THRobinson Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 (edited) Finally got most things sorted out, decided to go Launchbox over RaspPi, have some computer parts on order and some hardware. Buttons wise, I went for a kit and the seller was nice and threw in an extra coin button. Kit was for 8-buttons per player but only using 6. So, plan is.... each player has the joystick, 6 buttons, a Player 1 or 2 button, and a coin button. I read that it was a good idea to have about 4-buttons for admin stuff, which is what I plan to do with the 4-buttons I have left over in the kit. Questions are 1) What do most people have the 4-buttons assigned to? EXIT I assume would be one of them. 2) Do I need any more buttons? Realized this morning, I totally forgot about a power-on button for the PC. Which is why I decided to post, see what people have setup on theirs, and if I forgot any more buttons. Edited June 19, 2017 by THRobinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 mine has a switch on the cord that comes out of the back and the PC has had the bios set to boot when it gets power. So basically if I tell BB to shutdown and then throw the switch next time I hit the switch back into the on position the computer boots up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRobinson Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 I was wondering if a way to set the bios for that, CPU/RAM comes this week, so never bothered to open the box yet apart from making sure not broken (UPS here is brutal) I plan to have a master switch at the back, basically wire the inside like a house.... line in goes to a switch, switch goes to a receptacle box. Then plug in a surge protected power bar to that and everything plugs in to it. So... how do you have your buttons setup/assigned? My basic layout (not to scale yet, gotta do some measuring) will be like in the image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 yeah mine uses a small for factor PC and instead of messing with the wiring to the power button I put in a 3 port extension cord and have the PC, monitor and my amplifier plugged into it. https://www.amazon.com/Master-Electrician-6-Feet-Extension-Outlets/dp/B000W65LO2/ref=pd_ys_c_rfy_rp_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000W65LO2&pd_rd_r=CV4Z1R9CJ6C9FZ5R0QNK&pd_rd_w=GO1hc&pd_rd_wg=xom3M&psc=1&refRID=FS8SMCGK39MSEN24N8Y1 https://www.amazon.com/Lepy-LP-2020A-Stereo-Amplifier-Supply/dp/B00C2P61FO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1497893050&sr=1-1&keywords=lepai+amplifier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Set the buttons up using the MAME default assignments. Many of the controllers from ultimarc will come that way if that's what you bought. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 I have 4 admin buttons as well assigned as follows 1: Play (only works while in LaunchBox, it immediately launches selected game) 2: Pause game 3: exit game, 4: accesses RocketLauncher's Pause (pauses game and opens games associated media)Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 (edited) I have 4 admin buttons also along the front panel they are used in conjunction with the coin button for button combos in both RA and MAME to exit, enter the UI and pause. Since they are on the front they could be leaned against so I felt combos were the way to go. Edited June 19, 2017 by DOS76 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRobinson Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 Nice amp... wish I had seen that before I ordered mine. I went for one of those eBay amps and I have an old 19v laptop power supply that I can use for it. Was on a DIY audio site and people said they're actually pretty decent little amps, so for $12 I grabbed one... though Hong Kong so still waiting. At a garage sale a few weeks ago, someone had a pair of Sony surround speakers (not sure what happened to the other 3.1) but they're pretty decent looking, massive magnet on them, 3-4" in size. Basically dismantled the housing and kept the guts. Haven't tested though... waiting for that amp. PC wise... I opted to up my budget a bit and bought a new board/cpu/ram. mATX board, didn't really see the need to go full size. ASRock board, never used ASRock, always used ASUS the past 12yrs because always had good luck with them. Hopefully the board is good. I didn't go i5, just outta budget, but did go i3-7100 3.9Ghz and used a bit extra towards getting 2x8GB dual-channel ram. Rest will be my old parts... 550w PSU, fans, 1TB SataIII 7200rpm drive, GTX650Ti-Boost, etc... idea being that in a few years if I'm using the cabinet a lot, I can find used upgrade parts like an i5 and a GTX1060. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRobinson Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 14 minutes ago, Nigel said: Set the buttons up using the MAME default assignments. Many of the controllers from ultimarc will come that way if that's what you bought. Not sure what the ultrimarc is, but assuming I don't have it. My OP has a link to the kit I purchased. Originally I was going to buy all the buttons and such separately, and I think it would have looked better that way too... but, going name brand the price after shipping and exchange was easily $100 more than the kit. Though will admit, part of me wants to sell the kit off on eBay or something and just get what I wanted originally, but, we'll see. I may build this thing and in 2 months never use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 yeah truthfully I have mine and I love it but I really don't play it as much as I should it is really cool to have though since I used a spare PC and monitor I had and just needed the buttons and the kit to build it. I got in for $200 but I haven't gotten any graphics for it yet so its real basic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRobinson Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 7 minutes ago, DOS76 said: I have 4 admin buttons also along the front panel they are used in conjunction with the coin button for button combos in both RA and MAME to exit, enter the UI and pause. Since they are on the front they could be leaned against so I felt combos were the way to go. That's a good idea... I wanted them on the front too but was worried about people leaning against them mid game and shutting things down. I may have to copy that idea. So, you have one to exit, one to enter the UI, and a pause... what's the 4th for? How does the save game stuff work with these? I was thinking Exit, Pause, Save and Load... in case playing something like Metal Slug and I don't want to start from the start again each time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 In RetroArch I use coin and two of my play buttons as the save and load states I actually have a bunch of combos in RA for most of the play buttons too. The 4th admin button does something in RetroArch but I'm not sure what I assigned it to maybe screen shots or mute I know I have volume assigned to buttons also so I can turn it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRobinson Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 2 minutes ago, DOS76 said: yeah truthfully I have mine and I love it but I really don't play it as much as I should it is really cool to have though since I used a spare PC and monitor I had and just needed the buttons and the kit to build it. I got in for $200 but I haven't gotten any graphics for it yet so its real basic. Graphics is a bummer... I went to school for design so was looking forward to wrapping the cabinet, until I got pricing for it. Sides and control panel only.... no marquee or stuff around the monitor, and if I design it myself and apply it myself... still $400CAD to get printed out. I was hoping to grab an old PC on the cheap, but had so many people saying 3rd Gen i5 would be the bare minimum, that I ended up buying new. Used PC with an i5, mostly would have been paying for stuff I didn't need like the PSU, Case, GPU etc... and since rare someone sold stuff without those parts, well, was just as cheap to go new with warranty and more ability to upgrade. Plus, if this thing ends up gathering dust... I'll swap the guts to the RaspPi and sell it, use the PC guts to upgrade my sisters old Core2Quad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 I use an old machine in mine and its very underpowered and BB performance while not unusable are no where as good as my i5s and i7s and I'm forced to use no transitions and text lists over clear logos. Also if you have a more powerful machine around you can also set up Steam in home streaming add BB as a non-Steam game and stream your beast PC to the arcade machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRobinson Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 Debated that STEAM thing... started to look into it, then kinda forgot about it. Ah well... nieces/nephews seem eager to play it so, hopefully it gets some good use. I managed to (finally) sort stuff out. Finally clicked how it works, and managed to get MAME and a few CHD games and Naomi working. Though, when imported, I used that non-merged set that's around 125GB in size, and after importing, I chose to copy files to a folder to see how much transferred, it was under 15GB. Even then some not working (ie a SPAWN game gives me errors) and lots not scraping artwork. Next is to get premium, and/or bigbox... but they have a contest on now for a licence so, figured wait until that ends first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRobinson Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 So, how do you guys have the player buttons setup? 1 2 3 4 5 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 here is my bartop in this post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRobinson Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 Nice... and nice wood. Oddly where I am, all the places like Rona, Home Depot etc, once I enter in my postal code online, all the good plywood vanishes... including birch. Pine and spruce I think are my options, though I think one place sells maple. Not sure what a bartop would cost to wrap. Originally I was going to build a console, then it upgraded to a bartop, then figured why not make a big cabinet. Thinking was, if I had a tabletop, when not in use, I had no place to put it. If I made a full cabinet, I can add storage underneath, then I wouldn't need to store it, it would be storing other stuff. Of course, maybe I'll make a single player bartop with the extra screen I have. I gave up after a month of searching for a 4:3 monitor faster than 8ms, and finally bought an LG 19" 5:4.... literally an hour after I bought it someone posted a Samsung 204B 20" 4:3... then the next day someone posted 2 of them. And they were 1/3 what I paid for the LG. Bought 2 of them (one was sold of the pair so grabbed one from each seller) and sure enough both had the capacitor issues common with this screen.... dim screen, takes 5min to turn on, etc... but I risked it at $10 per monitor. Cost me $10/monitor in parts and I have virtually 0 soldering skills... took my time this weekend, and both monitors now work like new. I think I'll use one, keep the other as a backup for a while. The LG, now I have to sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 (edited) I would like to build a 2nd one with a portrait monitor in it or build a cab that looks like a double but only uses one PC with both monitor orientations Edited June 19, 2017 by DOS76 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRobinson Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 (edited) This is where we can get creative, because you can get monitors that have the rotation part on the stand like my DELL has... Maybe a cabinet, side on a hinge and swings open. Monitor attached to the panel can slide out, rotate and slide back in... would have to be a square panel, and cable with 2' of slack. Or.... MDF panel, cut a circle out of it, then the rectangle out of that where the screen fits. Get some 1/8" MDF, cut 2 rings from that about an inch wide so that there is a 1/2" overlap inside/outside of the panel circle cut. Attach one ring to the front of the circle, attach the monitor to the back. Put into the panel and attach the second ring at the back. The rings will keep the circle from falling in or out, but will allow you to rotate the monitor. May need a small knob to get it to turn but, hey... that should work. And MDF if cut right would be smoother than plywood so should rotate. On the back add a few pegs to only allow it to rotate one direction and not too far. Add a small button to the side to toggle portrait/landscape. Wish I had thought of that before, but happy with the 4:3 I have. Edited June 19, 2017 by THRobinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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