The Duron. Wow. I think it's the oldest PC of my own build I still own...
Can't remember what happened to the old Cyrix 200mhz. Though I suspect it was probably looted for parts and probably thrown away at some point. What a waste. Would have made a great DOSbox.

In any case, the Duron stays till it dies :) It actually plays most of the old Jamma games I want to play perfectly well. Xmame is better optimised for older processors, as is the way of MAME. Older emulations tend to be better optimised, but the more complete emulations* of the most recent MAME tend to run well with a lot of processor power behind it anyway, and wind up easier to maintain.

*For example, Donkey Kong no longer uses samples for sound, and actually emulates the sound circuitry of the cab! Which is neat, but processor intenstive, and frankly, excess to my requirements.

Been a while since I updated. Latest bit completed - 19" monitor installed into front panel. Made a boo-boo with the silicone holding it in place but will rejig the bezel to overcome it.


It's a slow process...

_________________

Loads done lately.

1) Control panel almost complete now. Gone with the 12mm mdf, 3mm perspex, gfx, 3mm perspex. Just got to glue the t-section in to bind it.
2) Installed GameEx on the pc and got the whole thing booting up nicely. Performance issues present though.
3) Re cut all panels and altered the design. All panels reassembled and glued together. Cab will now be sprayed assembled rather than piece by piece.

Pics to follow, eventually.

_________________

I look forward to seeing your final results.

I've started my own MAME project, I've recently moved house and sold my Jamma cab before the move, this gives me a £320 budget, I want to try and make a Naomi style cab, where it's quite narrow below the controls:



I'm going to be using a 19" LCD so won't have as much weight or bulk on the top, it's going in the living room so I'm hoping to be able to put some sort of shelf/table in there to put drinks and stuff on. I'm using an old AMD 64 3200 machine which should be well capable of any Jamma games and hopefully Naomi stuff too.

I've not really looked into the software side of it yet though, ideally I'd like a Linux distro that I can dual boot with XP that goes straight to a nice MAME front-end, this AdvanceMAME looks like just the ticket.

I have a box of sticks and buttons here, but to be honest they're all ones I took out of my old Jamma cab so they're not the best condition/quality, not sure whether it's better to get the sticks and buttons and do the wiring myself or buy two USB arcade sticks and just strip the cases off...

I tried to get MAME working but couldn't find the thing you click on to make it start running. I haven't even got as far as games yet.

_________________

That's a really nice style of cab. Never seen one of those before, but it's an almost perfect example of "arcade cabinet as furniture". Now, if it's just possible to duplicate the general layout, i'll be a happy bunny.

What are you doing for controls Trin? How'd did you get the X-Arcade for £70?

I'm really not sure, their stuff looks to save a lot of hassle, but I'd really like to get as close to the Naomi cabinet as possible, from Gremlin Solutions I can get Sanwa sticks in the appropriate colours which would be ace, alternatively I'm weighing up maybe trying to pick up a pair of Dreamcast sticks, gutting them and using a DC to USB converter.

Decisions, decisions...

I've played on one before but it was a Crazy Taxi one with steering wheel. I wasn't impressed by that or the one with sticks I can't remember the name of. Might just be down to my shovel sized hands though.

_________________

There were a couple in my Student's Union back in the day, they were really great cabinets which I sunk a lot of cash into. I like that the controls are on a flat surface as opposed to the traditional angled one, lets you rest your palms better. I also adore the shape of the cab as opposed to the big bulky retro ones.

The way I'm planning to make it, it should come apart quite easily too for moving it around.

Yeah, it's basically three shelves. One for the hardware (in a PC style case), one for your controls and one for the monitor.

Interesting thread, lacks photos and blueprints!

_________________

The lack of updates upsets me.

UPDATE MEEEEEEEEEEEEE

_________________

So did this get finished? I was following this thread (lurking, naturally) with interest and it would be spiffing to find out if the cab ever did reach completion.

It's sitting in my stores at work with a dust sheet over it. Bugger all time to do it to the standard I want it to be at. I'm very tempted to spend a few weeks on it and just get it finished.

It makes me sad to think about how little time I have to do things anymore.

_________________

I decide this weekend to get my arse in gear and I've done some stuff to my bombjack machine.

Pics to follow.

_________________

This has always been an interest of mine. Spent hours poring over designs and blueprints a few years back trying to figure it out.

I don't have the time, money or space to make one, but once I've got myself a garage and spare time I'm gonna do it. I've always wanted a traditional upright system, something like a SFII cabinet. A 4 player Konami layout (TMNT/Simpsons/Sunset Riders etc) would be a dream, but it would take up more room and mean making some adjustments to button layouts and such.

I so want to do this now.

_________________

I don't believe you.

_________________
Download my Android game for FREE on the Google Play store