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Author Topic: First Cabinet Build: Fallout Bartop - A Post Apocalyptic Arcade Cabinet  (Read 21485 times)

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Arimack

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So, I am a longtime lurker and first time builder.  Have been planning on building for quite some time, but life gets in the way, etc. This last Fathers Day, when asked by my wife what I wanted I told her I wanted a project I could do with my boys.  My youngest reminded me about the Rasberry Pi they had bought me a few years ago (with the idea it would be the brains of my build).  I had gotten as far on the project previously of designing my own bartop and had actually cut the two side panels. But never got any farther than that.

So for Fathers Day, I asked for a bartop kit from eBay.  Best way to get me started and motivated to build.  I know this is a shortcut from a full build but with my time as it is I thought it would be a great first step.  I am going to keep it relatively simple and straightforward with an eye towards a full size cabinet built from scratch if I enjoy it.  I already have a Rasberry Pi 2 and an old 19 inch 4x3 LCD monitor.

As for themes, as you can see from my avatar I am a huge Fallout fan.  Thought it would be a great to go with a powder blue cabinet, with yellow T-Molding and yellow balltop joysticks and yellow buttons.  A two player setup with six buttons each.  Trying to figure out what type of side art I want (small vinyl sticker or full side vinyl), what control panel art I want and what marquee.

I know there have been a few other Fallout Cabinets listed here and the track record on finishing them is not great.  Hopefully I can buck the trend.


Mike A

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Why don't you make it look like it belongs in Fallout?

Make it look battered and worn. Mount some nixie tubes in some unnecessary place.

Ohhh. Use a small DIY vacuum tube amp to power the speakers. Make sure the tube is exposed so you can see the glow.

If you are not doing a traditional arcade machine theme then you may as well go balls out.

HaRuMaN

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 :stupid

Mike A

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You could use this preamp and run it through a cheap regular amp. That way you get cool vacuum tubes or "valves" (just for you Titch). It would be cheaper than a tube amp.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk


JDFan

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Have you checked the playability on a 2 player 19" setup ? Hopefully its a decent monitor with good viewing angles as it seems you'll both be sitting pretty far to the sides of the machine.

Figure a single player 6 button setup uses about 8 - 9 inches of space so to fit 2 player in a setup with about 17 - 18 inches interior width doesn't leave much room between the setups and also the sides of the cabinet - so might be a tight fit.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2018, 11:15:35 am by JDFan »

jdbailey1206

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Arimack it would be cool to see you model it after the new Fallout 76 Pip-Boy 2000 Construction kit referenced below.  That would buck the trend.





Just brainstorming but it would be cool to see you modify your cabinet to resemble the Pip Boy kit and mount the amp referenced by Mike inside the silver cage sandwiched in between the radiation detector and speaker and see it glow when the tabletop started up.

Add one of the meters below to work off of the amp...Again brainstorming.



« Last Edit: June 22, 2018, 11:31:05 am by jdbailey1206 »

Mike A

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Quote
I am going to keep it relatively simple and straightforward

I guess we should roll back our expectations a little. Finishing the first cab is a gateway to a more ambitious project later on.

It is a good idea to start simple.

jdbailey1206

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« Last Edit: June 22, 2018, 11:58:12 am by jdbailey1206 »

Arimack

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Quote
I am going to keep it relatively simple and straightforward

I guess we should roll back our expectations a little. Finishing the first cab is a gateway to a more ambitious project later on.

It is a good idea to start simple.

I appreciate the support and enthusiasm but I think I will be following Mike A's thoughts and save the ambitious stuff for the next project.

Arimack

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Have you checked the playability on a 2 player 19" setup ? Hopefully its a decent monitor with good viewing angles as it seems you'll both be sitting pretty far to the sides of the machine.

Figure a single player 6 button setup uses about 8 - 9 inches of space so to fit 2 player in a setup with about 17 - 18 inches interior width doesn't leave much room between the setups and also the sides of the cabinet - so might be a tight fit.

So it is a KDS Rad-9 19 inch monitor with, according to the specs, a 140 degree horizontal view angle. Think it will work.  Main reason for 2 players is to enjoy it with my boys so doesn't necessarily need to be wide enough to accommodate 2 adults.
https://www.cnet.com/products/kds-radius-rad-9/specs/]=https://www.cnet.com/products/kds-radius-rad-9/specs/]https://www.cnet.com/products/kds-radius-rad-9/specs/

The only problem is that the bezel/case is huge on this thing.  The case is almost 3 inches deep.  Thinking I am going to rip the case off this.  Not sure how I am going to mount the monitor as the mounting bracket is part of the case.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2018, 01:10:05 pm by Arimack »

Arimack

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JDBailey1206,

I like the PIPBoy idea and might work something in like it.  So I don't want a frankenpanel but do like the idea of a trackball.  But no way it fits on a 2 player bartop panel. 

Thinking I might build a small stand alone trackball control panel (trackball and 2-3 buttons) that would plug in via USB to the main system.  If I do this, I could build the small stand alone in the style of a Pipboy.  Then plug it in to the main system.  Just spit balling here.

Bonus I can complete my main, simple design and once done, work my trackball panel.
 



Arimack

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 :dunno
Question about wiring in the case.  I am planning on plugging in: a monitor, speakers and a rasberry pi.  What is the norm, running an external plug/switch like this picture?

but then what on the inside?  do you wire a power strip up to the backside of the switch? or just hardwire outlets to the switch?  Or do you install a powersupply and rewire everything to it?  Just need to keep this small to fit in the bartop.

Pictures of how others do it would be great.  Thanks.

HaRuMaN

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I wire a 3 outlet power strip to the back of those things.

JDFan

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but then what on the inside?  do you wire a power strip up to the backside of the switch? or just hardwire outlets to the switch?  Or do you install a powersupply and rewire everything to it?  Just need to keep this small to fit in the bartop.

Pictures of how others do it would be great.  Thanks.

As Haruman mentioned - Just cut off the plug on a 3-5 outlet power strip and wire that to it - then your outlets inside the cab just plug into the power strip.

jdbailey1206

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This was from my build.  Couldn't find the Wiki to reference it...

Disclaimer:  I am not a licensed electrician.  This post is not in anyway a certified way to wire your arcade cab.  Only a suggestion.  I in no way can guarantee or warrant your application of the following how-to.     

Last Monday I had some free time at night so I decided to take some time and wire up my power supply to my rocker switch which will be on the outside of the cab to get power to all the components.  The rocker switch can be found here and the I found the power supply I used at Meijer.  For those who don't have a Meijer close by the power supply can be found here.  The Rocker Switch also requires a 10A fuse.  Those can also be found on Amazon.  The link is here.

Before the operation:


When working on this setup always remember that BLACK=LIVE, WHITE=NEUTRAL, GREEN=GROUND.  And as the following pictures show you it is easy enough to wire up. 



All wired up.


Note:  Always use spare wire from your power strip to create your jumpers.  If you use a smaller gauge wire you run the chance of creating a bottle neck for the electricity.  Someone may want you dead but its not me.   ;D

Arimack

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Thanks for the pictures on the power strip set up. 

Artwork:
As I mentioned in the first post, I am thinking of painting the cabinet powder blue with yellow t molding.  Keeping it simple, I would like to apply a custom die cut vinyl sticker to each side of the cabinet with vault boy:

die cut around vault boy and the vault gear symbol.

For marquee some variant of the Fallout logo like this:

javeryh

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Please don't put "Arcade Cabinet" on your marquee.  Everyone will know what it is just by looking at it!

Arimack

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The original Fallout had "A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game" under the title and I was going with a riff on  that.  What is the opinions on this, maybe go with "A Post Nuclear Arcade Game" or "A Post Apocalyptic Arcade Game"?

Also since this is a Pi based system I might be able to slide Fallout 1 on it. 

Mike A

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How about "Falloutcade Picade Arcade Machine MAMEcade"?

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javeryh

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The original Fallout had "A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game" under the title and I was going with a riff on  that.  What is the opinions on this, maybe go with "A Post Nuclear Arcade Game" or "A Post Apocalyptic Arcade Game"?

Also since this is a Pi based system I might be able to slide Fallout 1 on it.

OK maybe in this instance you can actually pull it off.  I googled the logo so I can see it working...

Mike A

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No. It is still a bad idea. Just because they used a bad idea doesn't mean you should double down on it.


TheGreatRedDragon

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"Post Nuclear Arcade Game" could work, but in my opinion it's a little tacky.

If the original subtitle was "A Post Nuclear Console Game" then I'd get it but it doesn't.

"A Post Nuclear Role-Playing Game" describes the kind of game it is. "A Post Nuclear Arcade Game" doesn't say anything about what kind of game it is, it only says that it's in an arcade cabinet. And since the prospective player can already see that it's in an arcade cabinet the label is redundant.

Also, I can't imagine Fallout being remotely playable on arcade controls as it's barely playable with a gamepad and completely mouse-based, so calling it an arcade game would be particularly silly.

In my opinion the way to go would be to avoid the Fallout logo and external branding completely and instead use only in-game Vault-Tec branding (which is 99% of Fallout's art anyway). You don't have to get crazy with the super diegetic tubes and gauges to make it actually look like a piece of technology from the Fallout world, but sticking to a Vault-Tec theme for the art package would keep the cabinet from advertising a game that not only isn't an arcade game but is unplayable with arcade controls.

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"Post Nuclear Arcade Game" could work, but in my opinion it's a little tacky.

If the original subtitle was "A Post Nuclear Console Game" then I'd get it but it doesn't.

"A Post Nuclear Role-Playing Game" describes the kind of game it is. "A Post Nuclear Arcade Game" doesn't say anything about what kind of game it is, it only says that it's in an arcade cabinet. And since the prospective player can already see that it's in an arcade cabinet the label is redundant.

Also, I can't imagine Fallout being remotely playable on arcade controls as it's barely playable with a gamepad and completely mouse-based, so calling it an arcade game would be particularly silly.

In my opinion the way to go would be to avoid the Fallout logo and external branding completely and instead use only in-game Vault-Tec branding (which is 99% of Fallout's art anyway). You don't have to get crazy with the super diegetic tubes and gauges to make it actually look like a piece of technology from the Fallout world, but sticking to a Vault-Tec theme for the art package would keep the cabinet from advertising a game that not only isn't an arcade game but is unplayable with arcade controls.

 :stupid

javeryh

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No. It is still a bad idea. Just because they used a bad idea doesn't mean you should double down on it.

Haha OK I agree with this.

Arimack

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OK, I'm hear you, using Arcade in the Marquee is dead.  Spent last night playing around and came up with like 20 options for artwork around the theme.  Had the wife look over them and she said she liked them but I kept mixing styles and using others artwork was hard to find things that would end up matching.  So I threw away almost everything that wasn't original to me.

I redesigned it using my own idea.  Kept having a hard time matching the font then I found Overseer Font! https://fontmeme.com/fallout-font/
Someone custom made the fallout font including the lighting bolt O.  Also found out the Vault Tec script is pretty close to Brush Script MT.

I used the Vault Tec logo and the Vault Door icon as the start.  Also, 16 has meaning to me so I picked that as my Vault number.  Vault Tec phrase "Prepare for the future" above the player joystick.

So here is my new idea for the Marquee:


Side Art:


Control Panel:


Rough drafts right now especially the control panel layout which will need to match the holes on the precut panel.  What do you guys think?

Mike A

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Don't put 16 twice on the Marquee. That looks odd. Also, I am no artist, but it seems a little too plain. Simple is good, but there is something missing. Maybe one of our resident artists can chime in.

TheGreatRedDragon

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The skeleton is there but there's no visual impact.

The marquee is especially weak. The marquee has a lamp behind it that blasts light through a piece of plastic and into the retinas of everyone in the room. It's got to project energy. Thin yellow outlines on a pale blue background don't scream.  Also, I really don't like the drop shadows and glows and embosses. For flat graphics like this I think hard strokes work best because the read cleaner.

Fallout is famous for its Raygun Gothic style that blends Art Deco, Googie and Streamline Modern aesthetic. There's a wealth of material out there to draw inspiration from and pull something together. That will be the glue that holds different pieces of art together. I like the Vault 16 concept, I like the Vault-Tec logo as the joystick surround, I like the vault doors as button surrounds. It just needs to be pumped up.

javeryh

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The interlocking gear silhouettes is a really good idea but I agree it needs spruced up a bit.

JDFan

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If going with the simple sideart - could just skip the vinyl and actually make the vault door out of MDF and attach to the side and paint - rather than use vinyl.

Mike A

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JDFan. That is a good idea. If the OP wants to do that, I can CNC it. Or laser cut it out of acrylic if the MDF is too bulky. I would charge my standard price to BYOACers. Material and shipping. The catch is that the project has to be on it's way to completion. I don't want to waste my time on a project that will never be completed.

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If going with the simple sideart - could just skip the vinyl and actually make the vault door out of MDF and attach to the side and paint - rather than use vinyl.
:stupid

That would definitely look cool cnc'd out of some 3/4 Material so it had some thickness to it.

Arimack

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Mike A. thank you for the generous offer.  If I go that way I will definitely take you up on your offer. I like the idea of the vault door 3 dimensional on the side.

Kept playing around with the Marquee.  Some ideas but I fear they are getting too busy.  Also, kind of want to keep to the Blue and Yellow theme so I added some black in there but I am avoiding going full color intentionally. 

Thanks for the feedback and keep it coming.  Here are a few more Marquee ideas.  Not a fan of any one of these but some ideas might work. 




I received my kit, controls and have decased my monitor.  Hope to spend the day tomorrow priming and painting.  Plan to build the basic machine as the I continue to debate the art.  Marquee and side art can be added later.  Not sure I want to wire the control panel twice so might need to work on that artwork first.


Drnick

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First one looks good except the War never changes part, 2 is a bit meh, 3 is so so.

I would take the War never changes surround in Pic 1, swap the background of it to Black, and then put in the font from 2 or 3 to see how that looks.

TheGreatRedDragon

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I think you're headed in the right direction. I like #1 the best overall, but prefer the background from #2 and 3 and the vault door from #3.

The weak link in all of them is the tagline. It just feels tacked on.

Still not a fan of the raster effects.

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I feel like this cabinet should look gritty.  Like in this style:



The design is improving so keep iterating!  :cheers:

Arimack

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So first off, on the design stuff.  Made some changes from suggestions and added a completely different option (the last one.) Honestly, while you guys might like it, it doesn't really match the vibe I am going for (and I don't like the shadow across her face).  But I think I like #1 the best.

#1

#2

#3

On the control panel here is what I have now.  Kind of matching the vault suit layout.  Worried that the control pattern on my panel is tighter than this and I might have to drop the gear icons behind the buttons.  My panel came predrilled and while I could change it, not likely to do that. Not sure yet how the layout will work.  The seller sent me a template in PhotoShop but I suck at PhotoShop.

Richie_jones

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Does that monitor switch on itself when powered up. If your going to encase it in a cab you won't have access to the power button..

Arimack

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On to the woodworking.  So I got the kit yesterday and laid it out in the garage.


First change from the basic setup is with the two pieces of mdf that will hold the marquee.  I noticed that my L Bracket for the marquee was only about 1/2 the height of the the 3/4 inch MDF:


I want to maximize the light exposure to the Marquee so I routed a bevel on the top and bottom piece that hold the L Bracket.


Next work, before priming, was to place all the pocket holes in the mdf.  Any good project needs a new tool and I bought a Krig pocket hole jig for this one. 


All work on the pocket holes complete.


Also planning on the back door and the control panel to be on a hinge (actually planning on a dowel hinge).  Will use clasps to hold them in place when closed. (sorry picture is upside down but you get the idea.)


Now on to priming the MDF!