Hey Guys - Old School Gamer Here

I guess I am a little confused at the love for a game to the point of accepting confused, cluttered, unfamiliar controls, with no soul,, in a generic mutigame cab even...Building a machine takes a lifetime of skills, and can take years/decades to do proper, This can only be recouped in the fact that machine most likely will outlive its builder, Thats love of the game...Anyway welcome dude.😉
 
Choice paralysis is definitely real, I only keep about 25 games in my rpi to prevent that. Pick with a couple games and stick with them for a while.
 
Thanks @867- 5309 ! (Jenny ? is that you ?)

Yea the controls can look bad if they are not done right. And if your using so many games that you need all them. My plan is authentic controls, and only installing the ones I need for the games I like and the cabinet will have. Which is simple, the classic 2 joystick layout and simple jump/fire buttons. As all the games I like do not require trackball, knob, 4 players, etc.. I mean don't get me wrong, I like them, but I do not need them in my collection. Mainly for the reason you said. I like the control panel to look and feel authentic and also streamline, simple.

I never liked the fighting games, so I dodged a bullet there with the overdone buttons. I like Centipede and Tempest and stuff like that, but can do without it. So no trackball or knob needed. And I despise 4 player games other than Gauntlet. But I can do without that, or if its a good emulation on a FPGA, maybe I will install it and see if it works with just a 2 player control layout for 2 players max. Which I would be fine with.

Either way, I agree, and my cabinets will only have the authentic 2 player/Joystick/Button layout. I like the old school metal bar joystick with the red ball at top. So they will have that. I do not like the plastic black tapered looking ones myself.
 
Jennifer laughs, Ya, it's me, Should have rethought my screen name so the witch hunters don't find me😜...Curious you don't particularly like fighter games, seems the whole world does, But never really understood the attraction either...Must be a 90's thing.
 
Yea, so again, don't get me wrong, if some kid or friend asks me to play Street Fighter or Mortal Combat with them, I will. Or any of the others. But I do not like them enough to own them. And never did even in the old consoles. Just wasn't my bag.

NOW - I do like Mike Tyson's Punch-Out. And might even see if I can get that installed on a FPGA.. but that one only uses joystick and two buttons if I remember correctly. So hopefully it would work with a fire and jump button ? Hmmmm
 
You should list the games you want.
That will give a better indicator of whether or not you plan is going to work.
Although i'm still not all that confident it will considering it was my plan like 10 years ago...
Likely you will have the option to play a whole lot of games, none of which will feel right. Like going up a set of stairs, there is a whole lot of muscle memory in button layouts and unique controls.

And if you want Mike tysons and Mario, get a playchoice. It's definitely a guest favorite at my house, especially with the gun. Gives you the option to have quite a few nintendo games and still have them feel and play right.
 
Yea let me give you a list @jcar302 . I was told the FPGA boards Jrok, Bitkit were rock solid. Play right, look right. The titles I want are only the super popular ones, so I am sort of confident it should be doable if I customize my FPGA boards to contain only games that look and play authentic. If you don't mind, may I ask you exactly what didn't work for you when trying this 10 years ago ? Was the newer FPGA boards out then ?

So as said before, I will have 2 Cabinets. 1 for Vertical games, 1 for Horizontal games. All boards will be pruned of any games I do not want or that do not emulate authentically.

Vertical Monitor Cabinet:

Ms PacMan - Midway, Vertical
PacMan - Midway, Vertical
Galaga - Namco, Vertical
DigDug - Atari, Vertical
BurgerTime - Midway , Vertical
Donkey Kong - Nintendo, Vertical
DonkeyKongJr - Nintendo, Vertical
Space Invaders - Midway , Vertical
Q*Bert - Gottlieb D&Co, Vertical
Spyhunter - Bally Midway, Vertical
Jackal - Konami, Vertical
Contra - Konami, Vertical
Road Fighter - Konami, Vertical
1942 - Capcom, Vertical
Tron - Bally Midway, Vertical

Horizontal Monitor Cabinet:

Tapper - Midway, Horizontal
Rampage - Midway, Horizontal
NARC - Williams Electronics, Horizontal
Paperboy - Atari, Horizontal / Medium Resolution
Mario Bros - Nintendo, Horizontal
Vs. Super Mario Bros - Nintendo, Horizontal
Super Mario Bros 2,3 - Nintendo, Horizontal
Super Mario World - Nintendo, Horizontal
Gauntlet - Atari, Horizontal
Joust - Williams Electronics, Horizontal
Russian Attack - Konami, Horizontal
M.I.A. Missing In Action - Konami, Horizontal
Punch-Out, Super Punch-Out, Mike Tysons Punch-Out - Nintendo, Horizontal
Defender - Williams Electronics, Horizontal
 
So it looks like from that list a bit kit or 60 in 1 in some version of a pac cabinet can handle quite a few.
A playchoice 10 would handle all the nintendo games including 1942, contra and russian attack.
A williams cab with a jrok would be good for a few.

But Tapper, paperboy, punchout, qbert and maybe some others (i'm not familiar with all the game you list) are going to play terrible.
As i've said before, unique control games, need their unique controllers and joysticks or they are a waste.
There is a reason why those games cost a lot, the experience is lost when it's not original.
 
May I suggest using multiple control panels with molex connectors that can be swapped. For vertical you might want a 4way a two player 8 way and a qbert (diagonal). I know you said you weren't going to build but maybe a control panel or two would be within your time allowances.

For the horizontal, a 2 player 8way may be all you need. I dont know all these games.

You can see the multiple controls I did for a bitkit cabinet Here.

And as said above. I'd skip the ones with strange controls, Spyhunter for example, until this hobby takes over and you have a bunch of dedicated units.
 
So it looks like from that list a bit kit or 60 in 1 in some version of a pac cabinet can handle quite a few.
A playchoice 10 would handle all the nintendo games including 1942, contra and russian attack.
A williams cab with a jrok would be good for a few.

But Tapper, paperboy, punchout, qbert and maybe some others (i'm not familiar with all the game you list) are going to play terrible.
As i've said before, unique control games, need their unique controllers and joysticks or they are a waste.
There is a reason why those games cost a lot, the experience is lost when it's not original.

One concern I have about the PlayersChoice thing is they seem to group Horizontal games with Vertical games. I do not understand how they pull that off correctly ?

Oh I did forget Contra I think and Punchout for sure used 3 buttons I think. But to me it would not ruin a cab look and feel to have like 3-4 buttons per player and just not use them for the games that don't. I guess that's a personal preference thing.

Hmmm, Tapper was just up and down and one button. Joystick can handle that. Paperboy was just left/right and 2 buttons.. Joystick can handle that. I actually was introduced to Paperboy on Nintendo lol so used the controller and thought it was the best thing ever. I know I'd have fun if the controllers were different, but controls the same. (left/right/up/down, etc..)
Qbert was just joystick. no ?? Oh and Tapper, that went on Nintendo I remember and I felt no issues there using the controller pad. I mean its up and down. lol Hard to go wrong with that.

Spyhunter - yea I could leave that one out, I forgot it had several special buttons and a shifter. BUT I wouldn't mind leaving out handlebars, steering wheels, etc.. for a joystick. That never bothered me. Matter fact, I played a real Paperboy after the Nintendo and I personally hated them handle bars. haha.
May I suggest using multiple control panels with molex connectors that can be swapped. For vertical you might want a 4way a two player 8 way and a qbert (diagonal). I know you said you weren't going to build but maybe a control panel or two would be within your time allowances.

For the horizontal, a 2 player 8way may be all you need. I dont know all these games.

You can see the multiple controls I did for a bitkit cabinet Here.

And as said above. I'd skip the ones with strange controls, Spyhunter for example, until this hobby takes over and you have a bunch of dedicated units.
Dude, this is awesome ! I did not know this was possible to do. Look like you do great work ! The thing would be, could they be swapped quickly without screwing ? Just cause it would start to suck to swap it them back and forth constantly if you needed to use screws. I mean, I know its possible and best, but I could see that drifting towards only playing games that use whichever panel in correctly on and getting lazy about the swap if it took longer than 5-10 sec. You know how that is.

In any case, you guys keep helping me by bringing up lots of the issues than can accrue. Tis helps me look over as much troubleshooting as possible ahead of time and decide where my leniency lies and where my being a stickler lies.

Some of this is getting a bit round about and I would hate to be doing this topic/forum wrong... so maybe its best I begin addressing each concern separately in different threads for each ?

I thank you all
 
did not know this was possible to do. Look like you do great work ! The thing would be, could they be swapped quickly without screwing ? Just cause it would start to suck to swap it them back and forth constantly if you needed to use screws. I mean, I know its possible and best, but I could see that drifting towards only playing games that use whichever panel in correctly on and getting lazy about the swap if it took longer than 5-10 sec. You know how that is.
Most cabinets used latches to hold the cp down. So the procedure is open coin door, reach up, unlatch, disconnect the molex connector, and then reverse everything to put the new one in. Not 5 to 10 seconds, but it can be done in less than a minute without tools.
 
Most cabinets used latches to hold the cp down. So the procedure is open coin door, reach up, unlatch, disconnect the molex connector, and then reverse everything to put the new one in. Not 5 to 10 seconds, but it can be done in less than a minute without tools.
Thats good enough I agree !

Mike my friend, you just sold me on this concept ! It helps me a lot now. That said, I'd still want as few of these panels to store as possible, therefore check my other thread here and chime in on this debate - cause I'd like to know -


As it would directly reflect how many panels I get made.
 
I am not so sure too many would be a problem, there is quite a bit of maping and hackery that goes into those, each one is its own specific project...Just saying.🤔
 
I am not so sure too many would be a problem, there is quite a bit of maping and hackery that goes into those, each one is its own specific project...Just saying.🤔
Yea for sure, I feel ya. My saving grace (I think and am hoping) unlike others who do these cabs is I am will to only have a few games on each cab. This makes each "hacking" type project easier to fine tune to each game using whatever that hack is.

I for sure won't be doing anything. lol I will hire someone who eats, sleeps and poops these things and has attention to fine detail like I . Luckily thanks to DZA, I do have local guy for that. But if he is not comfortable with these swappable control panels, then I'd be willing to outsource to MikeNes if he is willing ?
 
I'm sure he could make swappable panels. I am out of projects atm, but I dont really want a commission. When I do it for myself I know exactly what I can live with when I make a small mistake. Working for someone else I would turn into too much of a perfectionist and I'd probably build it 5 times. Also shipping panels from Wisconsin to Cali is going to be expensive and it would be hard to get right without access to the cabinet. I am flattered you liked the pictures enough to trust me with your stuff though.

You know, I think you can buy a repro pacman cabinet and extra blank metal cps so whomever just has to drill the holes and wire it. This would take care of your vertical games. The 60 in 1 has a pretty standard button config joystick 3 buttons in the middle and a trackball on the right. Then you could make a two joystick one for two player games. Just do a Google search for it.
 
Working for someone else I would turn into too much of a perfectionist and I'd probably build it 5 times. Also shipping panels from Wisconsin to Cali is going to be expensive and it would be hard to get right without access to the cabinet. I am flattered you liked the pictures enough to trust me with your stuff though.
Haha, I know that feeling. I unfortunately am too much of a perfectionist about everything. Thats why I hate to build stuff, even though I know how a little, and I used to, its just I drew the line as far as my time value. I'm getting older with too much to do and not enough time so I want to do what I naturally do best and for a living (music) and everything else, I have decided to start outsourcing. Its more worth it IMO.

Yes I agree about the shipping, which is why I was mentioning you as a secondary. But do not take that a bad way, the way your stuff looked, I'd go with you first, obviously cause they look great and you have been doing them. Its just that not being local thing messes with the project fluidity for sure, as you mentioned.

You know, I think you can buy a repro pacman cabinet and extra blank metal cps so whomever just has to drill the holes and wire it. This would take care of your vertical games. The 60 in 1 has a pretty standard button config joystick 3 buttons in the middle and a trackball on the right. Then you could make a two joystick one for two player games. Just do a Google search for it.
Good points. I have been looking and looking and I just don't find any good local deal of scrapped cabs. Everyone trying to cash in on the hype and charging $2,500 for a horrendous looking cab. Thats ridiculous. Still looking, but if it stays like this, I will just get them custom ones made for like $3,000ea that has everything, built to my spec, refurbished CRT monitor included of my choice, FPGA cards installed to my choice 1 control panel to my choice, graphics of my choice, etc.. all brand new, then once I get it, fine tune some details, make a few different control panels, etc.. I mean as ridiculous as that price seems, its actually the best price if I think about than what I've come across on the used scrapped piece together market. At least here in SF.

Remember time is money for me too. So collecting parts and assembling them I would need to bill myself for and take that out of the "savings" -- Even a $800 cab isn't that great after I piece everything else together (monitor, cards, wiring, etc..) then try to fix it up cosmetically, etc.. all in all - 3k is sounding more and more appetizing.
 
Spose if your doing it to sell it, ya time is money, but you get what you pay for...A new cab sold for around 3k back in the day new, judging inflation on that dollar, well today's equivalent reflects that and a 3k machine today is not even the same sport...Personally I have a triple digit collection and patching up old machines is one thing, But doing scratch builds is something else entirely, few people have the patience, skills or tooling to do it anymore and Opt out for CNC, 3d printing, and pocket holes, cute and fast but again not really the same thing.
 
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Spose if your doing it to sell it, ya time is money, but you get what you pay for...A new cab sold for around 3k back in the day new, judging inflation on that dollar, well today's equivalent reflects that and a 3k machine today is not even the same sport...Personally I have a triple digit collection and patching up old machines is one thing, But doing scratch builds is something else entirely, few people have the patience, skills or tooling to do it anymore and Opt out for CNC, 3d printing, and pocket holes, cute and fast but again not really the same thing.
Definitely agree. Thats why when you find these guys that do it and do it right, I say its more worth it to just pay them.

Just my personal opinion though, I know others life situations are different, desires, value of their time, etc.. I was just pointing out what you are saying. Really it seems like a lot, but its kinda worth it if you think about what they do (those that do it right).

WOW dude, over 100 real deal vintage old school individual games ? I so envy that. Wish I had the space for that, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But living in San Francisco, space is just not what we are known for. It's ridiculous. You can make a good living out here, but live in a shoebox sized place and that place is 1.5mil. To have a extra 10x10 room like I do is actually considered amazing out here. Almost as amazing as having a front yard, cause yea that DON'T happen here. lol

So I purchased my official released Ms. Pacman/Galaga cabinet (CRT version) in approx 2001'ish ?? and it was $1,499 brand new, freight included to door. And I was super happy with it and it was to a tee same size and everything as the originals. I mean this thing was official. $1,500.

IMO, there is something besides inflation going on here. I remember when these games were going down in price. Nobody wanted them. (this is why I sold mine !) Now its like some trend hype bring them back and therefore the outrageous prices. They are starting to fall in the "collectable" / antique category. Which I guess I can live with but I still think its kinda BS (imo).

But I collect vintage synthesizers, microphones and tube outboard gear too, so I guess I get it. I also remember when they were not desired cause digital came in , now everyone is chasing that old "sound".
 
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