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LAN Party Forums => General Discussion => Started by: Czar on July 16, 2008, 10:24:34 PM

Title: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on July 16, 2008, 10:24:34 PM

Yes.. It is done. Played a few rounds of SFA2 and an old fav on mine.. Gladiator. Peep dis, foos!

(http://www.czaralex.com/images/czarcade2/picture%20065.jpg)

(http://www.czaralex.com/images/czarcade2/picture%20066.jpg)

The flash made the screen look all washed out. Its most certainly not.
(http://www.czaralex.com/images/czarcade2/picture%20068.jpg)

Whoops! I see some finger prints to wipe off!
(http://www.czaralex.com/images/czarcade2/picture%20070.jpg)

Meh... Silly flash
(http://www.czaralex.com/images/czarcade2/picture%20071.jpg)

Sexy!!
(http://www.czaralex.com/images/czarcade2/picture%20072.jpg)

The CzArcade Mark I is still free to a good home (you come get it). She needs some major'ish work but I`ll be happy to elaborate/post pics if anyone is interested before I stick it on the curb. HUGH props to my comrade Matt (IrishDevil on here) who helped build the Mark I and this new incarnation.

I`ll post some specifics later (like what emulators and what not is on it). I was just excited to get pics online.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Agent4054 on July 16, 2008, 10:43:27 PM

Wicked!

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: sully! on July 16, 2008, 10:50:22 PM

Very nice indeed! Would you be willing/able to bring that to the next big LAN? That could be an awesome side attraction for all to enjoy.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on July 16, 2008, 10:53:58 PM

Eh I`ll have to think about it. I'd be a little concerned about the level of abuse she may take. The plans i used called for casters for ease of movement which I purposely left off to avoid the temptation of moving her from the house.

If I can find a place to store the old cab, that may be an option.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: -Sp()()ge- on July 17, 2008, 06:01:08 AM

OMG!  That is some amazing work!  Great Job.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: decepticon on July 17, 2008, 07:31:19 AM

Sweet!  I gotta see this in person.  I like the sliding keyboard drawer - easy PC access!  Gotta let me see those plans!  What did you use as the monitor?

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on July 17, 2008, 08:47:59 AM

Sure comrades! Here's a little more info on her along with plan details.

First, I there are several plans available online for MAME cabinets. Most of them (as in almost all of them) encourage you to build your own control panel. While it doesn't look -too- hard, I knew I'd find a way to mess it up (i knew this 6 years ago when I bought my x-arcade stick ha). Plans from ArcadeCab.com (http://arcadecab.com/Intro.htm) were unique in that their plans incorporated the x-arcade stick right in to the cabinet..quite nicely too.

I showed the plans to my comrade Matt who is 302% more constructionally inclined than I am..as in he has power tools and knows how to use them and not get us killed.. well, I almost lost my thumb but my ninja`ish skills allowed me to pull my hand away at the last minute before the jig saw made flesh contact.

We both learned from the CzArcade Mark I and did not want to repeat some of the catastrophic mistakes. First, don't get me wrong, I loved that old cabinet and played it for 3 years. However, some of the imperfections were beginning to bother me, and while I provided me with hours of non-stop arcade fun (thus serving its purpose), I wanted something that I could show off to visitors. Thus, the quest for the Mark II began. The first time around, we met up on a Saturday morning and went to Home Depot to gather all needed supplies.. This was a BAD move as we felt rushed, wanting to get the ball rolling, and cut some corners with supplies. Thicker than planned wood was purchased and all that..causing the cabinet to be a massive beast weighing WAY more than needed. We got our build on and once we got the sides on and the monitor shelf in place, we threw the guts in and played in the garage for hours with the bare wood, no top, no marquee, saw dust up to our ankles. The job was sort of rushed at the end, wrong paint applied, bezel didn't line up..threw it in the living room. But ya know what.. is served it purpose for me. I even told the wife "You're the reason I get up in the morning.. The CzArcade is the reason I get up early."

This time around, I gathered materials for about a month prior to the construction date. My plans called for top-o-the-line birch plywood which rang in at $45 a sheet (4'x8' and I needed 3 of em..) Whenever I was out, I'd pick up a few items on the shopping list. Some were omitted as they were features that I didn't really want. Such as a coin door, wheeled casters. The Mark I marque was painted on the wood as I borked the nice plexi glass that my other comrade painted a marque on for me. This time, I used emdkay.net for the marque and was able to design my own. They even cut plexi to match my measurements. Total bill for emdkay was like $25 with shipping.

A few other items were bought online. I really wanted T-molding on this cabinet as the edges on the mark I were rough..but that was mostly due to the crappy MDF board I used. Even though this birch plywood wouldn't do that, I wanted to do this right. http://www.happcontrols.com/pc/pc.htm had the t-molding I needed along with their super special marque retainer. Shipping was HORRIBLE as they sent the retainer in a 5' box. Ugh. Oh well. I only needed ~30 of t-molding but 50 was the min order. Meh.

Game day came and I still had the mentality that it would be done in one day.

*BUZZER*

The plans we had were flawed with one major measurement, causing us to take about 90 minutes to realize that freehanding the measurement would be the best solution. The end of day 1 had the cabinet upright with the monitor shelf installed. The temptation to throw the guts in and rock out until night fall was strong..but we resisted and schedule another encounter. In fact, I think this took 3 sessions of construction and some time by myself doing sanding, wood filling, patching, and painting.

The computer inside was donated to me. A dude at work told me of this computer he had that was `hit by lightning` and didn't boot up. He offered it to me for parts. *shrug* Sure. So I brought it home, threw a new HD in it.. Bingo. AMD Sempron 3100+ gig-o-ram, and my old 6600gt. Perfect for emulators.

I flipped the option in the bios to have it turn on after a power outage. As a result, the whole thing can be turned on with one switch located on the back of the cab.

List of construction modifications that deviated from the plans:

• Measurement from the front to the arched tip in front of the controller was freehanded
• Keyboard drawer was narrowed after we mistakenly put monitor shelf supports in that were larger than called for
• Rear support beams omitted
• Back panel omitted (since you wont see the back!)
• Speaker grooved omitted as we sucked at using a router..majorly
• Bezel glass retention method used in the plans were yucky.. so we cut the plexi long enough to rest on the top of the serial output of the control panel.
• Extra piece added between top of front door and bottom of drawer face because the piano hinge was 30" and we needed like 34" or something.
• 1/8" slot cutting router bit used instead of 1/16" bit. Had to hot glue t-molding in place (A PAIN!)

Some more stats:

• MAME with all 6000+ games available as of March 08
• NES, SNES, N64, GBA, Genesis totaling ~2400 roms
• Frets on Fire with GH I, II, III, Rockband songs and PS2 guitar with a Playstation/USB adapter
• Stepmania with 3000 songs and a very nice stainless steel dance pad using the above adapter
• Dreamcast emulator with Marvel vs Capcom 2 (as its not available on MAME yet)
• Mugen with an ungodly number of characters
• X-Arcade Dual Player controller (http://www.xgaming.com/two-player.shtml)
• 21" CRT monitor (like 50lb)
• USB extension cables hidden behind cabinet

Too bad I'm at work or I'd fire it up now and rock out!

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: decepticon on July 17, 2008, 09:06:01 AM

Does the old cabinet have buttons on it, or did you use the xarcade stick with that one too?

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on July 17, 2008, 09:10:22 AM

For the old one, I cut a hole in the front panel that would allow the x-arcade to just drop in. If you were interested, I'd even paint it for ya before you grabbed it with some left over paint I have from this project. A new bezel would need to be made to fit your specific monitor.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: decepticon on July 17, 2008, 09:19:06 AM

If it had the buttons in, I would take it just for that.  But if it's THAT heavy and it has problems, I'll do what you did for the MKII: plan it all out and piece it together over time.  I think I'll be making a custom control deck with a rollerball and dial along with buttons and such.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on July 17, 2008, 09:22:35 AM

Excellent. I'd love to help in any way.

Use an Arduino with some LEDs to add wicked affects!

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: The Shoctor on July 17, 2008, 11:52:38 AM

How heavy? Would it fit in the back of my pathfinder?

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on July 17, 2008, 01:21:34 PM

I`ll take some measurements tonight (height, width) and see if I can guestimate some weight.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: The Shoctor on July 17, 2008, 01:45:13 PM

Ohhh, and how big is the monitor shelf?

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on July 17, 2008, 01:47:41 PM

Big. My 21inch CRT fits with plenty of room on either side. I`ll get specific measurements tonight.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: The Shoctor on July 17, 2008, 01:48:10 PM

Thanks!

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: DoubleG on July 17, 2008, 02:54:05 PM

I might be going over Marks to play some Czarcade...lol.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on July 18, 2008, 01:48:13 PM

Mark I measurements
-------------------------
Total width: 26 3/4"
Inside width: 25 1/8"
Depth (of widest point): 38"
Height (at tallest point): 75 1/2"
monitor space is 19 1/2" x 28" x 21"

I forgot to mark which is which on the monitor space measurements. but I recall 28" being the height. Something doesn't seem right with the rest as the inside measurement is 25 1/8". I`ll remeasure later.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: The Shoctor on July 18, 2008, 03:17:05 PM

Can you post a pic please?
I may be interested. (If you couldn't tell.)

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on July 18, 2008, 08:18:36 PM

(http://www.czaralex.com/images/egif.gif) WARNING (http://www.czaralex.com/images/egif.gif)

The pictures below may be disturbing. To see an arcade cabinet in such shape may cause projectile vomiting or intense abdominal pain. Seek medical attention if necessary.

A few things to note first:

• I used flat paint on accident and it shows EVERY single finger print. You`ll see several long finger wipes marks on the sides and on the front door. While a damp cloth takes this off, semi-gloss paint is the solution.
• I still have my junk inside from when I was using it as a nice shelf during Mk II construction
• The bezel will need to go and a new custom one made for any other monitor. I recommend using the plexiglass method seen in the Mk II pics. Simple and slick looking
• The keyboard door (seen hanging down under the drawer when open) closes but does not line up properly
• Its dusty as all hell
• Current marque is painted on
• The front door has a 1/8" gap all around it (except for the hinged edge) where it meets the cabinet

http://www.czaralex.com/images/czarcade1/

I won't be offended if after you see the pics, you don't want it or yak your lunch up. Really!

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: {ShadowWX} on July 19, 2008, 10:14:45 PM

that thing is soooo cool!!!1!!!1!1!!2

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: The Shoctor on October 14, 2008, 01:02:47 AM

I hate to be a necromancer, but OMG I WANT!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_Re39pR454

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: decepticon on October 14, 2008, 07:27:10 AM

I think I would make passionate video game love to that machine.........:drool:

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on October 14, 2008, 07:40:06 AM

Without a doubt, the LED work he's done is amazing. But personally..the cabinet design itself is fugly. I'm more of a fan of the traditional upright.

With that out of the way, he does use some wonderful software on that puppy. GameEX is a VERY slick looking emulator front end. But that LEDWiz is FREAKIN SWEET!! As I watched the above video, I was hoping it had one specific feature...and it does:

Light up your game specific controls when you launch a game in MAME

Oh man..how awesome. how AWESOME!! *goes to price parts*

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: decepticon on October 14, 2008, 08:59:24 AM

Is there a writeup anywhere on that particular design?  I have game-ex and I like it's interface, and I really like the control design in that cabinet.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on October 14, 2008, 09:05:18 AM

The control design is just an X-Arcade stick. www.x-arcade.com . I have one on the CzArcade. Hooks up to your Keyboard port.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: decepticon on October 14, 2008, 09:06:58 AM

Quote from: Czar on October 14, 2008, 09:05:18 AM

The control design is just an X-Arcade stick. www.x-arcade.com . I have one on the CzArcade. Hooks up to your Keyboard port.

I saw that, I mean the design for the lighting of the buttons, or is that built in to the Xarcade?  I'd rather design my own control setup anywhoo.

Title: Re: BEHOLD! The CzArcade (Mark II) [Pic Heavy]
Post by: Czar on October 14, 2008, 09:40:20 AM

The buttons are RGB LEDs, aftermarket, and are controlled by a prog called LEDWiz which appears to be designed just for this use. I can't find a working site with a download link though. Main site appears to be awol.