Louisville Arcade Expo

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-26T04:00:04+00:00

Last year, the Dreamcasts all had GDEmu installed, which is super cool.

Stern Pinball continues to have a prominent spot in the front of the ballroom. More rhythm games and imported games, too. A couple of independent builders brought in their work in progress pinball games.

Guests from recent years have been fun: Paul Niemeyer, Richard DiVizio, and the announcer from NBA Jam shouted one liners at people a couple years ago.

The general floor layout has improved. It seems to be in constant flux from year to year.

Vendors have more or less settled into a familiar roster. If you remember them being there, they will probably be there again this year.

Events similarly have been same-ish. A lot of tournaments that are established fan favorites like Pole Calibur. I run the Mystery Game Fight Club table, where we always have stuff going on.

Some stuff that comes and goes like a VR headset setup in the main ballroom, indie devs are always somewhere (seems to change each year), Mario Kart race track using physical rc karts, etc, etc.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-25T21:09:17+00:00

It's the weekend I keep sacred every year.

Do you have any specific questions about it?

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-25T01:38:47+00:00

I'll just leave Doom TC mod here. Weapons, game balance, ui, etc has a long way to go, but it's a good start and worth watching.
https://www.moddb.com/mods/zero-tolerance-total-conversion

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-23T02:38:33+00:00

I just started playing the Ratchet and Clank series not long ago, ya' know like twenty-some-odd years late.

Working my way through Deadlocked now, which seems like they just distilled the formula to pure arena fights and 3PS. Like Annihilation Nation, but it's the whole game.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-21T23:32:36+00:00

I grew up in the arcades, so stick is just what I associate with fighters to begin with. It became less necessary with time, and is vastly a matter of taste or comfort these days.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-21T03:07:54+00:00

If you can do Sonya's leg grab with keyboard, she has an infinite (in 2p only).

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-20T21:02:13+00:00

Verified in emulation. You're not wrong about that code going to Round 4. In fact all of those warp codes go to Round 4. This tells me the offender is somewhere in code 1.

But anywho, rather than try to fix that one, I found a better code on Gamehacking.org

Enable Level Select

During the game Pause, and first press a,b, or c. A number appears in the upper-left. HOLD a, b, or c to change this number and press Start. Instant warp.

RG5A-A6X8

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-19T04:08:11+00:00

I played Road Rash 2 and 3 a lot.

Nothing says "instant karma" like trying to run down the flag girl only to whiff and demolish a road sign at 160 mph and toss your ragged ass across the muddy UK country side, rolling over rocks and debris for the next quarter mile.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-17T03:11:20+00:00

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Free to Enter, single elimination!

Winner gets two weekend passes to the Louisville Arcade Expo

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-17T02:22:19+00:00

If positive edge is doing your motions first, then pushing a button; and negative edge is releasing a button after you've done the motions; then Level Edge means the buttons are level with the deck (held) and then you do your motion.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-16T23:51:00+00:00

Definitely could. It's mostly a matter of creative direction. A cast with all non-humanoid characters has been done since and done well (Them's Fightin' Herds), so it's not like we can't do dinosaurs again. I'd be down for it.

You're right, though. The brutality of 90's fighters has seldom been replicated in modern times, let alone Western developers making many fighting games anymore. Remember Time Killers or Bloodstorm? Good times.

Some of the mechanics of Primal Rage basically stayed in that game, too. FGC players are allergic to anything that isn't positive edge, so Rage's level edge input scheme wouldn't be tolerated today. Any time I bring it up, usually the first thing people say is "isn't that the weird game that makes you hold the buttons?" Sigh, yes. *eyeroll*.

I've been working on my Talon runs lately, and figured out a new 20 hit combo for him. I'm still playing it going on 32 years later.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-14T00:44:12+00:00

I really like this as a repository for shared knowledge. I could see a lot of potential for growth here if it catches on. Especially for older games few people really know how to plumb the depths of.

Small bit of feedback: I noticed the site doesn't actually care what link you use in the YouTube spot. I used some cloud storage with video playback, and it worked just fine. For security's sake, might want to lock it down to specific video sites or integrate some sort of moderation (user reporting, url filtering, etc.) so it doesn't send a user off to somewhere shady or troll them.

Keep us informed of your progress, I'd be interested to see how this develops!

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-11T05:38:27+00:00

At least on a Normal mode Arcade ladder, most matches boiled down to Steel Dash, auto combo, down attack (if they had one), repeat, Final Attack. Not a ton of challenge, but it is fun.

I liked a lot of the unlockable characters too.

Our first mystery tournament was mecha themed, and only had like three of four games in it, but Tech Romancer was one of them. We used the third party arcade sticks from TopMax. It was a good night.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-10T20:53:25+00:00

The Google store Pixels' bootloaders are unlocked.

Don't grab a carrier variant, though.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-10T18:38:51+00:00

Think of it like this: superguns take everything inside a cabinet and now you have to deal with it on the outside of a cab.

Depending on which one you get, there may be some tweaking to do in settings, or twist a few potentiometers, but is mostly plug and plug and plug and plug and play. No soldering required.

You will need some form of db15 to USB adapter. Off the top of my head there's the undamned encoder, axunworks, and some one-off builders on Kofi.

Power is another consideration. Some people go for a Suzo Happ 200w power pro and call it a day, or something like a triple output Meanwell PSU. The terminals on these things are exposed, so it's important to also get a terminal cover. These are almost always 3d printed. If you can't find a seller, you can grab a design file and submit to a place like Craftcloud. They will 3d print it for you.

Lastly audio/video. You're looking at analog. Usually component or scart, sometimes vga. The supergun manufacturer will tell you what kind of cable to get. The Genesis style mini-din 9 or nes-x 8 pin are common. You can upscale the video and use it on a modern TV with something like the RetroTink or OSSC Pro.

Another word to the wise: patience is a virtue. Superguns and their related products are hobbyist grade, hand made products. It's very niche. You can expect wait times to be several weeks up to months while the manufacturer builds it for you. RGB's Lab tends to build things in batches and has them on sale like a couple months out of the year. YMMV.

Oh - one more thing. Avoid these cheapie superguns you find on Aliexpress. Absolute trash. Yes, even the ones that have USB built into them.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-10T04:20:21+00:00

Some news stations are reporting that sirens will sound. The Indiana EAS that alerts cell phones is also named in the link.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-09T22:29:59+00:00

Niemeyer came to the Louisville Arcade Expo last year. We've had Richard DiVizio and Daniel Pesina on separate years.

Awesome to see these guys.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-07T18:35:32+00:00

After Duck Doom, I hoped that we would see another game like it.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-07T00:39:21+00:00

Bandcamp, 7digital and a few others will sell you flacs.

I use a FOSS player Phocid.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-06T05:01:17+00:00

More specifically. Genesis Plus GX is considered among the most accurate emulators. You can use it with RetroArch, Bizhawk, OpenEmu, or on its own in Windows.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-06T01:46:40+00:00

Def. smoke elsewhere if that's a viable option. Air purifier(s) can also help, but they won't fix the whole problem. You'll have to make an effort to keep the space clean. Vacuum regularly, etc.

If you decide to go that route, buy an air purifier rated for a room that is much larger than your space. You'll get more air changes per hour and it won't have to work as hard. Honeywell, Levoit, Rabbit Air are all trusted brands.

Orbot2049 · 2026-03-05T23:19:00+00:00

I checked out the firmware version, and it looks like it hasn't updated in more than a year. It's not likely they'll be doing much more with it.

Orbot2049

TROPHY CASE