Arcade1Up Pinball; Almost Good

Lostboy

Member
Oct 21, 2012
102
0
I really want to buy this cabinet, but I'm not quite sold yet.

Me:
Like a lot of people, I've always wanted a pinball cabinet in my house. $500 for a 350lb old machine that needs some TLC? No thanks, I don't have the time or back for that. $8,000 for something nice 'n new. I wish, but not in my price range. So, digital it is. I was considering building my own. But I just can't seem to find the time to start this big expensive project. So, retail it is. I'm tempted by the AtGames cabinet, but its lack of quality software stops my purchase (although I'd consider an improved future version). The top cabinet I'm considering now is Arcade1Up; so this is what I'm thinking from a consumer's perspective who's really close to pulling the trigger, but not quite there yet.

What Arcade1Up are doing right:
-Using Zen. They have the best Williams titles, best physics, and best attention to quality.
-The features like Accelerometer, haptic feeback, and plunger, all sound like their using the highest of quality.
-It's all being done while keeping the cost down; that's good.
-As much as I'd like a full sized cab, 3/4 is acceptable. It'll just be sitting in my TV room, and if it means cutting down costs a lot, that's important.
-I love how Zen (Mel) said they'd come out with Upgrade Kits. This makes me very hopeful. I don't plan to shell out money for a 2nd cabinet. If I can buy one, and feel like it's Futureproof for the next 10 years, then I'm sold. I also don't want to buy a $1,500 machine. But I don't mind paying $600 for a decent Basic model now, and then later buy little upgrades every few months, $200 here, $300 there, $100 there, another $300 for something else, I'm ok with that.
-Quiet night mode is a must

What could use improvement:
-720p graphics. Ideally I'd like 4k (I don't think 8k would be noticeable). 1080p is ok. 720 is just a little low. Just like a real table, I want to bend down and see all the little details of the playfield. Knowing a faster chipset may be coming in an Upgrade Kit, makes me hopeful.
-There are no plans to include more games on each cabinet. This is a borderline deal breaker for me. If I'm putting money into this 1 cabinet, I'd like to be able to buy and play the other Zen Williams tables, and more in the future.
-The artwork, as nice as it is, I don't want just 1 game on there. I'd rather it have some original artwork, or better yet something classy or plain, as this has to fit in with my living room furniture, not a games room.
-The playfield screen should be a little bigger. The boarders inside are just too big.
-Ship it with glass instead of acrylic. I appreciate it's easy to change out, but just ship it with it, saves me the hassle.
-Does the black bar have to be at the front on the machine? It feels like that's the apron, and then the screen has a 2nd apron. Plus it seems too far for the plunger to feel normal. I just think this takes away a little bit from the realism of the cabinet.

What stops me from buying an Arcade1Up cabinet:
-A combination of some of the things above
-No animated backglass. This is a big deal to me. I want to see that. And I want it filling out most of the backglass, unlike the tiny AtGames screen.
-I'd like to hear more about the Upgrade Kits before I decide

My Wishlist for Future "Upgrades":
-I'd like 1 LCD screen for the blackglass that shows the artwork, speakers, and DMD. I understand many like the backglass and DMD to be separate, but there are many tables that I really like the art around the DMD and speakers, which can only be done if it was 1 screen.
-A camera that tracks the head movement of the player to make the playfield look 3D. This is not a new idea, but I think it would be a game changer.
-A light sensor that detects the lighting in your room, and automatically adjusts the lighting on the playfield.
-Attract mode. I don't know if it's there now or not, but it should be.
-Ability to add toppers. This is way down the list of what I'd expect, but it could be fun.
 

trash80

Member
Dec 14, 2018
472
0
That’s not too far away. Preorders now. Estimate available in a week or two.

Well considering that almost all of the manufactured tables coming to North America ended up in the ocean, I wouldn't expect any tables to be delivered until April or later. Have you actually tried to pre-order one of these? I'm assuming you are looking at the Brick webpage.
 
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Lostboy

Member
Oct 21, 2012
102
0
I’m not sold on it yet, so I haven’t tried preordering. Yes, I was referencing The Brick.
 

vfpcoder

Member
Jul 9, 2012
302
0
While we're now seeing some Arcade1UP "Star Wars" cabs reaching consumer hands, it may be April (maybe late April) before we'll see any AFM cabs being delivered in any kind of quantity.

AND there are ugly rumors out there that indicate that whatever amount trickles out in April may be it for AFM cabs for 2021.
They're apparently working on "Version 2" of AFM which will include WiFi and perhaps better processor hardware to help get resolution up to 1080p.
These rumors were spawned by Best Buy (briefly) indicating 12/31/2021 delivery dates for the AFM cabs. Hopefully it was a mistake.

But the BOTTOM LINE is that if you're looking for any kind of "future proofing" you're going to at least require WiFi connectivity.
So you may as well wait for "Version 2".
 

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