Differences Between Playing On a Cab and with Emulation
Feb 17, 2023 22:22:35 GMT
boogiepop, tuxedomarty, and 1 more like this
Post by Riko on Feb 17, 2023 22:22:35 GMT
Differences Between Playing an Arcade game on Emulation and on an Original Cab
After many years of searching for one, I finally got an original Robotron 2084 Arcade cabinet last year. Before that I played it a lot on my original Xbox console (on the Midway compilation) using a standard Xbox pad. I wanted to write about the biggest differences I noticed. Please add your experiences in this area too!
In order of the biggest difference to the least
1. More Immersive : This might seem obvious but the biggest thing I noticed immediately was how much more immersive it is to play on the cab. Suddenly what looked like tiny sprites on my TV screen were right in front of my face (on a 19 inch CRT monitor) and both the sprites and the playfield appear *a lot* larger. Adding to that immersion : the speaker is right there too above the screen, now blasting the sound effects directly into my head!
2. Gameplay Difference Having the screen so near meant it was easier to aim and move with precision but I also found it a lot harder to use my peripheral vision to identify threats without looking at them. This was the only real gameplay difference I noticed but my brain/vision did adjust within a day or two and it's not something I still notice.
3. The Joysticks - There is a big difference between playing using a pad and with joysticks. At first it's a bit harder but ultimately it's a better control method. It also connects you more with the game : The Robotron joysticks are responsive (+leaf-switched not microswitched) but also really "meaty" and industrial - they have extra thick shafts with thick rubber centering grommets. I would compare holding onto them to putting on a thick pair of winter gloves and suddenly wanting to punch everything (or is that just me?). It's just such a nice feeling to hold and move them and it somehow makes you want to wrench the machine around with what feel like huge metal levers.
4. The CRT Although it's great having a CRT, this was one of the smaller differences I noticed. I thought it would be a bigger difference. Probably because sitting far back from a sharp LCD TV (which is how I normally play) and being able to clearly see pixels is similar to being right up close to a decent CRT from the time and also being able to see individual pixels
5. Unique Cabinet. I would say it definitely just adds something to the experience having the dedicated cab - with all the side art and lights (coin slots, player buttons etc). It makes the game experience seem special and it's how it was designed to be played. It's the arcade equivalent of having a boxed console game with manual on original hardware as compared to just a ROM.
After many years of searching for one, I finally got an original Robotron 2084 Arcade cabinet last year. Before that I played it a lot on my original Xbox console (on the Midway compilation) using a standard Xbox pad. I wanted to write about the biggest differences I noticed. Please add your experiences in this area too!
In order of the biggest difference to the least
1. More Immersive : This might seem obvious but the biggest thing I noticed immediately was how much more immersive it is to play on the cab. Suddenly what looked like tiny sprites on my TV screen were right in front of my face (on a 19 inch CRT monitor) and both the sprites and the playfield appear *a lot* larger. Adding to that immersion : the speaker is right there too above the screen, now blasting the sound effects directly into my head!
2. Gameplay Difference Having the screen so near meant it was easier to aim and move with precision but I also found it a lot harder to use my peripheral vision to identify threats without looking at them. This was the only real gameplay difference I noticed but my brain/vision did adjust within a day or two and it's not something I still notice.
3. The Joysticks - There is a big difference between playing using a pad and with joysticks. At first it's a bit harder but ultimately it's a better control method. It also connects you more with the game : The Robotron joysticks are responsive (+leaf-switched not microswitched) but also really "meaty" and industrial - they have extra thick shafts with thick rubber centering grommets. I would compare holding onto them to putting on a thick pair of winter gloves and suddenly wanting to punch everything (or is that just me?). It's just such a nice feeling to hold and move them and it somehow makes you want to wrench the machine around with what feel like huge metal levers.
4. The CRT Although it's great having a CRT, this was one of the smaller differences I noticed. I thought it would be a bigger difference. Probably because sitting far back from a sharp LCD TV (which is how I normally play) and being able to clearly see pixels is similar to being right up close to a decent CRT from the time and also being able to see individual pixels
5. Unique Cabinet. I would say it definitely just adds something to the experience having the dedicated cab - with all the side art and lights (coin slots, player buttons etc). It makes the game experience seem special and it's how it was designed to be played. It's the arcade equivalent of having a boxed console game with manual on original hardware as compared to just a ROM.
hope you are ok dude
