Main Restorations Software Audio/Jukebox/MP3 Everything Else Buy/Sell/Trade
Project Announcements Monitor/Video GroovyMAME Merit/JVL Touchscreen Meet Up Retail Vendors
Driving & Racing Woodworking Software Support Forums Consoles Project Arcade Reviews
Automated Projects Artwork Frontend Support Forums Pinball Forum Discussion Old Boards
Raspberry Pi & Dev Board controls.dat Linux Miscellaneous Arcade Wiki Discussion Old Archives
Lightguns Arcade1Up Try the site in https mode Site News

Unread posts | New Replies | Recent posts | Rules | Chatroom | Wiki | File Repository | RSS | Submit news

  

Author Topic: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel  (Read 18614 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #120 on: October 05, 2022, 08:01:07 am »
Good to see you have it working!

While sorting the PC you could always...

Pull the CP, remove your controls and put the thing in the oven on low for a while!
Or on the dash of the car with the windows shut on a sunny day?

A little tropical sun goes a long way in hardening paint.

Bobby! That is a good idea! Thank you :D

A while back, after 2 days drying, I tried baking the panel in the sun, next to our swimming pool for a few hours...

Somehow, some dust and bugs managed to impact the paint! I had to re-sand and refinish...

This happened twice, because I somehow could not believe it the first time.

And those dimples at the front? Well, I drilled holes to put black M6 nuts there instead, except some of my drilling got hot and caused the paint around the holes to bubble.... So more re-sanding/re-painting.

One good thing is that the M6 nuts are effective, look good and prevent the dimpling. After that repaint, I left it about 2 weeks to dry off. Still not good enough.

For the record it had been raining solidly for about 2 months. May have something to do with it. Humidity sux.

I've wasted so much time on re-painting that panel, it makes me depressed thinking about it.

Anyway, your idea to put it in the oven is a good one. I will sleep on that. If I can stomach sanding/painting another time. I've been wanting to put a bar heater on it but we don't have one. Oven, yes!




Check out my completed projects!


Greenman

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 177
  • Last login:December 16, 2023, 03:59:00 am
  • Made in Australia
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #121 on: October 06, 2022, 04:57:08 am »
Where on this great planet are you located Zebidee?
My previous projects:

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #122 on: October 06, 2022, 05:48:53 am »
Greenman, good sir, I am from the Wonderful World of Oz-tralia, but am in the Land of Smiles (Thailand).

When I said 2 months of solid rain, I may have underestimated. It has been a long wet season, prolly more like 4 months with occasional periods of sunshine.

Australia has been getting more than their fair share of liquid gold too. Lately is just flood after flood after flood.

I just swam back from the shops with some more sandpaper and black paint. We all know what that means... :D

That means I want to re-do this control panel and get it in the oven (hopefully before wife comes back from Bangkok and freaks).
Check out my completed projects!


bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Yesterday at 11:50:40 pm
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #123 on: October 07, 2022, 04:20:13 am »
Has hardly rained at all at my house in 8 months.

A triple dip La Nina will not be doing well for our precipitation levels at least.
Lots of great surf from the west with little wind probably, but squat for rain.
Time to up the ante on irrigation for the goats!

Hope you get your CP baked before you are in trouble.
I warm our oven to 175F, turn it off, put the item to be gently roasted in there with the door ajar and then wait until it has gone ambient temp again.

Works great for drying out recently washed pcbs too!
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #124 on: October 07, 2022, 09:14:44 am »
I measured the oven and it was at least 8cm too short, even diagonally.

On local online market I found exactly one variety of small double bar electric heater (2x300W), no fan! Perfect. Cost about US$10, awaiting delivery!





Some parts of Thailand do get a little cold in the cool season.

On other news, am going to have to upgrade the relay in my power distribution arrangement. Seems that the amp + 2x50W speakers is causing the cheap Chinese $1 10A relay to get a bit stressed, especially when I turn the volume up. 10A should be more than enough for the whole system, which should not draw more than 5A max, but who knows for sure about long-term performance and on/off current peaks etc.

In addition, the Chinese mechanical relay often sticks ON when I turn power off, meaning residual current is still generating enough voltage to spark across the relay contacts as they are released - and then making them stick again, something like welding. You can gently tap it loose with a screwdriver. Anyway, the issues will only get worse.

I could install a "snubber", but I suspect that won't solve all the issues.

So I'm going to try replacing it with a solid state 40A relay, similar to this one. More on that next time :D

Check out my completed projects!


Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #125 on: October 07, 2022, 09:22:56 am »
A triple dip La Nina will not be doing well for our precipitation levels at least.
Lots of great surf from the west with little wind probably, but squat for rain.
Time to up the ante on irrigation for the goats!

Yeah there are some weird weather cycles going on.

That La Nina brings repeated flooding to Oz, droughts to the other sides of the pacific.

There was a hurricane off Vietnam couple weeks ago, and all the rain depression from that came over Laos and then our place here. It really isn't that far! We didn't get the winds, just the rain.

Check out my completed projects!


Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #126 on: October 09, 2022, 05:36:02 am »
So I'm going to try replacing it with a solid state 40A relay, similar to this one. More on that next time :D




So, I replaced the relay with the new solid state 40A one (~$2.50), and so far it is working well, much happier than the cheap Chinese 10A one (<$1).

Unfortunately, the 24v power supply had partially failed. Possibly because of the cheap relay? Maybe. I was only getting about 6.8v out of it, enough to run the audio amp but not the LED strip.

So I pulled the PSU apart and had a good look, nothing unusual. Checked all the diodes (OK), then checked the big and small transistors (all OK).

Finally I got out my Dick Smith ESR meter and went over all the electrolytic capacitors, and found one 47uF 50v capacitor that looked normal, but with ESR way high out of range! I pulled it and measured with DMM, was only reading ~30uF. It was obviously on the way out.

This cap is on the controller chip Vcc input. If it doesn't get charged, the IC won't turn on, and the secondary stage of the voltage conversion won't happen. Which is why I was getting 6.8v, not 24v.

I replaced it with a Rubycon cap with same specs. Now all is good again :D

Very happy to have been able to diagnose and fix that problem for myself. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, I found this video very useful. This dude has a very strong accent, and an amusingly intrusive cat, but knows his stuff and is very informative:





Another issue is with shared grounds between 24v PSU, PC and IPAC via audio ground.

I was seeing pause and admin (<SHIFT>/enter) "get pressed" repeatedly... especially when playing music.

At first I thought there was a short in my wiring, checked everything I could, but both buttons are way up/back in the marquee area. I've already cable tied it in, I didn't want to rip it out needlessly. Good thing I didn't.

I am now 99% certain it is ground loop related. If I pull out the audio input from PC to the amp, the button problems magically go away.

So I ordered a 3.5mm plug-in audio ground isolator, see how that goes in 2-3 days time.
« Last Edit: October 09, 2022, 05:46:08 am by Zebidee »
Check out my completed projects!


Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #127 on: April 20, 2023, 05:06:28 am »
Around six months since the last post, sorry about that, time for an update! A lot has happened.

So, I resolved my various issues. I swapped out the 24v PSU for a standard arcade 12v/5v PSU, and changed the LED in the marquee to a 12v variety. Also installed a ground loop isolator on the audio output to amp. Everything seemed happy like that, with my "test" PC, for a long time.

Then yesterday, when I swapped the new "real" PC in, I started getting issues. Power from USB and PS2 ports would not go off with PC. "Ground loop" issues seemed to be back, even worse, ipac/keyboard sluggish to respond, if they would at all. Worst of all: the LED lit credit button kept glowing!

My theory was that, because it couldn't power down, the IPAC was unable to reset itself. I looked in the BIOS a dozen times to turn off USB/PS2 power, but no luck. I searched online, watched videos, they said to do this BIOS stuff I'd already done. I re-installed some Asrock drivers, looked at power options, but no luck.

Finally, I was going over the motherboard manual, the 100th time and looking for something else, when I saw "Jumper: PS2_USB_PWR1", to "enable .... wake up events", which was located in that hidden dark corner of the motherboard in between CPU+fan, PS2 ports and PSU. I needed long-nosed pliers to get to it (and swap the position), but it worked!

This jumper not only successfully neutered offline USB/PS2 power, it also allowed the IPAC to function 100% properly on the very next boot.
 
More pics soon.

Check out my completed projects!


bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Yesterday at 11:50:40 pm
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #128 on: April 21, 2023, 11:57:26 pm »
I had wondered where you were with this.

The game hardware/software side of this hobby is just maddening to me at times.
Good catch on the silly jumper.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #129 on: April 22, 2023, 12:56:42 am »
The game hardware/software side of this hobby is just maddening to me at times.

So true!

In the last six months, aside from travelling to Australia for a couple of months, has all been about getting the computer side of things right. If it was just whacking mame on then that's be fine.

I rolled my own bare-bones (well, thinnish) Windows 7 ultimate install and, because I will have several cabs to do (possibly 5-6), I decided to go with consistent hardware (motherboards, video cards). That way I could just clone disks, assemble bits, and the next retrogaming PC would be ready to go.

The other fun part is that because wife wanted all the music playing capabilities, and that meant a lot of work for me curating the tags, playlists and coverart on my music collection. I also wanted to add a lot of more current stuff, and also more Thai pop music. That took a loooooooong time because automated scrapers were very inconsistent, iffy & meh quality. The collection grew from 150GB to about 237GB along the way. Got to listen to lots of cool music too.

Offered to buy her a tablet she could connect to spotify etc. and our bluetooth party speakers, but no she wants whole music thing from the cab too. Thus I've been putting a lot of effort into making it right. A lot of work involved. Should go back and do a more detailed writeup how I do it all from an arcade frontend, without using any jukebox software. I tried once on here, but got trolled and discouraged. Maybe I'll have another go later.

I've also been setting up attract-mode as a front end. It is very powerful and easy to setup, but to get the best out of it you need to hack the code a little bit. There is an layout designer app (online only!), but I've been learning how to create and directly & in-situ edit the layout .nut files (programmed in squirrel, of course) to better suit CRT TVs (they are all a little different).

While I was in Oz I spent a bit of time in Sydney. While there I installed one of these PCs into my mate's yellow laid-back streetfighter-style cab (third from left in sig pic). Did a few other repairs, and replaced the speakers for something more decent and appropriate. It's been out-of-action for a few years but is alive again now. He's pretty happy and so are his kids.

Soon, I have to remember how to cut wood  :cry:
Check out my completed projects!


Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #130 on: May 10, 2023, 02:51:24 am »
I've now completed this cab build! Before I show you final pics, I am going to write up some steps.

BEZEL

I based my bezel design on the "$2 cardboard bezel" from nearly 20 years ago.  Except in my case, it cost about 50 cents, even with inflation! It is my first attempt at a fully "3D" bezel. As I got into it, with experience, it got easier.

Started with a large sheet of black light cardboard. It is really quite light cardboard, at first I worried it wouldn't be strong enough, but as it happens it worked just fine.

The most important measurement is the diagonal ("hypotenuse") from screen corner (phosphor edge) to the corner where your edge supports meet, and then the straight from screen corner to closest edge support. This gives you two sides of a right-angle triangle, which makes it easy to find the third side. There is no need to find the other angles.







You can do this by applying a little good-old Pythagoras:

Side B=√(H2 - A2)

At first I found the third side by just moving my ruler until the hypotenuse (8cm) connects with the end of Side A (~3.5cm). Then Side B is obvious. This is how I did it at first, and thus my measurements are a little rubbery, but it is close enough, re-checked later using the maths.

I included ~2.5cm along each side for support. By leaving them long for now, I can trim and glue them to other pieces later for extra stability.

Once I got the lines worked out, did some cutting. Left extra material to make tabs, about 1.5cm wide, that will bend backwards and out-of-sight. These tabs will be important later for holding everything together.


 


I use a metal ruler to help make the folds straight and proper. It is important to try for hard, sharp, clean folds if possible. For the longer folds, clamp down the ruler. If you don't have a metal ruler, you could fold against a straight piece of wood. I used a smaller plastic ruler to help push the cardboard up evenly for the folds, without damaging the front surface.

For the top piece, I just flipped the bottom and traced it out. This comes out a little large as the bezel support is a bit closer/tighter, "hypotenuse" only about 7.2cm. Not to worry, we'll trim that back soon







To cut out the curve of the screen, I approximated a curve using my trusty metal ruler and a few small nails. Then it is simply tracing out the line and cutting it out.

Now the bottom and top parts are done, time to do the sides!




 




The two sides came together quickly because I already know critical measurements (hypotenuse, Sides A & B). Again I included tabs and side supports where possible. I was able to use the same curve/nails as for the bottom/top pieces, just made sure to get the middle in right spot. The only nail I had to move was the middle one (and it goes back, through the bezel, into the same hole.


 

 


Once I had the pieces, it was time to put them together. At first I used some foldback clips to hold the pieces in place. Then, with a bit of jiggling and trimming, was fairly happy with the results. Once happy, I used a stapler to connect the tabs from behind. Looking pretty good now.

NEXT: FINISHING TOUCHES
« Last Edit: May 10, 2023, 04:26:21 pm by Zebidee »
Check out my completed projects!


Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy FINISHING TOUCHES LOOOOOOOK
« Reply #131 on: May 10, 2023, 10:17:10 am »
POWER BUTTON

For PC power switching, all modern motherboards will have a system panel header, which will include two pins for a momentary switch (PWR_ON or similar). While it is fairly simple to rig up a basic harness to take the extra power button, you must do this every time you put a new PC into the cab. However I want modularity, I want to be able to replace the PC easily.

So I "spiked" the connector for the PC power button instead. To do this I simply terminate the cab power button wires with male Dupont connectors (alternatively, a sturdy component lead+heatshrink), then "spike" them into the back of the normal PC system or front panel connectors. Pictures are better.


   

You simply pull the wires to one side at the back of the system panel connectors, firmly shove the "spike" into the small gap created, then release the wires so they come back into normal position. This usually is enough to get a firm grip on the spike. Then just connect to system panel header as normal.

This is surprisingly rugged and secure, more than it looks, I guess a lot of vibration could cause it to come loose (like many things on a computer). It survived being moved from my workshop to the house. Anyway, if it does come loose, just put it back again.


VOLUME CONTROL


I've already covered the details of this volume control on another thread, so will just summarise here.






 


Volume control was installed as an "antilog" pot. All is all working well.

I included the pic of all the parts to show how much I had to pull out in order to fit the volume control in!


RESPRAYED CONTROL PANEL






I completely resprayed the control panel AGAIN. This was back in January, and this time I used a heater to bake on the laquer. Then I let it sit and "cure" for two months (while in Australia) before touching it again! The surface is much more durable now.


INNARDS





I also did a lot of work tidying up the innards.

I want to be able to move the cab around, so I made a couple of right-angle brackets from some scrap galvanised steel. The PC case walls are quite thin, so I used scrap pieces of 5mm plywood to go behind the brackets on the inside (not pictured). The plywood gave the screws something to bite into, and spread the load across a larger surface area.





The rest of the important stuff is on the right side, including (from top-left):

- CRT chassis; CRT front controller board; CRT remote sensor/LED; CRT power switch (top-left)
- Marquee light/LED switch (top-right)
- GreenAntz VGA RGB/component transcoder (mid-left)
- IPAC2 (mid-right, on black board)
- Audio amplifier stereo 2x50W (mid-right, on black board)
- DC power supply (12v/5v)


NEXT: SOME GLORY SHOTS
« Last Edit: May 10, 2023, 12:04:36 pm by Zebidee »
Check out my completed projects!


bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Yesterday at 11:50:40 pm
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #132 on: May 10, 2023, 12:12:11 pm »
Nearly there then?!

Volume control is something I keep thinking about myself so I'll need to study here a bit.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #133 on: May 10, 2023, 01:50:33 pm »
Nearly there then?!


Done! It is in the big house now. That is why I have some time to post some progress :D

With that in mind, I think it is time for me to post some gratuitous cab shots.

Other things I may have forgotten to mention... I got a marquee printed a while back (obviously).

Also, I may have mentioned that it will be used for playing music. My wife will mostly want to do that, only occasionally play Tetris or something. I put quite a lot of work into making the music side go right, maybe too much for what is an arcade cabinet after all. Anyway, wife is happy so I am too.

I could detail, in a separate post, how I did the music playlists stuff if anybody expresses some interest.

We also often paying guests staying, and friends visit of course. They will mostly use it to play games.

I probably won't play games on it so much... too many "distractions" in the big house. But not to worry, I'll have other cabs to do that with.

OK, enough talk, more pics. I'm just going to attach them directly and stop stuffing around.

Check out my completed projects!


Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #134 on: May 10, 2023, 02:03:27 pm »
More Pics!   :pics

Check out my completed projects!


javeryh

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7901
  • Last login:Yesterday at 10:28:40 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #135 on: May 10, 2023, 04:58:54 pm »
This came out great - classic look and nothing out of place.   :applaud:

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #136 on: May 10, 2023, 09:36:39 pm »
Thank you Sir - Classic elegance with simple yet robust design is the feeling I wanted to capture. I think it looks much better and more attractive in the house than the hulking ex-Streetfighter cab I had there before!

When building this cab I'd often think of your Tully's, like the one you made a while back for the cousins' beachhouse, with the dynamic marquee. Sometimes smaller and simpler is better.

New challenge - Now I have to work out a clever way of putting instructions onto it. Wife quite clever but not a natural gamer like us, finds menu navigation controls "confusing", even though it couldn't be simpler to me. Guests would likely feel the same. Trouble is, I don't want to disturb the "classic elegance" by fussing with instruction panels on the bezel (there isn't much room there anyway).

Maybe if I can get Attract-Mode to show an image (instructions) when a special key is pressed... Will see what I can do.
Check out my completed projects!


bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Yesterday at 11:50:40 pm
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #137 on: May 10, 2023, 10:18:49 pm »
I always thought a splash screen after you started a game would be great.
An image that had the controls labeled so you knew what you were up to with that particular game.
Even better if you had to press a key to get it to finish booting to the game so that someone who had no idea would have time to study the picture.
Of course this would require software stuff that is entirely beyond my abilities for this lifetime.
Machine looks great. And if the lady of the house is happy with it than you have absolutely hit it out of the park.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy - menu help; control panel viewer
« Reply #138 on: May 10, 2023, 11:51:19 pm »
I always thought a splash screen after you started a game would be great.

What you've described here has actually been done! There are a few utilities out there that can help. I've used CPViewer or CPV2 previously, many years ago, but discontinued use due to "flow" interruption issues. I now see the website links are all dead.

There is also "Johnny 5" (by Howard Casto, BYOAC regular) which does mostly the same thing, and he still has that available on his website for download. Maybe I could give that a go. You can find Johnny5 here on Howard's website

However, that is not what I was talking about! What I meant was instructions on how to use the Attract-Mode Frontend menu system itself, rather than the games!

Menu controls are outstandingly simple:
- P1 joystick up/down to go through lists; P1 left/right to go through lists faster (page at a time)
- P2 joystick up/down to go through lists by first alphabet (much faster); P2 left/right for next/previous display (games/music list)
- Credit button to launch game
- <admin> + P1 start to quit game
- <pause> to pause game

And that is about all there is to it. The <admin> (black) and <pause> (purple) buttons are off the control panel, subtly placed and mostly hidden, under the marquee, above the speakers. You can see them in the closeup pics above, though you might not notice them at first (this is intentional).

What I am thinking is to create an infographic (just one pic) explaining the menu system controls. It can be as fancy or as simple as I want. Then setup an otherwise unused key (like P2, Button 1) to bring up the help infographic.


Machine looks great. And if the lady of the house is happy with it than you have absolutely hit it out of the park.


That is a true compliment coming from someone with skills of your calibre Bobby :D  My Lady has been waiting more than 5 years for this, so had to make it worth the wait. Keeping her happy = keeping me happy. Best thing is though, she can brag about it to others on my behalf  :lol
Check out my completed projects!


javeryh

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7901
  • Last login:Yesterday at 10:28:40 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #139 on: May 11, 2023, 08:01:48 am »
I have an instruction card built into my CPO.  It’s clear and concise and literally no one reads it.  Every time someone comes over they ask how to start playing.  I am not sure this is a solvable problem based on human nature.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 07:14:46 am
Re: Aussie lowboy with hinged metal control panel
« Reply #140 on: May 11, 2023, 09:17:24 am »
I have an instruction card built into my CPO.  It’s clear and concise and literally no one reads it.  Every time someone comes over they ask how to start playing.  I am not sure this is a solvable problem based on human nature.


Huzzah! I've done it! A virtual instruction card that shows only while you hold the button down.

There is a plugin for Attract-Mode (comes with download package) written by "Liquid8" some 7-8 years ago, called Popupimage.

I'm so lazy - knocked up a quick n dirty instruction card in google docs, took a screenshot as PNG, trimmed and resized it in MSpaint. Took me maybe 30 minutes. Does the job.

I quickly snapped off a very short video that demonstrates the "help" key in action. Apologies for the dark background.

I believe the plugin can also be setup to show an art image (like "snaps", "cpanel", "howto" or "artwork" even) for the selected game too. Haven't gone that far yet.

Attached the colour-coded "instruction card" in case it inspires someone. My "client" is mostly very happy, but asked me to change the work "DISPLAY" to "MUSIC". I can manage that :D

« Last Edit: May 11, 2023, 09:20:00 am by Zebidee »
Check out my completed projects!