New to forum

[KungFuJoe]

Just wanted to say hi to everyone in the forum.  I've been reading through the posts in here and I have to say the amount of information is a bit overwhelming.  I'm obviously here because I'm interested in building my own arcade cabinet, but I'm not even sure where to start.

I'll give a little background on myself (those of you who don't care can skip this paragraph )

I'm a HUGE fan of ALL video games starting from the Carnival, Space Invaders, Asteriods days.  I remember when Pac Man first came out I was actually INTIMIDATED to play it (I was probably 6 or 7 at the time).  I'm 31 now and between myself and what I've bought for my step son, we have a SNES, GB, GBA, Nintendo DS, XBOX, PS, PS2, Dreamcast and of course a wide collection of PC games.  I was lucky enough to be around during the Atari 2600 days, then the Nintendo arrival, and again right in the middle of the SF2 explosion.  I'm a video game addict in every sense of the word.

I've actually been playing MAME on and off for several years, but it's mostly been a novelty because you can only get so much out of with a keyboard and various PC gamepads.  I never had space (or a budget) for a custom arcade console with MAME but I've always wanted one dearly.  I finally have both (well...not much of a budget) and my internet searches eventually brought me here.  As I said, the information is mind boggling and it seems the hardest part of all is where to start.

I guess I could start by listing my resources:

- 27" Sony TV with S-Vid in
- 2 FireStick SNES joysticks (GREAT for SF2 and the only reason I bought a SNES)
- 2 SmartJoy SNES > USB converters (for attaching to a PC for MAME use...just bought on Ebay, haven't received yet)
- PC (of course)
- A good friend with carpentry experience and tools and who is as eager about this "project" as I am.

Other resources I can get online or from the local Home Depot. 

BTW, I purchased the Project Arcade book today (so waiting for that to arrive), but I'm impatient so I can't help but ask a few questions in here before it arrives.

First of all, if my eventual goal is to be able to play as many games as possible on one cabinet (meaning either modular or swappable cps), should i build a cab from scratch or buy an already gutted one and modify it for a custom cp?

That brings me to my second question...which is preferable...modular or swappable cps?

Last question for now...and this is a dumb one...I'm probably going to "gut" my firesticks for the parts (if you think I'd be better off keeping them in the "casing" and somehow mount that to a cp let me know!)...how can I remove the buttons without breaking them?  It's not obvious and I don't want to screw anything up...they seem like the competition style you can get from Happs.

Ok...that's it for now...my SmartJoy SNES > USB converters arrive day after tomorrow so at least I'll be able to use my firesticks with MAME, but I eventually want to experience the joy of having my own cabinet like many of you guys already have!

[cdbrown]

Welcome aboard KungFuJoe.

1 - as you are using your 27" TV (good size) I would think you may be restricted in choices of existing cabs.  Meaining you will need to get your hands on a Midway type cab which had a 27" arcade monitor installed and you removing the screen from it's casing.  A build from scratch will mean you can suit the cab to the equipment you have.  Also get all the heights and angles to suit your (or a comprimise between you and your son).

2 - Everyone has their own preference and there are a lot of good innovative methods for control panels.  I have planned to have swappable panel but my not get around to it for a while.  Others know which games they like to play and get the controls all on one panel.  It all depends what controls you need for your games (2-4 players, 1-2 trackballs, spinners, etc) and then plan from there.  Design out various options to see what suits best.  Try not to limit yourself so early to one concept.

3 - no idea

Good luck
-cdbrown

[KungFuJoe]

You make a good point about restricting myself by using an existing cabinet.  I only thought of going that route because there is a store nearby that sells arcade cabinets and I was going to check what they had in stock.

The problem with me and selecting what controls to use is that I'm a bit of a fanatic.  I want to play every game from Star Wars to 720 to Tron to Cabal to Pac Man to Street Fighter 2 to Championship Sprint to 4 player Gauntlet, etc etc etc.

I saw some of the other member's cp layouts (the double tier one was especially nice, but probably out of my reach in terms of ability).  The one that really appealed to me (and was within my reach) was Lusid's design...but then I started thinking (what if I want to use a wheel...and what about Tron?).  A part of me says I will need to sacrifice playing some games in the end, but another part of me says who says I have to limit myself?

I guess the more research I do and the more opinions I get...I will eventually come to a decision.  Perhaps something with a layout like Lusid's...but with the ability to swap to a wheel cp.  Imagine playing Championship Sprint with 4 wheels in your garage...when I think of the amount of money I used to pump into that machine when I was a kid....

[Hildy_42]

Not sure if you have seen this site yet or not but I was thinking about doing this because I am like you and want to play every game ever made. 

http://www.beersmith.com/mame/

[GameOver]

Careful with those 'fancy' designs!

They look super cool, but how functional are they?

[KungFuJoe]

That modular design looks VERY cool, but yes...stability could be an issue...and I think there is a fine line between versatility and efficiency.  Having to swap out a module for every single game could get tedious.  I think I agree with the 4 player cp and the steering cp idea as well.