MortalKab 4 player DIY slim arcade cabinet/ Finished / Update?

[deezdrama]

It depends, is my friend asking me if I think his kid is ugly? Or is he just showing me a picture?


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I give up you win! lmao 

[yotsuya]

[quote author=yotsuya link=topic=146268.msg1736672#msg1736672 date=1616452824

It depends, is my friend asking me if I think his kid is ugly? Or is he just showing me a picture?


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I give up you win! lmao 
[/quote]

Heh. It’s all good brother. I actually had fun going back right now and reading the comments that I made on your build. “‘Mud flap art?” Lol.


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[deezdrama]

Yeah... You were (are) quite the character lol

[Pazza]

I was only posting on different threads to get different ideas an opinions on what I should do, it seems alot not all but alot on this site just want to be negative all the time instead of being encouraging . I loved gauntlet so thats why I was looking at a 4 player and thought it would be fun when people are over to have a game or two.

[javeryh]

I was only posting on different threads to get different ideas an opinions on what I should do, it seems alot not all but alot on this site just want to be negative all the time instead of being encouraging . I loved gauntlet so thats why I was looking at a 4 player and thought it would be fun when people are over to have a game or two.

People are trying to help.  Honestly.  They may also come off abrasive but really they are just getting directly to the point and not sugar-coating stuff.  Do you want to learn from the experience of others or do you just want people to be excited about your idea?  We were all beginners at one point and literally every first-timer wants a 4 player cabinet with blinking lights that plays everything ever.  But for 95% of people it's not a good fit.  So when a new member posts about the 4P build he is dying to make a lot of people here will ask question to try and get that person to really think about whether they need a 4P cabinet. 

Also think about whether you need to be able to play console games - in the 15+ years I've had cabinets in my house no one but me has ever played a console game even though they could.  99.9% of the time people want to play 80s 3:4 arcade classics - Pac-Man, Frogger, Mr. Do!, Galaga, etc.  Console games work great on a TV from the couch but not so much standing at a cabinet.  YMMV.

Right away, I can tell from your post that 99% of the time P3 and P4 will never be used because you are thinking about building an entire cabinet for the fringe case of "when people are over" and everyone wants to play together.  Build something that will get used by you and the people you live with and plug in USB controllers if you have 4 people over instead of spending $1,000 building an aircraft carrier control panel.

[Mike A]

People just need to put their big boy or girl pants on when they ask for opinions.

If people don't like your idea you can either take their advice or leave it.

Offering a better alternative based on decades of use in arcades is not negative.

The aircraft carrier CP design is a bad design. The Konami 4 player design is a time tested success.

I don't know when it happened, but apparently when someone says "what do you think?", it really means "Please fellate me."

[Gilrock]

I'm different I never wanted a 4-player cab.  Guess cause I knew my 3 friends would never all come over at the same time...lol.  I had never seen this thread before now.  Gotta say the Mortal Kombat cab looks nicer than Chance's build.

[Mike A]

I have a 4 player cab and it gets played by 3 or 4 people all of the time.

It is a kid magnet. It allows my adult guests to play the other games in my arcade room undisturbed.

If you have any doubts that you will need 4 players than it is probably best to stick with 2 players.

My experience is not the norm. I have about twenty arcade machines.

[Gilrock]

I'm even to the point where I don't think I'll build anything for 2 players again.  The problem is 98% of the time its just me and I don't like feeling like I'm standing off to the side instead of centered.

[Pazza]

Its not about liking my idea as Ive not asked for opinions on my idea as Ive not even drawn anything out or planned anything yet, I was simply trying to get plans and schematics on how to build a 4 player cabinet that was not the size of a small car so I could play Gauntlet on it.

[Mike A]

Come on man. At least be honest.

What do you recommend for a 4 player control panel then ?

Is it the actually shape of the panel or the layout of all the buttons or both that you choose this style for a 4 player panel ?

You did ask for opinions.

You could start here for Gauntlet. The plans are not verified, but I am sure they are close enough that you can use them.

https://www.classicarcadecabinets.com/gauntlet.html

[Pazza]

What do you recommend for a 4 player control panel then ? Thats not asking for an opinion on my idea to be fair,thats me asking an opinion on what people recommend for a 4 payer control panel.

Cheers Mike appreciate the plans for the original gauntlet game but from memory that was a big beast of a cabinet and I was hoping to slim it down.

[yotsuya]

What do you recommend for a 4 player control panel then ? Thats not asking for an opinion on my idea to be fair,thats me asking an opinion on what people recommend for a 4 payer control panel.

Cheers Mike appreciate the plans for the original gauntlet game but from memory that was a big beast of a cabinet and I was hoping to slim it down.

Pazza, start a new thread so we stop clogging up Deeznut’s. We’ll talk you through it.


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[deezdrama]

Yeah I think a new thread would be a good idea...thanks.


And just to clear up alot of false opinions based off no experience with this design..... And that "bad design" slander based off bad assumptions.....

Here we have a "to scale" overlay of a konami 4 player panel at 36.875" width , and the "bad design battleship" panel at 46.5" width



Please tell me how my cab is so crammed and not conducive for 4 player play???

It clearly has more room, MUCH more room, but like I said... Owning BOTH a konami 4 player cab and the "bad design battleship" I can tell you the 4 player experience is the same.....  4 people are crammed shoulder to shoulder infront of a small wooden box, there is actually more hand and elbow room on the bad battleship design but for all fairness I rate it a similar cramped experience.

Some of you guys might have a house full of machines but if you dont have anything like this for reference you assume its a standard 36" width and totally cramped which it is not so please quit labeling a bad design like its a proven fact..... Its a bad design based off of your assumption that is based off no experience with the design.

Ive had 4 adults on barstools infront of this before.

As for advice for Pazza...... I agree with you guys, If its being built strictly for the love of Gauntlet (ive had 4 people play dark legacy just fine on this btw) then maybe a more traditional cab would suit you, why not build a slim gauntlet themed cab that could also run other mame games?
But if you absolutely love this design and have the skills/patience/resources to tackle the task- I wont BS you and tell you its a bad design because its not, and although I might not have a basement full of 20 OG cabs I have both designs in question and theres nothing wrong with this layout for 4 players.

[Mike A]

That is the problem. Your cab is 4 freaking feet wide.  It is needlessly massive. P3 and P4 aren't even in front of the screen. They are down the hall.

Ive had 4 adults on barstools infront of this before.

This is the other problem. It is a ---smurfing--- arcade machine. Stand up.

And it is an aircraft carrier, not a battleship. A battleship is too small to land fighter jets on.

[deezdrama]

That is the problem. Your cab is 4 freaking feet wide.  It is needlessly massive. P3 and P4 aren't even in front of the screen. They are down the hall.

Ive had 4 adults on barstools infront of this before.

This is the other problem. It is a ---smurfing--- arcade machine. Stand up.

And it is an aircraft carrier, not a battleship. A battleship is too small to land fighter jets on.

Here goes more assumptions, This cab takes up a tiny footprint compared to my Vendetta cab. Tiny! Not even in the ballpark of the vendetta behemoth. Two different worlds. I brought this cab upstairs by myself with just my 12 year old guiding it. Its light weight, its modular, its easily moved without a crane. The only wide part is an extra 5 inch of control box overhang on each side..... Its nothing, It nestles in the corner without taking up half the room.
I dont get some of you guys. Anything other than a 40 year old giant monolith is crapped on. For some people - a one size fits all, multiplayer,multiplatform, multi-emulation, slim, small footprint machine is all thats needed. Not everyone has the space for 20 giant arcade cabs, I wish I did and I envy the people that do! But this thread isnt about that and I wouldnt come to your thread that is about that and say its wrong if I didnt have any experience with it.

Honestly, I made this build thread to show other average joes that their dream of owning an arcade cab can be achieved with everyday tools we already have and that a nice looking functional cab could be accomplished and trying to give people the confidence to go into a build and using this thread as a landing page for their questions.....
And then comes all this slander that its a bad, non-functional design based off nothing but assumptions.
No wonder the participation of members here dwindles 

[Mike A]

Put your glasses on and read what I wrote please. Talk about making assumptions.

I never said it takes up too much space. P3 and P4 are not in front of the screen. They are off to the side of it. That is too big. I don't care what its footprint is.

I have played games on that design. You assume I have not. For a guy who hates assumptions, you make a lot of them.

And then comes all this slander that its a bad, non-functional design based off nothing but assumptions.
No wonder the participation of members here dwindles

Slander? Hyperbolize much?

[yotsuya]

For the record, you can’t slander an item, you can only slander a person.

I’m glad the design works for you and you’re happy with it and all the other stuff. But again, somebody asked for opinions on four player designs. I’m not not gonna be honest with them.

I will apologize for these comments getting dumped in your thread, that’s why I encouraged him to make his own. You probably should ask the Scottbot to clean this up.

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[deezdrama]

That is the problem. Your cab is 4 freaking feet wide.  It is needlessly massive. P3 and P4 aren't even in front of the screen. They are down the hall.

Ive had 4 adults on barstools infront of this before.

This is the other problem. It is a ---smurfing--- arcade machine. Stand up.

And it is an aircraft carrier, not a battleship. A battleship is too small to land fighter jets on.

Good one OG arcade master god

[deezdrama]

Put your glasses on and read what I wrote please. Talk about making assumptions.

I never said it takes up too much space. P3 and P4 are not in front of the screen. They are off to the side of it. That is too big. I don't care what its footprint is.

I have played games on that design. You assume I have not. For a guy who hates assumptions, you make a lot of them.

And then comes all this slander that its a bad, non-functional design based off nothing but assumptions.
No wonder the participation of members here dwindles

Slander? Hyperbolize much?

I have a konami 4 player cab with pics of it as proof, played both side by side....similar experience. I never said this is the end all be all of arcade cabs, theres compromises to everything.
No... I dont think you played on this design maybe something similar, I took the original layout and moved things...... doesnt matter. You have your opinions, I have mine but the difference is im not in any of your build threads saying your design is wrong based off assumptions I have no experiences with or trying to interject my biased opinions even though theres people out there looking for a one size fits most non traditional build layout that this would work for but you want to smear crap on because its not your cup of tea.

[Mike A]

I don't think you know what the word "assumptions" means, or "slander" for that matter.

Feel free to keep commenting though.

[deezdrama]

Hey thanks I will considering its my thread. Thanks for your permission and approval.

Its my assumption your a purist troll.

Grammar lessons and arcade purity regulator...... your an asset to the community!

[yotsuya]

I know you’re being facetious, but Mike is an asset to the community.


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[deezdrama]

I know you’re being facetious, but Mike is an asset to the community.


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Im sure he is- and im not trying to take anything away from that, I just think some people are too set in their beliefs of whats right and whats wrong.
This is all a journey and if a 4 player multicade/multiplatform setup with bells, lights, and whistles is what draws them in then let it be what draws people in.

It drew me in.... I started with emulation on modern lcd panels. That moved into collecting mini console systems.... then I built this cab, that evolved into getting CRT's and learning what made that technology tick. That led me to collecting ORIGINAL hardware and now I have a soldering lab in the basement and replacing capacitors / refurbishing original console hardware. My next goal is recapping CRT boards and calibrating them.
Hopefully I'll get good enough to help local hobbyists with their CRT/PVM/BVM recapping and callibrations and offer restorations for old consoles in a dying hardware tech hobby.
So by starting with what some would consider wrong- I went down a path where I developed a understanding and appreciation of the original technology and preserving it.

I understand the gesture.... we want to preserve this history.... People see these non traditional builds as breaking from tradition and losing that history. But if a bunch of people would of jumped onboard to discourage me from building in the first place (regardless of design) I would of never went down the path of wanting to restore some of this old tech.

I just dont see the positives of discouraging people. Most people who want to build have an idea already whether they want a traditional design or a nontraditional design. If someone is unsure like the poster in this thread..... theres no harm in giving opinions, but I feel its messy to do it on someones build thread and blatantly call their design bad based on opinion. It might be a horrible design to some.... it might be the greatest thing to others..... but to label it a "bad design" like its fact for everyone is disingenuous.   

[AkAdam44]

Hey Deez, really love your cab!! I hope to one day own one just like it. I've been browsing these arcade forums for what feels like close to 10 years now and I just never seem to have the time to pull the trigger on building one. I'm a huge fan of the "air craft carrier" design and totally support your decision to have built it. I grew up playing NBA Jam, The Simpsons, X-Men...all those 4 player cabs. Those are my fondest memories of playing as a kid, and while those control panels worked great when I was 10 years old, as an adult, I feel like I'd like something a little larger to play on with my kids and their cousins. Don't let these other guys tear you down. I've noticed over the years a lot of the same names love to visit these threads and shyt on anyone's design that doesn't meet their standards. They really have a lot wisdom on the topic, but their approach at criticism can at times be harsh. Anyways, great work on your cabinet and all the best to you!

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[Gilrock]

Yeah I think these control panels are great.  When you die they can double as a coffin...

[deezdrama]

Hey Deez, really love your cab!! I hope to one day own one just like it. I've been browsing these arcade forums for what feels like close to 10 years now and I just never seem to have the time to pull the trigger on building one. I'm a huge fan of the "air craft carrier" design and totally support your decision to have built it. I grew up playing NBA Jam, The Simpsons, X-Men...all those 4 player cabs. Those are my fondest memories of playing as a kid, and while those control panels worked great when I was 10 years old, as an adult, I feel like I'd like something a little larger to play on with my kids and their cousins. Don't let these other guys tear you down. I've noticed over the years a lot of the same names love to visit these threads and shyt on anyone's design that doesn't meet their standards. They really have a lot wisdom on the topic, but their approach at criticism can at times be harsh. Anyways, great work on your cabinet and all the best to you!

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Thanks... I really appreciate it!
Yeah.... these guys are a wealth of knowledge and I know they are trying to help but I just feel they hate to see anything non conforming with tradition. I understand this mindframe but also understand what drew me and many others in... and that was a non-traditional design. I dont think they realize non-traditional can still bring benefits to this community which I hope my previous message explains.

[deezdrama]

Yeah I think these control panels are great.  When you die they can double as a coffin...

Great idea! 
Im off to buy batting and crushed velvet now

[deezdrama]

So I just noticed all the craziness going on in Chances thread and understand now why Im catching all this flak.

I just want to verify that
I built my cab with rough dimensions and an outline of the control panel template where I moved things around and changed the angle of the control panel box and side panels to suit my needs.
I have nothing to do with the plans or selling of plans and Im upset as well because ive sent people to Chance under good faith that he was giving them to people for free.
Is it true he was charging for them? I just contacted a guy ive been helping on reddit who I sent to chance for plans a few weeks ago to see if he was charged.

I would never sell someone elses designs and have no monetary motives here.
I understand that if this is true that it is troubling but ive done nothing but try to help people with their builds and questions and I find it troubling if Im catching all the flak now just because this is the build design I chose to go with almost 6 years ago.

Again.... Ive used this design side by side with my konami 4 player vendetta cab and found no difference in playing experience besides the crt being a crt in the konami cab obviously so it adds to the authentic experience but honestly the layout and feel of this layout is fine and I hate to think anything related to this design will be discouraged because someone was charging for the plans.
I , nor this design were guilty of this and as always Ill help anyone with questions on their build where I can.

[deezdrama]

Wow..... I feel like a useful idiot.
For almost 6 years ive been sending people to chance for what I thought were free plans to guys looking to build one of these cabs.
I have confirmed with someone ive been helping on reddit that he did charge him $60 for the plans.
And from what ive been told its just the side panel and control panel templates which I could of shared with them myself for free. Ive sent dozens of people to him for plans and with all the traffic he must of got greedy and decided to monetize on it.

I could see if it was his design from scratch and putting together all the templates and cad files and writing up a pdf guide and selling on ebay..... But not charging for a layout someone else designed and slapping a simple side panel dimension file with it and calling it my own.
The member I talked to says hes not upset and it saved him time but im upset that ive been sending him traffic for years for him to profit on and never telling me anything about his idea to charge.

I apologize to anyone I referred to him thinking they were getting free plans, I had no clue untill now that he was charging people. Here I was posting my build on youtube and reddit subs and sending them to him thinking I was helping people out with there first build and the whole time I was advertising for someone to take advantage of the situation and profit.

Ill freely share my modified versions of the files.
Can anyone reccomend a free file hosting site that wont take the files down and can handle large files?
They are too big for me to post here.
Maybe google drive? Ive never used it.... Will have to look into it

[javeryh]

Wow.  $60 for real?  That’s so much for 2 templates and also I think taking advantage of people new to the hobby.  There are a ton of free designs out there and all you really have to adjust is the width to accommodate the monitor.  I could see it maybe if these were full CAD drawings that you could bring somewhere to have cut on a CNC and it would snap together like IKEA furniture...

I’m not going to knock someone for trying to make some money but it seems dishonest to advertise here and not let people know.

[deezdrama]

yep... $60, I think It might of been cad files for the control panel top and the side panels because the guy Ive been talking to had these parts cut at a cnc shop but he has to figure out all the middle sections on his own.

Here we go everybody, save $60 

[yotsuya]

Wow.  $60 for real?  That’s so much for 2 templates and also I think taking advantage of people new to the hobby.  There are a ton of free designs out there and all you really have to adjust is the width to accommodate the monitor.  I could see it maybe if these were full CAD drawings that you could bring somewhere to have cut on a CNC and it would snap together like IKEA furniture...

I’m not going to knock someone for trying to make some money but it seems dishonest to advertise here and not let people know.

The guy who created his CAD files did not know they were going to be sold down the line. He’s not happy about that.


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[deezdrama]

Wow.  $60 for real?  That’s so much for 2 templates and also I think taking advantage of people new to the hobby.  There are a ton of free designs out there and all you really have to adjust is the width to accommodate the monitor.  I could see it maybe if these were full CAD drawings that you could bring somewhere to have cut on a CNC and it would snap together like IKEA furniture...

I’m not going to knock someone for trying to make some money but it seems dishonest to advertise here and not let people know.

The guy who created his CAD files did not know they were going to be sold down the line. He’s not happy about that.


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Wow... so he didnt even create the cad files? smh

[jennifer]

It is a scab move, I will give it that...But in the big scope of things does it really matter?, Free, is it really Free, I done 10.00 scans that add up fast, But, consider it what is if you need it...And 60.00 templates, is observed as perverted?...Omg, my latest project just hit eleven hundred  dollars in materials and prints for the 4 main templates, Aparently we are not even playing the same sport.

[Gilrock]

No I think it was more the taking of someone else's work and then secretly selling it via private messages for $60 that appears perverted.

[jennifer]

That's old news, and doesn't surprise me...But then again it is basically abandoned wares, short of slimy it is not illegal...Now you know why Jenn don't do alot of pics.

[Mike A]

What could that possibly have to do with posting pics?

[javeryh]

No I think it was more the taking of someone else's work and then secretly selling it via private messages for $60 that appears perverted.

Yup.  "Hey guys I'm selling these plans that I made (or substantially improved to make my own) for $60" and no one would bat an eye. 

[jennifer]

What could that possibly have to do with posting pics?

Spoonfeeding uninspired guys like you ideas is not my idea of fun.