Noob reporting in!

[2panther]

Just wanted to say hi and give a quick intro!

I have wanted to build my own arcade cabinet for my old nintendo console to try to make it look like a Players Choice machine that I used to drop a bunch of cash into at the mall but after researching further it looks like I want to go the main route!

I still am trying to learn exactly how MAME will work for me and all that once i build the cabinet but it looks like I found a good place to research and ask questions.

I have very little woodworking skills but I hope to tackle this project anyway. My ability to follow directions is uncanny though haha so I hope to find a step by step guide to making this happen for my first cabinet and then after this one is finished I will try to get creative. If anyone has some step by step instructions for cutting out the panels I'd appreciate it!

Oh yeah I will be building an upright cabinet, I'd love to have a controller layout that would be good for Street Fighter II type games (two rows of 3 buttons) would that also let me play games that don't require all six buttons?

I'd also like the cabinet not to be a super narrow one so my brother and I can play against eachother without sitting in eachothers lap. Does that make sense? If someone might know what I'm talking about off the top of their head is there a particular name for that cabinet?

Thanks I hope to contribute and learn as I go through this process!

[postalp123]

Welcome 2Panther!!

Lets me try to give a few tips:

I have very little woodworking skills but I hope to tackle this project anyway. My ability to follow directions is uncanny though haha so I hope to find a step by step guide to making this happen for my first cabinet and then after this one is finished I will try to get creative. If anyone has some step by step instructions for cutting out the panels I'd appreciate it!

There are 2 paths to go about fashioning a MAME upright cab:

A) Simply find a local arcade dealer or auction to find an old cabinet, gut the internals and rebuild into a MAME cab.

or...

B) The standard way to build an upright from scratch normally involves 3 pieces of 4' X 8' wood (Could be MDF, plywood, etc...) 2 of the pieces will be matching sides, the last piece will serve as the bridging pieces.

Oh yeah I will be building an upright cabinet, I'd love to have a controller layout that would be good for Street Fighter II type games (two rows of 3 buttons) would that also let me play games that don't require all six buttons?

I'd also like the cabinet not to be a super narrow one so my brother and I can play against eachother without sitting in eachothers lap. Does that make sense? If someone might know what I'm talking about off the top of their head is there a particular name for that cabinet?

The standard layout seems to look like this (Give or take a spinner):


2 X Joysticks
2 X 6 Button Layouts
2 X Coin Buttons
2 X Player Start Buttons
4 X Admin Buttons
Optional: Trackball & Spinner

This will amount to 28 inputs, just enough for an I-Pac2 keyboard encoder.

[subcriminal]

Sounds a lot like my project! If you've got no previous woodworking skills like I didn't have I'd practice on some scraps with saws, routers etc. for a bit. I built a pretty bad cab before this one and didn't think things through enough but the second attempt came out nice.
My Donkey Kong themed cab was made a bit wider for two players and to rotate the monitor. I just liked the look of the Nintendo cabs and DK rocks!
You're definately on the right forum but I'd sugest doing a bit on the cab reading plenty as you go as there's a heck of a lot to take in from start to finish.

[Stingray]

Very impressive DK themed cab!

-S

[leapinlew]

Very impressive DK themed cab!

-S

He did a real nice write up on it too. I prefer the lack of admin buttons. The cleaner the CP the better.

2Panther - your on the right track. Keep reading.

[2panther]

The standard layout seems to look like this (Give or take a spinner):


2 X Joysticks
2 X 6 Button Layouts
2 X Coin Buttons
2 X Player Start Buttons
4 X Admin Buttons
Optional: Trackball & Spinner

This will amount to 28 inputs, just enough for an I-Pac2 keyboard encoder.

[/quote]

I like that layout, looks simple enough for what I would need, don't think any advanced controls would be needed?

I will be going to home depot tonight for some things the fiance wants and I will pick up the MDF tonight, I think I'll tell her I'm building some bookshelves or something haha

[MovingTarget]

Sounds a lot like my project! If you've got no previous woodworking skills like I didn't have I'd practice on some scraps with saws, routers etc. for a bit. I built a pretty bad cab before this one and didn't think things through enough but the second attempt came out nice.
My Donkey Kong themed cab was made a bit wider for two players and to rotate the monitor. I just liked the look of the Nintendo cabs and DK rocks!
You're definately on the right forum but I'd sugest doing a bit on the cab reading plenty as you go as there's a heck of a lot to take in from start to finish.

WOW really nice cab!!

2panther, welcome, do yourself a favor and go to the project section of the forum and read through some of the projects and the steps people went through.  There are many options, and you don't want to kick yourself for not doing something that was easy that would have really made a much nicer cabinet.

Also, I would recommend starting with Luisid's cab design and modify it on some graph paper so you get the look you want prior to cutting the wood out.

[SithMaster]

for a non super narrow cp just make the sides hang out like in the cp pics showed above.  though make a cardboard mockup so you can see what button setup is best er no i mean orientation like if the buttons should be arched or in the rectangular pattern shown.

is that chrome for tmold on the dk?

[whynotpizza]

You might want to consider the Trackball/Spinner as standard instead of optional - especially with all the work that goes into the build of a home system!

I know I enjoy games using these authentic controls and am looking forward to having my machine which is work in progress at the moment!

The HAPP 3" Trackball Illuminated and the Apache Controls Blackhawk Push/Pull spinner are my favorite choices. And have been playing on proto boxes I built with both controls (including HAPP heavy duty 8way stick) and love the controls! Don't chimp on the controls ... if you go through the effort to build a system, do it right if you can convince the wife or finance person in your family!

Here is a pic of my control panel layout...still in the progress.

Good luck with your choices and the build!

   David

[subcriminal]

for a non super narrow cp just make the sides hang out like in the cp pics showed above.  though make a cardboard mockup so you can see what button setup is best er no i mean orientation like if the buttons should be arched or in the rectangular pattern shown.

is that chrome for tmold on the dk?

Yeah, I went with chrome t molding rather than the original white.
Cheers for the kind comments

[Santo8742]

If you want a step by step guide the Project Arcade book is the only way to go! I think I have gotten more use out of that book then most textbooks that I had to use.

[2panther]

If you want a step by step guide the Project Arcade book is the only way to go! I think I have gotten more use out of that book then most textbooks that I had to use.

is it available online only or can I purchase in an actual book store?

[Havok]

If you want a step by step guide the Project Arcade book is the only way to go! I think I have gotten more use out of that book then most textbooks that I had to use.

is it available online only or can I purchase in an actual book store?

I bought mine at Barnes and Nobles - you can also order from Amazon, etc...

[2panther]

excellent, I will head over there tonight and thumb through it and might pick it up if it's what I'm looking for.

Thanks for the replies!