Your usual noob questions

[gramboda]

Hey Everyone! Thanks for providing such a great resource. I am sure I will be here often asking noob questions and someday I hope to be a quality contributor.

That said, I am starting my very first multi arcade. I recently purchased a vintage Tempest cabinet and I am planning to use a Raspberry Pi 3 to control the whole thing. Since this is my first project, I want to go as simple as possible. From the looks of things an i-pac 2 player interface will make my life easier when it comes to controls. Is that a fair statement?

Also, is there a vendor who sells a good entry level kit of buttons, joysticks, switches and a harness? For this build, I'd rather just have a kit rather than buying everything ala carte. The only place I could find selling kits is Ebay. I want to go cheap but junk. Do you all have any recommendations?

Thanks in advance!!

[yotsuya]

Pics of the cab? I want to see it.

[gramboda]

[yotsuya]

Looks like the one I picked up, minus the CP.

Some advice - I’d keep it single player, vertical 4-way games myself. The setup of that cab doesn’t lend itself to two players.

[gramboda]

Thanks! Yeah, I think 2 player is going to be a tight fit but I want to be able to play fighting games...er rather, my kids do. CP must be control panel? For me, that is going to be one of the challenges as I'm not very experienced with wood working and there are a lot of weird angles with this one. The price was right, though. Like I said, this is my first one so I just want to get my feet under me. Subsequent builds will be more deliberate in design.

[yotsuya]

Thanks! Yeah, I think 2 player is going to be a tight fit but I want to be able to play fighting games...er rather, my kids do. CP must be control panel? For me, that is going to be one of the challenges as I'm not very experienced with wood working and there are a lot of weird angles with this one. The price was right, though. Like I said, this is my first one so I just want to get my feet under me. Subsequent builds will be more deliberate in design.

Okay! Enjoy your build!!!!

[jennifer]

    SCORE!!!!  Makes me think back to all the big dreams of my first .... Yots is right though, that would be better as a take turns kinda deal, or a strait up resto.... Good news is however, next to it you can build a fighter because you will have the tools anyway. (yes sounds crazy I know) But reality is building multiple games at once is twice the fun.... Jennifer would be interested in the story, Where? when? how did you find it? How much?does the guy you got it from still have the rest of it? How did you get it home? How far did you have to travel? Did your kids think you went insane? (laugh)...And welcome friend.

[gramboda]

You're kind of talking me into this single player thing! I could write a book on how this came to be. I've been kicking building for YEARS but never pulled the trigger. Either I couldn't find a cabinet or I had other stuff going on. Something else seemed to always take precedence.

I found this on my new addiction, FB Marketplace. The guy had it listed for $100. I offered $25 and he accepted $50. I'm pretty happy with the deal. Got it home in the back of my wife's SUV since it was just across town. The funny part is this guy has everything that I am into. I walked into what I thought would be a storage unit but turned out to be his 271 foot man cave complete with about 50 games and pinballs, vintage snowmobiles (i'm in WI), every model of Ford Mustang you can think of and oh yeah, his 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo! I don't know how a collection like his could exist under my nose without me knowing. I might be a bit of a stalker cuz I as we speak I am trying to plot ways to be his new best friend!! HA!

[yotsuya]

Kudos to you for thinking it through. The temptation to go big on your first build is strong, but going single player on that Tempest cab would be a great learning experience, and would help sharpen your skills and lead to a great two player cab.

If you need any help, let me know. I’m doing some spring cleaning and have some extra parts.

[yotsuya]

Oh, by the way, while I am usually big on restoration, I understand the difficulty of trying to source all the vector parts for a Tempest. It’s much cheaper just to buy a working one than to go out and find all the parts you need. Since this is just the wood shell, turning it into something playable I think is a good thing.

[Titchgamer]

Ime with Yots on this.
Rebuild it as a single player.
It will be all the challenges you want and be more fun in the long haul trying to do 2 player on that will just end in pain.

As for your q about controls.
Dont buy a “kit” they are usually junk.
Pick and choose your stuff and buy them individually.

[paigeoliver]

You're kind of talking me into this single player thing! I could write a book on how this came to be. I've been kicking building for YEARS but never pulled the trigger. Either I couldn't find a cabinet or I had other stuff going on. Something else seemed to always take precedence.

I found this on my new addiction, FB Marketplace. The guy had it listed for $100. I offered $25 and he accepted $50. I'm pretty happy with the deal. Got it home in the back of my wife's SUV since it was just across town. The funny part is this guy has everything that I am into. I walked into what I thought would be a storage unit but turned out to be his 271 foot man cave complete with about 50 games and pinballs, vintage snowmobiles (i'm in WI), every model of Ford Mustang you can think of and oh yeah, his 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo! I don't know how a collection like his could exist under my nose without me knowing. I might be a bit of a stalker cuz I as we speak I am trying to plot ways to be his new best friend!! HA!

One of the weird things about this hobby is how poor dudes like me sometimes end up in social situations with millionaires because of it!