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New to the board. Input needed on project.

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kegger:

 what front end does everyone prefer?
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I use Mala but there are alot to choose from.

severdhed:
sounds like an interesting project...here are my 2 cents....


Definitely keep the cabinet so that it can be restored later.

How big of a control panel do you plan on installing in there, and how do you plan to attach it so that it doesnt look weird?

as for a front end, MALA is the way to go, it is easy to set up and easy to build a custom theme.

personally, if this were my cabinet, i would set it up so that it looks like a standard pacman cab, with the normal control panel and a vertical monitor, and set it up to run mame, with all the games that are playable with only a 4way stick.  you would also have the two start buttons, which could double as action buttons if you needed them to.  this is what i am doing with my Donkey Kong cabinet.  the control panel will be just like the original, and it is set up to run the 30 or so games that have a vertical monitor, and can be controlled with a 4way stick and 1 button.  i recently decided that the two start buttons could also be used for action buttons for specific games, so i added Tutenkham, which is alot of fun.   of course this is your cabinet and you can do what you want to with it, but i think adding a frankenpanel to a pacman cabinet just seems wrong.  you would be better off getting a generic empty cabinet for an all-in-one mame machine, and keep this one dedicated to the classics.

drventure:
+1 for Mala

Hyperspin sure looks pretty slick, but personally, i think it's a bit over the top in terms of animation and "crap flying around"  :)

I really just depends on what you like.

Emulaxian is pretty nice too, if you can get over the incredibly huge hurdle of actually configuring it  :(

opt2not:
+1 to Mala.

Mala makes you hollah!

92greenyj:

--- Quote from: severdhed on April 30, 2010, 09:25:44 pm ---sounds like an interesting project...here are my 2 cents....


Definitely keep the cabinet so that it can be restored later.

How big of a control panel do you plan on installing in there, and how do you plan to attach it so that it doesnt look weird?

as for a front end, MALA is the way to go, it is easy to set up and easy to build a custom theme.

personally, if this were my cabinet, i would set it up so that it looks like a standard pacman cab, with the normal control panel and a vertical monitor, and set it up to run mame, with all the games that are playable with only a 4way stick.  you would also have the two start buttons, which could double as action buttons if you needed them to.  this is what i am doing with my Donkey Kong cabinet.  the control panel will be just like the original, and it is set up to run the 30 or so games that have a vertical monitor, and can be controlled with a 4way stick and 1 button.  i recently decided that the two start buttons could also be used for action buttons for specific games, so i added Tutenkham, which is alot of fun.   of course this is your cabinet and you can do what you want to with it, but i think adding a frankenpanel to a pacman cabinet just seems wrong.  you would be better off getting a generic empty cabinet for an all-in-one mame machine, and keep this one dedicated to the classics.



--- End quote ---

I appreciate the input. this is the kind of stuff I was looking for!

for the control panel. I first removed the original and took a lot of measurements. (this is something i have kind of already started to toy with while I wait for my pc to come in) Took some with the original panel in place as well. the original panel mounts simply enough. two alignment pegs at the top, and two panel clips (the metal latch type) one on either side. Basically I added about 4"s to the length of the original control panel (started with 6"s) and made a cardboard template. Once I had the first cut I taped it in place of the original panel to get an idea of size. it stuck out too far so I cut it down by 2"s and got it to a size that personally I don't feel looks too large to have been there from Namco. So i took that template and cut 3 more out of cardboard at the same size. Then I drew out a 1/2" x 1/2" grid. marking my center lines and where they intersect so I knew where my dead center was. I measured a stock button from the original CP for size and got the joystick dimensions from Happs website then sat down with one template at a time, a ruler, a pencil, and a compass and sketched out a few different button layouts and configurations on each one until I got something I was happy with.

My plan is to make it mount in the exact same way the original does. Again, I dont want to physically alter the cabinet if at all possible. the original control panel also has about 2.5"s of "underhang" (technical term) so I will extend that out as well and come up with some method to hide a door in the front of it that will conceal a slide out tray with a keyboard and mouse in it for when I want to get online to get more roms or what have you. Again, plan is to have a wireless card on the PC inside the cab with an antenna mounted on top of the cab somehow. This will allow me to update and such without pulling everything out of the cabinet.

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