Newbie Intro/First Cabinet Plans *Updated with CP pic*

[mwatson]

Hey everyone 

I must admit I'm thoroughly overwhelmed with all the information I've read in the past week or two (and my roommates think I've gone nuts).

I'll start with a little about me. I started my gaming at the ripe age of 3 on an old BBC microcomputer in the late 80's (yep, I'm only 20  ), I loved games like Donkey Kong, Dog fight, Galaga on the 5.25" disks. Unfortunately my parents sold the computer when we moved in '98 to California. Growing up in the nineties exposed me to great fighters and 4-player adventure games (The Simpson's, various Marvel side scrollers, etc). As you all know: once a gamer, always a gamer and I'm no different.  It wasn't until the last few years that I became interested in console emulation. After modding my xbox I decided mamedox really wasn't a good answer for any of the arcade classics, but at the time didn't have the resources to pursue any full scale MAME cabinet. I did some research at the time and found some great examples of what could be done, but figured it was way over my head.

Fast forward to now - I've finally decided to take the plunge  . The cabinet I've planned will be similar in design to Sasquatch's AP3, with the CP design a blend of the AP3 and Knievel's. I made my first order through dm today, and I'm sure I've rushed into it (after finding out my 4-way stick doesn't perform too well from paigeoliver's "10 repeated MAME mistakes" thread). I hope to get the panels cut and the skeleton assembled in the next two weeks over spring break, so I'll post up a thread in the projects forum later.

I'm hoping to emulate everything through the later 90's, so I imagine I'll need to build a decently hefty computer. From what I've read, the priority should look something like this:

1) CPU: I'm shooting either for a 3+ ghz Pentium 4, or a 2.8ghz Pentium D
2) RAM: I was really unsure here, as it seemed people were recommending less RAM and more processing power (which I can understand for all the hardware emulation required for the newer machines), I was going to shoot for atleast 1gb, possibly 2 if I can find a decent deal.
3) GPU: Recommendations? I plan to run on a 27" TV, so I'll need something with S-Video out, I was planning for around 256mb
4) Audio: Any basic sound card (would an onboard card not work?)
5) Motherboard (this only comes in last because I figure I just need one that will support all the above hardware)

Ideally I'd like to build this so it will run well with the latest version of MAME for quite awhile, but regardless, let me know if I'm going overkill anywhere (I tend to do that accidentally  ).

My CP will have:

2x Happ 8-Way Competition Joysticks (remember I grew up in the fighter era )
1x Happ 4-Way Ultimate Joystick (which will likely be replaced now - recommendations here would be great  )
1x Happ 3" Trackball (translucent of course)
1x Tornado USB Spinner (unless someone would recommend something different/cheaper?)
2x Player Start Buttons
6x Buttons for each player
2x Trackball mouse buttons
2x 4-way buttons (placed next to the 4-way joystick and spinner)
2x Pause/Exit button for each player
2x Insert coin buttons (either on the bottom of the CP or with the start buttons, haven't decided yet)

Hopefully this will turn out well, I need to start developing some ideas for artwork too 

Anywho, sorry for the long first real post. I'll keep them shorter in the future 

-Mark

[Fozzy The Bear]

1x Happ 4-Way Ultimate Joystick (which will likely be replaced now - recommendations here would be great  )

Sanwa make superb ball top 4/8 way sticks....
Pacman Reunion Stick is pretty good also.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[paigeoliver]

Also, for 4-way sticks I have always liked the Happ Universal (it has other names from other companies). It is the one that goes in a button hole with no bolts, and has a square bezel to it. That stick has good 4-way action and it is easy to rotate the whole thing 45 degrees in it's hole in order to play Q*Bert.

[whynotpizza]

Spending the cash on top end controls is well worth it. To that end, you might want to consider the Push/Pull "Blackhawk" spinner from Apache Controls. Bar none the best out there. Been using it in my cab and it works great in all sorts of game play (Tempest, Arkanoid, Discs of Tron, .......)
 
  www.apachecontrols.com

Also checkout the UltraStick 360 from Ultimarc. I do not have direct experience with it, but have heard positive feedback from folks on it.

  www.ultimarc.com

Good luck with your cabinet/project!

 

   David

[mwatson]

Just threw together a quick plan in SketchUp (it was my first time using it, so I've got some lines bolded and some not, no idea why  ). I haven't decided which spinner I'm going with yet, but if people seem to like the TurboTwist 2 I may end up with that, installation looks rather simple and if it works half decent it should be plenty for me. I'm not planning on using it a ton, but it'll be a nice addition when I get the craving to play some Tempest.

Does this right hand style 4-way joystick/spinner seem to work ok for most games? Looking at it, the P2 joystick may be in the way, should I move the P1/P2 controls and trackball down nearer the CP base edge? I've got another few inches before I risk hitting the base. Any things to look out for would be great

Oh - the top left and top right buttons are P1/P2 start, P1/P2 Insert Coin, and Exit/Pause

[paigeoliver]

It won't be symmetrical anymore, but just moving your trackball base to the left so it is almost touching player one's buttons makes it start clearing the player 2 joystick with no problems.