Retro Arcade Gaming

[Necron 99]

Wow, I've never seen that advert for Gauntlet. That is pretty awesome!

[grodog]

What ROMs do you have planned for games to play?

I'll just say, EVERYTHING. lol Seriously, though, the image file I downloaded for running on the Pi is 32gb.

Here is a list of what's in it by system and ROM numbers:

Mame Arcade – 1933 ROMS
Atari 2600 – 644 ROMS
Colecovision – 155 ROMS

That's a LOT of games just in what I quoted above, much less all the rest of it! =)

I'm not sure if I mentioned it in earlier posts, but the only downside so far, is that I didn't allow for a trackball or spinners on the control panel, which means games like Centipede are less authentic, same goes for arcade games like Tempest. I may, at some point redesign and remake a new control panel that accommodates those two aspects.

It's nice that you have that modular flexibility, Jay. You may just need to build a second cabinet for the trackball/spinner games, along with plug-ins for gun mounts like for Area 51, tank controls for Battlezone, dual joysticks for Robotron, etc. (my brother Phil would have added Punchout and Track & Field if he was looking over my shoulder, too ).

Allan.

[grodog]

PS - now I want to go to The Arcade tomorrow! =)

Allan.

[Necron 99]

It's nice that you have that modular flexibility, Jay. You may just need to build a second cabinet for the trackball/spinner games, along with plug-ins for gun mounts like for Area 51, tank controls for Battlezone, dual joysticks for Robotron, etc. (my brother Phil would have added Punchout and Track & Field if he was looking over my shoulder, too ).

Allan.

After this cabinet is done, there are a couple of ideas I have in mind. I want to build a table top cabinet that is strictly for console games; probably not even a cabinet, really, more like a small housing for a 10-12" screen, like a small TV, that also holds the raspberry pi and has USB plugs for plugging in controllers, no control panel for joysticks or buttons. Basically an all-in-one unit that I can set on my desk next to my computer and play whenever. If I do that, I could then make my standing cabinet strictly arcade games. I'm thinking it would be cool to design it like an early model TV,

Something like this would be fun:

Another idea I have is to build a second, narrow cabinet for only one player, that would house a widescreen monitor, turned vertically, and setup strictly for vertical arcade games. Because the video aspect is different, vertical games played on a standard monitor are smaller and tend to have black bars on the sides of the screen. Having a dedicated monitor with correct aspect would make the aesthetics of the games, better.

Examples of verticals games are: Pacman, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Centipede, 1943, Arkanoid, Dig Dug, Gyruss, Space Invaders, etc. This would work well since I could set up a control panel with a single joystick, necessary buttons, spinner, and trackball.

We'll just have to see how it goes, before I tackle any further project, I know I definitely need to invest in some heavier duty power tools, a table saw would be a must for sure.

[Necron 99]

Alright, so I've finally managed to get to the painting part of the project. I was off Friday, so I started with some sanding to smooth down any roughness, then rolled on some primer. I put on two coats, sanding in between. Each coat took about an hour to dry so it wasn't something done quickly.

After the primer, I did another quick sand before putting on the first coat of paint. Since the paint used was oil-based, instead of water-based, it was a bit tricky to use. For some reason, it was unusually thick. I don't know if it was the paint or me, going to quickly or putting too much on the roller, but it seemed like a chore to get it on smooth.

After the first coat, I snapped a pic:

As a whole and from a distance, it doesn't look too bad, but up close I could see some bad painting and areas that would have to be fixed. For whatever reason I struggled to get a good smooth coat on in some spots, and looking close you could really see them.

Wasn't too happy about that, but the paint required 24 hours to dry before adding a second coat, so I planned to do the it again the next day. Unfortunately, we had a cold front blow through and the temps dropped down into the high 30s. Oil based paint needs to be above 50 to dry in a timely fashion and after checking the cabinet out the next day, I could see it was still somewhat wet and sticky in places. Soooooo...I let it sit until today and finally it was dry enough to put on the second coat.

I sanded down all of the defects that I could find, and I assume due to higher temps plus me taking extra slow time in putting on thin layers of paint, it went a bit easier. Still not as perfect as I would like, but the second coat went on WAY better than the first. I was able to get the edges painted first before using the roller, and that seemed to help smooth out the rough spots. Overall, it'll be good enough for my first attempt at this sort of thing. Plus, I will be putting vinyl on the sides, front and control panel, so anything underneath won't really be visible.

I haven't taken any pics of the second coat, with the temps still getting down into the 40s at night, I'm going to give it until Tuesday before I do anything else. The tempered glass I ordered is scheduled for delivery that day, giving an extra day for the paint to dry can only help. If all goes as planned, on Tuesday, the paint will be fully dry, I'll be able to put on the T-Molding and install the speakers. From there, I'll probably bring the cabinet inside to my office and start working on the wiring and electronics.

[grodog]

Sounds like a good plan!

You thinking that you'll have it up and running by GaryCon, and be able to show off some pics there?

Allan.

[Necron 99]

Sounds like a good plan!

You thinking that you'll have it up and running by GaryCon, and be able to show off some pics there?

Allan.

I was/am really hopeful that I'll have it "working" by the time we head up there. I doubt I'll have any artwork in time, I may be able to get the marquee within the next two weeks if I can settle on what I want and get it ordered.

Unfortunately, I came across a new roadblock today after getting home. I got a notification that my glass had arrived today, instead of tomorrow, so I was excited to put it in with the bezel when I went to set it in this happened:

<sigh>

At first I thought the glass was too wide, but I measured it and they cut it to my specs. So, the only thing I can think of is that I didn't realize just how thick the coats of primer and paint would be when I took the measurements. I've also heard that MDF can swell when painted, which I think is more likely the case. I tried setting in the control panel and it was actually a tight fit, more so than prior to being painted. I had the same problem with scratching there too.

While this may look pretty ugly, it's actually not a difficult fix, just one that's going to cost me some time that I hadn't planned on. At this point, the only thing I can do it sand down the paint and primer in the areas that are too tight, then sand down the wood a bit, reapply the primer and paint and wait for it to dry, then try seating everything again. If all goes well, I should be able to get it all done in just an hour or two.

Luckily, I have the afternoon off on Wednesday, after my dental appointment, I should be able to knock all this out. Regardless, since the control panel is painted, I'm going to start putting in the buttons and joysticks tomorrow evening.

[rredmond]

The amount of work you've done is amazing! Though the setback really sucks.

[grodog]

You might also be able to have the glass ground a little, to reduce it's size a smidge, if needed.

Allan.

[Necron 99]

Big headway made this weekend.

Despite the cataclysmic news for GaryCon, I got out in the garage and wrapped up the final touches on the cabinet that required real work. After the last debacle with the glass not fitting, I spent a good bit of time sanding down the paint and wood on the inside.

Unfortunately, grinding down the glass wasn't an option. I just didn't have the tools to do it or the protection, sanding glass is bad news if you're not prepped for it. Cutting it wasn't an option either since the piece I bought was tempered. Apparently the only way to really cut tempered glass without heating it up to crazy degrees is to use a laser cutter, which I had none.

So I sanded and sanded and did more sanding, then tried out the glass, then sanded more, then sanded more, and well, you get the picture. It was tedious but eventually I managed to get it good. I primed again, then let dry, sanded the primer, then applied a coat of paint. I let it dry overnight and the next day I was like....

There were areas very visible from where the sander had left unsanded spots along the edge of where I was taking away the wood. It looked pretty bad and I wasn't sure it would work out, but I took some high grit sand paper and sanded down the showing up through the paint, smoothed it all out then applied another coat of paint.

Had to wait another day then checked it again and BAM blemishes gone, everything looked good. Tested out the glass and it fit just fine. I spent time setting up the control panel wiring for buttons and sticks while all of that was going on. Pretty easy task.

After I had it wired up and ready to go I tested it out with a small monitor and the Pi just to make sure it would work. Surprisingly it did, I only had to switch two cables around after an error came up. With the control panel done, I got back out and attempted to put on the T-Molding...

That was an epic fail.

Initially it went in well, but then after a bit, the molding was just so stiff it wouldn't form to the cabinet edges. I also noticed that the barbs on the bottom weren't fitting into the grove correctly and instead, was tearing off the side of the groove causing it to be too loose. After doing the best I could, I gave up and just ripped it all off. The spots that it went in without issue looked fine, but the rest were just bad. I still haven't made a decision on what I'm going to do for the edges permanently. Temporarily I bought some pin-striping tape and ran that along the edges. Looks decent enough but eventually I'll want to do something else, maybe some laminate strips.

I moved on to adding the speakers, amp, COIN buttons, and the USB port. Vacuumed, cleaned and dusted the cabinet, then attached the control panel. Once I got it to this point, I got some help from my neighbor and we moved it inside to my office.

I put in the monitor, the bezel and the glass....except I forgot to wipe them all down first.
The only problem was that with the glass and bezel in, I didn't have a way from the back to push the glass back out and I couldn't pry it from the front because it fit snug.

So this meant a trip to Home Depot to see if I could by a suction cup of any sort. No such luck, so I went to Lowes and a guy there said they had a suction cup for tile that may work, we found it on isle 40 and tried it out. BOOYAH, success. I brought it back, it worked like a champ to grab the glass and lift it out enough for me to grab. I took everything out, wiped it all down and then put it back in.

With all of the complicated stuff FINALLY done, I set to work on the electronics which, as I suspected, would take no time. I did have to run to Target for a 3.5mm to RCA Audio cord, but otherwise, no hiccups, and when it was done, I had a functional arcade cabinet.

Things left to do:
Setup the coin door. The wires that came with it aren't long enough to reach the input board, so I'm going to have to splice some lines together for it to reach. I also need to get a large can or metal container to catch the quarters when they fall.

Setup controls for specific games and systems. While the sticks and buttons work, I have to do some re-configuring to get the buttons actually laid out properly. In some games, however, the controls aren't even working correctly. I noticed in Donkey Kong and Pacman that the games don't recognize the joystick UP movement. Have to research settings and see what's going on. The Daphne games (Dragons Lair, Space Ace, etc) aren't working correctly, need to map buttons and such.

Get a marquee and side art. Still need to settle on a theme and order in a marquee, get it onto the cabinet and add back-lighting, still need to get side art.

Bar stools. Need to get some comfortable stools for playing for extended periods.

Fix edges. The tape works for now, but it's not going to be a permanent solution, gotta see what other options I have for making the edges look better.

Touch up. Moving things around like the glass and control panel, during installation, caused some minor scuffs or scratches, I need to touch up some of the spots just to clean it up a bit.