Alliantcade - working on the title

[Green Giant]

It's been a really long time with life and work basically ruining all my fun over the years.  And my first project/cabinet has been relegated to taking up space in the garage.  We have built a house and are working on starting up a family soon, so I want to get a new slim arcade that will better fit her aesthetics for the game room.

That leaves me to my old cabinet the toxic arcade and my wife's new job with Alliantgroup.  It's a fairly new and very fast growing company that is making money hand over fist.  If you live in Houston you have seen their new building right next to Williams aka Transco Tower.  They love her and also love me.  Have hung out with her boss many times and we are now even good friends with the CEO.  Hooked him up with comic-con passes last year.  He has a full size darth vader (like what they used to sell at sharper images) in his office.

I tossed out the idea of them needing an arcade game and then told him about mine which they all thought was awesome.  Moral of the story is I have a cabinet I can't use and he is willing to fund my redux/rebuild of a new cabinet with an almost unlimited budget.

I definitely plan on cleaning up the old cab with a better paint job and possibly side art.  It's been a while and I am wondering who around here is doing photoshop for hire?  Need to get familiar again.
Can't decide if I should entirely replace the front door with an all black door and the GGG quarter lighted buttons or buy a 4-player coin door.  Has anyone installed the lit quarter buttons on an actual coin door?
Will probably go with an i5 computer using a SSD and a big HD for games.
Will use the existing tube tv because it looks great for the classics along with the existing marquee lights and speakers.

I am going to make an entirely new control panel which will be a 4-player cab. 
On my first cab I went with the then very new led-wiz controllers and electric ice pushbuttons plus 49-way controllers for the digital remapping (U-360s came out while I was building which sucked).  I was never completely happy with the feel of the digital sticks for 4-way games so I am going to redo things this time around.
I am currently thinking all 4 players with dedicated 8-way sticks that use the RGB ultimarc ball top.
7 buttons for 1 & 2 (maybe just 6) and 4 buttons for 3 & 4 all using RGB electric ice buttons.
I was thinking about using the servo-sticks for 1 and 2 but I am not sure if that would be better than a dedicated 4 way controller next to the spinner and 3 buttons for those two control types.
I think a spinner is better than a trackball since I never got much use out of the trackball on my current cab.  However is there any way to put an LED light on the spinner? 
Top row of the control panel will be the player# button and I like the GGG lit quarter buttons.  Also will have Exit and Pause on the top row.

Thing to remember is this will need to be playable by dozens of people without me ever being there to explain it.  Hence the reason for RGB leds behind EVERY possible control so that it can speak and light the appropriate controls for whichever game is being used.  Also why I want to get a light on the spinner.

Color scheme will be the alliantgroup blue which works well with the common blue so many people use.  I guess I am looking for your thoughts on using a dedicated 4-way with a spinner and buttons or just put a spinner and use player 1's buttons and player 1's servostick.
Also what are people using these days for the frontend?  My first and last effort was just to use Mala although I have really been thinking about GameEX.  What front ends can handle LED controllers that light up the right controls for the right game types?

[Green Giant]

So I have been slacking but finally managed to dig the old arcade out of the back of the garage.  It was no small feat since I spent a good 2 hours cleaning the garage enough to create a good workspace.  It wasn't easy but the computer begrudgingly fired up sort of.  Pretty sure the video card is dead/dieing.  I should be able to pull off my old configuration files which will help the transition on the new arcade.
    
You can tell it's really dirty.  Also the back door I am not happy with, so in the rebuild I will seal up a greater area and then use some neodyn magnets for a removable section.

Next I took all the electronics out.  I was happily surprised to find the TV does power on when I provide power.  Had forgotten this since I was too poor/cheap to buy a smart strip back in 07.
 
The TV is finally gonna get a paint job at least up front to black.  The modified speakers I had in there still seem great so won't be changing that.  I then stripped it all the way down removing the coin door and any other doors.
   
For sure will be making a new coin door to fit the 4-player coin machine I will be installing.  The outside needs a little cosmetic work but for the most part just a proper paint job.  First time around I was lazy/rushed and just did 1 coat of black, probably a primer too.

I am really liking the Flynn 4-player panel design, but need to do some mock-ups.  I am getting really close to parts purchase time.  Right now trying to figure if I want to use the ultimarc classicRGBs or another RGB that will work with the ipac UIO.  I am looking at needing 31 give or take.  Hopefully can get a bunch more work done this weekend although I better order a 4-player coin mech soon so I can at least finish the construction.

[edge929]

Hyperspin is a good front-end if you are patient and want customizability. I know some on here hate it and I admit it was difficult for me to setup even as a programmer but I powered through it (i.e. read the forums and tinkered enough) and got the results I wanted. Setting it up is very time-consuming but once it's up, you never have to do it again (only add more to it if you want). I backed up my Hyperspin folder to be a drop-in replacement in the future should the hard drive die or I upgrade the computer. I'd say try out a few and see which you like best.

[yotsuya]

Hyperspin is a good front-end if you are patient and want customizability. I know some on here hate it and I admit it was difficult for me to setup even as a programmer but I powered through it (i.e. read the forums and tinkered enough) and got the results I wanted. Setting it up is very time-consuming but once it's up, you never have to do it again (only add more to it if you want). I backed up my Hyperspin folder to be a drop-in replacement in the future should the hard drive die or I upgrade the computer. I'd say try out a few and see which you like best.

Amen and hallelujah,  brother.

[rablack97]

Save yourself the hassle and get the pre-configured drives.

That RL/Hyperspin duo is a complete circus dance.

That way you get everything you need and dont have to fool with config, keep the external as a backup and just copy everything to an internal and done and your playing.

The issue with that program is that it is always evolving to where you have to start from scratch on a rebuild.  I have the old, old hyperspin, works fine for me.  The newer hyperspin I guess claimed to make setting up hyperspin easier with by making portable AHK files for each emulator. 

However once you open it up and look at it you will say F-this...And everybody has their own way of doing the config. So i found a reasonable pre-configed drive with updated everything and i love it, saved me hours of headaches.  The drive i got was plug and play, with minor tweaks that i was versed in.

If you do wanna learn it, be prepared for lots of reading, and think 3-D

[reptileink]

Hyperspin is a good front-end if you are patient and want customizability. I know some on here hate it and I admit it was difficult for me to setup even as a programmer but I powered through it (i.e. read the forums and tinkered enough) and got the results I wanted. Setting it up is very time-consuming but once it's up, you never have to do it again (only add more to it if you want). I backed up my Hyperspin folder to be a drop-in replacement in the future should the hard drive die or I upgrade the computer. I'd say try out a few and see which you like best.

Not trying to get into a FE war here, but Maximus is pretty customizable as well. I have all custom screens for each console, custom background, custom arcade art, etc.

[SNAAKE]

didn't I do this artwork like a million year ago lol

[Green Giant]

didn't I do this artwork like a million year ago lol

Yep, back in 06-07 ish time frame.  This time around I am going all out on artwork.  I am thinking side art and still working on the full details.  All I know is it will be blue and probably using their font.  This is their trademark or whatever you call it blue "a".  First I am figuring out the control panel dimensions.  I don't want it to be out of proportion, but thankfully the original cab was pretty damn big.

[Green Giant]

Hyperspin is a good front-end if you are patient and want customizability. I know some on here hate it and I admit it was difficult for me to setup even as a programmer but I powered through it (i.e. read the forums and tinkered enough) and got the results I wanted. Setting it up is very time-consuming but once it's up, you never have to do it again (only add more to it if you want). I backed up my Hyperspin folder to be a drop-in replacement in the future should the hard drive die or I upgrade the computer. I'd say try out a few and see which you like best.

Not trying to get into a FE war here, but Maximus is pretty customizable as well. I have all custom screens for each console, custom background, custom arcade art, etc.

I will probably play with all of them once I put together the computer.  I assume all play well with ledblinky.  Stability is a key factor because a huge amount of time I won't be there to monitor/explain things.

[ZexisStryfe]

My only real complaint about Hyperspin (outside of what is already stated here regarding complexity) is the fact it doesn't support widescreen formats. Since you are using a CRT though, that shouldn't be an issue. 

[Green Giant]

Got some more work done over the last 2 weeks.  Took pictures of most of it, but forgot to take pictures of the work I did for the back of the cab.  I could add pictures of the sanding but you can see it in the other work I did.  Sanded the entire cab with a rough paper then smoothed it out some.  As I thought I did a quick primer and single coat way back in the day because I was in a hurry then.

I found a very easy USB powered pair of computer fans that I plan on adding to the back of the cab for ventilation.  So I drilled out two holes and then pulled out the router to clean them up.


Next it was my first time to ever play with Bondo.  On top of the cab I previously had the computer power switch, marquee light switch, and tv power signal.  As you can see these were ugly even though nobody would ever be able to see them other than myself cause I'm tall.  I have to say bondo works pretty damn fast.  I didn't realize it was a two part system but I figure I should have known that.  But after it gets sanded down it looks pretty damn good.
 

Also I figured why not take a picture of the bottom of the cab since I don't think I ever had one.  The 2x2s are screwed to some reinforcing pieces of MDF in the bottom of the cab.  Probably overkill but I didn't know at the time.

Also cleaned up the hole where the power cable enters the cab.  I have thought about putting a computer power supply style plug on the back but I think I prefer being able to keep an extension cord in there with a little give to it.


This past Friday I was working on my plan for the rear panel.  Part will have permanent handles but I want to be able to access at least the lower section.  For that I took the old rear panel that was on hinges and cleaned it up.  Then I attached neodynium magnets around the four corners.  On the inside I attached some steel strips to 2x2s and into the cabinet side.  I think I will add some more magnets to it but the idea is I can easily pop it off without much effort or tools and nobody will really know.