Hello all,
New guy here, starting at the announcements page! I’ve been reviewing the site (and other sites) for a while, and have my initial plan for your review. I’m not ready to start the cabinet build however, as step one is actually to install the subfloor and then laminate wood flooring in my basement, (currently finished but with thin carpet and some moisture issues) but by posting here I’m hoping this will feel “more real” and help me to stay on course.
I’m new to MAME and emulators but have been around computers for much of my life, built a few, so I’m not expecting problems in that area. I’m also good with tools, so I’m looking forward to the actual cabinet build. My biggest flaw is I’m afraid of electrical work/wiring, so custom buttons make me nervous. So here is my preliminary plan, appreciate feedback, options, and ideas:
Arcade Cabinet – Ordered pre-cut offering from MameRoom Designs, Ultimate Arcade II. Will be neat, will look how I want, and have a finished appearance right away. Red T-Molding ordered as well as that looks how I want.
Two Player controllers – Going to build this using information from this site. Current plan is for 2 main 8 way joysticks, 6 buttons each, trackball, and probably a 4-way up top in middle. Don't want the CP to be too Fraken, but a Tron stick is tempting. Also will likely need a spinner, and is a removable Spy Hunter wheel an option? Will likely create an initial "test" CP first with basics, and add what is missing based on popularity of gameplay. Sticking to older games, so hopefully button combos will remain limited.
Monitor – On lookout for a 25" Monitor with S-Video input, speakers on bottom, power return a nice option.
PC System – Dell Dimension P4 wiped and loaded with MAME, games, and currently the Game EX frontend.
Bezel/Marquee/Cab Graphics – Down the road decisions, not a major concern at moment.
Speaker system – Have a nice speaker setup with Bass from a previous PC build, sounds great.
Game Emulators – Looks like I’ll want MAME & Daphne initally, don't know if I want more.
Oh, to help classify me and get an understanding of the games I’m looking to have access to, I just turned 40, so I grew up playing games like Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Dig Dug, Spy Hunter (a favorite), TRON, Journey (cheesy), stuff like that. My wife wants games like Tempest, Robotron, Beserk. I’d like to have access to games like Dragon Quest and Space Ace that took way too many quarters to make any kinds of progress back in the day. Fighting games would be present but likely not my focus for the machine. Finally have a house with a adequate basement for a good gameroom.
This is a long text, sorry about that, but wanted to cover everything. Thanks for this site and help in advance!