demirichris
Hardened Shock Trooper
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2005
- Posts
- 428
Hey guys,
It's been quite awhile since we last checked in here with a progress update on SKYCURSER and our team's quest to breathe new life into the arcade scene. Well, a lot of exciting developments have taken shape over the last few months and it seemed like time to give a personalized update to the NG squad. As you may recall, I'm not posting updates on other forums for a number of reasons, but I feel like the community here understands what we are trying to accomplish, is capable of providing useful feedback and perhaps most importantly, not afraid to call "bullshit" if we start to move off-track. Ok, enough touchy-feely, let's get on to the good stuff.
AIRFRAME: WTF is it?
To support SKYCURSER, we knew we needed to create a hardware solution that was affordable, durable and 100% JAMMA. However at the same time, we wanted something that was flexible enough to support not only all of our team's future games, but the entire indie arcade community if possible.
Enter AIFRAME Arcade Operating System, a Linux-based hardware unit that provides a platform designed to run any game published to Linux on arcade cabinets that are outfitted with standard JAMMA wiring. With AIRFRAME, games can be easily updated or completely changed via a USB stick. The software and OS is "baked" into each USB drive, allowing for flexibility on button layout and screen resolution (support up to 1080p) along with anti-piracy at the physical and software level. AIRFRAME is not a traditional PCB solution, because we knew the community couldn't possibly support a 3-4k price point and we would lose the flexibility or ease of development we have today.
Last month, we finished the prototype design and I must say, it was an emotional experience for the whole team. Again, this hardware is still in the prototype phase and we still have tons of visual design, cost and efficiency improvements to make. Here is some media to check out:
The prototype hardware with his buddies:
The night we first fired it up:
Reception from Arcadeheroes.com:
"The possibility that Airframe could be the West's NESiCAxLIVe platform is quite enticing as this would fulfill a need that I think has long been asked for" http://bit.ly/1MLfrRN
SKYCURSER Updates
Based on the promise of the game and the AIRFRAME platform, a very early build of SKYCURSER that includes the game's first two stages has been purchased by the following arcades. Content updates will come via USB.
Galloping Ghost: 9415 Ogden Ave, Brookfield, IL 60513
(Self-proclaimed largest arcade in the world)
The Game Grid Arcade: 3601 Constitution Blvd c128, West Valley City, UT 84119
(Owned and operated by current owner of arcadeheroes.com)
Logan Arcade: 2410 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
(A beautiful location featuring other indie arcade games like Killer Queen)
Union Jack Pub: 924 Broad Ripple Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46220
(Our first hometown location)
The fact that we have gained such strong support so quickly from veterans in the industry has been hugely motivating and humbling, to say the least. Anyhow, here's some visual goodies for those of you who are interested in game progress:
Latest Trailer
Some more Gif action
You will most likely notice that a lot of visual updates have happened since the last time I shared. Most notably the player ship is much smaller and better designed than previous builds.
Well, that covers the high-level stuff. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions!
It's been quite awhile since we last checked in here with a progress update on SKYCURSER and our team's quest to breathe new life into the arcade scene. Well, a lot of exciting developments have taken shape over the last few months and it seemed like time to give a personalized update to the NG squad. As you may recall, I'm not posting updates on other forums for a number of reasons, but I feel like the community here understands what we are trying to accomplish, is capable of providing useful feedback and perhaps most importantly, not afraid to call "bullshit" if we start to move off-track. Ok, enough touchy-feely, let's get on to the good stuff.
AIRFRAME: WTF is it?
To support SKYCURSER, we knew we needed to create a hardware solution that was affordable, durable and 100% JAMMA. However at the same time, we wanted something that was flexible enough to support not only all of our team's future games, but the entire indie arcade community if possible.
Enter AIFRAME Arcade Operating System, a Linux-based hardware unit that provides a platform designed to run any game published to Linux on arcade cabinets that are outfitted with standard JAMMA wiring. With AIRFRAME, games can be easily updated or completely changed via a USB stick. The software and OS is "baked" into each USB drive, allowing for flexibility on button layout and screen resolution (support up to 1080p) along with anti-piracy at the physical and software level. AIRFRAME is not a traditional PCB solution, because we knew the community couldn't possibly support a 3-4k price point and we would lose the flexibility or ease of development we have today.
Last month, we finished the prototype design and I must say, it was an emotional experience for the whole team. Again, this hardware is still in the prototype phase and we still have tons of visual design, cost and efficiency improvements to make. Here is some media to check out:
The prototype hardware with his buddies:
The night we first fired it up:
Reception from Arcadeheroes.com:
"The possibility that Airframe could be the West's NESiCAxLIVe platform is quite enticing as this would fulfill a need that I think has long been asked for" http://bit.ly/1MLfrRN
SKYCURSER Updates
Based on the promise of the game and the AIRFRAME platform, a very early build of SKYCURSER that includes the game's first two stages has been purchased by the following arcades. Content updates will come via USB.
Galloping Ghost: 9415 Ogden Ave, Brookfield, IL 60513
(Self-proclaimed largest arcade in the world)
The Game Grid Arcade: 3601 Constitution Blvd c128, West Valley City, UT 84119
(Owned and operated by current owner of arcadeheroes.com)
Logan Arcade: 2410 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
(A beautiful location featuring other indie arcade games like Killer Queen)
Union Jack Pub: 924 Broad Ripple Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46220
(Our first hometown location)
The fact that we have gained such strong support so quickly from veterans in the industry has been hugely motivating and humbling, to say the least. Anyhow, here's some visual goodies for those of you who are interested in game progress:
Latest Trailer
Some more Gif action
You will most likely notice that a lot of visual updates have happened since the last time I shared. Most notably the player ship is much smaller and better designed than previous builds.
Well, that covers the high-level stuff. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions!
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I'm really excited about Skycurser and this project in general since it looks very promising! I'll be happy to support you guys once you have the home-use builds ready. Will they have a different design, more of a console with USB pad support or JAMMA only? (I'm fine with both, just asking)
