A few general questions about building a MAME cabinet

[The Rook]

I'm in the planning stages of building my own MAME cabinet. I have some parts picked out (controls, speakers, motherboard, etc.) and can manage putting together a lower to mid-range PC capable of emulating the games. But before I start buying stuff a few questions popped into my head:

 

1) What is the best OS and MAME frontend to use?

 

I'd like the machine to turn on and not show the Windows startup screen or boot screens or anything like that. I'd like it to boot as seamlessly as possible into the frontend. I'm not sure what the best frontend is either. I know there is GameEX, Hyperspin, Maximus Arcade all of which are Windows only frontends.

 

2) What is the best monitor to use?

 

With CRTs pretty difficult to come by, especially larger monitors, it seems an LCD or LED monitor is what I will end up with. Is there one that people favor over others or is there something specific to look for with an LCD/LED monitor?

 

3) Monitor orientation: portrait or landscape?

 

Since the monitor will most likely be an LCD or LED monitor it will be 16:9 aspect ratio. How should the monitor be oriented? Are there more games that benefit from a portrait or landscape orientation? This also got me thinking about Punch Out for the arcade. It had 2 screens. How will that be handled with a single screen?

 

Any help answering these questions would be appreciated. And if this is not an appropriate place for these questions please let me know where the best place would be.

 

Thank you.

[Cynicaster]

1) What is the best OS and MAME frontend to use?

 

I'd like the machine to turn on and not show the Windows startup screen or boot screens or anything like that. I'd like it to boot as seamlessly as possible into the frontend. I'm not sure what the best frontend is either. I know there is GameEX, Hyperspin, Maximus Arcade all of which are Windows only frontends.

 

Assuming the project is large enough that computer size and power consumption are not an issue, it is difficult to come up with convincing arguments to use anything other than an old Windows PC. They're widely available, their bang-for-your-buck factor is huge, there are lots of software options/tools available, and the online community is chock full of MAME users who are well-versed in running things with Windows, which makes it easier to get help when you need it (this alone makes it worth it, IMO).

 

The Windows splash screens don't bother me personally, so I've not done anything to remove them, but I believe there are registry hacks and things like that you can do to eliminate them.

 

As for front end, take your pick. Personally, I prefer straight ahead utility and low resource draw over whiz-bang features, so I use MaLa. It's a discontinued FE but it still does what I need so I continue to use it. But everybody's preferences are different. All of the ones you listed are reputable and will probably work well, just bear in mind that some of the fancier ones probably require more modern PCs to run smoothly.

 

 

 

2) What is the best monitor to use?

 

With CRTs pretty difficult to come by, especially larger monitors, it seems an LCD or LED monitor is what I will end up with. Is there one that people favor over others or is there something specific to look for with an LCD/LED monitor?

 

I've got one system with a CRT and one with a 4:3 LCD, and to me, the CRT is the better display for MAME. They weigh a freakin' ton though, and are really large in the "depth" direction which requires a large cabinet to put them in. LCD's are featherweights and easy to mount. There are those who claim that you see control lag with LCDs but I've not noticed that with mine.

 

 

 

3) Monitor orientation: portrait or landscape?

 

Since the monitor will most likely be an LCD or LED monitor it will be 16:9 aspect ratio. How should the monitor be oriented? Are there more games that benefit from a portrait or landscape orientation? This also got me thinking about Punch Out for the arcade. It had 2 screens. How will that be handled with a single screen?

 

Regardless of how you mount it, the shape is wrong, so you'll have to either stretch the image (please don't do this) or live with the black "bars" on the sides or top/bottom. Most golden-age arcade games used vertical monitors, and many later ones used horizontal monitors. I guess you just have to figure out what games you'll be playing most and suit it to that. I'm going to resist using 16:9 monitors for MAME projects for as long as I can get away with it, but if had to use one, I'd probably mount it "landscape" and use the blank areas on the left/right to display bezel art.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Cynicaster

[TPA5]

I'm in the planning stages of building my own MAME cabinet. I have some parts picked out (controls, speakers, motherboard, etc.) and can manage putting together a lower to mid-range PC capable of emulating the games. But before I start buying stuff a few questions popped into my head:

 

1) What is the best OS and MAME frontend to use?

 

I'd like the machine to turn on and not show the Windows startup screen or boot screens or anything like that. I'd like it to boot as seamlessly as possible into the frontend. I'm not sure what the best frontend is either. I know there is GameEX, Hyperspin, Maximus Arcade all of which are Windows only frontends.

 

2) What is the best monitor to use?

 

With CRTs pretty difficult to come by, especially larger monitors, it seems an LCD or LED monitor is what I will end up with. Is there one that people favor over others or is there something specific to look for with an LCD/LED monitor?

 

3) Monitor orientation: portrait or landscape?

 

Since the monitor will most likely be an LCD or LED monitor it will be 16:9 aspect ratio. How should the monitor be oriented? Are there more games that benefit from a portrait or landscape orientation? This also got me thinking about Punch Out for the arcade. It had 2 screens. How will that be handled with a single screen?

 

Any help answering these questions would be appreciated. And if this is not an appropriate place for these questions please let me know where the best place would be.

 

Thank you.

 

1: Windows is a fine OS. There are ways to hide the bootscreens and whatnot, just do a little web searching and it should avail you. I've heard good things about GameEx. Hyperspin is good, but hard to setup. Maximus Arcade is alright, but isn't updated anymore.

 

2: Just go for an LCD monitor. CRT's are a pain in the ass the mount and deal with, especially for a casual MAME cab. Nothing really specific to look for as far as flat panels go, just get one that looks pleasing to you and is the right size.

 

3: Depends on the games you want to play. There's no "right" answer. If you're more interested in horizontal games, there's your answer. Same for vertical. Not sure about multiple screens in MAME. Some folks run a horizontal monitor, then just play verticals on it. Doesn't work as well, to be fair. Just think about the kinds of games you want to play the most.

 

Like Cynicaster said, you can set up MAME to have artwork displayed in the black borders of the screen. Looks fine in my humble opinion. Or, the black borders might not even bother you.

 

Most important thing is to decide what games you want to play most, and set it up for that. Because arcade cabs were so unique, trying to design a MAME cab that can "play em all" is an exercise in frustration. Instead, decide what you want to play the most and design the cab for that. You'll be happier you did.

Edited October 10, 2017 by TPA5

[The Rook]

So it sounds like Windows will be fine and boot screens can be hidden. I did a little digging this afternoon and found a video were one guy hid pretty much everything, boot screen, windows welcome screen, windows login, so I should be able to do something similar.

 

LCD seems to be the way I'll be going. CRTs are proving difficult to find and it seems that the best commercial CRT was being sold at X-Arcade is no longer being produced.

 

Now, as far as orientation and what games I'd like to play, ideally, all of them, but that might be asking too much.

 

I found a list of vertical arcade games but couldn't find a list of horizontal games.

 

I'd like to make a 2-player cabinet with 2 sets of joysticks and buttons and a trackball in the middle.

 

As far as what games I'd like to play, definitely the classics: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Mr. Do, Lady Bug, Galaga, Galaxian, Q-Bert, etc. But also some 2 player games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men, Simpsons, etc. And definitely Street Fighter 2.

Edited October 11, 2017 by The Rook

[The Rook]

Also, there's another frontend for Windows named Launch Box that has a BigBox mode for TVs and cabinets. I've only seen a few videos showing it. I have no experience with GameEx or Hyperspin. I have used Maximus Arcade, and while it was nice, it uses Flash and hasn't been updated in years at this point.

 

Anyone have any experience with Launch Box with BigBox mode?

 

I'm curious how these frontends would look with a vertically oriented monitor.

[Cynicaster]

The amount of time I spend playing vertical vs. horizontal games is probably very roughly 50/50, and both of my projects use 4:3 displays in the “landscape” orientation. With a 4:3 monitor that is at least 19” this seems to work just fine, IMO. The blank bars on vertical games don’t bother me at all on that setup, so I don’t even bother with the bezel art trick.

 

The 16:9 monitors have broadened the gap between native shapes of arcade screens and the physical shape of the emulation display, so the blank areas might become more conspicuous if you don’t gear your monitor orientation toward the games you prefer.

 

If your first gut reaction in listing games you want to play focuses on golden age classics (Pac-Man, Galaga, DK, etc.) then you might want to strongly consider a vertical monitor.

 

If you’re really into the multi-player simultaneous games (think beat-em-ups, fighters, sports games), which are almost always horizontal, then the horizontal mounting is almost a no-brainer because I think having more than one person huddled around a game calls for a larger image, so you don’t want it squeezed down to fit on a vertically mounted monitor.

 

There are guys in the MAME community who absolutely insist on having separate cabinets dedicated to horizontal and vertical games. Personally, I find the compromise of a single cabinet to be more than acceptable.

 

Some guys even build in displays that rotate, like this (skip to just before the 7:00 mark to see the screen rotate):

 

 

EDIT: as for the front-ends, again, try not to overthink it. Pick one that fits in your budget and needs, and go with it. Some guys really go down a rabbit hole in trying to configure the front end with pictures and videos and all that, and never actually get around to playing games... which is kind of a shame, IMO.

Edited October 11, 2017 by Cynicaster

[VectorGamer]

For MAME cabinets I always use Windows XP with Powertoys. Powertoys will allow you to login automatically. You can run MSCONFIG and select the NOGUIBOOT option to hide the Windows splash screen. There are other things you can do like setting the desktop background to a solid black, eliminate all desktop icons, hide the taskbar and use an invisible mouse pointer.

 

From there I have a BAT file that launches on startup, calls the front end executable, waits for the front end to close and then executes the shutdown command. I have a button wired up inside the coin door that when pressed it shuts down the front end.

 

I use Kymaera as a front end. It's pretty simple to setup, you can dress it up as much as you want and it can be a front end for multiple emulators. For example, I'm running MAME and Misfit MAME on one cabinet and all I have to do is move the joystick left/right to switch between emulators.

 

I have two MAME cabinets - one for joystick games and the other for trackball games. Both have the monitors oriented vertically. There are some horizontal games running on those cabinets and yes they would look better on a horizontal monitor but it's not so bad that I would get a dedicated cabinet with a horizontal monitor.

 

As far as monitors go, I bought 19" LCDs from Suzo Happ.

[The Rook]

Is anyone using a Raspberry Pi 3 for a MAME cabinet?

 

I think because of the difficulty with obtaining a CRT I'm going to go with an LCD in horizontal orientation. Then maybe down the road I could look into have a dedicated horizontal and dedicated vertical. But I think I first need to build one, see how much use I get out of it.

[Cynicaster]

I'm running a Raspberry Pi 3 on one of my projects, but only because I had severe constraints on space and power consumption, which made the Pi the only workable option.

 

Having used multiple different hardware platforms for MAME, IMO, the Pi is not a good option unless it's the only option. Does it work for lots of MAME games? Sure, but not without compromises. For starters, you're forced to run ancient versions of MAME with less game support (v0.78 I believe is the standard). The first time I played Donkey Kong on the Pi, I noticed that the sounds were off. Due to the limited processing power you don't have the video filters available to make the image look less ugly on a LCD screen.

 

Everybody likes to point out how inexpensive the Pi is, but it's not really inexpensive in the context of MAME projects. For the same money (or less) you should easily be able to find an old PC that will allow you to run different (newer) versions of MAME, play more demanding games, give you more choices of front end, etc.

 

The nice thing about full-sized, non-portable MAME projects is you have very few constraints on choice of hardware. In light of that, it seems strange to pay the same (or more) for less capability, but still, lots of guys seem to do it.

[Metal Jesus]

1) What is the best OS and MAME frontend to use?

 

I used to use HyperSpin...and it was good...but a pain to setup. Now I switched to Launchbox and their Big Box mode and I'll never go back. Great support, tons of options and perfect for when you have a party and you just wanna have anybody play on it.

 

[The Rook]

Does it work for lots of MAME games? Sure, but not without compromises. For starters, you're forced to run ancient versions of MAME with less game support (v0.78 I believe is the standard). The first time I played Donkey Kong on the Pi, I noticed that the sounds were off. Due to the limited processing power you don't have the video filters available to make the image look less ugly on a LCD screen.

 

Okay, I don't really want to be forced to run older versions of MAME.

 

Seems like Windows is definitely the way to go.

[The Rook]

 

I used to use HyperSpin...and it was good...but a pain to setup. Now I switched to Launchbox and their Big Box mode and I'll never go back.

 

 

I believe one of the videos I saw online about Launchbox was yours!

 

I don't remember, are you only using it for arcade games or do you have other systems on there as well? Maybe I'll have to rewatch your video...

[Keatah]

Seems like Windows is definitely the way to go.

 

I'm fairly certain Windows has the widest range of emulators available. And the general tools and file management utilities to support them. You're going to get better hardware too. Fast i7s and i9s if you want them. And all kinds of support.

 

 

I'm running a Raspberry Pi 3 on one of my projects, but only because I had severe constraints on space and power consumption, which made the Pi the only workable option.

 

The nice thing about full-sized, non-portable MAME projects is you have very few constraints on choice of hardware. In light of that, it seems strange to pay the same (or more) for less capability, but still, lots of guys seem to do it.

 

Space and power consumption are advantages for an R-Pi. But I think we're at the point in emulation (in general) where we want a little more power and versatility.

 

I've been kinda wanting to get away from the full-size cab because of transportability. So Bartop-class and small XPC Cube or STB units have become my fav. And they have room for a full-function motherboard.

[atarilovesyou]

I would love to build my own cabinet...but I pretty much had enough trouble just getting MAME to work (with help from fine folks here) a few years back.

 

I'm bad with the monitors: I'd go CRT only, and if I could only have one, and oversized horizontal CRT so that vertical games could be played with the black bars on the side...I don't mind too much.

 

That said, new CRTs are expensive. I looked at X Arcade over the years and their supply is dwindling and getting more and more expensive.

 

I don't want an LED screen, that much is certain. I'd go used from an old machine.

 

Best of luck!

[The Rook]

That said, new CRTs are expensive. I looked at X Arcade over the years and their supply is dwindling and getting more and more expensive.

 

They are out. I checked several months ago. The CRT for MAME is out of stock and no longer in production. It was expensive too.

[Master Phruby]

A few months ago I built a MAME box using an X-Arcade Tank Stick and a Raspbery Pi 3. See pictures below. It works pretty well except for the ancient version of MAME that RetroPi uses. One thing to consider since it is a tight fit, the Pi does get hot playing games around the Super NES level of graphics. It is recommended to put in a fan or at least a vent in the box. You also need to take apart a power supply in order to make it fit and solder leads to a plug. Nice thing about this setup it is completely reversible.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2017 by Master Phruby