Main > Project Announcements
SeverdHed's Donkey Kong project...OFFICIALLY DEAD
IG-88:
I'd really like to see that bootskin theme. Were you able to make it so it's oriented correctly for a vertical monitor?
severdhed:
Here is the bootskin theme, i was going to try to upload it earler, but just didnt get time today during work.
it is oriented for a vertical monitor. i wasnt sure how to get the status bar to be positioned properly on a vertical setup, so i made it so that thereis no progress bar
I dont know which way people generally rotate their monitors in their cabinet, if there is a standard or anything like that. mine is set up so that the right side of the monitor is now the top, i physically rotated the monitor counter clockwise. if yours is set up the other way, this will be upside down. so i made two different bootskins. one is donkeykongcw, which is for people who rotated their monitors clockwise, and donkeykongccw, for those with counter-clockwise rotated monitors
here you go
ftp://nickf.dyndns.org/images/donkeykongcw.zip
ftp://nickf.dyndns.org/images/donkeykongccw.zip
just download the file, change the extension from .zip to .bootskin then just double click on it and it should install it as an available bootskin, (provided that you already have the bootskin program installed) then just select it and apply it.
Jack Burton:
800x600 in 24 bit is enough. Almost all the games you will want to run in MAME, including DK, use 224-240 lines so you will be fine with that. 256 colors is unnecessary, but would also be enough for many MAME games.
severdhed:
i dont have the cabinet completely functional yet, but i did play around a little bit last night, however i found that 256 colors just will not work. not necessarily because of mame, but because it makes my mala layout look like crap.
so right now, i have it set at 640x480, 24bit @60hz. are you saying that the 120hz refresh rate is more important than the resolution?
Today i am hoping to get the power supply mounted in the cabinet, as well as the control panel wired up. I was going to hack a gamepad since i only need a few inputs, but i dont have one lying around, and i do have an x-arcade just sitting around, so i'll probably just use that. i also need to find a way to rig the coin rejects to switches as well.
i'm getting close to having my MALA layout in an acceptable state, and my gamelist is pretty much ready to go.
i'll have to try changing the resolution and see how that affects the mame games.
severdhed:
well, since without pictures these Project Announcements threads are pretty lame...here are a few more pics of my progress so far:
i need to spend some time tomorrow organizing the cables and misc inside the cabinet yet, then i'll post pics of the inside. i did get everything up and running. I ended up using my x-arcade as the interface for the controls..due to their wiring methods, this isnt the best option, but it was the best option i had on hand. i just removed alot of the wire harnesses so it isn't too cluttered.
i did not add any buttons to the cabinet yet, but i really think i want an exit and pause button somewhere where they are easy to get to. right now, i have it set up so that start1 + start2 = exit, start 2 + jump = pause, and start 2 + coin1 = TAB menu
it is working Ok, but i'd rather have dedicated buttons. both of the coin slots were wired together on the cabinet when i got it, so i just kept it that way. i also added switches so that the coin reject buttons will add credits. i wasnt sure how to go about doing that, so i started looking at what i had lying around. i ended up using the nintendo button brackets and switches in a modified manner to mount the switches so that they are activated when the reject button is pressed.
i didnt want to add any holes or anything, it worked out that i could mount it to the door using one of the bolts that hold the coin mechs into the door. i used the original screws to attach the switch, just in a different position. the switches have meteal arms on them with little rollers on the ends. this makes them great for this function. this way there are 4 switches all wired up as coin 1...both coin mechs, and both coin reject buttons. so far, this works just fine.
here is a pic of the paper bezel around the monitor. it clearly isnt the right size, and is a little warped. but with a few pieces of tape, it works just fine for now. once the tinted plexi is in place, it is so dark in there that you can't see anything except the screen lit up.
here is a shot of the outside of the cabinet...still pretty beat up looking, but i cant do anything about that till after Christmas. so far, i havent spent any addional money on this other than buying the cabinet.
here is a closer shot of the screen, without a flash....to show the current MALA layout. i'm pretty happy with it so far, but i may make a few tweaks yet.
that's all for tonight, hopefully by tomorrow i'll get the wires tied up a little nicer and will take a few pics of them.