Versus City Log

[mmmmaerk]

I've been posting small updates about this cab to my website but it's just been baby steps. I'll post a quick summary of where the cab is at currently and continue to post updates in this thread as they happen.

First thing I did was wipe it down and blow out the fans. Nothing super interesting.
The P1 side has Tetris burn in but when the monitor is actually on the burn in isn't really visible. I was expecting it to look awful.

None of my buttons work because I need a CHAMMA to JAMMA adapter for this Pandora's Box. I bought one from Mike's Arcade and it should be here Friday. The Pandora's Box is temporary, I'm just borrowing it from a friend until I decide what game I want to put in there.

My friend made me stools and I think they turned out great.

I still want to get new panels and kick harnesses. I'm thinking of getting a Dreamcast to JAMMA adapter. I'm still really unsure about what I want to put in this thing. I'll just copy and paste what I wrote on my website:

• Getting a CPS3 would be crazy because there are 2 places locally that I could go to and play Third Strike on a Versus City. Seems dumb to spend $5000+ just to do what I can already do for free.
• Naomi would be awesome. I really like Project Justice. I hear that Naomi games at 15khz look like shit. It would be a shame to go this hard and spend this much money just for the games to look like shit. I am pretty sure my cab is set up for Naomi already. Maybe a Dreamcast to JAMMA adapter would be enough. I won’t care as much if it looks bad if I got it set up for cheap.
• CPS2 seems like a really good idea. I could get a CPS2 with Vampire Savior or something and possibly Darksoft it later. Expensive, but that’s a lot of banger fighting games. None that I’m super into at the moment but it would be fun to learn a new one.
• MiSTer is another option, and a pretty attractive one at that. For around the price of one CPS2 set up, I could get a million more games. CPS3 being worked on makes it even more appealing.

I think I’m leaning towards a MiSTer. If I still have the intense desire for “real hardware” later, I can find real hardware. I think having a game that supports the winner lamps would be really cool.

So that's where I'm at. I look forward to posting more updates. You can read a much more verbose version of this post as well as all future updates on my website:
https://maerk.xyz/versus-city-log/

 

[kikaso]

You forgot to mention Neo Geo as an option

You’re right; MiSTer gives you lots of value in a cabinet.

 

[imbord3rlin3]

i knew u wouldnt mind the burn once u saw it. congrats on the very dope versus!

 

[mmmmaerk]

I can't believe it's already been 2 months since the last update. The buttons not working really threw me for a loop. I thought I just needed the CHAMMA to JAMMA adapter, but actually all the buttons on the P1 side were broken and the P2 harness was plugged in the wrong spot. All the buttons work as of yesterday and my friend and I were finally able to play some games. There are some other things worth mentioning:

• I ordered 6 button panels from Alberto and I'm still waiting on them to arrive/be shipped. It's been a slow process but I hear that's normal so I'm not worried about it.
• I got a MiSTercade and SDRAM but no MiSTer yet. I didn't want the MiSTercade to go out of stock while waiting on all the other stuff (at the time my buttons still didn't work) so I'll probably order the MiSTer soon.
• I got kick harnesses from Lemony Vengeance. They're on the shelf next to my MiSTercade, patiently awaiting my 6 button panels.

One problem that came up after fixing the P2 harness is that now my P1 monitor flickers like crazy. It doesn't show well on camera but you probably know what I mean.

I'm hoping I just bumped something and it's an easy fix.

The fans by the winner lamps sound pretty bad even after cleaning them so I want to replace them. Any suggestions on what I should buy?

 

[mmmmaerk]

I got 6 button panels installed along with a MiSTercade. After some trouble hooking up the kick harnesses, pretty much everything is good to go. For some reason neither side had a wire in pin 8.

I just moved a wire from the main harness that I didn't need anymore and put it in pin 8. I think it was the wire for button 5. I don't need it anymore because the kick harness handles button 5 now.

The mounting holes on these 6 button panels is different than my old Tekken panels. I think I just need mounting plates for the sticks, but in the meantime I harvested the Hayabusa levers from my two RAP4s just so I can actually use this thing.

Before my monitor was flickering after being turned on for a while but it hasn't been doing that recently. Now when I turn it on the screen is distorted but it fixes itself after a while. I don't know exactly how long because I just play arcade mode on the other side while I wait. I guess it still just needs a recap.

One issue has been driving me crazy. On the P2 side the MP button will sometimes register without me pressing anything. I think it happens more frequently when pushing other buttons or tilting the stick.

I think the state of this cab is good enough to play games as long as it's with my friends that don't actually play fighting games. I bet they wouldn't even notice the extra medium punches since they just frantically mash anyway. Before I invite the real ass dudes over, I gotta get this shit working perfectly.

 

[mmmmaerk]

Small update. In the above post I mentioned the one monitor is distorted for a while every time I turn it on, but all I needed to do was adjust the horizontal hold. I don't know why that took me so long. I got yellow Sanwa parts and ripped off the Tekken art. Getting 2 layers of stickers off ended up being way more annoying than I was expecting. It's still not perfect but it's getting there. I've been spraying it with Simple Green and then chipping away at the glue with a razor. If anyone knows of a better way to do it, let me know.

I ordered new coin slots and panel screws from eBay plus a new set of instruction space prints, holders, and glass. I'm gonna bead blast the rusty coin return buttons and I think they'll look perfect. I'm pretty focused on cosmetics at the moment.

My P2 side MP button is still killing me. I swapped the player controls and the problem switched over to the P1 side which tells me it's not an issue with the wiring under the panel, but an issue with the wiring on the JAMMA harness side. I dont really know where to begin there because it's a rat's nest.

Button nonsense aside, I'm happy with the progress so far and I don't even think about the money I've dumped into this thing.

 

[mmmmaerk]

I got the new coin slots and instruction space stuff. It's looking clean as hell now.

The other side has some rust and I'm not sure what to do about it. I could bead blast it but that might be overkill. If anyone knows of a simpler way to get it off, let me know. One of these days I'll buy another yellow balltop...

 

[mmmmaerk]

It's been forever. I've neglected this thread. But also I feel like I haven't done anything significant enough to post an update here.

I did clean off the rust from the previous post with a magic eraser. It made quick work of the rust as well as most of the dirt and scuffs all over the cab. I can't believe how much time was spent slowly scraping off sticker goop with Simple Green and a razor blade when I could've just used a magic eraser first. This photo is old but whatever:

I recently got Vampire Savior art:

Lilith is on the other side. When people are playing I move them so they don't fall off. Maybe double sided tape will keep them stable.

I mentioned before that I was having an issue with the P2 medium punch button pressing itself randomly, and I think I narrowed it down to the MiSTercade. My friend left his CPS3 in here for months and not one time did I experience a ghost medium punch. I briefly tested my Naomi in here too, and once again I had no problems with any buttons. I sent it back to MiSTer Addons for repair, but he wasn't able to reproduce the problem. He's doing me a huge solid and sending me a MiSTercade 1.3 in exchange for my 1.2. If that doesn't solve my problem, I have no clue what I'll do.

 

[mmmmaerk]

I finally got around to fixing the right P2 speaker that hasn't worked since getting the cab. I had other things to worry about so I never bothered checking it out even though it was a pretty simple fix. The internal speaker wiring was really jank. Sorry for the terrible picture.

One of the wires for the right P2 speaker was not wrapped up with the others. I wrapped it up with fresh electrical tape and it worked, but I wanted to wire the speakers up correctly. Shout out to notsonic for walking me through everything.

So not only do all my speakers work, but they also work in stereo. I'm not sure how common it is for Versus Cities (not New) to have RCA cables. Even after all this effort to fix the speakers, I still keep the volume pretty low and play my own music. It just feels better knowing it's wired right. I recently have felt inspired to clean up all the little things that I considered low priority before. Are Versus Cities normally loud as hell? I think it's the two fans up top by the winner lamps making all the noise. I cleaned them when I first got the cab, but didn't notice any difference. If anyone can point me in the direction of replacements it would be appreciated. Or let me know if I'm way off.

To follow up on what I mentioned in the last post, the new MiSTercade SOLVED THE MP PROBLEM. Phew. I also now have a CPS3 of my own.

 

[nem]

Unless you're using the winner lights, you can just unplug the fans.

The winner lights generate a ton of heat. The orange plastics on mine have actually deformed due to it.

 

[mmmmaerk]

Oh cool. Thanks for the tip. I'm not using them currently, but I would like to get a game that supports them or set up the Versus Billboard commander. I have a Pi laying around but I don't know how to make the harness.

 

[JohnRambo'sKnife]

For sticker removal, I have had good results with this:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Motsenbo...Adhesive-Remover-16-oz-White-1-Each/771238547

If that doesn't work, WD40 dry lube also does an excellent job turning the adhesive to mush that can be wiped off.