Agreed! I spent way too much hard earned part time job money in the arcades back in the day! I always get a flood of great memories every time I fire it up here at home.
Good luck! I'm really happy I took the plunge over buying something 'retail'. I'd just say plan, plan, plan... then be ready to adjust those plans mid-stream! And don't hesitate to reach out and ask for help or opinions. I spent a lot of time on forums, web sites, etc. asking questions and I found the retro arcade community to be very welcoming and helpful. And of course, I'd be happy to assist here or on my blog if you have additional questions. I'm considering additional videos, or even a live stream, to cover the actual build in more detail if folks are interested. And if you do build something, please post a link here or on my blog with photos! I'd love to see it!
Wow! Thanks. There are definitely better built and fancier cabinets out there than mine. But for my first attempt and limited woodworking skills, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and how well it has held up. But there are some things I'd do different if I were to do it over again (but I am for sure NOT doing it over again!). Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!
Thanks! The nice thing about building your own is that you can get exactly what you want, not only in terms of controls, but games and emulators, etc. And you'll know exactly how to fix it if something goes wrong (although I've been fortunate to not have to do any repairs to mine in 4 years now). I've mentioned it elsewhere, but I don't consider myself a woodworker. But I took my time and it ended up being one of the most satisfying and enjoyable projects I've ever done. Good luck with yours... I'd encourage you to at least think about building your own. The one piece of advice I always give... don't skimp on the controls. The joysticks, buttons, etc. are what will make the machine realistic or frustrating to play. About 1/2 of the cost of my entire cabinet went into just the controls themselves, but it was well worth it.
Thank you! I studied a lot of cabinets and wanted to try to make it as close to the old 80's cabinets as I could within my limited abilities. Thanks for taking time to comment!
This project touches on a lot of different skills... woodworking/carpentry, electronics and wiring, Raspberry Pi/Linux, etc. I just learned by watching a lot of other RUclips videos and reading blog articles. I have a series where I go over all of the build steps of my cabinet: ruclips.net/p/PLqjDNeOVHOkfCJXLyBozFj4q-xx9i5NOR I also have a blog dedicated to just the build of this cabinet: retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/ But there are a lot of other online sources to help out as well. Good luck with your project if you opt to build your own.
You're welcome! I really planned on just documenting the process for myself and was going to just do it in something like a Word document. A co-worker convinced me to use a blog (my first ever). I'm glad I went that route so if anything I did (or did wrong!) might be able help out someone else in their own build. I'm thinking about doing a 3 or 4 part video series on the build sometime early next year... unfortunately, I didn't capture any video at the time (just lots of photos) as the idea of a RUclips channel had not even crossed my mind at that point. But thanks for taking time to watch and comment!
Thanks! It was more fun at some times more than others! Overall, I'm really happy with the outcome, but there were a lot of struggles and adjustments along the way and my woodworking skills were (and still are) limited. I'm still glad I did it and it still gets used on a routine basis, but I'm not in any big hurry to build another one. My original plan was to build two... this one and a cocktail table version. After completing this one, I abandoned the cocktail version idea! Thanks for watching and taking time to comment. I appreciate it.
Thanks! I'm glad I took the time to document the build as I went along. Since it is now almost 4 years ago since I built it... and I haven't had to do any real maintenance on it... I need to use the blog sometimes to remember how I did something when I get a question about it!
You really did a great job! My intention is also to build one of those. Though it will take much of my time, your cabinet is proving that its worth the work.
Thank you! My best recommendations are to spend time planning and considering the key things you want for your cabinet. Then take your time when building. I really wanted to rush the "boring" things like sanding and painting and get to the "fun" stuff, but made myself be patient and do everything right the first time. Good luck with your build, and thanks for taking time to comment!
Thank you! I'm just happy it turned out OK. There were a few times during the build that I had my doubts! And thanks for taking the time to watch and posting a comment.
Great cab, nothing beats building one yourself I built a capcom big blue cab a couple years ago and honestly it was the best couple months building it,
Same here! I thoroughly enjoyed the entire build... from the woodworking (where I had very little experience), to the electronics and wiring and to the actual coding and emulator configuration. It was by far the most complicated thing I had built at the time. I would spend the day building and the evening documenting what I had done. I eventually turned this into an entire blog based on encouragement from some co-workers. I don't make many updates to that blog anymore, but it's kind of fun for me to go back every now and then and re-read it and relive the process ( retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/ ). There might be a few things I'd do different if I were to build one today, but mine is now over five years old and has held up very well. It still functions like the day I built it. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment... I appreciate it!
Thank you! And thanks for taking the time to comment. I'm still happy with the cabinet, considering my very limited woodworking skills. Good luck with the Star Wars cabinet. I'd love to see some photos when its finished.
@@ResinChemTech thanks! Well you fooled us all... it looks quite pro. I'll definitely be unveiling it soon. I'm very happy with the result so far. Few more tweaks to make. Bit of a different approach since it's a themed cabinet and I really put more attention into the "cockpit" details... lots of great blinking lights and details. One thing that really impressed me about your cabinet is the attention with the LED lighting system.
Thanks! I wish I had some neighbors that were into DIY electronics and home automation. Most have an Alexa and think that since they can ask it turn on a lamp, they live in a "smart home"!
Thanks! I really do appreciate you taking time to watch and to comment. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I do not consider myself a woodworker, so I was pleased with the final results, but I was much more comfortable with the electronics and software than I was with the saw and the router!
I'd be happy to.... if there was really anything to show. It was literally just adding a configuration line to RGBCommander to define my joystick type and turning it on: Once this is done, RGBCommander will dynamically change the SERVOSTIK from 4 to 8 way as needed based on this configuration. I wish I could take credit for developing something more complicated, but it really was that easy!
The software used is RetroPie. There are links in the video description, along with a link to a blog dedicated to the entire process, including the parts used.
The parts I used, along with diagrams, the build process and more are all documented in my blog dedicated to just building this arcade (check the pages listed down the right hand side): retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/
Thank you! For being a pretty new channel (and learning as I go), I've been pretty pleased with the views. In hindsight, I wish I would have shot video when I was actually building it. But that was a long time before I thought about a RUclips channel. The only reason I created the blog was really to document the process for myself, but it has been much more popular than I expected too! Thanks again for taking time to comment.
Very nice!. Interesting you showed Defender - because that's suppose to have the REVERSE button at the bottom of the joystick so you hit it with your left thumb. You probably still have enough room to add that in.
Thank you. Yeah, lots of games have button layouts other than the 'standard 6'. But with 400+ arcade games, I had to find a happy medium that worked the best across all games. For Defender, I actually did map the lower left button to reverse, and find I can reach it with my thumb while still using the joystick. Some games fit the control layout better than others!
All the controls, including the trackball, are Ultimarc. You can find links to almost all the parts I used in one of the articles in the blog where I document the entire build: retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/2022/07/parts-list.html
Sir you have built exactly what I want! Bonus points for the movie quote hahha.. Is this doable with a pc? Some of the game I want are newer and I hate load times. Also the restricted plate and button light up based on how many controls are used in the game...next level.
Glad you caught the movie quote! Believe it or not, I had not rehearsed that and it just popped into my head as I was filming! Yes... by all means you could use a PC to run more powerful games and more recent emulators (like Playstation and XBox series). My goal was to focus on 80's arcade games, and since I was gifted the Raspberry Pi and wanted to learn more about it, it was plenty powerful for the games I wanted. Just as an FYI... I've just started a series of videos on the actual build process of this cabinet (Part 1 is out... Part 2 will be out soon). In the last part of the series, I do plan to talk a bit more about the software and options for things like using a PC or alternate software (like RecallBox vs. RetroPie). As I mention in these videos, it doesn't take any special skills, an extravagant workshop or a lot of special tools to build a cabinet like this. Just some planning and patience! But it was one of the most satisfying projects I've done, so I would encourage you to really think about building your own.
Thanks! I'm still glad I took the time and effort to build this one as opposed to buying a retail multicade. I never could have gotten all the games I really wanted in a retail version... and I would have spent more money to boot. Thanks for taking time to watch.
Honestly, it's not that difficult. It takes more patience than talent! I had no real woodworking skills and limited tools (I even had to borrow a portable table saw). Pretty much just a jig saw, circular saw, drill and palm router is what I used. I'm thinking about doing a series of videos on my actual build process soon.
Amazing build! Im interested in the joysticks yiu used. Can you tell us which specific joysticks you used? And does the red light, that ells you when it switched between 4 and 8 way, come with it or was that something you programmed?
Thanks! My joysticks are the Ultimarc Servostiks (www.ultimarc.com/arcade-controls/joysticks/servostik/). No, the red LED indicator did not come with them. It is something I wired to the servo myself so that it would indicate whenever power was applied and the servo was moving the restrictor plate.
Thanks. I've toyed with the idea of building a second cabinet... maybe a cocktail table version. But I kinda' feel like I've already "been there, done that", so I haven't been real motivated to start the whole process over again. If I even do build a second cabinet, I'll probably try to do something completely different... maybe even a different platform... like PC/RecalBox instead of Raspberry PI/RetroPie. But that's somewhere down the road if it happens at all. Thanks for watching and taking time to comment!
@@ResinChemTech I'm working on a cocktail cab build around a nice peice of glass I got from a peice of furniture someone was tossing away, nice square tempered glass. It's not that bad of a build, way easier than the one in your video here. I'm using a 60 in 1board for mine
Very nice cabinet! How did you get the Ultimarc ServoStik to interface with Retropie? Is there a guide or something you followed to get it to do the automatic switching? I have these joysticks installed in PC based arcade cabinets but no idea how to make it work with the pi.
In my case, the "secret sauce" was RGBCommander. This not only controlled the button LED lights, but also the 4/8-way joystick settings. Each arcade game is defined within RGBCommander... nearly all my games were already there, but it was easy to add the ones that weren't. Unfortunately, RGBCommander is only for Linux systems so I don't think that will work in your case. Ultimarc does offer a DLL for interfacing that controls the joysticks. Someone may have developed a utility that runs in a Windows environment, but I'm not directly aware of one. Sorry I can't be more help here!
@@ResinChemTech thanks for the response. Any idea if it is possible to use RGB Commander for only the ServiStick 4/8-way switching (no button lights)? I assume so but I’m not sure how to get that running on the pi. I’ll have to research. I built this small bartop cabinet (ruclips.net/video/_Y2k7yyS52k/видео.html) but never sorted out the joystick and I’d like to get it working 100% if I can. I only have a handful of games on it from a handful of systems but honestly only really care about arcade games and my favorite ones are all 4-way so they don’t play that great!
Worst case, you could use a toggle switch to manually switch the joysticks. I added one to my cabinet in case I couldn't get the software version/RGBCommander to work. Yeah, it's not as nice as the 'auto-select' when you pick a game, but if the majority of your arcade games are 4-way, then you'd just have to toggle for those games and then back to 8-way for other emulators/games. To be honest, I was shocked (and very happy) that the auto-rotation worked! I really figured I was going to have to use the toggle switch myself. To answer your other question, I think you should be able to use RGBCommander for just the joysticks. The commands to set the LED lights would just be ignored since nothing would be connected to the controller board. Good luck... and let me know if I can help out any further.
Actually, I didn't have any plans. I spent a lot of time studying other cabinets and designed it myself. I first drew things out at 1/4 scale and then at 1/2 scale. I also used a tool called SketchUp to try to help visualize the dimensions.
I considered some other options, but I was given a Pi as a gift and wanted the opportunity to learn about it, along with some Linux along the way. A PC-based cabinet would have had a lot more power for later emulators, but since my primary interest was 80's arcade games, the Pi was plenty of horsepower.
Ha... no! The slot machine was purchased from a reseller that gets them from actual casinos when they are ready to replace them. I believe he told me that this particular one came off a riverboat casino in Ohio. So, it's the "real deal" that you'd find in a casino somewhere. It accepts (and pays out) in quarters and also has a bill acceptor. As an added bonus, it serves as a change machine for the arcade. You can put in a $5 bill then cash out and get $5 worth of quarters to use for the arcade games!
How did you decide on your button layout? Not like a traditional cabinet... I’m thinking I want the feel of how it was... but maybe I’m missing something...? Also, do you have a way to remap buttons if needed? Thanks
I spent a lot of time studying the layout of original game cabinets (where both the number and layout of buttons vary widely depending upon the game) and online layout templates to try to determine both the best number and the layout of the buttons I wanted. What I ended up with was what I felt was the best compromise... also keeping in mind that the cabinet would also play Nintendo, Sega, Atari games, etc. There are many, many alternative options, but that's how I came up with mine. To your second question... yes, buttons can be mapped at the overall system level, the emulator level and/or at the individual game level.
Wish I had a magic answer for you. I know that I struggled and struggled to get the Daphne emulator to run properly under RetroPie. Even today, a few things aren't right (no sound on intro... but fine in the game), but it plays perfectly well. I can only recommend looking on some retro arcade forums or the official Daphne emulator site (which I'm sure you've done). Sorry, wish I could be more help, but it was over three years ago when I created the arcade. I do remember having a tough time getting Daphne to work.
What are the dimensions of the finished cabinet? I looked on your blog, but couldn't readily find it. I mainly want to confirm if your shape will fit through my door opening.
Yeah... the dimensions are buried in there and aren't necessarily easy to find, but they are in the Planning the Arcade - Part 1 article: retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/p/planning-arcade-cabinet-when-gecko.html However, I did make some tweaks as I built it (it's a couple of inches deeper than original plans). As the finished project stands now, the outside cabinet dimensions are 72" tall x 30" wide x 27" deep. So, when turned sideways, it will easily fit through a standard 30" door. Let me know if you have any additional questions!
@@ResinChemTech Yes, I did miss your diagram. I see it now with the dimensions. Sorry if I am being dense, but your diagram shows 28" on the bottom measurement for depth, and that is before the protrusion for the control panel. So I am confused, that you said you later _increased_ the depth to 27. When it looks like its well above 34. Was that a typo, or am I missing something? Thanks for the quick reply!
No not being dense at all! You are correct about the diagram. But if you read the paragraph immediately following the diagram, I stated that I made some changes and the plan was " Final outside dimensions of 72"h x 30"w x 25"d." Again, I modified it just as I started to build it and added an extra 2" to the depth because I thought it looked too "thin" when I laid it out on the wood. I mention that in one of the posts as well (I think it's the build part 1). I actually just remeasured the cabinet itself and the true finished dimensions of the base cabinet are as I stated above, 72x30x27. The control panel juts out about 1 1/2" beyond that, but it can be installed after the cabinet is in place. So, again, turned sideways, you'd be looking at 27" to fit through the door if you built it to my same dimensions.
You can find all the gory details in my related blog from start to finish, but I specifically cover the cabinet dimensions on this page: retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/p/planning-arcade-cabinet-when-gecko.html. I did some "game day" tweaks during the actual build, but final dimensions ended up as 72"h x 30"w x 28"d.
It is a BenQ 27" monitor. I selected this particular display because it had the button controls on the back (not the bottom or sides) and had a stereo/headphone jack that I needed to drive the sound, since the Raspberry Pi had horrible sound out of it's 3.5mm jack (at least at that time).
Thanks! I've been happy with it and glad that I tackled the project. But with that being said, I simply don't have time to build and sell the control panel (or any other components for that matter). If you are interested in a pre-built control panel, you might take a look at something like XArcade (I bought my coin door from them): shop.xgaming.com/collections/arcade-joysticks/products/x-arcade-tankstick-trackball-usb-included
If it is helpful and you haven't seen it, I have an entire blog dedicated to the process and steps I used to build mine. There is a series of step-by-step articles down the right hand side of the blog: retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/ Good luck with your build and feel free to ask any questions along the way if I can help out.
@@ResinChemTech Yes I seen it and will be using it. Hard to see the sketches on the picture even after enlarging it but ill make it work. Thanks for providing this. New subscriber
Yeah... sorry about that. My intent with those sketches was really just to show the planning process I used and not to show the actual dimensions. But I still have all those original sketches, so if there is anything you want to see in better detail, just let me know. Again, feel free to reach out either here or in the comments of any of the blog articles if I can provide additional details or clarification on any of the steps. But even with the sketches, I made adjustments "on the fly" as I built it and ran into various issues. The sketches were more of a "guide" than precise plans that I exactly followed. Good luck with your build... it was a lot of work, but it was also fun (for the most part)!
It cost around $82 (before tax/shipping) for both the top marquee and the control panel. They were from a company called Gameongrafix. But they were very nice quality and packaged nicely.
Great work man!! ruclips.net/video/DxjHijW_s2g/видео.html Check out my new cabinet, the builder needs as much support as possible, show him Your love for his amazing work
Thanks... and you've got a great cabinet too! Definitely more horsepower than mine, but I was focusing primarily on 80's and early 90's games. Love the graphics. I toyed with the idea of adding a vinyl wrap on the sides of mine, but I was fearful of messing it up!
@@ResinChemTech have a go. If you mess it up just take it off again, take your time and it should go on nice, 80s and 90s games were so good, I often play mame on my cab
Well I can say: I'm glad to be over the age of 40 I remember these as a kid in the 80s and 90s and it's nice to have them now in the house.
Agreed! I spent way too much hard earned part time job money in the arcades back in the day! I always get a flood of great memories every time I fire it up here at home.
Nicely done. Even in chilly weather.
I'm so doing this.
Good luck! I'm really happy I took the plunge over buying something 'retail'. I'd just say plan, plan, plan... then be ready to adjust those plans mid-stream! And don't hesitate to reach out and ask for help or opinions. I spent a lot of time on forums, web sites, etc. asking questions and I found the retro arcade community to be very welcoming and helpful. And of course, I'd be happy to assist here or on my blog if you have additional questions. I'm considering additional videos, or even a live stream, to cover the actual build in more detail if folks are interested. And if you do build something, please post a link here or on my blog with photos! I'd love to see it!
This has to be the best arcade cabinet ever made. This is the deluxe of all deluxes. I'm inspired, thanks for sharing!
Wow! Thanks. There are definitely better built and fancier cabinets out there than mine. But for my first attempt and limited woodworking skills, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and how well it has held up. But there are some things I'd do different if I were to do it over again (but I am for sure NOT doing it over again!).
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!
I've been shopping around, but you've inspired me to build it myself... Good Looking Machine!!!
Thanks! The nice thing about building your own is that you can get exactly what you want, not only in terms of controls, but games and emulators, etc. And you'll know exactly how to fix it if something goes wrong (although I've been fortunate to not have to do any repairs to mine in 4 years now).
I've mentioned it elsewhere, but I don't consider myself a woodworker. But I took my time and it ended up being one of the most satisfying and enjoyable projects I've ever done. Good luck with yours... I'd encourage you to at least think about building your own. The one piece of advice I always give... don't skimp on the controls. The joysticks, buttons, etc. are what will make the machine realistic or frustrating to play. About 1/2 of the cost of my entire cabinet went into just the controls themselves, but it was well worth it.
Great job on the cabinet! It looks really good for a DYI.
Thank you! I studied a lot of cabinets and wanted to try to make it as close to the old 80's cabinets as I could within my limited abilities. Thanks for taking time to comment!
@@ResinChemTech i wanna do the same, what should i learn!?
This project touches on a lot of different skills... woodworking/carpentry, electronics and wiring, Raspberry Pi/Linux, etc. I just learned by watching a lot of other RUclips videos and reading blog articles. I have a series where I go over all of the build steps of my cabinet: ruclips.net/p/PLqjDNeOVHOkfCJXLyBozFj4q-xx9i5NOR
I also have a blog dedicated to just the build of this cabinet: retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/
But there are a lot of other online sources to help out as well. Good luck with your project if you opt to build your own.
@@ResinChemTech much appreciated!
This is amazing, great job, and thanks for taking the time to write-up and document the build.
You're welcome! I really planned on just documenting the process for myself and was going to just do it in something like a Word document. A co-worker convinced me to use a blog (my first ever). I'm glad I went that route so if anything I did (or did wrong!) might be able help out someone else in their own build. I'm thinking about doing a 3 or 4 part video series on the build sometime early next year... unfortunately, I didn't capture any video at the time (just lots of photos) as the idea of a RUclips channel had not even crossed my mind at that point. But thanks for taking time to watch and comment!
Aww man good job it looks like a super fun build with a super fun pay off
Thanks! It was more fun at some times more than others! Overall, I'm really happy with the outcome, but there were a lot of struggles and adjustments along the way and my woodworking skills were (and still are) limited. I'm still glad I did it and it still gets used on a routine basis, but I'm not in any big hurry to build another one. My original plan was to build two... this one and a cocktail table version. After completing this one, I abandoned the cocktail version idea!
Thanks for watching and taking time to comment. I appreciate it.
Very cool. Like that you share your thoughts also by blog
Thanks! I'm glad I took the time to document the build as I went along. Since it is now almost 4 years ago since I built it... and I haven't had to do any real maintenance on it... I need to use the blog sometimes to remember how I did something when I get a question about it!
Definitely saving all this info for a future build I want to do. Nice job and Thanks!
You're more than welcome. I hope when time comes for your own build, you can use some of what I learned to help you. Good luck!
You really did a great job! My intention is also to build one of those. Though it will take much of my time, your cabinet is proving that its worth the work.
Thank you! My best recommendations are to spend time planning and considering the key things you want for your cabinet. Then take your time when building. I really wanted to rush the "boring" things like sanding and painting and get to the "fun" stuff, but made myself be patient and do everything right the first time. Good luck with your build, and thanks for taking time to comment!
WOW this is a really great work!
Thank you! And thanks for taking time to watch and posting a comment.
Outstanding craftsmanship! Its gorgeous!
That is a sweet DIY cab, you've done a great job my friend . looks great 👍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you! I'm just happy it turned out OK. There were a few times during the build that I had my doubts! And thanks for taking the time to watch and posting a comment.
@@ResinChemTech you're welcome my friend.👍
Great cab, nothing beats building one yourself I built a capcom big blue cab a couple years ago and honestly it was the best couple months building it,
Same here! I thoroughly enjoyed the entire build... from the woodworking (where I had very little experience), to the electronics and wiring and to the actual coding and emulator configuration. It was by far the most complicated thing I had built at the time. I would spend the day building and the evening documenting what I had done. I eventually turned this into an entire blog based on encouragement from some co-workers. I don't make many updates to that blog anymore, but it's kind of fun for me to go back every now and then and re-read it and relive the process ( retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/ ).
There might be a few things I'd do different if I were to build one today, but mine is now over five years old and has held up very well. It still functions like the day I built it.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment... I appreciate it!
You killed it man, your cabinet is awesome!
Very nice cabinet. Amazing work.
Well done! I'm in the home stretch of finishing up my Star Wars themed cabinet... I can certainly appreciate the fine detail you put into this!
Thank you! And thanks for taking the time to comment. I'm still happy with the cabinet, considering my very limited woodworking skills. Good luck with the Star Wars cabinet. I'd love to see some photos when its finished.
@@ResinChemTech thanks! Well you fooled us all... it looks quite pro. I'll definitely be unveiling it soon. I'm very happy with the result so far. Few more tweaks to make. Bit of a different approach since it's a themed cabinet and I really put more attention into the "cockpit" details... lots of great blinking lights and details. One thing that really impressed me about your cabinet is the attention with the LED lighting system.
Very nice job. Enjoy!
Awesome… think I know what my new project will be!
amazing work!!!!
Nice work my dude!
Great Work!
Thanks... I appreciate it. I still use the machine on a regular basis and it has held up exceptionally well. Thanks for watching.
Love the led buttons what kind. Presentation is great
All the controls are from Ultimarc. Links are in the video description.
Man that is awesome! Great job. Wish we were neighbors lol
Thanks! I wish I had some neighbors that were into DIY electronics and home automation. Most have an Alexa and think that since they can ask it turn on a lamp, they live in a "smart home"!
Very nice very nice indeed.
Thanks! I really do appreciate you taking time to watch and to comment. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I do not consider myself a woodworker, so I was pleased with the final results, but I was much more comfortable with the electronics and software than I was with the saw and the router!
Good job on your project. That is a nice machineto big for my place, but good design.
nice design! thanks for the video
Thanks! And thanks for watching and commenting!
Can you do a tutorial on how to get the joysticks setup and switch from 4 way to 8 way with retropie?
I'd be happy to.... if there was really anything to show. It was literally just adding a configuration line to RGBCommander to define my joystick type and turning it on:
Once this is done, RGBCommander will dynamically change the SERVOSTIK from 4 to 8 way as needed based on this configuration. I wish I could take credit for developing something more complicated, but it really was that easy!
Very nice!!
Thanks.... and may the odds be ever in your favor!
I also like the front end application. What's the front end software you installed and the trackball what kind.
The software used is RetroPie. There are links in the video description, along with a link to a blog dedicated to the entire process, including the parts used.
Could you share the final build pans and material list of this cabinet? If so, that would be awesome!!
The parts I used, along with diagrams, the build process and more are all documented in my blog dedicated to just building this arcade (check the pages listed down the right hand side): retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/
And last but not least the encoder you use.
in here at 718 reviews before this blows up in youtube recommended. very nice cabinet!!
Thank you! For being a pretty new channel (and learning as I go), I've been pretty pleased with the views. In hindsight, I wish I would have shot video when I was actually building it. But that was a long time before I thought about a RUclips channel. The only reason I created the blog was really to document the process for myself, but it has been much more popular than I expected too! Thanks again for taking time to comment.
Very nice!. Interesting you showed Defender - because that's suppose to have the REVERSE button at the bottom of the joystick so you hit it with your left thumb. You probably still have enough room to add that in.
Thank you. Yeah, lots of games have button layouts other than the 'standard 6'. But with 400+ arcade games, I had to find a happy medium that worked the best across all games. For Defender, I actually did map the lower left button to reverse, and find I can reach it with my thumb while still using the joystick. Some games fit the control layout better than others!
Great job! 🎉
Trackball is Ultimarc or other?
Please can you send me link. Thx
All the controls, including the trackball, are Ultimarc. You can find links to almost all the parts I used in one of the articles in the blog where I document the entire build: retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/2022/07/parts-list.html
Sir you have built exactly what I want! Bonus points for the movie quote hahha.. Is this doable with a pc? Some of the game I want are newer and I hate load times. Also the restricted plate and button light up based on how many controls are used in the game...next level.
Glad you caught the movie quote! Believe it or not, I had not rehearsed that and it just popped into my head as I was filming!
Yes... by all means you could use a PC to run more powerful games and more recent emulators (like Playstation and XBox series). My goal was to focus on 80's arcade games, and since I was gifted the Raspberry Pi and wanted to learn more about it, it was plenty powerful for the games I wanted.
Just as an FYI... I've just started a series of videos on the actual build process of this cabinet (Part 1 is out... Part 2 will be out soon). In the last part of the series, I do plan to talk a bit more about the software and options for things like using a PC or alternate software (like RecallBox vs. RetroPie). As I mention in these videos, it doesn't take any special skills, an extravagant workshop or a lot of special tools to build a cabinet like this. Just some planning and patience! But it was one of the most satisfying projects I've done, so I would encourage you to really think about building your own.
Good job.. Wish I had one.. ;-)
Thanks! I'm still glad I took the time and effort to build this one as opposed to buying a retail multicade. I never could have gotten all the games I really wanted in a retail version... and I would have spent more money to boot. Thanks for taking time to watch.
I wanna make my own.. eventually.
Honestly, it's not that difficult. It takes more patience than talent! I had no real woodworking skills and limited tools (I even had to borrow a portable table saw). Pretty much just a jig saw, circular saw, drill and palm router is what I used. I'm thinking about doing a series of videos on my actual build process soon.
Amazing build! Im interested in the joysticks yiu used. Can you tell us which specific joysticks you used? And does the red light, that ells you when it switched between 4 and 8 way, come with it or was that something you programmed?
Thanks! My joysticks are the Ultimarc Servostiks (www.ultimarc.com/arcade-controls/joysticks/servostik/). No, the red LED indicator did not come with them. It is something I wired to the servo myself so that it would indicate whenever power was applied and the servo was moving the restrictor plate.
Wow well done, have you thought of doing a vertical cabinet too
Thanks. I've toyed with the idea of building a second cabinet... maybe a cocktail table version. But I kinda' feel like I've already "been there, done that", so I haven't been real motivated to start the whole process over again. If I even do build a second cabinet, I'll probably try to do something completely different... maybe even a different platform... like PC/RecalBox instead of Raspberry PI/RetroPie. But that's somewhere down the road if it happens at all.
Thanks for watching and taking time to comment!
@@ResinChemTech I'm working on a cocktail cab build around a nice peice of glass I got from a peice of furniture someone was tossing away, nice square tempered glass. It's not that bad of a build, way easier than the one in your video here.
I'm using a 60 in 1board for mine
Good luck! Drop me a note to let me know how it comes out.
You could tried to make the monitor turn for games that are played vertically . FPGA could be a good choice in the future.
Very nice cabinet! How did you get the Ultimarc ServoStik to interface with Retropie? Is there a guide or something you followed to get it to do the automatic switching? I have these joysticks installed in PC based arcade cabinets but no idea how to make it work with the pi.
In my case, the "secret sauce" was RGBCommander. This not only controlled the button LED lights, but also the 4/8-way joystick settings. Each arcade game is defined within RGBCommander... nearly all my games were already there, but it was easy to add the ones that weren't. Unfortunately, RGBCommander is only for Linux systems so I don't think that will work in your case. Ultimarc does offer a DLL for interfacing that controls the joysticks. Someone may have developed a utility that runs in a Windows environment, but I'm not directly aware of one. Sorry I can't be more help here!
@@ResinChemTech thanks for the response. Any idea if it is possible to use RGB Commander for only the ServiStick 4/8-way switching (no button lights)? I assume so but I’m not sure how to get that running on the pi. I’ll have to research. I built this small bartop cabinet (ruclips.net/video/_Y2k7yyS52k/видео.html) but never sorted out the joystick and I’d like to get it working 100% if I can. I only have a handful of games on it from a handful of systems but honestly only really care about arcade games and my favorite ones are all 4-way so they don’t play that great!
Worst case, you could use a toggle switch to manually switch the joysticks. I added one to my cabinet in case I couldn't get the software version/RGBCommander to work. Yeah, it's not as nice as the 'auto-select' when you pick a game, but if the majority of your arcade games are 4-way, then you'd just have to toggle for those games and then back to 8-way for other emulators/games. To be honest, I was shocked (and very happy) that the auto-rotation worked! I really figured I was going to have to use the toggle switch myself. To answer your other question, I think you should be able to use RGBCommander for just the joysticks. The commands to set the LED lights would just be ignored since nothing would be connected to the controller board. Good luck... and let me know if I can help out any further.
great job. where did you got the plans for the cabinets?
Actually, I didn't have any plans. I spent a lot of time studying other cabinets and designed it myself. I first drew things out at 1/4 scale and then at 1/2 scale. I also used a tool called SketchUp to try to help visualize the dimensions.
Looking at the date of this video I would have made my around the same time. Started off with Retropie but I actually ended up using Batocera.
I considered some other options, but I was given a Pi as a gift and wanted the opportunity to learn about it, along with some Linux along the way. A PC-based cabinet would have had a lot more power for later emulators, but since my primary interest was 80's arcade games, the Pi was plenty of horsepower.
Did you build the slot machine
I would like to build one of those
Ha... no! The slot machine was purchased from a reseller that gets them from actual casinos when they are ready to replace them. I believe he told me that this particular one came off a riverboat casino in Ohio. So, it's the "real deal" that you'd find in a casino somewhere. It accepts (and pays out) in quarters and also has a bill acceptor. As an added bonus, it serves as a change machine for the arcade. You can put in a $5 bill then cash out and get $5 worth of quarters to use for the arcade games!
How did you decide on your button layout? Not like a traditional cabinet... I’m thinking I want the feel of how it was... but maybe I’m missing something...? Also, do you have a way to remap buttons if needed? Thanks
I spent a lot of time studying the layout of original game cabinets (where both the number and layout of buttons vary widely depending upon the game) and online layout templates to try to determine both the best number and the layout of the buttons I wanted. What I ended up with was what I felt was the best compromise... also keeping in mind that the cabinet would also play Nintendo, Sega, Atari games, etc. There are many, many alternative options, but that's how I came up with mine. To your second question... yes, buttons can be mapped at the overall system level, the emulator level and/or at the individual game level.
How do I access your blog about the arcade build?
It was listed in the video description, but here is the link again: retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/
Been trying for the longest time to put Daphne and Dragons Lair on my Retropie setup. Any tips on how to do it?
Wish I had a magic answer for you. I know that I struggled and struggled to get the Daphne emulator to run properly under RetroPie. Even today, a few things aren't right (no sound on intro... but fine in the game), but it plays perfectly well. I can only recommend looking on some retro arcade forums or the official Daphne emulator site (which I'm sure you've done). Sorry, wish I could be more help, but it was over three years ago when I created the arcade. I do remember having a tough time getting Daphne to work.
At 8:08 love the wood work how long it took.
What are the dimensions of the finished cabinet? I looked on your blog, but couldn't readily find it. I mainly want to confirm if your shape will fit through my door opening.
Yeah... the dimensions are buried in there and aren't necessarily easy to find, but they are in the Planning the Arcade - Part 1 article: retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/p/planning-arcade-cabinet-when-gecko.html
However, I did make some tweaks as I built it (it's a couple of inches deeper than original plans). As the finished project stands now, the outside cabinet dimensions are 72" tall x 30" wide x 27" deep. So, when turned sideways, it will easily fit through a standard 30" door. Let me know if you have any additional questions!
@@ResinChemTech Yes, I did miss your diagram. I see it now with the dimensions. Sorry if I am being dense, but your diagram shows 28" on the bottom measurement for depth, and that is before the protrusion for the control panel. So I am confused, that you said you later _increased_ the depth to 27. When it looks like its well above 34. Was that a typo, or am I missing something?
Thanks for the quick reply!
No not being dense at all! You are correct about the diagram. But if you read the paragraph immediately following the diagram, I stated that I made some changes and the plan was " Final outside dimensions of 72"h x 30"w x 25"d." Again, I modified it just as I started to build it and added an extra 2" to the depth because I thought it looked too "thin" when I laid it out on the wood. I mention that in one of the posts as well (I think it's the build part 1). I actually just remeasured the cabinet itself and the true finished dimensions of the base cabinet are as I stated above, 72x30x27. The control panel juts out about 1 1/2" beyond that, but it can be installed after the cabinet is in place. So, again, turned sideways, you'd be looking at 27" to fit through the door if you built it to my same dimensions.
Would you be able to share the dimensions of your cabinet or the sketch up files? This is great work!
You can find all the gory details in my related blog from start to finish, but I specifically cover the cabinet dimensions on this page: retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/p/planning-arcade-cabinet-when-gecko.html. I did some "game day" tweaks during the actual build, but final dimensions ended up as 72"h x 30"w x 28"d.
@@ResinChemTech Great. Thank you so much! This is awesome info. Much appreciated.
What size monitor did you use?
It is a BenQ 27" monitor. I selected this particular display because it had the button controls on the back (not the bottom or sides) and had a stereo/headphone jack that I needed to drive the sound, since the Raspberry Pi had horrible sound out of it's 3.5mm jack (at least at that time).
Your cabinet is awesome! Would you build a control panel and sell it?
Thanks! I've been happy with it and glad that I tackled the project. But with that being said, I simply don't have time to build and sell the control panel (or any other components for that matter). If you are interested in a pre-built control panel, you might take a look at something like XArcade (I bought my coin door from them): shop.xgaming.com/collections/arcade-joysticks/products/x-arcade-tankstick-trackball-usb-included
@@ResinChemTech Thanks for the response. I really like the design od your cabinet so I will try and build one.
If it is helpful and you haven't seen it, I have an entire blog dedicated to the process and steps I used to build mine. There is a series of step-by-step articles down the right hand side of the blog: retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/
Good luck with your build and feel free to ask any questions along the way if I can help out.
@@ResinChemTech Yes I seen it and will be using it. Hard to see the sketches on the picture even after enlarging it but ill make it work. Thanks for providing this. New subscriber
Yeah... sorry about that. My intent with those sketches was really just to show the planning process I used and not to show the actual dimensions. But I still have all those original sketches, so if there is anything you want to see in better detail, just let me know.
Again, feel free to reach out either here or in the comments of any of the blog articles if I can provide additional details or clarification on any of the steps. But even with the sketches, I made adjustments "on the fly" as I built it and ran into various issues. The sketches were more of a "guide" than precise plans that I exactly followed. Good luck with your build... it was a lot of work, but it was also fun (for the most part)!
i own a rare experiment was an casino arcade moded to gaming was a cherry master
👍🏼👍🏼
How much you spend in the vynil
It cost around $82 (before tax/shipping) for both the top marquee and the control panel. They were from a company called Gameongrafix. But they were very nice quality and packaged nicely.
@@ResinChemTech Nice sir! Im having plans on building a cabinet, i dont know how much im going to spend lol.
Congratulations man I have a raspberry pi but I am too lazy and not motivated like you to build my own but yours look real good
🛠🏆⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great work man!!
ruclips.net/video/DxjHijW_s2g/видео.html
Check out my new cabinet, the builder needs as much support as possible, show him
Your love for his amazing work
Thanks... and you've got a great cabinet too! Definitely more horsepower than mine, but I was focusing primarily on 80's and early 90's games. Love the graphics. I toyed with the idea of adding a vinyl wrap on the sides of mine, but I was fearful of messing it up!
@@ResinChemTech have a go. If you mess it up just take it off again, take your time and it should go on nice, 80s and 90s games were so good, I often play mame on my cab