Need ideas

[Jedimonkey27]

Hi everybody!

I am kind of new here, just a couple of posts and I would really like to build my own arcade cabinet. I want to build it so that I can play games on MAME and Nintendo emulators and other games as well, pretty much everything. I have picked up a copy of Project Arcade and read through most of it. I want to a Star Wars themed cabinet because well, I'm a nerd.

But I have some questions, what type of cabinet should I build, upright, or cocktail. Space is tight but I think I could fit either
with some rearranging. Also, what and how many controls should I have? And thirdly, how big should the monitor be? Is 15 inches big enough?

I am on a tight budget. I have already purchased the computer and I would like to be able to remove it and use it normally as well. Also, I wasn't alive for most of the 80's so I am not really attached to any particular games like you old folks. Any help would be great!

[old school gamer]

Also, I wasn't alive for most of the 80's so I am not really attached to any particular games like you old folks. Any help would be great!

 Old Folks.... Meh

[DaveMMR]

Hi everybody!

I am kind of new here, just a couple of posts and I would really like to build my own arcade cabinet. I want to build it so that I can play games on MAME and Nintendo emulators and other games as well, pretty much everything. I have picked up a copy of Project Arcade and read through most of it. I want to a Star Wars themed cabinet because well, I'm a nerd.

But I have some questions, what type of cabinet should I build, upright, or cocktail. Space is tight but I think I could fit either
with some rearranging. Also, what and how many controls should I have? And thirdly, how big should the monitor be? Is 15 inches big enough?

I am on a tight budget. I have already purchased the computer and I would like to be able to remove it and use it normally as well. Also, I wasn't alive for most of the 80's so I am not really attached to any particular games like you old folks. Any help would be great!

First you should probably go with the standard 6 button 2 player layout since you no lika da oldees (maybe 7 is you like the Neo Geo layout).  Secondly, upright is the way to go because cocktails take up more floor space (unless you live in a short room ala the office in Being John Malkovich).  Third, you could theoretically share the computer, but it may just be easier to find a cheapie somewhere (sometimes people throw out perfectly good computers for MAME purposes).  Last, I'm not old - I'm only 28.     Have fun.

[RayB]

Last, I'm not old - I'm only 28.     Have fun.

When i was 20 I went on a couple dates with a 28 year old, and I thought she looked OLD!

 

[DougHillman]

Honestly, none of these questions are really able to be answered by anyone but you.  

We can't tell you whether you'd prefer an upright or a cocktail.  Or whether you truly have room for either.

We can't tell you how many controls you need.  Who'll play it?  Just you?  2 players at once?  4?  Do you HAVE to be able to play some of the great trackball or spinner games (Missle Command, Centipede, Marble Madness, Tempest, Arkanoid, etc)?   Are you really wanting to play the more recent fighters?

We can't tell you how big your monitor should be.  What's "big enough" to you?  What size & type of cabinet are you building?   (15" wouldn't be big enough in anything other than a bartop for me, but that's just my opinion.)


These are all things that you (and only you) can decide.   It's YOUR cabinet, not ours.  It's YOU building it, not us.

Many folks here will be more than happy to give suggestions (which may turn out to be more than useless, depending on your specific needs/wants) but that's all that can really be done for you at this point.  


What you need to do is spend a lot more time reading these forums and checking out the examples link on the main www.arcadecontrols.com page.  Take notes.  Save pictures and links to the cabinets that you like.   See what others have done and how they've solved the same problems you have.  Learn from others' innovations and mistakes.  Read the Newbie FAQ.  Buy the book that's advertised all over these pages if you can't cull what you need from these pages.

And then decide what exactly you need/want out of cabinet.  Come back with specific questions then, and you're gonna get help which will actually be of much more use to you.


Here's a few basic comments just so no one claims I'm not helpful:

Sizewise, an upright will make more effecient use of space (unless your cocktail cab will also do double duty as a coffee table).   Remember that you've really gotta have access to both ends if you want to play 2P games on a cocktail.  

Controls are entirely dependant on what you want to play.  A 2 stick w/2 buttons each layout will play the huge majority of games in MAME acceptably.  4 buttons or 6 buttons each will add in the majority of the rest.  As I mentioned above though, some of the most popular games require a trackball or spinner.

[missioncontrol]

how big should the monitor be? Is 15 inches big enough?

I'd go bigger unless you make a bartop as DougHillman suggested

what and how many controls should I have?

review your list of games your going to have and put in enough buttons for the game that takes the most buttons, and don't forget your admin buttons

what type of cabinet should I build, upright, or cocktail

your the only person who can really decide that.


my $0.02

[MinerAl]

Hi everybody!

Hi

I am kind of new here, just a couple of posts and I would really like to build my own arcade cabinet. I want to build it so that I can play games on MAME and Nintendo emulators and other games as well, pretty much everything. I have picked up a copy of Project Arcade and read through most of it. I want to a Star Wars themed cabinet because well, I'm a nerd.

You've come to the right place.

But I have some questions, what type of cabinet should I build, upright, or cocktail. Space is tight but I think I could fit either
with some rearranging.

Keep in mind an upright only takes up as much floor space as the base of it, whereas a cocktail takes up enough room for itself and the two chairs that'll be next to it.  The upright is a more intrusive piece of furniture though.  A cocktail cab is also a table, an upright is nothing but a giant garish flashing noisy arcade machine.

Also, what and how many controls should I have?

The most versitile package seems to be two 8 way sticks with 6 buttons each.  Lots of people make their CP wide enough to have a dedicated 4-way in the middle, and/or a trackball, and/or a spinner, and/or a trigger stick.  If you aren't concerned about 80's games, you can probably survive without these.

If fighting games are your thing, go for  the 8-way 6 button panel and you'll be very happy.

And thirdly, how big should the monitor be? Is 15 inches big enough?

15" is plenty to get you started.  You can use the 15" until you have something larger.  If you build your cabinet (or MAME a real cabinet) that is designed for a 19" or 25" screen you will not, I think, be satisfied with the tiny little screen.  A 19 or 25" TV with S-Video in is probably the best balance of cheap/authentic.  If you build with one of those sizes in mind, the 15" will suffice until you can acquire a big ol' monitor.

I am on a tight budget.

Aren't we all.  If this is the case you should look for an used cab.  They are already built and can be had for much less than the raw materials to build a decent cab.  That said, go to wherever you would buy the materials, price them, and figure out what the most you should spend on a used cab would be.  Free cabs do exist if you can find them.

Keyboard hacks seem free, but after you've spent hours and hours and lots of soldering iron burns on one only to find it doesn't work very well, you'll wish you'd bought a KeyWiz or an iPAC VE.

eBay is a great place to find cheap controls.  Watch out for shipping though.

I have already purchased the computer and I would like to be able to remove it and use it normally as well.

Might I suggest a KVM switch.  You can set up your computer outside the cab, and just connect the cab as a second Keyboard/Video/Mouse.

Also, I wasn't alive for most of the 80's so I am not really attached to any particular games

That keeps you from needing a 4-way stick and most trackball/spinner hardware.

like you old folks.

Whippersnapper.

Any help would be great!

I am great.  Aren't I?

[Tilzs]

A 15" monitor in an upright cab is going to look stupid. A 15" in a cocktail will look far less stupid but may still look stupid depending on your cocktail design.