Newbie questions...

[chrisindfw]

We've all been there... Newbies...

I have a few questions. I am about to start building my cab. After some planning.

1) What is best for the outside walls of the cabinet? Plywood? MDF?

2) I don't want there to be a 'wood' type grain on the outside. What is used to make it smooth?

3) TV or Monitor? I have a computer with a tv out jack. Can I use this?

4) Now the big question... I want to play alot of games. But I dont want to deal with changing control panels. What control panel setup would be best for majority of the games. No spinner, maybe a trackball. Enough to play majority of the games.

5) Thanks!

Thanks for your time.

Chris
in Dallas!

[SirPoonga]

1) Either

2) laminate, paint

3) Yes, personal preference mostly.

4) Design one.

[ShinraArcade]

a tv is good for me
providing it has s-video but i suppose composite will do if you dont have much choice

as for the controls i hacked 2 gravis gamepad pros each has 10 buttons enough for any game!

as for a track ball i havent added one yet but im planning to get a standar pc one

nothing complex from me just control pads and a tv no j-pacs i-pacs or whatever just hacked plug and play stuff!

of course im only a newbie myself
if you asked some one with experience they would probably tell you differently

hope i was of some help : )  good luck with your cab

[CitznFish]

i recommend viewing this:  http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~darrelld/newbie.html

[hyiu]

if no wood grain, use MDF...

mdf itself is quite smooth... but laminate is VERY smooth...
(but more $$...)

is the tv good enough ??... donno...
since you say your video card has tv out plug...
plz move your computer next to the tv... (or vice versa..)
then plug it in and check it out yourself....
then you decide.... this is very personal opinion...
and output varies with different cards...

put as much control as your panel can comfortably hold... haa haa.... check out examples of others in the prj ann. web page.... get ideas from others....

good luck !!!...  

[TalkingOctopus]

1) MDF is less expensive and a bit easier to work with.

2) I used 3 coats black satin latex paint over 2 coats of latex primer.

3) If you have the money a WG arcade monitor + ArcadeVGA is probably the best display you can ask for.  Otherwise a T.V. w/ S-video will be just fine.  I have a 27" Sharp T.V.

4)  How many players do you want to have?  You will probably want:

2 8-way joysticks
4-way joystick
A trackball

That will play a majority of the games w/o cluttering your cp.  Ultimately, you have to decide what is right for you and what games you want to play.

I made a 4 player cp w/ 2 Happ P360's and 2 Super's and a 3" Happ Trackball.  I did not include any more controls because I didn't want it cluttered.

I really wish I had a 4-way joystick or that the 8-way's were easier to  switch back and forth.  However, I enjoyed building my arcade so much, I will eventually make another one w/ 4 way joysticks and a spinner.

Good Luck!

[chrisindfw]

Thanks for the advice.

I am going with 2 - 8 Way
I want a trackball.. Depends on the cost.
Do I only need one 4 way?

Now the question of buttons...
For each 8 way, how many buttons do I need?
Does the trackball need buttons near it?
What about system commands, Pause... etc?

Thanks for all the help guys.

One final question for those hardcore builders. Lights. I am a programmer. I was wondering if there was a way to light up a set of buttons? For example. I write my own front end, when somone is selecting the game, the various buttons used lights up for that particular game.

Any ideas how I could go about doing this?

Thanks again.

[tmasman]

How many buttons depends on how you'll be using the cab...
Most people use 6 buttons, but some like to add a 7th to get a more original Neo-Geo layout as well.

4-way? YES!!! It makes a big difference in the feel of the classic games.
It'll just wire up with P1's 8-way.

Mouse buttons?
Do you plan on running Windows on this machine? (Then Yes)
If you're running DOS, or a decent front-end, (Then Maybe, but only if you want to)

There have been some other threads regarding the whole lighting up certain buttons idea. So far we haven't seen a working solution.

[Tiger-Heli]

>I want a trackball.. Depends on the cost.
PC Trackball - $11 with shipping, I can find the link if you need it.
Arcade trackball - 2-1/4 $25 from www.wicothesource.com or www.ultimarc.com
3" - $50 from www.wicothesource.com
Plus $13 for OSCAR's USB interface for either one.

>Do I only need one 4 way?

Pretty much, I think maybe Karate Champ or Crazy Climber were dual 4-way, but I think they'll play okay with two 8-ways.

>For each 8 way, how many buttons do I need?

Would recommend 7 buttons and 6 inputs for a Street Fighter and Neo-Geo configuration.  This gets asked a lot.

>Does the trackball need buttons near it?

Personal preference, not necessarily, you could use the P1 buttons, if that's convenient.

>What about system commands, Pause... etc?

Personally, I recommend a dedicated Pause and Escape and plug in a keyboard for other general config issues.

>One final question for those hardcore builders. Lights. I am a >programmer. I was wondering if there was a way to light up a set of >buttons? For example. I write my own front end, when somone is >selecting the game, the various buttons used lights up for that >particular game.
>Any ideas how I could go about doing this?

LED's can be used to light the buttons.  Search old threads.  Someone else was working on what you describe, but I don't think it ever happened.  Again, search old threads.

[chrisindfw]

So the trackball is translated into actual mouse movement?

Thanks for the info. It helped alot.

Last question..
I am only going to have 2 players max.

Do I only need one 4-way?

Ive seen some panels with two 8-way on the sides, a trackball in the middle, and a 4-way above the trackball.

Thanks

[Tiger-Heli]

>So the trackball is translated into actual mouse movement?

Correct!  One thing I thought of is that if you don't want extra buttons on the panel, you could wire P1B1 and P1B2 as Left Mouse and Right Mouse and then set MAME to use these inputs.

>Do I only need one 4-way?

I would say so.  See my previous reply.

[aricade]

You might just want to buy a T-stick from Ultimarc.  It has a 4way/8way switch...  Use this one for Player One.  Then Player 2 Can be a Happ Competition or Super or whatever you prefer.  This way you save space...

 

[chrisindfw]

How is this? Am I missing anything?

2-8 way
1-4 way
Trackball

Thanks again guys!

[tmasman]

Looks pretty good.  Doesn't look like anythig is missing...
(Maybe coin buttons, unless you're using a coin door)
What are you using to draw this in?

What Front end are you planning on using?
What style cabinet are you thinking of?
Just curious.
(BTW I'm in Arlington, what area are you in?)

[chrisindfw]

I'm in richardson.  Get ready.. its gonna rain!

I got a visio template and just used that. I plan to get a coin door. Maybe on ebay. I will wire the coin return to the insert coin buttons

Front end... Dont know yet. I might make my own where when someone highlights the game, it shows a mockup of the control panel to show the controls that are used?

For a cabinet, I thought about using 1uparcades design minus the spinning panel. This will be my first cabinet.

I am working on downloading some roms but my friends ftp site is down.

[Raleigh]

Something you may want to consider about your cp layout is the positioning of the 4-way joystick.  Personally when I am playing golf or bownling with the trackball I am pushing the trackball with my palm and my hand continues forward which on your cp layout would be right into your joystick.  Some people just use their thumbs so it may not be a problem for you, but one of your friends may end up with some jammed or broken fingers and you may end up with a broken joystick.  Just something to think about.

[Tiger-Heli]

My main comments are that the Ultimates are generally not well regarded here.

See http://www.oscarcontrols.com/joycompare/joyreview1.shtml if you haven't already, or if you KNOW you want Ultimates, never mind.

Front end... Dont know yet. I might make my own where when someone highlights the game, it shows a mockup of the control panel to show the controls that are used?

Something like this, maybe http://www.mameworld.net/emuadvice/controls/controls.html