What's the percentage of people who start and never finish an arcade cab?

[javeryh]

Do you think it is more than 50%?  The reason I'm asking is because a friend of mine saw my cab and wanted to build his own.  He bought some materials and some parts but then didn't want to take the time to learn anything and he never really got anywhere.  I'm just wondering if this is a common occurrence...

[Numbski]

What is this "finished" you speak of?

 

[Ginsu Victim]

Who is truly ever "finished" with theirs?

There is always something to change or add or take away.

Just when I think I'm done, it pulls me back in!

[RayB]

Probably a large percent. I bet for every guy who visits this site, there's at least one other guy, or two or three or more who don't visit sites like this and just have their project sitting doing nothing. I got a gutted cocktail for a friend. He's done nothing with it.

[Franco B]

What is this "finished" you speak of?

 

Must be foreign

I've got about five projects on the go at the moment, I really should concentrate on one but I get too excited and end up bitting and bobbing on each one. I really must carry on with Pinky though, that's the only one with a real deadline at present.

I'm lucky as I have a lot of free time to work on projects but I can imagine it being hard if you only have a little time here and there and the project could get pushed to the side. Saying that I know some of you guys only have a little time and you still pump out the goods. I suppose it depends on how much you want it.

[waveryder]

Finished.....maybe in the next life!
One's thing for sure i've seen absolutely loads of incomplete "Betty" clones on ebay. Minus artwork or only 5 buttons (whats that about??). There was even one with an Xarcade slapt on the front and the original CP chasis sawn off. My favourite one though was painted with "magnolia" emulsion paint.    
Some people just dont wanna take the time to learn. Lets face it though this whole hobbys about the "building". If it was just about the games we'd all only have one cab!

[fatfingers]

Never is a long time.

[Martijn]

i think ill give up to.. its going nowhere 

[G1zm0]

i started converting 2 cabs and built a mini one in feb 08, still not got them completed, some software issues and with this uk weather its to dam cold to sit in a garage and do them.

hopefully will get 1 done by xmas.

[Martijn]

when i read through the topics of project announcements, i read a lot of people who start, and then never heard of again. or they quit or it went horrible ugly, or they don't feel like posting again.

i learned i need a lot of funds for a first time cap, i bought so many wrong items, i could almost build a second cab with these crap items 

[emb]

I am at a standstill with mine until I graduate this December and buy a house. Then I will probably finish mine up.  But then again.... I have been working on my cabinet for almost 2 years now half-built (but still playable) 

[Visitor Q]

Seems to me a project like this is never done.

[Martijn]

I am at a standstill with mine until I graduate this December and buy a house. Then I will probably finish mine up.  But then again.... I have been working on my cabinet for almost 2 years now half-built (but still playable) 

wasnt there a rule not to make it playable before you finish it till at least 99% 

[javeryh]

Well, of course you can say you are never truly done with all the computer upgrades and tinkering you can do over time but I would consider a project "finished" if it can be played by strangers with little or no help, there's no need to constantly bust out the keyboard or change settings and the cabinet is in a location where it can actually be played.  

[MAME TIME]

I agree with javeryh, If you can have a stranger powerup your machine and play it without any issues i consider it done. In which case i have 2 that are completly done and i mean done. Working on my third which is a blast
http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/qq128/mrshplooga/100_0236.jpg
i dont know whats more fun? building them or playing them. When people come over and start playing i allways find myself sitting back and watching people enjoy themselves, thinking this is what its all about. Anyways sry for the rambling

[vputz]

I'd wager it's similar to the proportion of people who start a cab, get to excited about seeing it working, get the controls working, and then say "um... it's way more fun to play with this than it is to make it look good..."

(that's why I went with just a CP and FINISHED it before ever connecting wires.  Small but achievable goals!)

[Jack Burton]

My first attempt will probably never be finished.  It was an absolute abomination.

But my second cab is "finished" in that a stranger could come up and power it on and play games with no help.  It still has a bezel made from a piece of cardboard box though.

[RandyT]

Well, of course you can say you are never truly done with all the computer upgrades and tinkering you can do over time but I would consider a project "finished" if it can be played by strangers with little or no help, there's no need to constantly bust out the keyboard or change settings and the cabinet is in a location where it can actually be played. 

Heh, I'm not so sure I buy into this definition.  This just identifies the state of software configuration, not the cabinet overall. 

I'd say it was finished when it works well enough for you, or whatever purpose you have in mind, and refuse to put more money into it or work on it any longer.  By that definition, I'd say that most people "finish" their cabinets.

The definition would be much different if one were building a cabinet for someone else.

RandyT

[Todd H]

That's why the computer is the last part I'm installing in my cabinet. If I install it early on in the build process, I'll never get it done because I'll be too busy playing games.

[pinballwizard79]

Some of us are the opposite.

There are a lot of people in here with a half dozen to maybe dozens of completed arcades under their belt.

Damn, times goes by....I got into this hobby about 4-5 years ago.

Back than I wasnt nearly the dork I am today either.

Run now while you can,

wait its too late, you are in a homemade arcade forum just like me. 

[bradx]

heh, i know i scared my wife when i declared my intention to build a cab last november.  at least i didnt go out and start buying wood right away, first i did all the online research i could and then ordered the parts to build half the control panel.  had to get some drill bits, saws, etc.  and built a test controller just to play the games.  i've made so many mistakes so far i'm really glad i didnt just start chopping wood right away or i'd have a big ugly piece of sh1t to remind me what an idiot i am all the time.  instead i waited and did things slowly, learned from my mistakes and even have a couple friends who are gonna chip in so i can get this thing built, maybe by this time next year it'll be complete! 

[Paul Olson]

I just never seem to have time to work on it while school is going. I'm hoping to finally finish my driving panels over winter break. I will probably never finish because I keep changing things. I had 2 360 wheels working great for offroad and super sprint, so of course I had to tear it all up to accommodate a 3rd wheel. It will be fun when I finally get it done though.  I do have a lot of it done and I can play most of the games in MAME, but I always get stuck on the few that I can't.

[fjl]

You can add me into the percentage. I started but have yet to finish. All I've gotten done was a crappy joystick. But this doesn't mean I've given up completely. I'm still gonna get it done. I'm just looking forward to buying a pick-up truck so I can start hauling some of the wood home. Hopefully soon.

Besides if I had given up completely, I wouldn't even visit these forums anymore.

[Bluedeath]

now is 5 years (if not more) tah i entered in the "arcade tunnel".
I was going to build a "starfighter" cab fron scratch, but i had to give up and switch to standanole panels.
I was so, lucky tha a friend of mine need to get rid of a cab around march of this year so he gave it to me.
I started working on it last month (my wife halped me to clean it).
i think that maybe is not that 50% of the arcade cabs see the light but surely (unless you work for an arcade rentals) the progress on them is very slow.

Anyhow i will build for sure a standalone starfighter cab with "movie accurate" controls someday.

[Blanka]

CBS researched it in 2007 under 23010 home arcade builders and they found out 72.37% never finished it.
Of the 23010 were 868 woman, and of them 302 finished the cab.
In 65% of the unfinished cabs, the builder blames the wife for not finishing, 2% blames the husband, 10% is about money and 8% stops because of two left hands.

[Numbski]

Heh, I'm not so sure I buy into this definition.  This just identifies the state of software configuration, not the cabinet overall. 

Says Mr. Hardware Vendor.

[RandyT]

Heh, I'm not so sure I buy into this definition.  This just identifies the state of software configuration, not the cabinet overall. 

Says Mr. Hardware Vendor.

Oookayeeeeee......

But seriously, you could put 4 buttons and a joystick into cutouts in a cardboard box, draw labels on it with a Sharpie marker and a stranger could operate everything without your help....if the software was configured properly.  That's a pretty low bar for a "finished" cabinet. 

That's why I see it as something that is personal to the builder.  Some folks are building for themselves, so the requirement of "on location survival" or "brain-dead usability" doesn't apply at all.  You decide when it is finished, so a project could literally go from "unfinished" to "finished" without ever changing a single part of the project.

IOW, it's a question that can't really have an answer.  Now if it were along the lines of "how many folks buy a bunch of parts, get frustrated / bored and never end up building a usable cab (definition: one you can actually play games on)" then we might have something to work with.

RandyT


*edit* 

Thought I'd add my take on this in the context of the OP's friend's situation.  It's common, but not as common as you might suspect.  Arcade parts are a bit costly, so it's unlikely that a failed project remains in a box forever.  Eventually, they will get sold by a 3rd party as "never used".  A failed project that got a little further ends up on eBay or Craig's list, and we all know what these tend to look like, so spotting one isn't hard.  But compared to the numbers of folks buying parts, these occurrences are pretty small.  So either the parts are being hoarded in someone's closet without being used, or the "fizzle-out" rate is pretty small.  I personally think it's the latter.

[Ginsu Victim]

I've seen what some people call "finished" on eBay and craigslist.

NONE of us would agree.

[Level42]

A work of art is never finished.

[captainpotato]

when i read through the topics of project announcements, i read a lot of people who start, and then never heard of again. or they quit or it went horrible ugly, or they don't feel like posting again.

Then there's those of us who start, then nothing happens for ages (over three years, in my case), and today I started working on it again. Only issue is that I've actually probably gone backwards today because it's getting a fairly serious redesign

[Teknique]

took me 4 years of on and off putzing to get it to 90% completed and playable by strangers.  I built mine with another byoacer who has since dissassembled it.  His was about 80% completed.

So its 50/50 here after 4 years.

Tek

[Donkey_Kong]

I'm going on 2 years and counting on my first and only cab. It's sitting with no monitor and a few other items to be finished. My son and I were planning on installing the monitor today.

[Dexter]

The only cabs I've ever 'finished' have been ones I built/renovated for mates. My own cabs have never truly been finished, there always seems to be something to do next.

[tikbalang]

this should be a poll.

[Paul Olson]

I just never seem to have time to work on it while school is going. I'm hoping to finally finish my driving panels over winter break. I will probably never finish because I keep changing things. I had 2 360 wheels working great for offroad and super sprint, so of course I had to tear it all up to accommodate a 3rd wheel. It will be fun when I finally get it done though.  I do have a lot of it done and I can play most of the games in MAME, but I always get stuck on the few that I can't.

OK, after posting this, I thought about it some more. I am going to call mine a completed project since it is fully functional. The modular CP is complete, so I am going to consider new panels to be optional accessories. The cab has been just sitting for a month because I had partial panels there from the last time I worked on it. Today, I put on the 8-way panels and played Altered Beast all the way through for the first time. And yes, it took me quite a few credits  .
It may be semantics, but I feel better now that I have completed a project. I think I planned for everything on the wiring, so it should stay working no matter what I decide to add to it. Now I can add panels at my leisure which will make it nicer. I will take the time to sandblast my gas pedals and make them nice. It is going to be too cold in the garage pretty soon to play my dedicated games, so the MAME cab should get a lot of play.

[Ton80]

  glad im not the only one! lol.. not even sure when i started my cabinet.. was 7-8 years ago.. still not done (it is playable.. of that, its moved 3 times, and spent almost 3 years in storage.. then moved into house, and decided to redesign it.  and most recently, bought a boat, so i wanted to slim it down some more to fit in garage with boat, so it again got changed.. i figure im on the 15 year plan, was very close to disassembling it over the passed couple months and throwing it away, but couldnt bring myself to it.

my main problem was i dove into it without a real good plan, kinda knew what i wanted, but not 100%.

i did not follow anyones plan, and designed/built  mine 100% on my own.  someday i will post a pic, but its a little embarrassing compared to alot of the cabs here.

[RayB]

I started in 2004 and only a few months ago did I get around to installing control panel clamps. (Oh it was playable without them!) I have yet to make a marquee or side art, but the machine "looks" finished and plays finished. I do need to do something about my spinner though, as it doesn't work correctly. Maybe by 2010 I'll have that fixed.

[Bender]

the problem is too many projects and not enough time

I started one idea that led me to another and another...ect
so now I have like 4 projects going and only one "finished" and now I want to rework that one now too

oh and stay away from this forum way too many good ideas that want to make themselves into new projects

[Havok]

You cab is only finished once you've sold it...

[ark_ader]

My cabs are done when I get tired of them and I get out my axe to make way for another creation.