As many of you have already read, I have waffled on some of my original build ideas, and have since decided to go with a cab themed after the Arcade Game found in the Kitchen of the Mars Base in the classic game DOOM 3. If any of you have played this game, you should immediately recognize "Super Turbo Turkey Puncher 3" as one of the in-game Easter Eggs. If not, here's a small vid:
Anyhow, please enjoy reading through the messages below, to see how we have come to this point. And, fittingly enough, it looks like we've come full circle, as the message below is actually my first post on BYOAC.
Enjoy!
Rick
Ninja Edit: Heh. Do I change the title of this thread enough, or what?
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Hi All,
This is my first post here, so it's as much an introduction as it is my foray into the wonderful world of MAME building. Let me just say that some of the work you guys have done is simply AMAZING, and an inspiration to behold. I've bookmarked so many awesome cabs here, that it's hard to keep up, but I am working on a design along the lines of
Knievel's and
Mountain's builds, as (for my requirements) they seem to be the benchmark by which all cabs could aspire.
I love tooling around with some graphic design software, so I've been designing some of the graphics for my own cab... I'll share my marquee idea, as I'm still working on the others:
I do have a couple of questions in regards to the layout (yes, I've been all over the site and the wiki in search of the answers) and I hope someone can answer some of my rudimentary questions. This will help me to complete the control panel graphics as well. I am looking to build a two player, six-button machine, and do also like the ability to have a dedicated 4-way joystick control, spinner and trackball. That being said, I have some questions.
1. I've noticed that some people have a seventh button, and I believe I read that it's for some 'Neo Geo' games. Is it, in fact, a 'seventh button', and if so, how important is it? Am I going to lose the ability to play 'most' or 'best' Neo Geo games? (As in, "omg, the BEST GAME OF ALL TIME needs the seventh button!!!") Or, is it negligible? (As in, "only 1 of 50 games uses it.")
2. If I have a "Player 1" and "Player 2" joystick configuration, how is the 4 Way Joystick usually wired? Is it wired in parallel with the "Player 1" joystick, or is it usually wired to separate connections? (I understand I'll be configuring a lot of the inputs via both hardware and software, but would like to figure this out.)
3. I've noticed that a lot of cabs have 'pinball-style' buttons on the left and right sides. What confused me most was that many of them have TWO of these buttons. As there are usually two flippers, what are the additional buttons for? Also, are the buttons wired in parallel with anything else (i.e. Player 1's Button 1 and Button 2?) so that they're not 'required' but more of an 'optional feature'?
4. If I plan on installing both a Spinner and a Trackball, I believe that most of the more 'popular' makes use USB connections for each one. Is this so? Is it as simple as saying that my Spinner is connected to USB 1 and my Trackball is connected to USB 2? Some configurations also show some (usually two) buttons beside the spinner. Is there a reason for this, usually? (And again, are they wired in parallel with anything?)
5. I've noticed that each Player seems to require both a "Player" button (P1/P2, etc.) as well as their own, dedicated "Insert Coin" button. Is this so?
I think that's it for the questions. Hopefully, someone will be able to give me a hand in this department... (Of course, if there are resources available that answers each of these, then I'd be happy to read them.)
I'm really, really excited to get started. You can ask my Wife. Sadly, it looks like this will likely 'ramp up' in the Fall, as I am in the midst of completing my main floor renovations, and then, I've been advised that I have to complete the bathroom. (I've bugged my Wife about the MAME cab for a week now, so that whenever I mention it, she simply replies, "Bathroom", and I'm snapped back to reality.) That being said, there's no reason I can't start the planning stages now... ...and that's why I'm here. I'm excited. I've got the initiative, and this 'new project' is undoubtedly going to keep me spurred on to complete my other renos first - and quicker, I'd wager - so that I can get going on my own cab.
Rick
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Archive of Great or Inspiring Posts: Ok, as of right now, I'm going to input some of the more inspiring ideas that people have posted (whether in this thread or others) here, so that I can *remember* them!
The way I setup dual sticks for the same player was simple, wire the UDLR to both but wire the ground to a toggle switch. Pretty much insures no one can mess with it while you are playing... plus its great when little kids want to "play" the game while you are playing.
Love this idea. I haven't seen it mentioned before, but as the Father of two kids, I can see where this would be helpful!
this info is in the wiki under the Hiding Windows section.
http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Hiding_Windows
here is how to get rid of the shutting down messages:
Getting rid of the "Loading settings" Popup screens
The following will hide the dialog box that appears that the beggining of Windows startup informing you that the system is "Loading Settings".
To do this,follow these steps:
Go to, Start Menu -> Run and enter regedit
Navigate to entry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>Software>Microsoft>Windows>CurrentVersion>Policies>System
If there is an entry for "DisableStatusMessages" set it to 1 (the digit one)
If there is no entry, right-mouse click the "System" word, and select New->DWORD value, and enter "DisableStatusMessages", right-mouse to edit the value of it, and enter 1 (the digit one).