Starting up....need advice !!!

[hullspad]

Ok everyone...need some advice.  I'm in the "thinking" stage of my cabinet, before i begin.  I'm also at the "boy am i too poor to be doing this before x-mas" stage, so with that note, here goes my top 3 questions, maybe with more to come:

1. I'm going to build a computer for this specifically (or a friend will, anyway).  I want the absolute minimum in it, but want it to be very functional (i.e. probably won't buy a modem now).  Only going to be running MAME and maybe an occasional "normal" PC game.  What should i look for, get, etc, with the thought of keeping cost down at this point?

2. Frontline.  the game.  Any other lovers of the game  What is the best joystick setup for this game??  Has anyone used the 360 joystick mentioned in Saint's book  If so, is that the ideal choice for Frontline

3.  Yah-dee   yah-dee yah-duh...why am i so poor.

Thanks a  million guys.  Should be starting in a week or so...will keep you posted.

--Jason

[JoyMonkey]

1. I'm going to build a computer for this specifically (or a friend will, anyway).  I want the absolute minimum in it, but want it to be very functional (i.e. probably won't buy a modem now).  Only going to be running MAME and maybe an occasional "normal" PC game.  What should i look for, get, etc, with the thought of keeping cost down at this point?

Take a look at "What PC do I need to run MAME" Official FAQ

2. Frontline.  the game.  Any other lovers of the game  What is the best joystick setup for this game??  Has anyone used the 360 joystick mentioned in Saint's book  If so, is that the ideal choice for Frontline

First person shooters are tough to play using traditional arcade controls. You'd probably need two P360's in a Playstation style setup - but then how do you fire? Maybe one P360 for turning/looking and one fire-top 8-way for moving/straiffing/shooting.

3.  Updated Roms...where does one find "new" roms for use with MAME ??

I'm told that they grow in a magical cabbage patch, which is harvested about once a month. Seriously though, asking where to get roms is not allowed in this forum.

[missioncontrol]

Ok everyone...need some advice.  I'm in the "thinking" stage of my cabinet, before i begin.  I'm also at the "boy am i too poor to be doing this before x-mas" stage

my best advice:  Don't keep track of the money you spend  

[javeryh]

Ok everyone...need some advice.  I'm in the "thinking" stage of my cabinet, before i begin.  I'm also at the "boy am i too poor to be doing this before x-mas" stage

my best advice:  Don't keep track of the money you spend  

Best. Advice. Ever.

...it adds up fast.

[TOK]

By Frontline, I assumed he meant Taito's frontline, which isn't a first person shooter. This is a challenge, because your favorite game has an unusual control style.
If it was going to be my main game, I'd get a buttontop joystick (move and fire) and of course the spinner for arm movement. You also want a button somewhere near the stick for grenades. The upside of that close button is that it will also work well for Reverse on Defender.

Since you optimally want a spinner game right from the get-go, this is going to be a tough budget build. When I did my control panel on a budget, I just went with twin sticks/6 buttons each. This lets you play 90% of the stuff out there. I'm just now getting to the point where I'm adding a trackball and a spinner will be last.

[JoyMonkey]

Oh! You mean this front line. I was thinking of Medal of Honor Frontline.

[Tiger-Heli]

1. I'm going to build a computer for this specifically (or a friend will, anyway).  I want the absolute minimum in it, but want it to be very functional (i.e. probably won't buy a modem now).  Only going to be running MAME and maybe an occasional "normal" PC game.  What should i look for, get, etc, with the thought of keeping cost down at this point?

Check www.pricewatch.com - A Duron 650 will play the older games fine, an XP 2500 for the newer ones -
Motherboard/processor combos - $80 for an XP2200 should be fine.
If you want to save a lot, get a board with on/board video and a AGP slot and you can upgrade later.
Vid Card - You should be able to find a 64M ATI 9200 AGP for around $40
HD - They're cheap - 20G is plenty, but you can get a lot larger for around $50-$60.

2. Frontline.  the game.  Any other lovers of the game  What is the best joystick setup for this game??  Has anyone used the 360 joystick mentioned in Saint's book  If so, is that the ideal choice for Frontline

Not sure what Saint recommends.  The original game used a unique controller.  It looked like a spinner (with Push to Fire), but had a lobe and four microswitches on the bottom instead of an encoder wheel.  So basically an eight way joystick with one direction constantly press.  I don't think MAME allows you to use a spinner with it.  You can find the frontline controllers occasionally on E-bay for like $15.  It will work fine with MAME, but it's a lot of CP real-estate for three games (Frontline, Tin Star, Wild Western), and you need a switch to break the ground wire on the controller or you have a stuck switch.

3.  Updated Roms...where does one find "new" roms for use with MAME ??

Check your PM, (and don't ask again).

[hullspad]

   Sorry about the ROM thing guys......Truly, my bad.  Won't happen again....new to this.  Read the "rules" after the post....please don't hate me.  SORRY !!!!!!

Thanks everyone for the advice.  Maybe i'll just chuck any thought of Frontline....i was thinking maybe a 360 joystick....wouldnt that allow me to run and control my gun at the same time

As far as the budget thing....what my wife doens't know, probably won't hurt her....might hurt me when i'm thrown out on the street.  

[Tiger-Heli]

Thanks everyone for the advice.  Maybe i'll just chuck any thought of Frontline....i was thinking maybe a 360 joystick....wouldnt that allow me to run and control my gun at the same time

You can play the game fine with an 8-way trigger stick and another 8-way (or two 8-ways if there's a button close by).  The motion of the game was "Right stick for motion, left spinner for aim and push to fire".  You just won't be playing it like the arcade game.

Clarification in terms:  Most users assume 360 joystick means the Happ Perfect 360 which is a standard type joystick that uses optics rather than switches to sense motion.

What you are describing is a rotary joystick (SNK LS-30 like in Ikari, or Happ has two versions).  This would not be accurate to the original controls, but would be very useable IF someone re-wrote the mame driver to support using them on this game.

And I recommended this previously, so I don't expect it to happen. . .