Dragon's Lair Fans - Arcade Lifestyle
General Chat => Arcade Lifestyle => Topic started by: Superully on August 24, 2010, 07:56:39 PM
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almost three months ago i picked up an ultrarare german mad planets (https://www.dragonslairfans.com/smfor/index.php?topic=1617.0). just a few weeks later, the same seller offered another game on a german arcade forum and once again i was the first to reply. although amidar was NOT at the top of my list, i still like the gameplay (a mix between pac-man and qix) and because we managed to get a nice trade deal going (i had some spare system 1 parts i threw into the mix), i got the game for cheap.
amidar is originally a konami game, but in the usa it was licensed to stern. i totally L-O-V-E the colors and the looks of the american version, but it is extremely difficult to catch in europe
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/4923888300_7238001d0a_b_d.jpg)
in france, amidar was licensed to karateco and funnily enough, at the same time when the german seller offered his amidar on the forum, that french version was for sale on ebay.fr from where i took the following pictures
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4923293433_a0aa3cb3b9_d.jpg) (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4923294435_9dedc2ca3f_d.jpg)
however, there is also an official german version of the game licensed to the same company which did the white german donkey kongs as well: env. this is the version i was going to pick up :spaceace:
let's get this roadtrip going with some pics for the statistic lovers (note that my navsat is one hour behind)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4923464663_44156de125_z_d.jpg) (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4923888188_07c2402a15_z_d.jpg)
as you can see, a pretty short roadtrip - wouldn't have been a lot of fun at all driving in that kind of weather all day :(
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4923887878_f6678946c6_b_d.jpg)
the seller of the cab lives "on the other side of germany", in the far north, but i was lucky enough that he bought a game on ebay himself and decided to pick it up in person. this was a perfect opportunity to bring the amidar along, which shortened my roadtrip from about 700 kilometers one way to 150 (but to be honest, i wouldn't have taken the cab if i had had to travel that distance).
we decided to meet at a motorway service area
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4923293603_ca084b7de3_b_d.jpg)
"you have reached your destination!" :o
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4923294633_a49780b54d_b_d.jpg)
and here it is - well, at least the bottom of the cab ;)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/4923294965_2f7a788353_b_d.jpg)
the proud new owner of the german amidar cabinet! i didn't like the design when i saw the game first, but i somehow fell in love with it the more i looked at the pics. although i would have preferred to own the us version, i'm totally happy with the german one. :-*
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4923294787_09ea166781_b_d.jpg)
however, i didn't just come here for the cab, i was on another mission as well - i needed to check out a location not far from where i was: just a mere 19 kilometers away!
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4137/4923888680_f733dc2b27_z_d.jpg) (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4078/4923888032_203010a750_z_d.jpg)
"what the heck is he doing there?", you might be thinking. "his car is already loaded with a game, he can't get a second one in there!". well, let me step back a little bit: when i picked up the mad planets in may, i parked my car near a building construction sight right in front of an abandoned shop which had this wonderful neon sign still attached. in case you forgot or haven't read my thread, here's the picture with my car and the sign again :arrow:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4923891710_063bfc94b7_b_d.jpg)
when i posted that picture on the forum, andré told me that he's interested in that sign, but since i'm no expert in high voltage, that sign doesn't belong to me and it is located in a highly populated area, i couldn't simply go there and remove it. so i did the very best i COULD do, i tried to find out who's the owner of that sign. as i've said before, the shop was abandoned and the firm that was in there doesn't exist anymore. so i called around 20 - 30 people either living in that building or nearby to find out who's the owner of that house to make a deal with him. i was unsuccessful, so i called some people in the townhall to get the desired information, but they weren't allowed to pass that information on to me >:(. during all that time i've reported back to andré and asked him if he had any other suggestions on what to do - but he didn't! so i promised him the next time i would be in that area i would ring some doorbells and try to find the owner by talking to people in person, not on the phone!
enough said, here's what i saw when i returned to the location almost three months later :arrow:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4136/4923889560_44451b39fc_b_d.jpg)
F***
as you can see, the sign has been removed, there's a security gate installed and the shop has been renovated. however, in the backyard of the building there was still some house construction going on and i didn't want to give up without a fight. so i talked to some of the people working there trying to find out what had happened to the neonlight. they remembered the sign well and told me it was taken down and trashed a long time ago, must have been at least two or 2 1/2 months :'( :'( :'(.
@André: i'm extremely sorry, i feel like i've let you down, although i did my very best and gave it all. my guess is that it must have been trashed not more than 1 - 3 weeks after my mad planets visit, so unless we had gone there immidiately, we would have been too late anyway. nevertheless, this is a huuuge loss and it would have been a great addition to your gameroom. once again, i'm sorry! :'(
with a new amidar cabinet in my car and the neonlight disappointment in my head, i travelled home where i unloaded the game and took some more pictures of the cab.
so here comes the new leader of the pack!
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4136/4923382849_32b2c61f1a_b_d.jpg)
this design SCREAMS 70s
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4923295957_652b62f115_b_d.jpg)
it looks as if it came right out of that fabulous TIME OUT family amusement center
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/4923949908_59eb503237_b_d.jpg)
and in fact here it is, back in the time tunnel for a round on the game of the week
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4923355119_79326ea087_b_d.jpg)
everything about that cab is GERMAN, which makes it another ultrarare cabinet
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4923296861_2c0dbe6ca8_b_d.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4923890750_0891bacdfb_b_d.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4923296115_cf7ca9fd78_b_d.jpg)
on the back of the cab, the "german proof"
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4923891378_77d33b9375_b_d.jpg)
no roadtrip is complete without these :arrow:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4137/4923297199_c35ca0d860_z_d.jpg) (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4923891842_a5f12bb06c_z_d.jpg)
one country, two counties, 333 kilometers, 4 hours 32 minutes on the road - this roadtrip is OFFICIALLY OVER!
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4923950238_c57338c2f3_b_d.jpg)
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Nice catch Ully, Amidar is a real rare and nice cabinet and one of my favourite games.It has awesome music and a real entertaining gameplay. ;D
Sorry about that neon sign, you really tried your best to save it! :'(
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And another one. ;D Makes me want to go on a road trip myself. >:(
I also think the other 2 cabs look (way) better but still a nice cabinet! The color combination and the marque design is indeed very 70s, which I think is cool.
I find the game design/ gameplay a bit strange but still interesting, so congrats with your catch! :D
Are you planing on keeping your German Nintendo cabs after you get your official one?
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Finally! - been waiting for this report some time now! (you lazy German!, no wonder you lost WW2 :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:)
The cab is beautiful! so simple! and in great condition! :spaceace:
congrats!!!!
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Nice roadtrip nice cab and nice game ... congrats Ully :spaceace:
Music is hypnotic :lol: :lol: :arrow:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyW3i5BdZ28&feature=related
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Cool version you got there!
I've got this one:
(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/5/4/2/6/8/8/webimg/390227843_o.jpg)
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Cool version you got there! I've got this one:
(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/5/4/2/6/8/8/webimg/390227843_o.jpg)
that's absolutely cute :-* :-* :-*
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Cool version you got there!
I've got this one:
(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/5/4/2/6/8/8/webimg/390227843_o.jpg)
I've lost this one few days ago on ebay Belgium. Maybe you were the snipper who got me ::) :P
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(http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091204043350/uncyclopedia/images/9/92/VaderNOOOOO.gif)
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I've lost this one few days ago on ebay Belgium. Maybe you were the snipper who got me ::) :P
Don't worry, I don't bid on Ebay. Ebay stinks. Too much stress. And after that a stinking Payment routine. Either CC, which I don't have (entrepreneur without salary slip, and no lust to fill out 10 pages to apply for one as a business), or PayStinkingPal, who do everything on their terms, and do everything to have as much cash as possible on their interest-making "IN BETWEEN TRANSACTION" account. My account has been locked 4 weeks this year as their COMPUTER thought there was fraudulent activity on my account. Which means they trash your bank (one order was 1000$) and that money is somewhere hidden in PayPal land for 2 weeks. Luckily, I found out that cancelling their withdraws at my bank works quite good as long as you don't owe them anything. Then you account is still blocked, but at least you have your money back to be used for normal bank transfers :)
All international buys I do with IBAN/BIC transfers nowadays. Lightning fast (especially to Germany, within 1 day), and more secure IMO, as banks control their account holders and transactions (with a PIN-code generator) much better than PayPal does (how lame is email+password as signing?). And making a complaint is much easier. Filing an issue at the cops with good bank account information is much easier than with a paypal-email address who could be any Nigerian scam.
Actually this table-top has pretty close-to-arcade game play. Can't say that about most table tops.
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Which is why I don't like table-tops.
I have never had any problems with ebay / paypal.
I still love the less than 18 Euro SW PCB set I got through it from Belgium (thanks to Bruno''s tio !) that even turned out to be working !
I order through ebay stuff that I can't get in Europe.
F.I. I ordered 2 hi voltage PSU's for my Neon's for a very good price, even incl. shipping from the US. You can't even FIND decent (=electronic) HV neon units here...
You can't use IBAN/BIC outside of the EC, and even within there are countries who SHOULD imply it but simple don't (UK f.i., you can pay to the UK, but the UK can't pay to mainland Europe, WTF ?)
IBAN/BIC is clumsy (I hate using the stupid code calculater and the slow and clumsy bank site) and slow. (Paypal=instant) so even now I tend to use PP more than IBAN/BIC. Also: PP at least offers some security for buyers. An IBAN/BIC transer is 100% unsure because once the money is on the other guys account, you won't get anything ever back anymore if the goods don't get delivered.
F.I. when I sold the Domino's, MC and Meteor to the Danish Arcade Museum guys, they paid through PP and I knew I had the money SECONDS after the deal was closed by e-mail. With IBAN/BIC it would have cost me at least a couple of days to be sure if the money was in my account. In this case this was essential as I bought the Ms.Pac from that money the next day !
Still, what I like about IBAN/BIC is that it's free. No transfer costs. One of the few good things that come from the EC.
Anyway, maybe we should stick to the subject because we are drifting away "a bit" :)
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About the Neon: Ully, I know you went through great lengths to try and get the neon so, although I'm a bit sad that it has been destroyed, I'm not annoyed by it. That this could happen was in the back of my mind constantly. The big issue was the distance. Had it been closer I would have been over there pretty soon after you posted it....
Well at least we still have the picture so I could have it recreated by a neon shop.
As soon as I get rich that is.....
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Hmmmm, been thinking........I _could_ very well recreate it using EL-wire.....
This also has a number of advantages (cheap, can make it any size I like (a bit smaller) use the colors I want etc.)
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Actaully, I like Amidar a lot. Played it many times.
I still can remember the very loud bounce sound when you pushed the jump button. :-) Always attracted everybody attention. :)
Good catch
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The Atari version from the Parker Brothers collection: ;D
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_-UA8BV99Des/THUHdDWu-MI/AAAAAAAABnc/hbSsrqJDSfQ/s912/amidar%20003.jpg)
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The Atari version from the Parker Brothers collection: ;D
Slowest game ever ;D
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Great addition to your gameroom to be ully !
Does it work ? or do you need to rework it ?
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Great addition to your gameroom to be ully !
looks like it's going to me more of a gameHALL ;D
Does it work ? or do you need to rework it ?
yepp, working totally fine and the condition of the cab is pretty good, the only thing that needs serious reworking is the wooden blank above the back door where someone tried to "break into" the cab - and obviously succedded :shock:. that blank is already loose, which means it can be removed and replaced easily!
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The Atari version from the Parker Brothers collection: ;D
Slowest game ever ;D
The first level yes, but not if you get further into it. I find it totally amazing that this was the ONLY official port of the game. I love it.
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looks like it's going to me more of a gameHALL ;D
Cant you transform "the storage" to game hall ? or does patrick don't agree with that ;D
looks like i need to plan a euro trip..... "The shed" , "The storage", Nuno lair 1, 2, 3, 4 ,5, 6, 7, and god knows howmany V's there are in singe's castle ;)
not to forget Level42's room and belike's collection of zaggaria's, and maybe some others
(dont feel offended if i did not mention you)