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

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shponglefan:


--- Quote from: yotsuya on April 15, 2013, 05:59:37 pm ---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.  :laugh:

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

Fallen_Veteran:


--- Quote from: DaveMMR on April 15, 2013, 06:06:45 pm ---Who would criticized you for that? Get a third one if you can!  :cheers:

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


--- Quote ---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!

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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!  :hissy:) 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:


--- Quote from: yotsuya on April 16, 2013, 12:29:32 pm ---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.  :cheers:

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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!  :cheers: 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  >:D, 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:


--- Quote from: Fallen_Veteran on April 16, 2013, 12:56:26 pm --- I will be picking your brain for sure yotsuya! Thanks

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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.  :cheers:

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