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First build! 4P MAME *now with pics!*
Franco B:
I built a 4 player cab for my 1st one with Happ rotaries for players 3 and 4 and I don't think I ever had them wired up properly. We used to have A LOT of parties and people over at our old house and I can't remember a time when anyone wanted to play a four player game.
Jefferson:
Oh man! I am so pleased with the activity on my first thread. QB1DABOMBs 4P thing is quite the cautionary tale hahahahah. Poor guy. Im so glad he got honest reviews though. It looks like a coffin bolted to an ATM.
Regarding 4P: 5 guys live in my house. After work 4P mariokart64 was almost a daily occurrance for a while there, always with the 5th guy calling dibs on the last place controller (simply put, 'fourthies') So im really, truly not concerned about lack of activity on the far left and right of my CP.
That being said, I had kinda considered the UAII as the most tasteful and quick-n-easy way to get 4P X-men underway. But shipping is 200 on top of a kind of unreasonable $549 so now thats out. The way I see it, my best option is to replace the CP on an existing cabinet with my own entirely new 4P CP (since adding 6 buttons (P1+2) on an existing X-men or turtles seems cramped. Likewise, adding P3+4 to an existing 6 button streetfighter seems cramped.)
Have you guys seen any examples of a full CP switchout on an existing cab? I'd love to see how that process might work. I feel like a lot of cabs control panels are kind of 'deeply integrated' and its not a matter of gluing on a new flat surface.
or, are there other 4P kits somewhere out there I'm somehow not finding?
drventure:
--- Quote ---It looks like a coffin bolted to an ATM
--- End quote ---
Now that's funny :D
--- Quote ---shipping is 200 on top of a kind of unreasonable $549 so now thats out
--- End quote ---
Those are nice panels, but that does seem a bit high. I suppose it all boils down to whether you want (or can) build it yourself. It'll take some time, some tools and patience but they aren't tough to build.
Switching out a CP shouldn't be too tough either, esp if you've got the cab you'll be switching out of. Take a few measurements, cut, fit, repeat till it's all nice and snug.
If you're on a limited budget, 4p might not be a good choice. The Keyboard controller is more, more controls, more buttons, more wire, joysticks, etc, etc.
And the utility likely won't be there.
Plus it's just a LOT bigger.
zelony:
In my opinion, 4 Player is the only way to go. ;-)
That being said, just buy a 4-player cab and convert it to MAME. That's what I did for both my cabs. My daughter's cab is a 4 player Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom that I converted to MAME. She and her friends play 4-player Guantlet 2 all the time and love it.
My other cab is a 4-player NFL Blitz '99 showcase cab that I converted to MAME. The best part is that even vertical games look great on the 36" SVGA monitor that I put in the cabinet.
I bought both of these cabinets in prime working condition and then converted them. I know that some people think it is wrong to convert a working cab, but I believe the better the cabinet's condition the better the converted MAME cabinet.
Good luck and have fun.
Beretta:
i agree with the suggestion of buying a 4 player cab to start with.. on the other hand those are highly desired for mame even if going with a 2 player setup because of it's already large control panel.
on the other hand any cabinet can be converted to 4 player if one was inclined to make the nessary modifications.
it also depends on what kinda games you're into.. as well as how often do you think it wil be used?
my first project was gonna be a konami 4 player cab converted to mame.. was gonna have to 2 panels, 2 player and 4 player and just swap them when needed.
but then i ran across joust cabinet and though i'd give it a go first as a practice run.
if you know you have some people who will play the games.. NOTHING beats 4 player games in the arcade NOTHING..
but i grew up on fighters and side scrollers, there are a lot of great 3&4 player side scrollers out there.
tmnt, simpsons, sunset riders, alien vs preditor (OMG This game rox), D&D series, knights of the round, battle toads, rampage, gauntlet.. just to name a few great beat'em up side scrollers that can handle more then 2 people.
then you got sports games like nba jam, my favorite would have to be wrestling games that are absolutely a blast to go ape scat on the CP with see if you can break some joysticks.
there is always the gamepad option for 3&4, but come on that is just lame i for one would absolute hate standing at a arcade game holding a gamepad :(
although i guess it's better then not playing at all.