EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

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Ms. Tea
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by Ms. Tea »

OmegaFlareX wrote:Does Exa have any other proper verts like ATB or is that the only one? I know Strania is a vertizontal.
SDOJ, Shikhondo, Psyvariar, Akyrios, and the upcoming Noisz are all vertical.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

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Ms. Tea
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by Ms. Tea »

Oh wow, I thought for sure we'd be waiting a long time for something else when trap's team was doing P-47 Aces. This is exciting, I love Akai Katana. The console version arrange really showed there was a lot of room for experimentation with its systems; really curious what exA will do.

EDIT: Trap is programming and doing the new mode: https://twitter.com/trap0xf/status/1420958724244459520
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by trap15 »

cave hermit wrote:I may have to eat my hat.
Time to get chewing
https://twitter.com/exaarcadia/status/1 ... 3907750912
@trap0xf | daifukkat.su/blog | scores | FIRE LANCER
<S.Yagawa> I like the challenge of "doing the impossible" with older hardware, and pushing it as far as it can go.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by NeoStrayCat »

Welp, there it is, thought they would bring them out earlier. But...its basically a 2 week location test to check out the Exa-Arcadia system starting on 8/31.

Either way, I'll see if I have time and go check it out, especially for Strania EX.
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PixelDaddy
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by PixelDaddy »

Hey!

Chris from Monster Bath Games here. I just stumbled across this trying to find out what's going on with Super Battle Princess Madelyn. I saw someone say something about the switch game needing a lot of changes to make it playable in the arcade. I spent a year fixing/reprogramming the game. I thought there was going to be a list of changes published to the site but I've never seen anything about the changes anywhere.

It's not the same game that is on the switch. I only used my art assets from that game and a few newer level designs. The original developer had left in the middle of doing Royal Edition on Switch and I ended up taking over coding etc. I tried to fix Royal Edition but the result was not what I wanted - it was not fixable.

Anyhow Super Battle Princess Madelyn was pretty much remade code wise from the ground up. I brought in a level designer to do that side of things for me, he helped with Royal Edition too. Some of those new stages made it into SBPM. But anyhow, here is the list of changes I'd given Exa for on their site.


Changes from Royal Edition:

Redesigned and rebalanced Levels.
New levels/art.
New enemies/art.
Reprogrammed camera.
Reprogramed AI.
Reprogrammed Controls.
All new soundtrack by gryzor87.
*New poster art by Koichi Kikuta.
New intro and outro more in the vein of an arcade game (no video - boss was redrawn and Fritzy now has eyebrows).
Difficulty select screen (with scanline select).
New Bosses/art.
Gameplay tuned for arcade play.
Fritzy abilities redesigned and reprogrammed.
Life system redesigned and reprogrammed.
New Logo/Game title.
Rebalanced pickups.
Branching path system in 2 levels.
4:3/16:9 resolution switching to run on CRT.
Reprogrammed player code (no more ladder knockback issues/not being able to grab ladder when invincible!!!).
New sound FX.
Pogoing removed/Fritzy sword removed.
Weapon balancing and reprogramming, wand re-added.
Discus removed.
Proper final boss (also redrawn).
Most boss AI reprogrammed.
Voices Added to Madelyn.
Game Over/Continue Screen added.
Most collision code reprogrammed.
Hit boxes adjusted.
Arcade Test/Config menu added.
Text re-written and localized in to English, Japanese, Spanish and French.


*not in game art

After that list was compiled, there was an issue with the game on the actual retail hardware with saving that I wasn't getting on the dev kit so I rewrote the way that was being done.


Hope everyone is doing well!


Chris
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MrJBRPG
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by MrJBRPG »

Exa Arcadia on Location Test at Round 1 USA Puente Hills Mall from August 31st to September 13th.
Took weekend flight trip for this purpose only.
https://twitter.com/mrjbrpg_gamedev/sta ... 99552?s=21

I felt lucky to encounter plenty of dedicated active folks around there.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by SuperPang »

PixelDaddy wrote:Hey!

Chris from Monster Bath Games here. I just stumbled across this trying to find out what's going on with Super Battle Princess Madelyn. I saw someone say something about the switch game needing a lot of changes to make it playable in the arcade. I spent a year fixing/reprogramming the game. I thought there was going to be a list of changes published to the site but I've never seen anything about the changes anywhere.
They're a bit sparse on the website updates to be honest. Other priorities I guess. It is very obvious to anyone with a keen interest that it's a very different game but its nice to see the exact details so thanks for that. There have been some very positive comments on the Exa thread on Arcade Otaku. I'm thinking of grabbing a copy for my birthday next month. It will be going in my New Net City so thanks for the effort with 4:3 and scanlines. 8)
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by Sumez »

PixelDaddy wrote: Chris from Monster Bath Games here. I just stumbled across this trying to find out what's going on with Super Battle Princess Madelyn. I saw someone say something about the switch game needing a lot of changes to make it playable in the arcade. I spent a year fixing/reprogramming the game. I thought there was going to be a list of changes published to the site but I've never seen anything about the changes anywhere.

It's not the same game that is on the switch. I only used my art assets from that game and a few newer level designs. The original developer had left in the middle of doing Royal Edition on Switch and I ended up taking over coding etc. I tried to fix Royal Edition but the result was not what I wanted - it was not fixable.

Anyhow Super Battle Princess Madelyn was pretty much remade code wise from the ground up. I brought in a level designer to do that side of things for me, he helped with Royal Edition too. Some of those new stages made it into SBPM. But anyhow, here is the list of changes I'd given Exa for on their site.
That might have been me, and thanks so much for actually touching down on these points. Madelyn felt to me like a really cool idea with a lot of potential and love for games like GnG and Black Tiger that just never really managed to live up to them, mostly due to what felt to me like a reluctancy to challenge the player (which obviously won't work in an arcade), as well as some weird kind of disconnect between the game's design and its base engine.

Hearing that the original developer actually went all in and changed everything to make the game fit for the arcade makes me very happy, at least for the game itself. It's regrettable that most of us won't have the chance to actually try this version for years to come, but maybe some day in the future. :)
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by MrJBRPG »

I actually played all 16 available games, except Chaos Code Exact Xeno Attack and Kira Kira Starry Night EXA due to them not being available.

At least I enjoyed the games there at the location test site. I enjoy any arcade video games that allow me to select a stage to play over and over, such as Gimmick Exact Mix, Psyvariar Delta AC (2 stages since the levels are short), Aka & Blue Type Revolution, and Blazing Chrome (select first 4 stages)

I am not really good at fighting games at all, and the new platform delivered in lots of different games, even if the current lineup is mostly shooting games. The four player dedicated arcade cabinet looks nicely sleek for the pedestal, especially the layout which accommodates both fighting and four player games.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by PixelDaddy »

SuperPang wrote:
They're a bit sparse on the website updates to be honest. Other priorities I guess. It is very obvious to anyone with a keen interest that it's a very different game but its nice to see the exact details so thanks for that. There have been some very positive comments on the Exa thread on Arcade Otaku. I'm thinking of grabbing a copy for my birthday next month. It will be going in my New Net City so thanks for the effort with 4:3 and scanlines. 8)
I'm glad people are enjoying the new version of the game. Aside of a couple people on twitter I don't see anything about it. I have no idea what is going on with it. And thank you I hope you enjoy it!!! I don't have the exa hardware so I doubt I'll ever get to play it the way it was meant to be played. I'm not in a location that will ever have an arcade to go to any time soon haha!
Sumez wrote:
That might have been me, and thanks so much for actually touching down on these points. Madelyn felt to me like a really cool idea with a lot of potential and love for games like GnG and Black Tiger that just never really managed to live up to them, mostly due to what felt to me like a reluctancy to challenge the player (which obviously won't work in an arcade), as well as some weird kind of disconnect between the game's design and its base engine.

Hearing that the original developer actually went all in and changed everything to make the game fit for the arcade makes me very happy, at least for the game itself. It's regrettable that most of us won't have the chance to actually try this version for years to come, but maybe some day in the future. :)
I wasn't technically the original developer. I did the prototype (and Madelyn is my daughter) but the only actual dev work I did for the original game was trying to fix bugs and make objects for the engine. I was design/story/art. The prototype played exactly how I wanted it, the final game was nothing like the prototype. I took over all of the dev work half way through for Royal Edition, but being an idiot, I didn't listen to my friends who are industry vets. I was told the entire game needed to be reprogrammed and I thought - no way, I'll fix all the bugs!! To sum it up: I was wrong, they were right. The bugs were not fixable without complete re-writes. Lessons learned the hard way.

I'm currently making Maddi her own version of the machine with my personal build of the game. Complete with glowing stick, purple pink and blue buttons and I'm drawing the artwork myself for the cabinet.

I'll post some pictures when it's completed!
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by Sumez »

That counts as the original developer in my book, you were clearly the person with the vision. And I'm not surprised to hear that something in the originally released product hadn't turned out exactly as intended.

From what I heard though (was it in this thread?), Royal Edition is already a big improvement over the version I got from Play-Asia which I'm assuming was the first release.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by SuperPang »

PixelDaddy wrote: I'm currently making Maddi her own version of the machine with my personal build of the game. Complete with glowing stick, purple pink and blue buttons and I'm drawing the artwork myself for the cabinet.

I'll post some pictures when it's completed!
That's lovely. Would love to see some pics on the forum.arcadeotaku.com gallery when its done.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by Mero »

A Touhou Project stg is coming to Exa, licensed from Team Shanghai Alice. Touhou Perfect Sakura Fantastica.

https://exa.ac/en/2021/09/27/touhou/?v=0f177369a3b7
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by shmupsrocks »

It would be so cool to see a bunch of existing PC-only stuff come to the Exa. Giant shmup library unlocked.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by Abadd »

Mero wrote:A Touhou Project stg is coming to Exa, licensed from Team Shanghai Alice. Touhou Perfect Sakura Fantastica.

https://exa.ac/en/2021/09/27/touhou/?v=0f177369a3b7
The music playing in the background is stage 1 of FDF part 2 on steam. I wonder if the devs behind that are working on PSF. Maybe it will be a port of FDF2?
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by KAI »

Akai Katana Exa Label's location test it's been streamed from HEY since last night
https://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv33416 ... 4778247690

The game using Progear's mechanics for it's new mode looks like a lot of fun
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by bobrocks95 »

Anybody compiled a list of where these are available in the US? Granted, it looks like a very limited US rollout just began, so I imagine there isn't one anywhere near me.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by caldwert »

I've got 2 setups outside St. Louis. One is getting updated at the moment though. So it'll be a bit before its back on location. My stuff is at Two Plumbers Brewery + Arcade in St. Charles, MO. My vertical setup is still in there though running Aka to Blue, Akyrios, and SDOJ. That's not super close to you though, but just a thought if you're in the area.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by bobrocks95 »

caldwert wrote:I've got 2 setups outside St. Louis. One is getting updated at the moment though. So it'll be a bit before its back on location. My stuff is at Two Plumbers Brewery + Arcade in St. Charles, MO. My vertical setup is still in there though running Aka to Blue, Akyrios, and SDOJ. That's not super close to you though, but just a thought if you're in the area.
I appreciate any mention from any local operators/owners, that's always cool to see! I will probably have to scrub the thread myself but glad the platform has gotten any traction in the US at all.

EDIT: Went back to mid-2020 and it looks like this is all we've got so far for the US:

- Los Angeles, CA - Round 1 Puente Hills Mall (location test) viewtopic.php?p=1466775#p1466775
- St. Charles, MO - Two Plumbers Brewery + Arcade viewtopic.php?p=1451923#p1451923
- Ogden, UT - Arcade Galactic viewtopic.php?p=1433842#p1433842
- West Valley City/Salt Lake City, UT - Arcade Galactic 2nd location
- Maryland - A mall near StarCreator lol (no longer out due to abysmal sales) viewtopic.php?p=1452045#p1452045
- Austin, TX - Arcade UFO http://arcadeufo.com/

If they ended up coming to all Round 1 locations, that's potentially around 40 more places. I doubt they'd go all in on it to that degree, but it can only mean good things.
Last edited by bobrocks95 on Mon Nov 08, 2021 4:41 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by StarCreator »

Check the arcade database at Zenius-i-vanisher.com too; I made an early attempt to put in locations I knew. Off the top of my head, Arcade UFO in Austin, TX also has one now.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by bobrocks95 »

StarCreator wrote:Check the arcade database at Zenius-i-vanisher.com too; I made an early attempt to put in locations I knew. Off the top of my head, Arcade UFO in Austin, TX also has one now.
It looks like I have to check on the map by looking at each series/game available on ExA, right? For example checking DonPachi I do see Arcade UFO in Austin. I'll keep looking and see what comes up.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by MrJBRPG »

https://youtu.be/UzAgBugXbFs

New fighting game in action.

Expect more game footages from IAPPA 2021 this week.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by Nomax »

Where to play exA-Arcadia games around the world: http://exa.arcadebelgium.be/

Please contact me if you know more public locations hosting exA games.

Thanks in advance. ;-)
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by Nomax »

PixelDaddy wrote: I'm glad people are enjoying the new version of the game. Aside of a couple people on twitter I don't see anything about it. I have no idea what is going on with it. And thank you I hope you enjoy it!!! I don't have the exa hardware so I doubt I'll ever get to play it the way it was meant to be played. I'm not in a location that will ever have an arcade to go to any time soon haha!
Thank you for your work and dedication!

Arcade games are a different beast. It is difficult to get feedback other than by going to an arcade where the game is running and watching the players.

Where do you live?
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by MrJBRPG »

Shooter Fes ran and a summary report on new entries for Exa Arcadia.

https://arcadeheroes.com/2022/04/02/new ... ink-label/

I do want to give my few cents about arcade game business:

Definitely good news that Exa Arcadia has sold at least 500 units (500+ locations have Exa Arcadia globally), which some locations hold more than one Exa Arcadia unit. While that number sounds good on paper, the limited computer component supply issue still persists and will continue to attract some small indie early adopters that simply want a game released to an arcade platform without profit motive

At this rate, for charging $2000 for an Exa game cartridge to operators and 500 would be sold, that would make a gross revenue of $1 million, a very improbable goal.

To make $100k in gross revenue, takes far less copies compared to consumer games, but audience scale of operators and collectors can make it tricky

$2000 per unit, 50 units
$1000 per unit, 100 units
$500 per unit, 200 units

Spoiler indicated my incorrect conjecture. Exa Arcadia confirms they are making healthy profit from their business model of selling to arcade operators and some collectors. Very impressive number of at least 500 or more units sold since November 2019 in spite of computer component shortage.
Spoiler
Until the computer supply issue gets resolved, it will likely be a first few years of initial losses due to investment in manufacturing.
I am sure Exa Arcadia will find a way to give great faith in the brand.
Last edited by MrJBRPG on Thu Apr 07, 2022 2:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by MidnightWolf »

Just like any other arcade hardware, it will become obsolete as soon as it gets cracked, so only a matter of time. NESiCAxLive being the most recent victim.

Exa-Arcadia is running security based off Gemalto Sentinel, which is old 2013 technology using a physical encryption dongle... And that is the weakest link of the whole system. So it's honestly not the most complex thing to crack. THALES already patch and update the thing every 5 minutes as more hacks and exploits are found.

https://securelist.com/a-silver-bullet- ... ker/83661/

They were a lousy "security industry expert" 4 years ago, and nothing has changed since.

I'll eat my hat if Exa-Arcadia survives piracy more than 3 years.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by To Far Away Times »

I think EXA Arcadia's strongest aspect to it's copy protection might be "security through obscurity" more than anything else.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by Nomax »

I think there is also an awareness on the part of people in the warez arcade scene (I'm thinking of people who have the skills to crack systems, not people who beg on forums for free games). They realize that if they crack the exA, there won't be any new joystick games released in arcades (only redemptions and games running in dedicated cabinets). They saw what happened with the ALL.Net P-ras MULTI 3 which was deserted by the developers when the games started to be available on the forums before they were released in Japanese game centers. In this scene, even the people who crack the games are primarily arcade fans.

It is also understandable that the cracking of APM3 and NESiCAxLive2 was born out of the frustration of not being able to play games that were only available in Japan. This is not the case here, anyone can buy exA games anywhere in the world. It's expensive (and still, the games are cheaper than the new Type X² games when they were released), but it's accessible. The price will be less of an issue for individuals when the system will be more widespread and a second-hand market has developed.

The last point, and this one is particularly relevant to shmups, is that the ultimate versions of shmups that are released on exA. No other platform offers a 1 frame input delay for some titles. The Switch is praised for being the shmup console but it's more comfortable to play on exA (I'm thinking of Cotton RnR). Without the exA, no one will make the effort to optimize the games that much. Most shmups on consoles have 5 frames of input lag minimum.

I really don't think anyone has any interest in the exA being cracked. I think this is the main reason.
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Re: EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

Post by Sumez »

They realize that if they crack the exA, there won't be any new joystick games released in arcades
Do we need new joystick games released in arcades, if the closest cabinet is 1100km away, though?
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