New cabinet project - Currently Un-named

[brewerdude]

I've been working on a cabinet project for about three months now, and thought I'd post some pictures for the world to see.  I'm not a graphic designer/artist by any means, so this isn't very elaborate.  I just want to have a decent looking system I can keep in the house and have a wealth of games on it.  The computer portion is pretty much complete; I have emulators for MAME, Atari, NES, SNES and Daphne.  I'm using HyperSpin for my front end.  I bought the cabinet on July 4 off of Craigslist for $200 - a pretty sweet Bottom of the Ninth. LOL  It was pretty beat up, monitor was OK though.  Turns out, that's been one of my lowest cost items.  I've spent most of last month working on the computer, as it's just been too damn hot to work in the garage!  It's just started to cool down, so I've been able to get back sanding, sanding and more sanding.

The original cabinet:

Left Side


Front


Right Side


CP (Yuck!)


Monitor


Marquee


Back


It's a Taito cabinet!


Pretty dusty in there


Well look at that, started it's life as Jungle Hunt!


The paint was pretty much a mess - whoever converted it just slapped some blue/grey paint over the original Taito graphics (for shame!) and stuck on the new sideart.  The bezel didn't have any artwork, other than two stickers I noticed were removed - some of the glue was still left behind.  It still had the original old school power supply (I was afraid to look at it for fear of being shocked!) and a more modern arcade power supply.  I gutted the interior and got to work on the paint...

[brewerdude]

I decided to sand it down to remove the paint instead of using stripper.  I've done paint stripping projects before, and they turn out to be a huge mess.  Well, now I've learned that since I opted for the belt sander approach, I've had to spend many hours sanding out and filling in all the gouges made by the belt sander.  Doh.  It would have been less harmful if I used the orbital during the stripping stage, but it just wasn't powerful enough to get through all the layers of paint.  I've probably spent over $100 on sandpaper alone.  Ouch.

First step - remove the stickers




Look at that beautiful green Taito paint underneath!


After lots of sanding




Ready for primer:


First coat of primer




Unfortunately, when I applied the primer (two coats), I used a cheap foam roller that left a textured surface.  I spent a few hours sanding that out.  After doing some research, I opted for a better roller cover with a 1/4" nap.  Thankfully the paint laid down nicely.

First coat of semi-gloss black




After inspecting the first coat, I noticed some swirl marks from the sander (dang it!).  Back to more sanding before I apply the 2nd coat.  I plan on doing a total of four coats.  Maybe more if necessary.  More pictures as I progress...

[Well Fed Games]

Looking good. Those Taito cabs might have my favorite profile/shape of all the manufacturers.

[javeryh]

Looking good. Those Taito cabs might have my favorite profile/shape of all the manufacturers.

Agreed.  I've got one in my garage that's all beat up and I plan to fix it up (as soon as my living situation gets under control - probably some time next year).  It's going to be my son's custom arcade machine that he's been begging me to build for him pretty much since he could talk.

OP, how hard was it to strip the cabinet down to a bare surface?  That's the route I'm going to have to take.  I'm also going to remove all of the bolts... don't ask me how but I figured it out on a DK so I'm confident I can do it on one of these...

[brewerdude]

OP, how hard was it to strip the cabinet down to a bare surface?

Using a belt sander with 40 grit, it wasn't all that hard.    The main problem I faced doing that was getting around the bolts.  I made a couple of gouges that I had to fill in with putty and then resand.  Plus, I could never get all the paint totally removed around them.  Though, I weighed that against disassembling the whole cab.  There are places where the joints are glued, and I didn't want to go down that road.  Also, I didn't want to remove the monitor for fear of killing myself and/or destroying it.  Looking back on it, I probably could have just loosened them all a bit, and probably would have been able to get under them.  I think when it's all said and done, it will be OK.

The other big pita, was sanding in corners.  Those sponge sanding blocks were very handy for that.

Just put in my 2nd coat of semi-gloss tonight.  I learned that sanding black paint is very messy...

[brewerdude]

The trackball and spinner arrived today.  I was extremely impressed.  I ordered two days ago, and they made it from England that fast!

Unfortunately, they sent the wrong color.  I ordered pearl blue.    Hope the RMA process with Ultimarc is smooth.

[brewerdude]

And here's what the control panel will look like.



I did this in Visio and created a stencil for the Ultimarc U-trak.

[PL1]

I assume that is a spinner directly above the trackball.

I notice that you have 7 admin buttons -- a cluster of 5 in the center and 1 lonely button (P1/P2 start?) in each corner.

What admin buttons do you plan on using?


Scott

[brewerdude]

I assume that is a spinner directly above the trackball.

Yes


The buttons in the corners will be P1/P2 start

The 5 admin buttons will be (in no particular order)
Exit/Quit
Menu
Coin in
Setup (F2)
Pause

[PL1]

The buttons in the corners will be P1/P2 start

The 5 admin buttons will be (in no particular order)
Exit/Quit
Menu
Coin in
Setup (F2)
Pause

P1 Start/P2 Start (1/2)  Sobbing gently and banished to their corners all by themselves.           
Exit/Quit  (Esc)
Menu (Tab)
Pause (P)

Standard stuff.  Looks good so far. . .

Only 1 coin button (5) means only credits for player 1.  Will player 2 have to use tokens to load credits?

Setup (F2) - I can't figure out why this one is on the control panel.   
Seems like a small Bluetooth keyboard stuffed inside the coin door opening would cover this on the rare occasions it is needed.

What FE and/or emulators besides MAME are you planning on running?
-- The answer to this question may change what admin buttons you want/need.

Also, since you placed an order with Andy, I'm guessing you are using either an I-Pac or a Mini-Pac. (Keyboard-type encoder instead of a gamepad-type encoder.)
-- Some emulators like Visual Pinball prefer keystrokes instead of gamepad button pushes, requiring you to use joy2key or xpadder software.


Scott

[brewerdude]

Thanks for the feedback.  Hope this clarifies things.

Only 1 coin button (5) means only credits for player 1.  Will player 2 have to use tokens to load credits?

I was under the impression as long as I press coin in more than once, I can still press P2 to play a 2-player game.  I'll have to test this as I've only setup one joystick on my mock CP.

Setup (F2) - I can't figure out why this one is on the control panel

I don't want a keyboard installed ever.  If I have to do any advanced admin, I will RDP into it as it's on my home network.

What FE and/or emulators besides MAME are you planning on running?

I'm using HyperSpin.  Besides MAME I'll be running Stella, Nestopia, ZSNES and Daphne.  The computer is pretty much done, need to finish the cab!

Also, since you placed an order with Andy, I'm guessing you are using either an I-Pac or a Mini-Pac.

Nope, I'm using this:
http://www.jammaboards.com/store/pc-mame-ps3-to-arcade-controller-usb-interface-pcb-kit-pc2jamma-usb.html


Gives you two joysticks - one with 10 buttons and the 2nd with 12.  I liked the idea of using usb joysticks over a keyboard emulator.  I'll probably rethink that if I need another button, as I'm using them all.

requiring you to use joy2key or xpadder software

I'm using joy2key with Daphne as it doesn't recognize my joysticks.  I modified the HyperLaunch script to start joy2key when I run a Daphne game, and then exits when I'm done.  I only need it for up, down, left, and right.  I don't envision worrying about pinball stuff, not really into them.


Thanks!

[PL1]

Only 1 coin button (5) means only credits for player 1.  Will player 2 have to use tokens to load credits?

I was under the impression as long as I press coin in more than once, I can still press P2 to play a 2-player game.  I'll have to test this as I've only setup one joystick on my mock CP.

On some games like Simpsons, TMNT, Gauntlet, etc. the credit is awarded to a player based on the coin slot used.

If you want to add an inexpensive keyboard-type encoder to supplement the one you have now, check out Degenatron's AVR Encoder. (It costs way less than an I-Pac.)


Scott

[brewerdude]

On some games like Simpsons, TMNT, Gauntlet, etc. the credit is awarded to a player based on the coin slot used.

I did not know that, thanks for the heads up!   

So then I'll probably move the coin-in 1 and 2 buttons next to the P1/P2 buttons in the corners, and have four admin buttons in the middle.  I just re-reviewed my setup and I should have enough buttons to do that with my joystick emulator.  After 7 buttons for each player, that leaves me with 8 for admin functions.

P1, coin 1 = two on the left
pause, exit, menu, F2 = four in the middle
P2, coin 2 = two on the right

If I can't use the same coin-in wires for my coin door so using coins will still work, I'll have to check out the keyboard emulator you suggested.

[TGov]

Awesome stuff, I love the Taito cabinets.  I am interested to see how it turns out and how comfortable it will be to play with two players.

[brewerdude]

Here's the new CP layout:

[mgb]

That is a great looking cabinet.

Just curious, are those controls comfortable being that far back? Have you done a mock up?

[PL1]

pause, exit, menu, F2 = four in the middle

You might want to increase the space or rearrange the order so you don't accidently exit when you hit pause.

If I can't use the same coin-in wires for my coin door so using coins will still work, I'll have to check out the keyboard emulator you suggested.

You shouldn't have any problem wiring the coin door switches in parallel with the coin buttons on the CP.

Have you done a mock up?

+1 on the mockup suggestion.


Scott

[brewerdude]

You might want to increase the space or rearrange the order so you don't accidentally exit when you hit pause.

I had noticed they looked to close together, and was thinking along the same lines.  The buttons were in no particular order, so I appreciate your advice.  It's still just in Visio, so that's an easy fix.

Have you done a mock up?

I definitely will.  I meant to print it out at work today on a plotter, but go too busy and forgot.  Once I do that, I'll build a mock controller made out of cardboard.  I had the opportunity to do some testing while it was still 'Bottom of the Ninth', two players at a time was no problem.

I was modeling my CP after this:
.
I liked the semi-circle design giving enough room for a trackball.  The two joysticks and buttons will be in roughly the same place as there were for BOTN.

Thanks all for your comments, I really appreciate it. 

Oh, and it's back in the 100's again this week.   Little to hot for working in the garage. 

[brewerdude]

Still working on the paint.  I decided to got with a sprayer and ended up with a slight disaster.  More on that in this post: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,123202.0.html

In the meantime, I'm working with Game On Graphix for my CP overlay.  Here's the first take:



I really like it but want to make some tweaks.
*remove the Spinner label
*maybe make the swirl around the trackball a little bigger
*maybe remove the "P1" and "P2" to the start and coin labels
*arrows around the trackball?


Feedback is appreciated.

[brewerdude]

Bueller?

[TopJimmyCooks]

It may get a little quiet because you're playing with forum dynamite in several areas on that CP:

• layout overall:  the belly out for the trackball is possibly a poor compromise.  it's great for golden tee, but it's going to be an uncomfortable stretch for the sticks, especially for p2.  I encourage you to do a full size mockup of the cp, tape it to your kitchen counter and play it for 10 min.  Don't need to put any parts in, just doodle them in the correct relative position.  Also think about your hand, fingers outstretched going 90 mph after a perfect roll on a bowling game, your eyes watching the ball hook perfectly, then, crash, pain you've got a jammed middle finger because the spinner knob is right dead center above the TB.  Consider moving the spinner out of the way.
• Admin Buttons:  people have admin buttons but many builders don't like or sometimes regret putting them on top.  If your game will be used by kids, possibly ignorant civilian guests, your intoxicated old college bud's, etc. they will push these buttons and mess stuff up.  If purely for your own or close family use, rock on. I use a pull out keyboard myself with only pause and a shifted exit on the CP top.
• Artwork:  you're not going to find a lot of support for the "sprayed on arcade character clipart" motif.  Again, I don't pass judgement at all, but it's frowned upon by a lot of builders lately as the hobby has matured past youthful exuberance to veritable college sophomore levels of coolness and artistry.

Anyway, by no means trying to bust on your stuff, just wanted to provide some insight- people may be holding back on replying because they don't feel positive about aspects of the project.  I don't care, I build weird stuff because I like it. 

[yotsuya]

I pretty much agree with the points TJC made. The only one I'd add would be that I would keep the P1 and P2 on the labels, unless you have those actually printed on your buttons. People need to have an idea as to what buttons do what, especially if you want them to be able to just walk up to it and play. That's another reason why you might want to rethink Menu and Exit (which sound to me like they could be the same thing, unless 'Menu' is functioning as 'Tab' in MAME).

[markronz]

Just a random comment, but if you still wanted to only have one coin button for some reason, for the games that don't share quarters (Xmen, Simpsons, etc), you could just map the keys in MAME so that P1Coin and P2Coin are mapped to the same button.  I believe it would just add one quarter to each player then.  You could even do that in your default controls, but then you'll get some strange behavior in some games, so it might be best to remap on a individual game by game basis.

[Malenko]

I dont like it, the shape looks terrible and uncomfortable, the art would look better if you removed the clip art paste job and the "nipples" from the button areas. I refrained from posting because I didnt want to be negative. If you build it like that you will eventually regret it.