Author Topic: My Mame console project! (Read 6422 times)

Gatsu · « **on:** February 18, 2007, 11:16:39 pm »

I built a full cabinet before but had to sell it because I had no space in my apartments.
And since then I've been wanting another Mame cabinet...but still no space. Although...while browsing the vast interweb I stumbled across this site:
http://www.massystems.com/SuperNOVA.html

Bad part was that the only game I REALLY want a Jamma board for is still around $1200. So way too expensive.

So I'm just gonna steal the idea and use PC parts in place of the Jamma components.

My first purchase towards the campaign are some PSOne controllers Im gonna hack for the joysticks, and use some USB adapters from Play-asia.com:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=001&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=110092080142&rd=1&rd=1

And heres the adapter Im gonna use:
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-6m-49-en-70-qc2.html

The system will look more like a game console, have 4 USB ports in the front for the joysticks to plug into. It will also be easily opened for upgrading/replacing parts and whatnot.

It will use S-video, VGA and RCA outputs for video and audio. So Pc monitor or a regular television is my choice.

I'm probably gonna run Windows 98SE on it and use Mamewah as my GUI for command line Mame.

My main goal is to have it look and run somewhat like a game console instead of a PC. Thats gonna take some doing hiding Windows and whatnot. But it will be worth it I believe.

I'll be getting more parts this week and drawing up the plans for the main box.

I'll update as often as I can, and take pictures when I remember to.

Not sure what to officially title the project though. Any suggestions?

vrf · « **Reply #1 on:** February 18, 2007, 11:21:30 pm »

This is a great idea, and I wish you the best of luck. Might also be cool to hack some wireless Xbox 360 controllers so your arcade controls are wireless. No need for the USB ports, then. Just have everything inside the box.

Keep us posted!

Gatsu · « **Reply #2 on:** February 18, 2007, 11:23:40 pm »

I found motorfishes thread in the art section about his control panel overlays.

I really dug 2 of his designs so I made my own version. Taking elements I liked from both designs.
Heres page with the artwork on it:
http://dmatanski.deviantart.com/

And here's my variation based on his designs:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/Darthwesker/JoystickOverlay1copy.jpg

I like it...but I'm gonna add some game characters and probably change the colors and whatnot some more before.

Im too picky when it comes to control panel layouts....

Gatsu · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2007, 11:24:33 pm »

Quote from: vrf on February 18, 2007, 11:21:30 pm

This is a great idea, and I wish you the best of luck. Might also be cool to hack some wireless Xbox 360 controllers so your arcade controls are wireless. No need for the USB ports, then. Just have everything inside the box.

Keep us posted!

I dont think the wireless ones will work on a PC will they? If so...what would I need?

Of course I would cry if I ruined a $50 controller...

vrf · « **Reply #4 on:** February 18, 2007, 11:26:55 pm »

The wireless 360 controller is also available for Windows:

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/gaming/productdetails.aspx?pid=090

And here's a hack job of those controllers, although for the Xbox:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=63124.0

Gatsu · « **Reply #5 on:** February 18, 2007, 11:35:05 pm »

Oh man....

Thats gonna be a future upgrade for sure. If I switch or upgrade to XP that is...

Just gonna be running Win98 for now to see if I can get the project done. Then I'll probably upgrade to XP if Im happy with it.

kizer · « **Reply #6 on:** February 19, 2007, 02:24:27 am »

Just be careful with the control panel art. There is such a thing as to much. Make it to busy then its going to be hard to look at.

Gatsu · « **Reply #7 on:** February 19, 2007, 08:50:27 am »

Quote from: kizer on February 19, 2007, 02:24:27 am

Just be careful with the control panel art. There is such a thing as to much. Make it to busy then its going to be hard to look at.

Oh yeah. I try to keep my designs simple and easy to look at. Any ideas for potential artwork?
I play mostly fighting games so thats what I would want the focus to be.

Jeff AMN · « **Reply #8 on:** February 19, 2007, 10:48:33 am »

Quote from: DarthGatsu on February 19, 2007, 08:50:27 am

Quote from: kizer on February 19, 2007, 02:24:27 am
Just be careful with the control panel art. There is such a thing as to much. Make it to busy then its going to be hard to look at.

Oh yeah. I try to keep my designs simple and easy to look at. Any ideas for potential artwork?
I play mostly fighting games so thats what I would want the focus to be.

I would focus on proper placement of one or two characters per side of the panel rather than stuffing a lot into the space. I think maybe on one side you could put Ryu and Ken and on the other Akuma and M. Bison. You'd get a nice good vs. evil feel going and be using really popular and recognizable characters.

Just a suggestion...

Gatsu · « **Reply #9 on:** February 19, 2007, 11:08:12 am »

Sounds good to me. Since Im building multiple joysticks I can do that same thing with different characters from other games.

Like Terry Bogard & Kyo vs. Geese Howard & Mr. Karate

Good idea. Thanks man. Hopefully I can find some good high-res artwork. got some of the SF guys. But not much for the KOF peeps.

Gatsu · « **Reply #10 on:** February 23, 2007, 08:27:02 pm »

An UPDATE! W00t!

Got my PSOne controllers in the mail last night. 6 piranha pads total. So I've got one or two spare ones incase I screw up.

also worked on some more control panel overlay artwork. This is probably gonna be controller #1

The artwork is measured at 14 3/4" X 10". That with about 1/8" bleed for printing.

The joystick blueprint Im using is from Byrdo's joysticks:
http://www.byrdo.org/small_sanwa_blueprint.htm

once my joystick parts are ordered and my pc parts come in, I'll get all that working and then build the actual mame box the pc will fit in.

Need some ideas for a design though...want the box to be cool lookin.

Kaytrim · « **Reply #11 on:** February 23, 2007, 08:47:10 pm »

Darth,

You have some killer art skills. I really like what I see there. Good luck hacking those controllers.

TTFN

Kaytrim

Gatsu · « **Reply #12 on:** February 23, 2007, 08:49:59 pm »

hopefully shouldnt be too difficult...If push comes to shove I have a friend with better soldering skills than me.

I'll just make him do it. hehe

Gatsu · « **Reply #13 on:** February 23, 2007, 09:56:29 pm »

Took a couple of pics of the PCBs out of the controller I got to see if anyone can say how easy/hard it will be to wire this puppy.

From what I can see (in my limited experience) I think I can tell where the ground runs through all the buttons and whatnot.

Just not sure where I need to solder at.

Gatsu · « **Reply #14 on:** March 01, 2007, 04:27:27 pm »

Another update:

Received all my internal componants in the mail finally today. Won't be able to hook them up yet because the processor didn't come with a cooling fan. -_-

Anyway...here are the guts:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/Darthwesker/theGuts.jpg

Also, I worked on another control panel Overlay. Same concept as the first one. Good vs. Evil.

Lemme know what you think:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/Darthwesker/KOFOverlay.jpg

Kaytrim · « **Reply #15 on:** March 01, 2007, 04:57:48 pm »

Another blow me away CPO. Keep it up.

Kaytrim

Aurich · « **Reply #16 on:** March 01, 2007, 05:07:51 pm »

Try reading here:

http://forums.shoryuken.com/forumdisplay.php?f=177

if you want a community with more PS2 padhacking experience, BYOAC doesn't do much console stuff.

Gatsu · « **Reply #17 on:** March 01, 2007, 07:20:01 pm »

cool thanky.

Checked it out, alot of good stuff on the site. Some of the people on there are kinda ---meecrobs---...but they are everywhere I guess.

Thanks again.

I'll post more when I get things going.

Gatsu · « **Reply #18 on:** March 01, 2007, 08:08:16 pm »

Ok last update for today...I promise. lol.

Started working on another overlay and finished it. So here it is:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/Darthwesker/SSVOverlay.jpg

Kaytrim · « **Reply #19 on:** March 01, 2007, 08:15:57 pm »

Not only are you skilled you are quick.

Nice job on each of them.

TTFN

Kaytrim

Gatsu · « **Reply #20 on:** March 01, 2007, 08:21:34 pm »

thanks man. the kind words are appreciated.

Photoshop is where I live pretty much. lol.

If you ever need any graphics done, lemme know.

Kaytrim · « **Reply #21 on:** March 01, 2007, 09:36:50 pm »

I might have a job for you.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=60917.0 I got one response on this but have heard nothing since from the first responder. Take a look at that and my other threads in my sig then shoot me a PM, thanks.

TTFN

Kaytrim

bfauska · « **Reply #22 on:** March 01, 2007, 10:36:28 pm »

That artwork is great. I really like the two cp system your building. I am kind of going the same way. But I am using 1 GPwiz for both controllers, it means that I have to daisy chain them but I don't think I'll mind, I am making it so that I can remove the player 2 controller from the chain and still play 1 player games with out the extra cable.

Later,
Brian

NiteWalker · « **Reply #23 on:** March 03, 2007, 04:13:39 am »

I love that KOF art. The samsho 5 one is nice too, but the KOF one rocks. You should do something from last blade 2...

I may get a few more of those pirannah controllers too. They're very easy to hack.

Would you mind measuring the cord for me? I think it had one of the longest cords way back.
Your art skills are really nice. I may hire you sometime for an overlay I'm working on.

Gatsu · « **Reply #24 on:** March 17, 2007, 11:33:56 pm »

Sorry for the wait between posts...have hit a few large walls along the way so far and have had to focus on other things.

1st thing:) the first parts I ordered didn't work. Well at least the motherboard didn't. So I need to get a new MB and RAM. Because the ram I've got now wont fit into anything newer....

Since that didn't work, I've gotta wait for more parts...problem is...newer parts = bigger expense. And I don't have the cash to buy newer stuff at the moment.

So I've gotta wait. grrrr....and I cant really design the case until I get the guts put tgether.

So I'm stuck...

Oh well. Means that I can do more research and get more fine details worked out.

I'll post again when the parts come in and I've made some progress.

4Aaron GE · « **Reply #25 on:** March 18, 2007, 10:55:04 pm »

Hey, just saw your thread. Those are some great looking CPs there. One question though, what's with the second power supply in your guts photo?

Gatsu · « **Reply #26 on:** March 22, 2007, 01:43:30 pm »

its a back up power supply incase the 1st doesn't work. I bought all the parts 2nd hand.

Ended up only the motherboard didnt work.

I've got the new Motherboard and ram in and have it all hooked up. So I'll be configuring it all tonight hopefully.

Then tomorrow Im buying the wood and supplies for building the case and I should hopefully have something solid to show off by Monday. We'll see though.

Gatsu · « **Reply #27 on:** March 26, 2007, 02:34:05 pm »

w00t w00t! Its Monday and I have a pretty solid update. Though no pics sadly.

The guts of the console are 95% ready to rock. I've got the system booting straight into the front-end software and customized to my liking. I just need to order my USB adapters and make sure all the button inputs are configured and will stay configured.

They do on my personal PC...so they probably will in this case as well.

I'm pretty happy with the progress so far. The guts were the biggest stresser. Now the rest will be fun and somewhat easy.

I'll probably buy the wood tomorrow or wednesday and work on it during the week or over the weekend. I'll take pictures.

The front end I'm using is GameEx. It only works with XP, but I found a copy of XP Pro I had laying around. So it all worked in the end.

Thats it for now. I'll keep you all posted.

Kaytrim · « **Reply #28 on:** March 26, 2007, 02:58:40 pm »

Good to hear Darth. I can't wait to see this really start to take shape.

Kaytrim

Gatsu · « **Reply #29 on:** August 01, 2007, 01:09:15 pm »

yeesh....life jumps in the way in some crazy ways.

I managed to get all of my PC hardware working and configured finally. Some of you may be dissapointed to hear...and I am to a degree....that I cheaped out and bought a pre-made mini-pc case to use for now.

I bought some wood...drew out the plans, measured twice, cut....started to assemble...and nothing fit together how I imagined it.

So just to get it up and going so I have something to play on I bought a cheap-o mini pc case.

In a month or so I'll redraw my plans out and try again. But for now my custom case idea has been defeated. lol.

I'll post pictures later on when I get home from work if anyone is interested.

ARTIFACT · « **Reply #30 on:** August 03, 2007, 12:43:19 am »

great stuff!!

good luck with the project

Gatsu · « **Reply #31 on:** August 03, 2007, 09:08:47 am »

thanky...

I feel guilty now for using a PC case instead of custom building one....but maybe I can paint/modify the case some to make it my own.

hmmm...

Malenko · « **Reply #32 on:** August 03, 2007, 09:20:47 am »

I like the idea, but I dont get your button layout. With all the SNK and capcom games (and themes) why not the standard 7 button layout?

shardian · « **Reply #33 on:** August 03, 2007, 10:01:20 am »

On those gamepads, trace down which button goes to which solder point - the little circles on the pad in the pic. Once you have mapped all of the solder points, wiring will be EASY.

Gatsu · « **Reply #34 on:** August 03, 2007, 10:42:39 am »

Quote from: Malenko on August 03, 2007, 09:20:47 am

I like the idea, but I dont get your button layout. With all the SNK and capcom games (and themes) why not the standard 7 button layout?

Meh...i just personally don't care for the 7 button layouts. If I do a custom stick for someone I will if they want it. But on my own I don't care for it. I just use the first 2 buttons on each row for SNK games.

Timoe · « **Reply #35 on:** August 08, 2007, 02:52:42 pm »

Your art is tight. I like it when people incorporate the controls into their CPOs. Like joystick arrows and button labels.

Nice

Gatsu · « **Reply #36 on:** August 13, 2007, 09:55:17 am »

when soldering to the PCB....would it be easier to drill a small hole at each solder point and then solder on the edge of the hole on the back side of the pcb?

Or would that not be a good idea. I saw it done on one guys project and it seemed to work.

not sure if it will work in my case. Anything to make soldering a little easier.

Kaytrim · « **Reply #37 on:** August 13, 2007, 10:22:31 am »

I've heard it both ways Darth. most people carefully scrape down to the metal where they are going to solder. I remember reading that there is one pad out there that had holes already pre-drilled by the manufacturer and he used those. IMHO I would keep the drill put away for this task. Just break out a razor knife or xacto and be careful.

TTFN

Gatsu · « **Reply #38 on:** August 13, 2007, 10:41:27 am »

I am much better with an exacto than a drill. lmao.

I shall stick to that then.

KenToad · « **Reply #39 on:** August 13, 2007, 10:53:10 am »

Well, I would say go for the drilling. It's much more secure if you drill at the edge of the contact point after you have scraped off the covering stuff. Just drill slowly and use a drill you're comfortable with and you should have no problem. Then, you can push the pretinned wires through and soldering becomes a snap and it becomes a whole lot less likely that the wires will pull off the metal of the contact point after an accidental tug.

It's looking good. I'd like to see more pics of what you've done so far.

Kaytrim · « **Reply #40 on:** August 13, 2007, 11:03:11 am »

Darth,

Here is a good source for the information you are looking for when it comes to hacking game pads. LINK

Gatsu · « **Reply #41 on:** August 13, 2007, 11:36:01 am »

oh awesome. thanky muchly. That'll come in handy for sure.

Gatsu · « **Reply #42 on:** August 16, 2007, 09:01:19 am »

Well finally...a real update for once.

I've got the first joystick cut out. Just gotta trim it down a little, sand, router, assemble, paint and wire.

Wooooo! Getting closer.

Here's the artwork Im gonna use:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/Darthwesker/SilentHillOverlay_web.jpg

Since its Silent Hill I want a rusty, worn look. Gonna get that Krylon "Hammered Metal finish" and then go over that with some dark red, black and brown. Maybe some blood spatters.

Wouldn't mind some ideas on what would be cool to add for that "finishing touch".

I've got photos that I'll post tonight when I get home from work.


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