Nostalgia - Done and delivered!

[yotsuya]

Aw, I wouldn't beat yourself up too much over the number of chrome bars on the side art. It's honestly a non-issue. Only the OCD would care. 

For future builds - figure out a way to ditch the keyboard tray altogether. 

[dkersten]

Thank you ALL for the feedback!  Everyone's comments have helped me in some way, even if I didn't take the advice.  It is always a little tricky posting the half baked ideas - you get good feedback that helps to get you to the end result you really want, but you also tend to feel a little judged based on ideas that are only experimental, as if it is the final work or something.  It can be both encouraging and discouraging all at once.  But I believe the end result is worth it.  If anything, listening to what other people think I should do will solidify what I was already thinking, even if it is in the opposite direction of what they think.. I spent so many years doing things like this on my own without feedback DURING the project, and I have to say that getting some feedback while still developing it definitely makes a difference.  So I am thankful for this community.

Aw, I wouldn't beat yourself up too much over the number of chrome bars on the side art. It's honestly a non-issue. Only the OCD would care. 

For future builds - figure out a way to ditch the keyboard tray altogether. 

lol, I am far from OCD, I haven't seen my desk through all the clutter in a year.. I just see the potential for this cab being that much better if I had some forethought on the art.

I find myself always pulling the keyboard tray open to do things - adding games, updating firmware, transferring files, etc.  Last night I didn't have a keyboard or mouse hooked up and I was able to troubleshoot and fix 3 issues without it (using the trackball and side buttons as mouse buttons).  But I couldn't update the firmware on the controller because to do so it shuts the controller off, so I need a mouse at the least.  I suppose I could just have an external USB port for mouse/keyboard and keep it tucked away, but this way the cab could be used as a computer workstation in a pinch.  I have spent probably 60 hours in front of my cab with a chair and the keyboard tray out using it as a regular computer.  I think I might redesign the entire mechanism on the next one though.  I have an idea that might work out well and blend in to the point where you would never see it if you didn't know it was there. 

[yotsuya]

I have spent probably 60 hours in front of my cab with a chair and the keyboard tray out using it as a regular computer.

See, I build the entire game setup on my main computer, then transfer the setup to the cab computer once done. Works easier for me that way. I rarely, if ever, need to get "out" of the game setup on the cab.

[dkersten]

Really hard to set up LED's when you don't have the controller plugged in to your computer, lol.. And to troubleshoot issues with the controller or specific buttons.  Or to set up new emulators to work with the specific hardware in the cab.  Of 5 computers I have tried it on, Demul only worked on 3, and it took completely different configurations to get it to work on 2 of them.  BUT that being said, if I can build the control panel separately and then plug it in to the computer I will be using at a desk and get it all set up there, I technically won't need a keyboard or mouse in the final build.  The latest firmware Andy sent me will allow the ipac ultimate to wake the computer, so I don't need a keyboard or mouse for that any more, where it was a requirement before.  My own cab I have experimented on quite a bit, and it is all specific to the cabinet hardware (driver changes for various hardware, new firmwares, light gun configuration and troubleshooting, multiple emulator configuration, etc.), so it comes in handy to have that functionality. 

[yotsuya]

My own cab I have experimented on quite a bit, and it is all specific to the cabinet hardware (driver changes for various hardware, new firmwares, light gun configuration and troubleshooting, multiple emulator configuration, etc.), so it comes in handy to have that functionality.

That's probably the biggest difference. I try not to overcomplicate my builds. I use a I-Pac or J-Pac, so it all just "works", pretty much plug and play. 

[Malenko]

for the handle, I would have just put a pacman on the left, and made the "handle" 2 pellets, then you could put a ghost or MsPac or whatevs on the right for symmetry

[Le Chuck]

for the handle, I would have just put a pacman on the left, and made the "handle" 2 pellets, then you could put a ghost or MsPac or whatevs on the right for symmetry

[dkersten]

I delivered Nostalgia yesterday, and I have to say that just hearing my dad tell me how impressed he is with the quality and craftsmanship made it all worth it.  My mom is the one who really wanted the arcade, and while my dad gravitates toward my arcade when he is here, I got the impression that he didn't really think that having an arcade cabinet at his house was something he really cared about or even wanted.  But the moment I got the cabinet inside, that changed.  Whatever he was envisioning was not what he was looking at when I rolled it inside.  I have worked for him for 15 years now and handled every aspect of technology for the family company as it has tripled in size in that time, from advertising, to website development, client and server computer setup, maintenance, and repair, to every aspect of telecommunications, network engineering, and even designing and building our corporate building.  Over the last 25 years since moving out on my own, I have built a half dozen pieces of furniture for them, built and installed a rather nice theater for them, fixed countless computers and helped with hundreds of technical and mechanical issues, and I don't think there is a single thing I have ever done that garnered that much "awe".  I have never seen him so thrilled with anything I have done for him either personally or professionally.  And he has always been very complimentary and very encouraging, so to me, that is saying a lot.

Once I moved it into place and got the unit fired up, I didn't even get a chance to show him how it all worked before he had ms. pacman fired up and was playing.  I finally had to reach across and exit the game so I could show him how everything worked before leaving him to play.  I snapped a pic of him engrossed in the game, and it is the final shot for this project.

The cabinet fits wonderfully in the room they chose to put it in, the red works well with the rest of the décor, and it looks as if it was made for the room as a whole.  The only downside is there is a table next to it covering part of the lower artwork.  If I had known where it was going to end up (they originally planned a whole different room for it), I would have altered the art to put the pac man art up higher so it would be visible, but just like the way it flows from the sides to the front, I just couldn't see it coming when I was drawing it up.  That aside, there are no regrets here, I am happy with how it turned out, and while I could point out a dozen minor flaws, they will never see a single one, and that is what matters most. 

[SpaceHedgehog]

I'm not surprised it's been so well received. Great work and what a thoughtful gift.

[Malenko]

I knew they would love it. You did a fantastic job with the build and it's great you got a shot of the machine in its new home and being used by your pops   

[Ond]

Great work and very nice to see your dad enjoying it.  You obviously have some valuable skills across a a broad range of areas - very useful around here!

 

Ond

[yotsuya]

Great job, Dave!

[johnrt]

That's the best gesture to any man's parents I have ever seen.  What a great job! 

[Le Chuck]

  You rock man!

[yamatetsu]

Nice to see a beautiful specimen of the rare Nostalgia breed in it's natural habitat. Congrats on a job very well done !

[dkersten]

Thank you all for the positive feedback!  I couldn't have done this without this forum and all your contributions.

[rtkiii]

very slick and even better ending pic!  Very well done!