Pre-build questions

[crummy]

I'm about to work on my second machine (first one was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants bartop) but I have some questions I'm curious about.

- In some MAME cabinets I've seen linked, there are no screws whatsoever on the top of the control panel. How is the Lexan/Plexiglass held down to the control panel wood? Are the two layers simply attached by the controls screwing them on together?

- I purchased a 27" TV off Craigslist, and it's pretty heavy - nearly 100lbs. Currently I'm working on plans modified from Lusid's, but I'm a little worried that the monitor shelf may not hold the weight forever. I see some people have built an actual frame out of 2x4 or something similar - would this be recommended for a 100lb monitor?

- With my previous cabinet I went with a 2x3 button layout, Street Fighter style. I see a lot of people go for the extra seventh button for NeoGeo games, and I wouldn't mind doing that, except I'm not sure how I would configure MAME for this. Would I need to manually configure each NeoGeo game to use the extra key?

Thanks, this forum has been a *huge* source of inspiration and advice for me. Appreciate it!

[javeryh]

1.  The bezels around the buttons and the t-molding should hold it in place.

2.  I think plywood is sufficient to hold just about any monitor - just bolt it in and you shouldbe good to go.

3.  I don't know... maybe but then again I'm sure someone has written a batch file or something similar to configure everything at once. How many Neo-Geo games are there?  It's a pain but probably wouldn't be that bad to do one by one...

[crummy]

Awesome, thanks for the information.

I'm looking at the u360 after hearing so much positive noise about it. Is there a way to have a frontend automatically choose certain profiles based on the selected game (e.g. load Pacman, and my frontend automatically tells the u360 to choose 4 way mode)?

[Green Giant]

Yes, one of the plugins for mala looks at the controls.ini file and assigns the proper joystick type to the U360.  You will never know it switches and will never have to know the type of joystick required for a game.

As for the heavy tv, just place some 2x2's under the tv shelf for a little extra bracing.  The sides will be plenty strong enough to support the tv, just add one or two braces directly under the tv .

[crummy]

Next question: I see many, many cabinets with coin slots, though it seems that most don't use them. Is there any reason people have them other than authenticity?

Edit: And another one. Is there a reason most people seem to hand paint their cabinets instead of spraypainting them? I would imagine this would be a far easier option (and it's what I did on my first cabinet).

[javeryh]

Next question: I see many, many cabinets with coin slots, though it seems that most don't use them. Is there any reason people have them other than authenticity?

Edit: And another one. Is there a reason most people seem to hand paint their cabinets instead of spraypainting them? I would imagine this would be a far easier option (and it's what I did on my first cabinet).

1.  Coin doors are for authenticity but a lot of parents such as myself use it as a way to limit a kid's play time. I usually hand out $5 in quarters and say play as long as it lasts.  It also forces the new generation to get better at the classics!

2.  I think people use rollers and brushes because they don't have access to sprayers and the right tools... at least that's why I painted mine by hand.

[Spaz Monkey]

Never thought about the parental thing and I don't want to get high of the spraycan vapors.

[u_rebelscum]

- With my previous cabinet I went with a 2x3 button layout, Street Fighter style. I see a lot of people go for the extra seventh button for NeoGeo games, and I wouldn't mind doing that, except I'm not sure how I would configure MAME for this. Would I need to manually configure each NeoGeo game to use the extra key?

This one of the uses of the ctrlr files.  Try looking in the mame\ctrlr folder*, at either the hotrodse.cfg or xarcade file.  Notice the system name=default, and the system name=neogeo?  The default applies to all games, and the neogeo applies to games in the neogeo.c driver.

The ctrlr files can apply inputs on 4 levels: default (all), driver, parent & clones, individual games.  If you do this, just make sure they are listed in the file in that order.  Any questions, please ask.


*The mame binary has these files; doesn't look like the mame32 binary does though.  Mame source doesn't either.  Not sure about other variations.