Super MagFest 2026 Jan 8-11

[keyInkRobo]

Dear Everyone,

I hope this message finds you well.

I’m reaching out to see who else is attending this year’s event. As a newcomer, I’m delighted to see many fellow enthusiasts eager for some Shmup action!

Currently, I’m exploring the New Players Guide on the Wiki, finishing ZeroRanger, and working towards my first traditional 1CC with DDP DFK.

Looking forward to connecting with all of you!

Best regards,

[majors]

I'll be at MAG, per usual. I'll have some cabs dedicated for STGs. I'm bringing mostly all PCE to the museum this year. Added some fun hardware to my console collection I'd like to show off. (Museum moved to LAN this year, we'll see how it works)

Didn't know if anyone wants to sound off with boards they want to bring but I get the feels that we may lose a few heads due to badges selling out and costs going up.

[keyInkRobo]

Thank you for bringing games! Do folks want to pick a day and time to meet up?

I won't be there the first day but am excited for the rest

[Gamer707b]

Where will this be? Is it shmup centric?

[majors]

Arcade shooters will be running throughout the event, they will be grouped together in the main arcade so should be easy to find in "candy land". Dunno about an official meet-up but I normally hang out in the museum since it's less noisy and can have a conversation there (and... IYKYK).

I plan to run: bug bitch, DOJ, Raiden Fighters, Darius Gaiden and a few N-G STGs. I know Starcreator and Save Point bring some exA's and Abi has a Touhou semi-dedicated cab. NeoMegaShock should have Progear running also.

Usual heads hopefully will pop in with some loaner PCBs so we can swap out titles over the weekend. But with the attendance cap and overall costs, I dunno who all will be able to make it this year.

Gamer707b -> This is for an unofficial STG gathering at MAGFest in National Harbor Maryland.

[keyInkRobo]

Awesome! If no specific time - sounds like you will be nearby those cabs! Looking forward to it!

[XtraSmiley]

Sadly I was slow this year on tickets and can't attend, but I'm still selling the Cave multi so if anyone is interested I can meet in person for a sale!

[Kiken]

Minzoku and I will be there. I'll bring the usual boards: Death Smiles, ESPGaluda 2, Mushi Futari 1.5, Gunbird 2, Strikers 1945 Part II, Zedblade, Prehistoric Isle 2, and I can bring my PGM with Ketsui and ESPGaluda if need be. In The Hunt is always an option as well.

[keyInkRobo]

Wonderful! Where might I find you? Near those machines?

[majors]

Minzoku and I will be there. I'll bring the usual boards: Death Smiles, ESPGaluda 2, Mushi Futari 1.5, Gunbird 2, Strikers 1945 Part II, Zedblade, Prehistoric Isle 2, and I can bring my PGM with Ketsui and ESPGaluda if need be. In The Hunt is always an option as well.

Awesome mang! I have the CV1000 multi, so Death, ESP2 and bug could stay safe at your house. Strikers or Bird 2 can easily go in the Raiden Fighters cab. I don't have the PGM Ketsui any more, but I'll have the PGM w/ DoDon we can exchange. We can also def put some of your MVS in the 4-slut to replace my poverty

Wonderful! Where might I find you? Near those machines?

I'm usually running around the event but can be found in the museum (where you can acually hold a conversation) with the PC Engine setups. Museum in now located in the corner of the LAN room btw. The arcade "roar" is real, and hard to talk to anyone in the expo hall. If you see my drunk ass opening up a tate candy cab to swap games, you can be assured that's me!

[Gamer707b]

Arcade shooters will be running throughout the event, they will be grouped together in the main arcade so should be easy to find in "candy land". Dunno about an official meet-up but I normally hang out in the museum since it's less noisy and can have a conversation there (and... IYKYK).

I plan to run: bug bitch, DOJ, Raiden Fighters, Darius Gaiden and a few N-G STGs. I know Starcreator and Save Point bring some exA's and Abi has a Touhou semi-dedicated cab. NeoMegaShock should have Progear running also.

Usual heads hopefully will pop in with some loaner PCBs so we can swap out titles over the weekend. But with the attendance cap and overall costs, I dunno who all will be able to make it this year.

Gamer707b -> This is for an unofficial STG gathering at MAGFest in National Harbor Maryland.

Thank you kindly for the info. Sounds like it will be a great time.

[XtraSmiley]

Don't forget that Majors now has the very rare Mushihime-Sama Ver 1.5 Matsuri Version, which everyone should give a try, it's awesome!

[zakk]

I'll be there. Will drag up the obligatory Garegga and Batrider

[ratikal]

My friends managed to get a Gaylord, so I'll be showing up as well. Looking forward to seeing you guys as I missed last year.

Maybe we can Nando's or BBQ?

[majors]

Will drag up the obligatory Garegga and Batrider

Sweet you and Rat can make it again. It's like Voltron assembling! We always love some Raizing action. I'll setup a 1p panel on a cab for some uninterrupted score chases.

[ubersaurus]

I'm attending again and will be bringing some items for the museum. Shooterwise I've got:

Atari 2600: Atlantis, Astroblast (with paddle)
Atari 5200: Centipede
Atari 800XL: River Raid
Atari 7800: Tiger Heli
ZX Spectrum: Several games lined up, including R-Type and Salamander
Famicom: Family BASIC with several type-in shooters, including Spirit of Satan, Metal Arms and Death Zone.

Other games of interest include Food Fight and Super Circus Atariage for the 7800, Stellar Track for the 2600, Star Raiders for the 800, Xari Arena for the 5200, Killer Bees for the Odyssey2, and a couple pong-style games from the early 70s. I'm giving a talk Friday about 70s Star Trek fan games and the one that really got a lot of traction, so I plan on getting relevant conversions set up on my machines around that panel.

[Zapperkhan]

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the arcade, it's a highlight of my Magfest every year.

[majors]

Glad to meet new faces and catch up with the old. Sorry I didn't spend much time in the arcade, but it's so dang loud. I appreciate Zakk and Kiken for bringing some special boards to run. We can try to be more organized with more PCB rotation next year if desired.

[ratikal]

The arcade was wicked loud this year. I don't know if I'm getting old but even those 32 dB earplugs couldn't help much. The games that were out were cool though, thanks to those that brought them. Sorry I barely got to see you all this year.

[XtraSmiley]

The arcade was wicked loud this year. I don't know if I'm getting old but even those 32 dB earplugs couldn't help much. The games that were out were cool though, thanks to those that brought them. Sorry I barely got to see you all this year.

I think you should leave the con feedback. Last year the music section was so freaking loud I couldn't enjoy it. It just seems to be getting louder every year and that's a problem. I'm hoping eventually enough people complain about it.

[ratikal]

The arcade was wicked loud this year. I don't know if I'm getting old but even those 32 dB earplugs couldn't help much. The games that were out were cool though, thanks to those that brought them. Sorry I barely got to see you all this year.

I think you should leave the con feedback. Last year the music section was so freaking loud I couldn't enjoy it. It just seems to be getting louder every year and that's a problem. I'm hoping eventually enough people complain about it.

Good idea. I submitted my feedback. I've seen cons do the arcade room well in terms of sound. I think it boils down to not having attract mode sound effects and just low volume. For rhythm games, you probably need enough volume but there's got to be some sort of standard. Or just use headphones. It's definitely an interesting problem to solve.

Normally, I'd be harping on people to ear plugs to deal with it but they really did nothing this year, lol. This shit was like pachinko parlor tier of loudness. For what it's worth, the LAN/Museum was bliss.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The arcade was wicked loud this year. I don't know if I'm getting old but even those 32 dB earplugs couldn't help much. The games that were out were cool though, thanks to those that brought them. Sorry I barely got to see you all this year.

I think you should leave the con feedback. Last year the music section was so freaking loud I couldn't enjoy it. It just seems to be getting louder every year and that's a problem. I'm hoping eventually enough people complain about it.

Good idea. I submitted my feedback. I've seen cons do the arcade room well in terms of sound. I think it boils down to not having attract mode sound effects and just low volume. For rhythm games, you probably need enough volume but there's got to be some sort of standard. Or just use headphones. It's definitely an interesting problem to solve.

Normally, I'd be harping on people to ear plugs to deal with it but they really did nothing this year, lol. This shit was like pachinko parlor tier of loudness. For what it's worth, the LAN/Museum was bliss.

Attend the once-a-year California Extreme classic arcade game & pinball show hosted at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, as an CAX attendee and you'll have to deal with the overall loudness of the entire huge and spacious "gameroom floor" as it is. In the past, fellow CAX shmuppers have expressed their complaints/disappointment about not being able to hear the various arcade stg titles out on "Free Play" for all to try out. It is what it is.

Sure, a typical candy cab is perfectly capable of outputting at a loud setting as it's already amplified as it is -- if it's a stereo capable candy cab setup, then it really comes alive if "cranked up." Hook up a pair of 100w passive-powered speakers to a stereo-capable jamma pcb setup, and it truly is quite something to behold/experience, indeed. The Taito G-Net arcade motherboard setup can easily handle a pair of 100w speakers easily without breaking a sweat if switched to "stereo output mode."

The early 1980s arcades were quite notorious for having overall loud volumes as well (with the overall thinking/notion of the 'louder the said arcade game cab is," the more maximum audio impact and possible potential income revenue coming in, quarter-wise/profit-wise) -- it's nothing new even in the modern-day era of FEC (Family Entertainment Centers), indie arcades and barcades nowadays in the USA.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[majors]

Normally, I'd be harping on people to ear plugs to deal with it but they really did nothing this year, lol. This shit was like pachinko parlor tier of loudness. For what it's worth, the LAN/Museum was bliss.

It doesn't help that the expo hall is all concrete and no sound dampening qualities. I try to get some volume on my cabs in the arcade just so players have a little they can hear, but the overall hall "roar" is too great. I do keep attract sound off on my games, to do my part.

One reason I like to chill in the Museum area...you can have a conversation there!

PC Engine Fan X -> Since I fail at img linking here, here is a shortcut to our PCE setup this year. I hope I did the obey crowd right.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vrcSCffREoZ41jMz8
I had a Briefcase, Core, Shuttle, SGX, Super CD-ROM2 and RX running. Also, for bonus, the XE-1aj with Operation Wolf going and XE-1pro for proper 4-way Ghouls 'n Ghost action.

[XtraSmiley]

To be honest, I have a better arcade selection and set up at home than at MAGFEST. What is the crazy awesome draw is Majors' incredible and rare console/computer collection and games. Also, it's even better that the area is more quiet so you can really check it out.

Thanks for bringing that stuff Majors!

[keyInkRobo]

I would like to acknowledge Majors for his exceptional hospitality and invaluable assistance throughout the e

vent. Whenever a technical issue arose, Major was readily available to provide support. His presence was consistently felt.

It was a pleasure meeting you, and I sincerely appreciate your dedicated service.

[majors]

Ah, such kind words! Glad to be of service. We'll catch you'all down the road at the next show.