Be gentle. Started reading up a lot recently, but hoping you can all save me some time. Starting from scratch here. What do I need at the bare minimum to get going with an arcade? Not building any cabinet yet and not sure if I'll go with a full standup cabinet or something bartop.
Will likely just have the joystick/buttons on a piece of plywood to start. Just want to start and see how this grows.
Will likely start with an old Windows XP laptop, unless I pick up a Raspberry Pi (if that's recommended).
Will use an old LCD TV to start.
Want to eventually pick up a trackball and a spinner, so I'd like to have that functionality as an option.
Looking to play classic 80s arcade games mostly.
If you were starting over with something bare bones that intends to grow, what would you buy? What do I need? And what's the most economical way to go about it?
2 joysticks, 6 buttons for them, 1/2 player coin and start, pause, volume
ipac? ipac ultimate i/o?
Go ahead. Start my addiction.
The FAQ is a great place to start.
Since the wiki is still down, you can find a backup copy here.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160809113045/http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?title=FAQAn XP laptop with a USB fightstick would be a great way to learn your way around the MAME and front end software, build
your list of "gotta-have-it" games, try out different hardware like sticks/buttons, and practice your woodworking/finishing skills.
Based on your game preferences (some newer games need an XBox360 controller) and wanting to add a trackball+spinner, an I-Pac or Mini-Pac Opti is an excellent choice for the encoder.
--
I-Pac if you want to save a few bucks and practice fabricating wiring.
--
Mini-Pac if you want the convenience of a pre-fab wiring harness.
If you're looking for a lower-priced encoder, you can "roll-your-own"
KADE miniArcade 2.0, but it won't handle the trackball/spinner inputs, so you'll also need an
OptiWiz or StefanBurger's
Illuminated Spinner firmware on an Arduino.
Scott