17 replies to this topic

[HatefulGravey]

I just got a trackball. For now it is hooked up for PC use, and it will soon find its way into my MAME machine. Now I need to know the great games I should be playing with it. Centipede and Missile Command are already making my life better, but I know there have to be a ton of great trackball games I have never played or even heard of, lay em on me!

Edited by HatefulGravey, Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:41 PM.

[rmaerz]

HatefulGravey, on Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:59 PM, said:

I just go a trackball. For now it is hooked up for PC use, and it will soon find its way into my MAME machine. Now I need to know the great games I should be playing with it. Centipede and Missile Command are already making my life better, but I know there have to be a ton of great trackball games I have never played or even heard of, lay em on me!

Off the top of my head...


Reactor
Quantum
Crystal Castles
Millipede
Millipac
Centipede 3 minute timer
Slither

Here's some non-trackball games that play well using a trackball
Star Wars
Tailgunner
Tempest

[mr. toast]

HatefulGravey, on Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:59 PM, said:

I just got a trackball. For now it is hooked up for PC use, and it will soon find its way into my MAME machine. Now I need to know the great games I should be playing with it. Centipede and Missile Command are already making my life better, but I know there have to be a ton of great trackball games I have never played or even heard of, lay em on me!

Liberator (reverse Missile Command...sort of)

Marble Madness (gotta have 2 trackballs to support two players)

I think Food Fight ran on a trackball early in the production run (MAME registers it as a trackball game)

Snake Pit (need another joystick to go alongside the trackball)

I also play breakout games (Super Breakout, Gee Bee series) which works pretty good

Driving games (Pole Position, Turbo, Spy Hunter) are a maybe

[rmaerz]

Red Baron is another one that works OK with a track ball

[Cynicaster]

In lieu of a steering wheel, my brother plays Pole Position with his trackball. Seems to work OK.

Quote

I think Food Fight ran on a trackball early in the production run (MAME registers it as a trackball game)

Really?

I've never seen or played on a real Food Fight cabinet so I have no reference as to what the original is like. My reference point is the 7800 version which I still think is fantastic. A while back I quickly tried FF in MAME and I found my character practically uncontrollable. Does the real cabinet use a TB? Maybe that would make it easier to control.

[HatefulGravey]

Does Marbel Madness normally take a crap ton of spinnig to move the ball around? It seems like the game isn't as responsive as I would have expected it to be.

[CRTGAMER]

HatefulGravey, on Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:59 PM, said:

I just got a trackball. For now it is hooked up for PC use, and it will soon find its way into my MAME machine. Now I need to know the great games I should be playing with it. Centipede and Missile Command are already making my life better, but I know there have to be a ton of great trackball games I have never played or even heard of, lay em on me!

In the Mame front end you can list the games by controller type, there is one there for Trakball.
Not only Mame, but any game that supports a mouse, Command and Conquer for example.

Edited by CRTGAMER, Sat Mar 26, 2011 11:20 AM.

[HatefulGravey]

Oh yeah, I found that before I posted. I played around with that a lot but in the end it was nice to get some recommendations. I didn't get to play trackball games in the arcade so I had no idea what the good ones were beyound the most common ones. Instead of playing them all to figure out the best ones I asked. I'm still working through that list to see what I really like too though. So many games, so little time...

[mr. toast]

Cynicaster, on Sat Mar 26, 2011 10:28 AM, said:

Really?

I've never seen or played on a real Food Fight cabinet so I have no reference as to what the original is like. My reference point is the 7800 version which I still think is fantastic. A while back I quickly tried FF in MAME and I found my character practically uncontrollable. Does the real cabinet use a TB? Maybe that would make it easier to control.

After a while the cabinet was changed to joystick (which is what most cabinets look like today...since Charley has only one speed so a trackball is kinda useless) but I think it still uses trackball settings (for getting out of situations easier)

HatefulGravey, on Sat Mar 26, 2011 10:31 AM, said:

Does Marbel Madness normally take a crap ton of spinnig to move the ball around? It seems like the game isn't as responsive as I would have expected it to be.

Depends on the sensitivity and speed settings. I set mine so it doesn't need extreme movements.

But with the original settings and a trackball, the faster rolling, the better.

[rmaerz]

Roadrunner is another one I've been able to play with the trackball.

I use a trackball on the ColecoVision for SubRoc but I haven't tested it in MAME to see if it supports it.

[Cynicaster]

All this talk of these awesome games is making me very impatient to get my damn MAME cabinet up and running. This weekend Friday night and Saturday combined, I think I've already logged about 16 hours in the garage, and I'm just about to head back out there. I'M READY FOR THIS TO BE DONE NOW.

[rmaerz]

Cynicaster, on Sun Mar 27, 2011 9:11 AM, said:

All this talk of these awesome games is making me very impatient to get my damn MAME cabinet up and running. This weekend Friday night and Saturday combined, I think I've already logged about 16 hours in the garage, and I'm just about to head back out there. I'M READY FOR THIS TO BE DONE NOW.

Do you have progress pix?

[HatefulGravey]

Cynicaster, on Sun Mar 27, 2011 9:11 AM, said:

All this talk of these awesome games is making me very impatient to get my damn MAME cabinet up and running. This weekend Friday night and Saturday combined, I think I've already logged about 16 hours in the garage, and I'm just about to head back out there. I'M READY FOR THIS TO BE DONE NOW.

Upgrading mine has been taking too long for me as well. One word of advice, don't make it playable until it is done. If you make it something you can play before it is finished you may never finish it. Trust me, I know all about this.

[Cynicaster]

rmaerz, on Sun Mar 27, 2011 9:59 AM, said:

Cynicaster, on Sun Mar 27, 2011 9:11 AM, said:

All this talk of these awesome games is making me very impatient to get my damn MAME cabinet up and running. This weekend Friday night and Saturday combined, I think I've already logged about 16 hours in the garage, and I'm just about to head back out there. I'M READY FOR THIS TO BE DONE NOW.

Do you have progress pix?

No, couldn't be bothered. The good news is, today I managed to cut the holes for the control panel (both panel and plexi) and get a coat of primer on. Now that's a milestone. Hopefully I'll have this bad boy in the basement a week from today.

Quote

One word of advice, don't make it playable until it is done. If you make it something you can play before it is finished you may never finish it. Trust me, I know all about this.

Noted. I've already thought about this. I'll probably still succumb to it.

[rmaerz]

Cynicaster, on Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:57 PM, said:

Quote

One word of advice, don't make it playable until it is done. If you make it something you can play before it is finished you may never finish it. Trust me, I know all about this.

Noted. I've already thought about this. I'll probably still succumb to it.

I've always done this. It's a good time to test the product before putting everything together.

[atarian63]

Atari Shuuz a horseshoe game. Pretty fun!

[eggomania]

It's a game from the 1970's but Circus used a trackball. The game was known as Circus Atari on the 2600. For a game from the 1970's I would consider it to be a good game.

[Cynicaster]

atarian63, on Sat Apr 2, 2011 9:57 PM, said:

Atari Shuuz a horseshoe game. Pretty fun!

Heh, funny you mention this game, I just stumbled upon it yesterday when I was still in the "test phase" of my cabinet (which, as predicted above, stretched on for way too long because I couldn't stop playing). It's an older game (from 1990 IIRC) and I only tried it out quickly but it looks like it could be a fun multiplayer "get together" game.

Another one along those lines is Shuffle Shot. It's a shuffleboard game that uses the TB, which also seems like it'd be fun for parties.