View Full Version : Initial cab pictures
sp33dy
09-09-2008, 02:07 PM
Here's just a couple of initial pictures of my cab this is WIP. It's now indoors and I just need to wire up buttons, speakers and hang the 32" panasonic 100Mhz panel that I ordered yesterday.. Oh yes, and I plan to purchase a quad core PC to go in it...... Just thought I'd share my excitement...
BadBoyBill
09-09-2008, 03:51 PM
Cool, keep us updated, thats some serious amount of buttons you got goin on.
Good gawd man.... Are there enough buttons? What in the world could you possibly do with 8 buttons for players 3/4?
Aabra
09-09-2008, 04:03 PM
Well, considering he's putting in a sweet computer I assume the plan is to play PC games as well as arcade ones. I'm sure there are probably some sports games out there that make use of them and support 4 players. Plus some other systems might need more than 4 buttons for 4 player games. SNES/N64/etc
sp33dy
09-09-2008, 04:04 PM
You can never have enough buttons!!!! The layout allows any number of mixed left and right handers... You are right.. 8 buttons for player3/4 are unlikely to be used, however, add up the number of buttons you need for ps1 & ps2 emulation! I just see a need... Probably overkill, but prefer to have the option than not.. Lol
Captain Flint
09-09-2008, 04:57 PM
Two Trackballs? 4 spinners? 10,000 buttons?
:confused:
KISS= Keep it simple stupid...That could be the most confusing design ever. All the buttons are white! The people you have playing your arcade may get really confused. How are you incorporating all of the inputs? Multiple Ipacs?
Captain Flint
09-09-2008, 04:58 PM
Why do you need two player start buttons?
Captain Flint
09-09-2008, 05:16 PM
Here is a pic of my control panel... simple yet seems to confuse many people unfamiliar to arcade games and mame in general.
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r293/ninja_town/arcadevideo.jpg
sp33dy
09-09-2008, 11:48 PM
I completely understand the points about the confusion and buttons. However, I wanted it how I wanted it :-)
The two two player buttons etc are coin and start. These are clearly labelled, but not obvious to see from pictures.
All buttons are white? Nope. All the player control buttons are blue. The roller ball buttons will be yellow and the function buttons on the sloping panel at the back are white (coin, start and function keys like pause/exit etc).
I believe there were a few 4 player games with 3 buttons, hence I needed at least 3 buttons per player. I wanted to be able to support other systems (especially PC games) and felt that there may come a time when the extra might be useful (although, I agree it's highly unlikely). I'll only ever get the chance to build this once, so made the decision.
As for the controls. I'm going to write a little app that sits between hyperspin and the start of the game to ensure the correct layout is selected by the player and the keys will automatically get mapped for them. I.E. if three left handers play, those players just indicate left on their joysticks to tell the app to map those 8 buttons on the left. Simple and effective and will be obvious on the screen. In fact, the people that will be round to play are general arcade and computer geeks.....
Aabra is spot on. PC games and other systems are very important. I plan to stick psx games in early. That system used 4 players with 6 buttons. I'm sure when ps2 emulation is there (getting very close), then I'll want to add that too. Although, I'm thinking of buying one of the harnesses to take the control panel direct to my ps2. That would be even better. So future is very important as well as past..
OK. I put my hand up and say this is a monster and I probably don't need to have built it how I have. However, I'm chuffed to nuts it is.
As for all those buttons, yes, I've got to IPAC cards (one small and one large chained) and one card for the roller ball/spinners.
Next on my list (after budget is spent on pc, I've got approx £700 to spend on that), are two light guns, a guitar for the Wii (I'll have this in cabinet too) and a few other controllers. I'm also going to incorporate my old pc steering wheel (can't wait to hook that up with carmageddon again!)....
Anyway, enough ramblings. You all probably think I'm either mad, stupid or both. Please don't be too critical, but any other thoughts are greatly received. I hope to wire up everything this weekend and expecting delivery of TV this morning... YAY
BadBoyBill
09-09-2008, 11:55 PM
You all probably think I'm either mad, stupid or both.
No way man, you built your cab to your specs and your gonna be very happy with it. Im jealous that I dont even have a cab like that. Cant wait to see the final product. Thanks for sharing pics.
sp33dy
09-10-2008, 01:06 AM
Thanks BBB... As for my previous post. I started to question myself. The PSOne had a controller with 8 buttons on, not 6 ! I knew there was a reason a couple of years ago I decided on 8 buttons per player... Fifa 2000 supported up to 8 players on the psx and 8 buttons!!!! :-)
http://www.sports-gaming.com/soccer/fifa_2000/preview.shtml
The Loafer
09-10-2008, 02:46 AM
The moment you go outside of Mame, there certainly is a need for more than the 6 buttons. It's just that most people see an Arcade Cab and they think "Mame" right away. It's your cab, you can do whatever you want with it. With my own mini-cab, I was told by a lot of people on byoac.com "don't build a two player control, your cab is too small, keep it to one player". Bah, my cab turned out just swell :).
She's looking just fine, keep us posted.
Captain Flint
09-10-2008, 05:33 AM
It's your deal man...hope you are happy with it. Just wanted to see the method to your madness.
BTW I am not knocking your design at all... I wish I had more buttons for other emus. I had to go with using original controllers for all of the other emus. I have adapters for original SNES, NES, N64, PS1/2, and Dreamcast controllers that I use for emus. I am currently looking for something I can easily get for Genesis to USB adapters.
So how are you planning on controlling all of those buttons?
I use an I-PAC4 and I find that programming each button on my I-PAC is a HUGE pain in the ass as is. I have 4 players, p1/2 7 buttons, p3/4 4 buttons. My 4 way controls are tied into my player 1 controls. Even with this setup I find it very hard to program my keys without using any system keys (ALT, SHIFT, CTRL). Not using system keys keep from anyone possibly hitting CTRL+ALT+DEL or other Windows functions.
I am just really curious as to how you plan on programming each one of those keys.
Captain Flint
09-10-2008, 06:03 AM
I am just really curious as to how you plan on programming each one of those keys.
That was kind of what I was getting at with the Ipac question. Does mame register key A and key A1 ? or something? If that were the case that would be great.
That was kind of what I was getting at with the Ipac question. Does mame register key A and key A1 ? or something? If that were the case that would be great.What do you mean by A and key A1? I have my IPAC programmed with each key on a keyboard with the exception of Windows system keys. Setting this up to not cause button conflicts was difficult to do. I have yet to find optimal programming for my I-PAC4 much less 2 of them. If/when I can I have a spare I-PAC4 just sitting around for another control panel or additional buttons.
Captain Flint
09-10-2008, 06:54 AM
Well I was wondering if a person had two Ipacs, would you be limited to the keys on your keyboard? I was wondering if mame is configured to support multiple keyboards I guess. So keyboard one (ipac 1) would register an A key for lets say High Punch, Keyboard 2 (second Ipac) could be programed with A as well and under the controls tab in mame it would read as A2... just as if you had two trackballs. Because my arcade I have a trackball and a mouse (navigation made easier) one is x1 y1 and the other is x2 y2.
It would lend to not having to use the system keys at all.
personally I have an Ipac4 and it is a pain to make sure system keys are not pressed. I know of the frustration Dazz.
sp33dy
09-10-2008, 07:47 AM
Well, to be honest. It's a great question that I can't answer. When I purchased the IPac's (I've purchased an IPac 2 and IPac 4), I'd read that they could be chained together for more buttons. I figured as long as I could set each button/joystick direction to a single key then I'd leave that set and have a utility program that would change the settings of the emu in question. IE for Mame make the correct changes before game starts, or for CBM64, remap the necessary keys. To be honest, it's something I'd planned on working on next and figured it must be solvable:
http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac2.html
USING TWO I-PACs TOGETHER: Two boards can be used for doubling the number of inputs. The second board can be connected to the pass-thru connector of the first. Or either connect both boards to USB or the first to the keyboard port and second to USB. Each board can be individually programmed with the required code set, then the two boards can be connected together as above.
Further to this, some buttons (i.e. pause) are duplicates and I'd planned to wire up as the same key:
WIRING TWO JOYSTICKS TO THE SAME CONNECTIONS: This is fine, and is often done when using a dedicated 4-way joystick alongside an 8-way. Both joysticks could be wired to the Player 1 inputs. They will both perform the same function of course.
I figured this would all work, but as I say.. I'll encounter these issues over the next few weeks I guess!
Visitor Q
09-10-2008, 07:47 AM
That sure is a lot of buttons. I should have my cab next month sometime, I will be sure to post pix.
I plan on a two player setup, 7 button layout per player one and two.
I am hoping that is enough for most console systems, including PSX and Dreamcast. I think the DC has 6 buttons but the PSX has 8. Maybe 7 buttons will some what limited me...
sp33dy
09-10-2008, 07:55 AM
Yay, wife has just asked me to babysit whilst she goes out with her mates.. Time to get the solder iron out and start hooking up the controls. I might be able to answer the IPac question sooner rather than later...
Oh oh... Trackballs.. I've got two of the high quality trackballs from ultimarc. However, when I roll the balls they slow very quickly. I'm sure in the arcades they would roll with momentum for quite a while (mine slow down very quickly and are stiff). I've unscrewed one and noticed bearings in the flywheel etc. Can these be greased/wd40'd to make them operate better? Any tips/hints appreciated. Or am I having a 'hazy' memory again?
*DOH* *Edit*
Just found the answer on the ultimarc site. Yes, soak the grease packed bearings in WD40.... :-)
Well, to be honest. It's a great question that I can't answer. When I purchased the IPac's (I've purchased an IPac 2 and IPac 4), I'd read that they could be chained together for more buttons. I figured as long as I could set each button/joystick direction to a single key then I'd leave that set and have a utility program that would change the settings of the emu in question. IE for Mame make the correct changes before game starts, or for CBM64, remap the necessary keys. To be honest, it's something I'd planned on working on next and figured it must be solvable:
http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac2.html
Further to this, some buttons (i.e. pause) are duplicates and I'd planned to wire up as the same key:
I figured this would all work, but as I say.. I'll encounter these issues over the next few weeks I guess!I was wondering how that worked... If you programmed each board the same way then player 3/4 buttons would be the same as 1/2. When player 3 hits their button 1 it will perform the action for both players, right? I personally have not tried, my other I-PAC4 is still sitting in its original packaging just begging to be used. I just don't see how it would be possible... You definitely need to post and let us know how you do it once you figure it out.
I have many of my buttons wired together... For instance all of my pinball flippers and tilt buttons are all tied into my player 2 buttons. My dedicated classic buttons for spinner, 4-way, trackball games are all tied into my player 1 buttons. My player 1 joy stick and 4-way joystick are wired into the same directional. Even doing this I still seem to can't find the ideal programming.
sp33dy
09-10-2008, 08:06 AM
If I get time, I'll play with the two ipacs tonight. No point wiring all buttons up until I know how it will work. Hopefully post later with findings.. :-)
I do think the answer is having a utility app inbetween HS and the start of the emu to do some of the mapping. It's an absolute necessary item for me due to wishing to accomodate any number of left and right handers. This is important to me as this was often the fight that used to break out at the arcades with my mates. I can't remember now, but I always wanted to be a certain character in gauntlet but being the only rightie, got to play just one char..... The elf if I remember rightly.
sp33dy
09-12-2008, 03:01 PM
Been a bit slow with either themes or my cab. :-(
Found some time tonight and have managed to get the opti-pac up and working. Two trackballs and 4 spinners with buttons all working. Yay, I then made the mistake of firing up Marble Madness. Doh...
Next step is to look at all those player buttons and joysticks... :-)
Night night...
sp33dy
10-01-2008, 03:41 AM
Arrrgghhhh..
I made a huge mistake at the weekend......
I wired up two trackballs, 16 buttons and one joystick.
Needless to say, I spent 3 hrs playing games with my old man instead of wiring up the other 64 connections!! lol
All I can say is... WOW... It really is well worth building a cab. No matter how frustrating, annoying or just plain daft it is. Even the wife has come round from the point of "ITS HUGE" to "Mmmm give me more Frogger".
I must admit, old man and I just loved re-playing Gun Shoot from the 70's. I'd forgotten that game until he asked if I had it..... The spinners really help in that. In fact, placing the spinners over the joystick means other games that had twisty joysticks work great!!! OH god I love this !!!
Hehe...
BadBoyBill
10-01-2008, 06:15 AM
Man, you got me itchin to get my cab goin!
Captain Flint
10-01-2008, 09:42 AM
I am planning on redoing my cp... but have to wait for my bonus at the end of the year...oh man that's going to be a long wait.
EVEGames
10-01-2008, 07:14 PM
Wow, Sp33dy...
I mean WOW....
I'll be honest, had you posted a conceptual drawing of that control panel before building it, or a prototype, I would have offered up some constructive criticism.
But seeing that it's already 99% complete, I'm gonna say rock on, congratulations on the build, and my hat's off to you for doing things your way.
About the computer, you mention a quad core. Certainly nothing wrong with that, but my 2 cents would be that Mame, and probably most other emulators, will only benefit from 2 of those 4 cores. A Core2Duo, overclocked to around 4GHz, on a solid motherboard, with lots of RAM, running Windows XP x64 and the 64-bit build of MAME is currently the pinnacle of MAME performance. Of course, if you're going to get heavy into newer PC games with that cab, a quad core certainly can't hurt.
-EVEGames
sp33dy
10-01-2008, 11:07 PM
Wow, Sp33dy...
I mean WOW....
I'll be honest, had you posted a conceptual drawing of that control panel before building it, or a prototype, I would have offered up some constructive criticism.
But seeing that it's already 99% complete, I'm gonna say rock on, congratulations on the build, and my hat's off to you for doing things your way.
Thanks. Yes, it is rather large and doing it my own way was 10 years of thought and planning. From the day I encountered Mame running Bombjack, I was hooked and stated to a mate at the time wouldn't be cool to build a cabinet at home. He laughed and said I was mad!!! I've sat on beaches, been to very cold parts of the world, stuck in hotels for work, etc, etc. all the time thinking of how to design and build this. I didn't want to miss anything I wanted out of it and did look at lots of hand made cabs already. My only regret is not cutting major MDF pieces rather than using a stud frame and wood paneling. I avoid MDF as my cutting skills are bad, but I've now realised it's so easy to cover up edging, especially if painting something matt black!!! My attempt is a little unsquare and has a few annoying niggles to me.. However, now cab is in operation, noone is truely going to look at those types of fault.
About the computer, you mention a quad core. Certainly nothing wrong with that, but my 2 cents would be that Mame, and probably most other emulators, will only benefit from 2 of those 4 cores. A Core2Duo, overclocked to around 4GHz, on a solid motherboard, with lots of RAM, running Windows XP x64 and the 64-bit build of MAME is currently the pinnacle of MAME performance. Of course, if you're going to get heavy into newer PC games with that cab, a quad core certainly can't hurt.
I agree with your comments totally. My rationale is that I do want to play latest pc games on it. I've avoided all online gaming for all these years, specifically leavign to play on this cab. I could go core2duo, but a few quid to Quad isn't much of a jump. I've overclocked my office machine from the quad 2.4 to 3ghz. I've not got any intention of going further as I don't want huge, potetenially louder cooling in the cab (don't want a fire, lol. Although I have an intake and exhaust fans in the computer bay of the cabinet, for extra cooling). I plan to stick with XP 32Bit. I've not used Vista yet, but so many people around me have either hated it or had problems. I'd love to go 64Bit, as I'd love more memory accessible, but that's only required on PC in office for Video editing etc. The machine i put into this will be the family machine. I.E. The wife can use the pull out mouse/keyboard to start doing the shopping and emails etc. I see her progressing to doing her accounts etc on it. I've got a £600 budget and may plump for a better gfx, although Novatech nearby have Geforce9800's SLi with 1GB of mem on for £60 each, very tempting. HEHE, I'm a nutter.
My last £600 of a £1500 bonus two years ago. I'm pleased I've kept to budget. I think the controls set me back £350 on their own... Doh.
sp33dy
10-20-2008, 12:26 AM
Hi there.
I've been really quiet for the past week (unusual for me).. Lol
Unfortunately real life has got in the way. I've managed to land myself a large pilot project for a government department and now have to make it happen :-(
In the meantime, I've managed to wire up the last of my buttons of my cabinet (phew, took the entire day on saturday [the wife was not impressed]).
To answer the question about two iPacs. If you code the two iPacs, they generate a key press you tell it. Therefore, if you state 'A' should be generated on both, then they both generate the same code. You DON'T get A(1) and A(2) !! Only the 123 (not sure on the actual code) for the key. Quite logical really. You also have to program them seperately before chaining.
I've now got 40 (5 sets of 8 buttons), 4 x 4way joysticks, 4 x coins, 4 x starts, 12 function keys, 2 x escape (wired seperately for now, but generate same button), 2 x pause (wired separately but generate same button for now). You can do the maths, that's 78 buttons (hope I've added that up right). I've managed to map them all independentally, with out using the Alt buttons (to prevent CTRL+ALT+DEL and also window menu's appearing if/when I allow user to use FireFox). I've achieved this with one iPac 2 and one iPac 4. I still have four inputs free, but won't be using them!
I've also got an Opti-Pac wired to two track balls, four spinners and either left/right mouse buttons (doubled up either side of track balls). This plugs into its own USB connection as a mouse.
It all works brilliantly and I'm really really chuffed I've done this. YES, ITS A HUGE FRANKENSTEIN LAYOUT. I DON'T CARE. Lol
I also used Scart Cabling for the wiring to each button for CN. Purchased a 5m 21-pin wired cable and snippet that. As a result, I've got reasonably clean wiring going on (I'll take a snap if I get a chance soon). Just thought i'd throw this point out there.
My only disappointment is the fact I was stupid. Decided to take a few cable clips in and didn't think to protect the flexi-plastic glass. A couple of splinters have occurred around two buttons. I'll just live with, but I am kicking myself. I hate that stuff as it's so delicate....
Signing off for now
Sp33dy
P.S. I will upload Troggs in the next few days. I'm just trying to clean a couple of things up.
P.P.S. I'm also trying to avoid the cab now as it plays games! Although I've not purchased my dedicated machine yet. Probably order at the weekend.. YAY.