You might have noticed that I didn't write anything in a few days. Well, that's mostly because I wrote in my log, and then torn the pages away because I wasn't pleased with it. Several times. Couldn't come up with something interesting to talk about every time. But it doesn't mean I forgot.
So let me reflect on the last week a bit.
Kimiko finally got her victory against Titan. It was a bit of a chore, but fortunately everyone stood up to the challenge and pushed through. Getting the needed material from a Primal is no easy task after all. But she can be proud of her new shiny sword and shield.
Another week of exploring the depth of the Binding Coils, but still cannot get through the elevator shaft. Those mechanical monsters are relentless, and we were sent rolling out once more. But I think we are improving at least, learning how these metallic foes behave.
More exploration of the Labyrinth of the Ancients. For many of us, we are looking for particular pieces of equipment along the way, protected by the strong foes like the Bone Dragon and its legion of skeletons. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a prize that I wanted this time.
Maybe that is why I didn't feel like writing much. A few victories to help my friends in the company, but otherwise nothing much of mention for myself. It doesn't mean I did not enjoy, but at the same time it felt like a rather average week.
On the other hand, last night we tried to help other people with Titan again, and it did not go as well either. That always puts a damper on the enthusiasm when we're not able to step up to the challenge as a team. Last week I was proud of saying that we are strong as a company and get things done. But when we cannot get it done for various reasons, it brings us back to reality.
Yesterday, it was to help Bro Mios. But he seemed to lack vital knowledge on the fight, and a healer cannot afford to drag the team down. Not on Titan at least. There is not much to spare, Titan does not forgive.
But it is also a stretch to say that it was his fault alone. Every fight is a team effort. If one lacks a little bit, then the rest of the team should be able to adjust, compensate. But it could be a number of things. A little distraction, inattention, bad luck, or inexperience working with these particular teammates. Titan has a knack for making you pay for every slight mistake, and if too many of them pile at the wrong moment, it quickly turns into a defeat.
That is part of why I wrote down the particulars of the fight into a book, that I consigned to the library of our free company. Titan Strategy at Dimensional Death.
The first thing to remember is positioning. Titan has a knack for attacking people other than the trusty Paladin or Warrior. Staying on your toes is important on any role, but especially as a healer. If the Paladin or Warrior goes down, it's because of the healer. If the healer goes down, it's also because of the healer. And during certain attacks from Titan, if some teammates go down it's also the healer's fault. A healer needs to learn when you have time to cast your spells, but also when to prioritize their own well being first. It takes a bit of adaptation as it's not as simple as what we learned in previous fights either. It goes against some parts of it as you need to focus on the right people, rather than simply aiming spells at those that are hurt the most.
So I entirely sympathize with Bro Mios here. I am also a healer after all. But so it does not drag down 7 other people in the process, there is a little bit of studying involved too. A guide like I wrote, or listening to other's experiences. Nothing replaces actual experience, but you can at least know, learn and understand better if you study it first. You learn alot faster on the field if you have that knowledge first.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
FFXIV Adventure Log : All My Relics
I think I heard that expression somewhere, 'All my Childrens'. Well, All my Relics is a bit like that. I have 4 completed relic weapons at the moment. I'm sorry for the lack of pictures, I forgot my camera home on that day.
These last two days I wrapped up the 5th one weapon from Gerolt. Well, almost, he's asking me for that Quenching Oil, I am just a little short on tomestones for it. It started with finding a group of adventurers that also needed the salts from the Dhorme Chimera. Unfortunately it was not the most experienced group I have met, and it was a little more tedious than necessary. But we shall take our spoils nonetheless. An ugly victory is a victory nonetheless, I bid them well on their fares or something.
Then several friends were willing to get some experience on their newly acquired roles to explore Amdapor Keep once again. For many of us, it was our first time in these roles, but otherwise all of us knew of the traps. It just made things a little harder as mistakes were made on the Psycheflayer and the Demon Wall. My good friend Milo was our healer, with his newly outfitted Scholar. Chitori Vaunt was on her slightly less new Paladin, but backed by a slightly less powerful team proved to be harder than usual. And Darth Atomsk rounded us up as a Bard, probably the one with the most skill and experience during that time.
The important part of learning a new role and adventuring is being open minded, modest and realistic about your own abilities. I talk alot about experience, there are many kinds of it. There's the experience at using the job, but also experience as knowledge of the area and monsters we explore. Experience of teammates working together. And overall experience in general. I hadn't explored dungeons as a Summoner before, and I am sure there are many things I still need to learn on using it effectively. Yet, I also observed from the outside, so I have a basic understanding of it. It becomes a matter of learning the tools at your disposition, when to use them and in what situation to boost their effectiveness.
As if a repeat of Chimera the day before, an attempt at Halatali's Hydra also became more tedious than necessary thanks to the mistakes of my teammates. Maybe it is just my luck, or maybe it's Darth's luck since he was helping me on both. Let's hope not.
But the rest of the way to the relic book, simply amazing. This is why I keep in such high regards the friends of my Free Company. There is no words to describe it fully.
After clearing Hydra, the word spread over the company's linkpearls about tackling on the Primals. I had no real pressure or rush to do more than Ifrit and Garuda at the time either. But let's start with Ifrit. Our group was composed of Edward as Monk, Neila as Scholar, Beau as White Mage, Chitori as Paladin, Alyna as Warrior, Cissnei as Bard and Santhara as Monk.
We had a brand new Warrior, almost fresh out of story, in our ranks. In fact, she had to run to attune herself to Garuda's crystal after we won over Ifrit. But inexperience is not as much of a big factor when you have teammates ready to coach you. Chitori also pulled out her Paladin sword again for the need, and followed our instructions for the fight, a few mishaps of no consequence either. Not a flawless fight, but far cry being being considered bad. A comfortable victory in the end, as opposed as one by the skin of our shins (did I get this one right?)
Similar with Garuda, Chitori returned to a more comfortable role of Black Mage, as we can count on Cissnei's skills with the bow on Garuda's sisters. Despite having no experience on the fight, a single mishaps when Garuda calls on her sisters. A bit of fine tuning, and we get a comfortable victory on the second try.
I would have been content to stop there that day. But my teammates are great. That's why I put so much effort into our Free Company and keep helping them whenever I can. They decided to take on Titan.
Unfortunately, taking Alyna with us was not possible at the time, but we took in a replacement, and Chitori returned once more to the role of Paladin. I'm skipping the details right now, but result? Victory with about half the team dead, but on the very first try.
Chitori needed a bit of reassurance on how to tank, but did a near perfect job at it. The failures? That would be me, in the middle of the last phase, a misjudging of the bomb blast radius downed me immediately. I think I had two bombs. But it happened relatively late fortunately, so there was still enough power to finish it. It ended with Chitori, Cissnei and our two healers Beau and Neila alive, after Santhara (or was it Edward) died after using our Limit Break.
But still, 3 relatively easy victories, even if Titan rode on other people's shoulder for the last part, it shows just how powerful our Free Company is. We don't need to compete with other Free Companies. We just need to be there when people need it, and competent when we do.
Dimensional Death, I salute you again! I shall have pictures of the relic next time!
These last two days I wrapped up the 5th one weapon from Gerolt. Well, almost, he's asking me for that Quenching Oil, I am just a little short on tomestones for it. It started with finding a group of adventurers that also needed the salts from the Dhorme Chimera. Unfortunately it was not the most experienced group I have met, and it was a little more tedious than necessary. But we shall take our spoils nonetheless. An ugly victory is a victory nonetheless, I bid them well on their fares or something.
Then several friends were willing to get some experience on their newly acquired roles to explore Amdapor Keep once again. For many of us, it was our first time in these roles, but otherwise all of us knew of the traps. It just made things a little harder as mistakes were made on the Psycheflayer and the Demon Wall. My good friend Milo was our healer, with his newly outfitted Scholar. Chitori Vaunt was on her slightly less new Paladin, but backed by a slightly less powerful team proved to be harder than usual. And Darth Atomsk rounded us up as a Bard, probably the one with the most skill and experience during that time.
The important part of learning a new role and adventuring is being open minded, modest and realistic about your own abilities. I talk alot about experience, there are many kinds of it. There's the experience at using the job, but also experience as knowledge of the area and monsters we explore. Experience of teammates working together. And overall experience in general. I hadn't explored dungeons as a Summoner before, and I am sure there are many things I still need to learn on using it effectively. Yet, I also observed from the outside, so I have a basic understanding of it. It becomes a matter of learning the tools at your disposition, when to use them and in what situation to boost their effectiveness.
As if a repeat of Chimera the day before, an attempt at Halatali's Hydra also became more tedious than necessary thanks to the mistakes of my teammates. Maybe it is just my luck, or maybe it's Darth's luck since he was helping me on both. Let's hope not.
But the rest of the way to the relic book, simply amazing. This is why I keep in such high regards the friends of my Free Company. There is no words to describe it fully.
After clearing Hydra, the word spread over the company's linkpearls about tackling on the Primals. I had no real pressure or rush to do more than Ifrit and Garuda at the time either. But let's start with Ifrit. Our group was composed of Edward as Monk, Neila as Scholar, Beau as White Mage, Chitori as Paladin, Alyna as Warrior, Cissnei as Bard and Santhara as Monk.
We had a brand new Warrior, almost fresh out of story, in our ranks. In fact, she had to run to attune herself to Garuda's crystal after we won over Ifrit. But inexperience is not as much of a big factor when you have teammates ready to coach you. Chitori also pulled out her Paladin sword again for the need, and followed our instructions for the fight, a few mishaps of no consequence either. Not a flawless fight, but far cry being being considered bad. A comfortable victory in the end, as opposed as one by the skin of our shins (did I get this one right?)
Similar with Garuda, Chitori returned to a more comfortable role of Black Mage, as we can count on Cissnei's skills with the bow on Garuda's sisters. Despite having no experience on the fight, a single mishaps when Garuda calls on her sisters. A bit of fine tuning, and we get a comfortable victory on the second try.
I would have been content to stop there that day. But my teammates are great. That's why I put so much effort into our Free Company and keep helping them whenever I can. They decided to take on Titan.
Unfortunately, taking Alyna with us was not possible at the time, but we took in a replacement, and Chitori returned once more to the role of Paladin. I'm skipping the details right now, but result? Victory with about half the team dead, but on the very first try.
Chitori needed a bit of reassurance on how to tank, but did a near perfect job at it. The failures? That would be me, in the middle of the last phase, a misjudging of the bomb blast radius downed me immediately. I think I had two bombs. But it happened relatively late fortunately, so there was still enough power to finish it. It ended with Chitori, Cissnei and our two healers Beau and Neila alive, after Santhara (or was it Edward) died after using our Limit Break.
But still, 3 relatively easy victories, even if Titan rode on other people's shoulder for the last part, it shows just how powerful our Free Company is. We don't need to compete with other Free Companies. We just need to be there when people need it, and competent when we do.
Dimensional Death, I salute you again! I shall have pictures of the relic next time!
Friday, January 10, 2014
FFXIV Adventure Log : A Helping Hand
Sometimes I wonder what people think of me. I mean, I make myself open and helpful, but have to wonder how people perceive it.
I forgot my picture box, so I don't have anything to show, but I was running to meet the Sylphs for my usual round of helping the tribe, when I got a message over my personal linkpearl. They were asking me if I had a sufficiently experienced damage dealer. Well, I have Bard, so yes. And without regards to what I might be doing or if I was busy, I get invited for Stone Vigil.
Now don't get me wrong, I am totally ready to help people. But I think there is a way of asking such things. And blindly inviting is not one. "Are you busy? Can you help me with Stone Vigil?" is not so hard to ask, I would think. It just gives the feeling that you would help no matter the situation, no question asked. It's more a case of how its perceived from the other side.
But at any rate, my friend got his victory, so he can advance in his own adventures. I'm encouraging him.
On my side, I met with Gerolt, the legendary blacksmith of relic, for the first part of the search for the legendary book for my Summoner. The first part was hidden along the Sylphlands woods, so it was not too hard to find since I was in the area to help the tribe. And I had been gifted with the other part of the recipe, an erudite picatrix, about a week ago. A gift from my good friend Milo Onionbottom for my birthday.
Next step is Dhorme Chimera. I know most of those monsters as I followed similar paths on my other paths, which are White Mage, Paladin, Scholar and Bard. But as a summoner I am less sure of myself.
My favorite egi is Titan by the way. He's not really cute, but he's reliable, and I'm a squishy mage when he's with me. I appreciate his protect while I pelt the monsters with my attacks and various Bio and Miasma spells.
Tonight we have an exploration of the Binding Coils of Bahamut as well. We have delved down to the 4th part of it before, but didn't triumph yet. But we are making progress. We received some Gloves of Healing, Trousers of Maiming, Earring of Striking and Gloves of Casting along the way down. We'll tackle the big bad elevator tomorrow.
I forgot my picture box, so I don't have anything to show, but I was running to meet the Sylphs for my usual round of helping the tribe, when I got a message over my personal linkpearl. They were asking me if I had a sufficiently experienced damage dealer. Well, I have Bard, so yes. And without regards to what I might be doing or if I was busy, I get invited for Stone Vigil.
Now don't get me wrong, I am totally ready to help people. But I think there is a way of asking such things. And blindly inviting is not one. "Are you busy? Can you help me with Stone Vigil?" is not so hard to ask, I would think. It just gives the feeling that you would help no matter the situation, no question asked. It's more a case of how its perceived from the other side.
But at any rate, my friend got his victory, so he can advance in his own adventures. I'm encouraging him.
On my side, I met with Gerolt, the legendary blacksmith of relic, for the first part of the search for the legendary book for my Summoner. The first part was hidden along the Sylphlands woods, so it was not too hard to find since I was in the area to help the tribe. And I had been gifted with the other part of the recipe, an erudite picatrix, about a week ago. A gift from my good friend Milo Onionbottom for my birthday.
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| Milo, the cook. |
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| Me as a Summoner, mostly Darklight. |
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| I am almighty! |
Tonight we have an exploration of the Binding Coils of Bahamut as well. We have delved down to the 4th part of it before, but didn't triumph yet. But we are making progress. We received some Gloves of Healing, Trousers of Maiming, Earring of Striking and Gloves of Casting along the way down. We'll tackle the big bad elevator tomorrow.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
FFXIV Adventure Log : Gridania
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| The Great Forest |
I started my adventures in Uldah. It's much more brick and castle-style. It has its own charms, but it's not as relaxing. But the people there were nice, with Papashaun and the others always ready to help out. But once I reached the higher ranks of the Immortal Flames, I felt I had to move to learn more about the world too.
So I enlisted under the Twin Adders, as I currently am. A Lieutenant, I reached the higher ranks again. So I think I will be trying my luck with the Maelstrom next. Just to have my name known in all three armies. But I'll keep my home in Gridania still.
My Free Company, Dimensional Death, has passed some votes on where we might build our headquarters when we mass the money for it. Which we're not quite near enough for yet, but one day. We wanted to test the pulse of our teammates though. It seems pretty split, I have no idea where we will go. My vote is still at Gridania though.
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| Ultima in all of its fearsome glory |
We had a few repeated performances too, all victories. Got myself a shiny new choker for my bow-wielder too.
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| Shiny! |
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| In no particular order, all Dimensional Death Ayasu Lemieux, Saithe Laiste, Taber Tia, Cissnei Shisune, Laude Thievenaix, Beau Quitone and Fae Lindae |
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
FFXIV Adventure Log : While waiting
This is the first entry, so I'm not sure what to write. I've been travelling and adventuring in Eorzea for already how long? But they told me that I should keep a log of my adventures and people I meet. So, guess it's better late than never they say, right?
So what to write about...
Well, when I got out of the inn room today, I went on my usual daily tasks. Building reputation with the beastmen tribes is a chore, but someone has to help them. Well, by them, the Sylphs. I had to give some milkroot to some tipsy sylphs. I'm unsure if it was the milkroot or something else making them more tipsy, but oh well.
After that, my friends got ready for a run of Crystal Towers. Well, the Labyrinth of Ancients, at least. We haven't managed to find the way deeper yet, but we can visit that area for battle experience and some equipment. I had been watching for a chance to get more pieces for my Armor of Light set, but lucky, I got them today!
But before we even got in, I stumbled upon a big bad guy while I had just finished a Duty Roulette as a Black Mage. Lazy Lawrence. Big mean Ochu, and no tanks in sight, he ate me like a snack. But I still managed to get a prize from it. This little cuddly thing here.
But I already had one, so I couldn't use it, But while waiting on another Duty Roulette, I found someone that wanted to adopt it. Lucky thing! Kimiko, one of our newest recruits. She's working on getting Titan down for her first Relic, so we're all behind her of course!
She's sporting alot of Darklight, but I think she's one of those that don't like the Darklight armor. So she's wearing the Lord's Cuirass. I must say, its rather stylish too. Ifrit's sword too, hopefully she can turn that into a lovely glowing Curtana soon!
Shortly after I got my Duty Roulette invite, so I had to leave her off. I stumbled on an Ifrit attempt, in progress. Which was odd, the healer was missing. Chatting a bit with them, it seems like the entire party got shuffled for some reason. 20 minutes gone, and it was a new party of 4. How odd. But we went for an easy victory afterwards, so can't complain too much either!
There is much to do in Eorzea, even when you are already highly experienced. Lots of people to meet! Hope I got more to write next time.
So what to write about...
Well, when I got out of the inn room today, I went on my usual daily tasks. Building reputation with the beastmen tribes is a chore, but someone has to help them. Well, by them, the Sylphs. I had to give some milkroot to some tipsy sylphs. I'm unsure if it was the milkroot or something else making them more tipsy, but oh well.
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| This is what they call sleeping on the job. |
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| Spoils of war |
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| Other than adorable, not much to say about this. |
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| Nice chest... Armor, I mean armor. |
Shortly after I got my Duty Roulette invite, so I had to leave her off. I stumbled on an Ifrit attempt, in progress. Which was odd, the healer was missing. Chatting a bit with them, it seems like the entire party got shuffled for some reason. 20 minutes gone, and it was a new party of 4. How odd. But we went for an easy victory afterwards, so can't complain too much either!
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| Belarosa Bellicosus, Jailbait Jonny and Xvim Shadewhisper. |
FFXIV ARR : Adventure Log
Well, its already been 5 years since I last updated this blog it seems. But since its still here, might as well put it to good use!
I've had this idea for a while, but never gone around to actually working it in. I wanted to make a sort of 'adventure log' back in FFXI, but then the daily grind didn't really inspire me. But FFXIV is gorgeous, so I'll try to make this into a daily dose of In-Character reflections, Screenshots of the various travels and undertaking, people that I meet, but also things about my friends and Free Company.
For now I don't have much to say, but let's begin by an introduction to my character. Meet, Celedh Knight.
This is her Lodestone picture, so its probably going to change looks if you refresh it once in a while.
She started on Sargatanas in 1.0, under the name of Lifa Lockhart, which is a name I used in several places online, mostly in Role Playing communities. But by the time Beta of 2.0 arrived, I realized that it would be misconstrued as a miswriting of a well known character, so I changed it up. I used the name Celedh that I had in FFXI, and added Knight, which is both reference to my usual online nickname that you see here, and also a valid Hyur surname that I saw on lore-accurate name generators before official launch. I kept her looks as a sorta Tifa-lookalike without being too close either. Its in line with the general appearance of previously named Lifa Lockhart.
The name Celedh doesn't have anything special behind it. I used it in FFXI because I didn't want to be known as a "knight" when I could be a white mage, or plain as "Franck" in a fantasy world. So I looked up some old D&D character sheets and found this name that I had found through some online name generator. I figured it would work. It ended up being rather unique, even doing a Google search on it pretty much points only to things I've done. As a note, people pronounce it like "Cell-ed", but it looks Gaelic so it should be closer to "Say-lee" probably. Anyway, not gonna argue, I'm French :P
I didn't have much 1.0 experience, but I played long enough to get a power level to the 30s so I could get my Goobue Mount. I was a level 33 Gladiator that wasn't strong enough to unlock Paladin at the time, but completed most of the quests found in the 3 main cities. Conjurer 15, Marauder 15 to round up the abilities. I also had time to get all of the Summerfest yukatas, fortunately.
Now she's on the Excalibur server, Level 50 White Mage, Paladin, Bard and Scholar (Summoner is adequately geared but not much experience playing it).
Celedh's Diary will start tomorrow, recounting what will happen this evening. See you soon!
I've had this idea for a while, but never gone around to actually working it in. I wanted to make a sort of 'adventure log' back in FFXI, but then the daily grind didn't really inspire me. But FFXIV is gorgeous, so I'll try to make this into a daily dose of In-Character reflections, Screenshots of the various travels and undertaking, people that I meet, but also things about my friends and Free Company.
For now I don't have much to say, but let's begin by an introduction to my character. Meet, Celedh Knight.
This is her Lodestone picture, so its probably going to change looks if you refresh it once in a while.
She started on Sargatanas in 1.0, under the name of Lifa Lockhart, which is a name I used in several places online, mostly in Role Playing communities. But by the time Beta of 2.0 arrived, I realized that it would be misconstrued as a miswriting of a well known character, so I changed it up. I used the name Celedh that I had in FFXI, and added Knight, which is both reference to my usual online nickname that you see here, and also a valid Hyur surname that I saw on lore-accurate name generators before official launch. I kept her looks as a sorta Tifa-lookalike without being too close either. Its in line with the general appearance of previously named Lifa Lockhart.
The name Celedh doesn't have anything special behind it. I used it in FFXI because I didn't want to be known as a "knight" when I could be a white mage, or plain as "Franck" in a fantasy world. So I looked up some old D&D character sheets and found this name that I had found through some online name generator. I figured it would work. It ended up being rather unique, even doing a Google search on it pretty much points only to things I've done. As a note, people pronounce it like "Cell-ed", but it looks Gaelic so it should be closer to "Say-lee" probably. Anyway, not gonna argue, I'm French :P
I didn't have much 1.0 experience, but I played long enough to get a power level to the 30s so I could get my Goobue Mount. I was a level 33 Gladiator that wasn't strong enough to unlock Paladin at the time, but completed most of the quests found in the 3 main cities. Conjurer 15, Marauder 15 to round up the abilities. I also had time to get all of the Summerfest yukatas, fortunately.
Now she's on the Excalibur server, Level 50 White Mage, Paladin, Bard and Scholar (Summoner is adequately geared but not much experience playing it).
Celedh's Diary will start tomorrow, recounting what will happen this evening. See you soon!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Project : Arcade - Cabinet On Hold
I was excited at starting to work on my cabinet. But the honeymoon was a short duration sadly.
Let's start from the start.
I got the cabinet yesterday, and I was happy with the looks of it... at first. Looking closer, it was not as pretty, but many things could be fixable.
First thing, the marquee and monitor area. The plexi is in good shape, no problem there. No really noticeable scratches. The lights are not hooked to any kind of power, but that's not a big deal at this point.
There's some places to clean, but I already planned on painting it later. Te back cover was taken off to see inside. The power blok was severed, so it's useless now at any rate.
Otherwise, the control panel was okay, but no microswitches left, so not workable. At any rate, I'm changing it to a 4 player planel.
The coin door looks good overall, but the coin mech is not working. It has the leds and the switch, but none of the coin-analysing stuff. So there's no coin return, and also the coin only randomly hits the switch. This can be fixed with a bit of cardboard to force the coin to hit the switch later.
So I noticed that the top seems to be mounted on the sides. The first thing I tried was to unscrew it from the inside. There's some kind of wooden inserts as well, so you'd only need to pry it apart a little for them to slide out and take the top off.
Well, normally speaking at least, because it wasn't moving at all, not a millimeter. So I looked at other parts. There's a slanted panel inside that is bolted to the control panel. it seems it had the motherboard on it too. It's made so you can simply slide it out by pulling from the front. Except that once again, it wasn't budging. The wood around the control panel seems to have taken some humidity, so it bulged out, and is slightly pushing the panel inside to the side, so I'm not able to pull out more than 6 inches or so. So I'm leaving that aside, may need to cut it out later.
So I keep looking for a way to pry off the top part. There's a small panel near the back, it's screwed in place with a L-Elbow. I take the screws off, and guess what. IT'S NOT MOVING. And there's no visible screws on the top unit, and no screws on the panel with the speakers. That's when I realized that they must have hot glued (or some other glue) the whole thing together in one piece. Wow, what incredible crap.
So right now, it's on hold until I can figure out a way to get inside, one way or another. Right now there's absolutely no way I can get inside of it, so none of the work can be done. Even if I painted the exterior it would be useless.
Well, it's on hold for the main part of it at least. I'll be working on the control panel while I find some solution. I'm seriously thinking scrapping that cabinet, taking the parts I can still use, and building one from ground up, like my very first idea was. Thought it would be a shortcut to get a ready-made cabinet, but it doesn't work that way.
Let's start from the start.
I got the cabinet yesterday, and I was happy with the looks of it... at first. Looking closer, it was not as pretty, but many things could be fixable.
First thing, the marquee and monitor area. The plexi is in good shape, no problem there. No really noticeable scratches. The lights are not hooked to any kind of power, but that's not a big deal at this point.
There's some places to clean, but I already planned on painting it later. Te back cover was taken off to see inside. The power blok was severed, so it's useless now at any rate.Otherwise, the control panel was okay, but no microswitches left, so not workable. At any rate, I'm changing it to a 4 player planel.
The coin door looks good overall, but the coin mech is not working. It has the leds and the switch, but none of the coin-analysing stuff. So there's no coin return, and also the coin only randomly hits the switch. This can be fixed with a bit of cardboard to force the coin to hit the switch later.So I noticed that the top seems to be mounted on the sides. The first thing I tried was to unscrew it from the inside. There's some kind of wooden inserts as well, so you'd only need to pry it apart a little for them to slide out and take the top off.
Well, normally speaking at least, because it wasn't moving at all, not a millimeter. So I looked at other parts. There's a slanted panel inside that is bolted to the control panel. it seems it had the motherboard on it too. It's made so you can simply slide it out by pulling from the front. Except that once again, it wasn't budging. The wood around the control panel seems to have taken some humidity, so it bulged out, and is slightly pushing the panel inside to the side, so I'm not able to pull out more than 6 inches or so. So I'm leaving that aside, may need to cut it out later.
So I keep looking for a way to pry off the top part. There's a small panel near the back, it's screwed in place with a L-Elbow. I take the screws off, and guess what. IT'S NOT MOVING. And there's no visible screws on the top unit, and no screws on the panel with the speakers. That's when I realized that they must have hot glued (or some other glue) the whole thing together in one piece. Wow, what incredible crap.
So right now, it's on hold until I can figure out a way to get inside, one way or another. Right now there's absolutely no way I can get inside of it, so none of the work can be done. Even if I painted the exterior it would be useless.
Well, it's on hold for the main part of it at least. I'll be working on the control panel while I find some solution. I'm seriously thinking scrapping that cabinet, taking the parts I can still use, and building one from ground up, like my very first idea was. Thought it would be a shortcut to get a ready-made cabinet, but it doesn't work that way.
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