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The Ghost in the Machine Mark II - New, Cleaner Sketchup Available

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weisshaupt:
Warning: This project will take as long or longer for me to build than PixelHugger's Mission control..



Unfortunately I am forbidden to ever build a cabinet ever again by my wife, so instead I did a bit of virtual building..
This has most of the design features of Ghost in the machine with the following improvements:

1. Concentric Circle Panels allowing the CP to support 4 players without being stupidly large
2. An angled place for the "top" to sit, to further ensure it can't tip backward (on the current machine I had to install a bracket to ensure this wouldn't happen)
3. A Lazy Susan for rotating the monitor (and possibly moving to the chain and sprocket on outside edge)
4. 24 inch CCFLs for more even  etched marquee illumination
5. Bottom lighting for front of panels allowing the deletion of the big bulky doors (I tried this with 1/4 inch plexi, and it works great- scuff up the bottom of the acrylic over the CCFL, and put silver duct tape on the top, cover with vinyl. - This design uses 1/8 in plexi - so there is an experiment left to perform)
6. Door that opens below panel doors to allow easier access to panel storage (The current machine requires you open the storage drawer and then open the panel door or one gets in the way of the other)
7. Compact, more "woody" and "evolution" like design
8. Improved storage with vertical racks and enough room for a twisty grip.
9. Lighter top section

Cons:
1) Much more complex panel and rail design, with more surfaces that have to be kept perfectly clean during assembly (or the light will show that they are not)
2) Going to 4 player mode requires removal and insertion of panels

I welcome any comments that any of you might offer. I've already had my share of DOH! moments because I waited to unveil the Ghost till I was done. In particular I welcome CP art ideas. I want to do everything etched again, but this time I will probably pay to have the panels lazer cut and etched if I ever execute this. On Ghost, I tried to theme the panels with Asteroids, but in the end, each panel was its own theme and I think it hurt the overall look. If someone can come up with something really clever that can be spread across multiple panels and placed in any order and still look really cool, please let me know. Right know I am contemplating a "armor attack" vehicles driving in a "Maze" of buildings (which of course do NOT span panels) , where the buildings are more spread out, and vehicles from various other games are used as well as the original Armor Attack vehicles.

I want to build this, but I have to convince my wife to let me build again.. in the meantime, I would love some feedback on this design. What should be removed, what should be added etc. I would like to have this pretty well mapped out by the time my wife lets me implement again so it won't take the 1.5 years that Ghost took.
 If however, anyone has the inclination to build this, or something similar, long before I do , the full sketchup file for the cabinet can be downloaded here:

http://myfreefilehosting.com/f/3bee78ead7_4.64MB

or from the Google 3D warehouse
http://sketchup.google.com:80/3dwarehouse/download?mid=f4c4aeca3b62a9003249765cb22f9604&rtyp=s6&fn=GhostintheMachineMarkII&ctyp=sm

and Sketchup (the free Google CAD program) can be downloaded here:
http://sketchup.google.com/




Here is what the 4 player layout will look like:

WaRpEd:
I like the overall design.
2 things come to mind more room in the toe kick area on the front.
Also either a fan or good ventilation for the monitor area to move air away from the front.
Is the back of the cabinet angled or straight?

weisshaupt:

--- Quote from: WaRpEd on February 19, 2008, 10:26:06 pm ---I like the overall design.
2 things come to mind more room in the toe kick area on the front.
Also either a fan or good ventilation for the monitor area to move air away from the front.
Is the back of the cabinet angled or straight?

--- End quote ---

Hi WaRpEd,

Thanks for the feedback. However, I don't understand the toekick comment. Do you mean making more of a panel overhang? Or just making the base deeper? Its an LCD based cab, so  the base is only 18 inches deep or so. The Back is angled...



I didn't place Fans into the model yet, as I was unsure where to put them. The PC sits high up on a shelf, still in its case, right behind the CP (its there in the picture on the shelf above the sub).  I figure the Top of the unit will act as a chimney funneling heat up.  I don't know if I will need active cooling, or just a vent near the PC shelf and another on top to start a convection flow..  Thoughts?




Is your main concern heat from the LCD monitor (which I would think would be small) or from the PC?

Bender:
Man That is some impressive sketch up work!!  :applaud:
Nice Design too!

Hope You get to build it
I'd love to see the finished product

WaRpEd:
Hey weiss
The first render was a 3/4 view and didn't show the side profile well.
My concern was the wear and tear on the bottom of the cabinet people tend to shift around during a game and possibly scratch the paint.

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