My project

[SONIC]

Have been following allot about converting an original arcade-machine to a mame-machine, and must say, it's amazing everything about it

So yesterday I bought my arcade-machine for my project A "Killer Instinct 2" machine from Nintendo/Rare with 2 joysticks, 12 buttons (plus the 1-player/2-player) and a 25" monitor... I got it for about 200$, and the guy I bought it from even gave me the original game with it, plus the moneyslot

Me and some guys have been playing a bit with it, and already made a caple that goes from the PC to the arcade monitor, but while testing it on a GeForce 3 card the syncs somewhat didn't match at all... I got a picture on the monitor, but it keeps scrolling upwards, plus it seems like it splits the picture up in two, and place them side by side.

Anyhow, I'll get the real PC for this purpose home tommorow (An AMD Athlon XP 1800+ with 256 MB DDR-ram, and a TNT2 gfx-card) and I'll hopefully get my IPac home this upcoming week too... then I just have to get the monitor running perfectly on the Jamma-machine

Here's some pics (sorry, the quality sucks, don't have a decent camera here)













Any helping suggestions are very welcome Especially with the pc to monitor part

Cheers!!

[SONIC]

Forgot to mention;

I would most of all prefer to run WinXP on the box, is this possible at all with the arcade-monitor?

Cheers!!!

[Dave_K.]

Wow, very clean, and totally complete (unless you want to add spinners/trackball).  I wish I lived in Denmark to find deals like that.  It would probably cost a lot more than $200 to ship to the US  .

RE: geforce3 to arcade monitor...try downloading PowerStrip, and see if it will let you put the geforce into 15khz sync.  If it does, then you just hack a VGA cable to the monitors r/g/b/h/v/g inputs.

[SONIC]

Finished it now, well almost atleast...
Still need to build in some speakers, and get a wireless keyboard+mouse... but everything else runs fine... Joysticks work, running MAME32 on windows, everything is lovely

Here's some pics from last nights work

[Birdtales]

Looks great!!!!

 What "formula" did you wind up using to get windows running on the Arcade Monitor?

[SONIC]

Well after thinking like hell how to do this the easiest way, we got the idea to install VNC (a remote app) on the mame-machine, and on another PC...

After doing so we could easily try all kind of setups in Powerstrip while watching the Arcade-monitor to check if the rez, H- & V-sync worked for the screen...

I will post the accurate setup later inhere...

The specs on the PC we build in is:

TNT2 32 MB graphics-card
AMD Athlon XP 1800+
256 MB DDR-ram
Typhoon 10/100 Ethernetcard
Leadtek soundcard
Wireless keyboard+mouse (sender inside the cabinet)
Old Maxtor 13 GB HDD

Other hardware:
I-Pac

Software:
Windows 98
Mame32
Powerstrip 3.30
VNC

and that's about it really...

If anyone needs help with this, I will share my info's with you, can't promise this setup will work on any of your screens though... this works for me, on a Hantarex Polo 25", so if you got one of these, my setup will work for you too

Happy maming everybody

Btw... MAME is soooo much greater on an original arcade machine

Thanks to everyone helping me out, you're the best

[SNAAAKE]

If anyone needs help with this, I will share my info's with you, can't promise this setup will work on any of your screens though... this works for me, on a Hantarex Polo 25", so if you got one of these, my setup will work for you too

YES...me..i use scan converter(got one from a friend) and problem is it used to be really nice(first day) and all but something happend to it and screen is flicking a LOT..even when i am running dreamcast through the scan converter...its just not acceptable so whats your method?
Will ya share ?
Very nice and clean cab btw.i think you got a VERY good deal too.
thanks for sharing the method and i am using xp1800,1gb ram,20gb hd and ati rage fury pro(i know the card is old but i had it laying around).

[SONIC]

Well, for the flickering... it could after my opinion be your card that's doing it... I tried using a GeForce2 Pro before, which had some sort of hardware error, so it flickered no matter what I used it on (PC-monitor aswell as Arcade-monitor!)

Could also be your scan-converter that f**ked up somehow... only thing I now for sure is, after I plugged my TNT2 card in, and setted PowerStrip up it all ran fine really... I'm not even having any converters or adapters between the PC and the Arcade-monitor, just a straight cable that we even builded ourselves...

My settings in Powerstrip are 640x480 at 16 bit colors at 15,7 Khz, and that's about it...

I'll post a screenshot here tommorow when I get home from work I reckon, makes it all easier for you all to see how I did

And thanks for the nice words on my cab btw Must say I totally love it, and mame has just got new life as it's much cooler on an original cab

[CthulhuLuke]

If you want some advice on the speakers, if your cabinet already has speakers in it that you need to get power to somehow, get a pair of cyber acoustic speakers *They're bout 15 bucks*
-NOT THIS ONE: http://www.outpost.com/product/2720303/  because it has a mono amplifier *I learned that from experience*
-get this one: http://www.outpost.com/product/2893584/   I got mine at fred meyer for 15 bucks, I actually kept all the speakers and the sub too *3" sub is cute*.  Or you can take the amplifier completely out and use it to power the speakers that were in the cabinet already (if there was speakers)
   -good luck
      -CthulhuLuke

[BobA]

Looks great.  It shows how quickly thing can go together if you use a existing cab.  You first message was Jan 5 and it already looks like a winner.   Finishing touches and other additions may go on and on and on but you really got the basics online fast.

BobA

[SONIC]

Uhh those decissions

I would really love to make my own cab-art for it, but 1st, it's gonna get expensive, and 2nd, the original cab-art is really beatyfull.... to be honest, I'm kinda hooked on making another machine... simply buying an old machine in a wasted cab, and then shine it totally up

Oh, bought 2 barchairs for it now... smooth

[SONIC]

O.k., I kinda made some decissions...

I have ordered 12xblue buttons+ 1 and 2 player buttons from Ultimarc, and ordered 2 x Happs Competetion Joys blue from Real Bob Roberts... Now I'll have to get me some blue t-moulding, and some stickers for the sideart... then I'll have my custom marquee and panel art plotted at some firm here in DK I guess, and I will have a perfect mame-machine.

I would love a really cool frontend on it too, so I don't have to reckognize I'm in windows each time I boot... Just with the FE, some of them look so damn advanced, I would like a rather simple one, with screenshots and text only.

This thread ain't dead before the fat lady sings

[mpm32]

Try this frontend for just Text and a Screen shot.  I will be using this.  Nice and simple.  Does not look like windows.

Party On

http://www.aburt.com/partyon/

[SONIC]

Thanks, will might go with that

Gonna check it out ASAP!!!

[SirPoonga]

You did keep killer insitinct working right?  Suprised you didn;t use a jpac sou you could just plug the jamma harness from the ipac to the the killer instinct board.  

BTW, oyu can use the lazarus theme that is just a screenshot and list.  I do, though I added category title to it too.

[SONIC]

OFCOURSE m8... can switch to the game in no time... wouldn't wanna throw that out

[SONIC]

O.k., began works on the control-panel layout now... not finished yet, but getting there... got a good deal on a oversized printing on high-gloss paper for about 15$.. dead cheap!!!

Here's a sneak preview... what ya think about it so far?
Suggestions are welcome

[killr0y]

Good job on the cab.. Nice cab, too!  I love Killer Instinct.  I caught your Amiga in the corner of one of your pics.. Good choice in computers!

[Brax]

O.k., began works on the control-panel layout now... not finished yet, but getting there... got a good deal on a oversized printing on high-gloss paper for about 15$.. dead cheap!!!

Here's a sneak preview... what ya think about it so far?
Suggestions are welcome

Blue? But your cabinet is red themed. It's also BEAUTIFUL! You're going to destroy the original art? I have pretty strong opinions when it comes to that.

A couple other friendly criticisms....
The upper and lower rows of buttons seem a little far apart. many people use 1 1/2" centers for their buttons.
The grey seems a little stark. It looks unfinished, almost giving the impression of primer. I think it would work better if you pulled out a tone from the main background. It might help if it had some texture as well so it's not quite so stark.

Well I have to go. We're starting the wake for your formerly beautiful original artwork.
Very sad.

[SONIC]

I know that it would be a really shame to overdo the art that is allready on the cab, and I must admit that it hurts me to do so... I am in a bit of a dilemma, coz I want it to be a mame cab totally!!!

And btw... the work I made there is far from finished m8... only a preview

I maybe should choose to do the marquee and the control panel only, and maybe make it red, but now I ordered blue buttons and joys, so... ahrg... Have some ideas for it though!!!

For the room between the buttons... I went with the original layout of the control-panel, that is the way they sit atm... don't wanna change that, as it's perfect for my needs really!!!

And yeah, That is a Commodore Amiga 500 on the one pic Will keep it forever, reminds me of them good ol' days

[SONIC]

So now... after some heavy rethinking I think I came to the conclusion that I wanna keep the original art on the sides of it as it's fawking nice like it is... I wanna change the marquee and the control-panel inlay though, but gonna keep it in the KI2 stylee...

Started working on the marquee this evening, looking a bit on the original marquee to keep the colours somewhat the same...

Take a look at what I mean, and keep in mind, this artwork is NOT finished yet!!!

The original artwork for the marquee (Found a lousy image on the net):



And here is the one that I am working on:


I might wanna make the mame logo in an other color, not certain yet though...
And thanks for the slap Brax Found out that the other way (making it like the original) is far easier for me, and cheaper, as I don't have to make the sideart all over!!!


Cheers!!!
 

[SirPoonga]

make the mame logo in the gold outlined KI style.

[SONIC]

Thought about doing so too, but I can't seem to find the right font for it, which prolly means I have to draw it all from scratch... now that isn't the real problem, it would just be so much easier if there was a KI-font for macintosh out there... But you're right, that would be the coolest thing to do I reckon!!!

Will work on that!!! Thanks for the idea!!!

[Howard_Casto]

Sonic I have been working on some killer instinct models for some time now and I must say, your cab is mint!  Could you do me a favor once you get a chance?  Take pics!  Tons of pics of the artwork straight on.  

It would really help me a lot especially pics of the sideart and the coin door area.  

Thanks,
HAC

Btw I would NOT mess with the artwork in ANY way.  You don't know what a find you have and even if you choose to play mame on it, it would be a bastardization of such a nice cab to change it.  It takes a very skilled hand to take artwork and incorporate it into and existing cabinet design and no offense, but from what you've shown you might not have that skill.  I dont mean to insult you, but the "MAME" color scheme badly clashes with the orange and red ki2 graphics.  

[SONIC]

Btw I would NOT mess with the artwork in ANY way.  You don't know what a find you have and even if you choose to play mame on it, it would be a bastardization of such a nice cab to change it.  It takes a very skilled hand to take artwork and incorporate it into and existing cabinet design and no offense, but from what you've shown you might not have that skill.  I dont mean to insult you, but the "MAME" color scheme badly clashes with the orange and red ki2 graphics.  

I know I  know... The plan was to make the Mame logo into the KI stylee, like "Mame Instinct" in the colours that match the original sideart... the bezel, the marquee and the cp wouldn't be any problem to switch out and back in again...

And yes, it's truely a find, and believe me, I am fighting a inner struggle comming to a decission on what to do... but I think it's best to let it be as it is... Even though I'm just burning for making custom cp, marquee and bezel... hmm!!!

For the pictures; Will shoot some for ya when I get back home (in about 4 weeks from today!)
Will get a camera from work so I can do some decent pics

And once again, thanks for the advise and words!!!

[SONIC]

Sorry for taking so long with new pics, but here they are... if you need them in any bigger resolutions just tell me, originals are 4 times bigger (ie. the pics here is only posted in about 25%)













Still looking for a Killer Instinct font if there is something like that outthere

Cheers!!!

[said7]

Nice Stools!

Whered you get em from and how much?

[AlanS17]

I can safely speak from experience of MAMEing that exact same machine. I was planning on doing it but I didn't have the heart to rip apart such a pretty (and fun) game. I gave the machine to my brother to hold onto and it will remain intact.

KI is one of my favorite games of all time. I wouldn't destroy one... ever... under any circumstances. I wouldn't even modify it at all externally. I had the chance but passed it up.

(Plus we're talking about a machine that's probably worth at least $600 so you would be throwing away $400.)

If I were you I would mount a non-invasive PC board on the inside side-by-side with the original game. Then I would buy a J-Pac and just switch them out when you want to play something.

Hey wait a minute... That IS what I did.  

If you do plan on taking it apart, though... Hoew much do you want for the game board?

[SONIC]

What do you exactly mean by saying "take apart"? The original board will stay put inside forever, never gonna throw it out!

About KI the game itself... never really played it before, and must admit that this game itself does not mean that much to me as other games do! The main reason I bought this cab was 1) it was dead cheap - 2) It was the cab in best condition that he had, and 3) It was the most entertaining game he had there! But I think if he had a Bubble Bobble cab I might aswell would have bought that one! But he only had some Virtual Fighters (loads of 'em), some soccer games, KI1 and KI2, some neo-geo cabs and a dual-screen racing game!

The KI2 game that sits inside my cab is fun for some hours, but tend to get boring, for me atleast! The grafix are nice in that game, and in runs really well... but my idea with this whole thing was to play the really old games with real arcade sticks, buttons, and a huge arcade screen!!! And besides of that, the cab itself looks really fantastic I know loads of peeps are against modding mint cabs, and in some cases I fully agree with them, but in other cases I must say that it is allright... and in the end of the day you all do not really care how my cab looks, plus I'm happy about my own cab And I do think that it is me who has to be satisfied with it, not some guy in a country called something I can't even pronounce

 

[SONIC]

Just for the record; Bought two satelites+sub from Creative Soundworks What a feeling