hansolo77

I remember being a kid and every grocery store having baseball cards on the shelf with the candy at the checkout lanes. That just doesn't exist anymore. Such a shame. I remember back in '86, Mom would buy my bother and me each a pack of Topps Bubble Gum baseball cards whenever she was shopping. We each had our own boxes, and tried to collect them all for that year. If we had a duplicate card, we traded. In the end, I had more cards than he did (just luck) in my box but he had more duplicates. I was only missing like 11 cards, and he had 9 of them but wouldn't trade them because all my dupes he had already. Years went by and he forgot all about them. A friend of my Dad used to work in a baseball card shop (he owns his own eBay store now) and offered to buy my box with the 11 cards missing for like $300 bucks. I declined hoping they'd increase in value. Turns out a couple of the rookie cards I have ended up breaking world records and were worth $3-400 each alone. But wouldn't you know? They got burned up in the fire along with everything else. They were in my closet, and the first things to go. So far, that was the most valuable thing I owned (aside from TV's and the added up value of my computers). Now my step mom.. she's got some stuff. Ever here of Royal Doulton? Well, back in the 80's they released some statuettes featuring characters from the Lord of the Rings books. They were artist interpretations, because at the time no movies/etc (animated or otherwise) had come out yet. They only released like 4 characters. My stepmom got a Gandalf. It's actually the most valuable of the set because of all the characters, he's the only one that actually looks like a character from the movies. Now, to add some value, this piece is autographed and dated by Mr. Doulton. She claims that all the online stuff she's read says only about 300 were ever made, and autographed ones are VERY rare. She has a pretty high value quote from one of those "Antique Roadshow" type things they have at the mall. Not going to post it here because I'm not sure how accurate and how true it is. But it's at least 5 digits. The funniest thing though is she said when she got it autographed, he tried to GIVE her a free drawing of the next piece they were going to make (Galadriel). She told him "No thanks, I'll just wait till it's released and buy it". Turns out, Gandalf was the last piece in the set they ever made because the series didn't sell well. They destroyed all the molds and she was never released. So having a hand drawn sketch mockup of the piece that never existed would have been worth a LOT of money. She just didn't think it at the time. Things like that are what create value for collectors. Rare scarcity. Sure, the name adds a bit a value, and the autograph. But the piece itself, being that it's the only one in the set that looks like Ian McKellen 30 years later, and only had 300 ever made, is where the value is. Ok, so I just looked it up for my OWN eyes. I think my stepmom is full of it (she usually is). See here: http://www.replacements.com/webquote/co_rdmisfmet.htm Granted, Gandalf is in there. But he's only $119. There's only 2 others less valuable, but "12" that are MORE valuable. Not to mention a display base AND Galadriel. That's more than the 4 she's always saying they ever made. Granted, hers might be more valuable because it's signed. But I doubt it's 5-digit valuable. Then again, if she was able to have it autographed by John Doulton (who died May 26, 1873) maybe it IS worth that much lol. She probably doesn't even have his box. Most valuable collectables are only worth it still in their unopened boxes. What a bunch of BS.

I'm still waiting on Tom and the crew to port GameEx to ARM processors. I'd throw RetroPie out in a heartbeat. I'm not sure what you could do to replace a PS1 drive try with a BluRay drive and have it work. I guess you could do something like a USB powered external BluRay drive, and have it sitting inside the PS1 under the lid, then run the USB cable down to a Pi inside. It'd be a really tight fit though. I'm using a small 2.5inch laptop (external) drive and it's an EXTREMELY tight fit. If money wasn't an issue, I'd be more inclined to doing something with a PS2, and use a NUC PC or something that's more powerful than a Pi so I could get PS2 emulation running and better N64. Maybe even get some Dreamcast going. (off topic) @RIP-Felix - did you try to get PSP or NDS running on your NesPI? I've heard PSP is just barely doable but only for a select few games. NDS is supposed to be really good with one specific emulator but it requires manual installing so I haven't bothered trying yet. Just curious. Always looking to expand my obsession with adding more stuff I'll probably never play.

Sorry, guess I hit a nerve and ranted. Feel free to read the above if you're in the mood for some laughs. It's really pretty sad. But that's life. On a totally unrelated (to the spoiler but related to the thread) note.. I played a bit of Galaga '88 on my NESPi yesterday. I played enough to realize I SUCK. Didn't even make it past the first stage with the bugs flying in (not even in full formation yet). Lost all my lives with them shooting at me. LOL!

Yeah. How many movies do I have on my bookshelf that say "Collector's Edition", when there's nothing collectible about it? "Limited Edition" because they just write that on the packaging. An original NES Classic? That's a true collector's item because the supply produced was extremely limited and not to be made again. The same is true with comics. They have their regular print covers, then make a bunch of alternate "variant" covers. People think those variant's are collector's items because they're different. Truth is, they make the same amount of each cover. The ones that are valuable are the ones that are limited, like the ones that say you can only have 1 per 50 issues you order for the store, or limit 1 total per store. My local comic guy doesn't sell 50 issues of that book, so no he won't order it just to get that 1 in 50 cover for me. I understand. That's why they're hot online, because retailers who are online can order 500 copies and get 10 copies of that cover, and sell it for $100, while still being able to move out all the 490 "regular" covers. It's just getting so bad now. Marvel and DC are coming out with 10 covers for each book. They figure people are too ignorant and will spend BIG money to buy each cover. So the quality of the material is crumbling to make way for the business of making money. I got a Wolverine issue that had absolutely no text in it. It was all pictures, with 3 of them being two-page spreads. That's not a comic, that's an art book. 40 years ago, comics would take you an hour to read because they would have paragraphs of text on each page. I was furious, that Wolverine book was $4.99, and took me like 30 seconds to "read". And, of course, there were like 8 variant covers, some that sold for $150 on ebay. No thanks.

It's not the greatest looking thing. I had to hack the CD lid up in order to make it all fit. Plus, I'm waiting on a part so I won't have it fully working for another few days. You probably wouldn't be impressed with photos.

Awesome mod! Bet it has a Pi in it.

Yeah, here's the link to the 3D print kit for the PlayStation I used... https://retro-emulation.com/raspberry-playstation.html Just expanded it a bit. I decided to use the PSX's original power board so I could keep the Power Button, Reset Button, and LED. I was also able to use the original power cord. It was tricky, required a lot of desoldering of all the original components on the board. But in the end, I simply soldered wires from the 2 prongs of the power plug to a USB power adapter. I then have the buttons wired up to the GPIO. Everything works great.

Yeah there was a guy in one of the RetroPi groups on Facebook who was asking people if he should do it or not. People were saying not to because this is a collector's item. He ignored them of course and did it anyway. I don't know if I would do it. As for the Hub.. you can get it fairly cheap ($19.99) at Shirtpunch. But their site appears to be down for updating, even though it was supposed to be back on August 2nd. They're just a reseller though. They were originally created and sold somewhere else for (I think) Nerd Block. I just looked on ebay.. you're gonna spend a little more money there. I bought 2, with the plan being to make one as a rough draft first attempt, and then do it right the 2nd time. So I still have my unopened backup. Hell, I should sell it on ebay like these idiots and get $100 bucks for it.

Well, I did document it in a way. It's a Nintendo (wasn't working). I modified it to add a couple of DB9 plugs for SEGA/ATARI controllers, as well as a USB hub where the cartridge slot is. Replaced the red LED with a blue one, and hacked up something terrible the back side where the power and HDMI plugs go. Then I have 2 of these in my house (one for me and one for my Dad): For my brother and my Aunt, I went with a cheaper (at the time) basic model: These are great because the entire case (minus the black plastic bits) are made from a solid single piece aluminum with a heat slug that sits right on top of the processor. This means the entire case is a heat sink. I've never had a single overheat warning on any of my Kodi boxes. As for other game systems.. I've also got a Pi inside an old (broken) PSX case (5501 model). Modified that with some 3D printed (purchased from Germany) parts that replace the video plug with an HDMI, the serial port with an SD card ribbon cable, the parallel port with a 3.5mm headphone jack and RJ45 LAN plug, and the controller ports with 4 USB plugs. I've got one of the USB plugs going to an internal 4tb hard drive, and this system is dedicated PSX. I even have a wireless PS3 controller. I also built a RetroPi system in a Sega Genesis USB hub. This is SEGA dedicated, except for the addition of the Streets of Rage Remake Port: Or for better comparison: and NES Classic and SNES Classic, meet the Genesis Classic.

I hope to get a score posted up soon. Been a busy week because of the Labor Day (US) holiday and being "1st of the month". If you've never worked grocery retail before, let me tell ya. 1st of the month means welfare checks. So you get all those crazy people who SHOULD BE WORKING coming in to do their month's worth of shopping. It's madhouse crazy for about a week then they disappear till next month. I hate it. Usually the first 2 days are the worst, but since we had a holiday too, it's been a real mess trying to get everything back in stock. Not to mention a lot of college football games started this past weekend too. UHG!!! And guess who's not had a day off since last Tuesday? It's all good though. Come the 10th I'll finally be receiving that top out pay raise (+ $5/hr) I should have gotten 2 years ago. I'm already making more than I ever have in my life, and now I'll REALLY be bringing it in. Although truth be told, after taxes it'll probably still be the same. Updated OP, DB, RSS

If you want to do a miniGenesis, look at this: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/6003/pi-in-a-sega-genesis-usb-hub-build I built one (my progress and queries are in that thread). Didn't turn out as nice as his because I couldn't get the switch to work right. Ended up just taking out the built in one and using the one I ordered instead. Haven't booted it up recently though. I should do that and try to install one of the new MINI themes. Goes great with the Streets of Rage Remake port!

I'd have to dig around and see. I can almost guarantee I no longer have any of it. They were in a box in the garage, then we moved over here to the condo, then we had that fire. I don't think the box survived because it was archaic stuff at the time. 400mhz AMD Pentiums? And fat-plug keyboards, not even PS2 yet, let alone that new fangled tech called USB. ISA expansion slots, external modems connecting to a communications port, a CD-Rom requiring it's own controller card. LOL. Even MB Rams... Good times though. I was learning about computers even then, and knew so much more than people getting A+ certs do now. The only thing holding me back was that dreaded test with no promise of passing. That, and I knew nothing about Mac (still don't really know anything about iOS or their hardware).

Yeah my step mom was saying her son-in-law (her daughter's husband) bought her daughter (his wife) that same kit for their anniversary. Already been pre-ordered and paid for. Must be nice.

I could jump in here with a few of mine. But I don't have any pics. I'll say this though, that black handheld one looks nice. I wonder if it's still available? I'd love to have a portable game system like that, having never owned a Game Boy (etc), Lynx, or Game Gear.

So have you done anything more to your kit?

+1 for WordPress. It's mostly designed for people who want to start a blog or something. Supposed to be easy and reliable. I went the hard way and set up a website from scratch using Macromedia Dreamweaver (I think Adobe owns them now?). I then uploaded my site through FTP to Geocities. They were a free webhost back in the day. I don't even know if my site still exists or not.. Maybe I'll look now... LOL!! Found it. Web address changed, but good'ol Google knew where it went. Don't judge, it as back in 2002 when I was just a kid. http://www.geocities.ws/hansolo77.geo/

Free digital version of movies you buy typically SUCK. I bought a box set of Planet of the Apes (Charlton Heston) movies on BluRay. Registered them on the site. My resulting digital version was a DOWNLOAD, of less-than-DVD-quality versions. Later that year I bought a box set of X-Men movies (first 3) and tried to register it for the digital versions too. Turns out the availability had expired. WTF. These are stored on disks in their original packaging, but I can't unlock it because the limited time is over? I've yet to buy something that has an accompanying digital version that works of equal quality to the BluRay. What's really rotten, are those "5-Disk Ultimate Collector Edition" releases, where they include the digital version on a disk that you have to have in your computer in order to access. That's not mobile at all. I guess if you had it on a laptop that has a DVD drive. Nope, I'm with Adultery here. I rip my own BluRay discs so I too can control the quality. You can't get 50gb of movie in a 500mb file and have it be even remotely comparable. Then on the side, should I ever choose to do so, I also have an Amazon Prime account for streaming. I've actually never set it up and watched anything on it, but it's there. I subscribed for the free 2-day shipping. And there is also Kodi, with it's myriad of offerings. I use it with Emby (vs. Plex) and it works great. But yea, I hate to say it, but those "free" digital offers aren't worth it. Limited Time Only, poor quality, etc. I just don't even bother anymore.

I never had a console/computer from that manufacturer. Dad was an Atari fanboy. But I looked at the site all the same. Seeing their Competition Pro joystick has me somewhat salivating, although I don't remember ours having 4 buttons, just two. Must be an improved model, although they still all function as one button.

They are internal, no need to change anything.

The playfield would be the biggest hurdle for me. Acquiring a TV that I can use JUST FOR THIS is in the realm of asinine in my house. We live pay check to pay check, clip coupons, buy sale stuff with them, and still have cereal for dinner. It'll happen some day though. I wish I could use my current TV. It's got a weird bezel to it that keeps it from being flat, and it gets WAY to hot. It's like a 1st gen flat screen panel. The whole thing weighs like 60 pounds, and is about 4 inches thick from front to back. It is one of those LCD screens that is back lit with tubes or something compared to LEDs. I do plan on upgrading to a 4K with passive 3D if I can find one though. It'll probably be 4th on my list. Car, Apartment, Bed, TV.

I wonder if I can put a Pi in it? Of course, it wouldn't be wireless then. Unless there exists some form of wireless HDMI (plug a dongle on your tv, and in your other device). Then I'd need a rechargeable battery pack. Might be an interesting project. EDIT - LOL! What will they think of next? https://www.amazon.com/Nyrius-Transmitter-Streaming-Projector-NPCS549/dp/B009E6R89C Bit pricey to be of use for a hobby project. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody else did it though.

Updated to remove next GOTM (Galaga '88).

The last GOTM (Metal Slug X) was an experiment in having a 2-month game rather than a monthly one. I think it was a success. So to that end, we're going to have this GOTM also be a 2-month one. So happy gaming!

Galaga '88 (ギャラガ'88 Gyaraga 'Eiti Eito) is a 1987 fixed shooter arcade game by Namco. It is the third sequel for Galaxian (following Galaga, and Gaplus). It features significantly improved graphics over the previous games in the series, including detailed backgrounds, larger enemies and greater ship details. Although it was well received, fewer cabinets of this game were produced than of Galaga and Gaplus. The game runs on Namco System 1 hardware. First ported on the NEC PC Engine, it was later released on the North American TurboGrafx-16 under the name Galaga '90 and the Sega Game Gear in Japan under the name of Galaga'91 (ギャラガ'91 Gyaraga 'Nainti Wan), and in Europe under the name of Galaga 2. - Quote from Wikipedia

September-October 2017 GOTM Winner: forest4585 - 233,100 (link) Galaga 88 Leaderboard POSITION USER NAME TOTAL SCORE 1 forest4585 233,100 2 ExedExes 157,580 3 patrickfx 152,110 4 Cynicaster 124,810 5 GimmeClassics 113,420 6 Mame Offender 106,960 7 Luigimaker 104,480 8 rtkiii 100,990 9 Floyd Turbo 95,460 10 hansolo77 88,310 Last Updated by hansolo77: 01-06-2019 millerbrad - 81,210 (link) Please use these settings when submitting a hi-score for Galaga '88: ROMSet: Galaga88 Service Mode: Off Auto Data Sampling: Off Internal Settings ----------------- Type: C Flip: On Fighter: 3 Rank: D Continue: Off Extend: C Select: On Special Note: Bonus ships are awarded at 40K, 120K & 240K. The green coloured default values match the Twin Galaxies settings. The red coloured values need to be changed! # you can change your Mame dip switch settings by following this guide: # you can make a printscreen of your hi-score screen by following this guide: # general rules for submitting your hi-score: