1st Round of Newbie Questions

[Josh]

Hello...I am new to all of this and have a few questions to get me started.  I have read through this site as well as many others and am it the process of reading "project arcade"

I am starting to get together my ideas and do research to build a full size arcade cabinet

I am planning on building the ultimate arcade II with the ultimate control panel from www.mameroom.com

In the materials list it calls for 5/8" MDF  All I can find at my local stores is 3/4"  Do I need to just adjust the plans?  or can I find 5/8" somewhere?

Anyone have any experience building from these plans?

My opjective for this machine is to be able to play all Mame, NES, SNES, and Atari 2600  as well as whatever else looks interesting

How do I determine how to set up the control panel?  number of buttons, layout of buttons, types of controls,   I have looked at many examples, but have not really been able to figure it out.  I want a 2 player control panel that will allow me to play the above types of games.  What types of controls do I need?  

Should I put in a coin door?  Is it possible to make the buttons on the coin door act as player 1 and 2 credit buttons?

Is the i-pac the best method of interfacing with a computer?

I am sure I have many more questions, but I will save them for later.

Thanks in advance for any help and insight you can provide

Josh

[mmmPeanutButter]

answers to some of your questions...

Use at least 6 buttons for player 1 and 2.  This will cover you for the fighter games.

Definately use a coin door.  Real arcade feel.

I'm using a KeyWiz as an interface.  I like it a lot.  It has a shift function so you can hide a button somewhere and when you press it plus player 1 or 2 start, it "inserts a coin".  (just be carefull not to touch anything else with the shift button pressed, or you can accidently change settings).

Best of luck.

[pointdablame]

The Ipac also has a shift function, so you can do that with the Ipac as well.

You would have to adjust the plans if you used a different size MDF since they width would differ for all measurements using a different size piece.

For the control panel, its mainly personal preference really. For MAME, you can't play EVERY game with just one panel without it looking terrible, since you would need probably 20+ controls.  If you want a fairly well rounded CP without it turning into a frankenpanel, I'd say go with a 2 player setup with 6 buttons, maybe 7 if you wanted a fighter layout and neogeo layout.  If you used a 4/8 way switchable joystick, or a seperate 4 way, that would help a lot for classics. Finally, I'd throw in a trackball and spinner if you are interested in any games that use it.  Beyond that, i.e. guns, wheels, rotary sticks, etc etc, the panel will start to look very cluttered.

For the consoles, you won't need anything other than a joy and 4-6 buttons until you get into PSX emulation or newer, where more buttons are necessary.

Coin door is personal too, but if you ask me, it just doesn't look like an arcade machine without one.  And yes, you can set up a microswitch so that everytime you press in the return button it registers as a coin, and also when a coin is actually inserted into the machine.  Other than that, you could always rig up a COIN button as was suggested.

As for "best" interface, you'll get a lot of opinions here. The Ipac seems very simple and is arguable the most well known and used, but there are other options.  I personally haven't set my cab up yet, so I don't have any first hand experience beyond a gamepad hack, so you'll have to figure that out for yourself.

And welcome to the boards.

[Tiger-Heli]

A lot of this was already covered before I got here, but . . .

Anyone have any experience building from these plans?

They are reviewed at www.retroblast.com

My opjective for this machine is to be able to play all Mame, NES, SNES, and Atari 2600  as well as whatever else looks interesting

Not possible, as pointdablame said, but a common statement.

How do I determine how to set up the control panel?  number of buttons, layout of buttons, types of controls,   I have looked at many examples, but have not really been able to figure it out.  I want a 2 player control panel that will allow me to play the above types of games.  What types of controls do I need?  

Basically, it comes down to:
1) Determine what game you primarily want to play on the cab.
2) Determine the controls needed by these games.
3) Set the controls up for maximum playability
4) Look for games that won't work with your set-up and adjust accordingly.

Personally, I like the seven button layout of the HotRod SE with the middle buttons raised into a slight curve.

Should I put in a coin door?

Personal opinion, but I like it.

Is it possible to make the buttons on the coin door act as player 1 and 2 credit buttons?

Yes.

Is the i-pac the best method of interfacing with a computer?

As previously mentioned, your main choices are the I-PAC or Keywiz.  I had a page up comparing all the encoders.  One day it will return.

Basically, the KeyWiz has more inputs and a more flexible shift function.  The I-PAC has USB support, LED support, and an auto-switching keyboard pass-thru.  There are subtle differences as well, but I doubt you will regret either purchase.

[Josh]

Thanks for all the help so far

I mainly enjoy the classic games as well as many first generation NES games.  I think a 2 player setup with 6 buttons would play most of what I need.  What is the preferred layout for the buttons?  What functions would each of the buttons have?  

I plan on just using my wireless keyboard/mouse to interface with the pc

What kind of software program can I use to interface with the emulators I want to use?  Is there something that will automatically start when I start Windows XP?  

This is almost overwhelming with all the information available.  

Thanks Again for all the help

Josh

[Tiger-Heli]

In case you don't know, this board is your friend in that most of this has already been hashed out.  Look into the advanced search function and you will find a wealth of information.

I mainly enjoy the classic games as well as many first generation NES games.  I think a 2 player setup with 6 buttons would play most of what I need.  What is the preferred layout for the buttons?  What functions would each of the buttons have?

Typically, you would either be looking at

1 2 3
4 5 6

which is good for all games, but requires you to reach over the lower row of buttons for classic games, or

4 5 6
1 2 3

Which is good for classics, but requires you to reassign button assignments for fighter games.

I plan on just using my wireless keyboard/mouse to interface with the pc

That makes the pass-thru on the I-PAC less important.

What kind of software program can I use to interface with the emulators I want to use?

There was a recent thread in the software forum about front-ends for multiple emulators.  I didn't read it, but it's probably helpful.

 Is there something that will automatically start when I start Windows XP?  

Virtually anything.  Just put a shortcut to the program in your startup folder.

This is almost overwhelming with all the information available.  

It's a big elephant, but a little time and planning now will greatly increase your enjoyment later.

[abrannan]

I mainly enjoy the classic games as well as many first generation NES games.  I think a 2 player setup with 6 buttons would play most of what I need.  What is the preferred layout for the buttons?  What functions would each of the buttons have?  

If you don't plan on playing non NeoGeo fighting games you can get away with just 4 buttons per player, but most peole tend to go with the 6 button layout, as Tiger-Heli mentioned.  There are some threads over in the Software Forum about setting up .CFG and .INI files to automatically take care of the re-assignment problem Tiger-Heli mentioned.

What kind of software program can I use to interface with the emulators I want to use?  Is there something that will automatically start when I start Windows XP?  

Most of the Front-ends out there will do this, and certainly the "big three" of Mamewah, Dragon King, and Kymaera have that ability.  Just make sure you read through the threads here and the documentation that comes with the software.  You'll run into a lot fewer headaches that way, and you'll learn from the rest of our mistakes.  

As mentioned, you can get any program to run on start-up by simply putting it in your startup folder on the start menu.  There are other ways of making it happen as well, but that's the simplest.

This is almost overwhelming with all the information available.  

No "almost" about it, it *is* overwhelming, and there's always more to be learned and dug into.  Just break up your project into smaller tasks, and focus on those tasks only un til they are complete.  My recommendations:

1. Get the emulators installed, and learn how to use them without a front-end.  This way you'll learn what is a potential front-end error, and what is an emulator error.  You'll also get to play games faster.  There are several different emulators for the consoles, so experiment a bit to find what works best for you.

2. Install and configure a front-end to work with one emulator (usually MAME, as most of the front ends have default settingsto work with MAME).  Now you can start to think about the look and feel of your front-end, and what skins you'll want to use.

3. Configure the other emulators to work in your front-end.

The nice thing about these three steps is that you aren't spending money, and can be saving in the background for the expensive items later.

4. Now you start buying, buy your encoder, buttons, and Joysticks (and wire and quick disconnects).  In addition to the online retailers, there are several ebay stores that sell pre-packaged packs of buttons and joysticks.  I paid ~$36 for two Happ Ultimates, P1-P2 start buttons and 12 players buttons.  Not the cheapest, but very convenient.  Learn how to wire the switches and configure the Encoder.  

5. Experiment with your layouts.  A double thick piece of foam core is really cheap and can help you get a feel for how you want to do your final layout of your control panel.  Better to spend $2 and prototype rather than waste a $5 piece of wood later.

6. At this point you may want to start building, so build your Control panel, and maybe a temporary enclosure for it.

7. Now you get into the big buidling of the cabinet, getting a monitor, etc.

8. Now that everything's together, tackle the artwork and really make it look nice.

Of course, you may want to do it a different way, and there's no wrong order, but by breaking it up into smaller tasks, you aren't overwhelming yourself.  By doing the big building last, if you stall, you aren't stuck with a half-finished cabinet in your house for a year (Like I have).

Above all, keep reading and learning on these forums.  I think you'll find that the people here are about the nicest group of individuals on the Internet.

[Buddabing]

Welcome to the board!

FYI, someone is selling a UAII kit in the for sale forum. You might check that out. I think it's reasonably priced. That's what I would do if I was building a cab from scratch, especially a UAII.

Good luck, and keep reading!

[spystyle]

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