Yup, mine is set up like all of the others… B runs, A jumps. I do remember Mario Clash being weird, although I think I usually use the triggers IIRC (I haven’t played it in a long time).
Heheheh… I still get Gamepro… I signed up for that free year that they were giving away a few years ago, and they just keep sending it to me. I never read them… I just throw them in a pile, but I just picked the top one up and there’s an article on the VB on page 14 of issue 208 (Jan 06).
Hmm… from Sweden eh? DanB, is that you trying to rip people off burning the Virtual Bowling ROM onto EPROM? 😛 $20 says that those chips have never been to Athena 😉 .
Really??? I’ve never had any problems with Space Squash. That’s the only reason I don’t really play it much, because no matter which path I take, it’s always too easy. The game is awesome other than that… well, and that it takes too long if you’re looking for a quick game.
Ryu: if you’d like me to repair them for you, send me an email: DogP@comcast.net … shipping 3 at a time would probably save quite a bit on shipping, and I’ll do both screens on all of them for $15 per system if you want to be my Guinea Pig.
Actually, I’m using a heat method now, and it seems to be working better than the other few ways I’ve tried. I’ll get the whole document uploaded once I get my webspace back though.
Yeah, I was thinking about offering some other mods, but I haven’t really thought of any that are worth doing… I figure most of the people that actually care about the mods can probably do it themselves 😉 . And I also considered the screw replacement option, but then I remembered why I’m having to open it, and not them… because they don’t have a security bit, and I don’t want them messing around in there damaging the fragile LED bar cable 😛 . I also replaced my screws with phillips head screws, but none of the places around me had the right length, so I had to grind off the tips to make them work.
Heheh… yeah, I’ve been thinking about it… obviously I’d be making a little bit of money doing it, but of course I’m not really looking to get rich. I just kinda figured nobody else offers a service like this, and it could turn out to be a worthwhile offering. I do a lot of stuff with arcade machines, and there are a lot of people that do similar things for arcade PCBs and stuff, so I figured it’s worth a try. Here’s what I was thinking:
$15 fee for opening the VB, plus $15 to fix one display, $25 to fix both (total $30 for one, $40 for both)… this includes a replacement display if the display is unrepairable (but the problem must be the flickery LED). I won’t work on previously hacked/messed with systems… if I open the system up and see that it’s been messed with, I’ll close it up and send it back refunding the display fee (I don’t mind if someone opened it, but if the wires are kinked/broken, obviously someone was already in there and screwed it up). I’d suggest them shipping the game to me before paying, then they know what return shipping will be, and can add the exact price to the repair cost, otherwise shipping anywhere in the US will be $10. Only the headset needs to be shipped, no accessories or extra parts are needed/wanted.
The display(s) would be warranteed for 90 days from date of repair… after 90 days if the system breaks again, the VB opening fee would be waived (even if it’s for the other display). Although other problems w/ the VB are rare, I will also note that I offer other repairs. Typical turn-around times would be less than 1 week.
I figured I’d make some unique marks in several locations and log them in a spreadsheet to make sure people couldn’t cheat the system by swapping the serial number plate on the bottom, or open it and swap displays, etc. I was also thinking of a warranty void if seal broken sticker with my site logo and address, along with the date and display fixed. Then if someone goes to sell it, they can say that the display was repaired on whatever date, and the system carries the warranty/reduced repair fee.
Any other suggestions? Anything you don’t like about my plan? I’ll probably list the service on ebay this weekend and see if anyone shows any interest.
Come on now… world’s worst game??? I think it’s gotten a really bad reputation from haters and people that haven’t played the game 😛 . I definately wouldn’t call it the best game, but IMO it’s actually an entertaining game to sit down and play for a game or two. It does get repetitive, so it’s not a game like Wario Land, where you’ll sit down and play it for 4 hours straight to beat it, but I think I’ve gone back and played Waterworld more than I have Wario Land, since once I beat Wario Land, there wasn’t really any more to go back to.
Hmm… are your ads for the large or the small display? The display that you linked to need a smaller ad than the large display needs. If you say that they’re white on the back, I’d assume that’s for the small display as the large display usually has a logo on the back, although I’ve seen some that are actually just printed on a long sheet that’s folded over itself.
If you post the dimensions I’ll tell you which display it goes to.
If you’re able to open the VB up, I can tell you how to fix the display… otherwise if you’re in the US and want to mail it to me, I can fix it for $30 plus actual return shipping, and I’ll offer a 90 day warranty (cheaper/better than Nintendo when they were repairing, and now they’ve stopped repairing VBs 🙁 ). I’ve repaired about 8 displays so far, and they’re all still holding up after several months (I’ve got 9 months on my personal VB), and I personally think it should last at least a few more years.
For those wondering, I’m working on an article for repairing these on my website, so once I get my webspace back, this will be in the grand reopening 😉 . I’ve also been considering offering the repair service on ebay, since everyone seems to be having the problem, and more and more people are actually worried about buying a VB and having it crap out on them, so if they could get their display refurbished for about the same and maybe even less than the cost of another system (which might die right after they get it), people might find it worth it… what do you guys think?
Yup, the site will hopefully be coming back online this weekend, or maybe next week. I’m working on the site updates right now, and working on another couple documents.
Oh… yeah, I’m sure the connector is gonna have to come from another VB cart… and probably the case too. I can’t see it being worth having connectors made when they can be had MUCH cheaper from a Baseball or Tennis cart.
That’s sweet about the PCB stuff you’ve got David… that’d be awesome to see this happen. If there’s something I can do, let me know, but I’m not reallly an expert at the PCB stuff (I’ve only done a few simple ones that I sent to my plotter). Is the PCB stuff you have able to do vias, or only single sides?
And it’s good to see that you’re still around RP… I haven’t seen you on IRC in a while, and I hadn’t seen any posts from you recently either.
BTW, I’m working on MarioVB right now… I’m out of town for Thanksgiving, so I’ve got some free time. The biggest problem is that I split the code into multiple files (the code was getting REALLY hard to navigate), so I gotta get my includes and compile options correct (I was able to do it w/ VBGB, but it’s been a while so I gotta figure it out again).
I’d love to use existing carts, but there’s no (readily) available programmable chips that work with the TSOP-II pinout, and an adapter would probably be more of a pain than making a new cart (especially since it’d probably be TSOP chip -> TSOP-II connection).
Gundam does REALLY suck… I played it all the way through in a few hours straight… it’s VERY easy, and REALLY boring. The battle part is actually kinda fun, but there’s an option for “indirect” instead of battle, which allows only you to attack them, and they have no chance of hurting you. It does less damage than if you battle them, but since you lose no life, just wait for them to battle you (they never indirect you).
Work has been slow on this recently, mostly because classes recently have been pretty tough (last year of EE degree), but it hasn’t been forgotten. I do plan on making carts, either designing a cart if nobody else has carts made by then, or using a cart already made if someone has them made.
