I guess I have built over half a dozen MAME cabs. Having kids was a great excuse to build them. All of my daughters kick ass at "Joust" and were born decades after its heyday.
For me, I finally got to enjoy games like "Robotron" that I sucked so bad at I couldn't, at the time, justify spending a quarter on about a minute of game-play.
MAME allowed me to discover games (I guess mainly Japanese ones?, "Guwange" is an example) I had never experienced in the arcade. I had also missed "Metal Slug" series, happy to discover these games in MAME.
With MAME I rediscovered games I had only briefly seen in the arcades before they were gone: "Tail Gunner", "Omega Race".
I also tried games with MAME I would have passed over in the arcade like "Golden Tee Golf". Really enjoy that one (you need a track ball though!).
MAME did sort of ruin "pay-to-continue" games like "1941". But I sort of hate those games now anyway for having a "pay-to-continue" model.
Pay-to-continue is a concession to the reality that an arcade is designed to generate money. The balanced and high-intensity gameplay gets you interested, the continue feature just takes your money. The solution is to never continue! Try for a 1 credit clear.
how hard is it to build a cabinet ? Do you use real CRT ? (I know there are lots of info on the web, but well, a first hand experience is always nice!)
I tried to show some of the cardboard prototypes too. (A good way to start!). They're roughly in order — my woodworking skills improved as well over the 17 or so years the photos span. I can think of at least two more MAME machines I build that I did not (quickly) find photos for....
I'll add, start simple. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. You can go CRT later (on MAME machine #10, ha ha).
For me, I finally got to enjoy games like "Robotron" that I sucked so bad at I couldn't, at the time, justify spending a quarter on about a minute of game-play.
MAME allowed me to discover games (I guess mainly Japanese ones?, "Guwange" is an example) I had never experienced in the arcade. I had also missed "Metal Slug" series, happy to discover these games in MAME.
With MAME I rediscovered games I had only briefly seen in the arcades before they were gone: "Tail Gunner", "Omega Race".
I also tried games with MAME I would have passed over in the arcade like "Golden Tee Golf". Really enjoy that one (you need a track ball though!).
MAME did sort of ruin "pay-to-continue" games like "1941". But I sort of hate those games now anyway for having a "pay-to-continue" model.