Nice work. The cp wiring wasn't that bad at all now was it.
That's a good question, which I was trying to work out as I stayed up late into the third night in a row working on my control panel.
Is it rocket science? No.
Is it easy and intuitive? Not really.
Do I think at the end of the day that I'll have a CP and system working as intended? Yes.
Do I know that many other people that could/would tackle this successfully? No.
Maybe its the fact that we're creating something from so many different parts, or my preference for printed directions vs locating things online, or my getting used to IKEA instructions where each step is clearly layed out with pictures so you can follow them regardless of understood language, but I can't classify this whole process as EASY.
The constructing of the
cabinet was pretty straight forward, but I took the easy way out and ordered pre-cut pieces. My woodworking skills are limited, just constructing the box for the CP gave me some issues. I'm really really handy, but I'm not... precise. I work better on big projects that I can correct/cover up with paint & spackle.
This could be one of the most time consuming parts of this project, but for me it was not. Thanks to my pre-cut UAII cab for that.
The PC gave me it's own issues where I had to swap out components which would have stopped most other people I know. It gave me a fresh start for MAME and kept Windows XP uncluttered, but it was a headache and a roadblock that I didn't need. Of course I spent $0 on this using existing components which is great, but again something that others I know wouldn't have been able to do. Having built a few PC's in the past has proved amazingly useful to me in both my personal and professional life. I know that many of you have done this so it doesn't seem like that big a deal, but most people that I know have 0 knowledge in this area. This skill is a major advantage in this hobby I think.
Software setup was easier the second time around, I'm just dealing with MAMEUI at this point, and not MAME, MAMEUI, and MALA all at the same time, like I was before my PC died. I initially tried to do too much at once and was trying to configure MALA before I confirmed that games and controls worked as intended in MAME. After I get everything built and working as intended, I'll work to make the FrontEnd easier for users, incorporate Daphne and other emulators, make it more of a game machine rather than a PC in a big box with buttons thing, etc.
The
control panel. Cost more and taking longer than originally anticipated. I did a lot of reading and research on this where I could, but at the end of the day I just winged it. Part of the problem is there aren't definitive answers. I'm looking to play oldschool games, so some of my components like the leaf buttons were influenced by that desire, but at the end of the day there's no wrong answer, which also means that there's no RIGHT answer. I'm not sure which buttons to order, or joysticks to use, or size trackball to get. For the layout of the CP you can copy others or make your own (what I did) but that's preference. But the putting everything together, again, I lacked basic knowledge since I hadn't done anything like this before, and my interpretations of things that I read/saw weren't always correct. One thing I've done which I'm happy with is the SIZE of the CP. So many CP's that I see are HUGE and extend past the sides of the cabinet. My cab is already big, so I just barely extend past the sides and only an inch or two in the front.
Regarding resources for this project, Saint's book is a great place to start, but of course it covers everything, and not just what I want to make personally. Vendor sites provide information and schematics which are of course helpful, but this forum is the #1 thing that has helped me get to where I am so far. Searching topics is great, but nothing beats posting a question and having it addressed, explained, and answered in just a few hours.
I now have a working 2 player system that incorporates two joysticks, a trackball, and 6 action buttons for each player. That's awesome and has already exceeded my wife's expectations of me.
Cleaning everything up, wrapping up loose ends, adding polish and graphics will make this a finished piece, will lead to a finished produect, which again will lean heavily on this board.
Good times!