Questions about Pac-Man/Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga/Galaxian cabinet

[OTT]

The premise is that I have a very vague recollection of my firsthand experience on the cabinets mentioned in the thread title from my days as a kid, but even now I really like the design (aesthetic) and the "80s feeling" that these give off.

I am also convinced that I'll appreciate the "immersiveness" that the particular design allows, which I believe is unmatched by any other cabinet design (even less by "modern" style cabinets, that I don't like at all).
So I'm pondering whether that old peculiar cabinet could be a suitable choice for a MAME / multiplatform machine or not.

Here the questions:

1) given the peculiar tilt of the display and the design of the control panel, is there any specific game genre OR specific game that is not playable or is not comfortable to play? (NOTE: the display orientation is not a limitation since I'm planning to implement a rotating display - by the way, will be a 20" 4:3 LCD. Also, the CP will be modular or at least swappable, so available controls are not a limitation either: in this regard I'd like a feedback only on the CP ergonomicity/comfort when playing). For example, I'm quite sure that light gun games would be difficult/near impossible to play here but I was planning to play them on a separate maxi-screen anyway, so it doesn't bother me...apart form light gun games, any other?

2) how is the general gaming experience on this type of cabinets compared to other designs where, for example, the display is more vertical or very close to the player? Is still good (=acceptable), better or worse? (the evaluation could be linked to a certain type of game, in this case please specify!)

3) I think that there were some differences between the four cabinets mentioned, mainly regarding the slope / height of the display: taking this into account, which is the best of the four in terms of comfort / visibility/ playability for the greatest number of games, considering players about 175-180 cm? Or, in other words, still preserving the particular design with the very tilted display, what would be the best angle  & height to set the display? (NOTE: the original height of these cabinets was around 170 cm, I believe, but since mine will be built from scratch I can easily make adjustment about cabinet height and/or about the height at which to mount the display (besides the tilt, of course), if needed to improve the comfort / visibility / playability)

Many thanks in advance for your precious feedback/advice!!!

[javeryh]

I have 2 main cabinets in my basement - 1 is a Nintendo (DK) design and the other is a Ms. Pac design.  I have never had any problems playing any games on either.  Both monitor angles are great but YMMV.

[Osirus23]

I think the classic Midway upright cabinet is the quintessential cabinet design for 1/2 player games with basic controls (joystick/buttons only).

[behrmr]

I would reduce the depth of the cabinet and increase the angle of the monitor.  A friend of mine makes multigames and this is what he did experimenting with the midway style as his template.  They take up a little less room and if you are doing an LCD you don't need all that depth to house the monitor. 

The original cabinets also could hold a 25" CRT monitor. Some of them actually came that way when there was a 19" monitor shortage.  And later on the Reunion style cabinets had 25" CRT's.  The point being that there's room for a larger display, just try to stay with the correct aspect ratio on games played.

[OTT]

I have 2 main cabinets in my basement - 1 is a Nintendo (DK) design and the other is a Ms. Pac design.  I have never had any problems playing any games on either.  Both monitor angles are great but YMMV.

Sorry for the late reply. Thank you, that's very reassuring!

So I assume that I can enjoy any game type to the fullest, with the only exception of light gun games (for obvious reasons) as I wrote in the op post.

[OTT]

I think the classic Midway upright cabinet is the quintessential cabinet design for 1/2 player games with basic controls (joystick/buttons only).

I completely agree! And this is exactly the reason for which I'd like to build mine that way, I want just to be sure that I won't experience issues with some (or many) types of games.

Thanks for sharing your opinion 

[OTT]

I would reduce the depth of the cabinet and increase the angle of the monitor.  A friend of mine makes multigames and this is what he did experimenting with the midway style as his template.  They take up a little less room and if you are doing an LCD you don't need all that depth to house the monitor. 

The original cabinets also could hold a 25" CRT monitor. Some of them actually came that way when there was a 19" monitor shortage.  And later on the Reunion style cabinets had 25" CRT's.  The point being that there's room for a larger display, just try to stay with the correct aspect ratio on games played.

This is interesting. Me too was thinking of reducing the overall depth because 33" seems very big (although I found out with my surprise that many classic cabinet shared that same depth, or very close). Yes, at the moment I'm considering to use a LCD IPS 4:3 20.1" (real viewable area). I wish I could mount a CRT to play games with absolute faithfulness to the original and the same feeling, but this would complicate the build significantly, as well as the design of the rotating mechanism. Furthermore, what worries me most is the fact that CRTs damage eyesight (and I speak from personal experience, unfortunately) not to mention fatigue, headaches, etc. I also considered to use a bigger monitor (I know there is lot of space) but I'm worried that the original format/feeling of many games would be lost/altered and I wouldn't like it.

BTW, what is the "perfect" angle for the monitor according to your friend's experiments? Thank you!

[behrmr]

I would reduce the depth of the cabinet and increase the angle of the monitor.  A friend of mine makes multigames and this is what he did experimenting with the midway style as his template.  They take up a little less room and if you are doing an LCD you don't need all that depth to house the monitor. 

The original cabinets also could hold a 25" CRT monitor. Some of them actually came that way when there was a 19" monitor shortage.  And later on the Reunion style cabinets had 25" CRT's.  The point being that there's room for a larger display, just try to stay with the correct aspect ratio on games played.

This is interesting. Me too was thinking of reducing the overall depth because 33" seems very big (although I found out with my surprise that many classic cabinet shared that same depth, or very close). Yes, at the moment I'm considering to use a LCD IPS 4:3 20.1" (real viewable area). I wish I could mount a CRT to play games with absolute faithfulness to the original and the same feeling, but this would complicate the build significantly, as well as the design of the rotating mechanism. Furthermore, what worries me most is the fact that CRTs damage eyesight (and I speak from personal experience, unfortunately) not to mention fatigue, headaches, etc. I also considered to use a bigger monitor (I know there is lot of space) but I'm worried that the original format/feeling of many games would be lost/altered and I wouldn't like it.

BTW, what is the "perfect" angle for the monitor according to your friend's experiments? Thank you!

I don't know the exact angle but if I had to guess I would say that it's close to 80 degrees

[Mr. Peabody]

Robotron and System1 cabinets were about 80 degrees. The NBA Jam-type I think are 65-70. Asian cabs are about 60. For MAME I prefer the latter two, as playing Pac and Donkey Kong on a flat in front of my face monitor is a little weird. One will get used to anything, though.....

[OTT]

Robotron and System1 cabinets were about 80 degrees. The NBA Jam-type I think are 65-70. Asian cabs are about 60. For MAME I prefer the latter two, as playing Pac and Donkey Kong on a flat in front of my face monitor is a little weird. One will get used to anything, though.....

Thank you for the feedback. So for you around 60 degrees works best. Taito classic cabinet could be an example?

[OTT]

I would reduce the depth of the cabinet and increase the angle of the monitor.  A friend of mine makes multigames and this is what he did experimenting with the midway style as his template.  They take up a little less room and if you are doing an LCD you don't need all that depth to house the monitor. 

The original cabinets also could hold a 25" CRT monitor. Some of them actually came that way when there was a 19" monitor shortage.  And later on the Reunion style cabinets had 25" CRT's.  The point being that there's room for a larger display, just try to stay with the correct aspect ratio on games played.

This is interesting. Me too was thinking of reducing the overall depth because 33" seems very big (although I found out with my surprise that many classic cabinet shared that same depth, or very close). Yes, at the moment I'm considering to use a LCD IPS 4:3 20.1" (real viewable area). I wish I could mount a CRT to play games with absolute faithfulness to the original and the same feeling, but this would complicate the build significantly, as well as the design of the rotating mechanism. Furthermore, what worries me most is the fact that CRTs damage eyesight (and I speak from personal experience, unfortunately) not to mention fatigue, headaches, etc. I also considered to use a bigger monitor (I know there is lot of space) but I'm worried that the original format/feeling of many games would be lost/altered and I wouldn't like it.

BTW, what is the "perfect" angle for the monitor according to your friend's experiments? Thank you!

I don't know the exact angle but if I had to guess I would say that it's close to 80 degrees

I got it. Thanks!