Progress: Concept Art!!!

Check this out. The artist that I contacted has sent me a rough sketch for the artwork that will end up on the CPO. I can't say enough about what an amazing talent this guy is - just look at it! I have full confidence that the final result will be nothing less than stunning. There are a few little modifications that need to be done to the layout such as the lettering being repositioned to run down the side of the table top along the monitor but this is EXACTLY the idea I am going for... He is going to make a detailed full size drawing and then color it in photoshop so I can give it to the printer.

This has really motivated me to get the thing up and running - who knows maybe this weekend!

Control Panel Overlay (CPO) Needed!!

Now it is time for me to start thinking about putting the control panels together. My Player 3/Player 4 control panel needs some artwork before I can install all of the buttons and the trackball. It is pictured to the left and the dimensions are exactly 21" x 6-3/4". As you can see, I am going for the traditional "Street Fighter" six-button setup which will allow me to play most horizontal games in MAME (I'm a huge fighting game fan but I suck at them). There is also going to be a trackball in the middle where the large square cutout is located as well as several admin buttons along the top such as Player 1 Start, Player 2 Start, Exit (to the list of games), Pause, Insert Coin (in case you don't have a quarter), etc. I don't want anything fancy for the CPO - maybe just some sort of general picture of outer space as shown below. It's a little nicer than plain black but it won't overwhelm you or force your eyes away from the main artwork located on the top of the table.

The big square cutout in the middle of the control panel is where the trackball will go. To install it I am going to be using a trackball plate which is just a piece of metal with 4 screws in the corner that will cover the rectangular cutout (you can see the screw holes in the picture of the control panel. In the middle of the plate there is a small circular hole where the actual trackball will stick out so you can use it.

I really don't like the look of the plate so I am going to hide it completely. To do this I need to complete several tasks. First, place the plate in the screw holes and trace it with a pen or marker. Next, remove the plate and you are left with the outline. Here's the tricky part - you need to rout out some of the material in the control panel so the plate will sit flush with the top and then when you lay down the artwork it will be covered completely. The router depth must be set to the thickness of the trackball plate and you should use a dado-cutting bit to make the cut (obtained from www.mlcswoodworking.com). The cut must be done freehand with the router but it doesn't have to be perfect as long as you stay as close to the line that was traced around the plate - any imperfections will be covered by the artwork once it is in place. Make sure to clamp the control panel down to the work bench before making any cuts. You don't want it to get away from you. Once there is a lip formed around the plate, it can be fastened to the control panel and it should be flush with the top.

Now the artwork can be installed over the top of the entire control panel. Once it is applied, flip the control panel over and use an exacto knife (razor blade) to cut out the button holes, the joystick holes and the trackball hole. The only one you have to pay very careful attention to is the trackball hole because it is the only one that is not going to be covered with some sort of trim (bezel) when the buttons are installed.

I will be posting detailed pictures of this process when I actually get around to doing it (hopefully this weekend). Stay tuned!

No real progress but I'll update anyway...

Wow, where does the time go? I started thinking about this project over a year ago and construction began way back in April and here we are and I'm barely 1/2 way finished. There's still a TON of work left to do.

I haven't been able to find the time to physically work on my arcade in the past few weeks but I have managed to order a few more parts that I need including the artwork! I'm hoping to get started on the interior construction on Sunday. The New York Football Giants don't play until 8 p.m. so the entire day should be free. I recently contacted an artist named Tom Hodges (www.tomhodges.com) who has graciously agreed to draw me a custom Star Wars theme for my cab in the same style as the pictures below with "Knights of the Arcade Table" in a large font to go along the sides of the monitor (for a price of course but it's well worth it). It should take a few weeks at least before the artwork is finished but if it comes out 1/2 as good as these pictures he has drawn it will look unbelievable. Go check out his website and order some art from him!



Pretty cool looking, eh? Tom has agreed to send me the drawing as a photoshop file so I can have it printed by the people over at www.mamemarquees.com. I've never used them before but from what I've heard they do an outstanding job and the customer service is top notch. I will post a mini-review when I reveive the final vinyl overlay from them but it will probably not be for quite some time. First, Tom has to draw the picture and send it to me. Once the file has arrived, I will have to position it on a template (against a black background) in the opposite corners of the table top and it will be ready to print. The file size I requested from Tom is 300DPI (dots per inch), which is a very high resolution so the printed result should have a photographic look to it - very smooth lines and no jagged or pixelated edges. This will be the most important part of the cabinet from a visual standpoint because it is what your eye will be drawn to upon seeing it.

Check out the SWEET layout I drew. Anyone should be able to tell exactly what I'm going for, right? Hahaha... yeah, I don't really have any artistic talent as far as drawing is concerned but you get the idea... I actually sent this to Tom!!! I hope he can figure it out - I didn't really specify a design other than wanting a drawing of jedi knights with their lightsabers out and ready to kick some ass...

More to come later!

I'm a Liar...

OK, I didn't get a chance to wire up my cabinet this weekend like I planned but I hope to do so in the coming weeks. I think I need to make a list of all of the outstanding things that need to be done for this project or I'll never finish - kind of like a punchlist. I need some sense of order because right now it seems like there are a million little things to do and no real order to them.

I did manage to snap a few pictures of the various internal components that will go inside the cabinet (eventually!) for those of you who are curious about that sort of thing. The first two pictures here show the front and back views of the monitor I ordered from Happs Controls (http://happscontrols.com). It's a Vision Pro 19" Horizontal Mount Monitor (Part Number 49-1337-VP2) and it is awesome. I can't believe how nice the games look when this thing is fired up. I forgot to take pictures of it with games running but I will sometime in the future. It really looks exactly like a real arcade game!















Notice all that wiring in the rear of the monitor - it makes me nervous even thinking about installing it! Monitors should be handled very delicately because there are some high voltage areas and even when turned off, it can retain its charge. Also, there is a risk of an implosion if you bump it hard enough although I've heard that it is no less dangerous than handling a 19" TV - in other words, as long as you are careful it should be perfectly safe to work with.

The coolest part about this monitor (other than the great picture) is that it is super easy to hook up to a computer. Since a computer is what will ultimately be running the software inside the cabinet and I don't really know much about computers, this is essential. As you can see by the blurry picture here, there is a standard computer monitor plug thingy that goes right into the back of the computer. All you do it plug it in, hook it up to the computer and turn the computer on and you are good to go. The monitor also powers off when the computer shuts down and turns on again when the computer starts up. This means that when I wire the computer power button to somewhere on the cabinet (probably underneath) the monitor will power on automatically! Think about it - it would totally take you out of the "authentic arcade experience" if you had to individually power everything on every time you wanted to play. Once everything is hooked up, one button will do the trick to get everything going (there's also something called a "Smart Strip" which is a special power strip that everything plugs into inside the cabinet which I will explain later on).

Totally Boring Update:

OK. I've decided to go with a piece of 3/16" smoked glass for the monitor (it will sit on top of the bezel in the groove already cut to accept the bezel and hopefully be flush with the tabletop) and a piece of 1/8" clear tempered glass for the table top. I really want smoked glass over the monitor but I'm afraid if I use it for the entire top I will not be able to see the artwork. I've been told that old atari cocktail tables used to be set up this way. I really hope it works!

I just got back from the local glass shop and priced everything out - $150 for everything. It's expensive as hell but, get this, the tempering process for the top is $100 of the cost! I went with 1/8" because that is all the glass clips could accept (1/4" was too thick). The guy at the shop recommended tempering it because of the thinness of the piece and I kind of agree because tempering makes it 5 times stronger. Basically I just don't want someone to accidentally drop a bottle of beer or something on it and then end up in the emergency room.

I'm not sure when the glass will be ready to pick up but it doesn't really matter because I still need the artwork to completely finish the table top.

Tomorrow I'm going to be wiring the entire thing up! I'm excited because it should be somewhat playable by the end of the day!!! Then I will never get anything more done ever because I will be playing Ms. Pac-man nonstop. Oh well...