Agent 3343: 1st project

[agent3343]

I first want to start my project by saying "Thank You" to my wife Michelle for fully understanding that I am a geek. I love you Babe!

I play a TON of games on just about every format, platform, and style possible. Speaking about Arcades in particular: It was a regular thing to see me at Magic Galaxy, Aladdin's Castle, Malibu, or Outer Limits back in the day... WAY back in the day! It just never really clicked, why the hell not just make my own Arcade? So this brings us closer to the present. I used to own an actual legit Pac-Man cocktail cabinet and a standup Frogger machine back in the the late 80's, so in tribute I would like to use the "PacMan Cocktail Cabinet plans by Kyle Lindstrom" and build it as a MAME system. There are a few things I am still trying to decide on...

• Do I use a cabinet kit or build my own using plans? I am pretty OK at woodworking so I think I could build one easy enough, but I also have 4 small kids, so time invested in the project is a concern.
• Thanks to my Wives support, I will use the cocktail cab for vertical screen games and then at a later date, build a stand-up cab for horizontal games. I was thinking about doing a 3CP cocktail, but I read on a lot of posts that a lot of folks don't like them once built.
• Even though I am a very decent tech person, these interface boards and such seem a bit confusing. It sounds as though microswitch is the way to go and I hear a lot about these iPac boards... is this a good choice?
• The 4way/8way switchable joysticks... do these require just the 4 microswitches or 8?

I appreciate any input you all can give...

[Jigenjuke]

Hey there Agent 3343,

Welcome to the forum.

I would probably recommend a mini-pac from ultimarc rather than just a straight iPac.  The reason being is the mini-pac has support for trackballs and spinners without any other USB connections needed.  I have built a 3 sided cocktail before.  I was happy with the result but found the horizontal games a little bit of a pain to play.  If you were going to build a 3 sided cocktail I would recommend placing a motor inside the cabinet which at a button push could raise the top of the cabinet to facilitate natural play of horizontal games.  If as you said you plan on building a cabinet for horizontal games then keep the cocktail original and go with that.  Just some food for thought.  Everybody has their own style.  Go for it. 

P.S. if you do decided to buy a "flat pack" cocktail kit shop around and get the best price. 

Again welcome to the forum.

Jigenjuke

[javeryh]

If you are worried about the time commitment just buy a kit.  It is real cheap compared to the man-hours you will have to put in (which I guess will vary depending on your skills) and you can have the construction part finished in a weekend (assembly and paint/stain).  As much as I love the construction aspect and spending hours in the shop listening to the Mets lose, I'm probably going to be buying kits or restoring existing cabs from now on.  I just don't have the time.

- I HATE the third CP on my cocktail.

- Wiring is the easiest part.

- iPacs rule.

- 4/8way switchable joys only use 4 microswitches but I highly recommend a U360 or something similar.  No switching ever and you aren't limited to 4 or 8-way - the game knows what type of controls to use (2/4/8 way, 4-way diagonal, etc.).

Good luck - your wife must be a saint - I've got 1/2 as many kids and I still haven't gotten a full blessing from the wife on this hobby...  

[agent3343]

-Well I think for my first stab at this, I will stick with just a joystick and 4 game buttons on each side of the cocktail cabinet.

-I am also thinking to add a 1p and 2p button and a button for coin-add.

-I am also debating on using buttons on the cab for game selection and PC interface or just mounting some USB ports on the side to plug up a traditional mouse/keyboard to access and interface the PC inside.

- I have a spare 19" CRT flat-tube monitor (Sony trinitron) I was thinking of using. Really the only reason I am thinking of a CRT is that I already have one 

So tell me a bit more about this u360 stick? Is this the same as the Ultrastik 360 on the Ultimarc site? Is there really big difference between a USB connection joystick and a microswitch joystick?

[Jigenjuke]

-Well I think for my first stab at this, I will stick with just a joystick and 4 game buttons on each side of the cocktail cabinet.

-I am also thinking to add a 1p and 2p button and a button for coin-add.

-I am also debating on using buttons on the cab for game selection and PC interface or just mounting some USB ports on the side to plug up a traditional mouse/keyboard to access and interface the PC inside.

- I have a spare 19" CRT flat-tube monitor (Sony trinitron) I was thinking of using. Really the only reason I am thinking of a CRT is that I already have one 

So tell me a bit more about this u360 stick? Is this the same as the Ultrastik 360 on the Ultimarc site? Is there really big difference between a USB connection joystick and a microswitch joystick?

A joystick with 4 buttons to a side would take care of all your vertical game needs.  I think that having interface buttons on the cabinet is a must.  It just depends on personal preference and which front-end you are going to use.  I personally don't like having a keyboard and mouse hooked up to my cabinets.  As for as the 19 inch CRT you have, I say go for it!  Use all the spare parts you can.

Finally, yes!  There is a huge difference between a micro switch joystick and the U360 aka Ultrastick 360.  For one thing this joystick has support for 8 buttons, it can be used as an analog flight stick type joystick.  This joystick can be mapped to work 2 way, 4 way, 8 way, just about any way you see fit to map it.  The maps you create can be loaded in the background while starting a game. 

In a word this thing is AWESOME! 

Jigenjuke

[Donkbaca]

No interface buttons other than exit.  For everything else, use a keyboard and mouse stashed behind a coin door in the cabinet.  You will never need anything other than exit if the cab is set up right.

[eds1275]

You will never need anything other than exit if the cab is set up right.

I'm putting a pause button on mine as well just because the beer tends to go right through me lol. Other than that, the exit game button is all I am going to have going on. I'm going to throw my vote out that you build by hand and take many photos. ESPECIALLY if you have kids. They will be proud of you and any little thing you can get them to help you with will be a magical experience for them. Of course you say 4 small kids, but that may mean the way-to-young kind of small.

[javeryh]

No interface buttons other than exit.  For everything else, use a keyboard and mouse stashed behind a coin door in the cabinet.  You will never need anything other than exit if the cab is set up right.

I don't know about that... I prefer to have P1 start, P2 start, pause and exit on all of my MAME cabs (and a power button usually on the back).  It just makes life easier.  I know you can use shift functions but it is just too confusing for guests.  I guess it depends on who your audience is - I try making them as user-friendly as possible...

[Donkbaca]

You can have pause too, but you don't need it.  I don't consider P1 and P2 admin buttons.  The power button should be someplace discreet, so wandering little eyes don't push it

I too am not a fan of shift buttons

[agent3343]

As far as the kids go, they are somewhat young. (7, 5, 4, and 2 years old) I am thinking a kit may be more worth it as far as time and effort as I surely have the effort, but not much free time

I have used MAME before on the PC, but how well does the MAME interface work if I just put like an exit button somewhere and just use the joystick and game buttons to manuver around the menu's?

I also hear alot of talk about this front-end program (Masa I think its called??) What does this do?

[eds1275]

MaLa lets you create custom game-selection menus - totally gives your cabinet a custom look, almost like it's own branding. There are many FE programs, and many different opinions. I use Mala personally.

[agent3343]

Oh for the love of Godzilla!!    

After compiling a list of games I want to put on my 1st build, I am realizing that about 85% of the ones I want are horizontal screen games... So do I stay with the Pac-Man style cocktail cab or go for the Candy Cab I was planning to do after this one??

[Donkbaca]

Candy cab. It'll be enjoyed more


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[agent3343]

I do LOVE the look and design of the Candy Cabs, but building/buying one seems to be a big con for that. 

I do not know enough about plastic/metal molding to build or modify my own... Most of the vendors I have found sell them as complete kits and I think I would like to have my own "guts" in the thing as I am super confident I can do that (plus shipping is $$$$$$$), so unless you all know where I can get just the cab itself AND have it somewhere close to Louisville, KY... I might be S.O.L. on a Candy Cab for a while.

Plus it sounds like a simple Pac-Man style Cocktail Cab may be the best for a 1st build 

[Donkbaca]

I thought I saw a candy cab for sale in North Carolina.

If you search around the projects announcements thread, I think there are a few scratch build viewlix cabs


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