Looking to start my first MAME ever! (in Texas)

[Fallen_Veteran]

Hello everyone, newb here looking for advice, tips, tricks, etc when it comes to this whole MAME game. I am picking up a 2 player cab on Friday and checking out a 4 player cab Saturday. Before I get criticized for multiple cabs being a newb but the 2 player came across my path for 2 six packs! The 4 player cab is the one I originally wanted as I want to play games with both my boys like TMNT. I am in Kyle just south of Austin. If there are any forum members in the area I would love the help and to be able to bounce questions off of. Have a PC that I intend to use, the cab is coming, want to go lcd (for weight). Need to figure out Joysticks, Buttons, Emulation Software, ROMs, etc. Have trolled forums ad pages for months now but would like to start running some of my ideas through some of the experienced builders out there for constructive criticisms and feedback. Look forward to diving into the project head first!

[yotsuya]

Hello everyone, newb here looking for advice, tips, tricks, etc when it comes to this whole MAME game. I am picking up a 2 player cab on Friday and checking out a 4 player cab Saturday. Before I get criticized for multiple cabs being a newb but the 2 player came across my path for 2 six packs!

 

The 4 player cab is the one I originally wanted as I want to play games with both my boys like TMNT. I am in Kyle just south of Austin. If there are any forum members in the area I would love the help and to be able to bounce questions off of. Have a PC that I intend to use, the cab is coming, want to go lcd (for weight). Need to figure out Joysticks, Buttons, Emulation Software, ROMs, etc. Have trolled forums ad pages for months now but would like to start running some of my ideas through some of the experienced builders out there for constructive criticisms and feedback. Look forward to diving into the project head first!

Welcome! Just remember, there's a lot of experienced builders here. If someone says "You probably shouldn't do it that way" or "You need to rethink that", they probably know firsthand what they're talking about. Take that stuff into consideration, but remember, ultimately it's your cab. 

[DaveMMR]

Before I get criticized for multiple cabs being a newb

Who would criticized you for that? Get a third one if you can! 

Being you have a dedicated 4-player, I would just leave the control panel as-is and use that for the multi-player party games (TMNT, Gauntlet, NBA Jam, etc.) You may have to add a third or fourth button depending on the games, but little else. I think when things start to get added to a 4-player panel (fighter button layouts, spinners, trackballs, etc.) is when it gets all unwieldy. But you have the 2-player cabinet to add all that jazz if so desired.

There are broad answers for your other questions so you pretty much just need to read up a bit and narrow it down. 

Congrats on the find and enjoy! 

[Fallen_Veteran]

Welcome! Just remember, there's a lot of experienced builders here. If someone says "You probably shouldn't do it that way" or "You need to rethink that", they probably know firsthand what they're talking about. Take that stuff into consideration, but remember, ultimately it's your cab. 

Thank you for the advice! I am so excited about the prospect of building my first cab that I have a million ideas running through my head. I want to ask as many questions as possible to avoid many pitfalls I am sure  most first time builders have run into.

[yotsuya]

One thing I'd like to throw out there, and really, I'd throw it out to all new builders:

Decide exactly what it is you want your cab to be.

I say this because when we all get introduced to this aspect of the hobby, many times we're enamored by all the possibilities. The thought that "I can play every arcade game, every Atari game, every Nintendo game, every SNES game.... ever made on one machine!!!!1!" is exciting, but realistically not practical. My initial plan for my cabinet was like this. I built a control panel with two 8-ways, a 4 way, a trackball, and a spinner, was quite proud of it... then realized a 37 inch control panel was just too big. So I kept the control panel within the width of the cabinet, tossed the 4-way, loaded all those games and console emulators.... and found that even though I could do all those things, I couldn't do all of them well. I toyed with swappable panels, but ultimately, where was I going to put them when I wasn't using them?

So I took out everything but MAME. Better, but still, the CP was crowded, the 4 way games just didn't play right..... so I built a 4 way vertical only cabinet, I removed the trackball and spinner, pared down the game list, and now my original cabinet plays a multitude of games that I enjoy, and it does it quite well. It's not going to be an "OMG, It plays 40,000 different games!!!!!!!" machine, and honestly, that works great. It's a two-player horizontal cabinet that can play 8 way vertical games. Do I miss playing Tron with my spinner, battop joystick, and regular button? A little, but the control scheme was so awkward that it wasn't the optimal way to do it. I know now that if I want to play Tron, I should look into getting a Tron.

Just a bit of advice. There's no right or wrong way to really do it if you are happy with the end result, but you can save a lot of time and money along the way with careful planning. 

[shponglefan]

Welcome! Just remember, there's a lot of experienced builders here. If someone says "You probably shouldn't do it that way" or "You need to rethink that", they probably know firsthand what they're talking about. Take that stuff into consideration, but remember, ultimately it's your cab. 

Ditto'd.  And especially when it comes to admin buttons.  Some people here treat admin buttons (or lack thereof) like a religion...

[Fallen_Veteran]

Who would criticized you for that? Get a third one if you can! 

Ok, for a third cab I am actually contemplating a driving cab for dedicated driving games!

Being you have a dedicated 4-player, I would just leave the control panel as-is and use that for the multi-player party games (TMNT, Gauntlet, NBA Jam, etc.) You may have to add a third or fourth button depending on the games, but little else. I think when things start to get added to a 4-player panel (fighter button layouts, spinners, trackballs, etc.) is when it gets all unwieldy. But you have the 2-player cabinet to add all that jazz if so desired.

There are broad answers for your other questions so you pretty much just need to read up a bit and narrow it down. 

Congrats on the find and enjoy!

So you are reading my mind. I was thinking about a massive MAME undertaking with multiple controllers, spinners, trackball, etc but liked the idea of more a real looking game room. I have been searching the internet for months now trying to figure out the best way to approach this. Almost picked up a 4 slot Neo Geo cab with games for $300 but was beat to the punch by someone who lived closer. (Guy had so much interest it became first come, first served! I lived 2 hours away!  ) I am a disabled veteran on a fixed income and finally have been able to purchase a home for my family which also means I finally have a dedicated area for these endeavors. So, the plan is as follows:

2 player cab: MAME it up with all of the old school games (mario, pac man, commando, double dragon, etc) and mod the cab to accommodate the extra buttons needed for fighters (Street Fighters, Mortal Kombats, Fatal Furies, Dark Stalkers, Marvel v. Capcom, etc)

4 player cab: MAME it up for all of the four player goodness out there! NBA Jam, TMNT, Gauntlet, Avengers, etc!

Driving Cab: So in my opinion the best way to play a driving game is to actually sit down and drive! My inspiration is found here http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?12744-Outrun-cab-build&p=117663#post117663 I have a line on a Cruiz'n Exotica cab for $100+/-. I thought this could serve as a great launching pad for this conversion!

So here are my current questions/concerns:
1. Finances: I cannot tackle all 3 at once so I need to plan accordingly. I am trying to figure out what would be the best plan of action for attacking this plan. I have a PC that can be used for one of the MAME builds at this time. Which one to start first. I have narrowed it down to either the 2 or 4 player cabs as these cabs offer the most interaction for my family.

2. I have several gaming systems in my home currently. I have considered modding one for a temporary operating system for the remaining cabs. For example, I could use an old Xbox running XBMC with a ton of emulators to stand in temporarily. I could also use one of these systems modded to run the driving cab. I could simply use an off the shelf steering wheel/pedal system for now until I have the money to actually build the cab out the way I want.

3. Where should I/ how do I search for other members that are in my area? I am not scared of trying things on my own from research and asking questions here on the forum but it's always nice to be able to sit down and pick someone's brain!

Any/all questions/comments/concerns/feedback is always welcomed and encouraged! Thank you in advance for any advice you may provide!

[Fallen_Veteran]

One thing I'd like to throw out there, and really, I'd throw it out to all new builders:

Decide exactly what it is you want your cab to be.

I say this because when we all get introduced to this aspect of the hobby, many times we're enamored by all the possibilities. The thought that "I can play every arcade game, every Atari game, every Nintendo game, every SNES game.... ever made on one machine!!!!1!" is exciting, but realistically not practical. My initial plan for my cabinet was like this. I built a control panel with two 8-ways, a 4 way, a trackball, and a spinner, was quite proud of it... then realized a 37 inch control panel was just too big. So I kept the control panel within the width of the cabinet, tossed the 4-way, loaded all those games and console emulators.... and found that even though I could do all those things, I couldn't do all of them well. I toyed with swappable panels, but ultimately, where was I going to put them when I wasn't using them?

So I took out everything but MAME. Better, but still, the CP was crowded, the 4 way games just didn't play right..... so I built a 4 way vertical only cabinet, I removed the trackball and spinner, pared down the game list, and now my original cabinet plays a multitude of games that I enjoy, and it does it quite well. It's not going to be an "OMG, It plays 40,000 different games!!!!!!!" machine, and honestly, that works great. It's a two-player horizontal cabinet that can play 8 way vertical games. Do I miss playing Tron with my spinner, battop joystick, and regular button? A little, but the control scheme was so awkward that it wasn't the optimal way to do it. I know now that if I want to play Tron, I should look into getting a Tron.

Just a bit of advice. There's no right or wrong way to really do it if you are happy with the end result, but you can save a lot of time and money along the way with careful planning. 

I completely understand what you are saying! I have been overwhelmed with the possibilities out there. I am finally diving into the MAME game as I have finally purchased a home where I can dedicate an area to this hobby. I don't want a system that will play 9,529,467,189 games, to me this defeats the purpose. I would love to have a cab that plays the old games well, a cab that plays fighters well, a 4 player cab that plays those games well, etc. I do want to be able to play other things as well like the Golden Tee franchise games (love that series!) but not sure where it fits in at this time. I do not want a stand alone cab with two 8 ways, two 4 ways, a spinner, trackball, flight stick, steering wheel, 8,000 buttons, etc. I think I am on the right track right now with getting the 2 player cab (for beer no less!  Love this deal!), getting a 4 player cab and if all works out the driving cab! Great start to my game room I think. I would love to add the track ball in somewhere to one of these but can't see where to do it in a way that I am thrilled with at this time. I did just come across a Golden Tee Fore cab for trade  , my wife is gonna kill me! I will be picking your brain for sure yotsuya! Thanks

[Dawgz Rule]

First and foremost, welcome aboard and thank you for your service.  There are a number of vets here (myself included) and it is a really great community.    All good advice here.  My advice is to pick out the games you like the best and focus the build on that.    You will be surprised at how much time you can spend on one cab alone.  There are plenty of opinions here (many opposing) so at the end of the day, it comes down to whatever makes you happy.

[yotsuya]

I will be picking your brain for sure yotsuya! Thanks

Sounds like you're on the right track. I started out with the All-In-One idea... this week, I just near finished my 7th cabinet. Since I can't play Centipede on my first MAME cab anymore, I just had to go out and get my own. 

[Fallen_Veteran]

First and foremost, welcome aboard and thank you for your service.  There are a number of vets here (myself included) and it is a really great community.    All good advice here.  My advice is to pick out the games you like the best and focus the build on that.    You will be surprised at how much time you can spend on one cab alone.  There are plenty of opinions here (many opposing) so at the end of the day, it comes down to whatever makes you happy.

Thank you for the warm welcome and thank you for your service as well! Oh and don't worry, I am under no illusions that this will be a fast project. I am actually going to check out the cabs today at 4:00! I am planning the remainder of this school year and the summer to complete the first cab.

[Fallen_Veteran]

Where can I look to find the value of particular Cabs and Games? I have a line on a Cruis'n Exotica for $100 (needs a little work), San Francisco Rush (Green one)  $150 (Missing screen, gutted, basically a solid cab with coin doors), Rush 2049 (Blue one) $250 (This one is COMPLETE! Has an error, I need to get some more info.) Not sure what a good value would be as I am new to this.

[cmoses]

Welcome to the hobby. I have been involved with it for about 5 years myself and live in Austin. Originally acquired a small Taito cabinet and began work on it. Realized I wanted something bigger and able to do a little more and got a MKII cabinet that was empty. Built a MAME cabinet out of it with 2 players and trackball. Now I am working on my first cocktail cabinet. I enjoy the building and setup aspect of it and it is a great hobby.

If you have the room get the cabs. Have a plan as to what you want to build and try to tackle one project at a time. That being said, having a second project to work on when you can't work on the first is also good. Maybe you are waiting to buy some components for your main project. In the mean time you can do some work on the second project cab that isn't cost related such as wood working or painting, etc.

I would also start slow with the system choices. MAME first. Get it all working before trying to add another emulator. They are easier to tackle one at a time.

Good Luck


Sent from my iPad Mini using Tapatalk HD

[Fallen_Veteran]

Welcome to the hobby. I have been involved with it for about 5 years myself and live in Austin. Originally acquired a small Taito cabinet and began work on it. Realized I wanted something bigger and able to do a little more and got a MKII cabinet that was empty. Built a MAME cabinet out of it with 2 players and trackball. Now I am working on my first cocktail cabinet. I enjoy the building and setup aspect of it and it is a great hobby.

If you have the room get the cabs. Have a plan as to what you want to build and try to tackle one project at a time. That being said, having a second project to work on when you can't work on the first is also good. Maybe you are waiting to buy some components for your main project. In the mean time you can do some work on the second project cab that isn't cost related such as wood working or painting, etc.

I would also start slow with the system choices. MAME first. Get it all working before trying to add another emulator. They are easier to tackle one at a time.

Good Luck


Sent from my iPad Mini using Tapatalk HD

Thank you for the advice. Hopefully we can meet up sometime as I am a complete newb when it comes to this! The plan is to build the 2 player cab first. I actually picked it up today. It's a "Z" cab, used to be a Street Fighter Cab I believe. It's in decent shape, I really can't complain, I got it for two 6 packs  ! It turns out the guy also has a TMNT Cab he is willing to let go to me for $50!! I plan on picking that up later this week. The 2 player will get all of my attention with the 4 player taking a back seat until I figure out how to get the first cab running smoothly.

[yotsuya]

Welcome to the hobby. I have been involved with it for about 5 years myself and live in Austin. Originally acquired a small Taito cabinet and began work on it. Realized I wanted something bigger and able to do a little more and got a MKII cabinet that was empty. Built a MAME cabinet out of it with 2 players and trackball. Now I am working on my first cocktail cabinet. I enjoy the building and setup aspect of it and it is a great hobby.

If you have the room get the cabs. Have a plan as to what you want to build and try to tackle one project at a time. That being said, having a second project to work on when you can't work on the first is also good. Maybe you are waiting to buy some components for your main project. In the mean time you can do some work on the second project cab that isn't cost related such as wood working or painting, etc.

I would also start slow with the system choices. MAME first. Get it all working before trying to add another emulator. They are easier to tackle one at a time.

Good Luck


Sent from my iPad Mini using Tapatalk HD

Thank you for the advice. Hopefully we can meet up sometime as I am a complete newb when it comes to this! The plan is to build the 2 player cab first. I actually picked it up today. It's a "Z" cab, used to be a Street Fighter Cab I believe. It's in decent shape, I really can't complain, I got it for two 6 packs  ! It turns out the guy also has a TMNT Cab he is willing to let go to me for $50!! I plan on picking that up later this week. The 2 player will get all of my attention with the 4 player taking a back seat until I figure out how to get the first cab running smoothly.

Two six packs and a fifty? You're like the Anti-CoryDee!!! 

[Fallen_Veteran]

I've been searching and planning for a long time! Been very patient and it is paying off. The 2 player cab has some rough spots but for the price I will not complain. This is a great platform for me to learn on! The other cab is supposed to be really solid! Excited about that! I am trying to see what all I am going to need to outfit the cab with a console for now while I learn how to set up MAME on the PC I want to dedicate to the cab. That way I can wire up the CP and have some fun with the cab while learning how to set up a proper MAME. I am going to have tons of questions about that for sure. Which front end? What buttons to include on the CP? Will it double as a Jukebox? The list goes on!

[PL1]

I've been searching and planning for a long time! Been very patient and it is paying off.

Taking your time? -- Now *that* sounds like he's the "Anti-CoryDee".   


Scott

[TheShaner]

FV, I live in San Antonio and would be happy to help if you get stuck or need any "hands on advice".

[Fallen_Veteran]

FV, I live in San Antonio and would be happy to help if you get stuck or need any "hands on advice".

My son wants to know when we can come check out your MAME!!! Great looking machine you built! That's the end goal after I get some experience under my belt!

[CoryBee]

Two six packs and a fifty? You're like the Anti-CoryDee!!! 

Taking your time? -- Now *that* sounds like he's the "Anti-CoryDee".   

[cw]

I am in Austin and would be happy to help out too.  I might even have a cab if you are needing one.

[Fallen_Veteran]

I am in Austin and would be happy to help out too.  I might even have a cab if you are needing one.

Awesome! I am excited to see all the support from the community here! Looking forward to starting this project and getting the ball rolling!