cabinet

My cabinet, aside from the unusual design is a basic shell to house all the electronics inside on the bottom portion. As I was building the base I knew where things would fit and laid it out very carefully. I made the top hinged so I could get inside any time I wanted to for adjustments and service.

When I set out to build a cabinet I wanted to build something that would be functional, different, and have room for an extra wide control panel. I always liked the cocktail style table because you could sit and play for hours and you had a nice place to set you drink. They always seemed nicer to me than the stand up type cabinets and the bowling alley we used to go to after school only had cocktail cabinets so I had my heart set on building one ever since I discovered emulation.

Then I had a brainstorm. Why not build a side by side cocktail? I played around with several rectangular designs and didnt like any of them. I knew where the table was going to go when finished - in my game room which has limited space due to the 8 foot pool table. I picked a corner and then it hit me. If I corner load the table I could have a totally original design and a huge panel with room for some extras. I figured out all the stuff I would need (monitor, keyboard encoder, switches ect..) and ordered it to get the project rolling.

I first built the top of the cabinet to countersink a pair of SNES Super Advantage joysticks into for controls, they had six fire buttons and a real arcade type joysticks and felt really nice to play games with. I had a trackball countersunk in between them for navigating windows and for games as well. I also designed the front edge of the control panel angled so players could be sitting in alignment with the monitor. Once my first cabinet was built and working I realized that having joysticks angled was a huge mistake. Everyone including myself was pushing up on the stick to go up on screen but is was actually up-left or up-right depending on which side you were sitting on. It took me a month to get used to it. (See the picture below) This was my first of many design flaws I would encounter. After a few months I stopped using my cabinet due to frustration.

I actually liked the button layout on the SNES pads and incorporated them into my next redesign of the control panel. Now it was time to go to Happ Controls site and order up some real arcade controls. I knew I couldnt totally scrap the top section and I would have to add on to it, it took me forever to cut that peice perfectly and sink the glass in.

Once I ordered the 8 way sticks and buttons I sat down and really thought about it this time. The hardest thing about the new panel was deciding to go with identical controls on boh sides or mirror image controls. Since I use the cabinet the most I wanted to be able to sit in the middle and play dual joystick games like Crazy Climber and Robotron without it feeling strange and mirror image was the only way to go.

I had a few chats via e-mail with Zakk over at mameworld since his cabinet had the mirror design on the control panel and he said he would never do that again. Now I was really scared I would make another huge mistake. I had cut the holes for the right side first, standard setup with joystick on the left and buttons on the right on my shiny new control panel I built from 3/4 inch MDF and a beutiful dark grey marble formica.

I sat there for an hour deciding whether to do it they way I wanted (mirrored) or stick with what everyone else was doing. Then I asked my wife Lisa what to do. She said to set them up mirror imaged and thats all it took (always listen to the wife). After I got the new panel on I started playing on the side with "reversed" controls because I knew I would have to get good at both sides. It didnt take long at all before I beat my best Galaga score (level 28 on first ship) ever sitting on the left side. I was very happy with my decision. See all of the stages of my cabinet as time went on below.

concept	Here is the cabinet during cunstruction, I really didnt know what to do for the controls just yet. I originally planned to have the controls under those two trapezoidal indentations on either side of the trackball cutout. Originally the controls were going to be under smoked plexiglass. It all sounded cool but the controls would be way to low. I decided to sink them in from the top instead. All the ideas were there but no arcade feel.
v1.0	This is the first working cabinet with SNES Super Advantage controllers. They actually worked pretty good. Heres a tip for all you people planning on building a control panel. Never, ever angle your buttons and joysticks like I did here. It really sucks getting used to and is frustrating to get used to playing on both sides.
v2.0	Here we go, real arcade buttons and sticks, no more goofy angles. A nice formica top and a colorful arrangement of buttons. This was awsome, I must have played for hours on end. I thought about a trigger stick and a spinner knob for a while, then I came up with the idea shopping at Best Buy one day. I saw a really cheap PC trigger stick I could destroy and change into a Happ joystick style shaft. I knew the stick had to be removable so I went to work.
v3.0	This is when the idea of having a stick that slides into an existing joystick happened. The spinner took some thought too, and then I found a really cool looking low profile wheel with a real rubber tire. I had to make the spinner knob slide off and this steering wheel go on for driving games or anything that steers with a wheel. It feels awsome because it has some wieght and only needs one hand. It took about five minutes to get used to it. It needed something else though............
v4.0	Heres the latest creation with the 4 way (red) and the 2 way (yellow) sticks in place. I felt it needed some cool lighting so I put a purple neon tube right on the panel. There is also a 24" blue tube under the panel that shines downward. I also added some chrome t-moulding and the new Power Card system for switching joystick assignments at the encoder. Its a credit card "key" that goes in the new control panel front cover. You can see it sticking out just left of center. The two new sticks are removable as well. Also added pinball style buttons on the sides of the control panel like the HotRod stick has except mine are closer to the front corners of the panel.

	free hosting image hosting hosting reseller online album e-shop famous people