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Obligatory New Builder Post

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Brian Lenz:

Hello and good day.

I have been toying with the idea of building a cabinet for a few years now and I'm trying to make the next steps forward. Upon seeing a few posts around here as well as one particular photo on the Redditmachine, I have decided I'm going to forego a real cabinet and take a shot at a single Control Panel.

I would love to do this because generally I don't have many people coming to my place to play, rather I make the trek to others for LANs or just chilling. It would be excellent to lug a somewhat small Panel and partake in some Gauntlet or Mortal Kombat or any of the many games MAME has to offer.

And here's where the questions start.

I don't have a boatload of experience when it comes to the "classics". I played The Simpsons, Gauntlet, and some of the Marvel vs Capcom games (just the machines at my local bowling alley). I've seen many complaints about "Frankenpanels", and I'd be pretty keen to avoid an ugly Panel. I don't really have any drive to play Tron (which seems to be the biggest culprit when it comes to the Frankenpanels), but are there some other games that I should look to include?

I remember seeing somewhere a site that allows me to pick out games and will list all the components required to play, but I can't find it again for the life of me.

And finally, where do I buy? I can't seem to find any sort of resource here on the forums for where it's recommended to be buying parts. Are there good hobby-shop sort of sites I should be looking at? I've spotted a few guide sort of sites/videos recommending certain products, but most links they provide are outdated and don't take me anywhere.


It's incredible seeing all the creations this forum has made (even from only a few days of lurking around here), and I'm very excited to get started on my own project.

Monkeyvoodoo:

Welcome !


--- Quote from: Brian Lenz on June 22, 2013, 09:20:07 pm ---I remember seeing somewhere a site that allows me to pick out games and will list all the components required to play, but I can't find it again for the life of me.
--- End quote ---

I've never heard of any site like that but from my own experience six buttons and an 8 way joystick per player should be enough for 99% of the available games. Some games require a 4 way joystick but an 8 way can do the job or you can use a switchable joystick that let's you go from 4 to 8 way.


--- Quote from: Brian Lenz on June 22, 2013, 09:20:07 pm ---And finally, where do I buy? I can't seem to find any sort of resource here on the forums for where it's recommended to be buying parts. Are there good hobby-shop sort of sites I should be looking at? I've spotted a few guide sort of sites/videos recommending certain products, but most links they provide are outdated and don't take me anywhere.

--- End quote ---

www.ultimarc.com and www.grooveygamergear.com should be able to supply you with everything you need. Both owners are members here too!


Sent from a pineapple under the sea

PL1:

Welcome aboard, Brian.


--- Quote from: Brian Lenz on June 22, 2013, 09:20:07 pm ---are there some other games that I should look to include?

--- End quote ---
Here's a good place to start.


--- Quote from: Brian Lenz on June 22, 2013, 09:20:07 pm ---I remember seeing somewhere a site that allows me to pick out games and will list all the components required to play, but I can't find it again for the life of me.

--- End quote ---
Since you're doing a standalone/portable panel instead of a cab, you might consider:

-- A Graphical User Interface (GUI) build of MAME like MAMEUIFX or MAMEUI -- no front end software to mess with  ;D

-- Support and artwork files like History.dat, MAMEinfo.dat, and Progetto snaps (control panels, screenshots, cabs, etc) -- you can find these and other resource links at http://www.mameworld.info/

-- A thumb drive with a backup of your emulator setup including art files, etc.

Another way to see what a game requires is to launch the game and press tab to bring up the menus, the "Input (this game)" menu shows the inputs for that game.   ;D


--- Quote from: Brian Lenz on June 22, 2013, 09:20:07 pm ---And finally, where do I buy? I can't seem to find any sort of resource here on the forums for where it's recommended to be buying parts.

--- End quote ---
The "big four" suppliers are:
Groovy Game Gear (RandyT)
Paradise Arcade (Armi0024)
Ultimarc (Andy Warne)
ArcadeEmulator.net (Divemaster127)

They should carry most of your arcade-related needs, but there are many other reputable vendors to consider as well.

As you plan your build, keep an eye on the various threads and when someone recommends a vendor, bookmark the site in your browser. (I keep several bookmark folders with vendors, specific parts, art sources, etc)


--- Quote from: Brian Lenz on June 22, 2013, 09:20:07 pm ---It's incredible seeing all the creations this forum has made (even from only a few days of lurking around here), and I'm very excited to get started on my own project.

--- End quote ---
Lots of good stuff to read and learn around here.

One thing that will influence your choice of admin buttons is that instead of a cab or bartop you are building a portable/standalone that will connect to your friends' systems as well as your own.

You may want/need more admin buttons than the typical build around here.

For your consideration, this is a diagram of the admin panel on my portable/modular.




Scott

Brian Lenz:


--- Quote from: PL1 on June 23, 2013, 01:55:58 am ---Since you're doing a standalone/portable panel instead of a cab, you might consider:

-- A Graphical User Interface (GUI) build of MAME like MAMEUIFX or MAMEUI -- no front end software to mess with  ;D

--- End quote ---

I'm sure that using these GUIs would be much easier, but what is the benefit aside from easier setup of using these? You seem to allude to a portable not being ideal to handle a "standard" sort of Front End software (it seems most every build I've seen on here is probably using some Front End).

I haven't gotten much down on paper yet in terms of design, but in my head, I would be able to finagle some way to have standard peripherals (keyboard/mouse), either plugged in, or included in the Panel somehow (obviously not a visible keyboard, that would be gross). Would that change your opinion on using a GUI based MAME?

Following that point, in terms of design, where should I be looking to do that? I don't think I have any version of CAD or something similar available to me. Are those sorts of programs required or superfluous?



And thanks to both of you for the prompt responses =]

shponglefan:

Welcome aboard Brian!

Your first build sounds pretty similar to my first build: I built a basic two player control panel (2 joysticks, 7 buttons each).

I'd echo what Monkeyvoodoo said: an 8 way joystick and at least 6 buttons will allow you play almost all available arcade games (although some like myself prefer the 7 button Neo-Geo/Capcom hybrid layout).  And if you aren't planning to play much of the classic 4-way joystick games (i.e. Pacman, Donkey Kong, Frogger, etc), then I wouldn't even worry about 4-way joystick options.

Out of curiosity are you planning a single player panel or two player?

One thing you will find is there are a plethora of options when it comes to joysticks and buttons.  I'd try to narrow it down to a couple options for each, then buying both (i.e. couple different types of joysticks, couple different types of buttons) to try out.  I also highly recommend prototyping your joystick/button layout before building the full panel.  One thing I have noticed from some poster's builds is they get everything done and then decide they either don't like the layout or joystick or whatever.  Better to figure all that stuff out beforehand then after you've completed all the work.

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