Ambitious project for this summer

[coastercrazy10]

I've been lurking around here for some time and since have looked into MAME cabs and their construction, etc. My friends from back home have been working on a MAME cab for a year or so on and off and really haven't done anything except get MAME running on an old PC they built. They have buttons but haven't started on the cab itself. I've been anxious to see one since theirs isn't built yet, obviously, so i started searching around here and google.

The idea struck me of a cab that plays and houses actual consoles. I had the idea of making several cabs for several systems after seeing a very nice and elegant white Dreamcast cab someone made here, but i then realized after all the construction costs and everything, i'd have spent a lot of money on building multiple of the same, with only the console in the cab differing. That seems like a waste to me. So i decided i would start planning a 10-in-1 arcade cabinet (more like 12 in one, due to 32x and SegaCD, but i digress).

The consoles i plan on building into this cab are as follows:
NES-101
SNES-101 (if i can get ahold of one, otherwise the original body)
N64
Gamecube
Master System
Genesis/32x/SegaCD
Saturn
Dreamcast
PS1 (hopefully slim)
PS2 (fat, modded to boot custom GH songs)

Obviously there's quite a mix of consoles here, with 5 top loaders and 5.5 CD loaders (counting the SegaCD as 0.5, whatever), but one of the CD loaders (the PS2) is a front loading CD tray vs a flip-up top. This creates a lot of logistical issues.

My tentative plan is to build a standard cab but instead of having the fighting sticks, buttons and track ball on the control panel in the front, i would have all the top-loading cart-based systems in there, with the NES, SNES, and N64 being in the back row and the SMS and Genesis/32x/CD combo being in the front row, nicely recessed into padding with the controllers connected and hidden, yet accessible with a flip-up lid.

Then the other systems would be located on the sides of the cab, above the control panel, with 3 systems on one side and two on the other, with the input selectors taking the place of the other system. I haven't worked out how the controllers here will be hidden but i'll figure something out. Hopefully i can mount some good speakers on the sides of the cab and a nice sub in it as well.

I understand this is a lot of typing and rambling and seems utterly outlandish, but i plan to upload some pictures of sketches and possibly even some CAD renderings of the cab to give you guys an idea of what I have in mind for this. I'd love to hear opinions, and if anyone knows of a cab similar to this please let me know, as i'd love to take a look at them to see what i'm getting myself into

-CC10

[Flake]

can you provide a schematic or drawing? I can't quite picture it in my head.

[CRTGAMER]

You will probably need to include a couple additional video switch boxes to make up limited inputs of the HD monitor. Dreamcast best at VGA, Gamecube and PS2 at Component, others S-Video or even RGB if your HDTV supports that.

The biggest obstacle is getting the main dedicated control panel to plug into the various systems. I did mod a Zaxxon Arcade controller to work on three systems using three IDE connectors as the "Toggle Switch".

Good luck, keep us posted.

[coastercrazy10]

Oh, i must not have mentioned that I want to have all the original controllers for the system self-contained within the cabinet because i prefer the controller to an arcade-style button/stick layout. They'll all be stored below the formerly control board where the coin slot would be in a drawer.

I'll try and draw the cabinet from a few angles and isometrically so you guys can get a better idea of this thing, then take some pictures and throw them up here.

-CC10

[Dakinggamer87]

Look forward to designs, pics!! This is something I would like to add to the gaming room whether a MAME arcade cabinet or buy an MVS Neo-Geo cabinet.

[coastercrazy10]

Here is a quick design sketch (not to scale by any means...systems are WAY TOO little):


I did my best do draw the systems so they were recognizable...the only one that's really bad is the SMS, but i don't have one and as such don't know exactly how the thing looks from above. Whatever.

The eyeball-looking thing is supposed to be a speaker. Let me know what you guys think!

-CC10

EDIT: @CRTGAMER: There will be some kind of seating, but not built in or dedicated. Most likely a barstool or something of the like. Making it look like an arcade cab isn't really necessary as i could simply build an entertainment center, but it wouldn't be as unique and wouldn't have the same presence as an arcade. And as for the TV i'm hoping for a 27" CRT, which i can cheaply obtain from craigslist.

[CRTGAMER]

i have the impression of HD TV rack with look of an Arcade. Since each console will have their own original controllers, not sure if I understand the purpose of an Arcade motif. Seems easier to play sitting on the comfy couch in multi player sessions. That is unless you are setting up with a dedicated huge Arcade controller.

[CRTGAMER]

EDIT: @CRTGAMER: There will be some kind of seating, but not built in or dedicated. Most likely a barstool or something of the like. Making it look like an arcade cab isn't really necessary as i could simply build an entertainment center, but it wouldn't be as unique and wouldn't have the same presence as an arcade. And as for the TV i'm hoping for a 27" CRT, which i can cheaply obtain from craigslist.

That's cool. Everyone has their idea of the perfect Arcade, keep us posted as you progress along. Always interested in new setup ideas. I have info concerning various video inputs as well as Lightgun ideas. See my LCD vs CRT signature link.

[Flake]

I admire the ambition but can't help but share the sentiment that you might end up defeating the purpose a little. If I was in your position, I would choose a particular theme (8 bit, arcade, modern, sega, yada) and try to integrate a few systems into that same arcade set up, opting for more of an arcade feel instead of a glorified kiosk.

That's just my opinion, though.

Still it will be very ambitious. Good Luck.

[Niode]

No offence to the OP but these kinds of things are wrought with issues. It's kinda like the do it all MAME cabs with controllers for every single combination of control possible, so you end up with a HUGE ugly control interface that makes very little ergonomic sense with spinners, dials, sliders, trackballs, joysticks, flightsticks, wheels, lightguns and whatever else there is available. It just looks ugly.

You would do yourself a big favour if you stuck to just doing consoles from a certain era. Plus you have to weigh in the fact the types of games you're going to play on it. You're not gonna want to play and RPG or platform game for a long time stood up. The newer the consoles get the higher the complexity and so on. Like what has been said before, you might end up with an overly complex, glorified kiosk rather tan what you envision.