I finally own a PC-Engine....

[grimm]

Well, having had a lot of financial setbacks lately i have had to put my DUO-R from doujindance on hold.. But i really wanted to play at least SOME games ive been checking out lately, untill i can get a cd-rom based machine thats region modded with rgb too, which is what works best for me.

I therefor went to Ratuken and found myself a Core Grafx, a 6 button avenue controller, an A/V cable, and four games. Bomberman 94, Super Star Soldier, Nekketsu soccer (or whatever its called), and R-type 1. With shipping it ended up at just under 11000 yen. Perhaps not a steal, but not too bad either. Some of the games were loose.

I just had to share with someone, and let people i know and won a raffle from, that im at least finally getting some hardware now! Previously ive had a hori arcade stick, Nekketsu dodgeball and SF2. So in a week or so unless EMS gets really slow, ill finally be playing some PC-Engine.

[CrackTiger]

You already have a nice set of games.

You got everything for what I paid for single imports bitd, so I wouldn't worry about the price too much.

[esteban]

I just had to share with someone, and let people i know and won a raffle from, that im at least finally getting some hardware now!

It's about goddamn time, grimm.

Enjoy the goodness, comrade.

[Nando]

That will tide you over very nicely. Nice Obey!

[Ji-L87]

Congrats! : D
There should be enough goodies in the HuCard library to keep you occupied until you can get your paws on a CD-system add-on or system.

So in a week or so unless EMS gets really slow, ill finally be playing some PC-Engine.

I don't think you need to be worried mate, a week or so sounds about right for EMS. The only snag might be how you get it delivered once it arrives in Sweden. It seems "posten" usually make deliveries sometime around 9-ish, and if you're not there when they come with your package, they'll just leave a note in the mailbox telling you that you can pick it up from your local "företagscenter". If you're far away from one of those places, or don't have access to a car/friend with car, for me I've been able to call them up and ask that they ship it over to my local post office. That usually works.

Good luck anyhow!

[grimm]

Thanks for all the comments guys, im pretty excited to finally get to play PC-Engine, something ive never done but wanted to try for the past 10 years or so. That in japan so hugely popular system, which never gained ground outside japan. Will be interesting for sure.

Ji-L87, Ive always had to pick my EMS packages up from the nearest "Företagscenter". Its right next to Ica, who handles the regular post by the way. Im unemployed at the moment, so should they try to deliver to my door, im likely home anyway. I dont often use EMS, since you stand a high chance of getting slapped with import related fee's compared to regular airmail, but trying to convince japanese people who hardly speak english at all, to send via SAL or regular airmail, just wasnt worth it. Another 30% on this cost isnt too much, and something you should always count on anyway.

[Ji-L87]

Ji-L87, Ive always had to pick my EMS packages up from the nearest "Företagscenter". Its right next to Ica, who handles the regular post by the way. Im unemployed at the moment, so should they try to deliver to my door, im likely home anyway. I dont often use EMS, since you stand a high chance of getting slapped with import related fee's compared to regular airmail, but trying to convince japanese people who hardly speak english at all, to send via SAL or regular airmail, just wasnt worth it. Another 30% on this cost isnt too much, and something you should always count on anyway.

Then you can consider yourself lucky My nearest företagsenter isn't that far away, but there's no bus or train going even remotely nearby. Then they changed their opening hours and suddenly I couldn't pick it up when I drove around in the area doing work-related deliveries any more - that sucked big time.

Which store on rakuten did you buy from? If it was those surugaya-guys, they don't want to use anything other than EMS - I imagine it has something to do with insurance and less risk of things getting lost.

Edit:
Here's the EMS rates, which might be useful in the future and here's a good place to track EMS orders.

[grimm]

Yes, surugaya-something, they are by far the biggest game related store on there i noticed. Im ok with EMS. its just nice if people can ship via insured regular airmail instead, because its prioritized differently by posten. They dont have the time to handle all the regular airmail, but since most who ship valuable items use EMS (if not using outright more professional couriers), posten focuses on EMS for determing tax, custom and handling fees since that brings more money generally, and is less in volume..

[grimm]

Btw, i actually won a Sapphire bootleg disc and Bonk's Adventure here on the forums too, so i have two more games, but these i obviously cant play yet.. But that will change in time.

[soop]

Nice   remember these times, it's an exciting thing owning your first PC Engine

[Tatsujin]

Nice   remember these times, it's an exciting thing owning your first PC Engine

One of the best time in ones whole life!

[Arkhan Asylum]

You require Kung Fu.

[PunkCryborg]

The best time in ones whole life!

fixed that for you tats

[Tatsujin]

The best time in ones whole life!

fixed that for you tats

Fixing accredited.

[Kaijuboy]

Congratulations!  Not a bad set of games either.  Let the good times roll! 

[Frank_fjs]

Congrats, you will love it! Let us know when it's in your possession and what you think of it...

[grimm]

Its actually registered with customs in Stockholm already, so ill have it probably already on monday, tuesday at the latest.

[fraggore]

good times.

[roflmao]

Congrats, grimm!  Bomberman '94 is my favorite one in the series for the NEC consoles.  Awesome game.  R-Type and Super Star Soldier are also excellent games as long as you're prepared for a real challenge.  I love the music for both.

[grimm]

Yeah im not much into shooters myself, but from what ive read if you want any on the pc-engine, these are two of the top picks, and they were cheap so.. I also remember r-type from back in the day on other systems. It was a hard game indeed. I should have the stuff "soon", it says its on its way for delivery to me right now.

[grimm]

Ok, the bastards where lying. they claim it arrived at the post office at 7:40, and they failed to deliver it at 7:47... Oh well, i picked it up myself and im happy with it, except the 6 button avenue controller i purchased with it, doesnt work. It makes the player move up on the screen.. I did have my arcade stick though so i could try out the games, making sure they work, and yep, i suck badly at shoot'em ups just like i remembered.

I hope the shop will be easy to work with to sort my controller out one way or the other.. But i do have a question to guys (or girls) on here.. How fussy should the console be reading the cards? I have some connection issues, where i have to remove and push the cards back in until it eventually starts the game up. This happened to almost all the games. I did clean them, so i imagine its the consoles port thats perhaps a bit dirty.. Any good ideas on how to clean that? Its difficult to use something like a credit card and cloth given the slot design.. Will i need to take it apart to clean the port?

As for the games, SF2 is SF2 so not much to say there. Bomberman was interesting, and ill try that out more later. I had no idea what i was doing in the soccergame, but im guessing you progress naturally with just one team etc, and i had no idea what the options where that i can choose from before the match, and during mid-pause. The dodgeball game was easier to figure out, but dont really have a clue there either. And as i said, sucked at the shooters but im guessing ill pick it up as i play more.

My LCD actually picked it up fairly well using the composite cables, sure it doesnt look great, but it does look good enough from a distance. And one i get my DUO-R, the rgb mod will help clean the screen up further.

Overall im happy with it, and import-related fees came out less than i had expected, not bad. For now im stuck in Skyrim, but ill give the PC-E some more game time the coming week, and it feels good to finally own one. I wasnt surprised at the small size of it, but it did weigh more than i expected, that was a little surprising.

[roflmao]

I'm pretty sure if you have the Ave pad 6 in 6 button mode and you're trying to play a 2 button game, things will be wonky.  I really only use my Ave Pad 6 for SFII so am not positive, but it could just be switch to fix your controller issue.

[Keith Courage]

There should be a switch to change the controller from 6 button to 2 button mode. That should fix the problem. Usually labeled with an A and B.

[grimm]

Thank you guys, you were indeed correct. i made my first PCE newbie mistake and tried playing r-type in 6 button mode. The controller works just fine when set up correctly! Thanks again!

[TR0N]

Thank you guys, you were indeed correct. i made my first PCE newbie mistake and tried playing r-type in 6 button mode. The controller works just fine when set up correctly! Thanks again!

Yeah don't feel bad if you didn't know when i got a av6 controller years ago,i had to figure that out myself.The hori fighter joystick can be the same way as well.Since you must switch it's mode for two button games.Any ways have fun with the coregrafx.If you find a game on hucard that is to expensive then there's all ways flash cards such as the turbo everdrive.

[grimm]

Yeah, the hori stick was already set for 2 button mode, so had to switch it to 6 button for SF2. Didnt strike me to check that on the Avenue until i read the responses here.. I might look into a flash card later, but for now there's still a lot of cheap hu cards out there for me, i prefer the originals releases to roms.

[Frank_fjs]

Re your dirty card slot, try lightly coating the end of a HuCard in isopropyl and insert/remove it from the console a few times. Give it time to dry/evaporate before powering on.

[grimm]

Good idea, using a card itself. Didnt think of that.. Should i use the contact side, or the plastic side?

Bomberman just crashed on me, so i cleaned the cards again, and used the contact side with pure alcohol cleaner and the cards goes in a little easier now, maybe i cleaned out some gunk. We'll see how it performs in a while when i give it another shot.

[roflmao]

I've read that some people will cut a coffee filter to the size of a hucard, wrap it around the card, douse that in isopropyl alcohol, then give it the old in-out a few times to clean the contacts.  That might work a little better than just putting alcohol on the card itself since it gives the grime something to stick to.

[grimm]

True, but then ill have to steal a coffee filter from someone, i dont drink the vile stuff.

[Nando]

True, but then ill have to steal a coffee filter from someone, i dont drink the vile stuff.

office supplies? 

[esadajr]

Nice   remember these times, it's an exciting thing owning your first PC Engine

The most interesting console in the world.

[Bloody Wolf]

My bro has a cleaning kit for Turbografx. Works Killer!

[Nando]

Nice   remember these times, it's an exciting thing owning your first PC Engine

The most interesting console in the world.

[Ji-L87]

Nice   remember these times, it's an exciting thing owning your first PC Engine

The most interesting console in the world.

I don't always play video games,
but when I do, I play PC Engine

[grimm]

True, but then ill have to steal a coffee filter from someone, i dont drink the vile stuff.

office supplies? 

Sadly been unemployed since 2004, despite a will to work and several (4-5) job training courses with good qualifications since. So cant even steal from an employer.

[Drakon]

Sadly been unemployed since 2004, despite a will to work and several (4-5) job training courses with good qualifications since. So cant even steal from an employer.

Wow man sorry to hear that.  I "carried" my gf by providing her super cheap rent for the 6 months she was between jobs when she lost her position due to the recession.  She just couldn't find work during that time and had to use some connections to land her current job (that was my suggestion).  I lost my old job due to a delayed recession effect earlier this year too, but I managed to find another job about 2 months later.

[grimm]

Well, i have certain medical conditions and disabilities that makes it near impossible for me to work more than 50% and im already refused 50% sick pension from the state.. Im in court apealing that, and have been since fall of 2010 (and im pretty much limited to the industrial type sector for other reasons, just any job might be directly harmful to my health), and even with entitled support from the unemployment agency, where they pay the company which hires me 80% of my salory initially, no one wants my qualified skills, and they are numerous and varied.. Im really good at operating cranes and forklifts, and with a month or so of rehearsal, im a qualified cnc-operator too. Im starting to give up on actually ever finding work, at a rate i can manage.

Sweden used to be good at taking care of people with different disabilities, but now we are stigmatized by the current government, and swedish people as a whole, and its ugly to be sick or disabled. No one wants you in their company if they can help it. And the few exceptions to that are usually small companies who are very sensitive to changes in the market. i was THIS damn close to getting hired back in january during an internship. But that small company's biggest customer just said "we wont give you much work this year". That guy ended up having to lay off like 4 people. Obviously he couldnt hire me then, but he said he wouldve have had he not lost so much work. Stuff like that just makes it even harder to keep trying. When you finally found a place which wants you, and the rug is pulled out beneath their feet by outsiders..

In 4 months ive been in the current unemployment program 2 years, which means i enter Phase 3. that basically means all the entitlements i have today are removed. like not having to work 100% because of recognized disabilites (without losing unemployment insurance), getting specialized help from the unemployment agency (they help me find potential employers who can adapt to my conditions, so i actually _can_ work), and stuff like that, it all is taken away from me. I will be forced to go to a place which is not adapted to my disabilities or field of expertise, to work for free. That company will receive $750 per person and month they can put to work, to make up stuff for unemployed to do, which is "good for society, but would not be done otherwise" as its called. Usually means working at a thrift store or stuff like that. The $750 i pay through taxes. The company putting me to work has no obligations to hire me, nor supply work clothes or anything like that. So in essence, you have to pay a company to let you work for them, at no cost to them. Doing stuff there is no real demand for. Its wrong in every sense.

Basically i will have to work with whatever they tell me, at 100% (which is impossible for me) and the unemployment agency is no longer allowed to help me find anything else such as i described above. My disabilities no longer means shit, and all my entitlements are removed. The special branch is no longer allowed to find me employers who can adapt etc. This means im stuck whereever im forced to go, if i want any kind of money to survive, pay bills and food etc. If i say no i cant even get wellfare. Im growing desperate and its really looking bleek...

To add a little trivia.. An middleaged man, confined to bed because he was basically paralyzed from neck down, got his full time sick pension removed a while back. The reason? "He can work laying from his bed". The guy could barely move his neck!

[Nando]

Damn dude that's just shitty to hear and with all economies contracting it's not a fun place to be at. Not that it makes much difference to you but it does read that you are better covered than most people here in the U.S.

Around here the demand is for computer developers, the construction industry had a big crash too around here, even though overall we were not hit as bad with the global recession.

So how do you take care of basics like food and shelter and what not?

[Frank_fjs]

Sorry to hear about your troubles grimm, I hope things pick up for you.

On the plus side, at least you have a PC Engine now.

[grimm]

Thank you both. but i didnt mean to get too deep into my troubles, i just had to explain the job situation..

Ive been playing quite a bit of bomberman 94, its very addictive, but there is a weird high pitch background noise.. Is this something known? Its only when music is being played, the console is quiet other times, so i dont think its the console itself, or the av-cables. I havent heard any weirdness in my other games.

The noise is a bit annoying and takes a little away from playing bomberman..

@Nando, well i do get unemployment insurance for the time being. you call it benefits over in the us. I refuse to do that as its NOT a BENEFIT, its a RIGHT. its financed by income taxes.. I have it "ok", meaning i can take care of bills and necessities, and some left for hobbies but not much. If my fridge goes, im screwed as the insurance premium is high. but that is only because i have no family or children to emulate bottomless money pits, and i have a cheap rent. An unemployed person who is single with a child or two, and no one to help with the rent etc, has it worse. But if i was working full time, id be getting almost twice of what i get now, before taxes. So food bills and even hobbies is no huge problem, yet. but if something breaks down, like my car has, or my cats recent illness, i have to borrow money. The real problem comes when my entitlements disapear come new years, save some sort of miracle and they actually find some place within the year's end, but realistically i dont believe that, since its taken many many years to even find the guy i was with in january... I can not work 100%, and to get insurance after new years i must. So i could be completely without financial coverage in 4-5 months depending on if my illness grows worse, as a direct result from the increasing stress and depression. You dont get wellfare if you arnt at the "job market's disposal" as they call it over here. And since i am not allowed to be sick anymore (550 days, then they cut it unless you are basically dead, then you can apply for a new period, and even then they play hardball. cancer patients are told to work etc), i cant get sickleave insurance either. Im sorry to drag out my personal issues here, but Nando deserved an elaborated response.

[Drakon]

f#@k....remind me never to move to or even visit f#cking sweden.  Sounds like your best course of action is to try your best to get to another country that'll treat you right...which wouldn't be easy at all.

[Nando]

From what I understand we call them "benefits" as in benefiting if needed since we all pay our taxes to fund that, however it does seem that Sweden covers its citizens better and for far longer than we do here.  What surprises me, or maybe you did try this, is that here at least they do offer to pay for school if you want to re-train in something else, but that's always a gamble and there are limits and what nots.  Still you coverage as a whole seems far better, on paper anyway. You are of course living the reality. Best of luck man and if anything else fails, set up a bar/retro arcade. You swedes like to drink right?  ;)

Drakon: I don't think any other country can do better at this point of our economics time.

[grimm]

Ive retrained 6 times in the past 8 or 10 years... I dont like to drink, nor do i like running my own business..

[Drakon]

Hmm....move to a better area in sweden that has more jobs?

From what I understand we call them "benefits" as in benefiting if needed since we all pay our taxes to fund that, however it does seem that Sweden covers its citizens better and for far longer than we do here.  What surprises me, or maybe you did try this, is that here at least they do offer to pay for school if you want to re-train in something else, but that's always a gamble and there are limits and what nots.  Still you coverage as a whole seems far better, on paper anyway. You are of course living the reality. Best of luck man and if anything else fails, set up a bar/retro arcade. You swedes like to drink right?  ;)

Drakon: I don't think any other country can do better at this point of our economics time.

[grimm]

Not so easy for me to do, and its hard finding apartments in Sweden. They are even on a craze to convert apartments you rent, to apartments you actually have to buy and own. So its difficult to find something you can afford as single and unemployed.. Young people (age 19-25) often still live at home, because they cant find work, and can not afford their own place. They are often refused social wellfare because "your parents can pay for you", if they still live at home. Despite the fact you arnt legally obligated to support your kids after age 18 (or 19 if they are still in our equivalent to college). Cheap housing is becoming a real problem.

Work is hard to find all over sweden, i live in a medium size town and the situation isnt better in the large towns. I would also have to leave the small social network i do have, which is what keeps me going. Moving is not a realistic option for me, im not just being difficult or lazy.

[Drakon]

Hmm.  Is owning an apartment cheaper in the long run than renting it?

[grimm]

too many variables to give a conclusive answer.. if you take two apartments in the same location, same size and same demand for them, initially you will have to buy one of them. If you arnt rich, which most arent, you need a loan from the bank. so thats a montly payment aside from the monthly fee for the apartment itelf (unless you own the whole building which you generally dont). If you only rent it, you dont have a payment to the bank, but your rent is generally significantly higher.

when you rent, if your fridge or stove or shower etc breaks, that stuff will be repaired or replaced for you at no real cost. if you own, you pay all that yourself. its pretty logical really.

So you cant really say if its cheaper in the long run. If you dont need a loan, it MIGHT be, barring things breaking on you. what i can say is buying is not an option for many people since apartments are going up in price everywhere, and the building companies dont really build new places for working class people. Its all very expensive flats for those who can afford them. usually people moving from a house etc.

Its a big concern, especially for people less financially secure, and young adults. A concern being ignored by politicians and housing companies.

[Drakon]

Yeah affordable housing seems to be a problem unless you're in the middle of nowhere where there's no work.

[Nando]

Its a big concern, especially for people less financially secure, and young adults. A concern being ignored by politicians and housing companies.

Very much what is happening here in some states. We see young adults with degrees living with their parents, up to their neck in student loan debt.  Some others have started rooming together, so you may have a young couple owning a house and renting out a room to a friend(s) We are also seeing a decline in birth rates in some areas.

So pardon the ignorance but what areas of Swedens' economy are seeing any job growth?

Now on the apartment fee, are those like Home Owners association fees, on top of a mortgage? HOA's here is money given to the "building" for projects and repairs that benefit the whole building/set of condos.