New Project... DreamCade?

[sexypurdy]

Well, I have finally decided to make an Arcade cabinet.  I've decided to go to a loosely modified version of LuSiD's plans.  This will be a Dreamcast cabinet, as the heart of the cabinet will be Ikaruga, with a vertical monitor of course.  2 joysticks, and 4 buttons (shoot and change shield for two players.  I thought to myself... What the hell is the point of making an arcade cabinet for only one game, when I can open it up to more games...  So I'll make it all of the dreamcast's buttons!  But wait, the monitor will still be vertical... I could just make it horizontal, but I need the vertical for Ikaruga... I'll make a spinner for the monitor!!!  So now, 6 buttons, a start button, a joystick, and a VMU slot, for both of the players, a spinning monitor connected to a VGA box, with my old desktop speakers... this is gonna rock.  On Saturday, I will be buying the wood... I plan to take many pictures too ^^;  I have a few questions for people though...

   -  Those of you who have made cabinets out of MDF 3/4 wood, how heavy is the final product...  I plan on making the cabinet at my high school with the help of my old computer science teacher.  I'm afraid that after I make it, I won't be able to bring it from the school, to my house, than into my house, than up into my room... up the stairs... So yea, about how heavy is this gonna be?

   -  I seem to have forgot the rest of my questions... I'll post them later if I remember them...

So yea I'm so excited about this whole thing, I really can't wait.  I have no idea what to name this thing... Today in school I was thinking up names, I thought DreamCade would be nice, but than I realized maybe someone else is already using that name for their project... I did a search, nothing came up, but if anyone was planning on using this name, please let me know xD

   DreamCade... DreamCab... Cabinet of Dreams...  Thats the only names I came up with so far... If you got a good one, tell me please!


   I love the forums, and this is my 2nd post, and hopefully many 100's more to come!

[Sprucemoose]

MDF is very heavy!  I would modify your plans to account for a 2 piece design.  Either that or triple check all you door frame measurements and stairways etc to make sure you can move a 1 piece design.

Good luck and happy building.  Its a lot of fun

[sexypurdy]

Front Door - 35 inches -- 2 feet 11 inches
Stair Well - 36 inches -- 3 feet even
Door to Upstairs - 29 inches --  2 feet 5 inches

So it won't fit normally, but it will fit if i bring it up sideways, on an angle...  But is it light enough to even do so... It will most likely be my dad and I lugging this cab up the stairs, I have a feeling we can do it... I hope =/

Either way, the 2 piece design sounds nice, but I'm not really sure if i can pull it off... This is my first time building something 'furniature'ish since my computer desk, but that was from Ikea   I'll talk it over with Coy (my teacher) and see if he can think of something for a 2 part design...

[Flinkly]

check this out for two peice design.

[sexypurdy]

That seems cool, but i dunno... I work at supermarket lol  Spending 30$ on plans for one aspect of them that I belive will really help me, ya know? Since it's a dreamcast machine, everything about setting up the computer won't be needed, same with mapping the control panel and such, but still; thanks a bunch for the suggestion

[ras2a]

Purdy, I have the UAII plans, if you're interested, PM me

Craig

[jfunk]

UAII plans also come with the Project Arcade book.  HIGHLY recommended! 

[Flinkly]

* edited due to copyrighted material. *

sorry saint, didn't even think about it.  good thing no one took me up on my offer before i did.  buy the project arcade book.  it's worth the money even without the plans!

[sexypurdy]

Well, I didn't get the wood, cause i needed a ride to home depot/lowes, and my mom's car can't really fit the wood, and my dad's car is broken, so I'll have to arrange a date to get the wood.

You all have made me make a change of plans as it will be a UAII based cab, with rotating monitor and only 2 players, as I begin to think that it would be really hard to lug a LuSiD based cab up stairs.  I gotta run this by with my teacher, he shouldn't mind the change of plans... next update will include pictures of me buying wood... woot?

[Flinkly]

i don't know about the rotating thing...not many people have succeeded who went that route, and out of those who have, not many have had a very...nice rotation.  you'd have to be a very industrious person and make some pretty nice stuff if your going to pull it off, so i'd suggest either spending about two weeks on it, or dropping that.  mame still displays vertical games on a horizontal screen, you just play with black bars on the sides like when you watch widescreen movies on a regular tv.  the games are smaller, but hey, at least you don't have to spend alot of time getting it to rotate, and then have to rotate it everytime you want to play a vertical game.

p.s.  i'm not trying to talk you out of rotation, it'a just a very hard thing for even a normal person to pull off, so just be aware of that.

[sexypurdy]

i don't know about the rotating thing...not many people have succeeded who went that route, and out of those who have, not many have had a very...nice rotation.  you'd have to be a very industrious person and make some pretty nice stuff if your going to pull it off, so i'd suggest either spending about two weeks on it, or dropping that.  mame still displays vertical games on a horizontal screen, you just play with black bars on the sides like when you watch widescreen movies on a regular tv.  the games are smaller, but hey, at least you don't have to spend alot of time getting it to rotate, and then have to rotate it everytime you want to play a vertical game.

p.s.  i'm not trying to talk you out of rotation, it'a just a very hard thing for even a normal person to pull off, so just be aware of that.

Constructive criticism is always nice   I want the rotating monitor for Ikaruga, I play it on my 19 inch monitor, put to the side,and nothing beats the experience.  Nothing, its just so impressive.  But than again, making a dedicated machine just for that, that sounds kind of like a waste to me, though that is how the classics were...

Still, I think the monitor might work, but there are bound to be some bumbs in the road.  I asked my teacher about the whole spilt cabinet thing, he thinks i'm making this too much of a project than what it should be, cause now; split cabinet and rotating monitor, but I'm positive i can talk him into it

[Flinkly]

just looking through the instructions for the cabinet i posted, and it turns out you can't take it apart.  my bad guys.  i guess you could, if you just left the screws visible for unscrewing and screwing back in, but it also doesn't have any way to hold a montor, except a shelf.

[sexypurdy]

just looking through the instructions for the cabinet i posted, and it turns out you can't take it apart.  my bad guys.  i guess you could, if you just left the screws visible for unscrewing and screwing back in, but it also doesn't have any way to hold a montor, except a shelf.

should work fine either way, i'm not painting, i'm covering in vinyl, so having a few little circles for the screws won't really bother me that much

[testicle187]

You could use carriage bolts to attach the top piece to UAII cab.  This would allow you to take it apart, but you would actually need to brace the monitor inside and perhaps even build a back for it to move it in two pieces without tearing it apart.

[sexypurdy]

ALRIGHT!! Progress started today!!!

I bought wood and screws! Awesome right?!  110$ for 3 5x8 panels of MDF than all the screws i needed... stupid home depot is mad expensive... I got some off-days from work this week, so I shall be taking pictures and stuff

[saint]

UAII plans are not free. They are copyrighted material and distributing them is illegal. You must purchase them from mameroom.com (or buy the book and get them included).

--- saint

they do?  i guess i could send you the plans for it too if you wanted.

[saint]

UAII plans are not free. They are copyrighted material and distributing them is illegal. You must purchase them from mameroom.com (or buy the book and get them included).

--- saint

Purdy, I have the UAII plans, if you're interested, PM me

Craig