USAF MAME Cabinet is now underway

[johnmartin]

Well, it is finally official.  My MAME cabinet planning and construction has begun.  Just as many others here have done I pumped thousands of quarters into machines in the early 80s.  In 1985 I joined the AF and I lost interest in games since beer and women kept my interest and work kept me busy.

Fast forward to 2000.  I got married and got a couple wonderful boys in the deal that are now 18 and 14 and both were avid gamers.  Then came my little girl on 2002.  Again, I always liked games and my boys were (are) big into XBOX.  I moved to SC after I retired from the USAF in 2006 and bought a house with a basement.  In the last 1.5 years I have spent a ton of money and times finishing my 1400SF basement to give us some more room for some fun things.  Built a bar, a bathroom, and a home theater.  The basement isn't finished yet, but all that remains is some minor trim work and some trim paint.  Since it is completely usable, my boys spend a LOT of time downstairs with friends.  My average weekend consists of 10-12 teen boys and girls coming over and watching movies, wrestling around and playing Rock Band.  And this is EVERY weekend.  Guess the basement was worth it LOL

A couple weeks ago I showed my wife a picture of a MAME cabinet I saw in a home theater forum I frequent and she thought that was pretty cool and asked what it was LOL  After I told her what it was she was pretty keen on the idea of making one since my 5yo daughter keeps asking to play the XBOX and right now it is too advanced for her to play so the thought of having something she can play really intrigued my wife.  And she was even more supportive once I told her how much it would (or in this case wouldn't cost).

So I am just guessing here but I do believe this will get a LOT of use.

Why the USAF theme? After 20 years I am somewhat partial to it.  Although the USAF primary color is blue there are so many blue MAME cabs out there I wanted to do something a bit different.  So I am doing up the cab in a red/black scheme and will make some composite side art of USAF imagery that I will apply a red tint to in PS.  All this on a black cab should look pretty good.  I had thought about an arcade theme but I want this to reflect more of my personality and not just a replica of something else.  And I wanted it to become more of a conversation piece as well

And the name?  L'arcade Rouge de Cheval.  French for the RED HORSE ARCADE.  Other translations just do not sounds as good. I could go with plain old English though.  RED HORSE ARCADE sounds good too.

So what have I done so far.  I pretty much settled drawn up the plans.  My CP will be similar to many on here but without a track ball until I determine if I really want one.  My cabinet will be modeled after Knievel's since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  I do not plan on using t-moulding.  I will just round over the edges of the cabinet.  Maybe my next cabinet I will but for now money is tight and I am doing what I can with what I have.

I already ordered a bunch of buttons, a TT2 spinner, joysticks, and an IPac2.  I have a free 20" monitor that will suffice until I get something bigger.  I am getting an AMD 1800 computer for free from a friend, so I have spent a grand total of about $200 so far.  About $200 more in materials and misc hardware and I will be all set.

So what lies ahead?  Well since my wife and kids are out of town for a week I still need to get to work in the basement.  But that doesn't mean I can work on the cabinet.  I plan on getting the CP framed up and the cabinet framed up as well.  I just need to get some MDF, jigsaw blades and casters.  Everything else I have.

I also need to decide on a front end.  I downloaded Maximus Arcade and like it but I want to try out a couple others.  What ever I use my 5yo has to be able to use it with minimal effort and teaching so any recommendations here are welcome.

Keep an eye out for more information to follow soon and i will post pics as I progress

John

[Spaced Ace]

Good luck there John.  Well, you done one thing right so far bud, you found a wife that is convienced an arcade in the house is actually okay. 

Will this be your first arcade?

[johnmartin]

Yes it will.  But I would be willing to bet not my last.  My plan is to start a cocktail or bar top once this one is done.  My wife does not know that though.

John

[javeryh]

My cabinet will be modeled after Knievel's

Which one?

My plan is to start a cocktail or bar top once this one is done.  My wife does not know that though.

Sounds like you will fit in around here.   

[Spaced Ace]

John, I have two of the bar sized texas holdem arcades cabs, they are a little smaller than a candy cab, but I bet you could find a few of those around your home town, those would help you stay in the good graces of Mrs. Martin. 



The monitor part and CP actually come off, and you can frame it up with wood instead of the plastic frame.  Add a custom control panel, a 13" or 15" monitor and youre golden.  Maybe start small, then when she least suspects it, build that full size arcade.

Besides, this would be perfect for little ones.  I have two girls, both around 5.  They of course want an arcade each, but I dont think 2 more fullsize would fit, so I am in the process of doing two of these "little" cabs.  One will be an original Nintendo entertainment system emulated cab and  the other will be a Ms. Pac-man.  Yes, thats what they want.....

[Portnoy]

John,

My home theater started well over 10 years ago and gaming / movie watching has never been the same!  Nothing like racing with the Xbox wheel in bumper cam mode on a 84 inch widescreen.  Anyways, I suggest you include a trackball.   My cab is not done yet but I did make a housing for my TB over a year ago to play on my TV ( PC hooked up to the boob tube ) and the party favorites have always been "World Class Bowling" , "Shuuz", and "Shuffle Shot".  Also, you just can't have a retro cab without "Missle Command".   Just a suggestion, each to their own.  Good luck on your build!

P

[IG-88]

Welcome John! Before you know it you'll have to add on too the basement

Man....retired already. I should've stayed in. Damn it!

I can't wait to see the artwork on this baby. I've always wanted to do a military themed cab. Air Force designs will look the best I'm guessing.

Good luck and be sure to keep us posted with lots of pics!

[johnmartin]

John,

My home theater started well over 10 years ago and gaming / movie watching has never been the same!  Nothing like racing with the Xbox wheel in bumper cam mode on a 84 inch widescreen.  Anyways, I suggest you include a trackball.   My cab is not done yet but I did make a housing for my TB over a year ago to play on my TV ( PC hooked up to the boob tube ) and the party favorites have always been "World Class Bowling" , "Shuuz", and "Shuffle Shot".  Also, you just can't have a retro cab without "Missle Command".   Just a suggestion, each to their own.  Good luck on your build!

P

The more I think about it the more I think I will need a trackball anyway.  I don't have one yet but I think I will leave a nice big space in the middle of the CP for one.  The dedicated 4-way I was planning was mainly for my wife and daughter to play Pac Man and Frogger.  I'll guess I'll just make room for one and add it later.  I wold probably miss Missile Command anyway  

[johnmartin]

Welcome John! Before you know it you'll have to add on too the basement

Man....retired already. I should've stayed in. Damn it!

I can't wait to see the artwork on this baby. I've always wanted to do a military themed cab. Air Force designs will look the best I'm guessing.

Good luck and be sure to keep us posted with lots of pics!

Yeah. I did my 20 and punched out.  Glad I was in but even more glad that I am out, especially nowadays.

For artwork I am thinking the AF symbol for sure on the CP with the spot for the trackball right in the center.  Cab sides will be blended photos of various AF equipment and marquee is undecided.  Should be fun.

My ife told me I could not start on it before I finished the basement but I thought I would surprise her next week when she comes home with something well underway.

[TalkingBull]

This is pretty cool and I can't wait to see it... but being an E-7 (USA), I am thinking I may have to do something green to combat your blue cab

As to your FE request, I am partial to GameEx and use it in all of my cabs.  I tried out about 6 or 7 before I settled on it.

[bvicarious]

It would be awesome if you built your arcade with all mil-spec parts

[Zeosstud]

No Kidding should have stayed in, I would have retired 3 years ago, I am only 41 now.  9.5 years in the Army.  Damn Recruiting duty killed my spirit.

Zeosstud

[TalkingBull]

DA Select or idiotic volunteer?  I was an idiotic volunteer.

[Spaced Ace]

Well, I done 8 years at Little Rock AFB, got out (stupid) as an E-5.  Just made E-5.  Had my stripe for about 6 months, then I hung her up in the closet.  About the time I was getting out, the AF had just started the PT programs.  I think I ran 2 miles the first day and almost had a heart attack.  Dont know about where you guys were, but a bunch of people was put on the "fatboy" program at LRAFB.  Lot older NCO's took early retirement.  Quality Air Force... 

I got out and the wife went into the Army.  Now she's an E-5 and she's got about 45 days an a wake up and she's done. 

Anyway, John, got some tallented people here, if you head over to the artwork section, might be able to find someone to do all your art.  I used to, but I got a little stressed out, so I just do small things here and there....

Good Luck!

[johnmartin]

This is pretty cool and I can't wait to see it... but being an E-7 (USA), I am thinking I may have to do something green to combat your blue cab

As to your FE request, I am partial to GameEx and use it in all of my cabs.  I tried out about 6 or 7 before I settled on it.

I downloaded GameEx but have not played with it yet.  Since the wife is gone for a week with the kids I should have  a ton of free time over the weekend.

John

[johnmartin]

Well, I done 8 years at Little Rock AFB, got out (stupid) as an E-5.  Just made E-5.  Had my stripe for about 6 months, then I hung her up in the closet.  About the time I was getting out, the AF had just started the PT programs.  I think I ran 2 miles the first day and almost had a heart attack.  Dont know about where you guys were, but a bunch of people was put on the "fatboy" program at LRAFB.  Lot older NCO's took early retirement.  Quality Air Force... 

I got out and the wife went into the Army.  Now she's an E-5 and she's got about 45 days an a wake up and she's done. 

Anyway, John, got some tallented people here, if you head over to the artwork section, might be able to find someone to do all your art.  I used to, but I got a little stressed out, so I just do small things here and there....

Good Luck!

I spent 6 years in Blytheville, AR.  Middle of freaking nowhere for sure.

I will probably do my own art. I use Autocad 3D Studio Max and at work and have access to Illustrator as well here.  I need to track down some large poster art and scan it in.  I have access to a large scanner and HP plotter here too so I will probably print all my own stuff.

[johnmartin]

It would be awesome if you built your arcade with all mil-spec parts

It would be cool but I am not sure that would blend into my basement decor very well which in turn would not please my wife LOL

[IG-88]

Mala has ended up being my favorite. Although that new hyperspin is gonna surpass all of them I'm bettin'. That is if it ever gets out of beta. 

[Encryptor]

Welcome John.   I was Navy myself. I too should have stayed. I had 14 and a half years in and tossed it all. Too much time underwater I guess. I was a nuclear submarine sailor.

That's neither here nor there.

I tried MaLa, MameWah and both were ok. I tried GameEx but I thought it was a bit too flashy for what I wanted. I'm using Maximus Arcade now and love it. It's a commercial product but I thought it was worth the $25.

Welcome and good luck with your project.


Encryptor

[johnmartin]

Welcome John.   I was Navy myself. I too should have stayed. I had 14 and a half years in and tossed it all. Too much time underwater I guess. I was a nuclear submarine sailor.

That's neither here nor there.

I tried MaLa, MameWah and both were ok. I tried GameEx but I thought it was a bit too flashy for what I wanted. I'm using Maximus Arcade now and love it. It's a commercial product but I thought it was worth the $25.

Welcome and good luck with your project.


Encryptor

14.5 years?  Man that is a lot to throw away.  To each their own I guess.

I already have Maximus Arcade and really do like it, although I am far from having it set up completely.  It seems relatively easy to use and if I can make a favorite games list that my little girl can use it may be the way I go.  I would think I could use the skin editor to make a skin just for her so she knows which one is hers.  I guess I'll find out.

Just FYI, the RED HORSE theme I am using is based on a unit I was in that similar to the SeaBees.  I worked with the SeaBees in Haiti for several months.

Also, work on the CP begins today.  I just got back from HD with some MDF and some acrylic.  I am heading out right now to get started.  Pictures to come soon.

[johnmartin]

Got my CP started today.  Got the top all cut and bored out and the base for the keyboard tray built up. Also got some CP overlay art done up; see below.  Not very original but I like it.  Or I may just take some time and try to make something myself.  I would rather not spend an inordinate amount of time on my first cab since it is more of a learning experience.  Side art will be much more USAF related compared to the CP.

Also going to look at a used 25" TV tomorrow.  My 20" monitor just seems really small and with the 25" I will get about a 56% increase in gaming area.  Turns out I already have a video card with s-video out in my sons old machine that already has an on-board card so out it will come and into the machine for the cab.  Another good day.

Tomorrow morning I plan on enlisting the help of a friend to get the materials for the cabinet.  I don't have a truck and a Mini just doesn't cut it for lumber hauling

[IG-88]

Hey John. I like the CP art design but I'm worried it may come out a little dark. What do you think? Maybe lighten up the lettering a little 

[johnmartin]

I did.  I made the lettering red and it looks a lot better.  I actually printed it out at work this morning and put it on the CP.  Like a moron I used paper and after I mounted it wrinkled up real bad.  I am heading back over to work in a bit and print it out on mylar which should alleviate any further wrinkling.

[IG-88]

Mylar? Isn't that the real thin, foil type stuff that people make balloons out of?

[johnmartin]

It is but the stuff I am using is designed for drafting and printing applications.  It looks like vellum tracing paper but is a 8 mil plastic and is translucent.  I am placing it over an already painted black surface.  I just got done printing out 2 of them and am heading home now to see how they look.  Problem with the paper ones is they started to wrinkle just from the ink on the paper so mounting them made it worse.  Mylar won't wrinkle.

[johnmartin]

  Well I basically finished the top of the CP last night.  I will take a pic once I get back home.  The mylar came out a lot better than the paper overlay but there is one spot that has a slight wrinkle near the spinner but I must have missed the adhesive in that spot.  I'll spray a bit more under there tonight and I should be fine.

  I also worked on the acrylic overlay yesterday and had an issue.  I got everything lined up and started drilling.  I was trying to work slowly to avoid cracking the sheet and got about 15 holes done and moved to the P2 button holes and got 3 of them completed.  On the 3rd one the drill jumped and CRACK, right down the middle of the &*+^&*&*% sheet.  Ruined a 25$ piece of acrylic.  I was freaking MAD!!!!  I started to go and get another sheet and though about it.  If I just spray the overlay with several coats of poly it would seal it up nicely and then I would not really need any acrylic on top of the CP.  So I bought a can of spray acrylic at Wal-Mart, sprayed 4 coats on the CP over the course of a few hours, and lo and behold it worked like a charm.  After it was dry I even sprayed some water on it to make sure the overlay was all sealed up and everything was fine.

  Well I am heading home from work in a couple minutes and I'll take a photo and post it shortly.

[Stobe]

I look forward to seeing your cab come together.  I like the idea of theme-ing the cab after your personal interests.  No Military for myslef, but I was in the boy scouts for 8 years.  But the idea of seeing a marquee with a scoutmaster bending over a scout just doesn't fit in my basement's decor.  (Just kidding!!!  Just kidding!!!, couldn't pass it up!)

Good idea to include the trackball.  If nothing else, it will make administration within windows easier (although you did mention a KB drawer).

My front end of choice is Mala.  Mostly because I have it working the way I want it, and I could pretty much child-proof the front end for my daughters.

Good luck!

[johnmartin]

Well as promised earlier here is a pic of the nearly completed CP.  I still need to add the edging to the panel and mount it to the base but I think it turned out pretty good.  The middle joystick will be replaced with a trackball one day. There is a small wrinkle by the spinner but I will take care of that with a touch more adhesive under that area.



I got a surprise in the mail today when I got home.  My I-Pac was waiting for me  Guess I can get it wired up now.

I also picked up 2 sheets of 3/4" MDF today. Damn that stuff is heavy.  Never realized how heavy that stuff was.

And since I have not shown where it is going I am including a couple pics of my newly finished basement.

I plan on putting the cabinet on the right here but I need to remove the chandelier.



Or I may put it here



Folks can play when not watching movies in here.  10' wide 2.35:1 cinemascope screen.  Theater should be finished within the next couple weeks.  Work will continue on the MAME cab on Wednesday.

John







John

[johnmartin]

More progress.  Last night I got the new hard drive in a free computer I got from someone at work.  Took me a while but I got it installed it and got XP put on it.  It unfortunately does not have a DVD drive and really do not want to buy one so I guess I will be transferring games from DVD to my thumb drive and then to the new computer.

I spent some time today getting the cab framed up.  I got more done than I thought.  I got both sides cut out and all the furring strips inside.  I got it stood up and the back panel attached, the front lower panel attached and the sloped panel on top attached.  I unfortunately did not get any pics since the weather closed in on me and I had to get it back in the garage and my sons Jeep back in as well since his top is off right now.  Since I can't do any more work tonight on the cabinet, I am going to mount the I-Pac and start wiring the CP.  If all goes well I will have the CP wired tonight.

With any luck I will get the cab framed out completely tomorrow morning, get the screw holes filled in and sanded, the casters on and the whole thing wheeled into the basement where all the finish work will get done.  I will also attempt to get the CP  and computer installed and tested.

Pics to come tomorrow once the weather clears.

[Jdurg]

A simple DVD reader would only run you about $10.  I'd suggest looking around to find one as it can come in incredibly useful.  If you splurge and get a writer, you can then also ghost your entire hard drive to DVDs once it's set up so you have a permanent copy of your installation.

[johnmartin]

A simple DVD reader would only run you about $10.  I'd suggest looking around to find one as it can come in incredibly useful.  If you splurge and get a writer, you can then also ghost your entire hard drive to DVDs once it's set up so you have a permanent copy of your installation.

Good idea.  I did not realize reders were that cheap.  Might as well get one.

As promised yesterday here are some pics of the cabinet







Temporarily added the CP base


More work to get done today as I add the speaker board and the top panel.

[Blanka]

Don't know if you want to paint or laminate, but for the last few pieces I would advise to screw from the inside. Keeps you from a lot of hole-filling work.

[johnmartin]

Some more pics.  I got the monitor installed.  It is 20" Dell. It really looks small in the cabinet but this is my first cab and I think it is perfect.  maybe oneday I'll build a bigger one but for now this will do nicely. That is my daughter acting goofy.  She is pretty excited as are my boys.  I was hoping to have everything running today but no dice.  But I'd rather not rush it anyway so why push it.  I am buying a DVD burner tomorrow and then I can get the computer completely set up and ready.









Still much to do.  I have questions about my CP wiring.  Most of the buttons are self-explanatory but I am wondering how to set up the spinner buttons and the admin buttons, plus a flipper button on each side for Visual Pinball.  I am using a I-Pac VE and am unsure how I shold wire these, as well as the dedicated 4-way. I just downloaded the WinIpac designer and I guess I need to play with that.  I am assuming the spinner buttons will tie into P1 buttons 1 and 2, and that I will need to map the 3 admin buttons to specfiic keystrokes.

BTW, I am planning on using Maximus Arcade as my frontend unless anyone thinks something else would be better.  Comments as always are appreciated.

[miles2912]

Multiple buttons can share the same connection.  Just draw out your cp and decide where to map the same connections.  I have 2 joysticks sharing connections and my pinball buttons share connections with player 2 button 4,5 and 6.   Never had a problem and it works fine.

I am in southern calif if you need to see a working one.  Not sure where you are as basements in California a rare commodity.

[johnmartin]

Multiple buttons can share the same connection.  Just draw out your cp and decide where to map the same connections.  I have 2 joysticks sharing connections and my pinball buttons share connections with player 2 button 4,5 and 6.   Never had a problem and it works fine.

I am in southern calif if you need to see a working one.  Not sure where you are as basements in California a rare commodity.

Miles2912,

That is what I thought I just needed a warm fuzzy since this is all completely new to me.  I am using the I-Pac VE version which has the basic inputs just like the I-Pac regular version except that it only have inputs for 6 switches for each player.  But on each side there is also an input A, B, C and D, which I am assuming I can use to map the admin buttons.  I have 3 admin buttons, one of which will act as PAUSE and the other 2 will be CTRL-P for exiting Maximus.

[johnmartin]

I actually have another problem I need to resolve.  I tried to run Pac-man last night and got a missing files error and I am not sure why.  I know I have read the solution to this before but cannot remember where so if anyone knows how to resolve this please let me know.

[Flake]

I'm certainly not the guru on this subject as I am relatively new to this experience myself but here is my guess on why pac-man is not working - you need a rom called puckman which is the "parent" rom for pac-man.  Check your roms file and see if you have a rom called Puckman.

I'm sure someone can provide a more clear explanation.

Good luck

[Encryptor]

It sounds like you are missing a rom file of some kind. Just open a dos (cmd) window and run mame from the command line. That way you will see what file is missing.

mame filename

if you type mame /? it should give you the command line switches and parameters you need.

[johnmartin]

I'm certainly not the guru on this subject as I am relatively new to this experience myself but here is my guess on why pac-man is not working - you need a rom called puckman which is the "parent" rom for pac-man.  Check your roms file and see if you have a rom called Puckman.

I'm sure someone can provide a more clear explanation.

Good luck

And I think that is the solution.  I did not load puckman.  I will load it up tonight and see what happens.

Tonight I will continue loading ROMs.  While they are loading I plan on getting the CP base completed and the keyboard tray installed.  After I get cleaned up I will continue work on the CP wiring.  I need to run by Lowe's to get some terminal strips for my common wiring.

The goal is to get the cab operating by Saturday mid-day at the latest and I would prefer Friday night.  Very ambitious considering I really only started building July 26th.  I am shooting for that day because there is a Ultimate Fighting pay-per-view that evening and my boys always have friends and teammates (football and wrestling) over for each PPV and I would love to have it operating.  By 9pm that night I will have 15 boys over and taking over my basement.  Keep your fingers crossed that I get it done.

I will not however sacrifice quality to get it done and will not be cutting corners just in case it crossed your minds.  If it ain't done it ain't done.

John

[johnmartin]

More work got completed last night.  The computer I got to run the cab is finally completely set up to run MAME.  I got all my roms installed and a lot tested and all seem to be working fine. I am still having trouble setting up Daphne though.  I can play DL or SA fine using just the Daphneloader but when I try to run it through Maximus if does not work.  I guess I need to do a little more reading up on Maximus.  If anyone has an idea please share it.  I am using the most recent version of Daphne I downloaded the other day FYI.

Plan for tonight is to get the cab all sanded down and ready for paint and trim and move it into the basement.  I need the space in the garage now so tonight is as good a time as any.  Once I move it I will put the computer in.

I will also finish wiring the CP tonight.  Still need to wire in the commons and the admin buttons.  Friday night is looking good for complete operation.

I also need to figure out ow to remove the artwork from around the games screen. It really makes the games tiny and I want the game to fill as much real estate as possible since I am using a 20" monitor.  Again, this may be a Maximus thing or possiby a MAME thing, not sure which yet.  Comment are appreciated.

[Flake]

To remove the bezels/artwork around the game screen go into your settings menu (by pressing Tab).  Once you press tab you should be able to find the setting to remove bezels/arwork.  I cant remember off the top of my head where that exact setting is located within the settings menu screen but you should be able to find it without any problem.

[johnmartin]

Thanks.  I was just browsing the MAMEUI settings and found the part that loads bezels.  Thanks for the reply.

[johnmartin]

Well I am happy to say that the cabinet is operational.  Last night I got it all wired up, albeit somewhat temporarily, so my boys could play tonight when their friends come over (20+ high school boys and girls) for the UFC fight tonight.  Everything is working as it should as far as I can tell.  I still need to program Maximus to exit the frontend on TILDE but that will be easy to do.

Here are some pics of my daughter playing Metal Slug 3







Still a lot of work to accomplish but at least I know it was not in vain.

John

[miles2912]

Oh man you broke the first rule of cab building.  Never play until you are 100% done (ok well maybe you are never 100% but get close!). 

Great progress BTW

[nullb0y]

your going to end up with an unpainted machine for a long time if its playable lol
Took me 2 years 2 WHOLE YEARS
to paint and put a sheet of formica on my podium.....
because it was useable lol

[johnmartin]

Oh man you broke the first rule of cab building.  Never play until you are 100% done (ok well maybe you are never 100% but get close!). 

Great progress BTW

You know they say the same thing about building a home theater.  Never hang the projector until the room is done.  My HT is not done yet and the projector has been hung for months and I already have over 400 hours on it (or at least my boys do).

Don't worry, I still have enough things on the cab that are not done that they will bother me if I do not complete them, like having to get one my hands and knees to turn on the computer, having to remove the CP to access the keyboard, etc.  Tonight I plan on pulling it out and adding some more edge trim and getting the keyboard tray in.  Tomorrow I will get the computer power button extended out to a spot below the CP so I can turn it on without removing the bottom front panel and the light for the marquee installed.  Wednesday I start painting and plan to be complete by Friday, sans side art, which I still have not settled on.  The marquee will get designed today and possibly printed on mylar here at work before I go home so I can see how it looks.

Still much to do but it is getting there.