My advice to beginners

[yotsuya]

Real arcade games didn't have cup holders.

[pbj]

PS: Okay, one more rule.  Don't call your wife "the wife" and don't use "the wife" as your excuse for cowardice.

That's right! Grow a pair! 

Edit: And by pair I mean:

One does not need two testicles to be accountable for your decisions.  Go discriminate against monorchids elsewhere.

I thought chuffed was a good thing? You mean chaffed or chapped?

Your butt has clearly never been properly chuffed.

 

[Vigo]

One more bit of beginner advice.

You can do more than you think, and it can look better than you think, but to get there you need to practice and study more than you think. 

   -- don't be afraid to dive into anything: artwork, electrical, woodworking, monitors, soldering, emulation, but Rome wasn't built in a day.

[ChanceKJ]

This ones more general I guess: Locate the "Search" button on the forums, use it, try different synonyms for your search.

[DeLuSioNal29]

My advice to beginners:  Ignore the Trolls!

[JDFan]

My advice would be to do a bit of research but in the end just build the thing --- Even a CRAPMAME worthy build is better than having no build at all to play on !!! And there is plenty of time to change things and make them better after you have the first unit built and have played on it for awhile to find out what mistakes you made on it 

[nitrogen_widget]

yeah, my experience & that of the majority of divorced men I know is wives don't take kindly to their husbands spontaneously growing a set.
But, on the bright side, they never take any of your crappy furniture they banished to the basement when they moved in so it's like a reset button except you now have a pair and can use the dining room table (after you pick one up at the good will) for what it was really meant for.

Your projects.

I second the more building & less thinking also.
I renovated my house.
I made more progress by just grabbing the tools & doing it as opposed to spending time trying to plan things out.

The reason being I over thought things & because It was my first renovation project i'd find out whatever I planned mostly wound up getting swept up with the saw dust because after I got into something I discovered better ways to do things and the more I did the better I got.

I've even redone a few things I did 12yrs ago because they were my first projects and i could re do them better.

[yotsuya]

My advice to beginners:  Ignore the Trolls!

Do we have trolls here?

[yotsuya]

My advice would be to do a bit of research but in the end just build the thing --- Even a CRAPMAME worthy build is better than having no build at all to play on !!! And there is plenty of time to change things and make them better after you have the first unit built and have played on it for awhile to find out what mistakes you made on it 

To piggy back off of this good piece of advice, I would add "Don't fall in love with your first draft." My Macross cab looks nothing like my original idea, and I attribute that to the great ideas I got from my friends here.

The other piece of advice? Listen to all the feedback you get, evaluate it objectively, but don't feel obligated to use it.

[ChanceKJ]

My advice to beginners:  Ignore the Trolls!

Do we have trolls here?

Possibly. 

[yotsuya]

My advice to beginners:  Ignore the Trolls!

Do we have trolls here?

Possibly. 

The only person I would classify as a troll would be Driverman. Being an opinionated ---uvula--- doesn't make you a troll.

[RoyalScam]

There's been a lot of great advice here, but I think we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves.

If you want to start somewhere, get Mame running.  Download some of the free roms and learn how to play them.  Familiarize yourself with the keyboard controls, and play a few games with the keyboard.  Get a keyboard encoder.  I can personally recommend a Kade , an I-pac or the GGG encoders. They just work and all have an excellent support base.  Buy a couple of pushbuttons and a Joystick.  Don't go crazy here, just pick up something inexpensive from some of the great vendors we have here.  Knock a few holes in a plywood box install your joystick and buttons and try a game or two with that.  That will get you started, but more importantly, it will get you building.  Once you get the first steps down you'll go a little bigger.  I would imagine the first project, or even the second wouldn't be the final design, but they'll teach you what your final design will be.  Take advice from people here, but in the end it's your's and you're the one who it needs to please.

Regards,
Scam

[lamprey]

My advice to beginners:  Ignore the Trolls!

Do we have trolls here?

Possibly. 

The only person I would classify as a troll would be Driverman. Being an opinionated ---uvula--- doesn't make you a troll.

Maybe it's time for a new term: Asstroll.

[Generic Eric]

My advice to beginners:  Ignore the Trolls!

Do we have trolls here?

Possibly. 

The only person I would classify as a troll would be Driverman. Being an opinionated ---uvula--- doesn't make you a troll.

Maybe it's time for a new term: Asstroll.

---uvula--- Cassarole

[ChanceKJ]

  well, I am unapologetically me.

[yotsuya]

well, I am unapologetically me.

I would never consider you either a troll or an ---uvula---, Chance. Other words might apply, but not those two.

[Cobolisdead]

I have a few tips I have learned in my short time in this hobby that might not have been mentioned yet:

When restoring an old game, sometimes it is better to let it have that survivor look. It might not be worth putting that $200 artwork on a $400 cabinet.
Take a lot of pictures of your work in progress. It will help you as well as others even years down the road.
Things aren't going to work right the first time, and that is okay, just keep working on it.
Wire management is something that needs to be planned out in great detail.
Buy a Multimeter!

[DeLuSioNal29]

well, I am unapologetically me.

I would never consider you either a troll or an ---uvula---, Chance. Other words might apply, but not those two.

+ 1

[DeLuSioNal29]

There's been a lot of great advice here, but I think we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves.

If you want to start somewhere, get Mame running.  Download some of the free roms and learn how to play them.  Familiarize yourself with the keyboard controls, and play a few games with the keyboard.  Get a keyboard encoder.  I can personally recommend a Kade , an I-pac or the GGG encoders. They just work and all have an excellent support base.  Buy a couple of pushbuttons and a Joystick.  Don't go crazy here, just pick up something inexpensive from some of the great vendors we have here.  Knock a few holes in a plywood box install your joystick and buttons and try a game or two with that.  That will get you started, but more importantly, it will get you building.  Once you get the first steps down you'll go a little bigger.  I would imagine the first project, or even the second wouldn't be the final design, but they'll teach you what your final design will be.  Take advice from people here, but in the end it's your's and you're the one who it needs to please.

This here is SOLID advice.  I agree 100%!

DeLuSioNaL29

[ChanceKJ]

well, I am unapologetically me.

I would never consider you either a troll or an ---uvula---, Chance. Other words might apply, but not those two.

+ 1

Now you've peaked my interest.

[yotsuya]

well, I am unapologetically me.

I would never consider you either a troll or an ---uvula---, Chance. Other words might apply, but not those two.

+ 1

Now you've peaked my interest.

I'll tell you at ZapCon. 

[stripe4]

This ones more general I guess: Locate the "Search" button on the forums, use it, try different synonyms for your search.

Better yet, let Google do synonym magic:
Search via Google and add site:forum.arcadecontrols.com to the query.

[behrmr]

There's been a lot of great advice here, but I think we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves.

If you want to start somewhere, get Mame running.  Download some of the free roms and learn how to play them.  Familiarize yourself with the keyboard controls, and play a few games with the keyboard.  Get a keyboard encoder.  I can personally recommend a Kade , an I-pac or the GGG encoders. They just work and all have an excellent support base.  Buy a couple of pushbuttons and a Joystick.  Don't go crazy here, just pick up something inexpensive from some of the great vendors we have here.  Knock a few holes in a plywood box install your joystick and buttons and try a game or two with that.  That will get you started, but more importantly, it will get you building.  Once you get the first steps down you'll go a little bigger.  I would imagine the first project, or even the second wouldn't be the final design, but they'll teach you what your final design will be.  Take advice from people here, but in the end it's your's and you're the one who it needs to please.

This here is SOLID advice.  I agree 100%!

DeLuSioNaL29

This ^^^^^  If you can't get Pac-Man running with a minimal front-end on your PC then STOP!  Don't go buy a cabinet kit, monitor, PC, controls, encoder, ipac, etc etc and then have a pile of parts laying around for 3 yrs because you can't get MAME running on a PC.

[Generic Eric]

This ones more general I guess: Locate the "Search" button on the forums, use it, try different synonyms for your search.

Better yet, let Google do synonym magic:
Search via Google and add site:forum.arcadecontrols.com to the query.

I do this.  Its handy

[Thestoney]

Ouch this is like my personal blog of mistakes I have made , I tend to take the stance of failing doesn't lie with falling down it lies in not getting back up again .... I guess we all make mistakes the limiter is to read as much as you can on this site

[jennifer]

I don't know Jennifer is pretty scary...

   Jennifer is NOT amused... And you may want rethink your position on this.

[Malenko]

Ouch this is like my personal blog of mistakes I have made , I tend to take the stance of failing doesn't lie with falling down it lies in not getting back up again .... I guess we all make mistakes the limiter is to read as much as you can on this site

Bro, Ive learn so much by doing things the wrong way. Never be afraid to fail and always be willing to learn from your mistakes. Try to learn from other people's mistakes too! 

[knightrdrx]

I wish I had buttons at the top of my controls that can be mapped with all emulators.  I used the X-arcade tankstick as my controller. It's nice that I can use the 2 side mouse buttons in some of the emulators.  But I don't think I could possibly manage to have the same key combinations for all emulators for other options such as pause, reset, load, save etc in a place where it is out of the way. I have it set up so i use the side button as a function button with another button. But some emulators like Fusion won't allow you to remap the hotkeys.  IT will be confusing until I somehow create an instruction card.

[danny_galaga]

+1 on 'admin buttons are over rated'. Put a USB port in the back and/or use a wireless keyboard/mouse.

[rvs0002]

EDIT

Post retracted. Sorry if I stepped on any toes. Was just trying to offer help and encouragement.

[bfauska]

That's not quite the sound bite that all the other parts have been in this thread but you can't hate a guy for taking the thread topic and running with it to contribute a pile of advice only a few posts into his membership. Welcome to the forum. We'll get you posting short useless replies before you know it.

[jennifer]

  I know right?... 

[rvs0002]

I actually typed that up to do my own post when I saw one already existed so I climbed on the back of that one. In retrospect I should have just started my own I guess. It just took me so long to find all the answers like that when I first started that I thought maybe I could help someone else all in one place. Future posts will be edited for brevity!

[ChanceKJ]

  I know right?... 

Totaly.

[danny_galaga]

  I know right?... 

Totaly.

Word.

[vandale]

Real arcade games didn't have cup holders.

Correct, but plenty of awesome candy cabs do....never listen to opinion

[yotsuya]

Good example, but I'll stand by my position that real arcade cabinets don't have cup holders...

[opt2not]

bunch of words

Another member who hasn't shown any examples, giving other members advice...I'm not saying what you have posted is wrong, its just that this thread was created based on another guy who liked to preach more and show nothing for it.

Show us the goods man.

[DietCoke]

Good example, but I'll stand by my position that real arcade cabinets don't have cup holders...

      

[rvs0002]

bunch of words

Another member who hasn't shown any examples, giving other members advice...I'm not saying what you have posted is wrong, its just that this thread was created based on another guy who liked to preach more and show nothing for it.

Show us the goods man.

Goods are posted in the OND Metropolis forum, and I apologize if I came off as "preachy" I certainly didn't mean it that way.  I'll remove my post...probably shouldn't have posted it as a new member.