Building my own!

[ThePope43]

Hey guys, what's up! I've been looking into building my own arcade for about a whopping 2 hours now(yeah not very long right?) But I've decided to go through with it. I have a 3,000$ limit but I would REALLY hope to not go past that. I am not a troller just putting stuff up for fun, I am very into this. I have a lot of questions I need answered and I would like for you guys to be here for my project from start to finish.

Here's what I know:

-I want a full 4 player set up
-I would like to build myself, if decent plans are available; if it will make the machine nicer, I will buy a cnc built.
-That's about all I know so far...

Here's what I don't know:
-I'd like an LCD monitor rather than an old boob tube, or should i not? Why?
-Speakers?
-Which buttons are best for me/where to get them
-Which joysticks are best for me/where to get them
-What buttons should go where and why
-What/Where should I be looking for on software? Is there 'good stuff' and 'not good stuff" ?
-I want as many games as possible on this machine, I am VERY computer savvy, what will make this happen? My rule of thumb for computers is to have twice as much as you need and it's worked for me so far..




To start things off, here is the 4 player cnc built one i was looking at: http://www.mameroom.com/ProductDetail.asp?ID=UAIICAB27E4

I notice, if I'm correct(if i'm not please let me know) I see 4 joysticks, 44 buttons, and 1 ball thing(i guess for bowling/golf?)





I don't need posts saying I need to just do research, I am doing that, but I would also like some personalized attention towards my individual questions. Thank you all, we'll see how it goes from here.

[Turnarcades]

Hi and welcome to the forum. You want straight answers so let's cut to the chase...

Firstly, definitely build your own. It's not as complex as you may think, and neither does the design have to be. Plans are overrated - find a suitable monitor and primarily design your cabinet around that - you know what shape a machine should be, so just work out a comfortable viewing height for your eyes (ideally the top of the screen should be just below your eye height, angled for best viewing), sketch it on a bit of paper and just fit rough dimensions in for height and width, then the best height fo your hands for the control panel (level with your arms at forearms at right angles to your upper arms, then slope it up a bit from front to back). Trust me, it comes into place very quickly.

- LCD is fine if you're not a purist; video effects like filtering will smooth the image out to help your eyes on prolonged sessions. Bear in mind though that although lighter, easier to mount and readily available, LCD screens are only commonly available in a standard aspect ratio upto 19"- any bigger and you will have to go widescreen. This may not be to your liking.
- Use a 2.1 or 5.1 PC speaker system for good bass and stereo sound. Anything more is overkill, plus off-the-shelf systems are sealed and shielded as you will need.
- Happ buttons for that regular concave arcade button look. Sanwa if you prefer more modern convex buttons. Go to Ultimarc in the UK or GroovyGameGear in the US, as you can pick up all your joysticks/buttons/interfaces in one place from these guys.
- See above RE joysticks.
- Don't go overboard on buttons. Interfaces allow 'shifted' functions for admin purposes so use them. One or two on your panel may be more convenient for you though as you are having a 4-player panel. 6 each for the two middle players, no more than 4 each for the two outer players, plus a start button for each and optional credit buttons (handy for other functions too if you intend to run console emulators).

For your last two questions, you really need to re-think your goal and will definitely have to read up as it involves too much consideration to write here. You will definitely need though a front-end (menu system) to launch your emulators and roms, 'cabinet-friendly' emulators (that launch from a command line and work well with a front-end and arcade controls), roms (games, obviously) and a few software tweaks to mask your regular operating system and get it running 'like an arcade machine'.

Hope this helps.

[ThePope43]

I've done a little searching on the building thing. I don't have the kind of time to really sit down and think out my plans and write them up. I actually accidentally clicked on your signature and although you're in the UK, I was wondering if I could get plans for your 'The King' arcade, I will pay if necessary. All the other ones I've googled or found just have not appealed to my eye, although, for whatever reason even if it may be the same as somewhere else, I like yours. If you have any problem with this, just let me know. I want to pick out a cabinet before I start going crazy with buttons/joysticks/etc. Personally, I don't even want too many buttons nor a ball, which is also why I like yours. Thankss!

[EvilTwin]

For all the money that you're putting into this thing, you might want to consider putting some time into it. That said, make sure that you know what you're doing, and planning things out beforehand will save you a lot of time and money. Good luck!

[DiskTwo]

Finally I get to possibly help someone else..

I am in the final stages of completing my own. Ill try to see if anything i've went through will help out.

I'd like an LCD monitor rather than an old boob tube, or should i not? Why?

This may actually tie into your decision to make/buy your cabinet. Personally I wanted something a bit bigger like a 25", and wanted the authenticity of an arcade monitor. So I bought an old Mortal Kombat 2 cabinet with a working monitor and just bought a Jpac from Ultimarc. Which interfaces an arcade monitor to a PC. You may want to considering buying a partially working cabinet with atleast a working monitor. Although keep in mind, one thing I seen along the way is small defects in the cabinet I had to either fill in with wood putty, or in one instance cut a panel and fill in a hole.  The biggest problem was me being picky about my panel, and I had to build a new box for the new panel I had made (mameroom.com, I just had a 2 player one made though).

Speakers, I'm just using a basic 2.1 setup, I cant really comment on quality just yet as I havnt really delved into this yet.

Buttons, same. Just using some basic ones.

Joysticks, Im using some basic 8 way sticks currently. I hear they are a bit tricky to use if playing a 4 way game. You can buy stick that you can pull up on and twist to switch them from 4 to 8 way and vice versa. Although I cant account for how good they are. I am still using basic 8 ways. There are also 360s, and a few other types of sticks. I cant really comment on anything other than the basic 8 ways I have, which seem to work great so far.

-I want as many games as possible on this machine, I am VERY computer savvy, what will make this happen? My rule of thumb for computers is to have twice as much as you need and it's worked for me so far..

In short... a 4ghz dual core cpu and lots of overclocking.
This thread will be your best source of information on the type of PC you need.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=72776.0

[Franco B]

I've done a little searching on the building thing. I don't have the kind of time to really sit down and think out my plans and write them up.

If you haven't got time to plan the thing I think you are going to struggle to find time to build it. A well planned cab will take less time to build and you will hit less problems along the way.

[Blanka]

If you are going LCD with a quad-person setup, try to get an IPS or PVA screen, as they have much wider viewing angles. I really wonder why you want a four person setup. Any 4-player game you like that much and you have 3 buddies around to play with often? I would prefer a clean 2 player cabinet above PacTheFuckMatt taking off with its wings, with 2 USB or cordless controllers for the few times you have player 3 and 4 around.

[Franco B]

I would prefer a clean 2 player cabinet above PacTheFuckMatt

Funny thing is, that is a 2p cab 

I agree though. I buit a four player cab for my first one and I would only ever build two player ones now.

[Blanka]

Funny thing is, that is a 2p cab 

Imagine how he would have made a 4p cab  !
My preference in keys:
2x U360 with 6 buttons each (or 7, for example with 2 buttons being the same :search NEO-GEO/SF combined setup)
1x trackball with 2 buttons (I prefer seperate mousebuttons for OS operation)
1x spinner with 2 buttons
2x player start, 2x coin (use a key programmer to add ESC, Return, TAB as shift keys to these 4 keys).
Buttons either convex Japanese or concave American, up to you preference. Japanese are available in more colours.
BT keyboard (No drawer) for that occasional typing.

I'm a fan of regular speakers. Easiest is to get good car speakers from a decent living room speaker manufacturer, as they most of the time just sell their normal speakers in a nice uncased box-set with appropriate cross-over filters and covers for cars too.
For arcade classics midrange is most important. The bass-treble seperation of PC sattelite/woofer speakers is not the best option to reproduce 8-bit sound for the best.

[drventure]

I gotta agree with Franco. This has been my first build too, and I figured, ah, why not go 4p.

But in retrospect, doing a 2p cab would have been cheaper, quicker and plenty for how it'll be used. And I could always plug up 2 USB controllers for those few 4p games I might play.

But I think my next cab, if I ever finish this one, will be a sit down, enclosed driving cab.

Anyone here checked out the Thomas Super Wheel?

http://thomas-superwheel.com

1300$ for a game controller steering wheel 

Wow....

[garnerb350]

Welcome to the hobbie/obsession/addiction/family Pope

1st... Get the Project Arcade book...lots of helpful info...
2nd...www.arcadecab.com   Free plans
3rd...Lots and Lots of beer...and power tools...
4th... Groovy Game Gear.com or LizardLick...there are others but these are off the top my head...
5th...CRT vs LCD...depends on your paycheck....
6th....Speakers...just like Turnacades said....anything 2.1 or 5.1...once again, paycheck...
7th....Concentrate on getting the emulators and roms before you tackle frontends...there are plenty frontends...Mala, Hyperspin, Gameex,Maximus Arcade
8th...dont be scared to ask questions...Everybody here is very nice and informative...you might have a couple trolls lurkin bout....but Saint takes care of them....
9th....I used my old Dell 4600 PC...upgraded the ram to 2 gigs...bought a tb drive....I have MAME v 129...Also have other Video game system emulators, jukebox, DVDs...Could be off, but I think everything with Mame ( all games) is roughly about 300 gig
10...take a look at the wiki here...it has alot of answers to alot of questions...Trust me, everybody here has went through what you are going thru now...Knowing is half the battle...now get out there and make some porkchop sandwiches!!!

[CheffoJeffo]

-I'd like an LCD monitor rather than an old boob tube, or should i not? Why?

If you have to ask, then LCD will probably be just fine (or better than fine), subject to issues with respect to viewing angles on a potentially wide control panel.

-Speakers?

Yes, you should have some. But, as with everything, it depends ... for example, if you are looking for a video arcade machine, then installing 5.1 is just silly.

-I want as many games as possible on this machine, I am VERY computer savvy, what will make this happen? My rule of thumb for computers is to have twice as much as you need and it's worked for me so far..

The grab yourself a 25GHz machine and you'll be fine ... 

Or, if you have to live in reality like the rest of us, figure out what games you want to play and let us know so that we can make reasonable recommendations. There are rigs that run the majority of stuff just fine and will do, nicely but if you want to run everything, then you need a rig that doesn't yet exist. Further, depending on the MAME build in question, there may be games that don't run at all well. Choose your priorities, then we can make reasonable recommendations.

I don't need posts saying I need to just do research, I am doing that, but I would also like some personalized attention towards my individual questions. Thank you all, we'll see how it goes from here.

Apparently you do ... every single one of your questions has been dealt with in excruciating detail previously.

I hope that somebody will take the time to provide you with answers tailored to your personal post, BUT, you should not count on that happening (most folks won't take the time to answer the same questions eleventy12 times, so you don't get a good consensus), or, even if it does, that the advice provided is authoritative (will you really be happy if someone just tells you to buy Suzo inductive sticks and Sanwa buttons, without knowing what that means ?).

Have a look at the posts. Read the wiki.

Let us know what you like to play (are you someone who digs the classics? are you a SF2 or MK fan? do you prefer convex or concave buttons ? Do you care about accuracy in emulation ?).

Really, if it were as easy as answering 8 questions, would there be a need for a book or a forum ? We would have an 8-point FAQ and be done with it.

Welcome to the hobby and I know that it is a pain to do the research, but if you are looking to shortcut, you will end up with a cab that reflects that you were looking for shortcuts. If you are going to spend $3K, then I would like to see you end up with something better than that. 

FWIW, I like Blanka's advice as solid general (and technical) advice, but your needs may be different and I would most likely get rid of the buttons dedicated to the trackball and spinner unless there was a compelling reason to have them on the CP seperately.