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07/01/2002 - Hi all, things are going great and I have a few new changes I am making to my cabinet. I have always thought it was missing a diagonal 4 way even though only a few games need it. I ordered up a couple new 4 way stick to play with. I also got rid of the HP computer and bought a 1 Gig Compaq iPaq PIII workstation with 512 MB RAM and a 40 Gig HD. I have to say this computer makes the HP look slow, even though they both have 1Ghz CPU's. Any workststion computer has a much better motherboard than a store bought, mas produced computer for family use. If you are thinking of buying a omputer to dedicate for a MAME machine, get one of these used if you can. They go for about $1200.00 brand new, I got mine for $300.00 without a monitor. The best part is the one I got has 2 ps/2, 2 USB, a serial, parallel, everything you need for a good MAME cabinet. I also moved the 8 ways towards the front and the 2 way and 4 way sticks towards the back. I cant believe I didnt think of this first, it makes it easy to play any dual 8 way stick game with the others in place. Now I dont have to remove any sticks except the 8 way on the left for the trigger stick. I am also adding pedals for racing games and mayble a shifter of some sort. More on this later.

I really want to start a new project, something even more insane and unique than what I have now. I am visioning an enviornmental tron-like, interion neon accented cockpit style cabinet with seperate motorized adjustable control panels, some nice leather seats and dual racing wheels. All of the parts I have, time is the only thing that will be a problem. I will post some pics when this starts to become a reality.

06/04/2002 - 15,000 - 16,000 - 17,000 - 18,000 visitors and counting. Wow, I have neglected this page lately. Nothing really new with my project, a few minor tweaks here and there, I'm pretty sure my cabinet is as perfect as I can make it. I lost my "mamey" award over at Massive MAME for a reason most of you should be able to figure out. Zakk was very nice about letting me know why my picture and link had to be removed so there are no hard feelings.

03/14/2002 - Well, the 14,000 hit mark has come and gone. My site has seen it's 20th makeover/redo since it began. Im getting  some new things together for the cool stuff page. Thanks to all who visit. I like the e-mails I get letting me know my rather unusual arcade cabinet has inspired so many ideas in others.

02/24/2002 - I didnt want anyone to think I was neglecting my site. This page is the one I always forget to change. Now Ive hit 12,000 then 13,000 visitors, that is too cool, thank you all for checking out my site. No real news as of yet except the new cabinet I was building has been put on hold again.

It's time to get ready for another baby around here, My wife Lisa needs me to get the baby's room ready again. Yipes, time for diapers again. Anyways, my little girl Jordan tells everybody at her school and all of her freinds about her daddys arcade machine. It was a huge hit on New Years eve, we had a huge party at my house and the MAME cabinet was the center of attention. The pool table got a lot of play too, but everybody LOVES a good game of MS. Pac Man or Galaga.

01/14/2002 - Later that same day -  I decided to change the name of the site from Gaming Technology Xtreme to Retropolis. I did all the graphics for the splash page and the main page in a few hours. I like the new look and I will be adding some new things to the site real soon. I have an idea for a MAME related item that would be totally cool to have. More details on this later.

Enjoy the new look and have fun. If you have any questions regarding my cabinet or anything at all feel free to e-mail me.

01/14/2002 -    Once again I have little or no time to update my site but I have managed to break the 10,000 visitor mark, then the 11,000 mark. I still respond to all the e-mails I get throught this site. I also think it's time to change things up a bit here. I'm thinking of changing the name of the site and the entire look. Just got all the ROMS to update my set to .57 except Metal Slug 3 doesnt seem to work, so I will have to download that myself with a 56k modem.

12/01/2001 -   Well, its been a little while since this page saw an update so heres the scoop. Hit 8000, then 9000 visitors since last update. The cabinet contest is over.

The winner is CyberPunk at mameroom.com. His beutiful pair of cabinets took the top spot for original construction of a cabinet, slyling, clean lines, huge swappable control panels, attention to detail, ect......

As you may or may not have noticed, the site has been redesigned a bit. I like the new graphics better. I will be adding some new stuff to the cool stuff page soon.

My second cabinet is on hold until after the holidays are over, but it will be cool. I have been MAMEing a lot lately with my little girl. She loves the game Stocker for some reason. I tried it after I saw it in the movie The Color Of Money. I had never heard of it nor played it before.

10/24/2001 -   A couple more entries today for the contest - Thanks guys

10/22/2001 -   Hit 7000 visitors today - thanks for visiting and enjoy. Contest is under way with it's first entry by CyberPunk @ Mame Room

10/19/2001 -   Gave the site a much needed set of pages for all the stuff that was on the main page including my updates. I also started a MAME cabinet contest, the prize is a complete set of MAME ROMs up to the newest release on 6 CDs plus a custom made graphic featuring the name of the winning cabinet you can post on your site for bragging rights.

MameGTX2 is coming along nicely, pics coming soon. I also changed the plug on my TriggerStick so I can light it up with some super bright clear LED's just like Tron. For those of you who are new here, check out the control panel section to see how the TriggerStick can be removed and swapped out for player one's joystick.

10/13/2001 -  Two things today. First I got the stuff I need to start my second cabinet (code named MameGTX2), so let the work begin. What I am building is a 2/3 scale version of a Pac Man style cabinet for my little girl. It will look awsome when done. Secondly I would like you guys to see a cabinet that definitely qualifies as an original MAME cabinet. Check out the pic here. The cabinet is only in construction phase but look to be a real contender and is sure to be copied. More info on this will be posted soon.

10/8/2001  -  Yeah I'm at it agian.... I think just one or two more things can be added like pedals for driving games and I think I can get the four way to turn 45 degrees with a linear actuator for games that need a diagonal 4 way like Q-Bert and Congo Bongo. We will see.

Also I'm getting a lot of encouraging e-mails, thank you for the nice comments. Remeber you can send me pics of your panels and I will post them on the best control panels page with a link to your site too.

10/6/2001  -  Hit 6000 visitors some time today, thanks for checking out my site. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

10/5/2001 - Control Panel 4.0 is finally shown

Click the picture for a close up. Or go straight to the control panel section for more pics.

This is the newest addition/creation. I decided no control panel is complete without a 4 way stick, so I added one plus a dedicated 2 way stick as well. The four way is the red joystick on the left. The 2 way is the yellow stick on the right. The two new sticks are also removable. You can see a purple strip above the 1 and 2 player start buttons, that is a neon light that lights up when the new Power Card is inserted. I also added chrome T-moulding around the edge of the panel and made a "skirt" to cover the front edge and conceal the bottom of all the buttons and joysticks. You can see where the Power Card goes in just left of center on the front cover of the panel. I made a credit card slot for it to slide into and that also triggers the relays for the joystick and button assignments. I also added buttons on the sides of the "skirt" like the HotRod stick has for pinball games.  The blue neon tube is underneath the bottom cover for the panel but only shows up at night and casts a nice glow around the machine.

8/29/2001 - Dragon's Den picked the winner of the June contest for the best custom arcade award today. June?

Here is the winners cabinet, you can size it up for yourself. Nicely done and very clean. Congratulations.

MAME GTX was considered for the contest too. Apparently my cabinet didnt have anything to make it look or play awsome. Time to add more stuff.