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Arcade Cabinet / Retro Discussion


RussTCB

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On 5/14/2019 at 10:24 PM, Iron MikeyJ said:

I bought a SF and Asteroids cab today. I'm leaving the SF stock, but I'm gonna mod the asteroids into a beat me up and shoot me up machine. 

I think I'm good with my 3 cabs. I modded SF into a Pi machine, then I left GT & MK stock.

They would really have to announce something incredible at E3 for me to consider another one. 

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25 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

I think I'm good with my 3 cabs. I modded SF into a Pi machine, then I left GT & MK stock.

They would really have to announce something incredible at E3 for me to consider another one. 

My wife wants a Qbert if they do that one. I'm also thinking about getting a rampage to put in my sons room. If the price is right, I'll buy anyone of them tbh. I'm  considering the Atari 12-1 for my arcade, just because it's a unique selection of games. 

Having said all of that though, I'm pretty confident I can "steal" the 1up design and build my own. So I'm going to do that for at least two machines. I haven't even opened the asteroids yet because I'm going to make templates of the sides out of cardboard. Those are the only "difficult" parts of the build imo. Plus copying the 1up will allow me to use existing 1up artwork for the sides of the machine arcade graphics for example). 

As far as the "brains" of my home builds go, I think I'm going with PC's. My current MAME PC I'm going to stick in the asteroids cab. I'm eyeing a new gaming PC for my build I was just describing. I want to be able to play old and new games, plus I just plain want a new PC. But I'll be making videos of my progress as I go. 

Here is what I currently have.

 

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2 hours ago, Iron MikeyJ said:

My wife wants a Qbert if they do that one. I'm also thinking about getting a rampage to put in my sons room. If the price is right, I'll buy anyone of them tbh. I'm  considering the Atari 12-1 for my arcade, just because it's a unique selection of games. 

Having said all of that though, I'm pretty confident I can "steal" the 1up design and build my own. So I'm going to do that for at least two machines. I haven't even opened the asteroids yet because I'm going to make templates of the sides out of cardboard. Those are the only "difficult" parts of the build imo. Plus copying the 1up will allow me to use existing 1up artwork for the sides of the machine arcade graphics for example). 

As far as the "brains" of my home builds go, I think I'm going with PC's. My current MAME PC I'm going to stick in the asteroids cab. I'm eyeing a new gaming PC for my build I was just describing. I want to be able to play old and new games, plus I just plain want a new PC. But I'll be making videos of my progress as I go. 

Here is what I currently have.

I'm running a RaspberryPi currently and I'll probably just stick with that. As far as A1U cabs going forward, I might buy a QBert if the do that due to the unique controls. I would love for them to do a 720 cab but I know that'll never happen.

I'm gonna check your video out in a minute. 

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2 hours ago, RussTCB said:

I'm running a RaspberryPi currently and I'll probably just stick with that. As far as A1U cabs going forward, I might buy a QBert if the do that due to the unique controls. I would love for them to do a 720 cab but I know that'll never happen.

I'm gonna check your video out in a minute. 

I honestly curious where 1up goes in the future. A lot of the games people are begging for (Ninja Turtles, xmen, NBA jam, etc) they all have rights issues that I'm not sure 1up has the financial resources to overcome (or make a product in the price range that would make them desirable). Games like Qbert, double dragon, battletoads, etc are the way to go imo. Yet I hardly EVER see people on the forum talk about them, it's always Donkey Kong and Ninja Turtles. Which I just don't see those cabs happening. There are TONS of non licensed games out there that could make good 1ups, but will they make them if they are unsure of the market for them???

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2 hours ago, Iron MikeyJ said:

I honestly curious where 1up goes in the future. A lot of the games people are begging for (Ninja Turtles, xmen, NBA jam, etc) they all have rights issues that I'm not sure 1up has the financial resources to overcome (or make a product in the price range that would make them desirable). Games like Qbert, double dragon, battletoads, etc are the way to go imo. Yet I hardly EVER see people on the forum talk about them, it's always Donkey Kong and Ninja Turtles. Which I just don't see those cabs happening. There are TONS of non licensed games out there that could make good 1ups, but will they make them if they are unsure of the market for them???

We know they have the wallcades and cocktail games coming, but I'm also curious what else they could have up their sleeve. I saw the NBA Jam cab in person at CES but I never post that on the fb page because I don't want the world to come down on my head lol. Having said that, the problem is exactly what you said; licensing. It's one thing to have a prototype hidden at a trade show, it's another thing to get the licensing to bring it to market.

As far as I'm concerned, I would only be intersted in NFL Blitz from that line of games anyway. Games with unique controls would have to be their next direciton. Qbert, like you mentioned, then maybe 720 like I was saying. QBert would have the far bigger audience, so I bet they'll get on that. I just don't see what else they could do that would keep people interested. Maybe light gun games? 

I know their CEO has hinted about doing something with pinball but I'm not sure how they'd pull that off. I'll be watching E3 very closely as I really think we'll have a much better idea of what the future holds then. I do think they'll announce TMNT and The Simpsons. If they announce NBA Jam, things could get interesting. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
7 hours ago, RussTCB said:

You gotta stop by soon and see it in person. The lighted aspect of it looks good in the pics, but amazing in person. 

How does it work? I'm curious how exactly they pulled that off.

As for stopping bye, I agree. I have a feeling the stars will align one of these days. You seem like a really good guy, and I'm sure your wife is nice as well. We (my wife and I) really could use some new friends. 

It's funny because just today my wife said to me "Do you have man cave envy or something?" Because I was telling her some of my plans for our basement. Let's just say your basement DOES seem pretty incredible. I have a decent vinyl collection, but I'll NEVER be able to compete with you there, lol. Although I DO have a MASSIVE Lego world/City in my basement, so I have you beat there 😁

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1 hour ago, Iron MikeyJ said:

How does it work? I'm curious how exactly they pulled that off.

As for stopping bye, I agree. I have a feeling the stars will align one of these days. You seem like a really good guy, and I'm sure your wife is nice as well. We (my wife and I) really could use some new friends. 

It's funny because just today my wife said to me "Do you have man cave envy or something?" Because I was telling her some of my plans for our basement. Let's just say your basement DOES seem pretty incredible. I have a decent vinyl collection, but I'll NEVER be able to compete with you there, lol. Although I DO have a MASSIVE Lego world/City in my basement, so I have you beat there 😁

There's two LED bars that sit at the back of the cab, inside so they're not visible. He put them at just the right height each and far enough back enough from the screen that it's perfectly lit. He makes commerical marquees for a living, so this is small potatoes compared to what he's used to apparently lol. The marquee itself is a completely enclosed box that sits on top of the A1U cab, and is screwed down so it looks great. Again, he's got the LED lighting figured out so there's no light bleed and it's not too bright. You're more than welcome to take a look at the whole get up whenever you come by. 

As far as my LP collection goes, it's absolutely meant to be shared. As much as I love my records, I love watching someone else find a record they want and ask to play it just as much. I have such a diverse collection that it's really cool to see what people pull when they just go digging. 

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15 hours ago, RussTCB said:

TMNT and a Marvel based cab announced today. We're supposed to hear about 3 more cabs tomorrow too. 

That TMNT one is sure bet for me. I've been wanting to do a four player cab, so this will be it. While the game selection on the Marvel cab IS nice, it's like Final Fight for me (great cabs, but I'm gonna have to pass). 

I'll probably end up modding the TMNT, add two more buttons per player and put all 3 and 4 player games on it. Last time I counted I had around 50 plus 3 and 4 player games.

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24 minutes ago, Iron MikeyJ said:

That TMNT one is sure bet for me. I've been wanting to do a four player cab, so this will be it. While the game selection on the Marvel cab IS nice, it's like Final Fight for me (great cabs, but I'm gonna have to pass). 

I'll probably end up modding the TMNT, add two more buttons per player and put all 3 and 4 player games on it. Last time I counted I had around 50 plus 3 and 4 player games.

I will buy that TMNT for no other reason than to convert it to a WrestleFest cab. 

Also, did you see that Destructoid article that strongly hints they will announce Star Wars today? That'll be cool.

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1 hour ago, RussTCB said:

I will buy that TMNT for no other reason than to convert it to a WrestleFest cab. 

Also, did you see that Destructoid article that strongly hints they will announce Star Wars today? That'll be cool.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of those SW games, but I know others are. I would like to see a new "OG" type cab, with qbert, frogger, burger time, etc. They have been doing a great job hitting the late 80s/90s, but don't forget the original stuff as well. A Dragons Lair would be awesome as well. The late 80s/ early 90s was pretty much ALL fighting and beat em up games. Which are great, but I personally am looking for diversity. 

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45 minutes ago, Iron MikeyJ said:

@RussTCB,

Which of the new cabs do you think you will buy?

For me, Ninja Turtles is a must but that's about it. I like the cocktail tables, but I don't think I'll be getting one. But they are cool.

I'm gonna pass on this wave. The only thing that would make me change my mind would be if I saw a super low price on TMNT. Then I'd buy it to convert to WrestleFest 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

So I had been quiet in this thread of late (I was waiting for some funds to arrive), but now that they have... the fun begins.

 

So, here are my upcoming mods

1. Street Fighter 2- I found a display model SF2 cab (MONTHS ago), and after playing with it for a while, I decided it was a bit underwhelming. For starters, the games are HARD. I'm a pretty decent SF2 player, and I can barely win 2 matches. That kinda sucks the replayability out of the cab. My MAME alternative is MORE enjoyable for SF2 games (plus I have more than 3 games). So my SF cab is officially becoming my MAME super cab. I just bought a Dell Optiplex 9020 with an I5 CPU in it. That should give me the power to run emulators all the way up to PS2 and Gamecube. Plus I'm putting a trackball in it, as well as a light gun. As for as controls, IL Eurosticks and 8 buttons for both players (newer games require more buttons). I will be building the control panel myself, with custom graphics I ordered. So this will be my SUPER cab, lol.

2. My first asteroids cab (75 dollar score), I am putting my current MAME PC in it and making it my racing cab. I already have an Xbox 360 racing wheel, honestly this cab is just getting things I already owned. Anyways, it will have racing games from arcades, Atari, all the way up to N64 and PS1 (that's the newest emulators this PC can run). The highlights will be Daytona USA, Cruisin USA and Mario Kart 64. 

3. My second Astroids cab (another 75 bucks score), I had a HARD time deciding what to do with it. In the end, I decided to make it the Atari 12-1 cab. I ordered a new PCB, control deck and deck protector from Arcade 1up. I also ordered the Glens Retro Show Spinner and Trackball for it, to really give it some "shine." So it'll essentially be the Atari 12-1 in the original Asteroids cab, with extra bells and whistles. 

4. I am putting a Zippy stick in my Pacman cab, much needed upgrade. The rest is remaining stock. 

5. Nothing new in my MK cab, I already nodded that one as much as I am going to. Its stock, with happy controls and the custom marquee. 

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On 8/31/2019 at 4:26 PM, Iron MikeyJ said:

So I had been quiet in this thread of late (I was waiting for some funds to arrive), but now that they have... the fun begins.

 

So, here are my upcoming mods

1. Street Fighter 2- I found a display model SF2 cab (MONTHS ago), and after playing with it for a while, I decided it was a bit underwhelming. For starters, the games are HARD. I'm a pretty decent SF2 player, and I can barely win 2 matches. That kinda sucks the replayability out of the cab. My MAME alternative is MORE enjoyable for SF2 games (plus I have more than 3 games). So my SF cab is officially becoming my MAME super cab. I just bought a Dell Optiplex 9020 with an I5 CPU in it. That should give me the power to run emulators all the way up to PS2 and Gamecube. Plus I'm putting a trackball in it, as well as a light gun. As for as controls, IL Eurosticks and 8 buttons for both players (newer games require more buttons). I will be building the control panel myself, with custom graphics I ordered. So this will be my SUPER cab, lol.

2. My first asteroids cab (75 dollar score), I am putting my current MAME PC in it and making it my racing cab. I already have an Xbox 360 racing wheel, honestly this cab is just getting things I already owned. Anyways, it will have racing games from arcades, Atari, all the way up to N64 and PS1 (that's the newest emulators this PC can run). The highlights will be Daytona USA, Cruisin USA and Mario Kart 64. 

3. My second Astroids cab (another 75 bucks score), I had a HARD time deciding what to do with it. In the end, I decided to make it the Atari 12-1 cab. I ordered a new PCB, control deck and deck protector from Arcade 1up. I also ordered the Glens Retro Show Spinner and Trackball for it, to really give it some "shine." So it'll essentially be the Atari 12-1 in the original Asteroids cab, with extra bells and whistles. 

4. I am putting a Zippy stick in my Pacman cab, much needed upgrade. The rest is remaining stock. 

5. Nothing new in my MK cab, I already nodded that one as much as I am going to. Its stock, with happy controls and the custom marquee. 

I was thinking about trying to find a $75 cab just to wrap it in the Journey graphics that Tyler made. The only reason I would do it is because the graphics would fit right in with my music room. Outside of the graphics, it would end up being identical to my Moonwalker cab, so I doubt I'll go through all the effort lol.

My Pi modded Moonwalker cab, stock Golden Tee and MK machines seem to be more than enough honestly. 

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3 hours ago, RussTCB said:

I was thinking about trying to find a $75 cab just to wrap it in the Journey graphics that Tyler made. The only reason I would do it is because the graphics would fit right in with my music room. Outside of the graphics, it would end up being identical to my Moonwalker cab, so I doubt I'll go through all the effort lol.

My Pi modded Moonwalker cab, stock Golden Tee and MK machines seem to be more than enough honestly. 

Originally, I wanted to get away from the single cab with thousands of games. I've heard that people spend more time searching for games, than actually playing. Which is one thing the stock arcade 1ups have going for them, only have a couple of games really seems to encourage playing as opposed to searching. 

Ideally, I want to have dedicated cans for certain types of games, one cab for best em ups, one for fighting games, one for classic games, one for trackball games, etc. I just dont have the funds to make that happen (I am also building my own PC, I'm about $1200 in there). So I won't be able to make my ultimate arcade dream come true yet (I couldn't preorder TMNT either ☹). 

So I had to go with the one monster machine. I'm still a little afraid it will over load my players senses (SO MANY games), but it's what I had to do. I already had the 2 asteroids cabs, so I had to figure out what to do to them, and a racing cab was a no brainer. Turning the 2nd one into the 12-1 was just kinda a budget decision. I'm pretty happy with how it'll work out though, with the new spinner and trackball. 

BTW, how is your trackball on your Golden tee cab? I dont have any experience with the stock balls, I upgraded out of fear I wouldn't be happy with it. 

In my "everything" cab, I'll have a xarcade trackball (it acts as mouse as well, which I like). Like you, I enjoy golden tee (and a few other trackball games), but couldn't justify the golden tee cab. 

I'm a little sad that I couldn't do a "classic" arcade machine with a 4 way joystick for all the OLD arcade games, but again budget... the 12-1 mod was cheaper (because I would of had to buy a new monitor for that cab as well for vertical games). 

I will say it sucks ordering a bunch of things on the Friday before labor day, lol.

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17 hours ago, Iron MikeyJ said:

Originally, I wanted to get away from the single cab with thousands of games. I've heard that people spend more time searching for games, than actually playing. Which is one thing the stock arcade 1ups have going for them, only have a couple of games really seems to encourage playing as opposed to searching. 

Ideally, I want to have dedicated cans for certain types of games, one cab for best em ups, one for fighting games, one for classic games, one for trackball games, etc. I just dont have the funds to make that happen (I am also building my own PC, I'm about $1200 in there). So I won't be able to make my ultimate arcade dream come true yet (I couldn't preorder TMNT either ☹). 

So I had to go with the one monster machine. I'm still a little afraid it will over load my players senses (SO MANY games), but it's what I had to do. I already had the 2 asteroids cabs, so I had to figure out what to do to them, and a racing cab was a no brainer. Turning the 2nd one into the 12-1 was just kinda a budget decision. I'm pretty happy with how it'll work out though, with the new spinner and trackball. 

BTW, how is your trackball on your Golden tee cab? I dont have any experience with the stock balls, I upgraded out of fear I wouldn't be happy with it. 

In my "everything" cab, I'll have a xarcade trackball (it acts as mouse as well, which I like). Like you, I enjoy golden tee (and a few other trackball games), but couldn't justify the golden tee cab. 

I'm a little sad that I couldn't do a "classic" arcade machine with a 4 way joystick for all the OLD arcade games, but again budget... the 12-1 mod was cheaper (because I would of had to buy a new monitor for that cab as well for vertical games). 

I will say it sucks ordering a bunch of things on the Friday before labor day, lol.

Very cool. I'd like to do all of that, but I just don't have the time, energy or resources, ya know?

I'll say that I did get overwhelmed with the Pi games lists at first. I spent a ton of time looking through games as others have mentioned. I found myself just settling on all of the classics that I knew I loved, so I calmed down eventually. I spend a lot more time playing now than I did when I first put a Pi in there.

Still, Golden Tee gets the most play of my cabs by far. It's just the easiest for everyone to play when I have groups over on Fridays. So overall, the 3 I have will probably be it. I do have a Pi 4, 4gb laying around so if I better build comes out for that someday, I'll probably just replace the Pi 3 in my Moonwalker cab with it. 

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On 9/3/2019 at 11:37 AM, RussTCB said:

Very cool. I'd like to do all of that, but I just don't have the time, energy or resources, ya know?

I'll say that I did get overwhelmed with the Pi games lists at first. I spent a ton of time looking through games as others have mentioned. I found myself just settling on all of the classics that I knew I loved, so I calmed down eventually. I spend a lot more time playing now than I did when I first put a Pi in there.

Still, Golden Tee gets the most play of my cabs by far. It's just the easiest for everyone to play when I have groups over on Fridays. So overall, the 3 I have will probably be it. I do have a Pi 4, 4gb laying around so if I better build comes out for that someday, I'll probably just replace the Pi 3 in my Moonwalker cab with it. 

I hear ya on the "resources." I dont either tbh, not my FULL plan anyways. I've had to modify my plan a few times. 

I've been working on my racing cab today (and last night), and let me tell you, it's been a HEADACHE. Luckily the worst is over, and things are coming together. But it was problem after problem, lol. To many to list them all, but here are some of the bullet point...

Stock monitor had a "flicker" to it. I had not put that cab together yet (because I didnt see the point of having 2 asteroids cabs up). Well I SHOULD have, it was literally like 6 days past the 90 day warranty cutoff.

So then I had to source another monitor, luckily I had a PC monitor lying around nor doing anything. But then I had to figure out how to mount that beast in the cab... LOADS of fun there, lol. But I DID get it in there. 

I went with Xarcade PCB's for this build (I've used them before and am familiar with them). Well one of my new ones wasnt wanting to program with my old Dell Dimensions that is running all the games in this cab. So I had to swap the PCB out of my tank stick (because I KNOW it works with this PC). 

I've also had a few other issues, that I wont get into here. But its finally running, and is actually pretty awesome (my 4 year old has been playing it like crazy). I still have to drill some holes for some buttons (start, exit, save state, load state). But I'll probably mess with that at a later date. I'm tired, and burnt out, lol. Plus I have my PC for my street fighter cab arriving on Friday. Which with that one I have to build a control panel for as well.

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