Hi all!

Dag Iedereen,

mijn naam is Laurens en ik werk nu al een 2tal jaar in Reflex Oostende... Samen met mijn vader proberen wij elke passant een leuke ervaring te geven in ons lunapark. We doen ook ons best om elk spel te laten werken zoals het hoort. Dit is niet altijd zo makkelijk. Mocht je toch iets opmerken ivm werking van de spelen, mag je mij dit ook altijd mailen! Hoe sneller ik het weet, hoe sneller het probleem dan kan aangepakt worden.

Sindsdien is er al heel wat veranderd. Vroeger hadden we veel meer arcades maar de meeste zijn een aantal jaren geleden verkocht omdat de vroegere technieker moeilijkheden had om ze te repareren. Dit vind ik ONGELOOFLIJK spijtig aangezien ik toch een kwart van die arcades had willen houden..

De meeste spellen zijn ongeveer 15jaar oud en dit moest veranderen. Daarom zijn er de afgelopen jaren een aantal bij gekomen zoals
- blazing angels
- hummer
- sinds vorige week: GRID


Het is de dag van vandaag niet makkelijk nog goede spellen te vinden. aangezien de vraag niet groot is door de weinige speelhallen maken ze er zo veel niet meer.. Elk jaar ga ik naar de EAG show om daar de laatste nieuwe te testen.
Dit jaar was het de GRID die uitblonk. Ongelooflijke racer met ongelooflijke graphics en sounds...

Maar niet enkel de nieuwste spellen zijn belangrijk, ook de oudere. daarom heb ik de 2 flippers (The addams family & The simpsons pinball party) opgekuist/gefixt en terug in de zaal gezet. Dit is nostalgie die niet zomaar mag verdwijnen!

Ook ben ik nog met wat projectjes bezig om zo een lunapark te krijgen waar voor ieder wat is:
- Naomi cabinet omvormen naar multigame met 1071 in 1 games (neogeos / pacmans / streetfighers/ tetris / metal slug etc etc etc) hier wacht ik nog altijd op onderdelen
- ik zoek nog een Mortal Kombat om hier een fighter-multigame van te maken (maar ik heb nog altijd geen kast gevonden)
- alle houdige CRT schermen worden in de toekomst omgevormd naar LCD
- ik wil ook nog een paar sportspelletjes zoals voetbal / virtua tennis etc... (dit is voor later)

Verder heb je nog de Redemption games (met ticketjes) Maar hier hechten jullie niet veel belang aan denk ik

Indien iemand nog vragen had / suggesties / tips / klachten, dan kan u mij altijd contacteren op info@reflex.be

Wij staan open voor alles, ook slechte commentaar!

U kan ons ook volgen op facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001829497335

Of op onze website kan u ook een aantal dingen bekijken zoals foto's, info etc:
www.reflex.be

(Gewoon voor de duidelijkheid: Er bestaat nog een Reflex lunapark in Middelkerke, maar hier hebben wij niets mee te maken. Dit zijn 2 totaal verschillende lunaparken met verschillende uitbaters. Ik zeg dit enkel maar omdat ik mails ontvangen heb ivm commentaar over dit lunapark. Maar hier hebben wij niets mee te maken.)

Laurens




Hi all,

my name is Laurens and I work @ Lunapark Reflex Oostende.
Together with my father we try to give you a good time when visiting our Arcade hall!

This is now the second year I work @ reflex and already a lot has been changed.
Because there aren't lots of arcade halls left in Belgium (real arcade halls like it should be) I try to make the best of Reflex.

First of all I wanted the Pinballs back, so I fixed the old ones (The addams family & The simpsons pinball party). Also a lot of the arcade games are gone. That's because the last technician had a lot of trouble fixing them. So my father didn't like the arcades any more because they were most of the time not working. So a few years back he sold most of them. Too bad because today I would've kept most of them for some projects...
I also bought a Killer Instinct with a switch adapter so you can play Ki & Ki2. I'm having lots of troubles with the switch recently. But that's normal with these old games... I still need to "learn to know" the game and understand these switchers because this is all new to me..

Also I wanted some newer games because most of them are 15years old.. So the past 2 years we bought Blazing Angels/HUMMER and recently Sega GRID(amazing game, this was the ONLY game worth buying at the EAG show in London).

The problem with "buying new games" is that there isn't alot of demand because of the lack of arcade halls these days. So they don't make as many anymore..

Things to come:
- all CRT screens will be changed to LCDs
- currently I'm searching for a Mortal Kombat Cabinet so I can change it into a fighting - multigame
- I'm working on an old Naomi universal cabinet (upright) who has the Family Game List 1071 in one.(pacmans / street fighters / neo geos / tetris / Metal slugs etc etc) => still waiting for some parts
- I also want some sport games (football / tennis)

That's about it I guess. If you have any questions / suggestions / complaints,
PLEASE don't hesitate to contact me @ info@reflex.be

Oh you can also folow us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001829497335

Also, most people compare us with Reflex Middelkerke but they have nothing to do with us.. I know it's confusing but we 2 different arcade halls with different owners

Thanks

Laurens

bienvenu

Welcome Laurens!

Happy to see that the future of Reflex is in good hands!

Reflex is one of the last few big arcades left in Belgium and is the obligatory stop when visiting Oostende.
I miss the 8-player Daytona USA setup but that game was getting very old and is difficultly maintainable.

Indeed GRID is a very interesting game, it's graphically stunning and requires more skills to master than most other recent arcade racers. On one hand, this may scares some players away but on the other hand, it will please a new range of players used to console racing games. Of course, nothing beats the arcade experience so they'll keep coming back. I really hope that you'll quickly get a ROI on this game. It deserves it.

If you're looking for sport games, Virtua Tennis 3 is not very expensive these days... (even in the sleek 16/9 Lindbergh cabinet) but Virtua Tennis 4 is just around the corner and will support 4 players on 1 machine. It will be available at EAG 2012. I don't know if it will be good because the gameplay is a bit different than the previous games.

I don't know for you but where I worked we had a good income on Ghost Squad thanks to the IC card system. It really causes players to come back again and again. I wish there would be more games with savegame card operated in Belgium... like Initial D 4 or Mario Kart Arcade GP 2... IMHO, it's a missed opportunity. In this genre I also miss Sportland's Derby Owners Club... It's a hell of a game and I still have my horse card (a female named Sakura Flower). It was 75 000 € on release but now you can find used DOC machines on ebay as low as 2000 € - 5000 €. I've seen people spending 50€ in one session on this game. Once players are hooked.

I wish you a lot of success for the future!

PS: Be sure to check this forum often, all the new arcade releases are discussed in the game section: http://arcadebelgium.forumactif.com/f11-games

Thanks for the posts!

About the Daytona: I still have 2 x twin daytona's (so 4 players) at home but they need to get a good fixup. Daytona is one of the best retro racers and is destined to return to Reflex. I will make sure of that, but it needs quite some work... So I'm guessing next year..

Because of the Playstation 3 / xbox 360 etc, it was necessary to have an arcade game with equal graphics so that's why I chose the GRID...

We still own a Ghost Squad and yes, this is one of the favorites. But it's been months / years that anyone asked to buy a card??

I would like to get a Naomi deluxe back @ reflex. Too bad my father sold that one years ago... (we had 2 of them )

Naomi Deluxe with LCD conversion and maybe a multigame would be awesome!

Thx

reflex wrote:

About the Daytona: I still have 2 x twin daytona's (so 4 players) at home but they need to get a good fixup. Daytona is one of the best retro racers and is destined to return to Reflex. I will make sure of that, but it needs quite some work... So I'm guessing next year..

Good news!

To me, Daytona is THE all time classic racer! Still as fun as back in the days. Too bad its hardware is failing a lot these days... But 17 years is quite old.

Sega recently re-released Daytona USA as Sega Racing Classic but it's a failure; expensive and doesn't play like the original game.

reflex wrote:

Because of the Playstation 3 / xbox 360 etc, it was necessary to have an arcade game with equal graphics so that's why I chose the GRID...

Yes GRID and Sega Rally 3 are the best looking arcade racing games available in Europe. Namco's Dead Heat is a step below but still good looking. On the other hand, Raw Thrills driving games are ugly.

Regarding lightgun games, the ones sporting the best graphics are Namco's Dead Storm Pirates and Razing Storm. Terminator Salvation is good looking too. All latest Sega shooters are ugly.

But there are exception, some games are profitable despite not being the most beautiful, Time Crisis 4 for example.

I also like Tank Tank Tank!. Graphics are simple but effective. I love this game but I don't know how it would perform...

In fact, the number of polygons is not the most important but "no aliasing" is a must! Aliasing is pain for the eyes, but it seems that Sega doesn't care for most of their games...

reflex wrote:

We still own a Ghost Squad and yes, this is one of the favorites. But it's been months / years that anyone asked to buy a card??

We had a poster advertising the card sticked to the game machine. Maybe it's because most of your audience are tourists that don't buy a card because they know they'll be gone is a few days... Or more likely, people just don't pay attention.

reflex wrote:

I would like to get a Naomi deluxe back @ reflex. Too bad my father sold that one years ago... (we had 2 of them )

Oh yes, I remember them, games were Tekken 5 and Virtua Tennis 2 as far as I remember... Both great titles.
Problem is the PTV screen gets burn marks quite quickly...

reflex wrote:

Naomi Deluxe with LCD conversion and maybe a multigame would be awesome!

LCD conversion opens the way to HD games such as Virtua Tennis 3 and Taito Type X² fighters: The King of Fighters XIII, BlazBlue Continuum Shift II, Super Street Fighter IV AE (well, not this one, it's too expensive ), ...

reflex wrote:

We still own a Ghost Squad and yes, this is one of the favorites. But it's been months / years that anyone asked to buy a card??

You got a pm

Nomax wrote:

Sega recently re-released Daytona USA as Sega Racing Classic but it's a failure; expensive and doesn't play like the original game.

indeed! I wonder why they did made a newer version. They only added a bass shaker and an LCD screen..

Nomax wrote:

Yes GRID and Sega Rally 3 are the best looking arcade racing games available in Europe. Namco's Dead Heat is a step below but still good looking. On the other hand, Raw Thrills driving games are ugly.

Yes but GRID was much more interesting... we have the old Sega rally 2 championship deluxe WITH movement. The new sega rally 3 doesn't even move??? I like the SRC 2 more than the new one...

Nomax wrote:

Regarding lightgun games, the ones sporting the best graphics are Namco's Dead Storm Pirates and Razing Storm. Terminator Salvation is good looking too. All latest Sega shooters are ugly.

Yeah Deadstorm Pirates deluxe was awesome! Really nicely done, but very expensive...
Terminator Salvation, I wasn't convinced about... but Really nice graphics!

Nomax wrote:

I also like Tank Tank Tank!. Graphics are simple but effective. I love this game but I don't know how it would perform...

I really LOVED Tanktanktank! But it looked so cheap?

Nomax wrote:

Problem is the PTV screen gets burn marks quite quickly...

True, that's why I want to change all of them to LCD.. THe only problem are the shooters, because the gunsensors are perfectly aligned to the size of the original screen. And it will be hard to find a screen of that size, but i'll make it work...

reflex wrote:

Nomax wrote:

Sega recently re-released Daytona USA as Sega Racing Classic but it's a failure; expensive and doesn't play like the original game.

indeed! I wonder why they did made a newer version. They only added a bass shaker and an LCD screen..

I think they made it because Daytona USA is still a popular earner, but it's really old hardware and it becomes harder and harder to come across one that still works. I think they also used the game to test their new Chinese development team. But as gameplay feels different than the original version (hard to explain), it's a bad move IMHO (especially at that price). They should develop a Daytona USA 3 (they don't own the license anymore but it could bear another name). I mean a racer as fast and furious as the original but with upgraded graphics and new tracks. Daytona USA 2001 on Dreamcast got some nice courses... I don't understand why they didn't released that game in the arcades on Atomiswave, instead of Faster than Speed and Maximum Speed.

reflex wrote:

Yes but GRID was much more interesting... we have the old Sega rally 2 championship deluxe WITH movement. The new sega rally 3 doesn't even move??? I like the SRC 2 more than the new one...

I played the motion deluxe version of Sega Rally 3 at ATEI 2009. It really enhances the game. Strangely, that version doesn't seem to be on sale anymore...

Sega Rally 3 plays more like a console game, Sega Rally 2 is more brutal. I love it too. I agree with you, GRID brings freshness to the arcade racing genre...

reflex wrote:

I really LOVED Tanktanktank! But it looked so cheap?

Yes but it's fun as hell, especially 4 player games. Indeed it's graphics are simple and colourful but it's not ugly. To me, as long as there's no aliasing. It looks better than Time Crisis 4 to me... (not the same genre of course).

The new game modes and the shock seat are nice improvements over Tokyo Wars. Plus it's different than the usual shooting/racing games. I think Belgian arcades nowadays lack variety. I would love to see fun games like Tank! Tank! Tank!, Hopping Road, Gaia Attack 4, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, .... I'm sure it would attract a new audience. But I understand that as an operator, you think twice before buying and choose to invest wisely in the most popular genres...

reflex wrote:

Nomax wrote:

Problem is the PTV screen gets burn marks quite quickly...

True, that's why I want to change all of them to LCD.. THe only problem are the shooters, because the gunsensors are perfectly aligned to the size of the original screen. And it will be hard to find a screen of that size, but i'll make it work...

I heard that too, but Sega sells 16/9 LCD replacements for shooters too and it seems that you keep your bezel. If it's true, it's rather confusing...

I heard that some guys bought 50" 4/3 sized Plasma displays in Germany (Plasma is perfect because it supports all kinds of vertical frequencies naturally and because of low latency). But I don't seem to find where. I contacted Panasonic but they advise me to buy their latest standard 16/9 TV (aaah salesmen and their pre-made speeches... They don't even listen to you! ).

It's a shame that Namco still hasn't got any LCD replacements for the TC.. They say they're working on it. Too bad because the game is almost 10 years old..

For us it's easier to buy a conversion kit from the makers of the game. because it takes some time to built your own replacement..

Indeed a plasma is a good replacement because there are fiew that support such low resolutions...


It would be a lot easier if we could "borrow" games like TankTANKTANK! & Mario Kart, so we could try them out. but sadly that's not the case...

I'm curious what the EAG exhibition will have in store!!

Looking forward to it!

reflex wrote:

but sadly that's not the case...