The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls

Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: Uncle Monkey on March 25, 2009, 12:23:16 pm

Title: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade (First video posted and art update)
Post by: Uncle Monkey on March 25, 2009, 12:23:16 pm
To do list:
Figure out something for speaker covers..... :banghead:
Mount and connect joystick LEDSNot possible without redoing the CP from scratch
Tint Decided against it
Fix drawer issue
Software
FUN!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flickr~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I now have a Flickr account (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77665595@N04/sets/72157629939547689/) and will be updating my hotlinks since web filters hate my domain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Videos~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frontend
Hyperspin themes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzNmjt0glp4#ws)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~History of the Ultra Arcade~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So....one day I stumbled upon the world of custom arcade cabs completely on accident, and within 5 minutes decided to build my own. Over the years I have collected a lot of Emulators and ROMs, and I've built numerous custom PCs, so it just seemed to fit. My cab is going to be completely custom with the exception of using a MameRoom kit. The project won't be complete until July 2010 because I'm heading to Korea for a year, and can't take the cab with me. While I'm there, I will be organizing my emulators and ROMs and skinning Maximus as well as playing with my machine on my PC, with the completed CP. I was going to do all the graphics myself, but I quickly realized that I would spend hundreds of hours and wind up with a mediocre product. So I wisely decided to commission trebeck to do it instead. Below is my initial sketch (Clearly I'm not an artist) as well as his first sketch......
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7228/7131065645_345b834e64.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7262/7131065663_93b4d40733.jpg)
I decided that I wanted to have different sideart on each side so that I could get more art onto the cab, so I dedicated the left side to NES/SNES (the true beginning of my love for video games) and the right side to a variety. Here are some evolutionary pics showing the progression of 5 of the 6 foreground characters.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7226/7131065451_bff4e3b616.jpg)
I told him that Luigi was my main man, and he proceeded to create the greatest Luigi pic.....ever.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/7131065439_cc77b3f1ed.jpg)
With Link, we tried a lot of things, but ended up going back to the first sketch. I like the idea of young Link heading out on his first adventure over a more experienced and world-weary Link.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7139/6984982076_c83967de7c.jpg)
I loved the "gun show" look that trebeck came up with, so a front leg bend and smirk later, MM's ready to go.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8024/6984981952_b6f585574b.jpg)
He nailed EJ on the first go, just had to tweak the gun....
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/7131065429_1f2d504561.jpg)
With Kirby, he sent me a sketch and asked if I wanted Kirby in one of his costumes. I told him, Ninja Kirby of course, and next thing I know, he's in my inbox, complete.

Sonic will be done soon, and next up is the logo, possibly with a mascot. In the meantime, I'll include some sideart mockups and pics of my CP later.
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Kronos on March 25, 2009, 04:59:21 pm
nice. I love the art.. EJ  is one of my favorites
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on March 25, 2009, 06:32:10 pm
nice. I love the art.. EJ  is one of my favorites


yeah, trebeck has a knack for capturing the essence of a retro game character.....
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: AMDman13 on March 26, 2009, 12:52:25 am
Nice artwork! The cab will be totally worth it. I started the same way as you. Building custom PC's and working with emulators. A cabinet is the perfect fit! BTW my father lives Korea!
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on March 26, 2009, 09:18:01 pm
ok, here's the evolution of Sonic.....
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7140/7131065677_52f62d4865.jpg)
I liked the running pose, but we both agreed that it didn't quite gel with EJ's and Kirby's poses. So he tried the thumbs up, but it didn't have quite enough attitude. So...I found a sprite sheet that had this pose, and trebeck came through again. woo hoo.

So now that the big six are ready, we're working on a mascot and logo, and I have begun compiling scenes to go into the background. One in the middle in full, glorious color, and one further back that will be in the tron/battleground line style. So here's the first one, a mashup of the 5 NES and SNES Super Mario games.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7107/7131065473_c2d37ba98e.jpg)
I included two "unique" elements from the last four games; snifit and ninji from SMB2, chain chomp and the tanooki suit from SMB3, wiggler and dino-torch from SMW and the goonie and grinder (the monkey) from Yoshi's island. And of course, a goomba, koopa, piranha plant and bullet bill from SMB1 and all of the rest. I'm pretty happy with the result, and once trebeck traces over it and colors it so it all matches, it'll be epic. For some reason the forum seems to be shrinking this pic, so here's (http://unclemonkey.org/Arcade/Mario-Scene.png) the link for full size...And just so you know, it will be 18-20 inches wide on the cab.....

also, here's the beginning of my CP, eventually there will be a red track ball with three yellow buttons in the middle, and once the side art is complete, trebeck and i will be doing an overlay to match......
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7235/7131065401_e80826f7a0.jpg)
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Octo on March 26, 2009, 09:46:20 pm
I'm digging everything except the Megaman.... His smirk just doesn't feel right, at least not with a charge buster :dunno
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: javeryh on March 27, 2009, 10:58:30 am
Wow Trebeck has some skills.
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: DeLuSioNal29 on April 23, 2009, 12:25:14 pm
I love the name.  :)

~ DeLuSioNaL
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on April 28, 2009, 10:40:47 pm
@ DeLuSioNal29, it probably seems like I was inspired by your name, but I promise that's what came to me before I ever cruised these forums, much like I invented the siphon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siphon) when I was 12 8) :laugh2:

@ javeryh, yes he does :notworthy: :cheers:

@ Octo, you're right, flipping it looks much better :applaud: :cheers:

@ all, updates, yay......trebeck has finished the Mario scene, Full size here (http://unclemonkey.org/Arcade/Mario-Scene.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7191/6984982020_71e18d7aca.jpg)

And is working on the logo/mascot. Here is my VERY rough concept using completed art, my basic photoshop skills and one of the logo sketches......
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6984982152_bca35f3f4d.jpg)

And, yes, the color scheme has changed to blue and green, it seemed more appropriate......
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: dekar24k on April 29, 2009, 05:19:03 am
Wow, that is some top notch artwork. Looking forward to following your progress!
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on February 22, 2012, 12:11:45 am
After a gazillion years, the project is back underway. Artwork is finished and ordered. Pics soon. Does anyone have any good suggestions for speakers?
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on February 22, 2012, 08:45:01 pm
Sideart is installed.....
(http://unclemonkey.org/Arcade/CIMG1488.JPG)(http://unclemonkey.org/Arcade/CIMG1489.JPG)

I'm waiting on the control-panel overlay, marquee, and the rest of the CP parts.......
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Knievel on February 22, 2012, 08:54:30 pm
Wow, nice job on the art guys!

This is going to be a beauty  :cheers:
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on February 25, 2012, 11:01:31 am
Ok, here's the art for the bezel, any thoughts?
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8002/6984980924_bd174209ea.jpg)
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on February 26, 2012, 07:49:54 pm
Ok, CP art installed, buttons and joysticks installed, wiring has begun.....
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7080/6984981166_6e0ae66f86.jpg)(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6984981088_039ea839d1.jpg)
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Woodshop Flunky on February 27, 2012, 12:16:31 pm
LOVE the side art!  :applaud:
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: GregD on February 27, 2012, 12:30:54 pm
Love the art.  Looks like you can watch movies on that monitor too!  :lol
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on February 27, 2012, 05:14:09 pm
Love the art.  Looks like you can watch movies on that monitor too!  :lol
Yeah, the art is awesome, Trebeck is the man. As far as the monitor goes, it's a 24" TV/DVD player that my ex-wife saddled me with when she stored my stuff. I've thrown away dumpsters of her trash, but at least I got a Arcade Monitor out of it..... :lol
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: SNAAKE on February 27, 2012, 07:55:52 pm
nice kirbeh :cheers:
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: gbeef on February 28, 2012, 01:22:30 am
Wow very nice work.... cant wait to see this finished
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: wol-nz on February 28, 2012, 02:48:43 am
Boo hoo~ is your site down. I can't see this artwork. (or is it me)
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on February 28, 2012, 02:55:22 am
Wow very nice work.... cant wait to see this finished
Me too!!!
Boo hoo~ is your site down. I can't see this artwork. (or is it me)
I think it's you, I can see it from here, and I double checked with the web manager, should be good.....
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: drventure on February 28, 2012, 07:59:53 am
+1 on that art.  :applaud:

It ties a lot of very different characters together seamlessly, which is not an easy task.
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on February 28, 2012, 08:45:21 pm
Speakers mounted with some spare parts I had laying around......
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7131064795_3043b2be26.jpg)
GGG Hard Candy balltops installed.....sexy......
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7060/7131064835_c152b74e62.jpg)
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Seith on February 29, 2012, 02:54:58 pm
Hey, just chiming in to say this arcade unit is looking really spiffy!

What was the inspiration for the control panel artwork?  Are those original characters?
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: bigmatty77 on February 29, 2012, 03:47:00 pm
That side art is a joy to behold  :notworthy: stunning
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on February 29, 2012, 04:27:16 pm
Hey, just chiming in to say this arcade unit is looking really spiffy!

What was the inspiration for the control panel artwork?  Are those original characters?
Absolutely, they represent me, my wife, my son, my daughter, and my stepson.
That side art is a joy to behold  :notworthy: stunning
Thanks, I can only take credit for the design, Trebeck is the master artist......
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on March 04, 2012, 10:25:48 pm
CP is done and tested!!!!!
Inside
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7131064995_e1bc527d13.jpg)
Outside with lights on 8)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7262/7131065041_17563f6cda.jpg)
And the bezel taped in place.....
(http://unclemonkey.org/Arcade/CIMG1503.JPG)
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on March 19, 2012, 01:44:35 pm
Ok, more progress pics:

Bezel in place, Marquee lit (so hard to photograph)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/6984981654_6c301dfd3e.jpg)
Custom player 1 gun holster made by Mrs. Uncle Monkey. Also.....black plexi door covering the huge coin door hole.....
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7191/6984981702_ec5b5f55a1.jpg)
Custom player 2 gun holster made by Mrs. Uncle Monkey. Also.....black plexi door covering the huge coin door hole.....
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7129/6984981808_fc0aabc056.jpg)
Barstools with custom seat covers. Photoshopping by me, printed on ink-jet printable cloth. Seat covers made by the wife.....
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/6984981928_0e83a42212.jpg)
Reason for the choice of Link and Sonic was that the other 4 characters from the side art will be on one of the stand-alone controllers.  :applaud:
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: TheShaner on March 19, 2012, 02:15:45 pm
I's been said over and over again, but EXCELLENT artwork.  I really like how everything is split up blue and green.  It is a great color combo and visually pits left vs right.  Love it.
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on March 19, 2012, 02:43:52 pm
I's been said over and over again, but EXCELLENT artwork.  I really like how everything is split up blue and green.  It is a great color combo and visually pits left vs right.  Love it.

Yeah, I started with red and yellow in my head, but I'm glad trebeck talked me out of it...... :cheers:
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: wol-nz on March 19, 2012, 04:24:04 pm
love the entire build - excellent!! Took me ages to finally get the pics to download don't know why but i'm glad it's fixed.
I think i'm going to do a similar green V blue theme style on my game vault. Those chairs are just the icing aye (well done wifey and well done you in giving her part of the project - very smart very smart indeed!!)
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Woodshop Flunky on March 21, 2012, 08:41:07 am
This looks great... I love the stools.  I was wanting to do something like that for my son's build, but I ran out of steam (cash :)) at the end of my project.  I still have in the back of my mine doing some sort of custom stool.

Good job.   :cheers:
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on March 21, 2012, 08:48:03 am
This looks great... I love the stools.  I was wanting to do something like that for my son's build, but I ran out of steam (cash :)) at the end of my project.  I still have in the back of my mine doing some sort of custom stool.

Good job.   :cheers:

Walmart Special (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Metal-Swivel-Bar-Stool-29-Black/13400909) $30 each, plus about $15 worth of cloth. And since I have extreme foot problems, a justifiable expense..... :applaud:
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on April 25, 2012, 08:47:34 am
Ok, just in case anyone is actually following this project, here's an update. I am currently located many hundreds of miles away from the cabinet, so any work on that front is on hold until June. I left it with a few arcade games loaded in MAME and the full NES and SNES libraries for the family to enjoy while I'm away at this fantastic Army school.  :banghead: What I did do is bring the 2TB hard drive with me so I can work on the frontend and such. So......I am currently in the process of creating custom system themes for hyperspin. So far I have MAME, all the Ataris, all the Nintendos, and all the Segas complete. Still left to do is the Turbo-Grafx family, NEO-GEO family and all the little Misc systems. I will post screenshots soon and video later.

Thanks for stopping by..... :cheers:
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Seith on April 25, 2012, 11:55:15 am
(http://unclemonkey.org/Arcade/CIMG1498.JPG)

Nice wiring job!  I have a question about how this is going to work.

My project is also utilizing U360s.  I notice you have the buttons wired directly to the stick, as well as wired to an IPAC.  Am I correct to assume that when a button is pressed, it will register as both a joystick button input as well as a keyboard stroke?

So, if that is true, when inputting into a game that is configured for joystick controls, you should have JoyX, JoyY, and buttons 1-8.  But when inputting into a game that is configured for keyboard controls, you have the buttons mapped (via the IPAC) to keystrokes via your wiring, but how does the joystick work as a keyboard?
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Uncle Monkey on April 25, 2012, 01:32:04 pm
(http://unclemonkey.org/Arcade/CIMG1498.JPG)

Nice wiring job!  I have a question about how this is going to work.

My project is also utilizing U360s.  I notice you have the buttons wired directly to the stick, as well as wired to an IPAC.  Am I correct to assume that when a button is pressed, it will register as both a joystick button input as well as a keyboard stroke?

So, if that is true, when inputting into a game that is configured for joystick controls, you should have JoyX, JoyY, and buttons 1-8.  But when inputting into a game that is configured for keyboard controls, you have the buttons mapped (via the IPAC) to keystrokes via your wiring, but how does the joystick work as a keyboard?

it doesn't, not at all, here's how mine is set up: the harness for the U360 has room for 8 buttons, and when you connect the U360's USB cable to the PC, it reads as a gamepad (like a XBOX 360 controller would) So I wired the 8 buttons next to the joystick into the U360s. This keeps things simple if I ever want to pull my CP up and take it to a friend's house, plus Ultimarc says you'll have better reponse time on those buttons that way. The IPAC only has the four coin buttons and the six admin/player select buttons (the white ones), plus if I ever put in pinball buttons, those also. The extra wires you see coming from all the buttons are for the lights going to a LEDWIZ. I'm pretty sure that wiring your buttons to both the U360 and the IPAC could cause issues, so I would either do it like I did, or just wire them all into the IPAC.....or, if you have 16 buttons or less, wire 8 into each U360. If you're set on trying to do both, I would consult someone more electrically experienced than myself, because when I was considering it, I was quickly shot down and confused. Hope this helps, let me know if I was unclear or if you need more info.
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade
Post by: Seith on April 26, 2012, 11:40:40 am
Ah yes, didn't notice that board was an LEDWIZ.  That clears everything up.  Thanks!
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade (Near completion)
Post by: ArcadeSeeker962 on April 28, 2012, 05:45:20 pm
That cabinet you made looks amazing. I like the design you put into it as well(the older Nintendo and Sega generations really fascinate me). The control panel looks inspiring to me(since me and my father are building a MAME cabinet). Can the U360 joystick be bought in non-LED form? If so, can it be easily modified from 4-way to 8-way? Also, what brand of buttons did you use for your cabinet?
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade (Near completion)
Post by: Uncle Monkey on April 29, 2012, 08:06:59 am
That cabinet you made looks amazing. I like the design you put into it as well(the older Nintendo and Sega generations really fascinate me). The control panel looks inspiring to me(since me and my father are building a MAME cabinet). Can the U360 joystick be bought in non-LED form? If so, can it be easily modified from 4-way to 8-way? Also, what brand of buttons did you use for your cabinet?

The U360 doesn't actually come in a LED version, I had planned to light it from below, but those plans have been put on hold until I rebuild the CP sometime way in the future. (Any glow you see in my pics is ambient light reflected in the translucent Hard Candy balltops from Groovy Game Gear). Someone HAS modded the U360 to have a lit balltop, search the forums for instructions, but that is way past my skill level. The U360 is actually an analog joystick that you can program to be 4-way, 8-way, 2-way or whatever you desire. But you do pay for the versatility. Ultimarc has a joystick that switches from a true 4-way to a true 8-way by pulling up on the stick and rotating, but I suggest doing a lot of reading before deciding on a joystick. The buttons I got are also made by Ultimarc, they're called the Ultralux. I bought them because at the time, they were the only decent LED-buttons available for a NOOB. Everyone here was pretty much still modding theirs. Now there are quite a few options, so do your research.

Thanks for the kind words, best of luck, and if you have any other questions, there are lots of geniuses on here.....or you can ask me. :laugh2: :cheers:
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade (First video posted)
Post by: ArcadeSeeker962 on April 29, 2012, 10:59:03 am
You're welcome. Thank you for the warning on the joystick part of the control panel. I'll continue to take some research and look around for the right joystick for my control panel. I do agree with you that there are a lot of arcade-cabinet building experts on this site. I already did my fair share of question-asking, so taking research is the route I'm taking for now on.  :lol
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade (First video posted)
Post by: Uncle Monkey on May 01, 2012, 12:33:03 pm
Ok, artwork updated, here are the custom main-menu buttons for everyone's faves.....
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7224/7132223137_e54588b0ac.jpg)(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7208/7132223179_188c155045.jpg)(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7066/6986137526_5ac3e2d20d.jpg)(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7177/6986137554_70c981b81b.jpg)(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/6986267714_67a6236ced.jpg)
And I've decided to make matching buttons for all the included systems.....
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade (First video posted and art update)
Post by: ArcadeSeeker962 on May 06, 2012, 08:16:17 pm
I don't have any graphic design skills, but I have to say that I really like the artwork you put into it. I also like the last one based off of the Atari 2600. I also like how in the artwork of video game characters/consoles that you make, that you really show the history of gaming, and respect gaming history at the same time. So, I would have to say that you've done a good job of putting that all together.
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade (First video posted and art update)
Post by: Trebeck on May 18, 2012, 12:15:16 am
Snap!  Now that is a tight looking cab.

 :lol

Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade (First video posted and art update)
Post by: Uncle Monkey on May 18, 2012, 06:02:25 am
Snap!  Now that is a tight looking cab.

 :lol


Holy crap man, I thought you died, or moved to Canada or something...... :laugh2: And here I bet you thought I was never gonna finish it. Anyway, good to see you're back bro..... :cheers:
Title: Re: Uncle Monkey's Ultra Arcade (First video posted and art update)
Post by: Uncle Monkey on May 18, 2012, 10:19:02 am
Ok, here are some of the menu graphics I made for my front end. In the interest of everything matching, but also not being exactly the same, I utilized pictures of the physical consoles, official logos (when available) and tried to also capture the essence of the system and the era it came from. To see all of them (so far) in their full-size glory, head over to my Flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77665595@N04/sets/72157629939547689/)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7097/7220817820_ae16bfd99d.jpg)(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/6987830408_d24b80b212.jpg)(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7213/7220892306_f48447b449.jpg)(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7245/7220817100_5333c64ceb.jpg)(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5343/7220817272_193db70921.jpg)(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5311/7220817710_51586b5c1e.jpg)
Hopefully, these tie in well with the front-end design and mascots. I will make and post a video using these new graphics this weekend.....