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First MAME cabinet - Classics themed, need help with lots of stuff
levip7:
After a couple weeks of reading everything there is to read, I have about half an idea what im doing here, so please give suggestions.
Hardware:
Dell Optiplex gx620 - 100$ off ebay, although this has no output except vga (hooking up a vga to component did not work at all on my tv)
Dell ATI Radeon HD 3450 (Y103D) video card - 11$ on ebay, not arrived yet, has s-video and dvi output (I am hoping that I can get dvi to component to work, so I wont have to use S-video) I am assuming I can put this thing in and it will work fine
Speakers - haven't researched this yet, something cheap. Open to suggestions
27" sanyo flat screen CRT tv - $50 at the pawn shop, has power return
Control Panel
Uploaded with ImageShack.us- I made it tonight, except for the pac man background I found off google images. I have no idea if the button layout will be too close together. If it is, I will rework it. I have relatives with printing capabilities. Not sure how to mount the design to the wood, I would like to put some lexan over it, but can you cut it just like wood? I have attached the artwork. If you want high resolution .tiff images I can give you them (even without my name on them) I tried to leave space for a rollerball in the future. I left space for 4 menu buttons and 2 for volume control. i plan on wiring the p1 8 way in serial to the 4 way joystick, and also the p1 button 1 in serial to the 4 way button to the right (for galaga shooting). I hope this will work.
Frontend: Maximus Arcade. This was easy to set up and most of my screens and marquees are showing up. No complaints.
Plans:
cabinet plans - Lusid style, except I will make it as compact as possible, although this probably wont be any smaller than the standard plans. Woodworking is not an issue, I have a garage full of tools, but i'll have to go get a craftsman router. Will incorporate a pull out drawer of some kind for guns.
cabinet colors - Ms. Pac man blue, yellow T molding, Ms. Pac man decals on side and kickplate (hopefully). My girlfriend plays this more than anything else, so It will probably be played more than any other game, so I designed the cabinet appropriately.
Next Steps:
Interface: I will be ordering the control panel equipment to wire the panel soon, although Ultimarc is out of Ipacs, so I guess I will have to google another supplier unless anyone has any ideas...
Joysticks: I'm just going to wire the p1 8-way in serial with the 4 way stick, i'm assuming this works? My joystick choice will probably be the Leaf-Pro 4-way from groovygamegear, it seems accurate for the time period and cheap. For 8-ways, I don't know what joysticks to get. Should I just get ultrastick 360s? They look complicated, so i'm thinking i'll just get a couple of mag-stick plus joysticks.
Buttons: classic colors from groovygamegear. Any suggestions for menu buttons? I want to be able to label them with button inserts or something. I also want to have two buttons for volume controls, but I havent looked into that yet, I hope its easy to do.
I want to get a couple aimtrak guns to work so I can play sega model 2 games as well as police trainer, area 51, duck hunt, deer hunting etc. I have some aiming problems with sega model 2 (v0.9 because 1.0 crashes when i put it in full screen every time) currently using the mouse, but I think maybe it is my video card or lcd pc monitor im testing it on? When I click, it shoots about 2 inches lower than the crosshair on HOTD, and gunblade NY has up/down reversed and also accelerates in left and right directions when I move. Virtua cop 2 seems to work ok... If the video card doesn't resolve this, I dont know what to do. I'm working on getting the chd files right now for a51/maxforce. I am assuming that when I get the aimtrak and housing, then get my video card, and I hook it all up to the tv, the things will work ok. Hopefully I wont have to update my mame version.
If I have overlooked anything and done something completely wrong, please catch it so I dont have to find out the hard way. I will be ordering stuff for the control panel soon to work on it, unless someone thinks i've screwed something up and I should just abandon this project. These forums have been a lot of help, maybe someone will learn from my progress over the course of this build.
ghettodish:
Couple of quick notes....
Lexan can be drilled like wood, plexiglass can't.
Ditch the 4 menu buttons and 2 volume buttons. If using an Ipac you can give a secondary option to all button presses/joystick directions by holding down the P1 button. For example P1+P2= Exit, P1+Left JOY=Enter. My volume is controlled by a joystick.
Trackball needs to be further away from the monitor. You will jamb your fingers. Centered in your panel would be better. Also, a trackball has a footprint from the underside of your panel. It wouldn't physically fit where you have it now.
Have you seen the joysticks that are 2/4/8-way switchable?
levip7:
I will probably use lexan then, since I will have to drill holes and also cut the angles. If it was up to me, I would ditch the menu buttons, but my girlfriend and parents, brother, kid relatives etc. will be using this thing and I want it to be as easy to figure out as possible, which they will probably need labeled buttons. Who knows, I might take them off anyway...
I didn't label it on the control panel, but that circle next to the 4 way is for a spinner, I was just going to cut a hole for the rollerball out of the center between the 2 8 ways, it just wont have fancy designs around it when I do.
I will probably get switchable joysticks for the 2 8 ways, but I just wanted a dedicated 4 way. I am open to suggestions to which joysticks to buy.
I appreciate your suggestions.
notroubleclubber:
Your need to wire the joysticks in parallel not series.
levip7:
After I looked up the difference, the picture in my mind was a parallel circuit, but I was saying series. I can't remember much from college physics...
Thanks for reminding me, I might have messed that up.