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Author Topic: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?  (Read 8787 times)

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Demon-Seed

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Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« on: August 02, 2017, 08:09:26 pm »
Hey Guys,
It has been several years since I have last dabbled on here.. After making 3 cabinets in the past I have left the scene for many years due to family commitments.  Well today my 9 year old and I were out and he asked if we could build an arcade cabinet with "those old games from the 80's and 90's". He wants to make a multi theme cabinet with pac man, qbert, donkey king etc.. on it.  So I am wondering what plans are simple for us to build a classic looking, stand up, 2 person cabinet. I know there are all kinds of plans thought maybe someone could recommend a plan set for us to dive in.  I would prefer something slimmer... Appreciate any links / info...

take care
Jim
Life is like a video game, a good one never dies..

ugleymatt

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2017, 06:28:57 am »
http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/eng/index.htm has the one that i would use if i were to make a full size machine.

Titchgamer

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2017, 07:03:24 am »
As hes only 9 maybe a cabaret style would be best?

Demon-Seed

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2017, 08:43:01 am »
Hey
That first link was the one I was going to do for myself! I am not sure what style to do. He is saying he only wants four buttons and two players however what games does that eliminate if no five or six buttons? He may change his mind as he ages.... Also he has said he wants classics like pax man etc but other games may need 8 way joysticks so I would need both types. I am not sure what size screen to use either.  Is there a list to show what games need what buttons?
Thanks
Jim
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Mike A

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2017, 08:51:06 am »
I have a cab with a vertical monitor and a 4 way joystick. I originally had three buttons, but two is all I really needed. I started with tons of games. My list is now down to about a dozen. People play this machine all the time at my house. The controls are simple and the game list is easy to navigate because it is small. I know the urge is there to load up 11ty bajillion games and every button and joystick combination. I vastly prefer my simple machine.

Titchgamer

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2017, 08:56:48 am »
Depends on your Son.

8 way sticks with 6 buttons cover 99% of games anyone wants to play.

My cab gets allot of SF 2 action which requires the 6 buttons and 8 way sticks.

But I mostly play 4 way games and spinner games lol

You can get 4/8 way switchable sticks.

Demon-Seed

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #6 on: August 03, 2017, 08:59:32 am »
Hey
So I did some checks and most five and six button games are for fighters. He does not want fighters. I am thinking four buttons only maybe three. He wants classics but I also see him wanting to play games like Spider-Man, Xmen, double dragon like side scroller fighters. Do they need three or four buttons? Also don't they use eightway sticks? Just need to decide on that an style to fit two players.
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Slippyblade

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #7 on: August 03, 2017, 09:58:45 am »
Yeah, if you don't want fighters, 4 buttons is max all you really need.  Even then, unless you wanna play D&D, you can get by with 3.

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #8 on: August 03, 2017, 12:11:16 pm »
Hey
So I did some checks and most five and six button games are for fighters. He does not want fighters. I am thinking four buttons only maybe three. He wants classics but I also see him wanting to play games like Spider-Man, Xmen, double dragon like side scroller fighters. Do they need three or four buttons? Also don't they use eightway sticks? Just need to decide on that an style to fit two players.

Yeah 8 way sticks for the side scrollers.
Most are 3 button, maybe a couple of 4?

Demon-Seed

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #9 on: August 03, 2017, 01:39:13 pm »
Hey
Is there good switchable 4/8 way sticks now that can auto switch for each game?
What style do you think we should build?
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Titchgamer

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #10 on: August 03, 2017, 03:06:23 pm »
Like I said above maybe look at a Cabaret style cab.

As for the sticks there is quite a few options available.

You could use mag sticks which toggle from above or bellow the panel manually.

Theres servo sticks which can be set up for automatic change and have physical restriction.

Then you have something like the ultra stick but that does not have physical restriction.

Pretty sure other manufacturers make stuff to :)




Demon-Seed

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #11 on: August 03, 2017, 06:07:58 pm »
Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.  The other thing I am looking at is software. On my other home pc build I used hyper spin. It looks great but takes a long long time to get setup.  I have considered a raspberry pi to power it however I am not sure what is the cleanest, easiest and nicest FE.  I spoke to my son today, he wants the classic games form 80's and 90's.. He wants side scrollers like Simpsons, XMen etc... He also said he would like consoles NES, Genesis era.. maybe up to N64...
Life is like a video game, a good one never dies..

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #12 on: August 03, 2017, 06:10:09 pm »
I love the PI, but don't recommend it unless you already know Linux.

Just use a garbage bin computer to power it and I recommend Attract Mode as a front end.  The built in layouts are pretty good, and the scripting to build your own layouts is easy.

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #13 on: August 03, 2017, 07:20:57 pm »
Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.  The other thing I am looking at is software. On my other home pc build I used hyper spin. It looks great but takes a long long time to get setup.  I have considered a raspberry pi to power it however I am not sure what is the cleanest, easiest and nicest FE.  I spoke to my son today, he wants the classic games form 80's and 90's.. He wants side scrollers like Simpsons, XMen etc... He also said he would like consoles NES, Genesis era.. maybe up to N64...

Remember the SNES and some Genesis are 6 button games ;)

Pi's are great use one in my bartop.
But if you are building a full size use a PC much easier to set up and more customisable :)

Demon-Seed

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #14 on: August 03, 2017, 09:58:51 pm »
Hey
Thanks I think I will do the 2 6 player button ones to be safe.. I am leaning towards a slim design so we have some more room.  What are the top slim plans on here?  I have always used PC parts however I might try the raspberry pi.. I found many images online that say you install and your good to go?  Whats the best image?

thanks
Jim
Life is like a video game, a good one never dies..

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #15 on: August 04, 2017, 04:06:12 am »
Hey
Thanks I think I will do the 2 6 player button ones to be safe.. I am leaning towards a slim design so we have some more room.  What are the top slim plans on here?  I have always used PC parts however I might try the raspberry pi.. I found many images online that say you install and your good to go?  Whats the best image?

thanks
Jim
Just get the official RetroPie image. Really easy:
  • Write image to a sd card using something like Win32 Disk Imager
  • Put sd card in RPi and turn on
  • Configure controls
  • Configure wifi if needed
  • Place roms in the right folder (through a samba share or by making use of a usb stick)
  • Play games
No need for extensive Linux knowledge and everything you want to know you can find by using Google (really big community for RetroPie!).

By the way YMMV with N64 games. The RPi3 is just a tad too light for that. Without overclocking (which would need an heatsink + fan) and some tweaking most of the games are (imo) unplayable. More on N64 on a RPi3 I found here: https://www.instructables.com/id/RetroPie-Overclocked-Raspberry-Pi-3-for-Video-Game/
« Last Edit: September 13, 2017, 01:15:36 pm by barrymossel »

Demon-Seed

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #16 on: August 04, 2017, 07:51:27 am »
Hey
Thanks... guys I appreciate the help.  Any links to best slim cabinets? N64 I can live without
Life is like a video game, a good one never dies..

morton

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #17 on: August 04, 2017, 09:30:15 am »
I was originally considering several cab types for my first build. I decided to go with a Lowboy which is an Australian cabinet type. Has a nice retro look to it, and doesn't look as imposing in a room as its only about 50" tall and 24" wide total. I use a vertical 19" CRT and could still install a 19" horizontally.

http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/stuzza12/media/cGF0aDpQYWNtYW4gTG93Ym95L0lNR18wMjg1LmpwZw==/?ref=1

Since youre looking at two player and if you like the lowboy you can build to any width to allow for enough space for 2 sticks and buttons. Also I would suggest Stuzza's (Hey mate - hope you dont mind me using your pic) who completed an amazing project NBA Jam Lowboy on this forum (pics are messed up), as he added an external control panel to his lowboy and think it turned out really great. Not sure if there is much in the thread, but Googling "NBA Jam Lowboy" will give you pics (shame about the pics in thread tho - photobucket is whack)

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=153055.0

The Pi is brilliant and super easy to use. I would not grab an image... you will learn very little and the first time something wrong happens, you'll tear your hair out because you didn't build it, and learned nothing. I was using a nice theme in Emulation Station for a while that looked very clean and wasn't overly complex. Once you learn that, setting up something like Attract Mode is a piece of cake and looks great in an arcade cabinet. Budget friendly and great way to dip your toes into the pool. Big communities of people who can help you with whatever your issues are.

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #18 on: August 04, 2017, 01:52:52 pm »
My suggestions, don't undersize it. A 9 year old can play on a standard size cabinet and a standard size cabinet doesn't really take up any more space than most "small" cabinets. If you build him something little then he is going to grow out of it in the blink of an eye.

Don't use a Raspberry Pi. The people who suggest you do so are well meaning but misled. It is still the worst thing you can put in a cabinet, a 10 year old PC will run rings around it. The only reason it has the popularity that it does is because the people making bootleg cabinets to sell use them because they are cheap and they can copy the software over and over again, and they don't care if the end user can't fix it when it stops working 6 months later.

Install 6 buttons per player. It will cost a whole $6 more than 4 buttons, and you might as well do it now. I have had my mame cabinet for 16 years now, your 9 year old son has no idea what he is going to want in the future. Don't use cheap joysticks. Happ Super is good for an American style stick, and what I suggest for younger players. I would suggest avoiding the Asian style sticks, the good ones look exactly like the terrible ones at first glance and the good ones cost more than a decent American style stick does.
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morton

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #19 on: August 04, 2017, 02:42:33 pm »
My suggestions, don't undersize it. A 9 year old can play on a standard size cabinet and a standard size cabinet doesn't really take up any more space than most "small" cabinets. If you build him something little then he is going to grow out of it in the blink of an eye.

Don't use a Raspberry Pi. The people who suggest you do so are well meaning but misled. It is still the worst thing you can put in a cabinet, a 10 year old PC will run rings around it. The only reason it has the popularity that it does is because the people making bootleg cabinets to sell use them because they are cheap and they can copy the software over and over again, and they don't care if the end user can't fix it when it stops working 6 months later.

Install 6 buttons per player. It will cost a whole $6 more than 4 buttons, and you might as well do it now. I have had my mame cabinet for 16 years now, your 9 year old son has no idea what he is going to want in the future. Don't use cheap joysticks. Happ Super is good for an American style stick, and what I suggest for younger players. I would suggest avoiding the Asian style sticks, the good ones look exactly like the terrible ones at first glance and the good ones cost more than a decent American style stick does.

Im guessing you had bad experiences with your Pi?

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #20 on: August 04, 2017, 02:54:09 pm »
Im guessing you had bad experiences with your Pi?

you don't know paige
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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #21 on: August 04, 2017, 09:08:20 pm »
Hey Guys
Whats some of the best slim standup plans? I would need plans to help me out..
Life is like a video game, a good one never dies..

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #22 on: August 04, 2017, 09:22:58 pm »
Not at all, it just isn't great, it is mediocre. You can have great for the same price (used PC). You can have mediocre that is more reliable for the same price (bootleg X in 1 board). No reason to use mediocre when great is available.

Suggesting Pi as a go to is like suggesting "2001 Hyundai" to someone who asks which car they should buy. Except of course that you can easily find a pi, actually pretty hard to find a Hyundai that old.


My suggestions, don't undersize it. A 9 year old can play on a standard size cabinet and a standard size cabinet doesn't really take up any more space than most "small" cabinets. If you build him something little then he is going to grow out of it in the blink of an eye.

Don't use a Raspberry Pi. The people who suggest you do so are well meaning but misled. It is still the worst thing you can put in a cabinet, a 10 year old PC will run rings around it. The only reason it has the popularity that it does is because the people making bootleg cabinets to sell use them because they are cheap and they can copy the software over and over again, and they don't care if the end user can't fix it when it stops working 6 months later.

Install 6 buttons per player. It will cost a whole $6 more than 4 buttons, and you might as well do it now. I have had my mame cabinet for 16 years now, your 9 year old son has no idea what he is going to want in the future. Don't use cheap joysticks. Happ Super is good for an American style stick, and what I suggest for younger players. I would suggest avoiding the Asian style sticks, the good ones look exactly like the terrible ones at first glance and the good ones cost more than a decent American style stick does.

Im guessing you had bad experiences with your Pi?
Acceptance of Zen philosophy is marred slightly by the nagging thought that if all things are interconnected, then all things must be in some way involved with Pauly Shore.

Slippyblade

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #23 on: August 05, 2017, 10:11:45 am »
The Pi is great, I use them for mini builds.  Bartops, emulation consoles, etc.  But for an upright - just go with a full PC.  It'll be quicker to build, easier to maintain, and more bomb proof.

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #24 on: August 05, 2017, 12:13:27 pm »
      Perhaps just restore the real deal, find a real game, All those ridicules buttons on a multigame are quite distracting and confusing, Ultimately a disappointing experience, that may just turn him against Mame as a concept....Forever.

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #25 on: August 05, 2017, 08:21:24 pm »
Hey
I appreciate the input. I think I may do the PC again as my old builds used that.
I have been searching the forums for slim standup...... just need to find the one I like best.  Any recommendations for a step by step slim plan?
« Last Edit: August 08, 2017, 01:16:53 pm by Demon-Seed »
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proplayer77

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #26 on: November 08, 2017, 12:27:17 pm »

Heres one alternative i came across before making my bartop arcade for me and my 10 yo.(Thx Titch for all the help on my questions btw :))
I didnt use any ready-plans i fact, but it will be faster with plans ofc. I didnt make these but still in fresh memory.


http://www.instructables.com/id/A-Super-Easy-Arcade-Machine-from-1-Sheet-of-Plywoo/   (you can make it bigger like he writes: The mini size of this cab makes it perfect for children. Mine absolutely, positively love the cabinets I built! This will not be uncomfortable for adults either, you just need to sit when playing. If you want a full size machine, just use a 4 by 8 sheet of wood as instructed in the beginning of this Instructable.)

Most popular (i think?) are these Koenigs plans, you can always make some own mods on them:  http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/eng/
« Last Edit: November 08, 2017, 12:28:59 pm by proplayer77 »

Titchgamer

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #27 on: November 08, 2017, 02:06:46 pm »

Heres one alternative i came across before making my bartop arcade for me and my 10 yo.(Thx Titch for all the help on my questions btw :))


No problemo dude

surtr

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #28 on: November 10, 2017, 11:25:12 am »
Shoot, I'm totally late on seeing this thread.  I am just finishing up a very similar project I did with my 14-year-old daughter.  Slim upright cab, 2 joysticks (currently 8 way zippys, swapping them out with GroovyGameGear OMNI2 joysticks this weekend), 4 buttons.  I thought I'd be fine just using 8 way joysticks but some games made for 4 way joysticks (pac-man, ghosts's n goblins, etc) don't really play well with the 8 way -- I find myself getting stuck on corners and ladders.   The OMNI2 looks solid as I just need to flip up my CP and turn the dial on the joystick to switch back and forth from 4 way to 8 way.

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #29 on: November 13, 2017, 03:47:52 pm »
Not sure this was mentioned (sorry if it was) how about Vigo's Vigolex? Definitely one of my favorites here.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=119533.0

eds1275

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Re: Recommendations for New Build with 9 year old son?
« Reply #30 on: November 17, 2017, 02:11:18 pm »
I've made cabinets with each of my nephews and my niece and all of them are really into it until the volume of power tools scares the heck out of them. The plan was they would build and I would supervise and offer advice but it turned out that I did all the work and they played.