PocketGalaga done and website (slightly) updated

[patrickl]

I have built a Galaga repro cab that is "slightly" smaller than the standard size. I tilted the monitor up a bit so the monitor still fit inside.

The pictures I took were all kinda blurry so I'll take some new ones tomorrow, but here's a picture of it standing next to the pool table whilst my brother looks in obvious admiration at my handywork   (ok, so you can't see the pool table in this picture):



As usual, the camera image does not do the artwork justice. The sideart is lit directly by a window so it is overexposed compared to the rest of the picture.

BTW I have finished the vectorized sideart and kickplate, the bezel image is still a blown up bitmap.

[patrickl]

OK, I found one more picture that was usable. I guess every cab should have the obligatory "cat checking the cab" shots:

I live near a nuclear powerplant so my cat might be a tad bigger than usual  

[Magnet_Eye]

Are you Tom Thumb?  

Anyway, does it actually work or is it just a paper weight?

[patrickl]

I guess it needs more description yes. I'm working on a website for my projects, but that will probably take me a few days. The pictures I took today were mosty blurred because of bad lighting so I will need to take new ones when it's day again.

Some facts:
- PocketGalaga is scaled down to one sixth of a regular upright. (With some modifications to allow a PocketPC to be inserted and the screen to be visible).
- The heart of PocketGalaga is an iPAQ 2210 which will run things like MameCE or PocketSNES.
- The iPAQ can be removed and is connected to a gamecontroller which I hacked to the buttons and joystick.
- The iPAQ slides in through a removable back door and slots right into a connector, hooking it up for easy placement/removal
- The "joystick" is actually a nail between two microswitches and works remarkably well
- It's only 2 way so it basically plays Galaga type shoot em ups
- The marquee is lit when the game controller is connected to the iPAQ (and activated)
- The control panel is replacable (allthough I doubt I'll ever make another CP for it)
- Either my brother is 11" high or my cat is 66" high  

[voodoochile]

Sweet...Im making a pocket pacman..looks awesome

[1hookedspacecadet]

Just plain WOW man.  Really Really good effort.  I would like to see a gallery of these minis.

[HagHore]

Another great microcab!

What did you use for the balltop on your nail?

[Magnet_Eye]

I guess it needs more description yes. I'm working on a website for my projects, but that will probably take me a few days. The pictures I took today were mosty blurred because of bad lighting so I will need to take new ones when it's day again.

Some facts:
- PocketGalaga is scaled down to one sixth of a regular upright. (With some modifications to allow a PocketPC to be inserted and the screen to be visible).
- The heart of PocketGalaga is an iPAQ 2210 which will run things like MameCE or PocketSNES.
- The iPAQ can be removed and is connected to a gamecontroller which I hacked to the buttons and joystick.
- The iPAQ slides in through a removable back door and slots right into a connector, hooking it up for easy placement/removal
- The "joystick" is actually a nail between two microswitches and works remarkably well
- It's only 2 way so it basically plays Galaga type shoot em ups
- The marquee is lit when the game controller is connected to the iPAQ (and activated)
- The control panel is replacable (allthough I doubt I'll ever make another CP for it)
- Either my brother is 11" high or my cat is 66" high  

Cool! thanks for th reply! Now, can we see some images of it with the screen and gameplay? Hmm?  

[patrickl]

What did you use for the balltop on your nail?

Ehm well, I'm still working on that.  I have a small red bead that I can put on the nail, but in fact I take the ball off when I play  

Cool! thanks for th reply! Now, can we see some images of it with the screen and gameplay? Hmm?  

I'm working on a site, but for now I put some pictures on it. See: the PocketGalaga page. I have also added some construction pictures. They look kinda messy and it is. It was not easy fitting all the stuff in there.

Here is an action shot taken from there:

I guess you can't tell much from it. That's probably a good thing though, since I'm playing Galaga on PocketNester instead of MameCE  

BTW, I'm very happy with the way I can put the iPAQ in and take it out again when I need it. It just slides in the tray and connects to the controller. There is no plexi covering the screen since I need to click on the screen to start the game.


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[Stingray]

Very cool little toy patrick! Made even cooler by the fact that the pocketPC is removable.

-S

[SirPoonga]

Just plain WOW man.  Really Really good effort.  I would like to see a gallery of these minis.

in the everything else forum look for the microcab contest.

[patrickl]

BTW, did the first shot fool anyone?    For longer than 5 seconds ... ?

[SirPeale]

Actually it did for a lot more than that.  Until I scrolled down anyway.  You said you built it a bit smaller than normal, so I was thinking in terms of inches, not feet.

[patrickl]

He he yes, I was afraid the cat might give it away   I guess the coverstory of why my cat was so huge was kinda far fetched ... *grin*

BTW that picture took quite a lot of takes to get right. I held the cab in my hand whilst trying to keep the camera focussed and steady It still doesn't feel completely right allthough I can't exactly say why not.

I forgot to mention which gamecontroller I used (well ... apparently it's called a gamepad). I bought a Zeta Gamepad at handit.de. I found the gamepad to be unusable for normal use (you need to hold the iPAQ up or put it on the table and either method doesn't cut it for me) , but it worked perfectly for my "cablet"  

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[Stingray]

BTW, did the first shot fool anyone?    For longer than 5 seconds ... ?

Yeah, you got me too, at least util I scrolled down to the cat shot.  

-S

[Zathras]

Amazing job.  

All these microcabs of late have me wanting to build one myself - actually I think it would be cool to have a lineup of all the "classic" cabs on a shelf (not necessarily all working).  Galaga, Pacman, Donkykong etc etc.

Hmmm wonder if I could trade my Treo for an iPaq...

[patrickl]

Amazing job.  

All these microcabs of late have me wanting to build one myself - actually I think it would be cool to have a lineup of all the "classic" cabs on a shelf (not necessarily all working).  Galaga, Pacman, Donkykong etc etc.

Yeah, I was thinking about that too, but it took me half a year to get this one finished   Well ... I was waiting till I found some high res sideart pictures to draw the sideart and kickplate. But still. Actually, the cab itself was done in a few weeks. Painting it took the longest (waiting for the paint to dry, that is).

Worst part is that I got more impressed looks when the sideart/kickplate weren't on. Somehow adding those made it look too crowded. The coloring seems out of "tune":
- bottom part is navy blue/with with red/purple rays
- the middle is light blue with a green/red/orange trim
- the bezel is marine blue with yellow objects
- the top is all green

Nothing really matches. It's just a messy mix of several color styles  ...  and I love it, but apparently it's an acquired taste  

Hmmm wonder if I could trade my Treo for an iPaq...

If it's an PalmOS5 Treo you might be able to use that. XCade and NesEm do some emulations too.

[hyiu]

VERY NICE !!!!  AMAZING !!!!

 

Very nicely done !!!

I really like it... especially that you can still pull out the
pocket pc for normal use....

[voodoochile]

Totally fooled by the first pic...I thought you where a small guy..lol...nice

[patrickl]

Totally fooled by the first pic...I thought you where a small guy..lol...nice

BTW, it's my brother and he's about 2 meters (6' 8") tall ... lol  

Maybe the wrong place to ask, but can I register this microcab on the projects page? Or is that only for full sized cabs?

[voodoochile]

I dont know why you couldn't...and I would its a worthy example

[Stingray]

I agree. I thik you probably put a lot more engineering into this little guy than I did in my full size cab. It's really incredible.

-S

[patrickl]

Heh, thanks, but it's more a matter of not fitting into the categories. Anyway, I just saw there is an e-mail address for projects that don't quite fit the registration. I guess I'll send it there when I finish my site.

[patrickl]

It's been a while ago, but I got some questions about this little cab recently after I posted a picture of proof that I actually built a cabinet once. Well sort of anyway 

I don't have any plans for this. Apart from a drawing of the side profile and a fitting of how the PDA and CP were supposed to fit I made it mostly as I went along. Since every PDA is different you'd need to change a set plan a lot anyway. The picture of all the parts gives an indication of what went in the cab though.

I did update the website a bit. Added a close-up of the "joystick" and provided some narrative to explain what the pictures show.

PocketGalaga website

[clockwork]

Cool, Patrick. Thanks for the pics and description. That's an amazing little piece of machinery. Do you play it often or is it mostly just for showing off?

[patrickl]

I built this small cab because I never had built anything from wood before. Before I started designing my full sized cab, I wanted to practice cutting, painting and in general constructing things. It was not meant as a serious toy. It also functions as proof that I actually built a cab The full size cab has been in the design/prototype stages for years now

When PocketGalaga was finally done I was surprised that it really does work pretty well. Especially the joystick. It's light to use and the small throw means it reacts very fast.

To answer your question. It still gets a a lot of play on birthday parties and such. Kids (and some parents) love it and just want to play with it when they are here, but I hardly use it myself. If I play a game it will be on a normal sized computer. 

Actually that's what I'm wondering about for Pixelbox (from vrf) too. It looks cool when it's small, but if you really want to play then it's just better on a big screen.

[vrf]

Actually that's what I'm wondering about for Pixelbox (from vrf) too. It looks cool when it's small, but if you really want to play then it's just better on a big screen.

An 8" LCD with a real arcade stick is a heckuva lot bigger than a PDA with a thumbtack.  ;)I've played lots of games on this LCD (with a gamepad, though, and on my main computer) and it works beautifully.

That said, my cab does come with some compromises, mostly in that two-player games will be tricky. And the trackball isn't the same as a full cab. But the display looks nice.

Anyhow, great job with your microcab!

[patrickl]

Actually that's what I'm wondering about for Pixelbox (from vrf) too. It looks cool when it's small, but if you really want to play then it's just better on a big screen.

An 8" LCD with a real arcade stick is a heckuva lot bigger than a PDA with a thumbtack.  ;)I've played lots of games on this LCD (with a gamepad, though, and on my main computer) and it works beautifully.

True, but I think personally I'd still go for the PC to play on. On the other hand I'm sure it will be a big hit at parties and probably that's where all cabinets shine most anyway. The portability will come in pretty handy there.

Pixelbox is an amazing piece of work. I'll bet you'll have a hard time convincing your friends that you didn't buy it. I already had trouble convincing a couple of friends of mine that I built PocketGalaga myself, but your cab looks really professional.

BTW the "nail joystick" plays better than a lot of full size sticks I tried. You'd really be amazed how well it works.

Anyhow, great job with your microcab!

Thanks. I guess I could go for the title of "the world's smallest functional MAME cabinet" too

[kizer]

Wow. I at first thought it was a photo trick with the cat until I visited your website. Thats killer man.

[patrickl]

Ha, ha, thanks. The picture with my brother is the trick shot cause I really wanted a full size cab. I'm still waiting for PocketGalaga to grow up

[melarky]

I just finished a pretty similar project:  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=68524.0

This was a cool project to finish.

[patrickl]

Hey cool. I was lurking in that thread. Nice to see it's done.