Hydro Thunder "Trilogy" Racing Cab (HT, H2Overdrive, Hurricane - and Racers)

[m64mrk]

Hey guys,

Long time reader/lurker, first time poster. I've resorted to this forum for a good amount of knowledge, so the group has been helpful throughout the project from existing post discussions. So thank you to those who help with the content

This is my Hydro Thunder "Trilogy" inspired racing multicab. I purchased it for a hundred bucks as a non-working unit and after some discussion with a few repair experts, the repair costs would have outweighed the price I could find a solid original working unit locally. So I've stored away the original components and will use them as backups/testers for when I get a stock Hydro Thunder down the line. I used as many parts I had on hand or laying around to help keep costs down. Luckily, I only had to purchase maybe 25% of the components and had an older PC on hand since I recently upgraded my main/work desktop, so I'm happy to have kept it on the cheap.

All 3 games preview before the FFB wheel was installed:







Some specs:
PC Driven:
•i7-4770k
•GTX 970
•32gb ram
Display:
•Qnix QX2710 LED
•27" 2560x1440
-->Great looking display but don't really recommend as it's Dual Link DVI-D which isn'tsupported by many cards anymore.


Controls Left Side:
•Bulbs replaced with 5V LEDs
•Added Mini Pushbuttons for D-Pad Controls over the graphics of the toggle switches (I had the stock steering wheel at the time without any buttons for d-pad control)
•Added a "start" turn key igntion switch over the igntion switch graphic.
•Boat Floaty Keychain mod for an extra 10hp
•Added 4 concave happ buttons for more inputs (pre-upgraded steering wheel mod).
•Swapped out yellow coin reject buttons for red ones
•Added 5v LEDs behind the coin mech
•Wired in coin mechs for functionality.


Controls Right Side:
•5v LED replacement for boost buttons
•Analog hookup of hand throttle control to A-PAC





Steering Wheel:
•Previously used the stock Midway wheel but no FFB/center return was getting dull and lifeless.
•Recently found a Logitech Driving Force (mid 2000's?) adj. 180-900 deg FFB wheel for $15 (woohoo!)
-->For the HT Dash it's especially important to get a wheel that matches the stock diameter (10") because of the throttle hump that would be near your right hand when two handed steering.
•Created a wood mounting plate to the heavy backframe of the dash pannel
•Created a steering column to extend the connection of the wheel to the hub
•Created a wiring harness to extend the steering buttons to the base
---> The main goal was to not gut and hack up the dash steering area as I wanted it to be a clean install without destroying the plastic (which would probably disintegrate anway).
•Made little midway logo decal on the center cap to tie it in.
Notes: some minor tweaking needed as I just installed this a day ago, but I'm happy with better steering now.


Pedals + Floor:
•Mounted HAPP style pedals for a perfect bolt on fit
--> Similar cab to cruis'n/other racers of that era
--> Removed steel block off and bolted pedals with no modding needed
•Wired both potentiometers together to create a "single axis" pedal
--> Gas Y-Positive, Brake Y-Negative
•Swapped out the filthy rubber flooring with leftover floor pannels.




Audio:
Old Pioneer 315 SX-315 5.1 Stereo Receiver
•Now with 5.1 Channels
--> I had no clue the headrest area was empty on HT.(Original only 2.1 channels)
--> On Rush the headrest has speakers but they point outward from the back of the seat, maybe to attract players passing by. 
•Used existing front top channels as they are still loud
•Installed 2 headrest speakers with some small 3" speakers I had
•Installed a center channel above the pedals with one on hand
-->will upgrade to a single one that fits the mount behind the grill eventually
•Replaced the sub with a new 6.5" from amazon (170w 8ohm)

I think I only have 1-2 things left I want to do and after I'm done taking things apart and tinkering I'll move onto asthetics and cleaning things up: new side bench artwork, t-molding, and a custom graphic LED marquee.

[BadMouth]

Awesome. 

[AlienInferno]

Hydro Thunder is one of my favorite games.  So I'll be watching this. 

[MrThunderwing]

Love this! Massive Hydro Thunder fan.

[m64mrk]

Thanks all. I'll be installing a 3D made column to fix up some of the steering play I notice in two handed games (mostly car games), which isn't bad in one handed games like HT. I've also got my eyes on a seat mounted shifter mod.

In the interim I've been playing with the idea of modifying one of the Dreamcast Ports (GC version on Dolphin) to make it more cabinet friendly and clean some things up in the game. The PC version is my go to but I'd like to give a go at the DC version and fixing this like the missing audio clips, upscaling the fuzzy/jaggy textures (mostly UI menus and HUD), as well as adding a few in game textures like backgrounds or larger noticeable objects that have a low res feel. I'll also be doing a skin changes to the boats. There was a cancelled Hydro Thunder 2 which was similar to the original and some existing boats looked to be returning with simple skin changes - so I'll probably add those HT2 skins based on the concept renders. I'd also bypass the MAT3 main menu and go straight into the game so there's lest time wasted navigating around - especially when playing on a cab.

Here are some screens and a vid of that WIP:
 






Below is concept artwork that was made for the cancelled HT2 game. The top 6 boats appear to be existing boats from HT1 with new skins. Meanwhile the lower 3 are new(er) shapes. Damn the torpedoes looks to have a wing and longer back compared to the original, while the last one which looks to be in place of Rad Hazard is a new speed boat shape. Maybe down the line if I get into some 3D modelling (as I plan to for other game mod project, I can figure out how to implement them into the game (wishful thinking)).

[MrThunderwing]

That looks really good! Sometimes dome of these projects to add HD textures into an existing old game can just end up looking really fugly, but this is aesthetically very nice. Nice idea as well about trying to implement the unused artwork from the cancelled HT2. Will you be releasing this mod publicly once it's finished, or is it more a case of just something for your own cab?

[Malenko]

This is top notch work.

I am assuming you can still play other racing games, but you'd just have to drive them with automatic transmissions?

[m64mrk]

Thanks guys.

Mr. Thunderwing. I'm trying to narrow the scope as to not get overwhelmed as I found myself modifying some minor textures that honestly didn't add a ton of noticeable benefit and just took time, so I'll start off with some more lingering visuals like the skyline and backgrounds along with a few larger set pieces. I've also learned of some tools that will automatically clean up some of the smaller things I don't think are worth manually taking on - just learning how to use them.  Otherwise I think the emulator does a pretty good job upscaling - I'm pretty amazed how good the bump up is since they're using tiles of a max 256x256 and sometimes smaller. But I'd like to get the main cleanup areas done that are noticeable first and get a tad of each level done too so that all portions of the game get touched on. For sure I'll make it available as a patch/pack that anyone can add to their own local copy to play when I finish a first version.

Malenko: As for right now there is no physical shifter, though the steering buttons can be mapped I suppose. But I do have a donor Rush 2049 shifter and cover coming in and that will be added to the side of the seat. It will add a 4 way gated shifter + button to the mix, which should be cool. Just waiting on parts to arrive and let the modding begin.

[m64mrk]

Got a few donor parts in from Rush 2049. Shifter and cover.
I won’t be able to get to this for a few weeks as I’ll need to create a mount to properly level and space it out. I’ll also need to extend the wiring and run it through the bench which will probably require me taking apart the chair. The good thing is that the plastic matches that color t-molding so I’m okay using it as it is. I’ll install new t molding down the road once I know all my mods are done and there’s less clanking of things going on.

[m64mrk]

Some updates, finally.

•Factory steering FFB kit
•Cart Fury Wheel replacement
•Poor Man's SEGA VR/View Buttons
•Stainless Steele PIN Keypad

One of the bigger upgrades was going back to factory steering and getting it functional with an Arduino kit. I went with a turn key solution to save time (especially learning time) and just to get it done.

This kit is from www.RKADE.shop (Rusty is the creator). It came with everything needed: Power supply, enclosed pcb controller, labelled wiring harness, software, and instructions. Rusty was also accessible for other questions.

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Mounted back up. I found a New Old Stock Cart Fury (Faster than speed, a few other games?) style buttoned steering wheel. It didn't come with the center cap, so I'll probably just 3D print a cap as it's bigger than the original HT center cap.

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I like having the right control/button context for it's respective game if possible so I wanted to have a SEGA-like VR View button layout (vr1-vr4). I didn't feel like shelling out for the prices the Daytona panels sell for, so I made a poor man's clone with some cheap buttons and some scrap wood ($12 all in). Start and the Turn Key ignition are both wired together as the same, VR1 with View 1/High, VR2 with View 2/Low, VR 3 with View 3/Pilot to match the corresponding Midway style dash view buttons. If a real Daytona one comes around cheap at a swap meet I'll snag it, but I like how this came out and it blends well with the black backing it's mounted on.




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I was after something a little more commercial grade then a plastic keypad but didn't want to go with a digital option like a stream deck. I wanted something either like a payphone style seen on games like Cruis'n Exotica or Rush 2049 but some more work may have been needed to get the input to register. I found this one on AliExpress which is full stainless and actually resembles one closer to what you'd see on H2Overdrive. It's LED backlit and USB plug and play.