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Laserdisc Arcade Emulator - DAPHNE

Posted by michael on from the drink-me dept.

Matt Ownby writes: "Ever wanted to play the original arcade version of Dragon's Lair on your PC? A new version of DAPHNE, a laserdisc arcade game emulator, has just been released under the GPL, featuring full mpeg2 support. A total of ten laserdisc arcade games are playable including Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, and Cliff Hanger. Screenshots are available :)" I don't know how many people have laserdisc players these days, but this is still neat.

23 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. Fell MPeg2 support...? by Jace+of+Fuse! · · Score: 2

    Hmm. I'm wondering how BIG those MPeg2 files are going to be.

    It probably won't be too long before the Romz Warez folks are spreading those around...

    Then of course I'm thinking there are probably some hardware rom images themselves which will probably need to be dumped (and in most cases, pirated...)

    I actually have a Video Laserdisc player... this would certainly be a lot of fun to play with but unless I yoink the disc out of an arcade cabinet, I doubt I'll be able to get ahold of a legal copy of the Laserdisc. Unless someone knows someplace you can purchase them?

    --

    "Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"

    Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
  2. Actually... by Jace+of+Fuse! · · Score: 2

    Actually right after I posted that I looked on EBay and found this.

    Apparently it's the PCB from a Dragon's Lair arcade cabinet, but it doesn't mention anything about the Laserdisc. Hmm...

    --

    "Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"

    Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
  3. equipment by Alien54 · · Score: 4, Informative
    Q: I'm confused. If I am using a laserdisc player, do I play DAPHNE with my computer monitor or do I use a TV or what?

    A: DAPHNE, when used with a laserdisc player, uses a TV (or VCR) for output. What you do is plug a laserdisc player into your computer, then you plug a TV into your laserdisc player. You control the game using your computer's joystick or keyboard, but you watch the action on your TV. The arcade game worked like this too; it didn't do any of its own graphics, it relied exclusively on the laserdisc player for the video.

    ahhhh

    so i'll need an all in wonder card or something to have everything in my PC, along with the laser disc and laser disc player

    --
    "It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
    1. Re:equipment by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 2

      Yeah, if you dig around in Windows you can eventually find a device designed to control LaserDisc players.

      This is legacy from the old days when a "multimedia" computer meant one that was hooked up to play synchronized audio/video from external devices. Even Apple IIs managed to serve in this roll. (The only time I saw this in use was some console that they got in my high school that allowed one to select and view different college commercials from LD.)

      --
      Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
    2. Re:equipment by Kanasta · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No. You plug your a TV into your laserdisc player, not your PC. You should have a keyboard for your computer already. All you need is an LD player. (and a TV)

  4. There was one of these for dos by Lumpy · · Score: 2

    a Long time ago (90's) I had a dos program that would control a pioneer commercial Laserdisc player (the one in the games cabinet) and allow you to play the game (spaceace and dragons lair only) on your TV. My only problem was where did people come up with the origional game Laserdiscs? it's not like mediaplay has them in a clearance bin.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  5. Hurray! But have you read the FAQs in the docs? by AtariDatacenter · · Score: 2

    I'm glad they made this it isn't a terribly difficult hack, but it certainly requires a lot of detail and time. Perfect for a Laserhead! Thanks.

    But if you read the FAQ pages for the project, you see the other unfortunate side of Laserheads. They REALLY REALLY hate anyone who isn't near their level of knowledge on laserdisc stuff.

    Don't expect support! ;)

    1. Re:Hurray! But have you read the FAQs in the docs? by linuxpng · · Score: 2

      Have you read the mplayer mailing list? Hell even the homepage. I understand how 100 of the same questions in the mail can get irritating but it has to be expected on a public project. While the superficial point of public created software is to create software that is useful, I'd like to think it's more about sharing information and community spirit. Alot of people do RTFM, but if they felt comfortable (or got what they needed from the manual) they wouldn't have taken the time to post to a mailing list, or ask the developer a question.

    2. Re:Hurray! But have you read the FAQs in the docs? by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 2
      1) Why do the concerns of corporations concern anybody? The world is already set up to cater to their every whim.

      2) If the corporation that I work for had a similar policy (RTFM before calling support), life would be better for both company *and* customer.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  6. Hehe! That's the Dragon's Lair POWER SUPPLY! by AtariDatacenter · · Score: 2

    I just wanted to point out that the PCB you pointed out on eBay doesn't contain any of the game logic. It is the power supply for the unit. Probably one of those things an arcade person could have guessed (since putting a transformer next to a PCB is really strange), but would probably take dragon's lair specific information to know.

    Shame on the seller for such a generic description. Look! I have the dragon's lair PCB!!

  7. Only found one at ebay. by A+Commentor · · Score: 2

    I only saw one Laser Disc on EBay's site ;-)

    --

    Looking for any old 8-bit Heathkit/Zenith software/hardware - http://heathkit.garlanger.com

  8. Eighties Laserdisc Games? by carlhirsch · · Score: 2

    I'm remembering some laserdisc game that I used to play where you piloted an F14 and took out planes/tanks as you flew along.

    It was incredibly expensive and a sitdown machine. I was absolutely addicted.

    Was it... "Lock-On" or something like that? Too bad it's not in the list. It must be a different format than Dragon's Lair/Space Ace since there was more real-time control of the jet rather than just actions taken at certain story tree points.

    --
    . We've got computers, we're tapping phone lines, you know that ain't allowed - Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime"
    1. Re:Eighties Laserdisc Games? by JabberWokky · · Score: 2
      It was incredibly expensive and a sitdown machine. I was absolutely addicted.

      Same here... I grew up on an island, and that was one of three arcade games that stuck around for any length of time. I've been trying to remember the name for awhile - self-professed "arcade experts" that I've run into are stumped by it. Damn cool game, especially since you could go home, flip though Jane's "All the World's Aircraft" and identify everything in the game.

      --
      Evan

      --
      "$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
    2. Re:Eighties Laserdisc Games? by Howie · · Score: 2

      Firefox? Based on the crappy movie of the same name. IIRC the overlaid graphics for the HUD and so on were 1-bit really cruddy looking things. It had the same cool yoke that Star Wars had.

      --
      "don't fall into the fallacy of believing that Perl can solve social problems. Maybe Perl 6 can, but that's a ways off"
  9. Speaking of non-MAME emulation... by Reality+Master+101 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Are the any movements afoot to emulate non-CPU games? I've was looking to download Death Race (1975 game that had you and a partner try to run down as many pedestrians as possible -- whoever mowed down the most, won), and apparently it was made of all discrete components without a CPU. There are apparently a number of machines like that.

    I also wonder if it even makes sense to emulate something like that (do you import the schematic?) in a general sort of way, or would you have to write a simulator for each unit.

    --
    Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
  10. It's called M.A.C.H. 3 by dmaxwell · · Score: 2

    MAME even emulates the portions that drew graphics on top of the laserdisc video. I don't know if they have implemented the control system for the Laserdisc player though. In any case, you're right. A DVD player with fast remote control response is sufficient to play Dragon's Lair or Space Ace. It would take a little more for M.A.C.H. 3.

  11. Big Blue Guy. by dmaxwell · · Score: 2

    That's the Evil Commander Borf!

    ...with the Infanto Ray!!

  12. Re:Yes by Pope · · Score: 2

    LD players (well, mine anyway :) play audio CD-Rs just fine. However, just remember there's almost NEVER anything in there that will decode MPEG 1 or 2, much less data CD-Rs.

    --
    It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
  13. Death Race... by GeekLife.com · · Score: 2

    Actually, in the video game you run down gremlins. It's only in the movie that you run down humans.

    Possibly the earliest example of game-makers fearing lawsuits.

  14. Does anyone remember this dragons lair scene? by Sabalon · · Score: 2

    I seem to remember that one of the scenes in Dragons Lair was some flaming ropes or chains that you had to swing across a pit of fire with.

    Does anyone else remember this scene?

    I have the PC-CDROM version, which states that it has all of the original arcade game, however lacking this scene, that would look to be a lie.

    DVD version have that scene?

    1. Re:Does anyone remember this dragons lair scene? by Sabalon · · Score: 2

      I know the order varies, but I though that you had to go through each scene twice - once in mirror image, before you got to the dragon.

      And I've played the cd-rom version a bunch of times, so you'd think in one of those times I'd have seen it.

      IIRC, the arcade version usually had that scene as the second scene right after you crossed the bridge.

    2. Re:Does anyone remember this dragons lair scene? by Chester+K · · Score: 2

      I seem to remember that one of the scenes in Dragons Lair was some flaming ropes or chains that you had to swing across a pit of fire with.

      If I'm not mistaken, that was the intro to the Dragon's Lair television cartoon. I don't recall it being part of the game, but I could very well be wrong.

      --

      NO CARRIER
  15. Let me know when Cliff Hanger is available by Bryan+Ischo · · Score: 2

    Other posts have indicated that Cliff Hanger is not available yet.

    When I was 10 I was addicted to that game. It rocked. I still have a little journal entry I made in a short-lived journal I started at that time, which has the first 30 or so moves in it ...

    I could never beat the Ninjas though. I suppose that now I'll find the whole thing is a piece of cake, like all video games that I thought were so difficult when I was young and have since revisited to beat my old high score of 15 years ago on the very first try ...