First timer

[thomas.walsh.14203]

Hey everyone. New user and aspiring cabinet builder. Anyway onto the meat. I currently have an old Double Dragon Arcade machine I purchased a few years ago. It was in rough shape when I got it. The outer casing is fine, but the internals are now borked. I bought it with the intention of building an emulation cabinet when it finally went kaput. Well it did. I have an old PC that I am going to install Lakka on and stick it in the cabinet with new speakers and monitor. Basically gutting the old internals. I am not an electrician. I am not planning on putting arcade sticks back on it, rather hooking up USB controllers in the place of the arcade sticks.   Is Lakka any good?  Is there an easier program for getting a bunch of different emulators to work? 


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[thomas.walsh.14203]

Here is the cabinet in question. I haven't gutted it yet.


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[Mike A]

You are probably better off plugging your computer into a tv in your living room. Without arcade controls there is no arcade experience.

[Titchgamer]

^ what Mike said.

Its totally pointless putting a PC in a wooden box to play with controllers!

If you want to make a mame machine do it properly with sticks and buttons otherwise you are trashing a perfectly good cab for nothing.

[DaredevilDave]

You could do both!

I mean the cabinet has some controls already. Maybe leave it like that, stick in a PC and add your console emulators.

Then all you would need is a simple USB controller card for maybe $20 to plug your existing cabinet controls into. Install MAME. That's it! Now you have a working arcade machine too, if you're interested in that.

My standup cabinet plays mainly MAME, but also some driving games ...Daytona, Sega Rally, and some newer PC racers too.

To play the racers, I have an HDMI and a USB extension running to my 60 inch plasma in the other room. I have a nice low chair with a racing wheel (it's a massage chair too haha).

So I use the computer in the arcade cabinet to play racing games in the other room as well. Works awesome. I have a wireless keyboard and mouse near the steering wheel. I can use the computer as a computer from the big screen also, as an added bonus.

Also, I use the same computer - for now - to test my cocktail cabinet. Just run a few wires....

Anyways, point is you can do a lot with that cabinet. And if you get tired of standing up playing console games you could maybe do what I did and play from another TV.

[DaredevilDave]

Just wanted to add that I'm new to this too.

Do whatever you want with that cabinet and make it fun, especially as an intro to arcade gaming/building. You'll get a lot of good advice here (some really really good!) and a lot of opinions.

Sounds like you know what you want, so go for it. I'll bet along the way you'll get the itch to do more with it soon enough

People are saying you don't want to play console games standing up. Well, that's something you may decide for yourself later anyways. Believe me you'll find what you like as you go. I'll bet it turns into an arcade machine in the near future

[thomas.walsh.14203]

The controls on the machine are shot.  The no longer work like they once did and I do not want to go through re-wiring it.


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[thomas.walsh.14203]

I got enough space on the inside that I am going to throw in an Xbox 360 and PS3. Got multiple spares of both lol. Gonna have three controllers on top. One 360, one PS3 and one for PC. Got a flat screen tv with multiple hdmi ports and vga that will fit where the old monitor was.


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[mafiafan123]

Pre-made wire harness maybe?

You could always do hidden USB ports under the control panel or if you really want Xbox and ps3 do a controller hack?

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[Titchgamer]

The controls on the machine are shot.  The no longer work like they once did and I do not want to go through re-wiring it.


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As long as the wiring is good no need to rewire.
Just swap out the sticks/buttons.

If you want a decent mame machine with real arcade controls though it aint hard.

Buy a Ipac, Xin Mo whatever encoder you like with a wiring harness and then its all plug and play.

Even add a few buttons.

[Titchgamer]

Just to add you can also use the xin mo as a console controller but obv most games are not designed for these kinda controls :p

[Mike A]

Titch. I applaud your effort, but the OP isn't looking for advice, just validation.

[yotsuya]

Actually, looking closely at it, it looks like a Gravatar or Space Duel that has been butchered. Look at that horrible button placement. Also, nothing matches on the CP overlay. MAME away.

[Titchgamer]

Now I zoomed in I see your point Yot...

WTF Happened there!?

[yotsuya]

Now I zoomed in I see your point Yot...

WTF Happened there!?

I know, right. I just happened to notice the ---smurfy--- button layout for P1, then I looked closer....

[Titchgamer]

Ok may have to get a new CP to.... LOL

[leapinlew]

I don't know anything about Lakka, but this is the 2nd time I've heard of it.

Many front ends do a decent job switching between emulators. Check out Mala and Hyperspin. Youtube has some decent videos of them in action:

Hyperspin:
Maximus:
Mala:

Since it seems you're relatively new, you can, and should, be open minded to a few things. First off, do lots of reading and research here. Lots of us have completed many builds and we have learned that as you learn more, your end goals change. For example, you may think that all you want now is to just use your arcade as a cool TV cabinet, but maybe after you do some reading you learn about different controller types and decide you do want to use the controls on your cabinet. Did you know that X-arcade sells an easy to use, pre-wired kit that allows you to connect to your computer, xbox and playstation and it comes with maximus? You can find that kit here: https://shop.xgaming.com/collections/arcade-parts/products/two-player-complete-do-it-yourself-arcade-kit

Most people here agree that X-arcade doesn't have the best equipment, but my point is, you may find after doing a small amount of research that the scope of your project may change.

If you decide to build an arcade, the owner of this website wrote a book. Check it out: https://www.amazon.com/Project-Arcade-Build-Machine-ExtremeTech/dp/0764556169

Lastly, good luck with your project and don't be afraid to ask any questions. While some of the members here can be .... passionate, most folks understand that your project is yours to do with as you want. Have fun.

[yotsuya]

Good advice by Lew. I was totally going to do the tanks that thing too because I thought wiring controls would be too hard, but I decided after reading a bunch of threads here that it really wasn't, I took the plunge and have never looked back. I don't think fixing the controls would be as hard as you think it would. However, looking at the work they did to that control panel, who knows what it looks like under there.

[thomas.walsh.14203]

 So here is the cubby hole that we made for the controllers. We are going to be putting 3 USB hubs in like the one shown. Haven't decided if we will recess them or not yet.  Anyway all three systems will have their own hubs that the controllers will plug into.  They will also be labeled appropriately one they are installed. 
   On the inside will have a shelf mounted in between the two doors with the consoles situated on either side with the drives facing each other. There is plenty of clearance to insert discs. Below the shelf will sit an older slimline desktop that I will have Lakka running from a USB stick. Haven't done the install yet. I will show that off when I do.  The speaker vents on the front will be used for ventilation. I will install the speakers above the tv behind the marquee. A new light will be installed behind the artwork. The old one had burn marks on the casing.




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[leapinlew]

Where's the updates?

[thomas.walsh.14203]

Got Lakka up and running. Had to use a laptop since the desktop I was planning on was fried.  Not worth trying to find parts for a 10 year old desktop.  Anyway had some issues trying to get the HP laptop to boot from USB to install the new OS, but I finally got it on there and loaded some Roms.  Works great. Laptop is an older Core i5 that I had bout about 5 years ago give or take.  Works great with a PS4 controller. I have other controllers I need to test but that's for another day.

Update on the casing is that it's all together. Just waiting on the weather so I can paint it.


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[thomas.walsh.14203]

Not marking this as done yet but very close. Still want to add some lights, and fans. Also want to change out the TV once finances allow. 

My idea was to install some 120mm PC fans where the old speakers sat. My question is that I am not sure how to power them. Is there an adapter that will allow me to plug them into a power strip?


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[dgame]

You can get 120mm fans that run on 110-120v AC so you can plug it into a power strip, or you can get a 12V DV AC Adapter and use regular PC fans with Molex connectors:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/120mm-25mm-New-Case-Fan-110V-115V-120V-AC-71CFM-PC-Cooling-Ball-Brg-2-wire-393-/180926231010
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-to-DC-12-Volt-500mA-12V-Power-Adapter-4-Pin-Molex-Connector-PC-Computer-/401040610678

I just watched your video. Nice setup. You seem to have the consoles, controllers, and menu sorted.

I suppose playing a game like the Double Dragon you showed could work standing up with a game pad.

Now the question is are you planning on playing those 'cinematic' console games standing up? Maybe add a few tall stools?

[thomas.walsh.14203]

You can get 120mm fans that run on 110-120v AC so you can plug it into a power strip, or you can get a 12V DV AC Adapter and use regular PC fans with Molex connectors:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/120mm-25mm-New-Case-Fan-110V-115V-120V-AC-71CFM-PC-Cooling-Ball-Brg-2-wire-393-/180926231010
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-to-DC-12-Volt-500mA-12V-Power-Adapter-4-Pin-Molex-Connector-PC-Computer-/401040610678

I just watched your video. Nice setup. You seem to have the consoles, controllers, and menu sorted.

I suppose playing a game like the Double Dragon you showed could work standing up with a game pad.

Now the question is are you planning on playing those 'cinematic' console games standing up? Maybe add a few tall stools?

Yes I plan on getting two tall swivel stools with backs on them in a few weeks. Husband has said I have spent enough money on this so far lol.  Considering I used mostly stuff I already had, it has only cost me about $65 so far. 


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[Mike A]

If you are going to sit in front of it and use console controllers you are better off plugging it into your tv and sitting on your couch.

[leapinlew]

I know you said you haven't used many front ends, but how is Lakka holding up?

[thomas.walsh.14203]

I know you said you haven't used many front ends, but how is Lakka holding up?

Working well so far. Only gripe is how it handles 2 players.  I was using a Dual Shock 4 controller for single player just fine. Went to hook up another controller, this time a wired 360, and set it as User 2 in the menu. Set it so User 1 (DS4) controlled the menus but when in a game it always sees the 360 controller as player 1. Go to back out of the game and the DS4 can no longer control menu, only 360. Check settings and they are how I left them. Seems like Lakka prefers 360 controllers over anything else.
    Other than that Lakka is quite fast. It only likes "No Intro" Roms. They are the only ones that will be added to the list when scanning. You can potentially use others but it's hit or miss. So of over 300 NES Roms it recognized 20.  Despite what the Lakka website says about it, Wifi works. I'm able to connect to it wirelessly thru my main PC.


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