Newb with some specific questions

[Extreme8]

OK, so I'm a newbe but not exactly clueless. A little background - I've been luking here for a while, I've just about worn out my copy of the "project arcade" book, I've been doing computer hardware longer than I care to admit, and I spent 2 years (part time) doing service for Betson on vid games, pins, and juke boxes.

I'm planning on starting, and hopefully finishing, my cabinet this weekend. That may be optimistic of course, but there's a lot to be said for having a father and brother who are both professional cabinetmakers with a fully equipped shop.

OK, the questions;

1 - I'm building a 2 player CP with trackball and spinner.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of using something like the 4/8 way Omnistick prodigy ball top over 2 8-ways and a seperate 4-way (other than space)?

2 -  Display advice
I'm thinking about 4 different options for monitors

27" Betson Imperal multisync with ArcadeVGA.
I know it's the best solution but not sure it's worth the cost since, being my first cab, I don't know how much difference it will make in my playing experience.

25" tube with the 8-liners chassis, or even a reconditioned 25" arcade monitor. Jamma harness and J-pac with ArcadeVGA
Medium cost, but sounds like a bit of a hassle since it doesnt support all the resolutions needed by MAME and Windows.

25" or 27" TV running off the S-Video output of an ATI card.
Rock bottom cost, worst picture, fast and easy and will get me up and running in a hurry.

21" KDS VGA monitor from Computersurplus outlet.
Another fast easy setup, but since I don't plan on a rotating monitor I thought it might be a little bit small for vertical games.



Looking for some advice from the experienced members of this community.
Thanks for your input.

[dag2000]

I'm sure others will chime in with good answers to your questions.  I just wanted to say that you did a great job with your first question and say that I wish everyone could phrase their questions like yours, good background, questions show that you've done some research, and the questions are specific.  Also sounds like you'll have experience to share.

[johnnysmitch]

1 - I'm building a 2 player CP with trackball and spinner.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of using something like the 4/8 way Omnistick prodigy ball top over 2 8-ways and a seperate 4-way (other than space)?

I think the main issue here is simply the 'feel' of the joystick (aside from cost, as the switcheable joys generally cost more per stick than standard 8-ways).  I haven't used the Omnistick, but I have a T-Stick Plus, and it has a VERY different feel from my Competitions - much shorter throw [still love it though; not different bad, just different different]. For just a two-player CP, it wouldn't be that expensive to just use 4/8 way switchables for both players, though I don't think there's all that many 2 player simultaneous games that use a 4 way joy.

As far as the monitor/TV issue, all I could say is that you might not be fully satisfied when you're done if you use a TV - it's definately playable and all, but noowhere near as nice looking as on a computer monitor (and I haven't yet had the priveledge of experiencing MAME on an arcade monitor   ).  TV isn't bad if you're not gonna be fooling around in windows much when its all done, but when I do my next machine, it's gonna at least have a computer monitor in there....

BTW - welcome to the boards! It's a hell of a great community here, and I'm sure you'll get any help you need here - as long as you make with the pictures  

[LeedsFan]

I'm building my first Mame cab right now, and I've gone the same route as you.... 2 player cab with trackball and spinner. Can't really answer your questions about the monitors as I'm using the existing 25" arcade minitor that came with the cab. Just using a J-Pac to interface with ArcadeVGA.

But for the joysticks I chose 2 x T-Stik Plusses. I don't know much about the Omnisticks, but the T-Stick plusses are actually switchable between 4 way and 8 way WITHOUT diving under the control panel. You just pull the joystick up and twist.... a bit like selecting reverse on some manual cars.
Doing this moves the actuator underneath the panel so that in 4 way mode the joystick cannot physically connect two switches at once. It really is a brilliant design, but as stated earlier these sticks don't have much throw. However, some people actually prefer that.

Because of this joystick feature I decided not to bother with a dedicated 4 way to save room. My CP is only 610 x 210mm, so with a 2.25" TB and spinner there wasn't room anyway!

[Extreme8]

Thanks for the input so far guys.

dag2000, I appreciate the kind words.
I've found that the folks in the forums always seem more than happy to help you once you've shown that you've made an honest effort to help yourself.
I always hate those posters who show up and their first post is "can someone tell me exactly what I need to do to build a cab in 10 easy steps, and by the way, whats this MAME thing everybodys talking about" Then get upset when it's far more complicated then they expected.

I thought I had my mind made up to use the Omnistick prodigy, but the new ball top version is just about the same price as a Happs Perfect 360. I do have room for a seperate 4-way if I need it, so I guess I'll have to rethink the situation. I change my mind about 3 times an hour.

Any additonal insight into my monitor dilemma is appreciated. There is a lot of experience here and I'd like to take advantage of it before I make an expensive mistake.

Opinions, experiences, "If I was building a new cab I would....", "If I knew then what I know now I would...."
I'll take whatever info you folks are willing to share.

[seanp]

Heh.  I have pretty much those same questions.  My only difference is I don't want to muck with the insides of displays...  So I'm leaning towards a 20" or 25" TV with S-Video.  My understanding is that this would look closer to an arcade monitor than running the signal through a VGA monitor.  Plus, I plan on running a MAME PC and a Dreamcast, so the TV is a good easy solution...  Just gotta start working on my Parallel port cables now.

I'm still wondering about the joysticks...  The Perfect 360 from Happs looks awesome, but that's a lot of money for one stick.  Thought about the T-Stik plus, about half the price, but several people have said they feel "different".  Half the fun of this machine will be letting visitors try it out, so I'd like the sticks to "feel" like an arcade machine.  I don't know why I'm hesitant about getting two good 8-ways and a dedicated 4-way.  Are there any easily switchable sticks that are still considered solid 8-way performers?

-Sean

[GGKoul]

I've found that the folks in the forums always seem more than happy to help you once you've shown that you've made an honest effort to help yourself.

So true!!!  Welcome to the forum!!


Joysticks, it all comes down to your personal feel.  I mean, I had Happ Ultimates for a while and they had long throws and a sloopy feel.  I wanted a 8/4 way joysticks, so I bought T-Slick Plus as soon as they came out.  They have a shorter throw which took me awhile to get used to, but I love them now.

You may want to check out http://www.retroblast.com/hardware.html  He's reviewed most of the common joysticks, so maybe it'll help you decide.


Monitor:  Sure a Arcade monitor would be nice, but it limits your choices.  I mean I have a 27" TV in my cab, because I wanted to be able to play PS2, Xbox, Dreamcast and many other games on my cab.  And it acts like a second TV in the basement.  Which is something you can't do when you use an Arcade Monitor.