Need help with outlining how to construct an arcade (newbie)

[ATWindsor]

Hello, I'm looking to build my on arcade, however I'm pretty new to this so I need to sort out some general questions so I can start planning the build. Let me first tell about my plans:

It's not going to be a special Arcade in any way, just a more or less normal looking one. It will be my first and only arcade in the house, so it probably needs to be a bit of a multipurpose machine. I'm building the main thing myself, however I think the art, and the control-panel is abit out of my league, so I'm porbably going to get art from mame-marquess, and buy a control panel. So to the questions about the general outline of the project.

1. The order of things. I was thinking of ordering a control panel, building the main thing (to be sure that the control panel fits). Taking measurments, and getting the art, and then apply it. Does that seem to be a sensible order?

2. General shape: Are there any that are better than others in this regard, when it comes to practicality? Visually I find a shape something like the Neon Mame the nicest one (http://www.knievelkustoms.com/neonmame2.jpg), or possbile something like the Ultimate arcade II (http://www.mameroom.com/webstore/images/A_UAII_Main.jpg) if thats a more convinient shape.

3. Monitor: In many cases the hardest choiche, I have a regular 28 inch CRT TV (actually not that regular, since it doesn't have a tuner, and more inputs than normal, and a plexi or something plate in front of the actual monitor-part)  wich I could use, but it has three main drawbacks as I can see: Size and cooling, they are pretty deep, and I don't know how much oom the really need in the back for cooling. Refresh-rate: 50 Hz is a pain. Future-proofing: what if the  TV dies, where can I get something similar in the future?

LCD has two main drawbacks: To sharp for old games, and most importantly, monitors that are bigger than laugably small has 16:9 Wich is not very good for a prject like this. So any feedback on the monitor-choiche is greatly appriciated.

4. Control panel: Before I was going with a silkstick classic panel or similar. But we all (?) know about the the situation with SS. So i have to reconsider. But the SS-panel looks very nice in it's layout and functionality, so something that can be pre-bought of similar setup would be very nice. However this might pose a problem with art, If I'm going to get the art last, some CP-manufacturers have the art included in the price. I tried to get a hold of mamemarquees to ask if one could just get the art later in such a case (since they already know the size and all that of the CP), but I didn't find a e-mail and they don't seem to answer on the message-board.

5. Art: Here I just need some inspiration. I like some games, but it seems a bit strange to me to have an emulator-based machin with just art from a single game on it. So I was thinking about a futurama-based theme, since I love the show, and the Future technology, cartoony"-style goes well with my perception of arcade machines However do you think I would regret going for a non-gaming-theme like that?

I hope somebody can take the time to give me some input and food for tought, so I can get the project started.

AtW

[Jdurg]

Just a suggestion here, but building the CP will teach you a LOT about woodworking and will also help you troubleshoot any problems you might have later down the line.  I had ZERO, ZILCH, NADA woodworking knowledge before I started on my cab, and thanks to having my CP nearly fully built right now I feel very comfortable with using tools.  It teaches you how to use saws, routers, drills, planars, etc.  Granted, it does look like a first time builder put it together, but that's what putty and paint are for.   

The other good thing is that you can then custom build the rest of your cabinet to fit your CP to ensure a smooth fit.  That's what I'm doing.  The CP is being built first, then the cab will be built.  I'm building the cab in two parts.  The first part is the bottom that I'm building right up to where the top of the CP will sit.  This way I can move it up from my basement into my game room without any issues with regards to "fit".  The top will be, obviously, the top half of the cabinet and I'll build both halves with 2x4 reinforcements and where they meet I will use pretty hefty bolts in order to secure it together.  Artwork will cover the external seam.

[ATWindsor]

Thanks for the tip. Concerning the CP, it's not really the woodworking that concerns me. But rather all the cabling and stuff. And it doesn't really seems like its that much cheaper to buy parts and build it yorself. And a finished product has a nice finish.

AtW

[DeLuSioNal29]

Have you taken a look at www.arcadesrfun.com ?  The owner, Jack, is a great guy and offers great support.

I got my empty panel from there and then put the parts in myself.  He installed the printed overlay from Mamemarquees.com and dealt with them directly.

He also offers fully assembled control panels as well, just like Slikstik used to.

Hope this helped.

~ DeLuSioNaL

[somunny]

Someone wrote an entire book based on building your own arcade machine. 

Project Arcade

[ATWindsor]

Yeah, Arcades are fun or JJ's custom arcade is the two places I have seen that have controllers tha appeal to me most. JJ's have the old slikstik-CPs, and also som CPs that looks exactly like SS-CPs but woth a diffrent name. And the arcades are fun-CPs also look pretty similar. (although the example on the page has some artwork that is a bit distracting to me ). So at them moment this are my to alternatives for supplying the CP.

Somunny: Have you read the book? Do you know if its any help answering the questions I have? I planning on sorting aout the details of the building at a later stage, this is more to get a rough outline of the project, and to plan the building from there.

AtW

[Jdurg]

I own the book and it is basically an encyclopedia for those like me who never worked on an arcade cabinet before.  It is WELL worth the $15 or $20 I spent on it.

[CheffoJeffo]

Another recommendation for Project Arcade (I have two copies, neither of which have not been returned by the folks that I lent them to when they asked about building their own cabs).

Also, don't forget the wiki and to review Project Announcements for work that others have done.

 

[javeryh]

I can also recommend the book.  It's a must-read if you are thinking about building an arcade machine. 

Also, if you are planning on building the cabinet you should also build the control panel.  If you can do one you can do the other.  I never wired a single thing in my life and it is by far the easiest part of building arcade machines, IMO.  It's really just running a wire from point A to point B - no soldering or anything. 

As for your other questions... everything is up to you.  It depends on what games you want to play, what type of budget you have and what is generally appealing to you.  Just READ everything you can here, look at as many project examples as you can and PLAN before you buy or start building.  Good luck!   

[Avrus]

I spent almost 2 full months planning, and I wish I had spent 3.

Having really zero experience at building anything, I found it to be a very fun (albeit time consuming) project.

[JDGJr]

I own the book and it is basically an encyclopedia for those like me who never worked on an arcade cabinet before.  It is WELL worth the $15 or $20 I spent on it.

buy the book!

i picked it up *after* completing my first cabinet and still learned enough to justify the price. It'll give you all the background and the step-by-step to allow you to figure out what you can (and want) to do. take your time, have fun, and don't worry about having to do things more than once.