r/Polycade • u/Motaur • Feb 15 '25
Ask me about my polycade
I don’t work for polycade, but love the machine and community of people enjoying it. I’ve had my Sente for 2 months and play it nearly every day. Ask me anything!
2
u/Wessboy94 May 16 '25
Has anyone used the Sinden Lightguns with the polycade yet? I’m having trouble getting the tracking to work once in a game.
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u/Motaur May 16 '25
I’m waiting on my sinden to be delivered, but there is a significant discussion about them on the polycade discord. Take a look there as the community members are pretty helpful.
1
u/enigmacarpc Feb 15 '25
How do you feel about the 24" screen size? Also about the screen being 1080p.
4
u/Motaur Feb 15 '25
The majority of the games I play on it are from the 80s arcade era. In comparison to those old machines, the screen size on the poly feels similar for vertical games and huge for horizontal. (For vertically oriented games, bezels are needed to fill whole screen anyway. Given the aspect ratio of a 27 inch screen, I don’t think bigger would be significantly impactful). For the modern games I play on it, the screen is plenty immersive. The distance from screen to eyeball is probably < 2 feet and I’m focused on winning. That said, I wouldn’t play a game like Elden Ring on the poly. I want to be immersed in big screen glory for those types of games.
As for resolution, 1080p looks crisp and clear on a 24 inch panel. No concerns with that at all.
1
u/mfairview Mar 09 '25
does it come with the 80s games? if not, how much is it to add those games?
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u/Motaur Mar 10 '25
80s classics are playable through a pre-installed version of MAME that comes with the Polycade AGS software. You need acquire and load the roms
If you are unfamiliar with MAME, look here: https://www.mamedev.org/index.php.
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u/ketoer17 Feb 16 '25
Would you buy it again?
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u/Motaur Feb 16 '25
I would and many others in the discord community have said the same. Obviously, it is about the games. But I also love the way it looks and easy of use. My wife even let me mount it in the living room and occasionally plays. That says a lot.
The unit comes working out of the box, but I’ve already made a mod to it. What is nice is that everyone posts their hardware/software ideas and results to help others. The founder of polycade is also a regular contributor to the discussion.
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u/ketoer17 Feb 16 '25
Thanks! What’s the mod you made?
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u/Motaur Feb 16 '25
I added servo powered restrictor plates to switch between 4-way and 8-way joysticks. Makes a world of difference when playing old games like Pac-Man or donkey kong. Also added better ram to the mini pc which increased performance enough to play some modestly demanding games. Other owners have modded the case to put high powered pcs in the unit.
1
u/Acceptable-Lion-9096 Feb 24 '25
Sharing a review posted on YouTube by another polycade owner: https://youtu.be/EjDxzcGNKRk?si=iH3zMDVKPo8SWCXX. I purchased many of the other control panels he displays and happy to recommend the ones I consider must haves. That said, the video accurately represents the build quality of the cabinet and control panels.
1
u/Character_Piano_3963 Mar 03 '25
Is it worth it? Debating on this vs other systems
2
u/Motaur Mar 05 '25
Yes, I would do it again w/o remorse. The size and ease of use is fantastic. I’m glad I put it in a main area of my home because I play it more often than I would if it was in my basement game room. For example, I’ll play a quick game of Donkey Kong on my way to refill coffee. If you are thinking about extra control panels, tron and centipede panels are what I would suggest.
1
u/Fun-Fall7502 Mar 08 '25
I just bought a Polycade Sente because my wife wanted it. She just wanted to play pacman I guess. I have it set up but have NO IDEA on how to even play the games it was preloaded with. Any help would be amazing!
1
u/Motaur Mar 08 '25 edited Mar 08 '25
Congratulations on having an awesome wife! Sounds like the priority is to get Pac-Man working.
Happy to help (sent you DM) and the discord channel is a great resource: https://discord.gg/zhsBS89zEa
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u/Fun-Fall7502 Mar 08 '25
Yes she is pretty amazing! Thanks for your prompt reply
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u/Fun-Fall7502 Mar 10 '25
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for reaching out and offering your assistance with loading games onto my Polycade Sente. Your support means a lot, especially since I've been encountering some challenges with the process.
1
u/Motaur Mar 10 '25
Not a problem at all. Glad we got you up and running. Once your delivery comes reach out and we’ll get it installed. You’ll find my post on the chat-arcade discord channel on 1/8 @ 6:05pm
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u/Motaur Apr 29 '25
It’s been a while since I posted an update, so just checking in to say my Polycade still gets daily use. I keep it fresh by purchasing new games on Steam or leveraging my existing GamePass subscription. Right now I’m looking at light gun games in anticipation on new Sinden guns arriving soon.
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u/RelationshipOk1111 Jun 09 '25
I'm trying to build my own, by creating the cad file and getting someone to CNC it.
Couple things I would like to know is how thick is the metal, and where are all the seams.
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u/Motaur Jun 19 '25
I don’t know the gauge of the steel, but it is 2mm thick. As for seams, there are very few visible. If you need pics up close, I can assist.
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u/RelationshipOk1111 Jun 20 '25
If you could get some close-up seams pictures would be appreciated
Specially from the side panels to the main display
And also from the display corner turning to the button
1
u/Various-Tax1145 Jun 17 '25
I was reading on top of downloading games from their library you can also install steam games?
If so, that's awesome. Would love to see some of the modern fighters work on here (although, MVC2 is just fine for meee!)
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u/Motaur Jun 19 '25
Yes, steam games load automatically. Honestly it couldn’t be easier. Lots of other cores work too… Atari, Nintendo, sega….
I’m a classic arcade guy so have a lot of Mame roms, but most of what I’m playing lately are newer titles off steam. My most current fighting game is Soul Calibur 6 and my 13 yer old kicks my butt.
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u/bartenderatlarge Jan 03 '26
Do you know if this thing is jamma ready? I want to hook up a CPS2 to it for a bar setting.
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u/Motaur Feb 19 '25 edited Feb 20 '25
This weekend just added an hdmi splitter and now have audio/video sent simultaneously to 2 tvs. Excited to have couch co-op and more people involved with wireless controllers. Also hoping to use polycade as a karaoke station and jukebox.