Best Mame Cabinet

[darthphunk]

My mame cab is a work in progress.

Computer is ready running Hyperspin. I got a 26 inch TV tube in there connected to a VGA to S-video converter.

The control panel is a bit of an aircraft carrier... but it's a factory Dynamo cab and CP so people can't blame me for it's size. It will be a 4 player CP. No trackball or 2-way controllers. I am going to rig credits to the coin reject buttons so I keep the number of buttons down on the control panel.

I need to fill and re-drill that control panel, get a marquee that will fit, make a custom shroud and get plexi to cover the monitor.

All in all, I think she'll look OK when I am done. I'll do cosmetic stuff later.

 

[jehuie]

My mame cab is a work in progress.

Computer is ready running Hyperspin. I got a 26 inch TV tube in there connected to a VGA to S-video converter.

The control panel is a bit of an aircraft carrier... but it's a factory Dynamo cab and CP so people can't blame me for it's size. It will be a 4 player CP. No trackball or 2-way controllers. I am going to rig credits to the coin reject buttons so I keep the number of buttons down on the control panel.

I need to fill and re-drill that control panel, get a marquee that will fit, make a custom shroud and get plexi to cover the monitor.

All in all, I think she'll look OK when I am done. I'll do cosmetic stuff later.

Looks pretty good to me. I would consider adding a 3rd or 4th button to 2 of the players so you can play NBA Jam and a bunch of Neo Geo titles though. And consider the player-credit button deal that we talked about earlier in the thread since it's easier and most people don't need to have it explained to them. Looks like you have put some work into it. Should be fun!

 

[darthphunk]

Looks pretty good to me. I would consider adding a 3rd or 4th button to 2 of the players so you can play NBA Jam and a bunch of Neo Geo titles though. And consider the player-credit button deal that we talked about earlier in the thread since it's easier and most people don't need to have it explained to them. Looks like you have put some work into it. Should be fun!

Players 1 and 2 will have 6 buttons. Player 3 and 4 will have 4 buttons each. I read somewhere that the most buttons a 4 player game would have would be 4 buttons each. Is that accurate?

I'm not too concerned with Neo Geo though... since I have one with a Multi-Cart.

I will consider the player/credit button. Thanks!

 

[FrizzleFried]

Sigh... did you say that on purpose?.....

D0h.... I didn't notice you self-complained about that...

 

[jehuie]

Players 1 and 2 will have 6 buttons. Player 3 and 4 will have 4 buttons each. I read somewhere that the most buttons a 4 player game would have would be 4 buttons each. Is that accurate?

I'm not too concerned with Neo Geo though... since I have one with a Multi-Cart.

I will consider the player/credit button. Thanks!

Oh ok...sounds great then. It didn't look like you had planned for all those from the pic. And I don't know the answer to that...off the top of my head I don't remember any 4 player games with more than 2 buttons even. What's that online database that shows all the controls and such? Maws I believe.

 

[darthphunk]

Oh ok...sounds great then. It didn't look like you had planned for all those from the pic. And I don't know the answer to that...off the top of my head I don't remember any 4 player games with more than 2 buttons even. What's that online database that shows all the controls and such? Maws I believe.

Yeah, the control panel pictures is how it is after I removed the factory configuration. Bondo will give me a clean slate... My control and button layout will be drastically different.

 

[PrairieDillo]

Oh ok...sounds great then. It didn't look like you had planned for all those from the pic. And I don't know the answer to that...off the top of my head I don't remember any 4 player games with more than 2 buttons even. What's that online database that shows all the controls and such? Maws I believe.

Xmen 3 per
Golden Axe RODA 3 per
D&D Shadows over Mystara 4 per
NBA Jam etc 3 per

 

[FrizzleFried]

Other 4 player 4 button games:

Arabian Magic
Blazing Tornado
Dungeon Magic
D&D: Tower of Doom (though I thought this was only 3?)

3 player 4 button games:

Judge Dreadd
Off The Wall
Power Drive
Rampart

There are quite a few 4 player 3 button games... and 3 player 3 button games.

 

[mikehawk]

someone had posted this a while back, I think its badass except for the control panel which i think looks kind of ghetto. http://steampunkworkshop.com/steampunk-mame

 

[jehuie]

someone had posted this a while back, I think its badass except for the control panel which i think looks kind of ghetto. http://steampunkworkshop.com/steampunk-mame

Agreed. Very cool looking machine. Creative and well executed. But that controller has to go and the monitor could be bigger too.

 

[Spyridon]

Check out this thread to links to some really well done mame cabs.

Oh man, this might be a long one...
On top of the formally mentioned projects, the ones that were most inspiring to me over the years are:

Uprights
Woody - by Knievel
- for his classic design, yet updated slim version. Cleanly built, great for living room friendly placement.

Terminus - by markc74
- I really love the shape of this cabinet, and again another Slim. I thought the cab has some really nice lines, and the colour scheme makes for a clean cabinet.

Bella's Arcade - by javeryh
- Great construction and wonderful information on painting surfaces. A beautiful theme as well.

The Shmup! Arcade - Ryglore
- I really like Ryglore's documentation of this project the most. He really did a great job at putting the process down. Also, he made a fairly unique cabinet shape, and wonderful theme'd artwork. Also, love his joystick mod and custom dust covers.

Aliens Cabinet - Epyx
- Awesome theme, great documentation, wonderful outcome. The lighting, to the shape, to the execution, Epyx did an amazing job on this one.

Project Mame - lokesen
- All around great cabinet. The artwork and shape stands out the most IMO. But also, it looks completely professionally done! It's clean, well constructed, and overall just looks fricken cool. Though, it's a bit lacking on the documentation.

Bubble Bobble Scratch build - by YoGaBaR
- great looking cabinet, featuring Trebeck's wonderful artwork. Though, this cabinet is lacking in details as well, its still nice to look at.

Mission Control v1. - Pixelhugger
- Although he's working on v2, I really thought v1 was a great looking cabinet. First, the construction was great, the shape of the cabinet was so unique, and the marquee plexi work was so well done.

Bartops
DK, DK Jr., Mario Bros. Bartops - by Jigenjuke
- Just outstanding work. One of the first bartop threads I read, and extremely jealous of. Jigenjuke did a brilliant job with this.

Tempest Bartop - by leapinlew
- I thought leapinlew did an amazing job with this cabinet. It was simply built, and well documented. The shape of the original tempest cabinet also translated well to a bartop.

UK Dig Dug Bartop - by shrunkenmaster
- It's just so cute!

WeeCade - by lokesen
- Love the retro look of this little guy. Nice overlay artwork, really well constructed.

POWcade - by endtwist
- I thought this was a very classy renovation project. I really liked his use of the side-art as well as the thin-lined chrome/black t-molding.

Galaga Themed Small Bartop - by leapinlew
- One of the first bartop threads I read. I really liked the translation of a classic galaga cabinet to bartop. It worked really well.

Metroid Mother Brain Super Console - by SodaPopinksi
- Absolutely my favourite project of all bartops!! The theme, the artwork, the details, the MOTHER BRAIN!!!! When I first saw this years ago, it blew my mind.

Atari Xevious Bartop - by retrofuture
- I left this one last because retrofuture isn't finished yet! But this bartop will be great once finished, and even in it's current state I found it pretty inspiring.

Cocktail and Other
Sega Dreamcast Cocktail table (Michigan theme) - by deadpool18
- This cabinet inspired me for my Canucks cabinet. I thought he used the sports theme very smart, not overly done or in your face. Also, a cocktail that runs off a DC is awesome in my books.

Xcelerator - by theCoder
- Epic driving cockpit cabinet! Probably the best on the board IMO. The documentation is wonderful, and his attention to details and driving "feel" is commendable.

Woodrail Mini-Pin Cabinet - by froggerman
- Classic looking mini-pin. Very well made, well executed...great choices of artwork and colour scheme. Some really good craftsmanship here.

Mini Galaga project - by melon
- So awesome. Clever use of the "coin door" access. So tiny, so coooooool!

Vewlix Slim cab - by SpaceHedgehog
- I know he's still putting finishing touches on this cabinet, but it's practically done. Great craftsmanship of this replication, and I really love his wiring and mounting of play-components.

Super Mario Bros Wiimote coin block Wiimote tidy - by Franco B
- Though not an arcade machine, I give this projects props for the theme and the utility it brings. Definitely inspiring for projects with purpose outside of actual game playing.

 

[Deadpool66]

Ok we all have seen the horror stories and pics of bad MAME set-ups, but where are the good examples? We have seen the aircraft carrier CPs, the trackball ones that are 2" from the monitor, etc. I'd like to see if anyone has made a decent one that you as an arcade collector would be proud to own.

I have one I simply used a Die hard arcade cab and added 3 extra buttons per player. Used a Jpac and arcade Vga and it looks just like any of my other games very low key and can easily be reconverted.

 

[jehuie]

Some of the stuff at arcadecontrols is simply amazing. I mean, check this out:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=63629.0

 

[jawhn]

Check this thread for some more... http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=84053

Here's mine... I'm relatively proud of it.

 

[RickB68]

Some of the stuff at arcadecontrols is simply amazing. I mean, check this out:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=63629.0

Geez, major time and skills put into some of that!

 

[kencinder]

Don't count on MAWS to be accurate with controls, for figuring out how to build your MAME.

I just emailed the site admin last night, to get him to correct the entries for Centipede/Millipede. Never seen either with an 8 way joystick...have you?
I found out they were incorrect because I'm going to MAME my Magic Worm and was looking for trackball games with one button, neither of those showed up even with ANY buttons...so I looked, listed as 8 ways!

Edit: He got back to me saying they can't list more than one control type. So why list a control type that is not the standard one? Who puts a joy in a Centipede? I could put a trackball in a Street Fighter II...doesn't mean I should.