So it's early in the morning . . .

It's one of those nights where you're tired, but actually don't feel like sleeping.  I stayed up late to chat and hang out with my stepson, who'll be leaving for college in another month or so.  We talked cars, games, etc.  I'm finally starting to rest, now that I'm on a CPAP machine.  It turns out I have really bad sleep apnea, and the CPAP is slowly bringing me back to having energy to burn some midnight oil.  Tonight I decided to get a 'master' computer set up with all my MAME  game roms.  It took some time, as I have a few THOUSAND!  Also the fact they were originally on CD when I got them several years ago increased the task time.  Being able to finally get them fully onto a machine (as well as most of them on a jump drive) will make downloading them to the other PCs MUCH easier.

The RetroMameArcade podcast is almost ready - funny how almost everything I plan ends up taking longer than I think.  It's been a learning experience, but also fun.

Been starting to work on the black light bezels for the ceiling, as well as the black light fish tank.

Also (if I'm lucky), the Horizons cab will be done within the next two weeks. . . .WOOHOO!!!

Wish I had more, but I've had lots of home / garden projects to take care of, as well as rebuilding my old Kawasaki 650 motorcycle.

More later.  Live the arcade dream!!

Not necessarily slacking . . . .

I actually have a decent reason for not posting for a couple of months.  I've been working on a MAME-based project with a good friend of mine.  No, it's not a cab or anything like that.   It's actually a web site for MAME enthusiasts called RetroMameArcade.net.

It's still under construction, but the cool part of it all is that the web site will be a supplement to our upcoming podcast.  The podcast (still in process) will be available soon -  the plan is to have it up on iTunes, etc. by mid-June.  It's going to cover pretty much all things MAME-ish.  From general tech, to desktop control panel construction, to cabinet and and MAME-based arcade builds (real surprise there).

We're hoping to make it fun (and a little sassy).  I've been using my midnight oil over the past few weeks, tweaking the sound and production of the podcast.  We're still creating content, and figuring out the details of what true direction we're going to have the podcast take.

Can't wait for the first podcast to hit iTunes . . . I'll keep you posted!!

New and improved blog . . . well, it will be soon.

   I ditched my arcade web site, as I wasn't utilizing the web space enough to make it worth the expense.  But since Blogger allows us the option to add pages, etc., I'm basically going to move the web site over to the blog.

   So soon I will have a few 'pages' set up for you the check out.  There'll be a page dedicated to my arcade cabinets, showing the build progress, stats and costs for each one, etc. I'll also have a Tech Tips & Tricks page, as well as a page dedicated to all things MAME.  I'll probably add another page for the game room itself, showing how it's being decorated, lights & wiring, nick-nacks, etc.

   Overall, it will create a more complete arcade blog experience.  I'm going to post a bunch of pics for the Horizon cabinet build soon, as it's basically a finished project.  Keep checking in!

Christmas Vacation, My Ass . . .

Well, here's a surprise.  Didn't get time to work on anything arcade-related.  Too much stuff going on with family holiday get-togethers, housework / home repairs and taking care of the baby while the daycare was closed.  Baby brought home an awesome cold / sinus infection for the holidays, and we've all been getting it. The wife and I are still sick.

While I haven't had time to actually 'work' on it, I have been thinking the directions I'm wanting to take with the game room.  I've decided to nix the idea of a cabinet that's dedicated to the 3d Pinball! game that I have.  Even though it's a great emulator, it's not the same as a real pin.  I've also chosen to forego making a sister cabaret cab to the Horizons cab.  The reason is simply that while a cabaret cab is enjoyable, it's not the most comfortable cab to play at.  I would rather have another full-size upright.  Also, the cocktail cab I will should cover all of those vertical-screen games that the Horizons cab isn't designed for.  So my thinking has gone to actually have one REAL cab in the arcade.  Something like a Space Invaders, Robotron, Berzerk, Missile Command or Defender.  I wouldn't mind an Asteroids or Lunar Lander cab, but they're actually too tall to fit in the basement with the suspended ceiling.  Here's the list of what games I want included in the game room (currently):

1.  MAME cabaret cab (Horizons - 95% complete).
2.  MAME cocktail cab (0% complete).
3.  MAME 4-player, full-sized upright cab (0% complete).
4.  Original, real arcade cab (when time & money allows).
5.  Real pinball machine or cockpit / driver-style MAME cab (still pondering)

There is room for only 4 cabs in this game room in its current setup, and I figure the pinball machine, etc. will be last on my 'to-do' list.  Once the baby gets a little older and the teenager moves out on his own, I'll be able to reorganize a couple areas to potentially add more cabs.

That's what I've got for now.  Live the Arcade Dream!!

Have Christmas Vacation, Will Work on the Arcade!

I lucked out and was able to get vacation time off from the 24th of December through the 1st of January.  Actually I kind of had to, as our daycare is closed during that time, so someone's got to stay home and take care of the little one.  At just over 8 months old, he's quite the handful, so I'm still going to have to use the 'moonlight' hours of the evening to work on the game room.  But at least having time off from the normal work day will make it easier to lose a little sleep while pushing towards more progress in the basement.

The Horizons Cabinet:  recently, I was able to get the control panel front cover, back access door and the control front cover-to-keyboard drawer filler panel primed for painting.  I'm hoping on getting the color coats done in the next day or two.  After that, all that really needs done is get the filler peice between the control panel and the monitor bezel installed (once I make it), and adding a little adhesive backed insulation stripping on the cabinet internals, to keep the marquee lighting from shining through a couple gaps.  I do eventually have to look into taking care of some other cosmetics (i.e. paint bleed on the side-art that needs touching up, etc.).  I also have to finish the DOS-based batch file front-end / gaming menu system.

Also on my to-do list over the next week:
1.  Install bezels over the ceiling mounted black lights that shine on the space mural.
2.  Finish painting planet Earth on the space mural and begin working on Saturn.
3.  Look into adding a couple more mirrors (as my budget allows) to the west arcade wall.
4.  Optimize / reorganize console games that are currently in use in the arcade, as they're just kind of a mess all over the northwest corner of the game room.
5.  Finish cleaning out the arcade fish tank and begin testing the current equipment (light/bezel, air pumps etc.).
6.  Begin working on the PC for the next planned arcade cabinet (cocktail).

We'll see how much of this list I get get accomplished, but I'm trying to keep up my enthusiasm, because if I don't see a little more progress, I'm going to get a bit bummed out and possibly a touch crazy!!!  More soon!

When will I get time to work on my dream?!?!?

     Well, it's been a good year for me.  New job, baby, busy family stuff, etc.  The only thing that does suck is the fact that I'm a little older, and being able to stay up late at night to work on hobbies, etc. (FYI - I quit night school for now) has been a rather challenging task.  I'll plan out what I want to do with the arcade some evening, and once everything has been done with taking care of the honey-do's etc. I'm shot and have to go to bed.  Frustrating.

     There's things to do that I already have the material for: finishing up the Horizons Cab, as well as finishing up the front-end menu system for it.  There's work to be done on the space mural, wiring up the black lights in the ceiling, etc. to run from a remote control, and I even have a couple more machines that can be set up with MAME for future cabs.  Also of note is that technically I can get started on the iTunes music kiosk for the arcade as well.  And then there's the arcade fish tank that still needs to be cleaned and painted . . . lot's of things I could work on right now,  if I could get off my tired butt at night and just do it.

     Hopefully I can get some energy and motivation this next month and make things happen.  I'm such a slacker - Geez!!

Finally - a real update!!!!

So yeah . . . it's been a slow year for the arcade.  But it IS still moving.  Progress on the space mural, as well as the Horizons cab.  I've got the control panel front cover and the back access door installed.  All that's left to finish on the cab is the filler panel between the control panel front and the keyboard drawer, a filler between the screen bezel and the control panel top, a little painting and the first cab will be at 100% completion!!

Well . . . I still have to finish up the batch file front-end for Horizons as well, but that's not a big deal, really.  Once this cab is finished, I'll most likely start work on either the cocktail cab or the Hyper 3D pinball cab.  Stay tuned!!