Noob that needs help.

[Corbet]

First of all I'd like to thank everyone in advance for any questions you answer. I realize you've probably answered these types of questions over and over.

1) I'm planning on building an MAME cabinet, 4 players, for games like beat em ups (golden axe, gauntlet legends, ect), fighters (tekken, mortal kombat, ect.), shooters (ikagura), and any other game I decide to play.

2) I'm having a hard time deciding how I wish to wire my controls. UltraStik 360 seems pretty awesome, allowing wiring of buttons to each joystik then USB right into a PC. Problem is they run $60+ and I'd be spending over $300 on 4 joystiks. This is way to much for me. I also considered an I-PAC USB but it only supports 32 inputs. I'm assuming 8 buttons for each joystik is good, plus 4 4-player buttons, along with the joystik. That's more then 32 inputs by far. Are there any other cheaper Joystiks that offer USB connectivity and the wiring of Buttons to each one? Do I want a 8-way or should I go with an analog? I'm mainly looking for something easy to install with easy software to setup.

3) What is the cheapest/best site to buy buttons and joystiks? I tried looking on the main page but it is incredibly out of date. Also, what kind of adapters am I looking at for Dreamcast/PS2/Gamecube/Wii/Ect? I saw some for around $30 but that quickly adds up.

4) What kind of wood is best used to make a cabinet? Could I just go to Carter lumber and pick up some wood? What kind of tools do I need for the actual construction of it?

5) I'm a little confused on the whole Monitor issue. What's the average monitor size in arcades? 27"? Should I be looking to purchase a CRT Computer Monitor or a TV of some sorts? Again, I'm trying to keep this relatively cheap, but I'm willing to spend anywhere from $200-$300 if needed.

6) Any pointers before I begin this adventure? I think the first step is to set up a mock arcade controller for the PC and set it up before I actually construct the cabinet.

[Xam]

Get Saints book!!!! Though it is a bit out of date due to recent developments in the community, that basic info is still very good. It explains most of the questions you have asked. It is quite simply an invaluable tool....especially if you have no idea (like me) It explains things in a very easy to understand language.

The simple fact is, there is no "right" answer to your questions for the most part. The answers will be quite varied.

Xam

[Corbet]

That's the thing. Does Saints book give specific makers of joystiks and such? I'm looking for a joystik that can be used with a vast amount of games, provide USB support, and possibly wiring of buttons.

[FunWithFire]

Don't forget the Wiki. If you take a look through there, you will see that it's the IPAC VE that has 32 inputs (designed for a 2 player cab) whereas the IPAC 4 has 56 inputs:

The I-PAC4 is designed for 4-player panels or where large numbers of inputs are needed. It also comes in PS/2 and USB versions.

Both versions have 56 inputs and are all programmable and designated 4 joysticks, 8 buttons each plus coin 1,2,3,4 and start 1,2,3,4. Two of the inputs are assigned as shift keys to access two separate codes sets covering the player 1,2 and the player 3,4 inputs, usefull if you want to keep administrative buttons to a minimum on your control panel

[Corbet]

Ah, thanks for that. I think I actually decided to go with a 2-player cabinet instead, due to size and cost. After reading the Wiki, it seems that the IPAC is the best choice of a keyboard encoder and hooking up buttons/joystik via USB. Is this correct?

Don't forget the Wiki. If you take a look through there, you will see that it's the IPAC VE that has 32 inputs (designed for a 2 player cab) whereas the IPAC 4 has 56 inputs:

The I-PAC4 is designed for 4-player panels or where large numbers of inputs are needed. It also comes in PS/2 and USB versions.

Both versions have 56 inputs and are all programmable and designated 4 joysticks, 8 buttons each plus coin 1,2,3,4 and start 1,2,3,4. Two of the inputs are assigned as shift keys to access two separate codes sets covering the player 1,2 and the player 3,4 inputs, usefull if you want to keep administrative buttons to a minimum on your control panel

[CheffoJeffo]

2) I'm having a hard time deciding how I wish to wire my controls. UltraStik 360 seems pretty awesome, allowing wiring of buttons to each joystik then USB right into a PC. Problem is they run $60+ and I'd be spending over $300 on 4 joystiks. This is way to much for me. I also considered an I-PAC USB but it only supports 32 inputs. I'm assuming 8 buttons for each joystik is good, plus 4 4-player buttons, along with the joystik. That's more then 32 inputs by far. Are there any other cheaper Joystiks that offer USB connectivity and the wiring of Buttons to each one? Do I want a 8-way or should I go with an analog? I'm mainly looking for something easy to install with easy software to setup.

Your first step here (aside from reading the Wiki and Saint's Book) is to decide what games you want to play. You listed several and all of the games you mention use 8-way joysticks. If, say, you wanted to play Donkey Kong, you really need a 4-way stick. More info in the wiki:

http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Joysticks

Don't decide on encoder (e.g. IPac, GP-Wiz, etc) until you have a good dea what controls you want (you haven't mentionned trackballs or spinners).

3) What is the cheapest/best site to buy buttons and joystiks? I tried looking on the main page but it is incredibly out of date. Also, what kind of adapters am I looking at for Dreamcast/PS2/Gamecube/Wii/Ect? I saw some for around $30 but that quickly adds up.

Depends on where you are and what you are looking for, but you can never go wrong with Ponyboy and Divemaster - they have stickied threads in the B/S/T Forum

5) I'm a little confused on the whole Monitor issue. What's the average monitor size in arcades? 27"? Should I be looking to purchase a CRT Computer Monitor or a TV of some sorts? Again, I'm trying to keep this relatively cheap, but I'm willing to spend anywhere from $200-$300 if needed.

My personal preference for arcade monitors above PCmonitors or TVs, but that can be either expensive (if you buy new) or time-consuming (repairing old). My original intention, back when I was designing my first cabinet, was to use a 25" TV and that was price-motivated. It never happened and I have used nothing but arcade monitors.

6) Any pointers before I begin this adventure? I think the first step is to set up a mock arcade controller for the PC and set it up before I actually construct the cabinet.

If you REALLY are serious about keeping things cheap (because everybody says the same thing at some point), don't be tempted to build the "one cabinet to rule them all" (and that can happen bit-by-bit as you add "just one more" component). All that cool stuff costs money. Decide in advance on controls to support a specific set of games and stick to it. That will really help control costs and you can always (and probably will) build another cabinet down the road.

Spend a lot of time looking at the Project Announcements and Wiki Examples Page, keeping the above advice in mind. Take your time doing the reseach (and it is fun research!) and you'll save yourself tons of cash and frustration.

Oh ... welcome!

Cheers

[Corbet]

^^Thanks for the ton of info.

I think I'm just going with a classic joystik/buttons cabinet. I was never really a fan of spinner/trackball games except occasional Golden Tee.

Regarding ROMs from Genesis, NES, SNES, ect.: Are there any all-in-one emulators that will make it easier to switch between systems. It'd be great to play all of these but I'd hate to have to exit to Windows and start up each program when I wanna play a game or two.

[CheffoJeffo]

What you need is the Software page of the wiki. There are a number of Front-Ends that you can use to launch into different emulators without having to drop back to Windoze.

Cheers

[Corbet]

What you need is the Software page of the wiki. There are a number of Front-Ends that you can use to launch into different emulators without having to drop back to Windoze.

Cheers

Ahh, thanks. I actually re-checked this post because I discovered front ends. What ones are regarded as the best? There seems to be way to many to try out. I'm looking for something free but if there are any that are worth paying for I'd gladly buy one.

[CheffoJeffo]

Ahh, thanks. I actually re-checked this post because I discovered front ends. What ones are regarded as the best? There seems to be way to many to try out. I'm looking for something free but if there are any that are worth paying for I'd gladly buy one.

There I won't be much help as the vast majority of my projects are repair/restorations.

I do have a current Vertical MAME project and have been looking at Mala, which I think is wonderful. I have used MAMEWah in the past with great results as well.

Cheers.

[Scumgriever]

Ahh, thanks. I actually re-checked this post because I discovered front ends. What ones are regarded as the best? There seems to be way to many to try out. I'm looking for something free but if there are any that are worth paying for I'd gladly buy one.

I spent a couple of weeks mucking around with frontends and by the sounds of things I was coming from a fairly similar position as you. (going for nice looking, simple to program and use.

I ended up choosing MaLa. It's great.

It has completely customisabe layouts with an included layout editor.

Best yet though its super easy to set up MaMe and as many other emulators you want, each can have its own layout and design if you want.

It has lots of functions that are all selecable using a windows style preferences box.

I'm running MAME for my arcade games, Zsnes for the Super nintendo, VirtuaNES for the NES, Fusion for Megadrive and master system. It supposedly does GameGear and SEGA CD too but I don't have any roms for them.  Also I'm stuffing around with a Gameboy and PSX emulator.

All through MaLa with ZERO difficulty.

For a nice touch it plays a video of the highlighted game rather than screenshots on the game selection screen

Its best feature is by far its ease of use.

[javeryh]

If you REALLY are serious about keeping things cheap (because everybody says the same thing at some point), don't be tempted to build the "one cabinet to rule them all" (and that can happen bit-by-bit as you add "just one more" component). All that cool stuff costs money. Decide in advance on controls to support a specific set of games and stick to it. That will really help control costs and you can always (and probably will) build another cabinet down the road.

This is the best advice someone can give you, IMO.  There really isn't an "all-in-one" solution that works for everything.