Update on an old project
 

Some of you that have been around a few monthes might remember a pic I posted. It was of an arcade control panel I had built. Well...many monthes later I have made some decent progress and thought I would share it with you guys. Here is a gallery running through the construction.

Almost done, and I strongly suggest that anyone interested try this. It kicks major ass to be able to come home from work and play old style games the way they were meant to be played. I am putting up the marquee (and hopefully the screen cover) today. If I get those done I'll update the pics and let you know.

God-damn that is badass... *drool*

That is really sweet. I wanted to make one of those. I don't have a garage or any kind of carpentry skill what so ever. :(

Very cool!

So sweet dude! :D

Very nice. My friend and I started one about a year ago, and we never got past the control panel... he got it all wired up, and we got so busy playing games that we never finished the cabinet.

Electronic gaming............old sk00l! ;)

It's been a dream of mine for years... someday I suppose I'll be able to afford it. Until then, I'll just drool at yours. That's a very sweet set-up. Can I come over? I must warn you, if you say yes I'll never leave.

Hey great work! I really appreciate seeing someone stick to something like this, mainly because I would have sone abut half and quit it. That is going to be a lot of fun especially when you get the marquee up and make it look like it is not a TV underneath. sweet job!

That was pretty damn impressive.

Did you ever consider using a console instead of a PC?

Not really, the main reason I went with the PC was to run multiple emulators. Right now I'm running about 3500 Arcade, 200 SNES, and 200 NES games. I might kick in the Atari and Sega later. I could rig up some of the newer systems, but most newer games take so many damn buttons it would be too big of a hassle.

Thanks for all of the kind words everyone. I finished the marquee today, and will work on the cover for the TV tomorrow. Soon as I get the pics of them, I will update the site and *bump* this post.

Thanks again for all of the compliments. And again, if you ever think about doing this - go for it. It is a hell of a lot of work, but the payoff is soooooo worth it. Also, I would be more than happy to answer any questions if anyone decided to take the plunge.

Later

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

Nice! Looks very similiar to the layout for a Gauntlet.

cool. can u make me one too? :)

why only 4 buttons on the outer pads?

Lol, for only $2500 dollars, :D .


95% of all 4-player games only require four buttons (or less).

Very cool. Two thumbs up! I love the classic games.

with the recent release of mame 0.67 I've been contemplating doing something similar.

My layout was going to focus on two player games and a trackball, though. I figure the control panel will cost around $200 all told... which isn't too bad.

then I need to find someone tossing an old arcade cabinet :)

Great idea...

That looks sweet! Too much work for me though. Good luck with it.

For those interested, I put up about 10 more pics. Got the marquee and screen cover done. Sooooooo close :D.

That's AWESOME!

My GOD I wish I had that much skill...

That's awesome. I've been contemplating getting a arcade machine for a while, but I've never quite had the money or space in my house. Also, I've never been able to find Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or The Simpsons!

So what do you have left? Are you going to paint the rest of the cabinet in any special way, or just a solid color?

Good work and keep us updated! Looks amazing!

That is too sweet.

You could go all the way and install coin operation. Invite people over and let them plunk quarters in. Then again you could just enjoy your kickin' machine after lots of blood, sweat, and tears.

You should put in a slot for quarters as well. Maybe instead of keeping the money, you can donate it to your favorite charitable cause at the end of the year!

That is awesome. I currently own an original gauntlet and timepilot. I have been thinking about buying another game but now you have me thinking about doing this instead. How did you figure out the button setup?

Panopticon: I am going to try staining it, and paint it if that falls through. Besides that I still have to do molding and speaker grills.

diergray: As for the layout of the buttons, I just cut out a 2' x 4' sheet and went to drawing. To hook them up I went to www.ultimarc.com and got their ipac. It's the chip in the wiring picture. Real easy to hook up, and just works by turning the buttons in to keyboard characters.


Now that I am almost done with this one, I am actually itching to try another. Now that I have all of the dims etc, I would really like to give it another go and maybe sell one. We'll see if the wife kills me when I tell her :D.

That is so nice and you are a really talented! Are you running the game from some sort of emulator?

VERY kewl!

Shit man, I just showed my wife the pics.... shes about as excited about it as I am.... shes trying to talk me into making one.... hahahaha... who does she think i am

if you have any desire at all to make another.... and feel like selling it... I'm your man :) Do you accept pay pal :D

Man if only i had the patients/time....

You rock dude.

DuNiLoMoo: Yep, I am running MAME32 for arcade, megasis for sega, virtua boy for GBA, virtuanes for NES, and snes9x for SNES.

mykockle: Rofl, thanks.


Just found this site for those interested. It sells mame cabinet designs along with cut out templates. I really like their Ultimate Arcade II design. This would have been very nice to have 3 monthes ago, lol.

Cripes, looking at that ultimate arcade II cab, looks like they ripped you off. Yours looks almost exactly the same...

That site is pretty cool though... i may just have to partake.

that is really cool, i love old school arcade games, although i am currently looking to purchase a bubble hockey game!!!

Thanks for the links. Have you considered painting it with a car paint. The finish would be awesome. I wonder if you could take it to a car painter and ask them to paint it!

That is really impressive and you should be proud of yourself, and you have given me hope. I never knew that a guy who spent several months building a home arcade machine could get a wife!

Very cool! I've been thinking about building a MAME cabinet for quite a while now. One of these days I'm finally going to start!

that's great!

do you have it running on the network so that you can remote control to it and add more games and emulators without having to open the back of the cabinet?

you have mad skillz---I'd definitely want to paint it

That.... is... so... COOL!!!!!

Man, I wish I had that kind of skill or $. When it comes right down to it, that's the -only- way to play!

that looks like an awesome project, but about how much did it cost to get all the stuff to make it?