EPOCH arcade Completed!

[jordanshadow]

Been watching the forums for about 6 years on/off and watching the lovely projects go by. Its time to complete my own project.

EPOCH arcade: I want to create something easy to use, ergonomically friendly, small list of favorite games. I want to avoid franekpanel syndrome and would like the project to be simple but professional. It will be two player stand-up, six buttons per player, 4 other buttons (player 1, 2, admin,exit).

I draw a lot of inspiration from the alien cab by epyx, the street fighter cab by Martijn, and Delusionals art and style.

[jordanshadow]

"an ode to far away times"

Today marks the first day of construction. For your eyes, the side panels complete with t-molding slot. The final image is of my test rig setup in the basement to test ergonomics. I will soon be bottle necked awaiting my laminate to arrive.







Next up is building the base, decasing the monitor, cutting side art rings, and creating a monitor mounting system.

[jordanshadow]

Small update. I got the monitor decased and discharged. I admit I was a little intimidated to discharge the monitor and was shaking like a leaf when I first touched it  . It all went smoothly using a few parts from radioshack to make a homemade tool.

[markc74]

I was the same the first couple of times I discharged a tv. Scary stuff the first time!

Liking the profile. Looks kinda neo geo?

[gabrielmtl]

Nice profile.

You might have to remove the board if you completely decase it, as it is attached to the front plastic piece on those models.

Good luck with the build

[jordanshadow]

The profile was indeed heavily based off the neo geo design. I did not use any of their measurements because they are too short for myself and tall family but I like the overall flow.

Currently waiting on the laminate to arrive. In the meantime I am simply starting to cut out the various pieces in preparation. Also looking into ordering the glass for in front of the screen. onedayglass.com is actually local so I can simply pick it up.

On of my biggest future concerns is fitting the glass to the width of the cabinet. Do most people use strips of something on the side edges of the glass to hide it or just a really good fit?

[thomas_surles]

"Epoch" "ode to far away times" please tell me this is chrono trigger themed.

[jordanshadow]

Good catch on the chrono trigger references. I lack the necessary artistic skills to pull it off though. Epoch arcade is mostly just a project title but I would love to include "an ode to far away times" in the artwork somewhere. Chrono trigger is also highly represented in the arcades music list. Best game ever.

If someone wants to design the artwork I'm not stuck with anything yet except blue buttons and tmolding. Im actually using artwork provided by delusionals space invader cabinet as the base.

[thomas_surles]

Love it. I also have a ton of chrono trigger music on mine. By far my favorite game. Its a traditipn of mine to beat it once a year.
Also if your interested I have two fan made roms for snes.
The unofficial sequel and magus's side story.

[thomas_surles]

Found some side art ideas on google.

[Xarcade]

Great idea with the Chrono Trigger theme, one of the best RPGs ever with awesome soundtrack. And also that artwork is pretty cool.

[jordanshadow]

Love it. I also have a ton of chrono trigger music on mine. By far my favorite game. Its a traditipn of mine to beat it once a year.
Also if your interested I have two fan made roms for snes.
The unofficial sequel and magus's side story.

I would be interested in the those unofficial roms. Are they fun?

Quick update: 2 of the 3 sheets of laminate has arrived so I should be able to begin again starting Monday evening!

Chrono trigger has some great art but I can't really put it all together into a cohesive whole. The other difficulty is that its not really an arcade game, and it is not made any better by arcade controls.

I did find this though and it was inspiring.

[Yvan256]

Chrono trigger has some great art but I can't really put it all together into a cohesive whole. The other difficulty is that its not really an arcade game, and it is not made any better by arcade controls.

I did find this though and it was inspiring.

To me, that graphic looks like a Chrono Trigger / Tron mash-up.

[jordanshadow]

Back to work. I worked on the side art rings yesterday and learned many lessons. Began by creating a circle jig for my router. Tested it multiple times in some scrap i had laying around till I got just the right diameter. First test I realized I shouldn't measure the radius from front edge of blade to pivot point but rather back edge of blade, oops. Easy fix and I was up and running. Went over the steps in my head several times then made the cut in the actual side. My router was too deep and a bearing slipped leaving a very imperfect circle  . Then I realized I forgot to account for the t-molding that will be installed on the inner circle. After some contemplation I grabbed one of the scraps I was working on that was slightly larger, clamped it down, ran a template bit. Perfect circle! Overlayed first side on second and copied it over.

I would highly suggest that people attempting this in the future simply make a template of a circle out of scratch and then use a template bit. And just search youtube to make a crude circle jig.

I have my laminate so I am off to laminate the sides so we can continue on with this project. Back to my employment soon though. If it wasn't for my damn job I might be able to get something done!

[thomas_surles]

Here are som chrono trigger rom hacks playable on zsnes


-----Chrono trigger -prophet's guile. -------

It is the story about magus that that takes place after the battle with magus.

Game Play is about 2 hours long.

[rom link removed by mod]
---------------------------------------

[jordanshadow]

Side 1 and 2 are laminated on the outside surfaces. It didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked but its done now. Some words to the wise for laminate. Gel contact cement doesn't seem to bond as well as the standard liquid kind despite its easier to work with nature. As far as contact cement more is better. I had to redo a section after being a little stingy and found that using a lot just left a better bond and no noticeable downsides.

I would post a picture of the side but really just imagine the sides now black instead of wood  .

Next up is figuring out what I want to do with the inside laminate. I would like to find a way to keep the wood to wood surface on the inside for better bonding. Option 1 would be to laminate the entire inside. Use a router to cut down. Option 2 would be to use the scraps to laminate just the inside edge but that would require some really accurate cutting or some real careful handiwork with a router. Anyone with experience want to weigh in with there preferences? Is it even possible to route down the laminate in option 2 when the router will be cutting away the entire surface its resting on at times?

Just for fun I included a picture of soon to be admin panel completed with graphics from SlammedNiss. SlammedNiss you the man and do great work!

[jordanshadow]

Was really ill for a few days but finally starting to feel human again. I decided to just laminate both sides and cut away sections to create a strong glue bond for attaching the side supports. I didn't realize how much work that was going to be and i think if i did it again I would just paint the inside. It wasn't hard just tedious. Next up is cutting the side supports and orienting the monitor support beams. Should be standing and in 3d soon!

[jordanshadow]

Lots of work accomplished. I created a couple jigs to cut out the laminate and it made the process quite easy and smooth. All the supports are added using a simple spacer assuring they are all equidistant. At some point I decided in my mind that this needed to be bulletproof and seaworthy and overdid it with the glue and screws  . Oh well!

Laminated the other sides without issue using lots of contact cement.

Cut out all the panels for front/back/shelves etc... I have a table saw so all in all fairly easy to do. I intentionally left them long though so I can laminate and then cut the angles required to line up. On that note for future creators I would suggest using off cuts to determine approximate length of panels. Simply cut down some off cuts into narrow strips, run them along your side supports cutting the rough necessary angles and lengths to get an accurate estimate for cutting the true panels. My original guesses were quite off and this was truly an easier way to do it. I did run out of 5/8" mdf in the correct widths and had to improvise. As you may notice in the picture I made one of the larger panels out of two and simply glued 'em up and reinforced the joint. Solid as could be and I doubt you can tell when i laminate it.

Monitor frame cut out by laying the monitor face down and tracing it onto a board. Used the jigsaw to cut it out. It will be attached to the side via the side supports using bolts, nails, and wood glue. I will probably have to reinforce this frame though as the 5/8" mdf feels to flimsy to hold the bolts.

Truly I did everything but stand it upright which will have to wait for awhile due to work and stuff. Oh well its coming along nicely.

[Louis Tully]

.

[jordanshadow]

Thanks for the encouragement. That is a sweet wallpaper!

For those who have been here before. Any reason not to put the t-moulding on already if I have it? I figured it might protect the fragile mdf edges at this point.

[jordanshadow]

Lets talk artwork. My original plan was this. EPOCH arcade as a working title but really not Chrono themed but actually using space invaders art as below. Note the buttons, t-moulding, rings have already been purchased. I am playing around with the idea of an actual chrono theme but would need a ton of help. See next post for artwork ideas.

[jordanshadow]

Here is the other possibilities. Use something like the first image for a marquee.  The next three images are possible CP ideas, the third CP would have to be recreated in blue with a higher definition. The next image shows the warp from chrono trigger which would make cool side art rings. And the last image is something I really wish I could do something with but I would need an artist to recreate that in a wider format for use.

Is there enough to work with here or should I stick with the original plan. I have no skills but would be willing to hire someone like SNAAKE to accomplish what I need. The biggest wrinkle I can think of so far is that I already bought all the blue stuff so it has to mesh with blue. I'm hoping this will strike up a conversation because I need some help!

[jordanshadow]

Wow you guys are a lively bunch  . I think i need to post my questions elsewhere because I'm not getting much traffic. Oh well thanks for those following along anyway.

A lot of progress has been made since my last post. The arcade is now standing vertical and all the pieces are laminated. I mounted the monitor, secured the base, secured computer shelf, test fitted to glass.

Going vertical was actually pretty easy. Using several clamps I simply lined up several of the panels clamped them down and checked everything with a t-square and level. Once I was satisfied I used some doug fir I had lying around and laid out the base. Secured it all with some screws and wood glue and voila. The doug fir actually made a really nice base and the added weight lowered the center of gravity a little. The arcade is already very stable and solid.

Decided to test fit the monitor. Created a frame to go around the monitor and reinforced it with some extra cherry plywood I had around. Attached the frame to the cabinet stay using screws and wood glue. Hoisted the beast of a monitor up with great effort and and threaded some 3/8" bolts through the frame. Note to self: next time this is a three person job! Used clamps and extra wood lying around to temporary create a shelf for the tv board (note in the picture those clamps aren't attempting to hold that tv lol.) Crossed my fingers and turned the tv on. Still works!

Next up is cutting the control panel. I will then order the artwork. I will be going with my original direction of space invaders as per the wife's suggestion. Then in no particular order attaching casters to the back, attaching panels, create bezel out of the glass, mount the glass. I have to wait on attaching all the panels though so I have room to apply the side art components.

[wp34]

Back to work. I worked on the side art rings yesterday and learned many lessons. Began by creating a circle jig for my router. Tested it multiple times in some scrap i had laying around till I got just the right diameter. First test I realized I shouldn't measure the radius from front edge of blade to pivot point but rather back edge of blade, oops. Easy fix and I was up and running. Went over the steps in my head several times then made the cut in the actual side. My router was too deep and a bearing slipped leaving a very imperfect circle  . Then I realized I forgot to account for the t-molding that will be installed on the inner circle. After some contemplation I grabbed one of the scraps I was working on that was slightly larger, clamped it down, ran a template bit. Perfect circle! Overlayed first side on second and copied it over.

I would highly suggest that people attempting this in the future simply make a template of a circle out of scratch and then use a template bit. And just search youtube to make a crude circle jig.

I had something similar happen to me when I cut my first circle.  I had to use a circle jig to fix mine as well.  Good advice.

Where did you get your black admin buttons?

[thomas_surles]

That is badass love the art

[jordanshadow]

The black admin buttons are seimitsu black with clear lens caps. http://www.focusattack.com/seimitsu-ps-14-gn-c-screwbutton-black/

The artwork was printed by SlammedNiss. He does a fantastic job for anyone looking for a similar effect.

thomas_surles I followed your project and was impressed with how much you did with very little.

[jordanshadow]

More progress made today. I fitted the front panels and two of the back panels. The lower one in back is not secured for access reasons but its in its final shape. The monitor board is also in place and stable.

I used the offcuts mentioned earlier that I used to measure out approximate sizes of the final panels to align my table saw to the correct angles. Made the process 10x easier today!

Next up is choosing between two control panel designs and ordering artwork.

[thomas_surles]

The black admin buttons are seimitsu black with clear lens caps. http://www.focusattack.com/seimitsu-ps-14-gn-c-screwbutton-black/

The artwork was printed by SlammedNiss. He does a fantastic job for anyone looking for a similar effect.

thomas_surles I followed your project and was impressed with how much you did with very little.

Thank you. dont feel pressured to do chrono trigger themed. I mean I didnt do any artwork at all but I still got a fully playble cab out of it. Not one of my friends even noticed that it was so plain. They all just said, "so you can play any game on it? Thats awesome"

[wp34]

The black admin buttons are seimitsu black with clear lens caps. http://www.focusattack.com/seimitsu-ps-14-gn-c-screwbutton-black/

The artwork was printed by SlammedNiss. He does a fantastic job for anyone looking for a similar effect.

thomas_surles I followed your project and was impressed with how much you did with very little.

Thanks.   

Your cabinet is looking great so far. It reminds me a lot of my Tron build but I like the profile of yours a little better.  That bump out in the back is awesome.

[jordanshadow]

Finally got a couple days to work on the cabinet. First thing I did was mount the glass so that I can eventually get final measurements for the control panel, marquee area etc... and order the artwork. The glass is mounted using a piece of plywood with a 1/2" groove, about 1/3" deep cut into it. The glass rests inside this groove. It is attached to the doug fir stay via a screw on each side and further supported with a loosely attached l-bracket. If i need to access the glass its 2 screws per side via the back or under the cp and it can slide out. It will be held in place on the top via the speaker panel.

After I got it mounted i taped up the visible monitor area and took to it with some flat black spray paint. Easy enough and created a very nice bezel. Took two coats to get it right. Edges are about 90% perfect but you would never notice anyway.

Next up was the permanent mount of the front panels. First up I cut a hole into angled piece below the cp to mount a usb extension. When I finally got it all attached the usb plug detached from the mounting plate and had to be re-secured with epoxy  .

Next up I wanted to put into place the two lighted coin buttons I will be using. Cut a 24mm hole with two pilot holes above and below (the button has orientation pegs). Went to try and thread the nut on from the backside and realized the wood was too thick! Had to go to the hardware store and pickup a very large forstner bit. I used the forstner bit to recess the wood to allow the nut to attach. Lined up the two panels and glued them to the stays.

Ended the day by putting on the first bits of t-molding. Wow it looks sharp, almost kinda glows!

Next up I am working on the final shape of the control panel and then will be ordering the artwork.

[Louis Tully]

.

[jordanshadow]

Looking badass, man.   

I spy a bitchin' hat in that last shot.

I love that hat. Picked it up by an artist in Seattle.

Fruits of my labor today. Control panel is cut to shape minus rounding the corners. I obsessed with it so that it fits perfectly flush against the glass, the inner panels, edges, everything. Next up is to order the artwork and and speaker grills. If anyone knows of some cool speaker grills or ways to mount speakers I am all ears.

[stigzler]

Like this. Very clean.

[jordanshadow]

Sorry for the slow updates but its backpacking season and work is busy so progress is slow. I have the artwork resized and ordered. I went ahead with the space invaders design because I really like the simplicity of it.

Rounded the corners of the CP and and have started the drilling for the holes. Because I went with sanwa buttons I need to recess the buttons and joystick. I created a couple jigs to help with the process.

to create the button jig I cut out two pieces of 3/4" mdf approximately 9x10 and 9x22". Using the smaller piece I taped on my button layout from slag coin and used a scratch all to make indents into the wood. I clamped it down and used a 1 5/8" hole saw (required for nut that attaches to sanwa buttons). Then I dropped some screws below the surface and used some wood glue to attach the two boards. Then using my template bit I cut the pattern into the lower piece as well. When I am ready to use it all I have to do is clamp it to the cp and run the template bit at the appropriate depth. I also created a jig to recess the joystick for under mounting.

[jordanshadow]

Have been working on this project a little bit at a time for awhile now just haven't been posting because my time has been limited. Time for some rapid fire posting.

Templates were used to cut the control panel recesses. I utilized sanwa buttons with under-mounted j-sticks. The control panel will be attached via 4 control panel clamps.

The final artwork was carefully placed on the top and trimmed using a flush trim bit.

The colors didn't quite match as I would have liked but the whole project may tie it in together. I do love the feel of the joysticks and the buttons. I also really like the layout and the spaciousness for two players. Time will tell if the artwork can truly withstand play without a layer of plexiglass.

[jordanshadow]

Next up is the artwork side rings so that I can begin to close up the cabinet. I created a new larger circle template with the circle jig and cut out a 1/8" layer of plywood and 1/8" plexiglass. Artwork trimmed to fit with a knife. Router template bit flushed everything together. Artwork sandwich simply screwed into place with some careful direction from the wife. The order goes blue neon ring, 1/8"plexi, artwork, 1/8"plywood.

To be wired up to 12v in the future.

[markc74]

Liking the invader. Got a pic from the inside?

[jordanshadow]

Something like this? I just used L brackets to secure down the computer and speakers. Zip ties to try to cord manage.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Glad to see things coming together!  Awesome use of my artwork!   

Question about the CP overlay:  Did you integrate the black joystick arrows into the artwork before you had it printed or are they the sticker overlays from Paradise Arcade applied once the artwork was laid down to the CP?

Can't wait to see this finished!

DeLuSioNaL29

[jordanshadow]

The joystick surrounds are overlays. They fit so flush and strong I've had no worry. Thanks again for the artwork it looks great. The one thing I may reprint/remake is the cp. It looks good but just slightly off. This will be "finished" very very soon.

[jordanshadow]

Almost no pictures for this step sorry. I'm using logitech z-3 speakers as so many other have for my sound. They are an excellent 2.1 setup. Originally I cut out two rectangles and used a router to flush speakers aka "mountain dog style." I used some speaker mesh/fabric to hide the inside of the cabinet. I wasn't a fan of how it looked so I simply added some metal speaker grills externally. With the addition of the speaker mesh they turned out really good!
Here is where I wish I had that picture. The speakers sit within a recess that holds them in place, then I placed a metal handle on each side of the speaker. Heavy duty zip ties then hold the speakers in place. Simple but effective.

The marquee was similarly drama free. I bought two pieces of aluminum, one channeled down the center 1/4" and the other simply 1" by 1". Each piece was spray painted matte black. Low bracket glued into place using wood glue and the top brack put into place using some small 3/4" screws. The lighting is a novamatrix x5. Simply wired up to 12v and wow that artwork pops! A little more work to stop light bleed was all that was needed. I used very thin strips of mdf and simply taped them into place using black duck tape. At just the right thickness the light bleed was gone. The marquee is sandwiched in 1/8" plexi simply cut using my table saw.

[jordanshadow]

Second project was to create exhaust speakers to vent heat. I used x2 120mm fan mounted in a rear panel. These fans glow blue to hopefully cast a light blue shadow on the wall. To create the holes I removed the fan internals and used the inside of the fan as the router template to create a perfect circle jig for air flow. The fans are then simply wired up to a spliced molex connector. Fan grill over the top for aesthetic.

Oh and tell me the rings don't look amazing lit up!

[jordanshadow]

I wanted to create a rear panel that allowed the bass to escape without booming the entire enclosure as well as provide an air intake at the lowest point of the arcade.  The bass escape is simply a router cut rectangle with speaker cloth carefully stretched over it. Simple but effective. I mounted an arcade button and wired it to the pc power which is connected to a smart strip to turn the whole arcade on with a single button. Simply drilled a hole for the plug to exit. Attached two handles. The rear panel simply fits tightly without being full secure. With some effort it can be removed to service the back.

[jordanshadow]

Finally the entire cabinet is enclosed. Here is pictures of the rear with all the t-moulding in place. And finally the very first system boot up! It was very late when it was all completed. Next pictures will be of the final physical construction.

[tophite]

Looks really great!  I like the speaker cloth idea too!

[jordanshadow]

I wrote up a long final summary and of course the pictures were too large and it deleted it  . So here is the shortened version.

I present to you the epoch arcade. It was a long build process filled with literal blood sweat and tears. I learned a lot along the way. I am very pleased with the final outcome and I feel I met my goals and can put this project to rest. I am in no hurry to start up another one!

The final arcade is nearly 7 feet tall, over 450 lbs, solid. Roughly 6000 games from arcade,snes,nes,genesis,n64.

I'm using this as an excuse to throw a party at my house with meat, beer and arcade games. Street fighter tourney included. Over 30rsvp so far! Should be fun. I look forward to stomping my wife in high score contests and seeing how many games I can dismantle with either 1 credit or 3.

Thanks to the various people who have posted over the years and provided insight into the details of undertaking this project. Pictures to come of the party, and I may take a video to show how cool the music video game remixes are that play in the background of the menu.

[jordanshadow]

Looks really great!  I like the speaker cloth idea too!

The speaker idea was just a natural progression of the grate that was used on the alien epyx cab, mame abduction. Lowes and Home depot had really ugly aluminum grates so I simply covered it in speaker cloth. Now it looks good but also acts as a filter for dust. Air gets exhausted out the top thanks to the fans and filtered coming in thanks to the speaker cloth.