Sega Choplifter - hostages bailing out when hit!

[Scott Stilphen]

This is something I just heard about.  Someone on KLOV posted photos of it:

 

https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=406928

 

When you're hit (and you're carrying hostages), keep pressing the rotate button to make some (up to 4) jump out and parachute to the ground!  Any hostages that parachute out won't be saved (even if you're over your base!) but they won't die.  I don't know if this feature is mentioned in the instructions on the machine but there's no mention of it in the manual or flyer.  Has anyone seen or heard of this before?

 

I also found a similar feature on the Sega Master System port!

 

http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/3313-

Edited June 28, 2017 by Scott Stilphen

[chas10e]

the angle button ? you mean the one that turns the chopper to drop bombs ?

 

I will need to try it out next time I  go to Funspot NH they got a sit down model 

[Scott Stilphen]

Rotate button.

 

I was at Funspot a few months ago.  Rather sad to see the sorry condition of some of the classic machines there.  I even wrote to Gary Vincent about it, but he never bothered to reply.

Edited June 28, 2017 by Scott Stilphen

[chas10e]

I was able to try it on a MAME cab at a private collection , was kinda cool to see a parachute pop open ... I still got laughed at though 

 

 

Rotate button.

 

I was at Funspot a few months ago.  Rather sad to see the sorry condition of some of the classic machines there.  I even wrote to Gary Vincent about it, but he never bothered to reply.

there are so many machines to try and keep up with there. all out for public play and abuse, they have a repair box with slips to fill out, that would be the best way to address issues.

 

I would used to find an employee and let them know by word of mouth, but would never get to be any official work order made. I think the repair slips will help but I hadn't read one yet ... will try and snag one and mebbe fill one out as well.

 

there are so many good working titles, they sometime to easily go unnoticed.

[Scott Stilphen]

So, as a Funspot customer, you have to fill out forms in order to get something repaired?!?  I've never heard of any arcade business like that in my life (and I've been an arcade tech for over 20 years) and you *never* want to leave it to customers to remind you to do your job.  You know what happens if your business adopts that attitude?  First you lose the income on the machines due to people not playing them (because most people won't bother wasting time telling someone about it), and then you lose the location to a competitor.  And Weirs Beach's 2 arcades are only 15 minutes away down the same road...

 

The Funspot floor with the classic games is like the 'forgotten floor'.  I saw at least 3 machines with pictures so dark it looked like they were off if not for the marquee lights.  I was there for an hour and left.  Just about everything I played had a problem (bad pictures, no sound, broken controls, won't take tokens, etc).  In my letter to Gary I offered to at least recap some monitor boards for him, but as I mentioned, he can't even bother to respond, so I'm not surprised the games are in the condition they're in.  Even if there's only one tech on duty, machines like those with bad pictures shouldn't even be on (unplug it, put an 'ooo' sign on it, and get back to it later).   The "World's Largest Arcade" might have been the place to be years ago, but not now.  In Funspot's case, size definitely doesn't matter.  I saw attendants on other floors, but the one with the classic games definitely had a vibe of 'nobody gives a s--t'.

 

And what do I see in this month's RePlay magazine?  An article about the ACAM (American Classic Arcade Museum) by Mike Stulir, ACAM's VP.  And who's the President of the ACAM?  None other than Gary Vincent.

Edited June 28, 2017 by Scott Stilphen