My daughter liked my first project (Space Duel with Pi) so much that she requested one for her apartment when she goes off to college next month.
I was going to just post the results, but I've been real impressed with the input members of this forum have given to others as they build their project. So, I will post as I go. I'm a half way decent (but slow) woodworker. But I haven't tried; T-molding, working with melamine (I have cut formica counter tops), or designing/applying artwork. But.... If all goes well, I would really like to build a whole cabinet as project #3.
My goal is to build a small two-player standalone arcade control panel that has two external connections. One, power. Two HDMI to her TV.
The control panel will take inspiration from the Xarcade dual joystick. But I will install the Raspberry Pi 2 in the box - running RetroPie, Emulationstation, and Adv-Mame. Same image as my "Space Duel with Pi" project. I have an Xarcade Tankstick. I prototyped the entire Pi setup on it for my first project.
BOM:
3/4" Melamine (particle board base)
3/4" T molding (yellow)
Raspberry Pi 2 (model B)
2 ZD UBS Arcade Encoders (not pictured - coming from China)
Spitfire Joystick 8-way (green)
Spitfire Joystick 4-way (blue - I need a darker ball)
10 buttons (mostly convex, except player 1/2)
Control Panel Overlay in reds (not designed yet)
Like my Space Duel, I plan to run mostly pre-1984 games. The Player (P1, P2, P3) buttons next to each joystick covers mostly everything I want to run. The joysticks and buttons will be duplicated for most games so the correct joystick can be used.
From what I've read. Most people rough cut their control/cabinet panels, then router them to the final size. They use a template made out of 1/4" plywood for the router part. I might experiment with a finish blade in my table saw. Any input?
Any recommendations on artwork software? I use windows mostly. My mainstay is Image Composer - old image editor software from 1998. I know that will not work well.
I saw some great recommendations about where to send the artwork to for overlay production. What material is the overlay made of? Is there different choices?
SO MANY QUESTIONS.....