[My "consecutive losing spins" experiment]

53 minutes ago, WonkySausage said:

funny, i've been playing Paint the Town Red (10p/£5/88%) and whilst i'm playing far from the optimum way to play as I don't really know how to play many hi tech machines - this game just takes and takes and takes and is already so far behind % from RAM reset I don't even know if or how it will get to its target %age. At one point it was running at 35% and have currently managed to get it to 55ish... £163 in for £88 out. It's actually starting to piss me off haha - more than reflexes do and thats saying something because I hate reflexes. These Red's are punishing and they don't even hide just how bent and rigged they are haha

I once got my arse handed to me by a Red Vortex on 10p/£5 on a holiday camp. I think part of the issue was my playing mega spins and pretty much just forcing for tops. I honestly think I was £90 down by the time I'd given up, which is insanity for a £5 jackpot - but then I was playing it in a bonkers way.

Looking back I'd probably just stick to 10p normal spins and try and extract the value rather than forcing on the most volatile setting.

I don't believe that the previous player had done anything to it, just my stupidity and ignorance

 

[MFME for android]

On 04/07/2022 at 17:01, jabbathehut said:

Window handheld are coming they just aren't very cheap at the moment. 

You can get older Windows tablets or convertible laptops that run MFME just fine - just avoid Atom based processors if possible. Some of the later Atom CPUs aren't too bad, I used to play MFME on a Linx 8 tablet before I sold it. It was playable for most layouts but would struggle with the most modern high resolution layouts with a lot of blended lamps

[MFME for android]

24 minutes ago, SkegVegas said:

Apologies if this is in the wrong place as its not MFME but there is a couple of machines on the play store that you can play on your android phone..

Hockey Cockley arena and Casino Crazy Club. If you search for both they should be there to download and enjoy..

There's loads more - search the Google Play store for CashmanEQ. I've about 15 games from memory!

They aren't emulated but they are very good simulations

[Newbie curious definitions , terms , lingo, etc]

On 21/06/2022 at 20:41, fruitySpinner said:

You'll also hear techs mentioned 

ie

 

MPU - mainly Barcrest but used by others

Pluto - I think JPM were responsible for this. 

There are others

Hmm...

There are loads of machine techs, which basically followed the electro-mechanical age. I'll add a couple of basic ones but the list is massive. Would be nice to have a definitive list though. I'll have to research but for now the main ones :

 

Barcrest :

MPU3, MPU4, MPU5, MPU6

MPU4 Video

(Their own technology)

JPM : 

MPS1, MPS2, System 5, IMPACT

(Their own technology)

also Heber Pluto 6

Bell Fruit :

Scorpion 1, Scorpion 2, Scorpion 4, Scorpion 5, Scorpion 6

Cobra (Video), Adder 5 (Video)

(Their own technology)

Maygay :

MMM, M1, M1a, M1b, EPOCH

(Their own technology)

 

That will do for a start, there's honestly loads more, and it gets pretty messy when other manufacturers use different hardware - for example QPS used Barcrest MPU4, Bell Fruit Scorpion 4/5 and possibly 6, and I think they might also have used JPM IMPACT?

I'll do a proper list tomorrow, might take me a while to compile it due to the crossovers involved, and some of the early hardware I've no experience of!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Money Controls Universal Hopper mk4]

I'll definitely read into this - my MFME cab (still unfinished!) has the Universal hopper, mount e.t.c. still intact. Just not connected to anything at the moment

[Touchscreen cable needed]

26 minutes ago, davep180 said:

Thanks @slotsmagicWas it E-Screen? 4 doors up? I've been in contact with them, and they may be an answer to my problem, but worried they are gonna be the same. The link is great as I couldn't find the 2mm connector and at one point I found a 5 wire to usb cable, but have lost it now. Putting the 2 together should get me my cable! No original cable, I just bought a door with a screen in it (which I tested and it works), and it still had the touchscreen control thingy still in it.

It was E-screen, they were £11 on the website. It might not be exactly the same address, I just glanced at it, thought 'surely not!' and didn't investigate past then!

You could always do what I did with the graphics cards I made - make say 5 cables, use 1, and sell a couple of others to cover your costs of materials e.t.c. while also helping others out who might need one. I've not broken or damaged one yet but they are fiddly little cables, especially at the end that connects to the touchscreen interface

[edit] Just to be sure - I believe the connectors I linked to are the correct ones, but I haven't ever tried them and would hate to be wrong

You could probably just get USB cables, cut one of the plugs off and crimp a 5 pin 2mm pitch connector on the end? Again it's the sort of thing I tinker with but haven't done it on these. I have repaired / replaced a few T7 coin mech cables with my fabulous (ghetto) crimping skills though

[Touchscreen cable needed]

21 minutes ago, davep180 said:

Has anyone got one of these spare? It's a 3M USB cable (part number 7312256). I ordered one from Esupplyline 2 weeks ago on Sunday and I have received or heard nothing from them. So I will be contacting PayPal on Monday for a refund. If anyone has one spare, please PM me, beer tokens will be made available.

Many thanks,

Dave

I was going to recommend another seller but they share exactly the same business address as Esupplyline so doubt they would be any better!

Few options in case you can't get a cheap replacement : 

1) Do you have the original cable? If so you can test the continuity with a multimeter and see what is up with it. Might be a nice easy fix.

2) You could make your own? I might be wrong but I think it's a standard 2mm connector, so something like this, but terminated with USB-A at one end. You could either get bare ended USB-A cables and terminate with these connectors if you have the tools, or vice-versa I guess. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291869470685

[WIP]

1 minute ago, wearecity said:

Look in the MFME v20 install folder and there's a file called Tips, which contains lots of helpful info and shortcuts.

One thing that MFME never had, was a really good general users guide. I started to create one back in the day, when I used to create disks for mates. Just about how to load games, do some simple edit, view meters etc...etc...

Regs guide for dummies about layout creation was great though and is easy enough to follow, to get anyone interested in layout designing started.

I always forget to check that file, but to be honest the idea of a quick save has always terrified me. The more steps required to save something the better

[WIP]

4 minutes ago, woodsy said:

i used to always close a wip to save it and reload it to continue to save my work and umpteen times i lost progress etc. so yeah a quick f7 realllly has helped me

When I'm working on a layout I typically save to a different file throughout the process, and that way if I do something really stupid that breaks something I can reload a previous version. I'm assuming auto-save just saves over the existing FML and GAM file? If it does I'll use it for quick fixes but definitely not during design work. You are braver than me!

[WIP]

35 minutes ago, woodsy said:

Also pressing f7 is quick save. Slots has given you excellent advice there, I’m just adding this as I’ve recently found it useful

I had no idea about that! Definitely useful

[WIP]

4 minutes ago, Robsonmeg46 said:

What is wip and why dont they show up on game manager and i am unable to use bat files launch them as they dont show up in the game mangers list 

cheers rob

WIP stands for Work In Progress and while I'm not absolutely sure what purpose it has within MFME, I tick it while a layout is in the development stage, and then clear it when it's done. I sometimes forget to clear it. I'm not totally sure but hope this method would work?

Open a layout in MFME, click 'Configuration' at the top, and this screen should appear. Click the checkbox where it says WIP (I've pointed to it with a green arrow) and the little cross should disappear. Then you'll need to close the Config window, and click Design at the top of MFME. Hover over 'Layout / Game', and click Save Layout. If you save over the existing layout I think it should work. Might be worth doing Save Game once you've done layout incase the WIP flag is held in the game file.

I'd hope that would sort it but haven't had a chance to test yet. Good luck

[Metroid series (Specifically Super Metroid)]

4 hours ago, monkeyboypaul said:

Love the Metroid series. Super Metroid was my introduction, and it's a hard game to fault. Back in 1994 i had WAY more spare time so could get thoroughly lost in this type of game. I've also got Metroid Prime on the Gamecube but never completed it, mainly becuase i found myself with less & less time for games and Metroid can be a chore if you miss something important. Fast forward to today and i've still got a Nintendo i.e the Switch, but end up playing stuff like The Untitled Goose Game (awesome and hilarious, if short, game) and Castle Crashers most with my kids. I got quite far on Zelda BOTW but it needed far too much time from me, and i put fatherhood first (then pinball, running and cycling, fruits are down the list a bit!). I might end up buying Metroid Dread if i see it on sale though! 

I think I was about 10, so still at primary school and obviously plenty of free time when I first got it

Zelda BOTW is actually a good case in point for me. I started Zelda with Link to the Past (absolutely in my top 3 games of all time), then got Links Awakening on the Gameboy (definitely in my top 10 of all time). I really enjoyed some of the other 2D overhead Zelda titles. I didn't own an N64 so never got to play Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask as I'd moved on to PlayStation and PC gaming at that point.

When I got my switch I grabbed Breath of the Wild... and sold it after about 3 hours of gameplay. For me, Zelda was about fairly linear 2D gameplay, and I just couldn't get on with BOTW. Didn't feel like a Zelda to me, felt like a massive open world and overly complex. Might have been different if I'd got an N64 instead of a Playstation all those years ago.

@wearecityI forgot to mention above, if you struggled at the end of a Metroid game there's a few possibilities :

1) You possibly didn't collect enough energy tanks (effectively hit points), so since you are at the end I wouldn't feel too bad about checking a guide for energy tank locations.

2) You might be using the wrong strategy for a boss fight. Most bosses have particular patterns and sometimes there's only one or two sure fire ways to get through them without taking excessive damage.

One reason I love emulation is the use of save-states. You can argue it's cheating but rather then losing to a boss and having to keep working your way back to them from a save point, you can save just before the battle is starting. If you want to push the limit of what is and isn't cheating, you can save state throughout the battle - normally after you make some successful attacks and take no damage in the process - but this can be risky. 

[Metroid series (Specifically Super Metroid)]

2 hours ago, wearecity said:

I had no experience of a Metroid game, until I played one on a Gameboy Advance emulator. May have been a remaster of the original NES or SNES game.

I ended up sinking a good 20 hours or so into it, which is a lot for me for an emulated game.

I was really enjoying it, before getting to the last section of the game, with Mother (IIRC). I just then got frustrated with it and never did complete it. Looking back, that was a real shame, because I had spent so much time on it and was my most played game, over that period of time.

Never realised it was a female character. I also, thought it was clever, how the levels, unlocked in parts, when you get new abilities to access certain areas, that you couldn't get to before.

The GBA ones are really good. It was probably Zero Mission you played, which is a remaster (of sorts) of the NES one, with a brilliant addition to the end which takes it more in a survival direction.

They do hold your hand more than the SNES one, but they are great and for me, a decent 3-4 hour session to complete. I used to love massive RPGs which took hours and hours just never seem to complete them these days, so something you can power through in an afternoon is ideal

[Metroid series (Specifically Super Metroid)]

Dug out my old 3DS a few days ago (modded obviously) and played both of the Metroid titles for the Gameboy Advance through it (Fusion and Zero Mission). Both excellent games, brought back a lot of nostalgia for Super Metroid, which the parents got me for Christmas... I don't know, 1995 or thereabouts!

Anyway, stuck a SNES emulator on the 3DS and fired up Super Metroid. Decided for my first playthrough (just started a couple of days back) that I'd see how much I remembered from my youth and not use a walkthrough it similar.

Turns out I'd forgotten a huge amount of it! Really enjoying it though, it really encourages you to explore every nook and cranny. I've accidentally sequence broken in a few places and got upgrades / items early, and yet still found myself getting lost and not remembering how to progress.

I've played the NES version too and it's good, albeit it a complete nightmare, bit like NES Zelda. I don't think there's any hand-holding in either of them and they would be a pretty brutal introduction to either series.

I see there is a new 2D-ish Metroid for the Switch (called Metroid Dread) but as I age I find I'm better off sticking to what I know, I struggle to get into more modern games with more complex controls. I'm only 36!!!

[£100 Jackpots]

6 minutes ago, Sarkymark77 said:

Daft question, but what exactly dictates whether or not a machine is emulatable (new word of the day!)? Is it the availability of the ROM? Imagining the day when Prince of Thieves or Chase the Rainbow are payable in an emulator but suspecting it’s years away!!

Availability of ROMs is very important, but even with ROMs they need to be supported by the emulator. 

The most recent hardware that MFME supports is Bell Fruit Scorpion 5, the most recent pub machines will run Scorpion 6 or Heber Pluto 6 (both are unemulated).

We must be nearing the end (if we haven't already) of what recent machines can be emulated.

 

 

[error 90-4d unused input 7. barcrest mpu5, throw a wobbler..]

6 minutes ago, Matty.n said:

Other MPU5's are let it boot in open door, at read meters press cancel then press Test, this doesn't seem to be having it so probably a non standard number, i'm slowly getting through the list!

Don't forget this era of MPU5 will probably have 2 test buttons - one on the MPU5 and one mounted under the reel shelf. You need to hold one and press the other to enter test mode - wasn't sure if you were aware based on your post

 

Trying to remember how I do it, I think I set the standard test button number (should be standard as it's on the MPU5 itself) with a keyboard shortcut and then click the other buttons?

[Name that Cabinet!]

I'm sure I used to know it, but can't remember it now - which is annoying as hell!!

I know it's not the 'roll top' (that's the one with the coin mech on top), maybe it's just the Barcrest rear-opening flat top?! I'll have to do some research as I'm convinced it does have a proper name but my memory is completely knackered these days

[edit] I'm wondering if a machine manual might be the right way to go? I don't think I have any here but an MPU4 manual might have the cab name on

[another edit] Also, resources from rebuild companies (BWB, MDM e.t.c.) might state which cabinets their kits work in? Possibly on flyers, failing that it might be another thing that would appear in manuals

[£100 Jackpots]

I'd be gobsmacked if any of those 'chase trail' games were emulatable. I don't know for sure but weren't they all 2018 onwards? Surely they weren't still doing Scorpion 5 rehashes at that point - I can only imagine they would be Scorp 6 (I'd expect the Bell Fruit Robin Hood version to be that, definitely) or Pluto 6.

[Anyone recognise this fruit machine from Fawlty Towers?]

Well it looks to me like an Aristocrat pull-handle machine, it's got 4 reels, and the top looks like it might read 'QUAD REEL' which I think is what Aristocrat called their 4 reel product line. Not sure what the actual machine is called though, and I'm going to assume it's before the days of microprocessor controlled machines.

I very much doubt it would work in the emulator, although I never looked into the ins-and-outs of the Electromechanical side MFME - but even then you'd need schematics and stuff, and that's assuming it operates using relays e.t.c. and isn't basically just clockwork

[a little idea of mine for hybrid dx's and video fme etc. 13 sec vid example]

As said above there's no reason it can't be done. Something that I kept forgetting is that when I was trying to get my late father into MFME, he struggled with his vision. Going through something similar with mum now (macular degeneration, and thanks to the current hospital backlog, she's currently been waiting 4 months for a 4 weekly appt for eye injection). There's absolutely no reason why layouts can't be tweaked like that, it would make things easier to people who possibly have vision issues.

If you don't mind me asking, is that the reason you are doing this? Vision issues? I only ask as despite feeling old (36) and having terrible vision (thankfully corrected with lenses and specs) I don't struggle with any layouts on my devices really, including my teeny laptop / tablet combo.

Sure others will chime in with suggestions

[YouTube Emulation Extravaganza]

22 hours ago, wearecity said:

My brother got the sack from a job for a Facebook comment, which was reported to his work.

Something similar happened to me before, I assumed I was pretty safe because my Facebook was private, but obviously it just takes someone on the inside with an axe to grind and all hell breaks loose. Hopefully it worked out well for your brother in the end.

Excellent to hear that some of the old content will be back in some form, it was often part of my late-night 'winding down' viewing. 

[Awesomeness]

7 minutes ago, dondplayer said:

You probably mean Take It Or Leave It Crazy Trails - here's a pic with a couple of it's clones.

 

I thought It's Amazing was the first but am probably wrong! In any case I'd say it looks pretty close

 

[Awesomeness]

10 minutes ago, SuperStyles said:

Personally, I'm a fan of how accurate the DX machines are! Many thanks to the people who worked on the emulators as well as the origina machines! Now, if ony we had one of Barcrest's Pac-Man...

Unfortunately the author of MFME is no longer with us, but he deserves all the credit really! As for DX layouts, I've not done many but it's really down to quality of the source materials, although there are some absolute magicians on here who will... well... perform magic on even terrible source material

Don't forget though - before you get a DX, you need a 'classic' layout - this sorts out all the correct lamps, buttons, reel positions, e.t.c. so they deserve credit too

As for Barcrest Pac Man, the Pac-Man Power Up machine is definitely MPU6 (not emulated), as I owned that but sold it a long while back. There was another one, which was a Deal Or No Deal type machine (had a 'mirrored' reel, with values hidden on it, and the game had maze-like look about it). I think it was a clone of It's Amazing. That might have an MPU5 ROMset but I've not seen it yet. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable could chime in

[Ticket machines like dracula]

12 hours ago, Johnnyafc said:

The new staple of Blackpool and seaside arcades , they usually run out of tickets they do a tomb raider , flintstones , wacky races rip offs too

Ticket machines (especially the fruit machines) are bonkers. Probably different now but I think our tickets came in books of 1000, could have been 500 even. You could get called over, put a book in, a few minutes later it'll pay a jackpot - stick another book in. Few minutes later all the tickets get fed into a ticket eater and shredded?! Can see the new single, coded ticket payout (or ticket balance being transferred onto smart card) being a decent system, but given cost of installation it'll probably result in the price of prizes going up (or quality going down, if that's even possible!).

2 hours ago, Road Hog Mad said:

I think fruit machines should be adults anyway, why let children gamble?

I'm inclined to agree, but then I'm sure many of us have had gambling problems in the past (I know I have!!!). Where would you draw the line? I love the old 2p Roll A Win (playing, not maintaining the damn things), but the ticket fruits, especially multiplayer with high jackpots, are a different matter.

I'm assuming they are a pretty volatile proposal (they must be to pay the top prizes) and won't offer good value for money and might (in the case of people like myself with a self-destructive gambling habit) result in unhealthy gambling habits. 

 

[Ticket machines like dracula]

31 minutes ago, woodsy said:

@infection wants to run a ticket scam and finally get his hands on that  scooby-doo pencil case hahahaha sorry couldn't resist

Probably about 5000 tickets at today's rates!

I'm actually intrigued by this how. I don't think I've ever had a ticket (fruit) machine jackpot. I know when I buggered off recently for some fresh air I saw some weird ticket machines in the arcades - one of them had a ticket Kerching! (JPM), Poundstretcher (Concept / Electrocoin) and Adders and Ladders (Empire) - so it's possible there's quite a range of hardware that these machines run on.

Still not convinced they would run in MFME (I'd assume a payout error), but I'd definitely like to see some running so if any ROMs do turn up and nobody else is interested I'd love to try them.