Bubble Bobble themed Bartop Arcade Build

AndersHP

@Rookervik What would it take to make you create some custom graphics for the coin buttons on my arcade, following my Bubble Bobble theme? :-)

See photo above for dimension proportions and my first attempt. It's not that it's really horrible, but I'd just really love to see what you might do...?

Only if you can spare the time, though :-)

Rookervik

@AndersHP I thought yours looked great. Not sure how I could top it.

spruce_m00se

@AndersHP
I have ordered some parts to make the lighting work better,
but so far I have taken this guys idea:

and I have coded it into arduino, I have made a series of different flash patterns that are randomly selected, and each flash pattern has on and off cycles which are randomly generated from similar values to what this guy has used on youtube, I have added a little flicker to the off cycle, and then programmed it to sometimes turn on normally and turn off normally, again randomly generated events.

I have also added a multi jog wheel to it which I am using to adjust the brightness.
I am going to play around making the light fade on a bit when it turns on, to make it a bit more realistic.

I am also planning to use the multijog to control the volume on the cabinet, that shoudl be possible, so I can select between volume or brightness from one multijog.

when I get the parts etc and its all working "impressivly " i will post a video, for now it is just controlling single LED's until the control board for the strips turns up.

In theory I could also make it control the colour for RGB led lighting,

And I plan to use the arduino to control the PI, I will use the push button "reset" script for the pi, and an output pin of the arduino to emulate the reset of the Pi, so the arduino turns the Pi on and off, and the user can shut down in the menu still if they like. Doing it like this, I can make the arduino turn off the lights when the Pi shuts down, and then with the realy board thats coming I can turn the TV and Speakers off with the Pi also, and then have the lights, sound and tv activate at any point duirng the Pi;s boot process.

Anniecrann

@TMNTturtlguy said in Bubble Bobble themed Bartop Arcade Build:

@pjft Moving countries! Adventure! No problems, just keep me posted.

I love doing graphic art and design and something like this actually doesn't take that much time or effort. I could put together a similar bubble bobble graphic package in maybe 2 hours. The time consuming part is being picky and never happy! Finding the right high quality images is the trick and that can take time as well, but all in, it is fun and easy to do, so it will be no problem.

I thought it would take more than 2 hours. Very time-cosuming

spruce_m00se

@Anniecrann I think once you have done it once and have the templates then it is just a case of finding the right artwork and putting it in the right place

AndersHP

New photos added! Now I'm only missing the bezel and marquee area, before this project is all finished! Can't wait! :-)

AndersHP

The project's all finished! Check out the last few pictures - I'm really happy with the result! :-)

spruce_m00se

it looks sweet! I just painted my cab today with a roller, I wish I had been able to get it sprayed, putting it back together after painting was a ballache!

MattyL42

Awesome job buddy! What did you secure the marquee in with and how did you do the push to credit buttons or where did you get them from? That's a brilliant idea. The colour makes them look like coin entry slots!

AndersHP

@mattyl42 said in Bubble Bobble themed Bartop Arcade Build:

Awesome job buddy! What did you secure the marquee in with and how did you do the push to credit buttons or where did you get them from? That's a brilliant idea. The colour makes them look like coin entry slots!

Thanks man! The marquee is actually a tight fit, so it's holding itself in place. That way it's easy to get to, if something happens to the light or speakers behind it, but still no visible screws or such.

The coin buttons are supposed to look like old-school slots! They're red buttons from arcadeworlduk, with a black/white printed piece of paper with the graphics behind the glass. I got the BubbleBobble graphics from a Zonaarcade community thread (lots of artwork in there, by the way!) and the coin I found on google ("coin sprite"), then I edited the parts together and did the text myself in GIMP :)

caver01

@andershp finished result looks great! Now you can tweak the software config for the rest of your life!

AndersHP

@caver01 this is so true, I can't believe it :-D

gforce31

Love this project. The attention to detail is excellent.

I'm currently planning my own bartop build so this has been really useful reading.

I'm planning on a ninja turtles themed bartop as it was my most played arcade machine as a kid. Have everything set up on the pi3. Ordered il joysticks and suzo happ buttons from arcade world uk which arrived today so things are starting to come together. Just need to decide whether to build the bartop from scratch or to buy a flat pack kit.

spruce_m00se

@gforce31 ive build my cabinet from scratch, if you have the tools I think you will apreciate it more, if you dont have a jigsaw and a router and wont use them for other things I would buy a kit

AndersHP

@gforce31 great to be of inspiration and thanks!
I had a hard time choosing also, but never regretted building my own.

If you have a bit of experience with tools, it's really not that hard. I took my time, especially with the jigsaw cutting, and saw a ton of youtube vids. And a Plunge saw with guiderail is priceless to have at your disposal for the long straight cuts.

If you don't need the tools afterwards, it's also a possibility to rent or loan them perhaps?

AndersHP

Just added an 8bitdo NES30Pro controller to my Arcade Build.

Some of the old console games just play better with a D-Pad on a controller, plus it's better for casual comfy gaming!

caver01

@andershp How do you like that controller? I picked up two via Massdrop some months back but I haven't set them up yet. I plan to do another build project, this time as a set-top box using these controllers. I have read mixed reviews.

spruce_m00se

@andershp I have a ds4 controller on my arcade machiene, and when I want to do comfy gaming I run a 10m HDMI out of it onto the main tv instead of the one in the cabinet, it works a treat!

AndersHP

@caver01 Sounds like a cool idea, been tinkering with that thought myself.

I quite like the controller actually. Setup was easy (followed this guide), and I think the responsiveness of the controller is good.

Finished the last 2 levels in Kirbys Adventure and started on Chrono Trigger yesterday and these console games just play good from the couch. Haven't charged the controller yet (but then again, gaming time has only been like 3-4 hours or so).

I haven't really tested the analog Sticks, they configure fine in ES, but maybe the few PSX games I tested didn't support them (Destruction Derby, Alundra). Otherwise I may have to edit my retroarch.cfg files ...?

Overall I think the controller is nice. The glowing light and the NES look is cool, and I like the buttons and sticks. Also the size is fine, I think.

If I should put my finger on something, I'd like it to weigh a little bit more, and the tactile feel to the buttons on the up- and downside (bluetooth, power and shoulder buttons) are a bit too easily pressed.

Please, do share your thoughts of it when you set it up.

AndersHP

@spruce_m00se Yeah I can see this would work also.