.   The game dynamic is centered around a quick-draw motion and the game uses a Pepper's Ghost illusion to approximate a realistic effect of breaking glass.   Super. Freaking. Cool.

Metallica

One of the Metallica's in the show won a show-award, though the specific Metallica pictured here, while Nathan stomped my butt - was the nicest Metallica I've ever seen.   Excellent lighting and custom plating from PinballPlating.com

The Vendors

Marco Specialities had a strong showing with many of the latest Stern machines on the floor to play.

Personalities

This year's show had John from John's Arcade, Ben Heck, Billy Mitchell, Walter Day, Dirty Donny, the guys from Broken Token & many more.

Sky Skipper!

The Sky Skipper world reveal!    Arcade history in the making..

Morning, Noon & Night

My morning ritual developed around expresso, plus a latte and a few games on a Tapper Cocktail table near the show floor entrance.

In case you were wondering, The CheeseCake Factory does indeed make a proper Old Fashioned, including the flamed orange twist.

The show seemed to strike a solid balance between being a family event during the day and early evening but having grown-up time in the later evening as well.  Everyone was well behaved & respectful, though it appears that Pac-man might have gone a little too far one night. 

The Tear Down

Here our pile of games sat as we prepared to stage at the freight elevator.  Cody's Paragon; Charlie's Street Fighter II, Genesis & NBA Fast Break; Nathan's Strikres and Spares & Blackout, my Tales of the Arabian Nights. 

It is incredible (and a little sad) to see the convention area go from a thriving arcade to a mostly-empty room in just over 2 hours but it is a testament to the well-oiled machine that is this show's volunteer team.

While I've been to these shows in the past, I've always held a pretty stand-offish opinion regarding bringing my games to shows.  I guess, mostly it was the lazy devil on my shoulder, convincing the hyper-angel on my other shoulder that the games might get damaged by careless strangers and the trouble of traveling with a game isn't worth the effort.  

The mental calculus of that proposition that I didn't take into account was the family of enthusiasts that put on this show, the overwhelmingly positive experience & support of the show organizers and the desire to contribute to help the show be all that it can be, for the sake of spreading love for this hobby.    After this trip, my mind was changed. I considered SFGE, even though it is 5 miles away, to be my "home" show and I look forward to bringing more blinky-light furniture again next year for visitors to enjoy.

Star Wars Day

Star Wars Day...   May the 4th.   You watch (or play) Star Wars on May the 4th and you drink tequila and margaritas on May the 5th.  So it is written.

Be it a marketing gimmick or a meme-turned into a broader cultural reference, today is Star Wars Day.   I think at one time I liked Star Wars more than Arcade & Pinball stuff but I think as time goes on, these things are more equally spaced in the "things I enjoy / am a  fan of."   So, the confluence of Arcade, Pinball and Star Wars? -- Yes please, sign me up!.

Rumors & speculation were that Stern Pinball might announce or tease their upcoming heavily-rumored, not yet fully confirmed Star Wars pinball machine today.   So far, nothing on their social media and a few indications on Pinside & pinball podcasts that it might not be today, after all.   Rumors are that it will be Steve Ritchie game, based on the Original Trilogy (or something across the whole franchise) and that it would have a ball-accelerator mech of some fashion, perhaps like Getaway.

Not saying that I will not be interested in a new Star Wars pinball from Stern but I can say that I'm quite happy with my personally customized Data East Star Wars table, shown here. 

Over the years it looks like I've had a few shenanigans related to Star Wars arcade and pinball machines...  Here's a look back:

My Star Wars Trilogy Ordeal:
https://arcadeshenanigans.com/blog/2014/8/7/star-wars-trilogy-pinball-resurrection
and
http://arcadeshenanigans.com/blog/2014/8/10/star-wars-trilogy-pinball-owner-review

I sold my last Data East Star Wars:
http://arcadeshenanigans.com/blog/2015/3/8/a-look-at-star-wars-by-data-east

I decided to build a Star Wars Battle Pod Clone:
https://arcadeshenanigans.com/blog/2015/10/1/dome-gaming-build

Bought my current Data East Star Wars:
http://arcadeshenanigans.com/blog/2016/10/30/star-wars

I think for this Star Wars Day, I'll go downstairs after work, drink some Blue Milk, check the status of that Storm Trooper costume that I ordered from www.anovos.com last year (that I plan on converting into a static statue - prop for the basement) and play some Pinball and Star Wars X-Wing Mission VR.    :)  

I hope you have a great May/4th as well!

Red Tent Goodness

Santa's sleigh is indeed red but has more axles than what is depicted in Rudolph: The Red Nosed Reindeer and other holiday classics.   Early Christmas came in spring this year as STI dropped off a new edition to our game room, the Nintendo Red Tent.

For the uninitiated, the Red Tent is the Nintendo VS Dual System in a cocktail table fashion.  The unique side by side, 'you sunk my battleship'-styled monitor layout and distinctive red metal frame earned this unit the moniker, "Red Tent" amongst arcade folks.

The Nintendo VS Dual system contains a single Nintendo main board with two channels on the board, allowing for different games to be played on each side or for the same game to be played against each other.

I bought this Red Tent from Chris @ Arcade Rescue 911 after having an eBay watch agent configured for such things for the last 9 months.   I found them to be super-easy to work with and very reasonable.   

Arcade Rescue 911 on Youtube

STI / NAVL handled shipping, through Beltmann Logistics as the shipping agent.

Michelle Bianchi - Beltmann Integrated Logistics
Addison IL 60101
630-352-3312
Toll Free 877-432-2646     Toll Free 800-959-8880
Cell630-344-3093     Fax 866-651-5919
Michelle.bianchi@Beltmann.com

Everything was very well-packaged, arrived exactly on time and in excellent condition. STI can locally vary but I've found our local drivers are pretty good.   One of them in particular, Harry is quite awesome, though this one was delivered by Charles, who doesn't help you move stuff into the house. 

One thing that was unique about this Red Tent from others I've seen is that it had a gun configuration on one side.  It was running VS Freedom Force, originally.

I installed Roms for Hogan's Alley on the gun side.

..and it came with VS Goonies on the other side..

John's Arcade has his usual excellent wealth of info on this system, listing the available games and the PPU / ROM (and optional daughter board) combinations for each game.

Now I just need to find some time from a busy work-schedule to investigate these supposedly-working boards from a different arcade vendor that arrived with issues..