Horrible News and a Update to the Controller Mod

Two days ago I was devastated to learn that my favorite Italian restaurant went out of business. I was heading there with a friend to get some dinner but when we got there the lights were off and everything inside was gone the only thing that was left was the main sign. I was bringing back a plate they gave me last time when I couldn't finish my pizza, so I guess I will have a reminder of the place anyway. I will miss the food and the staff, I wish I knew sooner so I could have found out if they were going to open somewhere else etc. here is one really big HA BOO!

While I was in the city I went to Tsutaya which used to be one of my favorite stores but they stopped selling retro games around the time I moved here, so I really don't go there that much these days. I had some time to kill though and I figured I would see if they had any Xbox 360 games I would be interested in. Turned out it was a great find, I picked up DoDonpachi Daioujou Extra Black Label ($43), Eschatos (original print with the sound track, $22) and Ketsui Extra ($27). All three games are vertical shoot-em-up games (space ships people) I really like these games but a lot of the ones released on the 360 were only released in Japan.

Other than that I finally finished working on the Xbox 360 controller/arcade stick mod. You may remember I had been delayed with this project due to the lack of tools and time but I finally sat down and finished working on it today.

First I had to open up my controller and remove the motors and unnecessary buttons.

I had to desolder and remove the trigger buttons so that I could desolder the analog joystick (which was taking up needed real-estate inside the Arcade Stick housing) and bumper buttons, then resolver the trigger mech back.

Then I had to cut the case so that I could fit everything in the Arcade Stick housing. I wanted to keep the back so that I could continue to use the battery pack the way it is now. 

I also had to take apart the joystick and get the contacts of the micro swiches ready with new, longer wires.

Next was getting all the contacts on the board ready for solder which meant I had to scrape of the black coating on the main buttons and well as figure out what points were used for the bumper buttons and the triggers. Then of course wire the whole thing up, there was a lot of testing to make sure the controller still worked and since I don't have a multi-meter I had to just turn on a game and then touch the wires together to make sure I was getting the correct responses.

After the controller board was all set I had to attach it to the buttons and joystick of the arcade stick. 

Here is the finished product (as of now, I may do a paint job or overlay later):

The old "select" button (the top button closest to the middle) is now the Xbox button, "back" and "start" are the "L3" and "R3" buttons at the bottom. I didn't end up hooking up the motor for the rumble feature, which was built into the joystick. I felt the extra shaking was a risk at the moment as the direction wires will need to be secured with some hot glue (which you guessed it, I don't have at the moment). I also didn't wire up the "connect" button used for syncing the controller as it was something that is so rarely used that I figured I could just do it from the inside of the case. Also the only real down side is that when I need to replace the batteries I will need to remove the bottom of the case (6 screws) to do so. So there are still some things that I could do but for now I am happy with it, it is all working and is actually really nice. I tested it out by playing some matches of Super Street Fighter IV online but matches were hard to come by as Super is now 2 updates old. I may want to upgrade to Ultra when it is released on physical media in August. 

Still Just Hanging Out

Really not much going on here, as you can probably tell by the lack of updates. I have been playing with the pen tablet some here and there. I have been drawing a little too. Here is a shark I did, first the sketch and then the finished version I did in illustrator.

The other day I was in Tenjin and stopped by the electronics store and to my surprise I saw this.

Tuns out that the Xbox One was releasing the next day here in Japan so they were getting ready for the non existent rush of consumers. I have no interest in a a Xbox One (is that not the dumbest name, I mean its their third console) I thought I would at some point end up with a PS4 but the WiiU has some really good looking games coming, however I don't know if I could get used to that control set up.

Of course a week couldn't go by with out picking up some games. First in Tenjin I found another copy of Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus ($12) the last one I had I sold for $75 so I'm hoping I can have similar results with this one. I also got Sokko Seitokai ($10) both games are for the Saturn.

Then Yesterday I stopped by my favorite recycle shop and found Adventures of Lolo on the Game Boy, R-Type II for the PC Engine and a Hori made A/V cable for the SFC/N64/GC which I needed for one of the N64 or SFC I bought.

Then I happened to look up and notice that a PC Engine game was in the audio CD section. It was in the second row which is usually covered by the first row and thats why I hadn't noticed it before. The title on the side was nothing I recognized but when I pulled it out there was a different game inside I noticed instantly that it was a copy of Ninja Gaiden. This game is pretty rare for the system and goes for about $50 it would be $100 if I had the case but still a nice find. When I was rang up the shop keeper only asked for $3 instead of the usual $1 per game so basically I got one game for free.

Also today I finally broke down and paid for a 1 year subscription to xbox live so I can play games with my friends back home. Which I was able to do this morning for the first time in months. It was nice talking with them again. Man time just goes by so fast.

Just Hanging Out

Not too much going on these last few days, I have mostly just been playing with the wacom tablet I bought. I still need to work on some techniques in Illustrator but thats coming along. I finally upgraded from CS3 to CS6 just yesterday, which was way overdue. I remember I had got CS3 when it came out back in 2007 and thought it was the best thing ever but for some reason I didn't upgrade to CS4 or CS5 and until now had not felt the need for CS6. So on top of learning the pen and how to really use it I also have to learn all the changes that happened in the last 3 updates to the software I am using. Its not really that bad and it has a lot of advantages to CS3, as would be expected. Getting the pen has reinvigorated my passion in drawing but I'm really rusty, I mean I haven't doodled or anything in months I did one painting since I have been here but other than that I have worked on absolutely nothing art related. Heres something I did to practice using the pen, it was done in CS3 before I upgraded.

It is suppose to be my niece with her current favorite phrase. I don't think I had the pressure settings on or correct when I made this so if I was to do it again with the correct settings the hair would look better. Over all though I'm happy with the way it came out. Again this was just suppose to be a quick practice to get used to the pen. 

Here is a skull I did today the basic sketch was found online then I went about putting it in digitally and coming up with a coloring scheme. I'm not thrilled with it but its okay and again this was just for practice so it doesn't really bother me that somethings are not that good. 

Also I wanted to wish my dad a Happy Fathers Day as well as congratulate both my parents on moving into their new home. Its crazy to think they are in a new place again, I'm convinced they just like packing. 

Still Busy at Work and a New Toy (and no that doesn't mean another game this time, though there are games)

So again its been a little while since the last post but I'm kind of doing this thing where I work a lot now. Its almost like I have a real job or something, to be fair I am now working as more of a operations manger doing everything from interviewing new teachers, building planing and layout, buying supplies, advertising and art design. Not to mention the website upkeep and tweaks. I go in once or twice a week a few hours before I am scheduled to teach to put in some office hours (which I get paid to do). I am also teaching more days now so yea I have been pretty busy. With all the designing and other things I have been doing in Illustrator I finally broke down and picked up a drawing tablet. It was kind of annoying though because the first day I went to pick it up I tried to get it at a store close to where I live but they only had empty boxes on display (and it wasn't a issue where you need to ask for it, I tried that). They told me that they only had the more expensive one in stock so I was out. Then the next day I went to a store close to work and this time not only did they not have the model I wanted but they only had one and it was a Pro Version that was around $330 so I was totally out on that. Finally I went to Bic Camera in Tenjin and was able to find it and at least it was slightly cheaper too, compensation for my trouble I suppose. Thats right world you owe me.

Anyway I still have to play with it more but I like it so far, its going to take some getting used to moving my hand and looking somewhere else while drawing. At the moment there is a disconnect between my brain, eyes and hands.

And wouldn't you know I bought some games too. Last week or somewhere around there I went to Book Eco and Hard Off again. While at Hard Off I saw a boxed Famicom Disk System which was only $10 but I ended up passing for two reasons. First I have no way of testing it as I don't have a Famicom and the pulleys inside tend to have issues and second it was kinda heavy and I wasn't sure if it was going to end up buying a lot at Book Eco.

At Book Eco there wasn't much but I picked up Klanoa Heroes ($6.78) in the box for the Game Boy Advance, Armored Troopers Votoms ($4.98) in the Box and Super Gaijin 2 ($1.98) for the Super Famicom. I also got Powerfull Pro Yakku 95 ($.98) on the Saturn as it is a fun baseball game and I don't even like baseball that much.

Then a few days later I was at my favorite recycle shop around here and found a few new Super Famicom games. I ended up buying more copies of Super Donkey Kong 2 and 3 as well as CosmoGang The Puzzle for the Super Famicom as well as Metroid II on the Game Boy. Each game was only $1 as usual.

A few days later I was in Tenjin and picked up another copy of Mother ($6) for the Famicom and a boxed copy of Bionic Commando ($8) for the Game Boy.

Then two days ago I got a game I ordered online as a kind of birthday gift in the mail. It is a game that just came out called Bullet Soul: Infinite Burst on the 360, you may remember a while back I picked up Bullet Soul. This is the same game with a slight update, one new character/ship and a whole new game mode. It basically makes the other game worthless to own so I may end up selling it now that I have this one.

Finally today I was in Tenjin so I went to Book Off and found the Super Famicom game Final Fantasy VI (which is Final Fantasy III in the US) in the box for $5 and Rockman World 3 on the Game Boy. I already have this game back in the states but it was just $1 so I grabbed that too.

Heading over to Mandarake I found another copy of Samurai Spirits for the Neo Geo AES and at $6 I couldn't pass it up. I sold the last one I had for $60 so that was an easy decision to make. I also finally pulled the trigger on Pulirula for the Saturn it goes for about $80~$110 so I should be able to get the $20 it cost me back with no problems.

Last but not least is a game I picked up for a friend back home, its a game I bought for myself a while back, Vampire Resurrection on the Xbox 360. I'm going to try to ship this out soon.

Started Work on a Project and also Im Now Old

So a few days ago I got a package from back home which had some of my tools. Most notably was my soldering iron so I was finally able to start work on the Xbox arcade stick. So if you remember I bought this old Playstation 1 Hori fighting stick awhile back but after removing the bottom I discovered that the circuit board was not screwed down but soldered directly to the buttons so I was stuck with out a soldering iron and have been in a holding pattern ever since. Another nice item in the package was a solder sucker which I have had for a long time but never had a chance to actually use it. At the time I got it I ended up canceling the project I was working on at the time. Anyway I was really surprised at how well it worked. Here you can see the holes around the contacts of the buttons.

Once all the solder was removed from the buttons the board just lifted right off and I was then able to remove the buttons. With the buttons off I could then remove the top plate as well.

I went to open the Xbox controller to gut it but unfortunately the security bit I had sent to me was too big so once again I'm in a holding pattern. I did take sometime though to salvage the wire from the original Playstation cord to use for the inside wiring and other projects down the line. Its perfect as it is actually pretty long and there are multiple colors. I then made a small dispenser out of a old candy box.

Also it is my birthday today, which means I am now 30 and getting old though I don't think I act my age. Yesterday I had work and went in early to work on some advertising concepts with my boss and here nephew. I hadn't eaten anything and was really hungry so when the time came for him to draw some concepts I said I was going to go get some food. My boss said "no, don't go yet." I told her I was really hungry and she insisted, begged me not to go till six which was 30 min away. I figured that her nephew was only available till that time and figure I could stick it out awhile longer but was slightly annoyed.

Then shortly after 6 she came back in the office with a bunch of pizzas and a cake! She had remembered it was my birthday and had planned it for me, thats why she didn't want me to go somewhere to eat. I was really surprised and kind of shocked as I was really not expecting anything at all and was oblivious to any signals that may have been dropped.

She also gave me a cup as a present as I always have something to drink when I get to work. She told me that her son, who is one of my students, picked it out. I thought I took a picture of it but apparently not and I left it at work where I can use it.

Then today at home I had another cake but this time it was an ice cream cake in the shape of Mike from Monsters Inc. I like the little Mike flag which I kept.

Other then that I didn't really do anything special just relaxed and geeked out all day. Projects and old school gameboy games (Wario Land for the win) just the way I like it.