ZXman1000

Final design... As you can see not exactly as originally planned. I removed the dedicated 4 way and have 2 spinners and 2 screens (1 is a stream deck for quick shortcut buttons) Also buttons not put in. I will have to find my actual numbers but I belive the overall demensions are : 48" at widest 18" tall in center

I am working on a cab build running big box that has a main screen, marquee screen, and a 3rd screen on the CP. I currently plan to have the 2nd and 3rd screen displaying the same image (marquee) since there isn't any additional built in support to Big Box (this in itself will probably be an issue since the 2 screens are different aspect ratios). I am working on an AHK to have the third screen show a different image. Are there any gurus out there that have already done this? I see the 3rd screen question come up in the forums but haven't really seen any solutions out there. I am a complete noob on any level of programing or scripts writing but am putting in the effort to try to learn. Just thought if there was someone out there with a start or a direction to point me in could help a lot. I would love to have it set up to auto run the arcade controls image when selecting / starting a game. If its something I get working I will most definitely share.

I made a few minor adjustments but went ahead and ordered graphics based on the above design. Will post the CP once its cut out and graphics installed.

So back in Mid 2020 I started the process of getting a custom cab together but life happened and it fell to the way side. I had managed to purchase a lot of material and get a rough plan together but never did any actual cutting. Thinking that was a good thing since I have had months of time to think more about what I want to do with this cab and have some better ideas of what I really want out of it. I got confirmation that my Sinden light guns are actually going to ship in the next month so I am motivated again to get this cab built. All that said I have the attached CP layout I am planning on going with and wanted some general advice if I am missing something really needed or going overboard with something else. Going to be an all in one cab with a 42" screen and 2 Sinden light guns. I also have 2 foot pedals coming for time crisis / 2 spicy / etc.. that will be incorporated to cab base. The CP is 48X20 with that top notch being 2 inches to meet up with the screen which will be mounted little into the cab to provide a little more distance between the player and screen. I have done a cardboard mock up and everything fits pretty comfortably. The boxes are for a stream deck (left) and a 7" screen (right) that will be running a marquee image (neither is really needed but I already have them and can fit them in so would like to go for it (They will be mounted flush so won't impede any ones hand placement) I know that 4 buttons (heck even 3) is really enough for P3&4 and am considering dropping down but like the idea that 6 really covers everything including some home counsels. 8 buttons for P1&2 is to cover home systems and provide the 4 in a row for SNK games. Trackball for the handful of games its needed. 2 spinners so can play spinner games with either buttons to left or right and the few multiplayer spinner games. I also like the idea of being able to attach a wheel for games like off road and alike. Used the Slagcoin template for button placement. I have never really cared for flight games and can not stand the look of a flight stick in the middle of a CP so thats why its not there. Thoughts?

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking I could do something very similar to what you had suggested but wasn't sure if it would work. Good to know I was on the right track. I am very much realizing that when I set everything up originally I had next to no idea what I was doing or what my real plan was. Have been much more deliberate with adding games and systems now and making sure everything is buttoned up and working correctly prior to adding it into launch box. I also found when I did my original mame import into launchbox I included poker and clubhouse style games and have come to realize that was a mistake. Any easy way to remove all of those without having to do it individually? Another reason thought starting over may be the direction to go.

I have Mame ver 0.221 (according to the mame read me file) But I don't think I have the rom set 0.221 and I do not have a CHD set at all (just a few random games). Took a 6 month break from this due to work but am now getting back into my set up and build (especially since my Sinden guns should be shipped by end of the month) and noticed when trying to play test some games that I have a decent chunk that are not working. X-men was one game and when looking on forum found someone with similar problem and the answer given was a mame rom set and a mame.exe that didn't match. I have found and am in process of downloading the newest Mame Rom set (0.227) and the CHD set that matches. Is it worth just deleting my Mame folder and starting new or should I attempt to use the Tutorial I found here to merge the sets: If I were to just start over how would I go about deleting out the Mame folder and games showing up in launchbox? On a positive note I have imported the Mame set and made essentially no changes in launchbox arcade section other then adding in House of the Dead 4 through Tekno parrot which can easily be done again. I do have a lot of other systems and have done some work to those lists so don't want to just start completely from scratch. I know it will take some time for system to re-download the meta data but I can set it to go and just let the computer sit overnight or all day. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated

Here is a Mock-Up of the basic control layout I am thinking. I know 8 buttons is probably overkill for 99% arcade titles and honestly will most likely use xbox controller if play counsel games but I prefer the 8 buttons so I can play everything with just the cabinet if I choose. Same for the 6 buttons on player 3 and 4. The pinball buttons will most likely never be used but as they are on the side don't distract from the overall look and hey if I ever want to play pinball the buttons on the side just feel so much better. I have 2 Sinden light guns on the way that will be mounted on the side of the cab. The screen cut out is for a 7" touch screen that will be able to show various custom options as I choose games. I am working on a script to show control layout for game chosen or possibly box art or game stats. Haven't really decided. Its an area that was just going to be open space on the panel and thought this would be a neat custom design option. The cab is going to house a 43" TV and a 40" wide by 11" tall LCD marquee. The goal is an all inclusive unit that will be in the main gaming / gathering room of my house. What do you guys think? Design suggestions? **Updated to put right image in (added labels and fixed the words that were cut off for some reason)**

Thank You for the reply. In the communities opinion. Is the screen something that could be worth it? (as in the effort to get it working and the cost associated with it (probably about $100 worth of needed items including the screen). Attached is a mock-up of what I am planning on making my control layout if I go with the screen. May go with a more classic or oval like shape but the buttons would probably be the same.

I am in process of ordering a 43" cab from game room solutions. I have a pc running Big Box and plan on putting in a marquee and the main screen obviously but I noticed they have an option for a 7 inch lcd screen cut out in the control panel and I didn't know if launch box would support this as a 3rd screen. What options could you get it to display? The things I was thinking could be neat would be the box art, stats (play time, button pressed etc..), controls, user rating for game, game discription.... Not all above but possible options. Could also go touch screen route and have it act like a possible input device for volume, or few games using touch such as primal hunt (think that was the name). Is this something one might be able to do with Big Box? If big box doesn't support thinking I may be able to use a pie zero to build a custom program that pulls the info from big box or even something else that just runs in background to pull info out. Any thought? I do not plan on implementing this right away but if it's something I may want to do in the future I figure I would order the cab with the cut out and design the graphics around it. (could always just split the marquee signal and have a second marquee in control panel I can get something else working) Understand this is not going to be an easy plug and play option (maybe it is, I'm pretty new to the hobby and big box) just curious if it's possible and if anyone has done anything similar. (image of the control panel with screen (not what I think would be my final design but am idea of what I'm talking about)

I have tried following this tutorial 3 times and my RetroArch always does the same thing when booting a game. RetroArch window pops up then re-sizes to smaller window and a black screen with a small pixilated blue box with word Initializing.. gets stuck on screen and the window reports RetroArch MAME 0.222 (Not Responding) and I have to close it. I have tried it with various titles but been focusing on Hotel Mario since this is a title known to work. Any suggestions? Or ideas as why this would be happening on my set up?

The marquee size is 38 wide. I think it's 1080p equivalent. It is the main screen I'm asking about. I have not built the cabinet yet trying to get the internals first. Just trying to figure out if I want to add little bit of bezel to the sides of main screen to match width of marquee or go with TV that's already same. Also is a 4k main screen better or worse then 1080 keeping in mind my hardware.

So I managed to get my hands on a Stretch bar LCD for a a good price. Problem is its a pretty decent size one. 38" wide. Its a 1920X540 I think (had it hooked up but have since put in back in the box). The outside dimensions of it are 38 1/16" W by 11 1/8" H. Picture of it running DK marquee attached. My question is what the proper TV size should be for screen size to match up to the Marquee properly. I found a TCL brand 43" 4K TV that has a width of 38.2". If I drop to a 40" TV its 35.6" wide but also only 1080P. Not sure what would be better for setting up the cabinet. Cost wise they are only $30 difference. Obviously not trying to make it look exactly like a cabinet from the arcade but want to make sure it has the basic look. I am running an optiplex 9020 with an i5 and 16gigs of RAM. I have a GTX 1050ti GPU running the monitors. Is a 4K TV even needed? Worth it?

Thanks for the CPU and Ram suggestions. I am thinking of aiming for 16. I also am planning on going pc build as it affords the possibility of upgrade a lot easier. I am thinking a pretty strong processor with possible on board or cheap graphics card to start then ability to upgrade once funds are available.

I have always loved gaming and in particular light gun games and been on the fence to go all out and build a computer / cabinet for some time. Aimtrac or Wii Mote guns have never seemed like a really good alternative for the old CRT technologies. That was until I found the Sinden light gun. I have been following the Sinden light gun for some time and finally decided to jump and ordered two guns with recoil. They are due to arrive in October. My goal is build a computer and cabinet between now and delivery. I have a decent amount of "tinkering" in my history but this will be the first real major build I have done. Looking for some advice on a few things: How much power do I really need in the computer? (Seen lots of info out there on this and much seems to conflict) - The items I think would push the limits of the hardware the most I would like to emulate are: wii u / PS3 (when the emulators are more ready for prime time) and TeknoParrot for some more recent arcade shooters such as House of the Dead 4, Too Spicy, and Rambo -I am watching costs and will need to build from scratch as I do not have any old computers to work with so not looking to just overkill it as I don't plan on doing much in terms of modern computer gaming although I have heard there are some decent on rail shooters out there I would like to try. TV Size? - Trying to decide between a full cabinet or maybe a pedestal. I want to be able to play 2 player light gun games comfortably. If I go pedestal I can just mount a 50 or 55 inch tv to the wall and put the pedestal in front but a full cabinet just looks better in my opinion. I also don't think a 50 inch TV in a cabinet looks right (megacade for example). Has anyone built a 40ish size cabinet and how does that play for light gun games (especially once you consider the lack of widescreen in most of these games will reduce size further). 4 player worth it? - I really like the thought of 4 people all around a cabinet playing turtles / Simpsons / X-men etc... But realistically how often do these controls come into play. Anyone with them wishing they didn't have them? Without wishing they had? Think those are the questions I really need to figure out before I start planning out the build. I haven't really made any permanent decisions other then the light guns. Also thought if I could get the computer built first I could start the process of setting up Launch Box and getting Roms and tweaking settings etc... Like to turn this into a long term hobby as gaming has always been important to me and just recently have found the opportunity to do something like this.