I’ve always wanted an arcade machine in my home. But I could never really afford one, in terms of time and space. Recently I thought to myself, “I’m not getting any younger”. So I built an arcade setup mostly just using the things I already had in the home.
Games
The ROMs I have are all stored on my file server upstairs. I can get around a 3gbits/sec connection via my 10gbits/sec home network, so there is no performance ‘hit’ in streaming them off the network drive - it has similar speed and latency to a physical drive. Which is handy, because my ROM collection is way too big for the storage on my gaming PC.
Arcade Games
https://home.davidcraddock.net/PlayNiteHTMLExport/default%20list%20text%20combobox%20quicklinks_platform_ascending_name_ascending.html#quicklink-Arcade shows the arcade games that are currently playable on the setup. I am slowly adding more to the list, once I get the right metadata for them and verify each one is working.
Light Gun Games
https://home.davidcraddock.net/PlayNiteHTMLExport/default%20list%20text%20combobox%20quicklinks_category_ascending_name_ascending.html#quicklink-Light%20Gun%20Games shows the light gun games (both PC native and arcade) that are currently playable on the setup. Again, I am adding more to the list as I go through.
Software
Playnite
I use PlayNite as the ‘hub’ where I access all my games, arcade, retro or modern. PlayNite is - hands down - one of the best piece of open source software I’ve ever seen, let alone used for gaming specifically.
I have a setup which automatically downloads from Youtube a trailer for each game and ROM I have, so you can see the game in action before playing it.
RetroArch
For emulation, I use RetroArch under PlayNite. I put off moving to RetroArch for some time and struggled with using individual emulators, but I should have just gone with it from the start. Now I know how to use it, it’s the best tool for what I want to do - which is emulate many games on dozens of different systems. I just have to configure the controllers for RetroArch ONCE and it will map them fairly easily onto each individual emulator core, which is very very handy!
It uses a system of having multiple third-party ‘cores’ which slot in to the main RetroArch program.
FBNeo RetroArch Core
The FinalBurn Neo RetroArch Core is essentially an arcade machine emulator, not unlike MAME. It will emulate most types of arcade board prior to 2012 or so, including the Neo Geo AES, which is the one most of my ROMs are based around.
Hardware
Arcade Sticks
I use two Arcade Sticks that I’ve had for a while to control the arcade games. Both have 8-way directional joysticks and at least 6 arcade style buttons.
Mayflash Arcade Stick F300 Elite
This is the arcade stick that I generally use as it’s the better of the two. It has genuine Swarma arcade buttons and a American style arcade joystick, which makes the arcade experience more like a ‘real’ arcade machine
Datel Arcade Pro Joystick
This is the ‘guest’ arcade stick. It is a fairly cheap but functional arcade stick, that I’m looking to upgrade to a second F300 Elite in the future.
Sinden Light-Gun (Black) with recoil
This is the light-gun that I use most of the time, as it’s the more expensive one with recoil. It is from SindenLightgun.com and works very well with all types of screens I’ve tested it on, at all angles.
Sinden Light-Gun (Red) without recoil
This is the ‘guest’ light gun for 2 player light-gun games.
Wireless keyboard and Mouse
So that I can control things easier from just the standing position at the arcade table, I am using a cheap bluetooth keyboard and mouse for any config needed for the emulators, etc.
Audio and Visual
TV
This is a 40" Sony TV which is 1080p and I bought it I think in 2015. The picture is still good. It is connected to my gaming PC.
Speakers
I have two cheap Logitech speakers attached to the HDMI audio output of the TV. They are not great, but they are good enough for the arcade setup. I have other, much better speakers, but they are not in the right place for the arcade setup.
Google Home Routine
When I say ‘Hey google arcade’ to my Google Home Mini voice assistant, it configures the smart devices and plugs in the ‘Dave Cave’ so that it is optimal for arcade gaming, e.g. - it turns off the lights, turns off all the other 3 screens, puts on the lava lamps, and turns on the gaming PC speakers and sub-woofer.
Furniture
I’m currently using an old garden table, and a crate, with a black cloth draped over it! Very budget. Maybe at some point I will get a more expensive table, but this setup holds everything at an ergonomic height so you can use the controllers and light guns with the TV at a good distances.
Possible Improvements
- I want to add more RetroArch cores so that I can play more than arcade games on the setup - I should be able to play all retro console games too. Although this is not essential at this point.
- I am going through games and adding them one-by-one to the setup, once I have verified they work and that the metadata is correct.
- I want to add footswitches and configure them so that I can play Time Crisis 2 with the ‘cover’ switch mechanic.
- I want to experiment with using my Hue Entertainment area to add context-sensitive lighting to the gaming experience.