Retrogamestation Cocktail Project

[datman]

Hi there BYOAC'ers,

Greetings from a new user based in Sydney Australia. This post is to introduce myself to the group and let you know some of my ideas for criticism or encouragement.

Have been enjoying MAME for a few years now and the time has come for an improved arcade experience. I have been planning an entertainment cabinet for a couple of months now and have spent a lot of time in the newbies guide, examples section and project announcements forum.

Not having a dedicated rumpus or games room, this cabinet must live in the center of our loungeroom. This will be a multi purpose machine designed to be:

* a Mame cocktail cab
* an Emulator box
* a Jukebox
* an eBook Reading station
* a coffee table

The main considerations

* Provisional name - RetroGameStation
* Construction must appear professional.
* 3 sided cocktail design.
* modular control panels - playing games with the "right" controls is a high priority. Cocktail form factor and aesthetics rule out a frankenpanel.
* Modular artwork so that the panels look good in any combination.
* Ergonomics considered during the design process so adults can sit and play comfortably.
* Silent controls - leaf buttons and sticks - personal preference.
* Console emulation and PC games also to be supported.
* I/O panel for headphones, mic in (karaoke), video/audio out, RJ45 Lan, USB, PSX and N64 connectors.
* Functional coin box.
* Wireless Keyboard.
* Decent sound system with amp and subwoofer.
* Pinball support with real plunger.
* Button lighting to show controls for each game, perhaps a small LCD panel to designate buttons' function.

OK here's where the puritans will wince:

I will be using an LCD monitor. This will allow me to tilt the top up to 70-90 degrees, sit back in my lounge chair and read eBooks or surf the net with the remote or wireless KB, or play shooting games with a light gun. A CRT monitor will prevent me from making the top tiltable (or at least make it very difficult). Also an arcade monitor is out because I want to play high res games.

So that's the basic idea, I have nutted out quite a few more details but I will keep this post to a reasonable length for now.

Any comments appreciated

Cheers,

datman