Zero Credits

[Paul Bryan]

Hi All,

I have been coming here for years to look at all the fantastic efforts that others have put into their projects  , and I just wanted to take a moment and share the work I have done on one of my own.

Please let me know what you think! 

Regards,
Paul

First, a mockup of the marquee:

[Paul Bryan]

and here are the computer and windows boot screens:

[Paul Bryan]

Here is a shot of the top from the side:
(yes, it's a bit further along now, but far from finished...)

[Paul Bryan]

Here is an incomplete MAME layout for Mala:

[Paul Bryan]

Here is a mockup of the cabinet, side profile, showing the bottom pedestal:

(The black Z's on the pedestal will actually be 3/4" plywood for a 3D effect).

[Paul Bryan]

Here is a (somewhat blurry, low quality) rendition of the control panel:

[Paul Bryan]

Here is a mockup of the "dashboard" which is a smaller control panel located just above the main panel (tilted towards the user):

[Paul Bryan]

The Flight Stick (it is mounted on some wood now) I will use:

[Paul Bryan]

Here is a "actually size" (288 dpi) view of part of the control panel so that you can get a better idea of what it looks like (without blur or loss of detail:

[IG-88]

Fricken' fantastic dude! More details please!   

[Paul Bryan]

Well let's see...

I wanted my first case dedicated to the oldest vertical games (I love Ms. Pac-man, Gyrus, Mad Planets, and many other old verticals).
I saw a polished metal control panel in the "Project Arcade" book and knew right away that I wanted to do something like that.
I am a programmer/architect/project manager by profession and felt pretty weak when it comes to graphic skills so I thought a black/polished aluminum appliance-theme would be doable and look cool.

My intention is to do a close-to-piano-black type of paint job and throw in some polished aluminum laminate trim and the artwork above.

I have much of the software config the way I want it on my test bed machine. One of the few things I might have done different than normal is how I handle the "coin" buttons - if you look at the dashboard and control panel overlays, you will see I don't have any. Using AutoHotKey (can be done with Mala and AdvanceMame as well) I made it so that when you press the player 1 or 2 start buttons - a credit is automatically inserted - hence the name "Zero Credits" (needed to play).

Construction-wise, I am using 3/4" plywood, wood glue, and a jig saw. I drew the side profile in Illustrator and then printed it full size, line up all the paper on the plywood, and cut along the lines 

The pedestal (not finished either) will have a visible window just above the footboard/kickstop board that shows the computer in UV with glowing cables and such. That entire section is enclosed in its own drawer-like box with neato-looking chrome-jet fans (one for intake, one for outflow) on either side. This entire CPU-panel will fold outward on a hinge for easy access.

The control panel is also hinged to pull forward for access and their is a large hinged door on the back of the upper-cab. The design is a two-piece so that I can move it easier and I have a great looking polished-aluminum 3-piece 3D speaker set that sounds and looks great with the cab.

I'm also going to install a camera which will be able to take pictures when recording high-scores (perhaps a short video option as well) and also to act as a motion sensor in "attract" mode. See, the first time I walked past a Bezerk game it said "Insert Quarter" and I thought it had somehow noticed me and said this. So I am going to do this for real - when motion is detected, I will have it say various phrases like "I bored, please, come play with my joystick!" or "How about a quick game human?". You get the idea.

All the artwork was done in Adobe Fireworks except for the outline/profile of the top half which I did in Illustrator for the curves. I wanted a very curvy cab as I think they look cool

Equipment wise I will be using a fully programmed UltraStik360 with a black ball top, all buttons are black, the power button is small/custom round with blue led, and the flight stick also has a blue light/highlight.  The CP will also sport a blue translucent 3" high-top track ball, a SlikStik Tornado Spinner, and the Saitek Evo Flight Stick.

I'm still using AdvanceMame for the main emulator because I can get such "perfect" resolutions for the games. Also, I like to run some of the classics, at 3x resolution with a Scale effect and I think they look fantastic.

All button uses are labeled on the CP and match the interface that is shown on the Mala layout.

Anyway, this feels a lot like rambling so I will stop here. If you have any specific questions I will be happy to answer them.

Thanks for the feedback.

[IG-88]

Wow. When you give details you don't mess around. I love the original design of this thing. I will be folowing this closely.

Just a question on the design. Are you worried about the pedestal being a "shin banger"? That looks like it will be a sharp edge down around the knee area....

[Paul Bryan]

Good question. Answer: I am not certain. The CP actually extends forward quite a bit (over 10") from the pointy part of the pedestal so you would have to "kick" forward a ways before you made contact.

[Paul Bryan]

Here are some additional picks of the top of the cab showing the control panel and the hinged setup:

[Twin-X]

This is looking very good. Keep it up 

[hobsonschoice]

Wow,
I just love the shape of this thing, Must have been scarey cutting those curves with a jigsaw.

I too am in the middle of a construction but mines much more boxy and conventional looking.
I love the idea of printing out the design in full scale. Did you have to go to a print shop for that size print or are you lucky enough to have a super printer at work?

Good luck with this and i shall be watching with envy.
cheers
david

[Paul Bryan]

Hi David,

Thanks for the positive feedback. Yes, it was a bit scary cutting the curves especially since I hadn't cut anything since high school which was about 200 years ago. No, I didn't have any fancy printer, I just printed on overlapping sheets of 8.5"x 11", laid them out, messed with the alignment for 5 or 10 minutes and then taped them down to the wood with painters tape.

Best of luck with your own efforts, and I hope you have fun with the process.
Carpe Diem,
Paul

[IG-88]

Lookin' good so far.  Can you get a bigger monitor or TV tho....

[Paul Bryan]

Thank you. 

As to the monitor, er, not so much . With the angles and depths, it would be a real challenge to get a larger monitor in there and I don't want an LCD as I don't like the look they give the old games. When I originally designed this thing it was on a budget that didn't include a professional multiscan arcade monitor. I am a big fan of high resolution when it comes to all visual support functions for games - the game menu/selection screen, the control panel layout, etc. Also, I really like the magnification filters available in AdvanceMame: Scale2x http://scale2x.sourceforge.net/ and hq3x http://www.hiend3d.com/hq3x.html for some games (like Metal Slug) look great.
I settled on the best 21" I could find/afford which in this case is a 22" NEC Trinitron-type monitor with full onscreen control via a windows control panel.
The cab is actually 24" wide (instead of 25.5") and the monitor must sit at a certain angle to work with the case cuts. I think the monitor fits reasonably well, proportionately.
If I do another box (for horizontal games; I will definitely get a "real" multisync arcade monitor) .

[evilfuzzle]

great marquee! can i make one small suggestion,im not too sure about the yellow glow around the negative of the lighning bolt on the quarter used as the 'o' .