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First Timer: Advice Welcomed

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Slugworth:

First off, I'd like to thank y'all for letting me eavesdrop on your conversations for the last several weeks as I've began to sort through the massive amounts of information on this site. 

A few weeks ago the Nostalgia Bug bit me pretty hard -- I really wanted to play D&D: Shadows over Mystara.  I soon found out it was available on Steam, but that didn't scratch the itch.  I needed to sit in front of an arcade console.  I needed a roll of quarters in my pocket.  I didn't know it yet, but I needed a MAME.

Long story short, here am I planning my first MAME, and I'm scared to death.  My wife has approved my budget, but only because she doesn't think there's a chance on earth that I actually follow through and build this (as if I needed any more motivation than being able to slay Synn for old times sake).  Disclaimer:  I'm not handy, I have very few tools, and I've never really built anything that didn't involve Legos.  I know very little about computers outside of Microsoft Excel (I can make some pretty wicked spreadsheets if you're interested sometime  :afro:).  I'm starting from ground zero here.  Imagine that I'm a level 1 mage -- weak and frail, but willing.  :notworthy:   

I've gathered my initial thoughts below and could use some general guidance at this point before I go to start actually spending money.  My wife has said that I can back down at any point and she'll let it go... until I start spending money.  Once I open up the wallet, I can't turn back without losing some serious man points.  We can't let that happen.

1)  Cabinet:
I think I'm going to go with some cabinet grade, hard wood plywood.  I like that it's significantly lighter than MDF, and I've got it in my mind that it's likely of a "higher quality" than MDF, even if that's not necessarily true for MAME purposes.  It sounds like getting cabinet grade negates a lot of the negative aspects of traditional plywood -- is that right?  Home Depot looks to be selling it for about $50 a sheet, with a few different wood options (Birch, Oak, Maple, Blondewood [whatever that is] -- any difference between these for purposes of building a cabinet?  I guess I'm not married to this idea, but I've got to start making decisions somewhere and this seemed to be a good place to start.  Any difference / preference between 5/8" and 3/4"?  They sound about the same to me, but what do I know?

As far as construction goes, I've found a bunch of measurements of older games from jakobud's website.  I want a 4 player control panel (I know, I know.  By virtue of trying to build a 30 year old gaming system I've pretty much admitted that I don't have 3+ friends), even though I've read about 1,500 posts on why you shouldn't ever build a 4 player cabinet.  Thing is, the only reason I'm even doing this is so that I can kill Synn with some friends.  Once I have my machine running I'll post an add on Craigslist looking for a Fighter, a Cleric, and a Thief.  I have sort of this "If you build it, they will come" mentality and won't be swayed on this.

I'm leaning towards building a "TMNT / Simpsons" Kanami cabinet, then enlarging the control panel slightly so I can add a few more buttons all around (more on that later).  Which leads me to my next series of question:

2)  Monitor
Remember, everything I know about arcade monitors has been learned through this forum over the last few weeks.  I've never had a conversation with a real human being about any of this.  I have NO IDEA what size I should get, what type if should get, whether it will even fit in my machine, etc.  I need something simple, which leads me to believe a computer monitor is my best bet, but I don't know what I don't know here.  Can someone give me a "top 3" to look at, and include a link to amazon for purchase?  When I read people say "Get a 27" 4:3 monitor with 800something or-other-resolution" my eyes glaze over.  I'll get there at some point, but I need to know that I'll be able to buy an appropriate monitor to fit inside my standard-built 4-way Kanami cabinet.  Otherwise I'll have to find new cabinet plans (which is fine, but I need to know before I buy some wood). 

3) Control Panel 
Do I need to make this out of a different type of wood than the cabinet?  Should I build this first or last?  I guess it needs to be removable so I can get it into the house, but I'll get to that later I guess... I'm thinking I'll build the cabinet first then find a way to stick the control panel next.  This will make me feel like I've accomplished something that I can point to and get my wife off my back.  With that said, I'll probably go 4 buttons for P3 / P4 (since my primary motive is to, once again, play some D&D) and 7 buttons for players 1 & 2.  I'm really stuck on whether to include a track ball and a dedicated 4 way.  I understand the thoughts behind it, but I'm not sure I want this to become a frankenpanel that will get me into the hall of shame.  I've spent a fair amount of time looking at examples on this site, but does anyone have some advice on size?  None of the cabinets I've seen on the site have the dimensions with them, just finished pictures, so it's hard for me to look at one and say "yes -- 32 inches is perfect" since I see a CP that looks nice, but don't know the size.  Then I see one that's too big, but still don't know the size.  Does this make sense?  Help save me from making a mistake that I'll regret.

4) Other Stuff  I figure I'll get to the wiring / electronics / computer / software once I've got some stuff built.  As far as painting, I'm leaning towards laminate just because I've read only positive about it.  Truthfully, I like the idea of painting more since I could touch it up as needed, and it sounds better, but I also believe in not over estimating my skills and I don't think I have painting skills.  Is there a difference between laminate / vinyl / formica?  Also, do you recommend laminating before building the cabinet, or after construction?  From pictures it looks like most people build (i.e. screw / glue) the cabinet together before laminating it, but in my mind it makes sense to do that after you've cut out all the pieces but before you've actually put them together. 

Anything else I need to know upfront?  Will I be okay if I build the cabinet, then start doing my "phase 2" research, or is that going to screw me over (that's why I'm asking so much about the monitor right now... I don't want to build myself into a corner, but I don't think I can become an expert at everything before I bust out a hammer... feel like there's something about learning along the way). 

That's probably enough for now.  Thanks in advance.  You'll find that I'm a willing subject and open to any advice I can get. 

yotsuya:

Since you admit you are not very handy, have you considered finding a gutted cabinet and going from there? Also, where are you located?

Slugworth:


--- Quote from: yotsuya on August 24, 2014, 11:08:52 pm ---Since you admit you are not very handy, have you considered finding a gutted cabinet and going from there? Also, where are you located?

--- End quote ---

I have thought about it, but I've been unable to find a 4 player cabinet for sale at a reasonable price.  I've seen a couple 2 player cabinets for around $200, but it looks like the 4 player cabinets are just a bit larger.  On the other hand, I'd like to be at least reasonably handy, and if I have a purpose in doing so I might actually manage to learn a thing or two.  I've never been motivated to figure it all out just so I could replace the baseboards in my bathroom, but to build a MAME?  Now I'm interested.

I'm also afraid that if I don't do this thing from the ground up that I'll never really know how it's put together and how to take care of it / make improvements / fix things when they go wrong.  Hopefully this turns into a hobby of sorts that I can do with my kids for a while, and you've gotta start somewhere.  Maybe it'd be easier to buy a cabinet though... but then I've got to fix any scratches, strip the paint / vinyl, replace any damaged wood, etc.  Doesn't sound like less work, just a different kind of work.  Is that accurate?

shponglefan:

Welcome to the forums!


--- Quote from: Slugworth on August 24, 2014, 06:33:56 pm ---Any difference / preference between 5/8" and 3/4"?  They sound about the same to me, but what do I know?
--- End quote ---

This largely depends on how you plan to finish the cabinet.  For example if you are planning to use T-Molding, the you need to figure out what width T-Molding you want/plan to use (3/4" being the most common).  And if applying laminate, you also need to factor in the thickness of the laminate.  Depending on these factors will determine what thickness of plywood you need.


--- Quote ---2)  Monitor
Remember, everything I know about arcade monitors has been learned through this forum over the last few weeks.  I've never had a conversation with a real human being about any of this.  I have NO IDEA what size I should get, what type if should get, whether it will even fit in my machine, etc.  I need something simple, which leads me to believe a computer monitor is my best bet, but I don't know what I don't know here.
--- End quote ---

First question to answer is: how much are you concerned with authenticity?  If it's not that big a concern, then an 4:3 LCD computer monitor will suffice.  Or a widescreen LCD if you see yourself using the cabinet for more recent games.

But if authenticity is a concern, the a real arcade monitor is your best bet, followed by a CRT computer monitor.


--- Quote ---3) Control Panel 
Do I need to make this out of a different type of wood than the cabinet?  Should I build this first or last?
--- End quote ---

It can be the same type of wood; plywood is fine.  And it's probably best to design it and at least mock it up prior to building the full cabinet.  You want to make sure everything is going to come together in the end.


--- Quote ---4) Other StuffTruthfully, I like the idea of painting more since I could touch it up as needed, and it sounds better, but I also believe in not over estimating my skills and I don't think I have painting skills.  Is there a difference between laminate / vinyl / formica?  Also, do you recommend laminating before building the cabinet, or after construction?
--- End quote ---

Personally, I'm a big fan of laminate, so I say go for it.  However, when applying laminate it takes a bit of strategizing to figure out when to apply it and which surface to apply in order.

Formica is just a brand of laminate.  Vinyl is something else entirely; it's much thinner than laminate and more flexible.

PL1:

Welcome aboard, Slugworth.   ;D

While this may seem like an odd suggestion, you may want to warm up with a simple, inexpensive, standalone 1-Player control panel.

This will give you a chance to:
-- Practice woodworking, painting, finishing, wiring, and most of the skills you will use to create your dream machine
-- Evaluate which joysticks, buttons, and other hardware you like before you place a BIG order with 4 of everything
-- "Test-drive" games to see which ones you really like (and which controls they need)

You can keep the price down if you use an inexpensive encoder like a KADE, ZD, or Xin-Mo.

You might even eventually use this standalone panel to house unique controls like triggerstick(s) or a mechanical rotary joystick(s) that could nudge your 4-player panel into the dreaded "frankenpanel" category.   :scared

You may have already seen it, but the FAQ has a series of questions here to help guide you through the design process.


Scott

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