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First cab - Space City Arcade - almost finished
Kiatuthlanna:
Hi folks. I've been reading this forum for the last 3 months and dreaming of my first build. I've finally got a bit of time off coming up and am ready to get started.
Space and weight are both a bit of a concern for me, so I want to make something relatively slim, but I'm also worried about stability. I've created a basic sketch-up plan with a 20" x 24" interior base. I'll be using 3/4" MDF with laminate. One thing I've considered is making the back panel (or perhaps just a portion of it) out of peg board to save on weight and for easy access to the interior of the cabinet. I'm not sure if this is a good idea since my CP will extend several inches out from the base.
My basic plan is to have a two player 6 button CP with a 3" trackball. I've already got a spare 19" 4:3 LCD monitor but after making the sketch-up drawing I'm considering looking for a 21" LCD instead.
If anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it.
Kiatuthlanna:
By the way, I'm not making a "Journey" cabinet. I just like the color scheme.
PL1:
Looks like a great start.
I like that you have dual pinball flippers on the side. Great for Visual Pinball and Future Pinball.
You may want to add a pinball plunger/launcher (Enter) button on the front as well.
Recommended button placement and related VP/FP tips here.
Also the eternal question of admin buttons comes up.
If you have kids or friends that might mess up your settings, your current admin buttons are enough -- assuming you add an instruction card on how to navigate the FE/launch games/exit games.
Personally, I prefer having four additional buttons like this:
(you probably won't want/need the mouse buttons)
If you plan on playing Golden Tee type trackball games, swap the mouse buttons to the right of the center admins so you don't accidently hit exit. (Esc)
Also, have you decided on which type joysticks, trackball, and encoder you want to use?
Do you plan on using LED admin buttons? (Printable inserts?)
Do you want to add a spinner or dedicated 4-way stick?
Scott
ccmathome:
you might want to use 5/8 wood and laminate the out side and part of the inside so you end up with a 3/4 edge so your tmolding will set flush
Kiatuthlanna:
Scott,
Thanks so much for the advice. I've been going back and forth on the best placement for the pinball flippers (and all of the buttons in general), so that previous post was useful as well.
As for the admin buttons, I limited the number of buttons I included mostly to save clutter. My plan was to have as many buttons as possible do double duty (e.g., pinball flippers are mouse buttons when mouse is enabled, 1 or 2 player top row of buttons for Missle Command, etc.) using software settings. Before I totally commit to a button setup, I'm going to set up the buttons on a plastic bin to test the placement and ease of use. I think you're right that I might want the four admin buttons on the top of the CP though.
As for equipment, here is what I've been thinking:
buttons: standard Happ buttons with horizontal microswitches
joysticks: I've been looking at 4/8 switchable joysticks including the Mag-Stik plus, but I'm not sure I'd be happy with that. I'm currently playing with 8-way only sticks and not having too much trouble, but I could see that getting old. The dedicated 4-way may be a good option.
Trackball: I drew a 3" trackball (based on the Imperial) in the current CP plan, but I've also been looking at the U-TRAK FlushMount. I like the U-TRAK because I wouldn't have the huge mounting plate covering the artwork on the CP. I'm leaning towards this option now but want to read up on how those do under heavy use.
Encoder: IPAC2 seems like the best choice for me.
I'm not sure about the spinner yet. Definitely something to consider.
I don't really want the LED buttons as I find them kind of distracting.
One thing I've been toying with is actually including a real pinball plunger on the front of the cab to act as the software button. That would be all kinds of fun I think.
Thanks again for the input,
Matt
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