The arcade system works!! I’ve been working on it a lot over the past few days and here are some of the updates.

I finally finished the wiring and it sure did end up beautiful:

After finishing the wiring I went to work on setting up the computer. I am using just a normal PC computer to run all the games. What took so long is I created a “shell” for it. What that means is I basically removed all traces of windows from it to create the illusion that it is not a normal personal computer.

To do that I created a new splash screen that shows up when you boot the computer to replace the “Windows XP” one. I then removed the mouse cursor, completely removed the desktop so it just shows up all black, I removed the tool bar, removed those annoying tool tips that pop up from time to time on the system tray and I even disabled all the start up and shutdown sounds. The system now shows “MAME” as it starts up and immediately after it it automatically boots to the front end software to load all the games! Its amazing.

If I wanted to get into windows though I still can. I setup a second user so if I were to plug in a keyboard and hit CTL + ALT + DEL I could logout of the MAME user and login to the administrator user that loads Windows XP like normal, so thats good. I did that so I would still have access to the computer to install games or tweak the settings if needed.

The front end I used is called GameEx. To customize the look and feel I built a custom theme for it. I am so pleased with it! It has SO many cool options. As of right now I got it setup so you can load MAME (arcade) games, SNES games, NES games, or Sega Genesis games all from the same loader. You can sort through the games by category such as puzzle or fighter or you can sort by name, year or manufacturer. You can create a list of your favorite games, it keeps a list of your most played games, most recently played games, etc. Its awesome!

So after all that hard work I finally got it to the point where its playable and IT WORKS!!

Now all I have to work on are all the details. I ordered all the artwork for it and I’m still waiting for that to come in. I also ordered a giant LED light that I am going to install behind the marquee so when the machine it turned on the marquee will glow.

Here’s my current to do list:

• Set up the mesh wiring stuff for the cooling vent
• Install carpet on the inside of the control panel & on the inside floor
• Buy art and plexiglass for control panel
• Setup a fan to cool the inside
• Buy and mount the sound system
• Drill holes for two more buttons, a power button and an escape button
• Buy and mount caster wheels
• Buy and mount coin door
• Buy a roll up keyboard
• Buy a wireless mouse
• Mount LED light
• Mount hinge on back door
• Buy and mount edging crap for side panels
• Buy or build a bezel to wrap and hide the TV’s edges so all you can see is the screen
• Buy a universal TV remote
• Buy a cord to output the sound to the sound system
• Mount the cup holders

That’s about it for now! In the mean time, while I work on all the details, stop by the house and you can play it and see it in action!

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