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Linking two cabs together?
Nephasth:
--- Quote from: MonMotha on January 21, 2013, 01:10:18 am ---If you actually want to take advantage of the link functionality in some games e.g. fighters where each player gets a dedicated view, then that's a different story of course and requires emulator support (or use the real gameboards).
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This would be easy to do. It's pretty much just like the Beast, but in two cabs. If you wanted to do this, you could do the wiring the same as I explained before, it's just a matter of mapping MAME's inputs appropriately. The only problem then would be playing those same 2 player games in stand alone mode. To overcome this, you could run two different instances of MAME from your frontend in the master unit, one instance (list) for linked mode, and the other for stand alone mode.
Edit: If you're talking about games that had two seperate views on two different monitors, apparently this can be done as well. It requires a video card that can support 2 or more monitors. Link with vague info coming...
Edit II: Well crap, can't find the thread now. But it was the build thread for that skinny dual screen machine that never got finished, where the monitors were back to back if anyone else wants to find it.
Edit III: Found the thread. Had to search "trash talk"... http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,108974.msg1242177.html#msg1242177
This isn't exactly what I was thinking of though.
Edit IV: Here's the post I was looking for... http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,121395.msg1287813.html#msg1287813
PL1:
--- Quote from: DaOld Man on January 20, 2013, 06:28:43 pm ---Has anyone connected two cabs together to play 4 player games? (IE Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles)
I would like to be able to connect two cabs together via a cord, then when the cord is plugged in, one of the cabs becomes the master, with game selection control and P1 and P2 starts and coins, and the second cab becomes the slave, with P3 and P4 starts and coins.
When the cord is unplugged, both machines revert to normal 2 player cab operation.
Any ideas?
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You were probably thinking about how Unstupid linked 2 single player Neo Geo bartops here.
I would put a rocker switch on the back of the 2nd cab tied to the HWB (KADE) or Shazaam input (Keywiz) to switch the encoder from P1/P2 keymap of normal functions (standalone play) to P3/P4 keymap of shifted functions. (linked play)
Build a KVM switch into the 2nd cab.
In the diagram below, the video connects to the KVM normally, selecting which video to send to the cab 2 screen.
The encoder connects to the KVM backward -- in thru the "out" port and out through the selected "in" port to the desired computer.
The 2 cabs can be connected at all times -- Use the KVM switch and the rocker switch to select the desired mode. (standalone or linked play)
Scott
Ozzy_98:
The way I planned on doing it was to get a frame buffer\VGA splitter, and run it's pinouts plus a USB cable lines to a 66 block (Networking block) mounted inside the parent cab. I was going to have an amphenol plug mounted to the back of the cab. The secondary cab would also have the 66/amphonal, and a USB hub for the joysticks\controls, and besides the USB, it would have nothing else but a monitor. If you wanted to use this on the secondary, but also wanted it to work "like normal", a KVM switch in the secondary would be great, but may give you issues at the OS level with switching.
No idea how well the VGA would travel over the 66 block though. Should be fine, no cross-talk, but I can't be sure. This means I'd just have one cable between the two cabs.
Brian74:
???