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Deep 6: A scratch built Galaga variation (UPDATED 09.17.12)

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Aurich:
I'm not one for long ass progress threads that detail every step, but I really gained a lot from other people doing just that over the years, so this is my attempt to give back. I'm deep into my build, nothing here will drag on for months. I'll try and get my thoughts and philosophies out, feel free to skip if you just want pictures, I won't be offended. :)

This is my second cabinet build from scratch. My first was a horizontal cab built around a 25" TV. It had some touches I liked, but overall it was more of a learning experience and I finally decided to scrap it and do a new one that I was happier with. I always said if I built another cab it would be with a real arcade monitor, and a vertical one at that. In my mind the vertical games are the last refuge of the true arcade experience. No home console can rock it properly (the odd tated Dreamcast game etc aside). In this era of 16x9 TVs there's something satisfying about a true vertical monitor.

I love the Galaga cabinets, but I'm not really a stickler for tradition. In my mind the home arcade scene is a lot like the classic car scene, people working on and restoring things that bring back memories of their youth or just the urge to mash the gas/joystick properly with their own style. In that vein this cabinet is a kustom car, based on a classic design, but without fear of chopping the top and adding modern touches.

The cab is called Deep 6 and has a slight underwater theme with an octopus mascot. The goal was to create a look that evoked a real game, something you'd never seen but wondered how you missed. I personally hate MAME logos, frankenpanels, blatant admin buttons, classic character collages, and anything else that detracts from the "real" cabinet look. So that was the driving theme as I tweaked the Galaga look.

First up was upgrading to a 25" monitor. This is primarily a classics/shmups cab, and I wanted the full in your face look. Anyone who's played the 25" anniversary Galaga/Ms Pac-Man knows that it's a pain to see the monitor in those cabs though. A couple of tweaks fixed that. First I bumped the angle of the monitor up. It's still leaning way back, but the higher angle helps a lot. Secondly, and more important, was to chop the top and cut the marquee from 9" down to 6". This makes a drastic improvement in the viewing angle and allows you to see the top of the monitor with ease. It also gives the cab a leaner, more modern look. In addition I added a couple inches to the depth and one to the height of the actual cabinet to give me a little more working space.

The marquee and other artwork are all original and my designs. Scott at Mamemarquees did my printing, and I'm very pleased with the results. Paying for the premium marquee paid off in spades, it's beautiful backlit, unlike my first cab's which washed out and look crummy lit. Definitely recommend it. I'll post some backlit pictures, but it's hard to photograph how nice it looks in person.

This post is getting too long for anyone to want to read, so on to a couple mockup pictures to kick things off and I'll keep making updates with other details.

My original mockup sketch in Photoshop, established my overall look and color scheme:



A closer look at the marquee:



And an attempt to photograph the real thing backlit. I'm a graphic designer, not a photographer, best I was able to get with my little point and shoot. It doesn't wash out at all in person.

Aurich:
I'll post more pics of the control panel later, it's complete, but first I wanted to get into a mod I did for it that might interest other folks. The sticks on the cab are Ultrastik 360's, which if you weren't aware are basically Andy modifying Sanwa JLWs. So the optional restrictor plates (gates) you can order from him are just the round and square Sanwa JLWs gates. Sanwa also makes another stick, the JLF, which uses a different gate system. One option for the JLF is an octagon gate, which offers a notch for all 8 directions and a nice tight, short throw. If you think about the versatile uses for the Ultrastiks an octagon gate makes a lot of sense. You can feel the cardinals when playing Pac-Man without getting an overly notchy feel that can mess up a shmup or a fighter. You can feel the diagonals for Q*Bert, etc etc. I love it in Robotron personally (ya, it's a vertical cab, we'll get into the handful of horizontal games I had to have still later).

Unfortunately the JLF gates don't fit the the JLW. Nothing a little work with some clippers and a drill can't solve.  >:D

Here's the two gate styles side by side. You can see the holes I drilled and where I had to hack off some plastic tabs to make it fit:



You just need to do some eyeballing and lining up and make marks with a marker to get the holes right. It takes a little tweaking and fiddling, but it's not that hard. The new gate is a little thicker, but Andy says it shouldn't matter.

After modding it mounts on the PCB.:



Now this is going to screw up all your maps, you're going to need some much tighter grids until this is officially supported, the size is off. Andy has ordered his own gates after I sent him the info and is looking into what it would take to make an official solution. No saying it will happen of course. If you need help with maps PM me or I can start a thread with more info.

I'm currently evaluating the stock loose springs vs the new medium springs with these gates. Haven't decided which I like yet.

blueznl:
Where are the rest of the images?

patrickl:
Did you finish the sides already?

Aurich:
Haha, you guys are impatient, it's a good thing this wasn't just a Photoshop announcement.  :P Yes, the sides are finished, the cabinet is built.

I'll post more pics, the truth is I'm not the type to document as I go, I really don't have many photos of in progress stuff. The control panel is done for instance, but I've never photographed it. I'll try and find time to do that today.

I think by now everyone knows how to build a Galaga cab anyways. This was a typical block and glue build with a nailgun. I made my own adjustments to the angles, speaker placement etc, but nothing overly crazy beyond the changes I already mentioned. You can see how the speakers are in the angled back piece rather than pointing down from the marquee area in my mockup and the photo below (the pattern of holes in the MDF).

A recent in progress shot:



I promise I'll post more, I just got motivated last night based on my progress to start an announcement finally. All that's really left is paint at this point, but it might take a few weeks, I'm spraying automotive paint with an HVLP gun, and I'm still acquiring some of the specialized pigments and sorting out some issues with my air compressor. The base coat is probably close to 85% complete at this point.

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