Now that I have decided to convert my Stargate into a Williams Multigame, I have to decide what to do with the cabinet. I want all of my games in my arcade to look as nice as possible, so that includes finishing this Stargate in some nice artwork. There really are two different directions I can go with: Stargate artwork or Multi-Williams artwork.

Stargate Artwork

Sideart – Full reproduction sideart or stencil kits. I think if I were to do this I would choose the stencils for a more accurate restoration
Control Panel Overlay (CPO) – Reproduction artwork. This would require another joystick to be installed, which would make this panel not quite look right.
Marquee and Bezel – Reproduction artwork or purchase used.

Multi-Williams Artwork

Phoenix Arcade
There have been a couple “sets” of Multi-Williams artwork available. They were designed to go with a specific multigame kit or board, each matching the art of the games available in the kit. The first artwork producer was Phoenix Arcade. The produced a really nice set of artwork to go with Clay Cowgills Williams Multigame. However, this art is no longer available since the kit is no longer in production. Phoenix Arcade sold the films of the art, so this artwork may yet become available again.
Thanks to Jbuck for posting this on the KLOV forums!

Arcadeshop.com
The only currently available artwork available is the Multi-Williams artwork from Arcadeshop.com. This artwork is designed to go with their Multi-Williams PCB. It also is very well designed.

What Should I Do?

Either product above seems like a decent direction for me to go with. However, since I would like to go with JROK’s Multi-Williams board in my project, the Arcadeshop artwork would not be a good fit. The main issue is that their artwork has graphics and logos for Moon Patrol, which the JROK board does not provide. However, the Phoenix Arcade artwork is no longer available. I also feel that both sets of artwork are a bit “busy” with the way they each try to contain graphics from all the games. I’ve never been a fan of most multigame artwork because they always look too busy. I think I may end up designing my own for this cabinet.

Sideart
The first set of artwork to decide upon is the sideart. There is an interesting discussion on the KLOV boards about possibly coming up with a Williams Multigame stencil set, since this is the method Williams used to do their original sideart. I really like this idea, and even provided a few ideas of my own to the discussion:

I actually like the one on the far left, although it begins to get busy again. It doesn’t seem as bad as the other sideart possibly due to it being spread out more. Having it stenciled may also help it to look more legit as a Williams cabinet. I need to try these designs on a Stargate cabinet, which has a different side profile than the standard Williams cabinets like the Joust profile in the designs above.

Control Panel Overlay
A CPO design is going to be difficult for me to create, since I would really need one printed on CPO style material. For this reason I will likely keep an eye out for a Phoenix Arcade CPO or control panel. It is the best match for my plans.

Bezel
Not going to be too picky here yet. I have a Stargate bezel already, so I will probably use it until I can either get a Phoenix Arcade bezel or create my own design. The best bezel would be one printed directly on plexiglass, but I may have to go with a printed underlay to use my own graphics design.

Marquee
I think I will end up designing my own marquee to match whatever I do with the sideart. There a plenty of printers that can print a custom marquee, such as Mame Marquees.

Since I’m finally done with the Tron Restoration, I spent a few minutes reviewing what my outstanding project list looks like. I still have my Donkey Kong 2 project next up, but I wanted to begin thinking about my Stargate restoration. I have quite a few parts for this project gathered up, but I honestly am not a big enough Stargate fan to put forth the effort for full restoration. However, there are a few other games I really would like to have that are based on the same hardware platform. I already have a Joust, which is one of my favorite games, and I really want a Robotron: 2084. Since all of the Williams games using that hardware platform are so similar it was easy for people to develop multigame kits. For my restoration I plan to convert my Stargate to a Multi-Williams cabinet. This will be a cool upright when done, and will finally see a Robotron: 2084 in my gameroom!

Williams multigames were really the first multigames that I personally have heard of. There was a collector named Sean Riddle that set up a website that discussed the technical details of the Williams hardware. He posted some pictures on his site of a multigame that he programmed to allow him to play many of the Williams games on his Joust machine. His multigame used his Joust boardset with some software “hacks” to allow the other games to be played, selectable from a menu.

The first “commercially available” Williams multigame kit was developed by Clay Cowgill, who is one of the first multigame creators on the web. His Williams Multigame kit modified the original Joust or Robotron boards. Clay created a really nice menu for his kit, including an options menu for configuring the multigame and individual game settings. Clay’s kits are no longer in active production, but they still can be found fairly easily. I likely will NOT be going this route because I have a Stargate boardset, which is not fully supported.

The easier multigame to obtain today is the Arcadeshop Multicade Jamma PCB. This is a stand-alone board that does not require any other Williams board to run. There are two modes that this board can run, vertical or horizontal. The Horizontal mode really covers the whole Williams Multigame set. This board actually does not use the Williams hardware architecture to run these games. It relies on emulation of the hardware using more modern processors. Arcade “purists” will be able to discern the differences, but your average gamer will not be able to tell. Since this is based on emulation technology, it is able to play additional games not based on the original Williams hardware platform. This board also has a nice menu structure. The interesting fact about this board is that it also was developed by Clay Cowgill, but sold exclusively through Arcadeshop.com. This board is a Jamma board, which uses a standard arcade wiring harness. This allows it to be used in any Jamma arcade cabinet with a horizontal monitor, not just a Williams cabinet. I will not be pursuing this board for my game due to the price. This is a very expensive board.

Finally, the most recent Williams multigame news. James Rowan (JROK) is currently developing a stand-alone William multigame that is based on the original hardware architecture used in the Williams games. This will run the Williams games 100% accurately since it is the equivalent of a full Williams boardset. However, no existing Williams boards will be required, making this more reliable since the parts are more modern that original 25 year old components. I am really excited about this board and plan to buy one for this project. It is currently in beta testing and should be available soon.

My next post will discuss cabinet artwork, and some of the different options available.

I’ve owned two different Stargate cabinets since I’ve been collecting. The first cabinet was obtained in a bulk buy in 1999. I still have this cabinet and it is going to be a restoration project. It was actually a dead Do Run Run when I got it. Over the years I picked up a pcb set, monitor bezel, marquee and control panel for it. I got the second in another bulk buy in February 2003. The second was in much better shape. It was a Choplifter conversion. I ended up selling it soon after I got it, since it was working.

First Cabinet (1999):

Second Cabinet (2003):

This may end up being a good project. I’ve always liked Williams games, but I’d rather have a Robotron! Given my limited space I’m not going to be keeping this game long-term. I may sell/trade it for another project or game if the right offer came along. If not, I’ll probably restore it some day, then sell or trade it for a Robotron.

KLOV Links:

Stargate

Choplifter

Screen Shots:

Stargate:

Choplifter:

Made a quick post this morning on the KLOV Forums offering up my Stargate project for trade. There are a few other games higher on my wish list that I’d rather spend the effort working on. Here is the text of my post. If you are interested, Email Me!

I’ve got a Stargate project that I don’t think I’ll ever get around to finishing. I’m not a huge fan of this one, and as I try to only add games I really want from now on, I need something different than this one. I am considering trading this project for another equivalent project. Thought maybe there’d be a collector that would really want this one.

What I have:

• Stargate cabinet painted black, but in great shape. Side art intact under paint. Includes coin doors and some other cab parts.
• Stargate control panel complete
• Stargate Bezel
• Stargate Marquee
• Stargate boards (untested, but bought supposedly working a few years ago)
• Needs to complete: monitor, wiring harness, and maybe a few misc parts.

What I’d Trade For:

• DK Jr project – must have monitor
• Q*Bert Project
• Robotron Project
• Burgertime Project
• Cash (make offer)
• Maybe something else (make offer)

Just trying to see if there is any interest. Just like anyone else, I have a ton of projects so I thought that this may be high on someone else’s wish list.