Stir-crazy weekend.

OH MY GOD IM SOOOOOOOO BORED!

Sad thing is when I think of something to do....I just say....meh.....and go back to being bored. Whats up with that?

So all weekend I've spent in the game room on my computer....planning and designing my arcade cabinet. I don't think I'm gonna be able to wait till next summer to start this thing. Especially since I've got all of the electronics already put together and built. Just gotta get the wood, paint, 2.1 stereo & LCD tv mounting plate. I've got the PC hooked up and ready to go...which I'll post a little demo of once I get the joystick setup again.

Basically the guts are gonna work like this. I'll have my miniPC hooked up to the HDTV via DVI-to-HDMI cable, the joystick, buttons and coin door will be wired through an i-Pac keyboard passthrough like this:

This way I won't have to worry about waiting on USB drivers to load my controller. Its instant.
The computer runs Windows XP Pro SP1, with MaLa as a frontend for Mame. Frontend? Mame? Whats that?

Well....Mame is an arcade machine emulator. It allows me to play old school (and some new) arcade games just like they are in the arcade, but from my computer. Theres no GUI...so thats where MaLa (the front end) comes in.

The front end boots when Windows does, but hides windows so you think it runs just like a real arcade machine. Only by exiting the frontend will you see that its Windows. But the way I'll have that setup, only I will know how to do that.

The games will take coins just like a real arcade machine, and the GUI will be in hi-def (720p).

The only problem I see is later on when Street Fighter IV comes out, I will need to upgrade the PC to handle it. Which won't cost too much I don't think. Just means I'll have to basically remake the current arcade PC. Unless I use 2 PCs in the case....which is just a waste of space and electricity. And it would get really complicated......I'd have to rig a way to switch between the two on the fly, or rig seperate power switches for each one.

Or maybe by the time the game comes out on PC, someone will have gotten a hacked version to run on regular Windows XP....because the Taito X2 board SFIV runs on is pretty much a store-bought PC with XP embedded.

Ok...so for the most part I've got the guts, the tv and the controller.....just need a cabinet design. So I went searching for all kinds of different styles...and decided to narrow it down. I'm a lazy fucker....so I want a nice sit-down style 2-player fighter cabinet. Something like the newer Tekken 6 machines, or the Sega Lindberg cases.

(Tekken 6 style)

Would be great....but doubles the cost because of the 2nd HDTV. And i've have to get a 2nd one identical to the one I already have...probably not possible unless I got hunting online.

And finally....I found a DIY cabinet that I really liked. I plan on taking the design and adding a gallon of awesome to it. Since its kinda simple....

I'll probably laminate it instead of painting it, and it won't be all black...and there will maybe be 2 button colors....not 6. And no swinging doors on the from....that'll be a solid piece with a hole for the coindoor to sit. I also want to add a case that goes around the main body of the TV that has 2 spots on the sides for the Speakers to go (with the sub in the bottom of the case), and a lighted Marquee Box to go ontop.

Not sure what color scheme yet. Probably black and dark red. Not sure yet.

Suggestions and ideas? So far I'm just gonna have fighting games on the PC. I also might snag a 360 arcade with a small hard drive, get it modded and have that in there as well for games like DOA4 and Soul Calibur IV. Not sure yet.

But any input is welcome.

-Gats