Cabinet 90% done - hit a critical failure and need help

[TOK]

Necro, your cab sounds cool enough to me that I would just use the original setup and stick to MAME. Unless there is some specific console game you're really hooked on, MAME has built in solution to your issue.

I put console emulators on my first machine and realized I didn't really want to play them after playing their arcade counterparts.

[Necro]

True true....and once I make the mods to the art I can't go back...so...

Attempt with Maximus it is I guess.  Which puts me in a bad spot - 30 days is great, but I need to finish the CP to really test it.  My plan was to setup the computer partially, then build the CP slowly, ensuring all connections work right since I'm building it off of a multiple d-sub connectors and I'm a bit worried about my ability to put it together properly. 

Dragon's Lair, Space Ace and Dragon's Lair II I guess are the only big games I want to make sure work...but one of the DAPHNE developers told me that I can accomplish it via flipping the videos used in the game.  I'll do that if it doesn't work in MAME.

   Now I want to go home and work on the cab.  This isn't good.  I'm swamped with work...

[RobbyMac]

apparantly lcd's are translucent? Guys make projretcor with them... I havent read a whole lot into it, and it sounds a bit involved. I can't imagine you'd need all the cooling since you're not projecting it the way these guys are.
Anyways, fractal lense may help you, or possibly stripping the lcd screen and flipping it? Do some reading and se if it's worth trying.
http://www.lumenlab.com/S15_PDF/Lumenlab_DIY_projector_guide_v2.0.pdf

But man I'd like to think theres gotta be a dip switch somewhere to invert the damn screen in any given monitor (Wishful thinking I know).

[Necro]

I was looking at that yesterday....the big thing I need to determine is whether or not flipping is possible.  My interpretation of some of the diagrams I've seen is that there's a film at the back of the LCD that you remove when making those projectors.

...Hrm.  I actually have a dead GPS unit I can rip apart to test this on tonight.  In-tah-resting...   

[RayB]

Here's another idea: Is there room for a 2nd mirror?

Currently, you have it like this (chicken head man shows direction a player faces):

/   <o
 /    |

Since the monitor is facing away from the player, the image appears reversed horizontally.

In this configuration, with a 2nd mirror and the monitor UPSIDE DOWN, it works (straight line is the monitor, but you may have to angle it):

/     <o
\  |    |

The tricky part will be the angles and room.

[RayB]

Another set up, would be like this:

/
|  /

Again, the straight line being the monitor, but you may need to play with the angles.

[Blanka]

Give us some pics of the machine. 

[Necro]

Well, there are some pics in the thread.  I'm going to get some more tonight or tomorrow since...    I got it working last night.

I did a trial run with Maximus and a 'test' MAME setup (5 roms, snaps, etc.) - and it looked incredible.  The blacklight works great, the mirror works exactly like it should, and everything was just awesom.  My wife came down to my work room and took a look and I think for the first time she was actually excited about the project and thought it looked great.  She understood what all the work was going into. 

So...SO happy.  Thanks for making me try this once more guys. 

One more step to 'complete the guts' of the cab - getting the 'bezel' (for lack of a better term) made for the monitor holding board.  I'm going to grab some black matte today to use for that.  Once that's done, I can put everything together and focus on designing the control panel.  Which is going to be a while other nightmare but one I'm fully expecting.  

Blanka: I thought about the 2nd mirror.  The issue is definitely the angles and fitting everything in - it would honestly be easier to just get a CRT and yoke flip it (I was looking into that) or buying another LCD TV/monitor that has a built in flipping ability. 

[RobbyMac]

So you got the image flipped? Howd you get it to work?

[bkenobi]

No, I think he limited his setup to MAME and the FE only.

[Necro]

In every other thread on the topic, this would be where the thread dies so the next person trying this has no clue WTF was done to solve the issue .  I won't do that!  

And yes, I tested a FE that flipped and made sure MAME works flipped.  Since constant updates aren't going to be happening to the computer once it's in the CAB - maybe only an annual MAME update - there's no reason for me to worry about that aspect at this point and how it really requires a hardware or lower level based reflect to occur.

[RayB]

                      .

[Necro]

RayB: Uh...what?  

Regarding pictures - they look like crap.  I need to use flash to get anything to come out, and this results in it just looking like...a cab. 

So...I'm going to try to take a video over the weekend and I'll post it.

[RobbyMac]

Ahh cool. somehow I missed the FE flipping
Grats! 
When I grow up and become an engineer I'm going to make sure I put useful stuff into stuff so people like us dont run into these situations anymore 

[drventure]

When I grow up and become an engineer I'm going to make sure I put useful stuff into stuff so people like us dont run into these situations anymore

Yeah, but you'll have to get those great features past the bean counters. Those guys ruin the fun for everyone