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Cocktail Virtual Pinball Machine - Powered by GameEx View the full article

I posted this video in another thread but figured I might as well put it where it should go, here in the user cabs section! I have built several GameEx based machines, but i'm most proud of my Cocktail Virtual Pinball Machine. Tom really helped me with a few added options in the new version of GameEx to get this thing running nice and smooth. After watching a lot of the vids and seeing a lot of the pics in here, I wish I had the cosmetic flair ya'll have, but sadly I'm barely just creative enough to make it work, and not creative enough to make it pretty...haha. http://youtu.be/60qGYFDY38s

This theme won't need any templates my friend. !

Custom Vewlix Arcade Cabinet Running GameEx Frontend Thought I'd share my arcade cabinet project, based on the Taito Vewlix with my own touches. Still have a few cosmetics to complete but it's up and running with a PC and Xbox 360 inside. Used advice and write-ups from other custom Vewlix projects around the web. I've hooked up two Mad Catz Tournament Edition Arcade Sticks, as they are USB they work perfect with both the PC and Xbox 360. I can switch the sticks between the PC and 360 by a press of a button on the front of the cabinet. I was bought up on the Sega Megadrive, SNES and N64 era (early / mid 90's) and in the arcades Street Fighter 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bubble Bobble etc... where very popular in local shops and at college. The cabinet itself has a 32" LCD screen, this helped in making it fairly slim depth wise as space in the house is limited. The PC runs Windows 7x64 and boots straight into GameEx and then can be controlled via the sticks. I've designed a custom GameEx theme based on the Viewlix colours and artwork, this goes well with the marquee at the top. There is also a video below showing the GameEx interface in action and near the end my children are having a play on it, even though I don't get a chance to spend much time on it the kids absolutely love it, especially retro's such as Metal Slug, The Simpsons, scrolling beat'em ups etc... which are perfect for them with the simple controls. The Xbox 360 is used mainly for the Street Fighter 4 (X Tekken) and other 2 player beat'em ups.

I brought my Artcade machine out to a Regional Burning Man Festival over the past weekend. Now I have done many events with my machine, but this was the first one that I went to with GameEx (with any front end program really). It was great. Everyone who played any of the Fan Games and a few other titles were blown away with how professional the machine looked and how everything was presented. I didn't seem like a computer in a box, and no one asked about that this time either. And then there was the magic party button. Karaoke. So I couldn't get a mic working before I went out there, and my dumb ass forgot the megaphone. So one morning I woke up, had a couple beers and put on the Karaoke. "I'm on a Boat" to be precice. Then to "Three Little Pigs." At this point I can hear people singing along from outside the walls of my big blue tent. Now I put on "Baby Got Back." One by one, heads started poking in from around the corner. We had them a beer and bring them in. Next thing you know, there are 20 people hanging out inside, all screaming at the Artcade Machine songs such as "Bohemian Rhapsody," "I Saw the Sign," and "Under the Sea." Who needs a microphone when you have a chorus of drunks. Chorusoke! So, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped make and design this program. Also a thanks to everone that had helped me learn how to make my theme. It looked pretty spiffy. Within a few days or so I'll post some screens of my theme. But for now, see a couple pics of the camp.

Heres a few pics of my Discs of Tron themed mame cab running GameEx.. Its my first one & I've just I've just finished it!

Since I just got GameEx on my homebuilt arcade, I should be proper and post pics of it here. Some of the pics are a couple years old, and the machine is getting upgrades so Ill just post the new stats here. Dell PC Win XP 80 gig HD 2 GB ram (not the most impressive PC I know) CRT Monitor Plexiglass Changable Light Bar Signs (with graphics printed on transparencies) Light sockets wired around the top for blacklights Blacklight Paint that is invisible in normal light (thats why its yellow in the day shots and green in the night) Car Filters Vent Fan for a bathroom X-Arcade Tankstick w trackball Aimtrak light gun MAME NES Genisis SNES N64 MUGEN The best Fan Games and Hacked Games I could find And at the hear of my design, Separates into 2 separate boxes with carts for transport. And is powered by 3 deep cycle marine batteries for use in any environment. I designed it to handle the heat and dust of Burning Man. Performs like a champ! Some of my design choices might be a bit primative compared to a lot of ones I've seen here but I knew nothing about building arcade machines, and knew nothing about this online community of people building their own as well.

Well here's an updated shot. I've managed to mount the monitor, add some plexi over that and installed the front external USB outlets. Just needing to bezel the monitor and create an instruction card for GameEx.

My GameEx cabinet is finally done... finally. It's got a so-so computer at it's heart but everything else was built from the ground up. Pain in the ampersand. Thanks to everyone on this great forum for helping me get GameEx running like silk, it really helps the illusion of the arcade machine. BTW - It looks the way it does because my wife insisted it look like a piece of furniture.

Here is mine. It's coming along, just got the control panel done, new side art, marquee, cpo. New monitor but can't figure out how to bezel and mount it. Still a W.I.P.

You guys all do a great job with the finishing!!! I decided to go with a more basic army green, big box for my WOPR... (War Games themed)... Finally decided to post a picture.