Evolution of arcade cabinets

[dkersten]

What happened to your hand? Did I miss it?

no, I didn't post anything about it.. been too drugged out, lol.  I had a bone in my arm shortened to take pressure off my wrist.  Been hurting for 17 years and finally decided the pain was worth fixing, even if it meant having a 4 inch long plate screwed to my ulna and 6 weeks of trying to do my job as an IT manager with a cast on...  Was planning to be back to work the day after, but then the pain block wore off and I discovered how much this ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- hurts.. lol.  Spent 4 days drugged up to get by and now I just take advil to dull the pain so I can actually think again.  I'm right handed and this is my right hand, so it sucks but I'll survive.  I can type a sentence then rest my arm, lol

I agree with you about when to say stuff and when not to.  sometimes even when they ask for opinions, they don't like what they get, but all too often bringing the wrong subject up to the wrong people results in being verbally abused for thinking it was a cool idea.  I will be the first to admit that what I thought was awesome a year ago is kind of "meh" to me now, but I still remember the enthusiasm I felt the first time I saw a mame cab with lightning bolts.  I made some modifications to mine after some feedback, and approached the design after careful research, but I ignored the pleas to not build a 4 player "frankenpanel" because it was what I wanted to build.  Part of the reason I intend to change things is because I have to tear it all down to replace LED's anyway, and since I could fit 2 cabs if I remove 20" from the width and end up with 2 cabs that are a little better than the one, it makes sense to me.  Otherwise I would leave it.

At lunch today I looked at it, and it doesn't look too wide or like it has massive wings.. it actually has nice curves that fit well for what it is.  I have seen some ugly ones but not all 4 player cabs are that ugly.. at least to me. 

[BorgDog]

So Dave, you say if you take 20" off the width of the cab you could have 2, maybe you could make the two so they wire together and could be a 4 player when needed.. who did that NeoDeo bartops like that?  unstupid?  That would be cool.   

Oh, and how you writing that next best seller with a broke wing?

[dkersten]

So Dave, you say if you take 20" off the width of the cab you could have 2, maybe you could make the two so they wire together and could be a 4 player when needed.. who did that NeoDeo bartops like that?  unstupid?  That would be cool.   

Oh, and how you writing that next best seller with a broke wing?

It might be possible but if I were going to get that technical I would focus on race cabs, lol. 

I haven't been able to write for almost 2 weeks, and it sucks.  I am 55% done with the manuscript but putting down another 45k words when it hurts to type 10 in a row means I might be putting off the completion of book 2 for a couple more months.    I'm excited to finish writing it but not so excited for the 400+ hours I have left...
Oh well, at least I have caught up on all my tv shows.. can't do much more than watch tv lately... and read forums, lol.

[yotsuya]

I'm excited to finish writing it but not so excited for the 400+ hours I have left...
Oh well, at least I have caught up on all my tv shows.. can't do much more than watch tv lately... and read forums, lol.

Don't read the forums, it gives you heartburn.

I like to give credit where credit is due. I don't like widescreen monitors in cabs, but you hit it out of the park with this build, mainly because the bezel area looks proportionate.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,140122.0.html

It's a great cab, using traditional lines and proportions. That's what I like to see.

[dkersten]

I'm excited to finish writing it but not so excited for the 400+ hours I have left...
Oh well, at least I have caught up on all my tv shows.. can't do much more than watch tv lately... and read forums, lol.

Don't read the forums, it gives you heartburn.

I like to give credit where credit is due. I don't like widescreen monitors in cabs, but you hit it out of the park with this build, mainly because the bezel area looks proportionate.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,140122.0.html

It's a great cab, using traditional lines and proportions. That's what I like to see.

Thanks!   

picture that design with a 4:3 turned vertically, a bit narrower, and single player controls with 3 buttons .. that would be the dedicated vert cab I am thinking of building.  Only add blue lightning and 3 spinners... 

[yotsuya]

I'm excited to finish writing it but not so excited for the 400+ hours I have left...
Oh well, at least I have caught up on all my tv shows.. can't do much more than watch tv lately... and read forums, lol.

Don't read the forums, it gives you heartburn.

I like to give credit where credit is due. I don't like widescreen monitors in cabs, but you hit it out of the park with this build, mainly because the bezel area looks proportionate.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,140122.0.html

It's a great cab, using traditional lines and proportions. That's what I like to see.

Thanks!   

picture that design with a 4:3 turned vertically, a bit narrower, and single player controls with 3 buttons .. that would be the dedicated vert cab I am thinking of building.  Only add blue lightning and 3 spinners... 

[JoeStrout]

I'll risk jumping in (a bit late), because this topic relates directly to the cabinet I'm planning.

For those of you who aren't following my every post and taking careful notes, I'll recap: I'm planning a 4P game to play Gauntlet, Rampage, TMNT, Simpsons, and Dungeons & Dragons.  (Actually I might drop D&D, because I think that all of the others can be played with just an 8-way joystick and 2 buttons, and I prefer a minimal control panel.)

I've been planning to build a Gauntlet-style cabinet, following Jakobud's plans pretty much verbatim.  This doesn't have an overhang control box... well, the CP board does extend very slightly beyond the width of the cabinet, but this is strictly cosmetic.  And, if Jakobud's plans are accurate, this whole machine is only 24" wide.

I always found Gauntlet very comfortable to play, even with 4 players, and I believe I know why:

The tilted-back monitor allows players to stand to the side of the machine, and still have a decent view.

Compare this to most MAME cabinet designs, which have a vertical (or nearly vertical) screen.  With a vertical screen, if you're standing to the side, you're looking at the screen at a severe angle.  You really need to be standing more in front... which I think drives the need for a wider, overhanging CP, so that four people can stand in front of the machine.

With the laid-back monitor style used by Gauntlet and Simpsons machines, you have only two people standing in front of the machine, and two more people standing on the side.  Of course this means you need to leave more room around the machine — you can't stick it right in the corner of a room for example.  But that seems like a fair price to me.

What do you all think?  Have I (or Jakobud) made any mistakes here, that will result in a nasty surprise when I get this thing built and try to get 4 players on it at once?

[yotsuya]

I think that's a fair assessment. 

[matsadona]

I can't tell if the Jakobud Gauntlet plans are good or not. But I really think you are on to something with you theory with the design and monitor angle.

Just recently I missed an online sale of an original Gauntlet cabinet nearby some weeks ago, and that makes me a little bitter So I will probably build a cabinet also some day. I will definitely follow your progress.

[Malenko]

For those of you who aren't following my every post and taking careful notes, I'll recap: I'm planning a 4P game to play Gauntlet, Rampage, TMNT, Simpsons, and Dungeons & Dragons.  (Actually I might drop D&D, because I think that all of the others can be played with just an 8-way joystick and 2 buttons, and I prefer a minimal control panel.)

The D&D games are 4 buttons per player. I think you keep 3 buttons per, then you can play Xmen and Rampage world tour (and if you care, the midway sports games)

In response to your vertical screen thing, it makes sense. Couple what you said with people using older LCDs that don't have the best viewing angles and the problem is exacerbated.