Talk:FAQ

Links to review:

1. restoration --04:34, 11 December 2013 (EST)~
2. basics --Felsir Felsir (talk) 07:09, 11 December 2013 (EST)
3. Arcade_Cabinet Felsir (talk) 05:35, 12 December 2013 (EST)

I've updated the page; it seemed that the FAQ had more information than this page, so I duplicated a lot of content from the FAQ to this page. I'm thinking what extra info could be added on this separate page...Felsir (talk) 08:57, 17 February 2014 (EST)

1. Driving_Controls Felsir (talk) 05:39, 17 December 2013 (EST)
2. Lighting (currently only deals with marquee, should eventually include all lighting options and branch out to specialized pages) Felsir (talk) 10:17, 18 December 2013 (EST)
3. MAME the page looks messy and outdated. Felsir (talk) 07:24, 9 January 2014 (EST)
4. MAME Variants Added to go more in depth. Felsir (talk) 07:24, 9 January 2014 (EST)

The list of emulators is outdated/incomplete (new stuff has arrived since the old wiki!). Once the FAQ is done, I think the emulator section will be my top priority (as this is where I struggled the most when setting up my own cabinet).Felsir (talk) 07:44, 8 January 2014 (EST)

Several emulators for the list [here]. PL1 (talk) 21:22, 1 February 2014 (EST)

1. Neo-Geo added, so the FAQ doesn't have broken links. Felsir (talk) 05:58, 17 February 2014 (EST)
2. Supermodel added, likewise. Felsir (talk) 05:58, 17 February 2014 (EST)

Problem with .GIF file thumbnails

Any idea what is wrong? Should I just convert the files to .JPGs? PL1 (talk) 16:14, 17 February 2014 (EST)

From what I understand is the scaling code for gifs incorrect (see this Mediawiki article). Similar the animated GIFs don't scale (I replaced the animGIF for the Pacmamea by a png- but kept the GIF in the project page). So unless the animation is required, it's best to save them as png files instead. BTW. you're doing awesome work getting all the images transferred *notworthy* Felsir (talk) 04:40, 18 February 2014 (EST)

Let's look at converting the larger .GIFs to .PNGs (<50 files) after all the files and pages are transfered. PL1 (talk) 13:08, 18 February 2014 (EST)

IEC power inlet wiring

Added Wiring#IEC_Fused_Power_Inlet_with_a_Lighted_Switch. Are there any safety disclaimers to add, text that needs correction/standardization, or formatting to fix? PL1 (talk) 07:35, 20 February 2014 (EST)

I made this one some time ago:

{{Template:DisclaimerElectricity}}

---DISCLAIMER---

This Wikipage explains how to modify or connect electric equipment. Build Your Own Arcade Controls Wiki recommends reading the manuals of the tools and equipment you are using. Please note that the contents of this website is a collection of advice and experience of many hobbyists. None of the individual contributors or operators of this website can take any responsibility for the results or consequences of any the information presented on this web site.

I have added that one to the section. Note that there is also Template:DisclaimerConstruction Felsir (talk) 06:57, 24 February 2014 (EST)

Community Portal

Ed12 asked here in the forums about how to get started with editing wiki pages.

There's a few sentences under "Be a Contributor!", but should we add a more detailed "how to create a BYOAC wiki page" tutorial on the Community_Portal page including an example using a template and considerations about naming conventions, avoiding orphan pages, etc.?

We might also consider adding an entry in the FAQ like, "How can I edit wiki entries?" that directs readers to the Community Portal page. PL1 (talk) 02:34, 25 February 2014 (EST)

I think that is a good idea. I'll add some text later today. Felsir (talk) 03:28, 27 February 2014 (EST)

Topics to fix/review:

• Links to Table of Contents

This FAQ is pretty long to manually scroll back to the top for mobile users. Should we add a link at the end of each section to return to the Table of Contents? (Not sure how to format the link.) PL1 (talk) 05:44, 4 February 2014 (EST)

This works:

:''[[#top|Back to the top of this document]]''

I've added it to the bottom section, perhaps we can decide on the look/text before adding it to the rest of the topics :-) Felsir (talk) 14:52, 4 February 2014 (EST)

• Malenko brought up a good layout/labeling suggestion to consider when building a 4-player panel [here]

Set up the joysticks/encoder in a 3, 1, 2, 4 configuration so the vast majority of games (1 or 2 player games) have players 1 and 2 in the center.

For 4-player games, if you change the in-game control settings so MAME has players in a 1, 2, 3, 4 configuration it will match up with the screen -- farthest left on the control panel = farthest left on the screen.

The only downside is if you have labels/start buttons with the player# imprint instead of a generic "start" label/vinyl button sticker.

Not sure where this would fit -- any ideas? PL1 (talk) 17:42, 12 February 2014 (EST)

Interesting topic (I hadn't think of that before!) I would guess it fit under the FAQ#Orientation topic? It does go with the construction topic as where to mount P3 & P4 and how that affects the rest of the setup. Felsir (talk) 02:50, 13 February 2014 (EST)

Reated thread [here]. I thought about putting it under orientation, but it mostly involves button choices (#players or "start"), artwork, and remapping in MAME. Given the number of other considerations that are involved in a 4-Player build, it might be good to put a "see also" link under "Orientation", "Buttons - Layout", "What type of build meets my needs?", and [Design Considerations] to a "4-Player Build Considerations" spinoff page that lists many of those considerations -- working list at the thread above. PL1 (talk) 12:59, 13 February 2014 (EST)

A dedicated 4-player considerations/advise page sounds like a good idea. Building a 4 player cabinet involves so much more than just slapping another joystick and a handful of buttons on a controlpanel. Felsir (talk) 03:19, 14 February 2014 (EST)

• What type of joystick should I get for my build?

This is a common question that seems like it belongs in the FAQ. Perhaps include one list of game categories/desirable characteristics and another list of commonly used sticks/characteristics like this: (check/verify data)

Game categories/genres

90's fighters - Med/long throw, circular restriction

Old-school 4-way games - Physical restriction so you can "ride the restrictor"

Twitchy SHMUP - Short throw, med/easy diagonals

Stick characteristics

Happ Competition - Med/long throw, med/hard diagonals, circular restriction

Sanwa JLF - Med/short throw, swappable 4+8-way/circular/octagonal restrictors

Seimitsu LS-32 Short Shaft - Medium throw, many choose to modify the 4-way part of the restrictor plate PL1 (talk) 07:36, 27 February 2014 (EST)

Do we have a list for this? I'm a bit hesitant to suggest specific brands of joysticks- is it possible to make such a list with "what to look for" like short throw or long shaft? (now I think of it, that might be information that is missing in the joystick page- some joystick terminology)Felsir (talk) 03:32, 27 February 2014 (EST)

There's no list that I know of. Maybe we need a short generic answer in the FAQ that sends readers to a more in-depth topic on the joystick page. I agree about defining terms like throw distance and shaft length on the Joysticks page and adding some illustrations as needed. Updated the proposal text above. This will make it possible for us to independently refine the genre/stick descriptions. We may also want to steer readers to Kowal's site for his more in-depth stick measurements/reviews. PL1 (talk) 07:36, 27 February 2014 (EST)

Images to find/make/fix:

Types of Cabs (small)

Banner with Sketchup line drawing of each sub-type with human figure for scale.

Single-Color and RGB LED buttons

Pic showing the lighting and switch wiring.

Requested permission to use/edit the RGB wiring diagram at http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,137025.msg1413332.html#msg1413332 PL1 (talk) 06:35, 11 January 2014 (EST)

Permission received, text on image needs to be edited. PL1 (talk) 07:05, 11 January 2014 (EST)

Screenshots of Command Line MAME and GUI MAME

To illustrate different variants of MAME.

How do I wire microswitches to an encoder?

Made an updated pic for this. Normally, I'd use red for 5v, but the pic with the buttons/wires has a red wire. What do you think? It is pretty easy to change colors or nudge things around as needed. PL1 (talk) 16:45, 2 March 2014 (EST)

Different build versions/variants of MAME

Car analogy

• MAME = factory original, most reliable
• NoNag/HighScore patch = putting on new rims or a spoiler
• Alternate builds = hotrods based on the factory original offering features not found on the original, but sometimes not as reliable

When you get parts (ROMs) for your car (MAME) you not only need to know the name of the part, you need to know the make/model/year -- a headlight for a 1972 Ford Mustang =/= headlight for a 2014 Ford Mustang.

As automotive technology improves year-to-year, several parts are improved, while others stay the same.

I like that analogy! Felsir (talk) 02:47, 10 January 2014 (EST)

I tried to include the analogy in the text but for some reason I struggle with the words :-( It might be an idea to write this in the MAME Variants wikipage? Felsir (talk) 05:49, 11 January 2014 (EST)

Maybe we can hammer out the wording here on the talk page then cut/paste to wherever it works. PL1 (talk) 07:21, 11 January 2014 (EST)

CPU performance chart

A topic that comes up a lot is "will my PC run (emulated) game X?". I was wondering if we could create some kind of scale. Something like a line with on one side names of milestone games, emulator names or "arcade games from year 2001". The other side of the line CPU, GFX card combos? Not sure if at all possible to create something like this with the myriad of combo's out there... It is probably too much for a FAQ, but the topic comes up a lot so it would be nice if it was possible to point to a dedicated wiki-chart for this kind of stuff. Felsir (talk) 05:05, 14 January 2014 (EST)

Something along these lines User:Felsir/cpu-chart. I'll ask some reference points on the forum, let's see where this is heading. Felsir (talk) 05:35, 14 January 2014 (EST)

Lots of threads on that topic. Maybe list various generations of processors (AMD+Intel) and the highest version of MAME that they will run at 100% for 1.)Classics 2.)Majority of games 3.)Toughest game of that MAME version. May want separate tables for MAME and other emulators. PL1 (talk) 05:50, 14 January 2014 (EST)