MAME people in St. Louis

[cdnbum]

I am thinking of building a Mame machine and I have one buddy that did one years ago, but looking for anyone that has maybe recently built one and knows all the latest software and roms (I have the roms) to help me if I get into any challenging setups?

I think I can handle the building part of the project, but the version of Mame that I tested did not have all things working, and I am thinking I would like to have a Tron themed machine and it would be nice if Tron was on there and worked  Knowing this may require that specific joystick, but hoping I can work with the tankstick that I already have. Also have the Dragson Layer and some other Laser Disc stuff that I would like to get working.

Anyway, just looking for some contacts that are knee deep in this stuff and can help when I get stuck or when I go to complete the setup of the actual PC stuff.

Thanks to all for your consideration and help.

[cdnbum]

NO one in St. Louis?

OR no one wants to help 

[PL1]

Anyway, just looking for some contacts that are knee deep in this stuff and can help when I get stuck or when I go to complete the setup of the actual PC stuff.

Not sure how many MAME types are in the St. Louis area, but post away if you have any specific concerns or questions.  To paraphrase "Field of Dreams": If you post it, they will answer.

As to Tron, there are several approaches, depending on the type of control panel (fixed, modular etc.) you plan on having.  I think that darthpaul is trying to automate the 4-way to 8-way restrictor switching during game play. (Just do a search for tron + switch)

For Dragon's Lair and other laser disc games I believe the program you want is called Daphne.


Scott

[cdnbum]

I have a Tank Stick now and I have read somewhere that folks have made that work, albeit not ideal, but have. Not sure what other options are out there as to not modify the tank stick.

[cdnbum]

 
I am from Canada, northern Ontario Sault Ste. Marie. I have been in St. Louis for 17 years now.

Always that that question was funny.

Wife is a Mehlville girl.

[paigeoliver]

I am in St. Charles.

I have completed a number of cabinets bordering on the pornographic.

All the latest software is usually a big mistake on a project.

Tron had one of the most god awful control setups ever devised (left handed spinner, ugh), but I still built two separate machines with Tron panels for people who just had to have that.

Your tankstick is best left intact. You won't need it for any real projects.

If you want to work from an original cabinet I can likely deliver one right to your house.

[cdnbum]

Cool. Good to know there are other folk in STL to reach out to. I have coworker that built a couple from scratch and I know he will help me with the construction.

I agree, I am not going to do anything to my Tankstick to make it work with Tron, but since I am thinking about a Tron theme, would like that game to work firstly and then also have some sort of mechanism to play it, whether jerry rig something, if the rom could be configured and so on, these are the things I am more not in the know on.

Have you seen or built anything that 'could' allow you to plan Tron with the tankstick and something added?

[paigeoliver]

There isn't a single applicable thing on your tankstick to a tron control setup. You need a spinner and a top fire joystick, ideally the actual Tron joystick as it has a restrictor plate unique to that title (basically it is an 8-way stick but it is hard to activate the diagonals). Of the two tron setups I previously did I used standard happ controls 8-way top fire sticks as neither person I was making them for wanted to shell out the money for a real tron stick.

Honestly, the Tron theme normally turns out to be a disaster on a standard horizontal monitor cabinet that is also supposed to double as a universal mame cabinet. You end up with so many compromises that the whole project ends up sort of cruddy. The original game isn't really that good in the first place (the cool cabinet, artwork, mirrors, controls and lights add A LOT to the experience), and trying to support it usually sabotages the whole project that ends up being both a poor mame cabinet and a poor tron cabinet at the same time.

Of the two I built I built one with the tron control setup as original, right hand on the stick and left hand on the spinner. It was honestly a pretty terrible layout for anything that wasn't tron. The second one I built with the control panel reversed, stick on left, spinner on right, and that was much more universally useful, but still wasn't a very good control panel. Both had horizontal monitors as the people I made them for wanted them to be universal.

A double decker control panel setup could allow you to better support proper tron controls, although you still have compromises to deal with there as well.

My usual suggestion to people who REALLY want to support some game with oddball controls is just to buy that game in the first place. It is a much better experience.

Cool. Good to know there are other folk in STL to reach out to. I have coworker that built a couple from scratch and I know he will help me with the construction.

I agree, I am not going to do anything to my Tankstick to make it work with Tron, but since I am thinking about a Tron theme, would like that game to work firstly and then also have some sort of mechanism to play it, whether jerry rig something, if the rom could be configured and so on, these are the things I am more not in the know on.

Have you seen or built anything that 'could' allow you to plan Tron with the tankstick and something added?

[paigeoliver]

Also, if you want a real cabinet to start from soon, then get with me today or tomorrow, as I have a contact going into a warehouse this weekend already. If I can get him to grab me another cabinet I could have it on your doorstep for around $125.

[cdnbum]

Also, if you want a real cabinet to start from soon, then get with me today or tomorrow, as I have a contact going into a warehouse this weekend already. If I can get him to grab me another cabinet I could have it on your doorstep for around $125.

Just read this today. Shot you a PM inquiring.

[paigeoliver]

I have a Pole Position 2 cabinet available to deliver to you right away if you are interested in it. It can either be left as a driver or be given a blank wood panel like in this thread here.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=25212.0

[bjordan314]

i live in florissant i got some mame stuff going on