Anyone build just a One Player mame cab?

[BrentRadio]

Just wondering, is so, why? And was it still fun?

[Nephasth]

Search. Browse. Absorb the knowledge of those whose footsteps are placed before you.

[BobA]

I build lots of bartops with 1 player controls.  The classics play 2 player sequentially not concurrently so my 60 in 1 cabs only have the 1 panel and no need for any other.  When I build a mame or other emulator bartop I use a single control panel due to the size of the bartop but I always setup a gamepad for a second player to use.   Side by side on a 2 person panel is not fun if there is not enough room. 

[yotsuya]

I just did, a one player, 4-way only, leaf-microswitches vertical cab. I love it. I have buttons for left or right handed players, and use LED blinky to only light up the ones needed.

[slug54]

My Pacman cab I converted for MAME only has one 4 way  stick and one set of buttons but has the 2 player start button. It is for  the verticle classics which almost allways played 2 players by hot seat one exception that comes to mind is Joust.
This is my 2nd cab my first one was built from scratch and supported 2 players. The Pacman conversion is not done yet and is still in the garage but I believe it will be at least as fun to play as my other cab or maybe even more due to the simplicity of the controls.
 

[boardjunkie]

Mine's a single player cab. Why? Because I built it for me, and thats what I wanted.

[leapinlew]

Are you talking about a game without a 2nd player start button, or a game without a second set of controls?

I see no reason to not include a 2nd player start button, but there are lots of reasons to not have a second set of controls.

[mgb]

Typical multicade setups are one player. So if you're looking for ideas on a good single player layout, I think this layout works well.

[leapinlew]

Typical multicade setups are one player. So if you're looking for ideas on a good single player layout, I think this layout works well.

The layout is nice, but I wonder how well Qbert works on it.

[boardjunkie]

Same as it does in MAME....not real well....

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

Typical multicade setups are one player. So if you're looking for ideas on a good single player layout, I think this layout works well.

Add another row of three buttons above that one and you've covered all of the Neo-Geo games, 6-button fighters, and a slew of other really great games too.


Personally, I totally understand the desire for that kind of project, mostly because very few of my friends share in the enjoyment of the classics... (I know, I know... "get new friends!") 

Sheer floor space for a full-size project can be an issue, like it is here in NYC...

Girlfriend/spouse/partner/whatever approval definitely comes up a lot, too...

Ergonomics regarding your available parts selection could also be a factor.  I'd hate to see a full 2-player panel on a project relegated to a 19" (or less) monitor. That's CrapMAME waiting to happen...

I generally plan/build my projects with simultaneous multiplayer in mind, but yeah, if you're dealing with any of the above (or like boardjunkie said, you just want it that way!)  there's something to be said for building 1-player and having a USB gamepad or some such stashed away on the occasion someone wants to join in.

[BobA]

I don't see the problem with plugging in a gamepad for multi player support if you want it.  All the pc's that you are going to use for a 1 player will have a usb port available;

[BrentRadio]

Mine's a single player cab. Why? Because I built it for me, and thats what I wanted.

Haha, exactly!

I will play two player games on it for sure.

Thanks for the ideas and replies.

[eds1275]

I'm working on this right now. Between games of course. I play it a lot.

[LeedsFan]

I remember when I first got into this hobby... and my first projects. I tried to cover as many bases as possible. Two player setup, trackball, spinner. In the end I realised I used the machine solo 98% of the time. Trackball games and spinner games I played amounted to about 5 in total. And I couldn't even play Robotron or Smash TV properly because the sticks were too far apart.

I came to realise that the correct controls for certain games were the order of the day. And so I moved to building mini bartops with correct controls for whatever game.

Controls >> number of games

[opt2not]

I'd like to build a 1-player cabinet dedicated to vertical shmups only, for concentrated high-score play.
I've seen a few on the net here and there, but these two stood out to me:

Vewlix style shmup cabinet (very cool Xevious style artwork):
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=37972


XBOX-based Coinops cabinet  (seems like a nice sized mini cabinet):