I've been looking and reading and trying to decide which controls to use, how much they're going to cost me, wondering if my layout will handle everything I need, etc. etc.
What's the best joystick to use? Even with multiple reviews and comparisons out there, it's hard to decide.
$161.40 for a trackball????????
I came across a book review of "Project Arcade" -- I'll probably head down to Powells Technical and pick up a copy tomorrow morning. (Support your local bookstore).
Friday, March 2, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
.plan
My plan (cause ya gotta have a plan):
1. Primarily a MAME system, running MAME32.
2. An MP3 jukebox
3. 3D games .. I have some 3D arcade games and 2 pair of shutter glasses I want to incorporate into the system.
4. Capable of playing other non arcade-style games. (I love my 3rd person RPG adventures like NWN, Baldur's Gate, etc). Dependent on difficulty of keyboard mapping or having keyboard available. These require lots more keys than arcade games.
4. Play C64/Amiga games via emulator.
Cabinet mods:
Will need to have a cabinet-mounted CD for non-MAME games and music uploads.
A set of good speakers mounted alien-antenna style off the top sides of the cabinet, curving around to face the players.
Subwoofer mounted in the cabinet base. Will probably require some holes/grillwork in the bottom.
The control panel housing will have to be enlarged to accommodate a new layout with more buttons and a trackball.
Control panel:
Original control panel will be replaced. The buttons and joystick seem functional, but they are old and cheap enough to replace. (Maybe keep the buttons for the pinball sides and use the existing stick in locked 4-way mode?)
The control panel housing will have to be enlarged and modified to accommodate a good standard MAME setup with 3 joys, 16 top buttons, 4 side buttons, trackball and spinner.
Basic layout, with pinball buttons on the side not shown:
J3 is 4-way stick.
x1, x2 are 1/8" jacks for 3d shutter glasses. They may get moved to the front of the cabinet. They connect to a video-synch splitter, not the key controller. Depends on the amount of room underneath the CP.
System:
I'm buying a new pc, so I will just move my old one into this cabinet. Strip it down and reload it with nothing but games and mp3's.
The 3d games only run on an Nvidia card, which I'd like to move to the new pc, so may need to locate another old one.
I'll need a 19 or 21" CRT monitor. (Must be CRT for the 3d games.) My old 17" just isnt big enough.
Software:
WinXP on my current PC.
A MAME32 front end.
There's a particular MediaPlayer skin with a full-screen jukebox mode I want to use, but cant remember the name of it just now.
I'll write a custom front end that boots at startup to choose between MAME, MP3, 3d games, CD-based games. Maybe with Flash.
Cabinet graphics:
I'll paint them on myself. Being a part-time artist has its advantages ;) No ideas just yet though.
1. Primarily a MAME system, running MAME32.
2. An MP3 jukebox
3. 3D games .. I have some 3D arcade games and 2 pair of shutter glasses I want to incorporate into the system.
4. Play C64/Amiga games via emulator.
Cabinet mods:
Will need to have a cabinet-mounted CD for non-MAME games and music uploads.
A set of good speakers mounted alien-antenna style off the top sides of the cabinet, curving around to face the players.
Subwoofer mounted in the cabinet base. Will probably require some holes/grillwork in the bottom.
The control panel housing will have to be enlarged to accommodate a new layout with more buttons and a trackball.
Control panel:
Original control panel will be replaced. The buttons and joystick seem functional, but they are old and cheap enough to replace. (Maybe keep the buttons for the pinball sides and use the existing stick in locked 4-way mode?)
The control panel housing will have to be enlarged and modified to accommodate a good standard MAME setup with 3 joys, 16 top buttons, 4 side buttons, trackball and spinner.
Basic layout, with pinball buttons on the side not shown:
J3 is 4-way stick.
x1, x2 are 1/8" jacks for 3d shutter glasses. They may get moved to the front of the cabinet. They connect to a video-synch splitter, not the key controller. Depends on the amount of room underneath the CP.
System:
I'm buying a new pc, so I will just move my old one into this cabinet. Strip it down and reload it with nothing but games and mp3's.
The 3d games only run on an Nvidia card, which I'd like to move to the new pc, so may need to locate another old one.
I'll need a 19 or 21" CRT monitor. (Must be CRT for the 3d games.) My old 17" just isnt big enough.
Software:
WinXP on my current PC.
A MAME32 front end.
There's a particular MediaPlayer skin with a full-screen jukebox mode I want to use, but cant remember the name of it just now.
I'll write a custom front end that boots at startup to choose between MAME, MP3, 3d games, CD-based games. Maybe with Flash.
Cabinet graphics:
I'll paint them on myself. Being a part-time artist has its advantages ;) No ideas just yet though.
unrelated
On my way downtown to pick up the cabinet last night, my brother called to tell me he's getting married.
It's his first. He's 52.
I'm happy for him.
It's his first. He's 52.
I'm happy for him.
And so it begins
I had been thinking about building a MAME box for a while, and recent events in my personal life inspired me to take the plunge. Read that as "something to keep a single guy busy for a couple of months instead of being a mouse potato".
I really decided at one point that that I wanted to start with an existing cabinet, and modify it as needed. I'm capable of doing the woodwork, but if the price is under $100 it's worth much more than the time and money it would take to build one up from scratch.
I also didn't want to take a working system and gut it for a MAME system ... I just couldn't bring myself to do that.
When I started poking around classifieds and craigslist, there were some possibilities. But anything that was actually functional was going to cost $250 and up to a couple thousand. Even some "classic" but unworking systems were offered in the $200 range. Good. The price alone was going to save me from violating my principles.
About a week ago, I came across this ad and it inspired me to take the plunge. .. A completely empty cabinet offered by a local arcade for $50. Perfect.
Arcade Videogame Cabinet - $50
Reply to: --
Date: 2007-02-22, 8:48PM PST
Ground Kontrol, Portland's classic arcade, has an upright video game cabinet for sale. This cabinet would make an excellent starter for the hobbyist who is interested in building their own home arcade game.
Features:
* Control panel with working 8-way joystick and two pairs of buttons
* Frame for mounting a standard 19" arcade monitor (not included) in vertical orientation
* Smoked plexiglas monitor bezel
* Wired for power, sound, and marquee light
* Coin door with start button installed for coining games that lack a free-play option
* coin box
* back door
Note: In a past life, this cabinet was Scramble, one of the first side-scrolling shooting games. See Scramble's KLOV entry to learn more.
Etc., etc. ...
I really decided at one point that that I wanted to start with an existing cabinet, and modify it as needed. I'm capable of doing the woodwork, but if the price is under $100 it's worth much more than the time and money it would take to build one up from scratch.
I also didn't want to take a working system and gut it for a MAME system ... I just couldn't bring myself to do that.
When I started poking around classifieds and craigslist, there were some possibilities. But anything that was actually functional was going to cost $250 and up to a couple thousand. Even some "classic" but unworking systems were offered in the $200 range. Good. The price alone was going to save me from violating my principles.
About a week ago, I came across this ad and it inspired me to take the plunge. .. A completely empty cabinet offered by a local arcade for $50. Perfect.
Arcade Videogame Cabinet - $50Reply to: --
Date: 2007-02-22, 8:48PM PST
Ground Kontrol, Portland's classic arcade, has an upright video game cabinet for sale. This cabinet would make an excellent starter for the hobbyist who is interested in building their own home arcade game.
Features:
* Control panel with working 8-way joystick and two pairs of buttons
* Frame for mounting a standard 19" arcade monitor (not included) in vertical orientation
* Smoked plexiglas monitor bezel
* Wired for power, sound, and marquee light
* Coin door with start button installed for coining games that lack a free-play option
* coin box
* back door
Note: In a past life, this cabinet was Scramble, one of the first side-scrolling shooting games. See Scramble's KLOV entry to learn more.
Etc., etc. ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)