Lets Discuss mame cabinets..

DPtwiz

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I have been wanting to do a mame cab that people would actually like. This would be a new cnc cut cab, so we won't be killing any classics at all, new parts throughout. We have seen the horrors of mame machines, and there is no question most are awful.

We all know the prices are equally horrific lol. what would you want in a mame cab?

1. monitor size and orientation
2. controls
3. artwork

1. i like 32" myself
2. i like 2 joysticks 4/8 way switchable 6 buttons each. Trackball in the center, using 1,2,3 buttons from player one, for games like missile command. no redundant buttons. Spinner control to the right of trackball, tempest, arkanoid, etc. 1,2 coinup 1,2 start. Menu button/esc button.

that's about the bare minimum for buttons, and doesn't look overly crowded.
3. artwork, something retro without being tacky.
 
If you are talking about a flat screen then 32" is good, if you are talking CRT then 32" is huge and will make the cab difficult to move.

The 4/8 way switchable joysticks are the only other area of concern I would have. Visitors to my home would never instinctively know to shift the joysticks, much less how to do it.


I do like the minimalistic approach. I really dislike four or more joysticks and a dozen buttons per player.
 
I have been wanting to do a mame cab that people would actually like.

Keep in mind there are members of the community here that will hate anything that isn't a dedicated cab. That doesn't mean you shouldn't build one, but if this forum is going to be your major source of feedback, then just be prepared for the naysayers.

That said, my preference for MAME cabs is to start with the games you want to play, and then design controls that match those games, as opposed to having every control and a 1500-game list. For instance, my 4-way joy and spinner cab has about 40 games on it. Realistically I need to cut that list down to about 25, as several of those just don't get played.

Aesthetically, I would avoid the arcade-clipart style so common on MAME cabs and 60-in-1s. Find one theme/game and stick with it or commission an artist to draw disparate characters in a unified style.

Best of luck in your build!
 
you sure do nice work and I bet what you do will be over the top cool.
so here are some random views to chew on:

mame tends to involve portability, space savings, and reduced costs.
otherwise the person would own a huge @$$ original with all the board and monitor repair that goes with it.

the setup needs a clever/easy access to the PC and keyboard (either a slider or hidden panel). only expert mame persons accomplish getting a machine setup with hyperspin or mala so they never touch a keyboard...and if they are that into it they probably built their own cabinet anyway.

for classic market. think about going with the "perfect" dimensions of a midway pacman cabaret that will accept a 17 or 19 LCD (which currently sell for around $35 shipped on ebay).
--for layouts you get into the 4/8 way stick and a trackball on the right side. or the williams-ish layout with 2 joysticks and defender style buttons.
--maybe make the CP quick release and include blanks for both options?

the later era for fighting games creates big panel layouts with lots of buttons. a classic era person isn't really going to go that route (this is typically where you see KLOV threads making fun of mame monstrosities...) so it might be hard to generalize a machine that handles both eras?
 
I was pretty happy using an old Golden Tee Fore cab that had been converted, the style with the white wings on the side. I think it looks good, control panel sits in a nice spot, wide & long enough to be comfortable while playing, sits at a good angle too. Custom cut cp, based off original GT Fore cp.

I kept mine 90's simple: a joystick and 6 buttons per player, trackball(HAPP W shape, not the PS2 light weight version) in the center(using P1 buttons for additional), coin and player start for each player. Designed as a two player set up, only wish I would have added a spinner for game selection screen. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the end result.

CIMG2431.jpg


CIMG2100.jpg
 
Are you supplying a monitor with your builds, or will you be asking the owners to supply one?

1. 25-27" is large enough. Anything else is too big and hard on the eyes for lengthy play

2. 2 players, 6 buttons each, laid out japanese fighter style. Trackball in the center is good. Spinner should be an optional item - not many games used them.

3. Your guess is as good as mine on that one. That's a tough nut to crack.

Personally, if you were to copy a Dynamo HS-10 or NFL Blitz, NBA Jam, or Atari Pit Fighter cab, you'd be pretty much there on the cab shape & size.
 
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My two bits:
1. 19" monitor is plenty. No more than 25". Classics like Pac-Man will look like junk.
2. Two player at the most, perhaps 3 buttons max. for classics or 6 for fighters to limit it. No 4 players with 100,000,000,000 buttons, those are yuck. I remember a while ago seeing a motorized auto-switching joystick.
3. Yes.
 
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i do like the golden tee cab idea.. not overly huge. Control panel has enough space to add everything without looking like an aircraft carrier. I can get one of those cabs for free too. I have a pitfighter/rampart style cabinet as well. I'd just like to be able to offer a cabinet, and let the end user install parts, so they can pick and choose what they want inside it.
 
the only good mame cabinet...


I jest though; I trust you'll do a fantastic job
 

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i do like the golden tee cab idea.. not overly huge. Control panel has enough space to add everything without looking like an aircraft carrier. I can get one of those cabs for free too. I have a pitfighter/rampart style cabinet as well. I'd just like to be able to offer a cabinet, and let the end user install parts, so they can pick and choose what they want inside it.

In that case, I'd recommend an upright cab with a shelf-mounted horizontal 25" monitor. There were several universal cab desgins that employed this. Think NFL Blitz or TMNT or NBA Jam, or The Simpsons. The have larger, wooden control panel boxes with hinges to allow the user to easily work on their controls. The control panels are also removable, allowing the cabinet to fit through most door openings 31" wide.

The monitor solution will be up to the buyer, which means you'll need to give them some way to either mount an LCD in there or an option on where to buy a CRT monitor. Some guys will already have the monitor they want, others will need to either buy an LCD. To accommodate an LCD tv in 16:9 aspect ratio that's the same height as a 4:3 25" monitor (about 15 inches high) you'd need a 32" LCD tv. But that means the cab will need to be nearly 30 inches wide just to fit that LCD panel in there, not including the side walls of the cab. That starts to get tight when people start trying to fit that cab in a 31 or 32" door opening. Not to mention you will need to design some sort of bezel to fit snugly around the monitor. I just don't see any clean way to design the build unless you know up front what type of screen the customer plans on using. Maybe you could design some sort of knock out pieces you could add/subtract depending on the type of screen the customer plans to use. Then supply the bezel as an accessory.


I really wouldn't worry about the guys who want a vertically oriented monitor. There weren't that many 25" vertical games, and none of the 25" verticals were any more than 2 players. So your best option for a vertical MAME cab is Pac style, which you can already build.
 
MAME cabinets are like ugly girlfriends to colletors. They can be a lot of fun, but most won't admit they've got one. OTOH, some people embrace their qualities.
 
If you want to use an arcade monitor, the 4-player cabs work great. If you want to go with LCD, not so much. I used a 4-player Konami cab for years, but when I decided to use an LCD TV, I switched to a pedestal style cabinet and wall mounted tv(s). You can add bezel artwork in MAME, and with that wrapped around the game, I needed a 46" TV to make most of the actual game screens display at the right size.

I am not sure how much market there is. There are already quite a few cabinet builders and sellers on BYOAC. I am having my new cabinet custom built right now locally, and the cost is shooting through the roof.

There may be a decent market for Control Panels that can compete with the X-Arcade stuff, but I don't know if there would be much profit if you try to compete with their prices.

BYOAC may be a better place to research. I think any of us that use and enjoy MAME are also there, and you wouldn't get the majority of the MAME sucks crap.
 
If I was buying, I'd want something similar to a Mortal Kombat cab. Someone recommended a Pac Man style cab, that is way too skinny for simultaneous 2 player games.

MK cab is big enough to put a 25" monitor vert or horizontal and gives you all the control panel space you need. The guys saying stuff like classics need to be on a 19" monitor are precisely the kind of people that don't understand why people build/buy MAME cabinets.

Slim LCD builds would probably be popular. I don't care for them, but they have about half the depth of a standard cab, which appeals to a lot of people.
 
the only good mame cabinet...


I jest though; I trust you'll do a fantastic job

This seems to bare resemblence to that age old saying the Only good injun was a dead injun. Lol. The unsensitive things of yester year.
 
I saw a video at Johns Arcade where he mamed a MsPacman and it was a simple set up. I will probably one day do something similar. Maybe 2 joysticks but no more than two/three buttons. Adding a trackball maybe. But we all have different tastes.
 
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