Author Topic: Project "Odyssey" UPDATE 8-4-04 (Read 9789 times)

Postalp · « **on:** July 17, 2004, 10:39:02 pm »

Hey,

Let me know what you think...

The cabinet im building is called "ODYSSEY" after the movie "2001, A Space Odyssey". It is my very 1st Arcade Cabinet Project, in fact, this is the 1st time I have ever worked with wood before, I felt like I did a horrible job. But hey, at least it plays games right.

It is Based on Lucid's Cabinet design (Thanks Lucid for paving the way for people like me) with a few minor adjustments:

I'm using 3/4" High Density Partical Board laminated with White Melamine (Saves me painting) This stuff is very heavy duty and very heavy BTW (This cabby has to weigh at least 250lbs empty!)

The CP is now in a 4 player layout now (read below).

I actually got the idea to make it the "HAL 9000" because of the fact that the cabby is stark white (White Melamine Coating) and the Trackball I'm getting will be the Happ Glowing Red one like HAL's eye. But after fooling around in Photoshop making a Marquee, I came up with a Pic that portrayed the movie in its entirety, hence it was dubbed "ODYSSEY, The Alpha and Omega of Emulation"

Originally I was going to go with the 2 player setup, but as you have seen in my earlier post, one of my Happ Comp sticks is a little too tight for fighter games (slight defect). So what I decided to do is to order 2 more Happs Comp sticks and a few more buttons as well as fashion a wider CP for a 4 Player setup (Gauntlet, TMNT, Simpsons, etc...). The new CP layout is a monster at 53" wide (I like my elbow room).

I will be Interfacing with an I-Pac 4 and Opti-Pac for controls.

I'm also planning on getting dual ACT LABS Light Guns.

I'm planning on going with a 27" TV for the display.

I will keep you all updated as I continue to finish it, sorry I didnt take pics of construction of the Cabinet (Digital Camera was down and you wouldn't want to see the crappy hack job I did anyway).

Take a look at the pics and let me know what you guys think so far....

Any Suggestions a VERY welcome

Postalp · « **Reply #1 on:** July 17, 2004, 10:42:14 pm »

Marquee Design....

Postalp · « **Reply #2 on:** July 17, 2004, 10:43:22 pm »

Decal I made and plan on putting on Bezel....

Postalp · « **Reply #3 on:** July 17, 2004, 10:56:15 pm »

4 Player Layout concept....

JustMichael · « **Reply #4 on:** July 17, 2004, 11:14:47 pm »

Why not name the computer "Holly" instead?

Postalp · « **Reply #5 on:** July 18, 2004, 12:19:41 am »

I also managed to aquire a few sound samples of HAL's quotes from the movie which I am going to incorperate into the boot/shutdown system.

I already have a custom boot screen (XP) ready to go for it

pointdablame · « **Reply #6 on:** July 18, 2004, 12:44:08 am »

Very nice, looks very good. I really like the marquee too, although the baby on the left kinda scares me

Nice work.

FYI though, this shoudl probably be in Project Announcements, not the main forum.

Postalp · « **Reply #7 on:** July 19, 2004, 12:18:25 pm »

Sorry, can I have a mod transfer it for me?

G@M3FR3@K · « **Reply #8 on:** July 19, 2004, 08:41:36 pm »

My only suggestion to you would be to add a 4th button to Players 3 & 4 so that you can play the Dungeons & Dragons games.

(Unless you plan on using one of the above white (config ?) buttons instead?)

Postalp · « **Reply #9 on:** July 20, 2004, 12:21:05 am »

Quote from: G@M3FR3@K on July 19, 2004, 08:41:36 pm

My only suggestion to you would be to add a 4th button to Players 3 & 4 so that you can play the Dungeons & Dragons games.
(Unless you plan on using one of the above white (config ?) buttons instead?)

Its actually very funny you mentioned that, not 12 hours ago I bored out a 4th button for players 3 and 4 for the D&D Games in mind. Then I see your post....LOL.

Postalp · « **Reply #10 on:** July 22, 2004, 07:00:21 pm »

Heres an update of the cabby:

Replaced CP with 4 player one.
Installed Marquee and Light.
White trimming added.

The remainder of the parts were ordered last night (Remainder of buttons & Joysticks, CPU and I-PAC 4) Everything just short of the 27" TV.

Postalp · « **Reply #11 on:** July 22, 2004, 07:04:29 pm »

CP closeup....

Postalp · « **Reply #12 on:** July 22, 2004, 07:08:19 pm »

Inside of shell... (notice subwoofer attached to underside of monitor base)

Postalp · « **Reply #13 on:** July 22, 2004, 07:13:55 pm »

Marquee in action.... (Mental note: Clean Plexi)

Ghoward · « **Reply #14 on:** July 22, 2004, 07:32:55 pm »

I liked your old control panel better, but then again I don

Postalp · « **Reply #15 on:** July 22, 2004, 08:08:38 pm »

Didnt have a router

The front door is temporary, I'm planning on making a new one with a coin door

pointdablame · « **Reply #16 on:** July 22, 2004, 08:20:37 pm »

YOWZA! that is a wide CP. I'm not a big fan of 4p CPs though, so don't mind me.

Looking good though, the marquee looks nice installed. Keep it up.

namzep · « **Reply #17 on:** July 22, 2004, 09:22:54 pm »

Curiosity, what's the width of that CP? Are there any stability problems with the cab because of the length that it extends out on each side?

Postalp · « **Reply #18 on:** July 22, 2004, 09:42:34 pm »

Quote from: namzep on July 22, 2004, 09:22:54 pm

Curiosity, what's the width of that CP?

56", I wanted to make sure that all four players had ample elbow room.

Quote from: namzep on July 22, 2004, 09:22:54 pm

Are there any stability problems with the cab because of the length that it extends out on each side?

Due to the fact that I used 3/4" high density MDF, the shell alone is very heavy (almost 300lbs empty!) and 26" wide, which makes the cabinet very stable regardless of the wide CP.

SNAAAKE · « **Reply #19 on:** July 22, 2004, 09:45:49 pm »

Redbull gives you wing !!

Ghoward · « **Reply #20 on:** July 22, 2004, 09:49:13 pm »

I'm glad your are going to redo the coin door. If I was you I would go back to the old CP layout it looks soooo much cleaner.

Don't get me wrong I like your cab, but each to their own.

Gary

mmmPeanutButter · « **Reply #21 on:** July 22, 2004, 10:14:18 pm »

not to be rude... but you might want to read this post

Postalp · « **Reply #22 on:** July 23, 2004, 03:35:30 am »

PButter, thanks for the hint. I didn't realize how large my pics were (Large rez on my desktop) I have resized them all for ease of viewing.

I really put alot of thought into whether I should stick with the 2P CP or go 4P. I tend to have friends over alot, and thought it would boost party morale to make sure that as many players as possible could participate at the same time.

Worst case scenario, if the 4P is ultimately not worth the trouble, I'll swap back to the 2P CP.

Postalp · « **Reply #23 on:** July 23, 2004, 03:58:26 am »

Here is the customized MAMEWAH Frontend I rigged up for my project.

I have replaced the default Intro, Start Game, Exit Game and Exit Emulator sounds with HAL quotes ripped right from the movie "2001"

Its amazing how well they worked, for example...

When you start up MAME, HAL says: "I am completely functional and all my circuits are operating properly"

Or, when you end a game, HAL says: "Thank you for a very enjoyable game"

Or, when you exit MAME altogether, HAL says: "This conversation can serve no purpose anymore.....Goodbye"

You get the idea...

I think one of the coolest features about MAMEWAH is having the option of music playing in the background of the frontend. I edited a song from NIN called "A Warm Place". Its got a mellow, almost "Spacey" feel to it which makes it compliment the theme of my cabinet even more, giving you a slightly haunting feeling as you browse the games. I edited it perfectly to where the loop in the song is almost unnoticable.

Thanks to the versatility of MAMEWAH, My cabinet has alot more "Atmosphere" (No pun intended) than I thought possible.

CthulhuLuke · « **Reply #24 on:** July 23, 2004, 06:01:05 am »

You know ever since I saw Oscar's scratch built Pac-Man cab, painting the inside of your cabinet white makes it look 100 times cleaner for some reason. The cabinet is looking pretty awesome so far, that control panel got monstorous! I hope you got 2 more buddies to fill in the gaps *well I guess kids could help too* Marquee is looking pretty wicked, I really like the baby creature. Only suggestion on the Mamewah skin would be to see if you can change the color of the font from green to either white or red, green just doesn't seem to match up with the rest of the cab very well.
- keep up the good work

Postalp · « **Reply #25 on:** July 23, 2004, 07:20:39 pm »

Quote from: CthulhuLuke on July 23, 2004, 06:01:05 am

Only suggestion on the Mamewah skin would be to see if you can change the color of the font from green to either white or red, green just doesn't seem to match up with the rest of the cab very well.
- keep up the good work

Excellent input C-Luke.

So what do you think, Red font....

Postalp · « **Reply #26 on:** July 23, 2004, 07:21:12 pm »

Or white....

Postalp · « **Reply #27 on:** July 23, 2004, 07:32:03 pm »

Maybe this will help.

White concept....

Postalp · « **Reply #28 on:** July 23, 2004, 07:32:24 pm »

Or red....

Witchboard · « **Reply #29 on:** July 23, 2004, 08:34:10 pm »

White. Matches the cab.

NIVO · « **Reply #30 on:** July 23, 2004, 08:46:08 pm »

agreed, I would stick to the white text, the tv will fudge the red somehow. Test when you get the tv and you'll see what I mean.

Postalp · « **Reply #31 on:** July 24, 2004, 12:31:27 am »

I agree....White it is!

pcdoctor · « **Reply #32 on:** July 24, 2004, 09:29:57 am »

Nice!
Your marquee is scary! (the picture on the left side)

Postalp · « **Reply #33 on:** August 04, 2004, 11:17:08 pm »

Well, the next set of installments have been built in..

IPAC 4 has come in.
All CP controls (Except trackball) have been installed and are functional.

Current status (Temporarily using my 21" PC monitor until I get $$$ for 27" TV.

Postalp · « **Reply #34 on:** August 04, 2004, 11:18:42 pm »

CP closeup....

Postalp · « **Reply #35 on:** August 04, 2004, 11:20:56 pm »

Front of machine....

Postalp · « **Reply #36 on:** August 04, 2004, 11:23:51 pm »

As you can see, I have built a set of 4 buttons into the CP for MAME Functions, here is the Control layout for those buttons....

android · « **Reply #37 on:** August 05, 2004, 10:54:53 am »

"My God! It's full of... buttons!"

simplygriff · « **Reply #38 on:** August 05, 2004, 11:09:14 am »

Hi,
I like the white cab. It's really clean looking. Did you have any problems with the white melamine (sp?) cracking when you cut it? Also I know you said you used modified lusid plans but I was wondering what the width of the cab itself was without the CP. I too, am going to have a wide CP (40-42 inches) and was just trying to get an idea what it was going to look like. Also what is the inner width for the cab? I'm planning on using a 21" monitor and am debating if I want to get a TV. I'd need to get a new videocard as well. That's the dilenma. Thanks for any advice and again nice project.

-G

hunky_artist · « **Reply #39 on:** August 05, 2004, 01:04:54 pm »

Quote from: android on August 05, 2004, 10:54:53 am

"My God! It's full of... buttons!"

....too funny


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