Gaming Forums => General Gaming => Topic started by: BranDonk Kong on February 02, 2019, 05:05:58 PM
Title: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 02, 2019, 05:05:58 PM
...this is actually my second time doing this. The first time was about 20 years ago but I wasn't nearly as patient and just rushed it with plywood and a big CRT, didn't realize it wouldn't fit through my doorway, got angry and demolished it. This time, I used a template (original Mortal Kombat cabinet - though it is 5" wider to accommodate for the LCD), took my time, made sure it would fit through the front door, etc. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Not counting the laptop that's inside it (I've had it for a little over 6 years), I spent about $140 on wood (though some of that was due to doing some trial and error - only needed to spend about $85 really) and other hardware. The buttons and joysticks cost about $90 with shipping, but that's because I was impatient and miscounted at first - should have been about $70 - $75. The 32" 1080 LCD (this makes 4:3 games display at just slightly larger than they did on their original 25" CRTs) was $160, and I already had the sound bar too, but I think I paid about $60 for that a few years ago. T-molding was $20, acrylic (for the yet not-completed marquee) was about $18 I think, same for the glass overlay/bezel. Probably spent about $50 on paint and supplies - would have been much easier and cheaper if I had a power sprayer. This was definitely the most time-consuming part. MAME is free obviously and so are the ROMs (of course these are for...historical and archival purpose). GLSL settings in MAME make the games *almost* look like their running on an original LCD ("pincushion" effect, scanlines, etc.). For now I've gone with a Mortal Kombat 3/4 control layout, though the top of the control panel is removable and I plan on making a 4-player/3-button panel for TMNT, X-Men, The Simpsons, Blitz, NBA Jam, etc. as well, in the next month or so. Anyway, here are some pics. When I actually make a marquee (or order one, I have enough acrylic to make/order 3 different ones) or make the new control panel I'll post updates. It was definitely a labor of love, and I learned a few things that would help should I ever decide to do this again. I could easily knock out another one in a single day knowing what I know now.
Edit - gallery to all the images right here: https://imgur.com/a/nWkaKvF
(https://i.imgur.com/Ls4QQ6A.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/J6QJMQ5.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/4jKnXQQ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ScXAO45.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/WO6OE1S.jpg) Just showing off how awesome GLSL can make your games look.
(https://i.imgur.com/i6Spbnr.jpg) The soundbar just happened to be the *exact* same width as the 32" LCD's frame.
(https://i.imgur.com/t9yMXqy.jpg) Here's what I'm using until tomorrow...it runs *nearly* everything at full speed, but a Core i5 9600K and all the components are coming from Amazon tomorrow, then it will be perfect.
(https://i.imgur.com/t6Jm3mQ.jpg) Custom bezels make the games look even more authentic, or at least eliminate the extra blackness from using a 16:9 screen...
(https://i.imgur.com/F6pJz65.jpg) ...especially when using a "monitor bezel" - from a foot or so away you'd think it was an original arcade CRT.
I'll also be running Dolphin emulator (GameCube/Wii), CEMU (Wii U), PCSX2 (PS2), etc. My son and I played Super Smash Bros. Melee on it, that was pretty awesome.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: ShyGuy on February 02, 2019, 07:25:40 PM
Wow! That thing is huge!
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 02, 2019, 07:53:11 PM
I get that a lot.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: lolmonade on February 04, 2019, 08:58:07 AM
Awesome work.
I take it those scanlines are a filter to make MK3 look more like the original game?
Any plans on the side panels or that top panel as far as decoration? It looks great as-is, I just know my nostalgia buttons would be on overload if there was also some kind of art across the cabinet.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: ejamer on February 04, 2019, 01:09:27 PM
Looks like fun!
Very curious about the extra, interchangeable control panel you mention. Please do post photos if/when you make it. Would be really cool to be able to swap between your current 2-player setup and the classic old 4-player arcade games. :)
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: Order.RSS on February 04, 2019, 02:17:30 PM
Looks really cool! Now who do I contact to build me an F-Zero AX replica...
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 05, 2019, 10:10:22 PM
I take it those scanlines are a filter to make MK3 look more like the original game?
Any plans on the side panels or that top panel as far as decoration? It looks great as-is, I just know my nostalgia buttons would be on overload if there was also some kind of art across the cabinet.
Thanks! Yes the scanlines and the curvature of the screen, they're actually OpenGL shaders. I may end up doing some type of side art, but I'll probably wait until I buy a house and have a "game room" to place it in. Right now I'm renting a house and it's like right smack dab by the front door lol. For the top marquee area I'm going to do something with it...just not sure. I haven't really checked online but I'll problem end up ordering a vinyl strip with some kind of logo on it (maybe just the blue MAME logo) and put a light behind it. I did get 3 pieces of acryclic cut, so I can experiment a little bit.
Very curious about the extra, interchangeable control panel you mention. Please do post photos if/when you make it. Would be really cool to be able to swap between your current 2-player setup and the classic old 4-player arcade games. :)
I'll definitely post pics when I do it. It may be a few more weeks or so - if I had better tools at my house I'd have done it already, but I need to borrow stuff from my sister/go to her place to do some of the work, so it slows me down. It's kind of hard to make out in the pictures, but I also goofed up a little on the control panel that I'm using now, it's about an inch too short (gap between the "top/back" end up it and the bracket that keeps the glass in place in front of the monitor), so I'll probably redo that too. For the 4-player setup, I am *super* tempted to do blue/red/orange/purple joysticks for TMNT, but I don't think Suzo Happ makes a purple one unfortunately.
Looks really cool! Now who do I contact to build me an F-Zero AX replica...
To build one? Who knows...maybe Dave and Busters would have a cabinet in a warehouse somewhere. You can play it on a modded Wii/Wii U though.
I didn't realize that imgur kept the images full size, here's the actual gallery - https://imgur.com/a/nWkaKvF - I'll try to update it when I add new stuff. Should be building the replacement PC tomorrow, but that's not too exciting.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 08, 2019, 05:22:55 PM
Minor update (not the new controller yet), well major update if you go by dollars spent. I ordered the parts to build the new PC to put in there and built it slowly over the past couple days. Got an i5 9600K that will play absolutely anything at full speed (that doesn't need GPU power), 16GB RAM, 250GB SSD (I've never owned an SSD before, this thing is absolutely amazing, Windows boots in about 3 seconds!). I'm still waiting to see if Nvidia offers the GTX 1660/1650 at a decent price before I buy a video card. Anyway, since the 9600K is unlocked it doesn't come with a cooler, so I bought one and the case etc...turns out the cooler was about 1/4" too big to fit in the case, so I had to Dremel some of the grating off to fit around the pipes. Still...it was a $27 case, so whatever. Here's the gallery containing the new pics together https://imgur.com/a/18YO6U0
(https://i.imgur.com/Sxvho4B.jpg) Fastest i5 on the market, baby!
(https://i.imgur.com/3dDaEBm.jpg) The CPU cooler is an absolute beast. It's a Micro ATX board though, so it does make it look even bigger.
(https://i.imgur.com/ntAzpic.jpg) That's why I had to use a Dremel.
(https://i.imgur.com/Y1ZUHHo.jpg) The results...not too shabby
(https://i.imgur.com/kkQEAJ0.jpg) My son playing Super Smash Bros. (original, N64)
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: ThePerm on February 10, 2019, 03:30:38 PM
Have you experimented with Bluetooth controllers?
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 10, 2019, 04:28:57 PM
Not with this. It doesn't have Bluetooth or Wifi right now, that will probably be the next purchase...and an external power button. Though I can power it on via PS/2 mouse or keyboard...of which I own neither. I did just order a Dolphin Bar to make Wii emulation easier though, and I'm pretty sure that can connect any Bluetooth controller as well. I can always just run a couple USB extension cables to the bottom of the control panel too (it's open underneath) for additional players.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: ThePerm on February 10, 2019, 07:07:39 PM
I watched the movie Joysticks last night. They had mentioned it on an episode of Cinemassacre. So I turned it off and watched the movie and then watched the review. It was weird but entertaining. NSFW Porky's in an Arcade.
I used to be a mall rat during the 90s and used to hang out at the arcade. No arcades in my town right now. I think Arcades could have stuck around if they remembered that they were always supposed to be technologically superior to consoles. At this point they should be highly advanced VR/AR. The worlds should be way bigger than any GTA game. They should be online connecting multiple arcades.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 10, 2019, 09:30:49 PM
Lol I fell asleep when they were reviewing Joysticks. I'll have to check that out too.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: King of Twitch on February 13, 2019, 01:34:44 AM
That's a clean machine. Would be so fun to play SSB64 in an arcade cabinet like that.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: kaijugamer on February 13, 2019, 09:16:40 PM
Impressive! Great job.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: Spak-Spang on April 02, 2019, 07:26:06 AM
I watched the movie Joysticks last night. They had mentioned it on an episode of Cinemassacre. So I turned it off and watched the movie and then watched the review. It was weird but entertaining. NSFW Porky's in an Arcade.
I used to be a mall rat during the 90s and used to hang out at the arcade. No arcades in my town right now. I think Arcades could have stuck around if they remembered that they were always supposed to be technologically superior to consoles. At this point they should be highly advanced VR/AR. The worlds should be way bigger than any GTA game. They should be online connecting multiple arcades.
In Korea there are still arcades, but they are kinda retro fares. Many games that just can't easily be done in a home experience. Dancing games, music games, and strange interface games. So the thing is they don't need to make the games technologically advanced in bigger games, but experiences that just can't easily or affordably be done in the home.
So yes, VR experiences or rides that somehow combine video game experiences. Or cool racing experiences, shooting, fishing, boxing. Arcades could very well still be something special. The problem is they can't reach that specialness at the affordable price that arcades were once capable of doing. That means the arcade experience isn't that same value.
I mean I remember stopping doing arcades because a game cost 75 cents to a dollar. I thought it was a rip off. Now arcades have games that are $1.50 to $2.00 and I will never play those.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet...
Post by: ThePerm on April 07, 2019, 01:15:48 PM
That's a big factor too. Price has to stay cheap for arcades. There is an importance to keeping the experience tied to a single pay unit. Like a quarter or a dollar. Maybe you pay a monthly fee of 10 dollars, but you still got to pay in quarters to start or stay in the game. Unless the Arcade was as big as a Walmart.
