First time 4 player classics cab

[epetti]

I've been on a VERY slow burn of building my first arcade cabinet, since back in October of last year.  Two young kids and a relatively new house with lots of work to do on it guarantee it's not going to get done quickly, but I'm not in any rush either.

Mainly I'm building a cabinet are the nostalgia factor of playing all the games I played as a kid, mostly arcade but also some of the old consoles and computers.  Also, this will definitely be a social machine that I wanted to be four player for entertaining because we end up having lots of people over.

Last year (October thru December) I did all the work getting the computer and software and frontend all setup.  I have a very old Pentium IV that I picked up for free (soon upgrading to a newer Pentium IV that I'm also picking up for free), running Windows XP.

I ended up finding an old Mortal Kombat shell on Craigslist that I picked up for cheap and am refitting.  It's giving just the right level of satisfaction of doing some work on it with stripping off the side art and repainting, installing new side art and marquee and speakers and all, without feeling completely in over my head.

For the control panel, I have a limited set of games -- less than 100 in total, but looking at the games I expect to frequently play, I know I want four players, six buttons for the first two, three buttons for the other two.  Player one joystick as Ultrastik so I have analog control as well.  Trackball and spinner.  But, to keep it from getting completely out of control, I'm not doing any dedicated four way stick, and am sharing buttons for the trackball and spinner with the other player buttons.  So maybe it's not going to becompletely franken.  I'm also currently planning on having my 21" LCD display rigged up to rotate for horizontal versus vertical games.  Seems like the best compromise to getting a much bigger monitor.

Not much to show in the way of photos but I'll post what I have -- a picture of the current working machine setup powered off, and the cabinet that I'll be refurbishing.

I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty more questions from me on the forums.  Thanks in advance.

Ernie

[misterbeeez]

Hi!

Good luck in your project. Keep posting pictures... and if you can, in upright position!! 

Ben

[epetti]

Yeah, it was upright on my computer. Something got lost when I attached it.

[a1pharm]

I like the angles adjacent to the coin door on your cab.  The same look is relatively hard to achieve (perfectly) if you were to do it from scratch.

Also, welcome aboard!  You are in for a pretty rewarding (albeit expensive) hobby.

Cheers!
 

[epetti]

Been making slow but steady progress.  The cabinet is all cleaned up, fresh paint job, side art, lit marquee, speakers.  Nothing too original, but I'm going for something simple and classing for my first time out.

Rotating monitor setup, which I thought was going to be the most complex part, went without a hitch thanks to the great posts by DNA Dan and TopJimmyCooks awesome and detailed threads:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,110471.0.html
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,112424.0.html

Thanks guys!  I'll post pictures of it soon once I have it in the cab with the software all working.  But it basically just looks exactly like theirs.

But then I hit a major setback.  Got a free new old computer -- still a Pentium 4 from about 2004, but a top-end one from then, and much better than what I had (see picture).  But, while switching out hard drives, something happened to the drive and it got corrupted.  All data lost.  I had the important stuff backed up, but it's times like this you discover your backup drive wasn't working.  Months of work tuning and fine-tuning the interface and all games lost!

Well, I could despair or move on.  Decided that second time is always cleaner and better and also decided to rethink some things.  With the older computer, rotating monitor, and wanting a little simpler UI than what I had before, I've decided to switch from Hyperspin to Mala.  Seems like the right move but we'll see how it goes.  I don't want to go through the ages it took to get the Hyperspin setup right again, and even when I had tuned it, it wasn't zippy on my computer.

I'm also rethinking the control panel layout (since that was also saved on the computer).  Going to go with a Street Fighter II layout for Players 1 and 2 rather than curved buttons that I had before, and learned from the wisdom of the forums that all four players should be pointing same direction for up rather than angled toward screen.  I'm still planning on having a spinner between the player 3 and 1 controls.  I haven't seen that on anyone else's cab but it seems like a good frontward place for it versus having it behind other controls.  Does this ring any alarm bells for anyone?

I'll check back in once I've recreated my computer setup again, and have a fully functioning rotating monitor.

[Malenko]

Shape of the cab makes me wanna say.. Total Carnage, or a generic Midway of that time. Should be easy enough to get an NBA Jam/NFL Blitz / Total Carnage panel and use it as a base.

[epetti]

Mortal Kombat. I had opportunity to get NFL Blitz panel but I think I'll make my own. Want something bigger to fit a trackball and so four people aren't as crowded together. More like a 48" panel.

[Malenko]

Mortal Kombat. I had opportunity to get NFL Blitz panel but I think I'll make my own. Want something bigger to fit a trackball and so four people aren't as crowded together. More like a 48" panel.

Every time I say that cab is an MK, someone always says its a TC, how ironic.  4 foot wide panel? I hope you can weather the storm of airplane jokes on here. I'll be nice, 4 feet is just a little too wide.

[epetti]

Every time I say that cab is an MK, someone always says its a TC, how ironic.  4 foot wide panel? I hope you can weather the storm of airplane jokes on here. I'll be nice, 4 feet is just a little too wide.

I can handle the jokes if it's a visual thing. If it's practical issues I'd love to get feedback. All I hear about 4 player cabs is you don't want that many grown adults stuffed that close together. The only way I know to avoid that is to build a bigger panel. A bigger base would've been nice - I just missed a Simpsons one on Craigslist. But this is what I've got to work with...

And yes I know most 4 player cabs don't get 4 player use. I can't predict the future, but I anticipate this one will.

[Malenko]

I agree but the common misconception is that all 4 players must be in front of the cab facing the screen directly, but with nba jam, blitz, open ice, etc players 1 and 4 are standing diagonally facing the screen.

[epetti]

Thanks. I'll fiddle around with the layout and see what I can come up with. Those games also just have 3 buttons. I want 6 for two players, a trackball, and a spinner. But I'm sure I can shave off some width.

[epetti]

Phew!  Backup drive ended up having most files still on it and I was able to recover with only a day's worth of work.  But I still redesigned my control panel to be slimmer.  It's now 42" wide and 18" deep.  This is compared to  NFL Blitz which is a 37"x14" panel.  Not bad, I think.  See attached for the concept layout.  Thoughts?

[yotsuya]

What's the red glowing thing between the green and red controls?

[UFO]

What's the red glowing thing between the green and red controls?

Spinner?

[epetti]

Spinner. I didn't like how most 4 player panels put it in the back row where you have to reach over other controls. This seemed like a good spot for it.

[epetti]

Argh.  The rotating monitor setup went perfectly... until it needed to actually rotate.  When I first assembled the turntable it spun smoothly (about a week ago).  I could give it a push and let go and it would continue on its own.  Now that I wired it up and installed all the software, it's getting stuck somewhere.  Even when I manually spin it it seems to get hung up at one point.  I don't see anything visibly catching.  Could a part of the lazy susan gotten bent during carrying and lifting, or just sitting around could it have gathered dust and just need a squirt of WD-40?  Oddly enough it seems easier rotating in one direction than the other.

So close and yet so far...

[epetti]

Oh, the wonders of this forum.  I believe the solutions to my problems are all found in Reply #100 of this post:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,110471.80.html

Need more friction (and a little extra WD-40 on the bearings certainly won't hurt...).

[epetti]

Finally got the rotating setup working pretty smoothly. Took some re-rigging and I'm still surprised that it won't run smoother, but this setup seems to be working.

Pictures attached. There's no good way to post video directly is there?

[epetti]

Moved everything into the house, installed the monitor. Everything's done but glass and bezel for the monitor and that minor detail of building the control panel!

[epetti]

Finally after a long hiatus some progress on the control panel thanks to some tools and help from my much more woodworking-knowledgeable brother-in-law.  The control panel top actually ended up being a dresser top that he had laying around that happened to exactly match the size I needed for my top.

Now painting, artwork, installing controls and it should be complete.

[severdhed]

awesome, i love that there are a few other 4 player projects going on right now.  what are the dimensions of your panel?  the button layout looks good.

[epetti]

42" wide by 18" deep, and about a 7 degree slope.

[severdhed]

that's a good size, and a healthy balance of comfort vs not looking ridiculous on a cabinet. what kind of artwork are you going with?

[epetti]

Not sure yet.  Need to fit in the 80s Classics theme of the rest of the cabinet, but I haven't figured out any more than that.  Any suggestions are appreciated.

[Rick]

Not sure yet.  Need to fit in the 80s Classics theme of the rest of the cabinet, but I haven't figured out any more than that.  Any suggestions are appreciated.

Oh, I so got this:



Hey, somebody has to do it!

[Locke141]

I love that stile of cab. I will be looking for one like it when I move back to the US.


ROMconstruct did a four player conversion with a similar Mortal Kombat cab.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,134681.msg1389549.html#msg1389549

Go four players!

[epetti]

Wow.  Thanks for that link.  His project has a lot of similarities to mine except for he has way more attention to detail than me. 

[epetti]

DONE! Or as done as a project like this ever gets. Took a little over a year from start to finish. Special thanks to everyone on this forum -- those who directly helped me and those who posted useful info I grabbed along the way. Without all your help I would've probably paid three times as much for a pre-built system without all the satisfaction of customization.

I've been having a blast just playing it for the last few days with friends coming over.

There's still control tuning here and there as I find a game that doesn't work quite right, and I could never get my Ultrastik to behave with Hyperspin so player 2 controls the wheel. But other than that, it may not be a masterpiece but it's mine.

Let me know if there's any particular pictures or details you'd like to know. Otherwise, final pictures posted below.

[CaptainMarvel]

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

And just in time for the Holidays (2013).   

[epetti]

That was the big goal.  We have lots of people visiting for the holidays.  Needed to make sure we have entertainment for them all.  For those struggling to finish, it's very useful to have a target date to aim for.  Definitely gives that extra push to finish.

[Fursphere]

I agree but the common misconception is that all 4 players must be in front of the cab facing the screen directly, but with nba jam, blitz, open ice, etc players 1 and 4 are standing diagonally facing the screen.

Wasn't that more for the operators benefit of not taking up as much floor space?  So you can pack more games into a smaller place.  Not the player's benefit. 

[Slippyblade]

I like the look of it.  As much as I love some of the insanely gorgeous cabs that folks build (Looking at you "The Blue Pill" and most of Kneivel's work) there's always something to be admired about stated simplicity.  Yer cab looks great, hope the company appreciates it over the Holidays!

[yotsuya]

One of the nicer 4-player cabs I've seen. Slippyblade is right about simplicity.

You get a "Whoo!"

[epetti]

Thank you.  I'm a big fan of simplicity in design.  As a related note on this, and I don't think I mentioned it above, I used Hyperspin as my frontend but was getting overwhelmed by the visual noise in it.  You get carried away with all the per-game themes and bells and whistles.  I ended up scrapping my initial setup with all the standard main menu, system, and per-game themes that were out there, and using a modified version of the New Unified Megatheme that's currently being worked on at that forum (unfortunately in the Gold Member section so not visible to everyone).  It standardizes the video and artwork size and position across platforms so that basically only the image and logo of the system changes, and it has very little animation or effects. In each system, I don't have a per-game theme.  Just a default system theme.  I found that this is just so much easier on the eyes over time and also more accessible to people who try it for the first time, although not nearly as flashy.

[Malenko]

I agree but the common misconception is that all 4 players must be in front of the cab facing the screen directly, but with nba jam, blitz, open ice, etc players 1 and 4 are standing diagonally facing the screen.

Wasn't that more for the operators benefit of not taking up as much floor space?  So you can pack more games into a smaller place.  Not the player's benefit.

Not sure how cutting 6 inches off the width of a control panel and having 2 people standing at the edge at an angle takes up less space.

[Fursphere]

I agree but the common misconception is that all 4 players must be in front of the cab facing the screen directly, but with nba jam, blitz, open ice, etc players 1 and 4 are standing diagonally facing the screen.

Wasn't that more for the operators benefit of not taking up as much floor space?  So you can pack more games into a smaller place.  Not the player's benefit.

Not sure how cutting 6 inches off the width of a control panel and having 2 people standing at the edge at an angle takes up less space.

Then the design makes even less sense to me.

[epetti]

There's both visual and practical aspects to having a control panel that is much bigger than its base can support. I was constrained by the size of my cab, since i didn't build that part.

[yotsuya]

If I were going 4-player, this would be it. Not that I dislike epetti's cab, but to me, this width is the max.

[Brian74]

Over all it is a nice looking cab. That cp just looks way to big for that size of a monitor. But thats just me. Congratulations on a finished build.

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[Brian74]

If I were going 4-player, this would be it. Not that I dislike epetti's cab, but to me, this width is the max.

I have to agree with you yotsuya +1

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