R-TYPE Themed Bartop - "R-CADE" *DONE (for the most part)*

[kyoke]

First post and a cabinet announcement! Hi folks, brand-new to the site and am way addicted.

I've been working on the artwork for my bartop cab since August and have finally gotten around to posting here. I've been pretty hesitant actually because there's so much good work on here that I'm almost embarassed.  

As you can see from the images below, I'm making an R-TYPE Themed bartop cabinet, based on an existing cabinet design (WeeCade). I chose the WeeCade because it was one of the nicest, smallest bartop designs I've seen, and I don't feel like making my own cabinet design until I've built one from a tried-and-true plan first.

The Marquee and Side Panel artwork came from original R-TYPE flyer art that I vectorized in Illustrator. The R-CADE title was something I put together using Illustrator and Photoshop, based on the original on-screen "R-TYPE" title. Actually, the vectorization process for the Side Panel is what took the longest amount of time, as it required a ridiculous amount of gradient meshing to get right. Overall, quite fun and a great learning experience.

Looking for some feedback and design advice if anyone has time to give it!

I'm highly critical of myself and think the Marquee might be too noisy (I originally wanted to do JUST the starry background and the R-CADE Title, but the ship is pretty necessary to the theme and doesn't really fit anywhere else). I'm pretty happy with the Side Panel, but do realize it probably needs some more touch-ups before final printing, and I like the Control Panel design (kind of like a spaceship control panel, I guess).

I don't have a lot of tools ('cept for a hand sander and a drill) so I had the side panels laser cut by Laser Alliance in Milpitas, CA. It was quite affordable and painless ($20 a panel). I have since sanded them until they're glossy smooth and I can see my reflection in 'em. I'm going for the piano black, lacquered look. I'll put a pic of those up in a future post.

I went for a 6-button layout, which looks a little crammed for two players, but I have to play those fighters and I think it'll work out okay. I purchased and bought two U360 joysticks and can't wait to get 'em installed.

I'm very much enjoying the synergy and support on this forum, it has made the experience very enjoyable. Thanks all!

Update: I played with the colors of the Side Panel artwork in Photoshop to bring out details, shadows, and highlights. The bright light of the eye is much more obvious now and I think the whole thing stands out more. Bring on the comments if you've got 'em folks!



Another Update: I checked back on the marquee and found that it was too tall, so I changed it around a bit. I removed the "speedlines" because they looked way too noisy to me. The grey bars at the top and bottom of the image indicate the marquee retainer. The bottom marquee is the most recent update, with the ship being a lot bigger.

Before:



After:

[Epyx]

An awesome game and theme to build a bartop around. I don't mind the marquee at all. The only thing I would consider is that your marquee retainer will likely block some of the lower and upper portions of your artwork. If you already know what type of retainer size you are going with, adjust the artwork of the ship and tentacle arm so they are not obscured too much.

Gl!

[Ginsu Victim]

The only thing I would consider is that your marquee retainer will likely block some of the lower and upper portions of your artwork. If you already know what type of retainer size you are going with, adjust the artwork of the ship and tentacle arm so they are not obscured too much.

+1

Definitely want to adjust that art to make room for the retainers.

[BurgerKingDiamond]

YES! Awesome theme. I'm bookmarking this for sure. That side panel definitely looks like it took a lot of work. My one suggestion would be to possibly see if you can make the artwork look less "flat". I don't know if that's the right way to put it. Maybe more blurry around the edges... What I mean is like the difference between playing a game on a LED monitor and playing on a CRT. The CRT makes it look more pixelated I guess, which is more authentic to an old game like this. I realize you did it in Illustrator though, and that it is kind of the nature of vectorizing to have very sharp defined edges though. I don't know what other kind of effects within Illustrator that you can apply.

Don't get me wrong though, it still looks great the way it is now. It's just a personal preference.

[BurgerKingDiamond]

I may be thinking of it too much from the standpoint of the in game graphics though, when the artwork should be judged by a different standard since it has a different purpose.

[kyoke]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Looking forward to posting more on of my progress.

An awesome game and theme to build a bartop around. I don't mind the marquee at all. The only thing I would consider is that your marquee retainer will likely block some of the lower and upper portions of your artwork. If you already know what type of retainer size you are going with, adjust the artwork of the ship and tentacle arm so they are not obscured too much.

Gl!

+1

Definitely want to adjust that art to make room for the retainers.

Epyx and Ginsu Victim: Thanks for the tip, I hadn't thought of this at all! Wow, I'm glad I hopped on here because that's definitely something I would have overlooked until it was too late!

YES! Awesome theme. I'm bookmarking this for sure. That side panel definitely looks like it took a lot of work. My one suggestion would be to possibly see if you can make the artwork look less "flat". I don't know if that's the right way to put it. Maybe more blurry around the edges... What I mean is like the difference between playing a game on a LED monitor and playing on a CRT. The CRT makes it look more pixelated I guess, which is more authentic to an old game like this. I realize you did it in Illustrator though, and that it is kind of the nature of vectorizing to have very sharp defined edges though. I don't know what other kind of effects within Illustrator that you can apply.

Don't get me wrong though, it still looks great the way it is now. It's just a personal preference.

BurgerKingDiamond, I see exactly what you mean, and yeah, that is the nature of Illustrator. Maybe I can play around with some effects to obscure/blur the edges to prevent the image from "popping" too much. Will submit something later!

[kyoke]

Another quickie so folks can see what I'm looking to accomplish (mostly for the edges, top, and back, since there will be no T-Molding and the Side Panel artwork will be covering the outside). I love the glossy piano black.

This is a really nice tutorial. It doesn't mention sanding the MDF surfaces and edges beforehand, but I think it makes every difference in the world. I was absolutely amazed when sanding the MDF panels using 600 grit sandpaper what the difference was. I could actually see a faint reflection of the MDF's surroundings once sanded and it felt like GLASS.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/construction-tips/83141-how-high-gloss-finishing.html

[Epyx]

Another great project for paint finishing perfection is Javeryh's Bella's Arcade

Although as he has pointed out numerous times since...it can turn you off of the elbow work required for perfect finishes for a *long* time

[kyoke]

Another great project for paint finishing perfection is Javeryh's Bella's Arcade

This was a great spot too, which is how I found the link to the piano black finishing! Super good tutorial.

[rablack97]

Check out Gamester's writeup as well, he had some good tips and he painted the entire cab with a mirror finish.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=94891.160

I tried it an ultimately failed, wish I would have looked at the diy audio tutorial first though.  Had major issues with the sanding part.

[opt2not]

Lots of great lookin' bartops being working on lately, kinda makes me want to make one myself!
I like the R-Type theme, great game, cool alien art. R-type and Life Force were my favourite side-scrollers way back when. Ah good memories.

As for the side-art, I'm with BurgerKingDiamond on this one. The art looks good, but it just feels a bit flat to me as well. (puts on artist hat)It has that Illustrator/Flash look that you might want to avoid, I'd spruce it up a bit to give it more depth. My advice would be to play with the contrast of the image, darkening and adding shadows are key here, but don't just add black (common mistake with artwork, people think black is the key to shadowing...wrong!), try experimenting with a darker blue tone like navy-blue, (blue and orange are complementary colours and should work well) and keep cognizant of where your light source is. I see that underneath all your objects you haven't added any shadow falloff, (in lots of areas like the eyeballs, and inside that round mechanical crevice) you can try adding it there, as right now IMO that's where the source of the "flatness effect" is happening. Also, I'd add a few more highlights, especially to the alien's eye, a small circle of white would work well for that specular shine.
Another thing I'd do is clean up the background tentacles, right now you've got them blending overtop of each other, giving the cross-sections a brighter additive effect. I'd avoid this, as it draws your eyes to the light spots, rather than having a more "muted" background element. Keep them in the same tone, also play with the gradual transparency of these, so  the tentacle sort-of fades away from the foreground image as it goes down the length of it. This would give more depth and a subtle 3D effect.  (takes off artist hat)

All in all, this is a great start, but before you print it you may want to consider a couple more passes on the art.
I'll comment more later, I'm late for work right now, so I gotta run!

keep up the good progress!
 

[BurgerKingDiamond]

I forgot to mention how sweet the R-CADE logo is in particular.

[opt2not]

I took the liberty and loaded up the side art in good ol' photoshop, just to give you an idea of what I was talking about:


Obviously I just roughed it out, if you were to go this route, you'd probably make it look a lot more clean than what  I just threw together here.

All I did was mess with the contrast of the original image, then applied some shadowing and highlights across the entire thing. After that, I made the background image blend out a bit, so that you get the illusion of depth.

I hope this helps!

[kyoke]

Thanks Opt2Not for the awesome artwork advice, and I just saw your mock-up!

Agreed that it does look somewhat flat. The image certainly "pops" more in Illustrator, and could be a color conversion issue in PNG. I made some changes to the lighting of some of the tail orbs and added some other details and resubmitted the image (up top on the first post). Also, the image is higher res and allows a better zoom-in to see the finer details (I noticed the first PNG kinda sucked).

Illustrator is a tad sparse when it comes to adjusting the contrast of the image overall and may require Photoshop Intervention, which is what I was hoping to avoid to allow perfect conversion to a PDF for final printing. It will probably be a necessary evil! but may not matter if I can make a large enough image. The other benefit of using Illustrator for the art has been the teeny file sizes!

For reference, here's a link to the original flyer artwork on Arcade Flyers: http://arcadeflyers.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=921&image=4

One thing I noticed is that the original flyer looks very Flash/Illustrator-ish too, but definitely has more depth and shadow. Thanks again for the great advice and feedback everyone!

 

[kyoke]

I forgot to mention how sweet the R-CADE logo is in particular.

Thanks BurgerKingDiamond, I have got to say I enjoyed putting this together more than anything and was really satisfied with the result.

The process was fun too. I found a font that resembled the original R-TYPE onscreen title font as closely as possible, then cut it up in Photoshop to get the dimensions, the curling "R", and the bullet/hyphen. Once I had the path I wanted, I exported the path from Photoshop and imported into Illustrator (thinking I'd be able to do the whole thing there). Once I realized I couldn't get the 3D/lighting/chrome effect I needed in Illustrator, I brought it back into Photoshop as a Vector Smart Object and tweaked the hell out of it with Bevel/Satin/Levels/Lighting Sources until I had what I needed. Oddly enough I couldn't get the contrast I needed in Photoshop, so I opened the PSD in Preview (on an Apple) and tweaked the contrast there.

I wish I had screenshot the process back in August when I was originally working on it, but didn't think I'd find this forum and never thought I'd actually post!

I just updated all PNG files above for better detail. Thanks again!

[TEKNYNE]

Dude this little bartop looks like it off to a good start. R-TYPE is one of my all time favorite games. I love the side art and marquee. And I like the control panel art layout with the exception that it feels a little flat? Seems like you could bring the lines and shapes out more 3 dimensional like the rest of the art. Just a thought.

I will be watching this one.

[Epyx]

I like what Opt2not did with the shades of orange...makes me think this bartop would look fantastic with orange T-Molding...not sure what you had in mind but I think orange would look slick.

[TEKNYNE]

I will second the orange T-Molding. Seems very fitting.

[kyoke]

Dude this little bartop looks like it off to a good start. R-TYPE is one of my all time favorite games. I love the side art and marquee. And I like the control panel art layout with the exception that it feels a little flat? Seems like you could bring the lines and shapes out more 3 dimensional like the rest of the art. Just a thought.

TEKNYNE: Thanks for the compliments! R-TYPE is just rockin' in all respects, which is why I wanted to go with it. I think I know what you mean regarding the control panel. My challenge is getting the colored graphics to stand out above the background and it seems to "hover." It definitely needs some work. I'll do some more tweaking to see if I can make it pop off the page more!

I like what Opt2not did with the shades of orange...makes me think this bartop would look fantastic with orange T-Molding...not sure what you had in mind but I think orange would look slick.

Epyx and TEKNYNE: Man, orange T-Molding would look awesome! Unfortunately the ends are routed with a small radius already, which prevents the T-Molding from working. I think I have to stick with glossy black lacquered wood!

[zorg]

Unfortunately the ends are routed with a small radius already, which prevents the T-Molding from working.

NOP !!!!!

[opt2not]

Unfortunately the ends are routed with a small radius already, which prevents the T-Molding from working.

I'm not sure what you mean...are you talking about the angle of contour down around the corners are too sharp?  or did you get the edges chamfered or rounded?

If you're referring to the former, that's not an issue, you can get the t-molding to bend around any angle if you just v-cut spaces in the molding teeth...

[kyoke]

Unfortunately the ends are routed with a small radius already, which prevents the T-Molding from working.

I'm not sure what you mean...are you talking about the angle of contour down around the corners are too sharp?  or did you get the edges chamfered or rounded?

If you're referring to the former, that's not an issue, you can get the t-molding to bend around any angle if you just v-cut spaces in the molding teeth...

Zorg and opt2not: Nope, the latter! The edges themselves are rounded already; I would have to re-sand a bunch just to get it back to a point where I could use a T-Mold!   

[gaijinking]

I can't wait to see this project finished!! R-type is still my favorite horizontal shooter.

[kyoke]

I can't wait to see this project finished!! R-type is still my favorite horizontal shooter.

gaijinking: Agreed on both sentiments! Thanks for the cheers! I'm working on the cabinet itself now, will post pics later this evening.

...darkening and adding shadows are key here, but don't just add black (common mistake with artwork, people think black is the key to shadowing...wrong!), try experimenting with a darker blue tone like navy-blue, (blue and orange are complementary colours and should work well) and keep cognizant of where your light source is.

opt2not: Since you have become my "Artwork Mentor" , here's an Artwork Update! - I'm playing around with the burn/dodge tools in Photoshop, which are sweet because I can make custom brushes for certain "difficult areas" and so it doesn't look like I'm just going hog-wild with a round brush! I will be posting some edited PNGs later as well. Thanks again!

[opt2not]

opt2not: Since you have become my "Artwork Mentor" , here's an Artwork Update! - I'm playing around with the burn/dodge tools in Photoshop, which are sweet because I can make custom brushes for certain "difficult areas" and so it doesn't look like I'm just going hog-wild with a round brush! I will be posting some edited PNGs later as well. Thanks again!

Nice! Can't wait to see it. Yeah, I like photoshop for small prints like this.
If you keep your image high enough resolution  (300 ppi) you shouldn't need to worry about the image not being sharp enough on your surface area. It's advisable to use Illustrator/Vector art if you're working on a full-sized cabinet.

[kyoke]

Small update, as promised...

For sheer entertainment purposes, here's my makeshift workbench; luckily I am not making a full-sized cabinet otherwise I'd need a hell of a lot more space.



Here's what I was able to accomplish today in about and hour and a half (I worked today otherwise I would have gotten a lot more work done). I'm not very good with woodwork, but I was able to glue and screw the batons (moldings) in place without punching holes through the side panels.



Tomorrow I'm going to sand the back, bottom, top, and speaker panels, and glue/screw the bottom, and top panels in place. Getting antsy, want to get this project goin!

[saleem]

i take it you are painting this project?

would have looked nice with laminate on,i love the stuff now that i started using it.you will never get a finish like you would with laminate.downside is everything has to be laminated before fitting,so you have to measure,cut,get the fit then laminate and then secure it to the cab.slows the build down but,by heck its lovely to use when you handle it right and the finish it first class.

[TEKNYNE]

Just curious what buttons are you using or do you have them yet? Thinking the Orange Nova Gem 2 would look good when they are released if you do not have any yet. To tie everything together and stand out from the typical black.

[kyoke]

Just curious what buttons are you using or do you have them yet? Thinking the Orange Nova Gem 2 would look good when they are released if you do not have any yet. To tie everything together and stand out from the typical black.

That's a great idea! It means I might have to change the CP color scheme a little bit (since the buttons I had originally chosen are red). I was planning on going with the Happ Competition Pushbuttons, but know I have more flexibility in choice because of the metal CP. Do you have a link? I'm scouring right now for the Nova Gem 2s.

Edit: yikes, just saw the NovaGem 1s on GGG, holy frijoles $5.75/ea.! Agreed that LED everything would look pretty awesome.

[kyoke]

I can't believe how easy it is to feel like "the project is coming along quite nicely" once you get all the panels primed.

I'm using an oil-based primer/sealant to prevent moisture wicking. I'm being stupidly meticulous about it too, but it will be worth it when all is said and done and I don't ever have to worry about the MDF warping.

Oh, and I made the jackass mistake of "wringing out" the ultrafine foam roller with my hands, without paint thinner or solvent to wash my hands afterward. I had to use olive oil and salt to get it all out and I think I was standing in front of the sink for 45 minutes...

Lesson: don't be an idiot like me!

[kyoke]

GRRRRRRRR.....

Delayed: put first coat of primer on all panels separately this past week.

Today I got around to sanding the first coat using 220 grit paper and a hand sander. To my shock and dismay, due to my 1/4 sheet sander's foam pad starting to break down I completely !#$#&@ my panels. Also found that the MDF I bought at Home Depot is starting to warp and peel on the edges.

Looks like I'm back to square one with the panels (thankfully not the side panels). Went to OSH today and found, surprisingly, that their MDF is of significantly higher quality. I'm going to be purchasing a new panel and am going to re-cut, prime, sand them.

Artwork update this week.

[opt2not]

I'm going to be purchasing a new panel and am going to re-cut, prime, sand them.

Are you going with the rounded painted edges again? Or going with orange t-molding? 

[kyoke]

opt2not: I actually didn't start on the side panel sanding, I started with the back, bottom and top as "guinea pigs." Glad I did. Sorry, no orange T-molding. I will likely be going with metallic black for the outside; want to fit in with the "Vastness of Space" theme.

[kyoke]

CONUNDRUM - Figuring out the guts.

I was planning on using the board and chip pictured here, which came in a Dell I have from 1 year ago. Problem: it requires a proprietary heatsink and fan assembly specific to this model of Dell (a Dimension e560). Reason I want to use this: it's fully functional, it's a decent chip (2.14GHz Intel C2D), it has 2GB of RAM already, and it's free! From the picture you can probably see that the chip is mounted diagonally and will not accept a standard heatsink/fan. The proprietary assembly I mentioned earlier is way too large to fit in the extremely tight constraints of this cab. What options do I have, experts?

[Gamester]

Worst case, just pull the CPU and RAM and pick up a new motherboard from Newegg for $30-$40...

I know that suggestion doesn't fit in your 'free' category, but it's still a pretty cheap solution.

[HaRuMaN]

Any way you can cut the heatsink / fan unit down some?  What does it look like?

[kyoke]

Gamester: Thanks for the recommendation. That's what I'm looking into, as it may be the only real solution. I'm currently looking at Mini-ITX boards, which is 6.75" x 6.75" vs. this board which is approximately 10" x 10". My next concern is the GPU. A Mini-ITX mobo with decent integrated GPU is $100+. Maybe integrated isn't the way to go. I -do- have an extra 256MB nVidia card I can utilize as long as it fits.

I noticed that lokesen's WeeCade (whose design I am using) is housing a Micro-ATX board (10x10) and figured that I could glean major amounts of space  with the smaller board.

HarumaN: Here's the behemoth of a Dell proprietary heatsink/mounting bracket. The fan assembly is ridiculous. it takes up 1/3 of the front of the case.

[HaRuMaN]

So it looks like the original fan sits perpendicular to the mobo?

[kyoke]

So it looks like the original fan sits perpendicular to the mobo?

Yessir, it does indeed. The option would be to cut a hole in the back of the cabinet to accommodate the fan, but it would look really.... janky.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

I swear I've had the exact same idea for a theme, including the name! Actually, I was pretty surprised that no one had come up with the same idea at that point... anyway, I'm really looking forward to seeing the end product; the design is great and I  bet the whole thing's gonna rock. Keep us updated!

[HaRuMaN]

What if you cut the heat sink in half... and mount a fan to the top of it somehow (instead of the side)?

[kyoke]

ChurchOfSolipsism: I'm actually pretty surprised too that no one had published that name either! I'm looking forward very much to completing this as I gotta get my R-Type fix!

HarumaN: Unfortunately this particular heatsink has heat-pipes running through the middle and part of the top half. I think I might be back to the drawing board. A friend of mine suggested just buying a standard heatsink/fan and zip-tying the bajeezus out of it, since there aren't standard screw holes to mount it, but I'm very hesitant.

[HaRuMaN]

Zip ties?  Yeah... not a good idea.  You need solid contact between the CPU and cooler base (don't forget the thermal paste!) for it to work properly. 

[kyoke]

HarumaN: Agreed! It looks like I'm getting a new mobo!

[kyoke]

Anyone know... Is it normal to sand down to the wood after the first coat of primer?



I'm using an oil-based primer/sealer. It looks like the primer is sealing pretty well on the edges!

[opt2not]

Uh yeah...you sanded it down too much.  Just prime it, and lightly sand it so that the primer is smooth, not all the way down to the wood. Make sure you use a finer grit sand-paper as well.

[kyoke]

I'm trying to follow Javeryh's tutorial for the super gloss, and he recommends 220 grit between each coat of primer, then 400 or 600. Are different primers "tougher?"

[opt2not]

I'm trying to follow Javeryh's tutorial for the super gloss, and he recommends 220 grit between each coat of primer, then 400 or 600. Are different primers "tougher?"

Meh, primer is primer. Just watch how much you're sanding off when you're doing it.

[oldgamesrbetter]

Can't wait to see this one completed. The artwork looks sweeeeeet.

_____________________________________________
ARCADE VORTEX http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=99724.0

[kyoke]

opt2not: Thanks as always for the advice!

oldgamesrbetter: Thanks for the compliment. My goal is to have it finished by June.

[kyoke]

Just got my monitor, a Viewsonic VA703b. It was pricey at $139.99 for a 17" 4:3 monitor, but it has an 8ms response time and I know Viewsonic is rated quite high on the picture quality. Surprisingly it was just manufactured in February 2010. I would have figured this was a much older monitor.



I've been lagging pretty bad on finishing my artwork... guilty. I get about one day a week to work on everything 

I'm almost ready to assemble the cab! Hopefully I'll get to that on Sunday. Then, metallic-black Rustoleum for the outer layer (and lots more sanding).

[opt2not]

I've been lagging pretty bad on finishing my artwork... guilty. I get about one day a week to work on everything 

Heh, I hear ya. Though I find if I only have 1 day a week to work on projects, I end up planning and thinking about it over the other 6 days.

[kyoke]

Coming along, everything is primed and sanded. Primed prior to assembly so make sure everything's sealed, and it's a hell of a lot easier than sanding when everything's assembled.



It's amazing how much it seems like everything's coming together once you've gotten to this point. Seems...tangible.

[kyoke]

Updated the side panel artwork, check out the first thread!

[syph007]

This might be too late, but another option Ive used in the past to attach troublesome heatsinks, is arctic silver thermal epoxy.  Works great for heat transfer, and well its epoxy so you don't need any other method of attachment.  Only con is that its quite permanent.  I use it mostly to attach new heatsinks to graphics cards.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_thermal_adhesive.htm

[kyoke]

@syph007: It's actually not too late, I haven't yet gotten to the purchase of the mobo. My only concern is that on that page they say it's not designed for CPUs and CPU heatsinks. It may be worth looking into, but I'm still looking at options for attaching the fan to the CPU... Thanks for the suggestion!

[syph007]

Maybe more modern CPU's get too hot?  I've used it on graphic card GPU's, and xbox 1 CPU's fine.  I used to case mod xbox 1's and a popular option was to ditch the fan and glue on a big low profile heatsink to the cpu/gpu which makes it silent.  Ive run that box daily for 2 years now and no problems at all.  Ive found it to be quite handy stuff, the only big con though is you cant ever get it off, but that hasnt been an issue for me, but when they say permanent, they mean it!

[kyoke]

Just updated the marquee, posted here and at the top. Feedback welcome!

[Tiouko]

Beautiful I like the chrome effect Keep up the good work can't wait to see the end result

[opt2not]

Just updated the marquee, posted here and at the top. Feedback welcome!

Nice! I like the font a lot.

Feedback:
I feel that the R-type ship is too small though. It could also use a bit more contrast, shadowing. It currently has that flat-flash look.

Also, I was thinking, how would you feel about using the Option add-on as the dot after the R?  then making the ship itself sit in-front of the R, and scaled up bigger?
Going this route I'd lose the alien on the right, and treat the marquee as the ship's real-estate, whereas the sides are for the alien.
It just seems that the alien art is huge, whereas the ship has such a tiny representation...

[kyoke]

@Tiouko Thanks for the praise! Making the "R-CADE" title was a lot of fun. I used both Photoshop and Illustrator to get it look right. I'm looking forward to seeing this one through to the end!

Just ordered my custom metal control panel from Waterjet Central, buttons from Arcadeemulator.net, and the control panel lexan cover from Laser Alliance. Pics when I get them in. Can't wait!

@opt2not Thanks for the feedback! I tried a mock-up using the fireball (called the "Force") as the hyphen, but it didn't look right. The marquee is super-small, unfortunately requiring me to shrink the ship to a miniscule size, and it also looks wrong in front of the R or to the left of the R.

I brought the size of the ship up a bit in this new revision. My next revision will have some more depth on the ship. Here's the original on-screen R-TYPE title so you can see what I designed the R-CADE title after.



And here's the revision:

[mist]

Hi Kyoke!

Wow! Those are looking nice!
I´m just starting out with building an weecade myself and was wondering where in the plans you found the measurements!!
Going crazy, am i blind?

I´m gonna use an old 19inch lcd in mine so i have to modify the plans a bit, and im going to put an ion based itx motherboard in mine. I´m trying to slim the design down a bit.

I´m folowing your progress with great interest, i dont think my art is going to be that nice...

[mist]

Gah!

Looking at your pictures im begining to think i´ve chosen a too thick material. I went for 18mm laminated wood (unfortunatly they only had white so i might paint it black) What thickness did you use?

[opt2not]

I threw together some Photoshop examples of what you could do.
Just a quick rough up, but here it is:


The first one looks pretty plain, but the ship is nice and big and stands out in the small area.

Number 2 and 4 is something I'd go with. If you are firm on the alien, the second example is probably more suitable. I like using the beam as an underline to the title.

Number 3 is something I was trying, a slightly longer over-line beam seemed to work out kinda neat.

Anyways, just some stuff to think about. Truthfully, you should really have larger ship representation there. It just feels so under represented otherwise.


(man, i've been on this free-artwork consultation kick lately haven't i? )

[kyoke]

@mist: Thanks for the compliments! I used 12mm (1/2 inch) MDF for everything. Here's the link to Lokesen's original diagram and measurements: http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/eng/draw.htm

@opt2not: You certainly are on a "free artwork-consultation kick!" I like all of the mockups you did, but still feel the title should be in the middle. Call me crazy. I'm going to try to do one with the beam you did as a STRIKETHROUGH behind the R-CADE title. How'd you do that beam? It's exactly how it should look in R-TYPE and it looks awesome! Oh and my other dilemma: the mouldings are too close to the marquee so there's a sort of 1x1 inch "no man's land" on each corner that will not be properly lit up. Following Lokesen's original design I noticed his is the same way. I put the damn thing together before reading several posts that describe this TABOO!

[opt2not]

How'd you do that beam? It's exactly how it should look in R-TYPE and it looks awesome!

I did it in Photoshop using the gradient tool, selecting white for the foreground and a light blue for the background colour. the linear setting was used for the straight beam, and the radial setting was used for the round part at the beginning and end. Then I took the smudging tool and shaped the end to look like the head of a q-tip.

I don't know how to do it in illustrator. But honestly, if your image is going to be small enough, as long as you have a high enough dpi you can probably just create this image in photoshop. 300'ish.
It should print out fine.

[kyoke]

Okay, another artwork update before I call it a day:



I got the veto from the wifey for the blue Q-tip across the marquee, but I managed to make some little changes. I brought this into Photoshop and tweaked the colors all around. The ship is quite a bit bigger as you can see. If this isn't my final, at least it's a hell of a lot closer!

[opt2not]

Good stuff. I like it.

I was wondering about the alien, how do you feel about doing something like this with it:


Maybe not completely blocking the E, but you get the idea.  You can have the tail curve around the E...

But I definitely like the ship bigger and in front of the logo.

Keep 'em coming!

[lokesen]

Please send me some pictures of the finished cabinet to post on my website

[kyoke]

Hey Lokesen, I definitely will be sending you the finalized cabinet pics! Thanks for looking.

[kyoke]

Ordered and received my customized Stainless Steel Control Panel!

I threw the CP together at emachineshop.com and got a quote from them for $250! They are able to do the cutting and forming, but I thought that was pretty steep. REJECTED. So I kept shopping.

The company that cut my side panels (MDF) also is able to cut Stainless Steel, but they were unable to form it for me. They quoted me $100 for just the cutting; then I would have to get it formed elsewhere (pain in the @$$). REJECTED.

I found a company in Orange, CA that could do the entire project for around $225, but required me to buy TWO of them. Not necessary at this point. REJECTED.

I shopped around and settled on a company in Paso Robles, CA called "Waterjet Central." As their name implies, they perform water cutting instead of laser or plasma cutting. AND they did the forming, which I was hoping for. I also had them quote the stainless steel monitor bar for the case (my VESA mount). Altogether for both pieces: $165.

Here she be (there's white protective plastic over it at the moment):



It might be a little crammed for fighters, but it'll work out quite nicely, methinks.

[HaRuMaN]

How are you mounting your joysticks?

[kyoke]

I will be using JB Weld on the bottom to hold the bolts in place. I've read on the forum that this works. I have a friend who makes camping stoves who says the stuff is friggin' indestructable.

[TEKNYNE]

JB Weld is incredibly strong just make sure to scuff up the metal on both pieces you are bonding real good before joining the pieces with it.

[Silas (son of Silas)]

How are you mounting your joysticks?

I fitted weld studs on the bottom of my stainless CP to mount my joysticks.

[kyoke]

Thanks all for the advice and feedback on the joystick mounting!

I used JB Weld and I've gotta say, this stuff ain't comin' off.

A quick pic:



Getting closer to completion. Yeesh it's taken a while.

Oh, and because you guys pay a lot of attention to the smallest details  I realize the bolts on the left look like they will interfere with the bolts that will mount the entire CP to the cab. I am going to be cutting out a small inlay in the wood for the joystick plate. Yeah, it's an oversight. I was going to originally use the Magstick Plus, which has a smaller joystick plate, and ended up going with the U360s, which has a larger mounting plate. Shouldn't be a big deal. Just wanted to mention it before someone else does

[kyoke]

Just ordered the Control Panel Overlay artwork from Game on Grafix so I can get to work on the Control Panel. They're doing a 10% off promo discount for BYOAC members which is pretty cool!

I started painting the cab yesterday using Metallic Night Black Rustoleum, following Gamester's tutorial for this paint + clearcoat. I'm going to start the clearcoat process today.

I compiled a custom MAME 0.138u1 on Saturday to remove nag screens and have been doing a lot of research into getting the u360s to work with MA. Found a great site that has .ugc files for nearly every game so I can have the u360s map automatically. I installed MA on top of Windows Tiny7, which boots up in 20 seconds and shuts down in 5. It's ridiculous.

As for MAME I'm going to use an onscreen render/scale effect to make the LCD I'm putting in here look more like an arcade display.

Any Maximus Arcade users out there that have some tips on config or suggestions/warnings? I'm planning on have MA load automatically at Windows launch, load u360 maps upon game launch, and if I exit MA it automatically will load the mouse map for the u360.

[Bender]

I use LEDBlinky for loading U360 maps, not only will it do them automatically for mame but you can set it up for any other emulator too, and you can set it to go to mouse mode on exit too

Plus I'd think about shelling MA so it loads directly and you'll never see the windows stuff unless you need to get to it to configure stuff, make for a much nicer Arcade experience

[kyoke]

@Bender: Thanks for the tips. It appears that Maximus Arcade can run a command to perform the automap function. Aside from the other benefits LEDBlinky gives you, namely LED control, is there a reason to use it if I only plan on running MAME?



Quick pic of the cab so far... Put first coat of clear on cab today, it's looking quite shiny.

[Bender]

If your only using mame you don't even need to run the command line Mame will automatically load maps for analog joysticks, so all you need to do is set the U360 to analog and set the mame.ini joystick map to auto (which I think is the default)

[kyoke]

@Bender: I guess I'm confused... I read on Maximus Arcade's forum that the u360 needs to be mapped via .ugc files upon game launch (http://bit.ly/dkmcgl), and if MAME maps them automatically why use LEDBlinky...?

[Bender]

That was from a long time ago, newer versions of Mame now have a mapping function. I use LEDBlinky because I find fine tuning the maps easier with the U360 software than Mame's,  and I can load those with LEDBLinky, plus I can use it to map the other emu's

so I think If I was just using Mame I wouldn't bother with LEDBlinky or the command line I'd just let Mame handle it

[kyoke]

@Bender: Thanks for all the help. I noticed on this post: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=98058.0 that you mentioned after mapping with the 7778...4445 in mame.ini this worked the best with Q-Bert. Were you also using the u360 firmware mappings change at the same time or did you have the u360 firmware mapping set to analog?

[Bender]

I do have the mame.ini set to 7778...4445, that prevents interference from mame AND I'm using the U360 maps
Here is an explination

[kyoke]

I think I've hit a brick wall.

Can an ATX power supply be used to provide power for everything in the cabinet? I've been scouring the forums but I have very basic knowledge of electricity and voltage and don't know where to begin.

I'm looking to power the monitor, marquee lighting, and tiny amp kit and of course magically have everything turn on with one switch. Is this possible off of just the ATX power supply? I know pretty much everyone that puts together a MAME cab sets one switch to power everything on, but I don't know where to look to get the 411 on this one. Thanks all!

[Ond]

I'll give you a little bit of advice, I'm sure others will chime in. Firstly it depends on the power consumption of the components versus the rated power output of the supply. If you are only trying to run a moderate graphics card, a small amp and some lights and your PS is rated above say 300 Watts (most are these days) you should be fine. Running a monitor? you can trigger a relay on start up that will switch on your monitor and marquee lights, or like some guy's I've seen use of a 'smart' power board that fires everything up at the same time.  I prefer the relay approach. Here's a few things to look out for when powering off one supply.  You are bit tight on space that's a challenge, hopefully you should still be able to fit a smart board in.

Hum in your speakers because the system isn't grounded properly.
Digital noise in your speakers from Hard disk activity again usually a grounding issue.
Lights pulsing with music usually only a problem if your amp draws a fair bit of power

My advice is if you're not real savvy with electrics use the smart board approach I mentioned.

I think Epyx may have used this method.   If you find you're too tight on space for a smart power board, PM me with more details on the components you want to power, I'll show you how to make it all work.

[opt2not]

Ha ha, you're lucky kyoke!  You've got all the BYOAC big-boys interested in your bartop build... no pressure! 

[kyoke]

...My advice is if you're not real savvy with electrics use the smart board approach I mentioned...

Thanks Ond for all the advice. I take it that you mean a Smart Power Strip? That's probably going to be ideal for simplicity, but if the relay method is cleaner, then I would love to figure that out. I'll PM you in a bit.

For everyone else that might be interested, here's the hardware I am or will be running

500W ATX power supply
Intel Mini-ITX motherboard
Viewsonic 17" LCD monitor
LED strip light for marquee
8W +8W amp from qkits.com

2x U360 joysticks with long shafts, circular restrictors, and hard springs
Happ competition pushbuttons (I love convex buttons)
Ultimarc Mini-PAC

Ha ha, you're lucky kyoke!  You've got all the BYOAC big-boys interested in your bartop build... no pressure! 

opt2not: It's because everyone's an R-TYPE fan

[kyoke]

Hey folks! I've been busy at work lately and as such haven't posted many updates. Just a small one: I got my CPO artwork from gameongrafix.com (awesome!) and here's what it's looking like on the CP!



Getting closer!

[emphatic]

Wow! That looks ace! 

[Bender]

Man, that CP looks GRRRRRRRRRRRRATE!!!!!!!!!!!

[kyoke]

Thanks @emphatic and @Bender!

Here's another one with the u360s in and the CPO completely glued. I made the mistake of buying the non-sticky-back CPO from gameongrafix.com, but it ended up in my favor because it was significantly easier to put the CPO on using spray-on tack glue from 3M.

[opt2not]

Lookin' sweet.

You should get smaller dust covers, so you're not completely covering the joystick cross.

[HaRuMaN]

Or translucent dust covers...

[emphatic]

+1 on the dust covers. Perhaps mounting the sticks slightly lower if possible, or do you like having such tall shafts?

[Ond]

I'd make custom matching red dustwashers which show as much of the artwork as possible.  Get the whole red theme unified.  I like red shiny buttons and controls 

[kyoke]

opt2not: Thanks! My thoughts exactly on the large dustwashers. You can't see the cross!

HarumaN: Only problem I can think of with translucent dustwashers is that you will see the "guts" of the joystick, that aren't too pretty.

emphatic: Regarding the long shafts - based on the significantly large amount of recommendations I've been reading on these here forums I decided to go with the longer shafts... Is it possible that they are too long for the metal CP? I haven't had the opportunity to play anything yet so I don't know if they are going to be too long.

Ond: I found a guy that does custom colored dustwashers (http://www.tek-innovations.com/arthobbies) - If I was innovative like you I'd probably figure out a way to make one myself.

*Conclusion* - I think I smaller, red dustwasher is what will fit the bill.

[emphatic]

Sticks' shaft length depends on what type of games you'll be playing though. As the cabinet is R-Type themed, you'll want an as short throw as possible for all that precision movement.. But if it's for playing classics, perhaps a longer throw would be needed. I'm a short throw, fast engage guy myself, so I generally prefer Seimitsu LS-32 or SUZO 500, but you can't play Ninja Kid II with them as it's too easy to hit diagonals by mistake.

[rchadd]

Ond: I found a guy that does custom colored dustwashers (http://www.tek-innovations.com/arthobbies) - If I was innovative like you I'd probably figure out a way to make one myself.

wow they look good

http://www.tek-innovations.com/arthobbies/?loc=products&cat=7

[kyoke]

emphatic: Going to give the short shaft and the long shaft a try to see which one I like better. I'm also using the circular restrictors so the throw is much shorter than the stock u360.

rchadd: Thanks! It's been a rough ride so far.

I'm having a dilemma now... The buttons mounted on the front of the CP for Player 1 and Player 2, mounted perpendicularly to the buttons on the top of the CP are too long and hit the bottom-most button in the 6-button layout. I checked Lizard Lick where I bought the black Player buttons and they have a shorter/shallower black Player button, but they told me they're out of stock for the P1 button, due to the manufacturer discontinuing them.

I need some Ond/opt2not/Bender/HarumaN ingenuity here... brain transplant? Anyone know of a "shallower" black Player button?

[emphatic]

Try some "regular" buttons that are shorter for size first and buy the black ones when they are available again or just get those small player start vinyl stickers that someone on these forums sell. I'm not sure who he/she/they are, but I'm sure you'll see a link in this thread soon enough.

[shateredsoul]

emphatic: Going to give the short shaft and the long shaft a try to see which one I like better. I'm also using the circular restrictors so the throw is much shorter than the stock u360.

rchadd: Thanks! It's been a rough ride so far.

I'm having a dilemma now... The buttons mounted on the front of the CP for Player 1 and Player 2, mounted perpendicularly to the buttons on the top of the CP are too long and hit the bottom-most button in the 6-button layout. I checked Lizard Lick where I bought the black Player buttons and they have a shorter/shallower black Player button, but they told me they're out of stock for the P1 button, due to the manufacturer discontinuing them.

I need some Ond/opt2not/Bender/HarumaN ingenuity here... brain transplant? Anyone know of a "shallower" black Player button?

the vinyl stickers aren't bad, they look really nice and professional. I bought mine from pongo .. check it out

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=64645.0

[Bender]

you looking for a yenox  black player one button?

I think I might have one
PM me

[Yvan256]

you looking for a yenox  black player one button?

I think I might have one
PM me

I think I have one too (and a "player two" button too).

[kyoke]

Just finished up wiring my CP (it works!)



I think the nature of the MiniPAC harness makes it challenging to really neaten the wires. There's probably more I can do but I'll leave it at this.

What you're seeing:

* Custom stainless steel control panel
* Happ Competition Pushbuttons with E Switches
* Happ Concave P1 and P2 Pushbuttons (to be replaced, they are too deep)
* Ultimarc U360 joysticks
* Happ Illuminated buttons (blue and red) for Pause and Exit
* MiniPAC interface board

[Bender]

emphatic: Going to give the short shaft and the long shaft a try to see which one I like better. I'm also using the circular restrictors so the throw is much shorter than the stock u360.

rchadd: Thanks! It's been a rough ride so far.

I'm having a dilemma now... The buttons mounted on the front of the CP for Player 1 and Player 2, mounted perpendicularly to the buttons on the top of the CP are too long and hit the bottom-most button in the 6-button layout. I checked Lizard Lick where I bought the black Player buttons and they have a shorter/shallower black Player button, but they told me they're out of stock for the P1 button, due to the manufacturer discontinuing them.

I need some Ond/opt2not/Bender/HarumaN ingenuity here... brain transplant? Anyone know of a "shallower" black Player button?

you looking for a yenox  black player one button?

I think I might have one
PM me

dosent seem that the yenox buttons are much shoter (I measured less than a 1/16")

[Bender]

You could go with a couple of sanwa buttons (they'd easily fit) and get some vinyl stickers or, and this is what I would do, get the sanwas that you can put inserts in then you can make your own graphics for Player 1 and 2, maybe little R-Type ship/s

EDIT: oh yeah you would have to widen the holes from 1 1/8"(28.575mm)  to 30mm which shouldn't be that big a deal

[Yvan256]

You could go with a couple of sanwa buttons (they'd easily fit) and get some vinyl stickers or, and this is what I would do, get the sanwas that you can put inserts in then you can make your own graphics for Player 1 and 2, maybe little R-Type ship/s

Indeed that would add to the theme instead of being a problem. Lizardlick lists both the Seimitsu PS-14-GN (30mm) and PS-14-DN (24mm) black body with clear plunger. The nice thing is that artwork is protected by the clear dome and you can go crazy with the graphics (such as using photo paper for extremely sharp and colorful graphics). That's what I would do if I went with little R-Type ship(s) for the player buttons.

Another idea would be to see if short leafswitch pushbuttons are short enough, but then you're back to the problem of sourcing black player1 and black player2 buttons unless you go with vinyl stickers.

[kyoke]

Bender and Yvan: this looks like it's the best way to go.

New dilemma (I seem to run into a lot of these due to being such a noob at this)...

My side panels have one button each for coins. I drilled holes where the buttons will fit best with the side panel artwork and stupidly didn't think that the buttons would impede sliding the control panel in and out (it makes it impossible, actually). I was thinking that I could also go for the Sanwas or Seimitsus as well, except for the fact that they are designed for metal control panels that are no thicker than 8mm, which will not work with 25mm MDF. So now I am stuck looking for a solution to this one.

Ultimate Lesson I Will Take Away From This Cabinet: Next cab I build will have a hell of a lot more planning. 

[Bender]

that's an easy one just drill out a wider hole than the button so essentially your making the MDF 8mm around the button

just like franco did here with a pattern and a router

[Yvan256]

Your best friend is Google Sketchup.

[kyoke]

Another dilemma: The button in question is smack dab in the middle of three 1"x1" moldings and prohibits a router entry, therefore I'm unable to cut out a recess for the buttons unless I dremel the hell out of it. Not to mention wouldn't the MDF become weaker in spots if it is only 8mm thick? The MDF is only 25mm (1/2 inch) thick now. Here's a pic of the hole and it's relation to the Control Panel.



I am considering purchasing the Sanwa "snap-in" buttons and cutting little notches around the edge of the hole that they grab on to. Thoughts? Thanks all!

[severdhed]

the sanwa snap in buttons should work fine...as long as the hole is tight enough..worst case you put a little hot glue on them before inserting them into the holes, they shouldnt fall out.

[Bender]

the sanwa snap in buttons should work fine...as long as the hole is tight enough..worst case you put a little hot glue on them before inserting them into the holes, they shouldnt fall out.

great idea! a little hot glue and I think you'd be all set

and what about a 1 1/2" fostner drill bit 8mm is plenty of strength around the button
BTW 25mm is almost a full 1" not 1/2" sure it's not 19mm (3/4")

[kyoke]

It's been a while since my last update -- since then I have been working mainly on wiring the cabinet for lit up buttons, relay for monitor power on, installed 15W+15W amp from QKits, and installed the speakers.

No side art printed yet, but here's a pic of my progress so far:



Here's my punch list to finish:

Hardware/cabinet-related:
- Purchase and install lighting (suggestions? I was thinking of using an LED rope light)
- Install additional relay for lighting
- Install power button and power button panel
- Install 15W+15W amp - it works, but I get a buzz using a separate 12V power adapter or via computer power supply (suggestions to get rid of buzz?)
- Purchase and install marquee and side art
- Clean up wiring, it's an effing mess right now

Software-related:
- Put finishing touches on marquee and sideart in Photoshop/Illustrator
- Shell Windows 7 installation for direct boot to Maximus Arcade frontend
- Some small Maximus Arcade tweaks, nothing major

[Wadeduck]

Just came back after a short (OK long) break.  I looked at your Bartop and WOW.  You are doing a great job.  I just hope I get the chance to build something this nice.  Keep up the great updates.

[kyoke]

Thanks @Wadeduck. It has been a long and more arduous journey than I originally anticipated, but it will be all worth it once I can play R-Type, Metal Slug 3, and Q*Bert (everyday).

 

Just came back after a short (OK long) break.  I looked at your Bartop and WOW.  You are doing a great job.  I just hope I get the chance to build something this nice.  Keep up the great updates.

[LeedsFan]

Looking good!!! Have you done anything about the buttons yet? How big are your holes? Exactly? You need 30mm to fit Sanwa or Seimitsu buttons (they are both 29.5mm diameter) and because that panel is stainless steel I don't think I would like to enlarge the holes without worrying about messing things up or not getting the holes lined up etc.

If your holes are big enough then the only choice you need to make are whether to get snap-in or screw-in type. I personally prefer the screw-in type as it lets you line up the buttons a little if your holes are not perfectly lined up. But because yours was done professionally I can see it's all cut beautifully.

Snap in buttons offer more choice of colours and if you do decide to go for screw-in type bear in mind that the nuts might come into contact with each other. Happ nuts are just shy of 35mm in diameter. Seimitsu are 35mm and Sanwa are 36mm. Might not seem like a lot of difference but that difference is doubled when two buttons are side by side. So for Sanwa buttons you need an extra 2mm clearance over the ones you have. Yours look close already so it's something to look out for.

[kyoke]

Big update since last time!

- Everything's wired up:

*Amp + speakers
*Customized power supply - routes to smart power switch
*Lighting - fluorescent, thankfully doesn't generate that much heat with quarter aluminum pipe behind it

- Bezel's installed

- Back panel set up with on/off button

And I just ordered the marquee from http://gameongrafix.com, which came out like this:



And here's the cabinet with lighting assembly:



Almost there!

[jipp]

that bartop looks great.

chris.

[Bender]

Nicely Done!!!

Can't wait to see the finished shots with the marquee in place

[BlasterMaster]

BEAUTIFUL!   

[emphatic]

That looks pretty damn good. 

[melvinbates]

Wow, can't wait to see this one complete.  Great job. 

[kyoke]

Got the marquee from http://gameongrafix.com, "ULTIMATE adhered to plexiglass" style. Once I got it I realized the finish is a little too matte for my taste, so had a piece of plexiglass cut to size to cover it.

Suggestion to newbies like me: IT MAKES EVERY DIFFERENT IN THE WORLD TO HAVE YOUR MARQUEE COVERED WITH PLEXIGLASS.

I installed the marquee and retainers (L-shaped aluminum with black metal quality spray paint). So here's the newest pic, marquee in place, dazzlefied.



Finishing up (10,000th revision) the side panel artwork; hopefully we'll see that in my next post.

[emphatic]

Spectacular! 

[The Lumberjackass]

quality.

well done sir

[kyoke]

Thanks emphatic and Lumberjackass! It's almost there...

Need some feedback about the sidepanel artwork. This is the last thing left to have printed and installed.

[opt2not]

Nice to see you're almost done with this project. It's lookin' pretty spectacular!

The sideart works IMO, but if you would indulge me here: Have you thought about perhaps removing the R-Cade title (since it might be a be too much repetition with the marquee), and increased the size of the alien so that the head fits snug into that top area and fills out the entire panel more?
Something like this:


The tail leads your eye to the front of the cabinet, then continues in the Marquee.  As well, the faded tail in the background could give you a nice framing of that curve near the side of the monitor. Bigger alien, no title repetition...

Just a thought...

[emphatic]

I agree with opt2not, loosing the logo while zooming in looks better. Perhaps play around with the details for each side, like have those smaller blue eyes look in different directions? If the right sideart have the right eye pointed at the "viewer" and then change this for the other side?

[The Lumberjackass]

Honestly, i love the side art.

I know it has the r-cade logo on it too, but it looks great. it actually informs people that the alien is from r-type, cause trust me, alot of people wouldnt know what they were looking at unless they were told.

i would keep the side art as is, but some suggestions are correct in saying that it may not look right having the logo plastered all over the top of the cab. so what you could do, is have the logo at the bottom instead for each side panel and let the marquee do the advertising on top at the front. just an idea.

[BurgerKingDiamond]

Thanks emphatic and Lumberjackass! It's almost there...

Need some feedback about the sidepanel artwork. This is the last thing left to have printed and installed.

I think this is perfect. Just roll with it. I would LOVE to see you do a full upright 1 player R-type cab. Like a re-imagining of what a dedicated R-type cab would be (basically what you've done but with only 2 buttons, and the R-type logo instead of R-cade).

BTW, you must be a patient guy. This has been in the works for a while.

[Bender]

Thanks emphatic and Lumberjackass! It's almost there...

Need some feedback about the sidepanel artwork. This is the last thing left to have printed and installed.

I think this is perfect. Just roll with it. I would LOVE to see you do a full upright 1 player R-type cab. Like a re-imagining of what a dedicated R-type cab would be (basically what you've done but with only 2 buttons, and the R-type logo instead of R-cade).

BTW, you must be a patient guy. This has been in the works for a while.

+ 1

I like it  just how it is, that type on the top is subtle and informative and gives it an Arcade feel IMHO

[kyoke]

After much too long... this thing is finally finished. Excuse the bad pic, my professional photographer's on vacation.



Things I'd like to do:

* Continue tweaking the frontend - skin, graphics, controls
* Continue tweaking in-game controls
* Continue refining game list selection
* Make a new cabinet

Things I wish I'd done:

* Planned better
* Measured twice :p
* Used laminate and T-mold instead of paint, paint, paint, paint, paint, lacquer...

[emphatic]

Man, that is foxy! 

[Well Fed Games]

Seriously, that is an amazing bartop! Nice job!

[Bender]

Really Nicley done!!!

[AlienInferno]

I just found this but must say that is one nice machine.  Great job.

[jpS14]

This is really nice bartop. I want to make one now. The art is great too. Great job.

[opt2not]

It turned out pretty nice Kyoke! Good job on getting it complete. Love the CP, and the hidden pinball buttons in the alien tail
I still would have removed that extra R-Cade title in the side art, but other than that it looks pretty damn awesome.
Great job all around! 

Now lets see some pictures of it all powered up! i wanna see how that marquee looks when lit.

[Termin8tor]

About time, only joking truly a excellant example of a weecade and one that inspired me to build my first cab.

[Ond]

This has turned out really nice, I take it you've sorted out all your power supply and hum issues?

[Bauley]

Fantastic! That thing is gorgeous!!!! Great job mate.

[kyoke]

Thanks to everyone that provided feedback while I was building this thing. I'm glad the build part of it is over and I can go on to another cab.

All hardware issues have been resolved, and I ended up using a smart power switch inside the machine to control all components and power everything on simultaneously. Next project will definitely have more planning!

I want to try out some different FEs and make a good R-TYPE skin for one and I'm going back in the tank until I come up with a good design. As always, MAME and its ROMset need continuous tweaking and I've gotten lots of feedback from friends who've played on how I can remap some buttons, enhance the gameplay, etc.

   Again, thanks to EVERYONE who commented on this project and everyone who put together this great source of information and of course all the fantastic help I received. I'm glad to be a part of such an awesome community.

I definitely want to get LEDs for the 5V lit illuminated buttons, which will make 'em pop a lot more. Here's a quick pic of it powered on and the marquee lit up...



u360s play like a dream, I gotta say.

[AlienInferno]

Looks good lit up.  Have you noticed the font changing in the header on Maximus?  The part that says All Games in the pic?  Mine seems to change between two fonts and it's hard to see the top game name sometimes.

[skaterboy]

Kyoke - amazing artwork! Any chance you would share the control panel artwork?

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Great artwork and colours, just an overall awesome machine. Out of curiosity, have you had any prolonged 2player-gaming-sessions yet (sorry if you already posted about that)? Do you rub elbows with your companion a lot when playing?

[Vulgar Soul]

Fresh build man! This one goes in the hall of fame!

[mytzos]

Hi there....Congrats for your bartop. It's one of the best I've seen so far. Recently I started constructing one myself based on the original weecade like yours. I was wondering if I could use your artwork and if I could then maybe you could send me the pics in their original size. I don't know much for photoshop so I cannot create them myself. Nice job anyway!!