What do you think of my arcade cabinet design?

[fjl]

All right, I'm just starting this whole build your own arcade cabinet thing. This is of course just a mock view of my model. Ignore the controls for now since they are still a WIP(work in progress).

But I'd like to hear your wisdom on why this would or would not be a good design for an arcade cabinet. So far I want it to be this shape. The controls will remain the same size as I do not plan to add in a CP that will stick out from the sides. I want it all to fit into the size of the cabinet. so far it is, 28" wide, 75" tall and 43" deep. The controls will be about 40 inches up which I perhaps plan to lower a bit. Anyways give me feedback! 

[leapinlew]

it'll work!

I'd possibly recommend tilting the screen back a bit.

[fjl]

I'm definitely going to have it tilt back. Perhaps about 15 degrees. But do you think 28" minus the size of the cabinet walls will be enough space for two joystick configuration with a trackball?

And should I have to make the bottom heavier somehow to prevent the machine from tilting over? With the monitor being towards the top, I would think this would make tilting it over quite easy.

[leapinlew]

you can easily make it heavier on the bottom - at any point by adding weight. I'd see how it does. If the base is wide enough it won't be an issue. Here is a picture of my 26" control panel:



It's a little deeper than yours, but you can see there is plenty of room.

[fjl]

Is that 26" including the side walls or just the CP board itself? And when you play with others, do you find yourself bumping into your neighbor cause the controls are too close or something?

[leapinlew]

no, 26" is plenty. My previous CP was 22.5" and it was too small. the 26" includes just the CP width.

[pointdablame]

26" should be big enough for a simple layout like that.

I'd highly recommend grabbing a piece of cardboard and mocking up a panel.  It's the best way to see if its comfortable for you.  Slap on some controls and play test them for a few minutes to see.  Even if you don't have the controls yet, you can get a decent idea about whether it will work or not.

[Sensei]

My cab is exactly 28" across and its perfect for two players.

(Far enough for elbow room yet close enough to push your competitor if he's beating you).

I agree with Pointdablame...spend a lot of time planning out your control panel.  This will make your cab a joy to play on or a frustrating game of arm twister.
I noticed on your cab plans that you have buttons on each side of the players joystick.  This may make gameplay difficult (especially if you're playing a fighting game).

Apart from that....your cab looks....well.....it looks like mine 

Just my $0.02 worth.
Good Luck.

[fjl]

Can I see a pic of your CP? And no, I don't have buttons on both sides. What you are seeing are the larger square parts that stick out underneath the joysticks.

My CP is by no means complete since I am reading and viewing many other people's CPs and taking many things into consideration. Here is a pic of what I have been playing with so far. The top one was my original idea. The bottom one is what I've been modifying and tinkering with. I plan to move the trackball down some. I kind of like the bottom one since tilting the buttons like I did should get the players to position themselves a bit more spread out from each other. What do you think? And yes I am going by real life sizes of the buttons, trackball and joystick.

[javeryh]

No spinner or 4-way?  I like your 7 button layout but honestly, I'd just copy the Project Arcade layout for a Mame cab designed to play as many games as possible (but add the 7th button to each player).  Also, maybe you could move the admin buttons off of your CP altogether and install them underneath the monitor or something to save some space.  I wish I had your computer skills - I actually made 3 control panels on for my last cab before I settled on a design I liked!  Keep the ideas coming!

[fjl]

Project Arcade Layout? Don't think I've seen that. Link please?

And I plan to get the Supers or the more expensive 360 Joysticks since those can do either 4 way or 8 way. Should I do that or just go for a third 4 way joystick as well?