SOS I will be building the BFG of Arcade !!!

[Senmet]

HI All I need to Ask your opion on a few things, sorry I that I'm such a newbie at all this acrade design.

What my goal is to have an arcade that can play all the old arcades, NES,SNES,Neogeo,N64, Sega,  PS, Xbox DC and some pc games. I would also liike to play my mp3 and vidoes (avi and omg).   

What front end should i use: Mama Wawa or Atomic Front End
What I would like it to do: I would like to run all my games (pc and roms), vidos(avi and org)and mp3 and need it to run well on a 27

[mccoy178]

What front end should i use: Mama Wawa or Atomic Front End

I would highly recommend Mama Wawa.

[KenToad]

Hey, welcome.

Firstly, search a little.  Check out the wiki link at the top of page.

Also, is the BFG you're referring to the Big Friendly Giant from Roald Dahl or the Big smurfing Gun from pc games like Doom?

Just curious.  Good luck.

Cheers,
KenToad

[Duster72]

Search is your friend.  I can see posting one or two frequently asked questions, but you just asked 7 questions which could all be easily answered by searching.

[markrvp]

Somebody will probably argue what I'm about to say, but I feel you are trying to do too much with one cabinet.  I don't know of a way to switch between all those that won't require some manually connecting and disconnecting of connectors. 

I would suggest building a MAME/PC cabinet that can run console emulators as well.  THEN, I would build a separate cabinet for Xbox, PS2, Dreamcast, and Gamecube.  Even then, there is a lot of switching.  You mentioned in your first post that there was a switch to switch between the consoles.  Do you have a link to it?  I haven't seen anything that will switch A/V and Controls between 4 consoles.  I would definitely be interested in one.

Also Mama Wawa is an awesome front end.   

[pointdablame]

[Buddabing]

I have a suspicion you are not a native English speaker.

If your first language is French, you should use the Atomic front end.

If your first language is German, you should use the MaLa front end.

Otherwise, you might check out GameEx, which has some multi-language support.

Also, use the "search" function, and read the wiki.

[DarkBubble]

I would suggest building a MAME/PC cabinet that can run console emulators as well.  THEN, I would build a separate cabinet for Xbox, PS2, Dreamcast, and Gamecube.  Even then, there is a lot of switching.  You mentioned in your first post that there was a switch to switch between the consoles.  Do you have a link to it?  I haven't seen anything that will switch A/V and Controls between 4 consoles.  I would definitely be interested in one.

Places like GameStop and Best Buy stock $20-$30 (Pelican, usually), 5-input/output boxes that will do Composite and S-Vid.  It's the model that'll do Component that is probably closer to $30.  Since he's using a TV, S-Vid out of the PC plus a handfull of systems would be great in this case.

As far as switching controls between consoles, there's always the use of DB25 cables, one end hooked up to hacked controllers, the other ends connected to a DB25 switch box.

http://www.cablesnmor.com/data-switch-box.html

From there, you just hack another DB25 to your buttons and stick(s).

Since the older systems can be easily emulated on the PC, it shouldn't be too hard to fit the newer systems in there with the PC.

[MYX]

Hey welcome,

Since no one will step up to say it. Um... The search function of this fine establishment will give you a LOT of information. Actually you could start to read about every question you just mentioned and we would not see you again for several months up to a year.

Read a little bit then come back with your questions.

But be warned... We all thought we could just quit at any time. Just experimenting we all said. It is an addiction worse than crack.

oh, ps, MarkRVP is right, you probably don't wanna do an all in 1.

BFG?
Butt Fired Gas?

[Senmet]

Well thanks all for all the support and help... i have done some reading and this is what i have come up with

I will be using Mama Wawa as my front end and use arcade music box with the RadLight Ogg Media project so i can watch my ogm vidoes

http://www.oggmedia.info/
www.arcademusicbox.com


I have downlode the emulators form http://www.emuchrist.org/cpviewer/downloads.htm i have some up and working BUT i do have a question will the emulators support a light gun???
 
I will be using X-Arcade: Build Your Own Arcade Kit becouse it can intergrate with the consoles and use a 4 way switch i know i will need to unplug one of the consoles then plug it back in when i need to play it

4 way swithch
http://www.cablesnmor.com/data-switch-box.html

I find a killer  A/V switchbox here
http://www.quasimoto.com/accessories/av-switchbox.php
 
The light gun i will use is LCD Top Gun

http://www.cliffracer.com/store/PC.28/LCD_Top_Gun.144.html

I find a cheep way of hacking a Joystick
http://www.oscarcontrols.com/projects/triggerstick.shtml

I find a remote to replace my mouse

Firefly PC Remote Control

http://store.snapstream.com/firefly.html

??I do need some Help find a way to making a wheel that will work with consoles and mame?

Any more suggestions or advice will be greatly appeciated. Thanks!

[horseboy]

I will be using Mama Wawa as my front end and use arcade music box with the RadLight Ogg Media project so i can watch my ogm vidoes

Well, you made a wise choice. Mama Wawa is spectacular, and we owe all the thanks to MinaWawa. He is a genius. 

[Gunstar Hero]

Uhhhh... Does Mama Wawa = Mamewah? 

[Senmet]

Yes Mama Wawa = Mamewah i'm a newbee and my spell sick and BFG was a miss type it was to be BFA Big F*&* Arcade becoust i will be doing a Showcase cabinet

[Kremmit]

Hey, wow, you did your homework!   

There's no wheel that will do all the MAME games and all the console games.  Many arcade games used a free-spinning, 360 degree wheel.  Others used a wheel that only turns partway around the circle, commonly referred to as a 270 degree wheel.  PC and console wheels are of the 270 degree variety.  If you go with the 360, forget about console useage, they use totally different technology and cannot be converted.  They're also really only useful for the MAME games that originally used them- trying to play a 270 degree game with a 360 degree wheel is less than satisfactory.

If you go with the 270, a PC wheel can be made to work with MAME and probably your console emulators, but I don't know if there are any wheels out there that can be plugged into both the PC and your real consoles, or if there are any multi-console wheels, or any adapters that support wheels.  I'd poke around places like lik-sang and see what's available in the steering wheel market.

[pointdablame]

Hey, wow, you did your homework!   

agreed, good job

You can also use your trackball as a mouse for your PC, so that remote may not be necessary.  Although, in your case, with you playing videos and media a lot, it will probably come in handy.  Just a thought though.

Kremmit summed up wheels pretty well.  If you really wanted "everything" you could get a 270 wheel and try to get it to work with PC and consoles, and then use a spinner for the 360 racing games in MAME.  Spinners work decently enough in those games... they aren't real wheels of course, but they get the job done.  Also, I know that some Logitech wheels will work on PC and Playstation 2 with the USB ports on older Playstations.  Getting it to work on the other consoles may be a bit tricky.

[PCtech]

 

[pointdablame]

* pointdablame bows

 

[Havok]

* pointdablame bows