Driving Cab questions - **updating the build with pics as I go**

[GCS]

My apologies if I am about to post something that has been covered before (I am sure it has) but I have spent the last several weeks researching things and still am not comfortable with my results so its time to ask straight up and if I am flogged for it, so be it 

A lot of what I have read is several years old now and I am not sure if things have changed, gotten better, worse, etc. which is why I just need to post and ask.

Doing a racing cab/cockpit - obviously.

Have a friend building a wooden sit down rig.  I am doing all the PC work of course.  What we want is kind of dual purpose - old arcade racers and the ability for me to do some sim racing (Asseto Corsa etc).

We want to be able to play for sure Pole Position, Outrun series, Cruisin' series, SF Rush series, have to have Batman (the wife's main reason for kicking me in the butt to get this project going), Chase HQ, Mario Kart and essentially anything else that is decent (lots of dead weight out there too).


Here are my concerns/questions.

Wheel - seems the consensus is the Logitech G29 (older models 25 and 27 as well but I am going with new) due to ease of use thanks to their profile software.  Is this still the case?  As someone who wants to lean on the sim racing side I would really like to sink the $$ into a Fanatec wheel and pedal set (not the high dollar models mind you) but it seems I cannot locate where folks have had good success or much of any with old school racing games.  Naturally we want to be able to play them as properly as possible and with FFB since that will be the main purpose of this cab.

Shifting - if using the G29 (which it appears I am) I will just get the G29 shifter as well.  My concern is how do I deal with the older games that used a 2 position up/down shifter like Pole Position, Outrun, Chase HQ (it had a turbo button as well).  Can I do this with the G29 shifter or do I just use the paddles on the wheel?  Do I add a second shifter that is solely for up/down shifting along with the G29 shifter?  I have read that in some cases it is only one switch that was used in these shifters and that you map those in a different manner in Mame to get them straight but still what shifter and how since the G29 is an H-shifter of course.  Was also considering a mod to make it a linear shifter instead would that make more sense?

Pedals - again if using the G29 should I leave them connected to the wheel or am I better off getting the Leo Bodnar mod for them so they can be connected via USB on their own.  I have read conflicting info about whether or not this creates problems with emulators having the pedals on a separate device ID in mame and other emulators.


I know from reading the beginner's thread I am in for some work since every game has to be done individually - install, setup, configuration and so on and then once that is done tweaked until the cows come home to find the right settings for us.  Has any of this changed is it better, is it worse, is it all the same PITA?

For anyone that cares to post/share I appreciate your time.

Thanks

Greg

EDIT - I guess I should add the "planned" set up at this point

PC - i7, 16gb and a 1080Ti
Logitech G29 and G29 H shifter (would love to do Fanatec instead if possible)
TV/Monitor - no clue what size or resolution to get guessing 1080p is just fine for this older stuff but it will LCD - how big is too big here as we will be sitting pretty close
Cockpit - wooden sit down everything mounted nice and stable there will not be an upper half enclosing the TV area.  It will have surround sound and bass shakers installed in the four corners of the pedestal.  Will have an adjustable seat as well.


EDIT 7/22/2021

Cockpit is completed pics are attached.  4 Aura bass shakers installed in the corners of the cockpit.  I should be moving it into the house next weekend if all goes well (back injury holding me up from getting anything done right now  )

Cockpit is made of plywood, 2x4s, 2x10s, and some MDF.  Dimensions are 35" wide (with shifter mount attached) and about 55" long.  Seat is a just your basic reclining bucket seat from JGES.  Seat is going for about $200 right now but I paid less than that (thankfully).  Materials cost was about $300.
**FYI I cannot take credit for the build as I am not that handy.  All credit goes to a friend of mine that basically built it for me.

PC is in progress (all built of course) W10 installed, MAME games installed (about 25 I think), Teknoparrot games installed (8 at the moment as I recall), Supermodel and Model3 games installed (not sure how many) 1 PC game installed so far.

LB/BB installed and configured (running and launching games correctly)

Games installed and run fine and are playable via KB.  Wheel is not yet unpacked so configuring and testing/tweaking for that is not done yet but next on the list.

More to come as I progress my way through the project.

Cost to date:

Cockpit materials - $300
Seat - $125 (NIB)
G29 - $250 (NIB)
G29 shifter - $50 (NIB)
Aura shakers (4) - $140 (NIB)
Amps for shakers - $60 (NIB)
Various wires, cables connectors, power strip, LED strip etc - $100
PC - no cost I already had the parts
TV - 40" 1080p TCL - no cost I already had
Klipsch Promedia 4.1 speakers - no cost already had


G29 upgrades I am planning (again would prefer to go Fanatec) - TrueBrake mod, magnetic paddle shifter mod, and I would really like to somehow upgrade the shifter (really want a different one) but cannot seem to find a shifter upgrade that is worth it and will last.  Would go sequential but that's not the way to go for old school arcade drivers so for now I will just run with the stock shifter.  Maybe try to put on a longer shift handle though.

[Classic 80s Gamer]

I have the G29 and it works well for all non-360 games which using a broad generalization is Hard Drivin’ to present PC Games.  Pedals work with everything.  High/Low Shifter can toggle with the paddle shift or recently added is a simple config file change in Mame that can make it so 1st gear is low and not 1st gear is high.  Where problems begin is 360 wheel games.  Super Off Road, Pole position, etc.  generally speaking the ‘classic era of games.’  The 360 wheel input is only turning left or right at a certain speed.  So, when you crash in Pole Position it resets you on the track and the wheel position does not matter.  Do that with the G29 and the wheel is not in the center and you have a mess.  I ended up building 2 machines, one for 360 and another with the g29.  If someone has figured out how to make 360 wheel games work well with a g29 I have not seen it but I have to say I also stopped looking.

[nipsmg]

My first suggestion would be to look... I mean really look for a "complete but not working" Sega M2 (crusin) or Happ (SF Rush, etc) driving cabinet in your area.  There's no way you could purchase a wheel/shifter/pedals and wood for the build for what you can find some real cabinets going for.  Just verify that it has the motor, then bring something to test it.  The motors work by applying power in a specific direction.  24 volts to one pin/ goes right.  24 volts to left pin, goes left.  You cannot beat the quality (and power of force feedback) of a real arcade machine.  They are built to take a beating, and the force feedback motors are serious business.  Hell, even if the motor doesn't work you can buy a brand new one for $189.  All told -- even after the cards necesary to interface it you could still probably come even to or even under the cost of doing it all from scratch -- and have a much, MUCH better / more stable cabinet.


If you can't find one, go the route you're looking at.  I can speak (a little) to configuring a logitech wheel.  my original build used an L2Happ, which was a board that drove the FFB by amplifying signals from the innards of a logitech wheel setup. 

There is a DETAILED software setup guide starting with SFRush, then immediately going to Mario Kart DX in this thread:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,162932.0.html
----
I've since thrown out that whole implementation and went with the FAR superior PWM2HAPP (there is a PWM2M2 board as well, actually has more info)--  There's a forum at https://gamoover.net/forums with all the info. It's all in french, but if you have Chrome it will ask if you want to translate and you can check "Always translate french to english".    I'm writing up an english guide to the setup.  It's actually really easy.  This is the way to go with real arcade hardware.


Regardless, you'll have to temper your expectations about what "classic" games you can play.  360 degree games (pole position, spy hunter, ironman stewart's off road, APB    ) are not (really) playable with a 270 degree wheel.  But there are TONS of games that ARE playable with it.  Mario Kart, Sonic + Sega All Stars, Outrun 2 DX, Daytona 1,2,3 , SCUD Race, Batman, GRiD, Crusin series, SF Rush series , The fast and furious series, superbikes, h2o overdrive, tons more I can't even think of.... and with Boomslangz's FFB Plugin ALL of them have force feedback and are awesome.

But yes, there's going to be a LOT of adjustment/tinkering on a per-game basis which gets trying.  But one it's dialed in, it's absolutely amazing.


Feel free to reach out directly or in the thread if you ever need help.

[GCS]

Thanks guys.

Yeah we can't do the whole arcade cab deal as they are too big to fit in our room.  In addition those would not be good set ups for racing sims. We are building.

It will be nice and I am going to be all in under 1k for everything when done based on my math (cockpit, seat, TV, PC, G29, shifter, bass shakers, amps, speakers etc).  It helps I had a lot of stuff already like the speakers, TV, PC.  Really only paying for the cockpit, G29/shifter, shakers, and amps.

The cockpit build is underway and should be done in about a week.  I already have the PC ready with Windows and have Teknoparrot installed and 1 or 2 games working (no wheel yet so cannot configure them but the games started at least).  Working on my MAME downloads over the next few days.

Sucks about the 360 wheel games but hey that's totally ok.  The only one of those we were really interested in was pole position and that is playable on my main cab with the joystick and buttons - not the best way but hey it works.  As you said there are LOTS of other games to play.

[bobbyb13]

The 270 vs 360 thing sucks for sure but your cab will still be a lot of fun.

Look forward to seeing the whole build.

[GCS]

Trying to post pics but keep getting security errors.  Will add them once I figure things out.

[PL1]

Trying to post pics but keep getting security errors.  Will add them once I figure things out.

Unfortunately, the forum software sometimes throws false positives during the security checks.   

The best known workaround is to either crop or resize the image by about 3-5% and try uploading it again.


Scott

[GCS]

Trying to post pics but keep getting security errors.  Will add them once I figure things out.

Unfortunately, the forum software sometimes throws false positives during the security checks.   

The best known workaround is to either crop or resize the image by about 3-5% and try uploading it again.


Scott

Looks like I got it, thanks!

[nipsmg]

oooooooohhh I like it

[GCS]

oooooooohhh I like it

Thanks I am pretty happy with how it turned out.  There is one part not finished on it, there will be some carpet installed on the floor, glued and some small nails to keep it down.  I wanted to do diamond plate which I thought would look really good and be very durable but once I looked at the cost I was like nope its not worth it (at least $100+).


I have to admit I cannot wait to pick it up and get it home.  Once I do I have a ton of work to do (wire up the shakers & amps, mount all the driving gear (all of it will be bolted down with screws no clamp mess), run all the cables and wires for connections, hook up the PC, run wires and hook up the speakers etc).  After that the fun begins of getting each game dialed in and working with the wheel properly and then of course tweaking the FFB settings.  I did download Boomslangz plugin so I have that ready to go once I set up the wheel.

Looking forward to having fun with the cab, not looking forward to all the work haha.

[nipsmg]

Yeah, I think you'll discover all the physical work is a hell of a lot less frustrating then getting each game dialed in..... but once you do it's worth it.. Now my only regret is not having 2 so I can play head to head :-/

[GCS]

Yeah, I think you'll discover all the physical work is a hell of a lot less frustrating then getting each game dialed in..... but once you do it's worth it.. Now my only regret is not having 2 so I can play head to head :-/

Not an issue for me there as we barely have room for 1.  But yeah being able to race against each other would be nice.

[buttersoft]

Yeah, I think you'll discover all the physical work is a hell of a lot less frustrating then getting each game dialed in..... but once you do it's worth it.. Now my only regret is not having 2 so I can play head to head :-/

Two setups side-by-side makes it all so much more worthwhile, IMO