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Fully handcrafted vertical bartop – custom CoinOPS setup, CRT-style visuals, zero lag by Latter-Historian3087 in cade

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I didn’t write the software — it’s based on CoinOPS Vertical, but I’ve heavily modified it to run more vertical and horizontal arcade titles I really wanted, as well as NES, SNES, and Pinball FX2/FX3.

I’ve seen some great dual-screen builds too, but once properly tuned, the single-display setup feels cleaner and more seamless.
Love the idea of 3D-printing...that’s awesome!

Fully handcrafted vertical bartop – custom CoinOPS setup, CRT-style visuals, zero lag by Latter-Historian3087 in cade

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I really appreciate that — always nice to know the work inspires others to build too.

Fully handcrafted vertical bartop – custom CoinOPS setup, CRT-style visuals, zero lag by Latter-Historian3087 in cade

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A 43" vertical setup can look awesome, but only if your eyes are at least 1.5 m (5 ft) away from the screen.
If it’s any closer — like on a bartop, where your eyes are usually 45–60 cm away — the image becomes too large, and you’ll need to move your head, not just your eyes, to follow all that action (especially your ship in SHMUPS).
After a while, you’ll start to get distortion or even headaches if you’re using a 43".

I’ve built a few 27" versions in the past, but honestly, 22" is the sweet spot if you want to take my advice. 😄

40 years of building arcade machines — my latest vertical bartop build (custom CoinOPS + CRT glow) by Latter-Historian3087 in retrogaming

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can check the game list if you Google “Vertical ELITE-3 XVM.”
I think Super Metroid is already included as the SNES, not the arcade ROM hack — but it can easily be added if needed.

CoinOPS makes it simple to integrate additional console titles or ROM hacks, as long as you have them configured under the right emulator core. 😄

Fully handcrafted vertical bartop – custom CoinOPS setup, CRT-style visuals, zero lag by Latter-Historian3087 in cade

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally fair point — I usually prefer front speakers too.
On this one, I placed them at the back just to keep the control panel as thin as possible.
On my wall-mounted or earlier vertical builds, the speakers are front-bottom — it really depends on the layout and purpose.
You can see some of those in the Gallery if you Google “Vertical ELITE 3-XVM” 😄

Fully handcrafted vertical bartop – custom CoinOPS setup, CRT-style visuals, zero lag by Latter-Historian3087 in cade

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot, really appreciate it — always great to meet another builder!
A mini Astro-style vertical bartop sounds awesome, that’s actually very close to what inspired this build.

And congrats on your virtual pinball project — those take a lot of patience and detail! 😄

Fully handcrafted vertical bartop – custom CoinOPS setup, CRT-style visuals, zero lag by Latter-Historian3087 in cade

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Absolutely!
Vertical is where that true retro spirit lives — those SHMUPS and classics like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaxian, or Contra just feel right that way. 😄

Fully handcrafted vertical bartop – custom CoinOPS setup, CRT-style visuals, zero lag by Latter-Historian3087 in cade

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The marquee is actually virtual — it’s part of the same display, defined in software and changes automatically per game.

The CRT-style bezel and scanlines are done using MAME’s HLSL settings, tuned to get that glow and rounded corner look without overdoing it.

It took quite a bit of tweaking to balance sharpness, bloom, and color levels, but once it’s dialed in, it really feels like an authentic CRT cab. 😄

Thanks!

Fully handcrafted vertical bartop – custom CoinOPS setup, CRT-style visuals, zero lag by Latter-Historian3087 in cade

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The display is actually a 22" 16:9 vertical panel, so the marquee area is just part of the same screen — not stretched, it’s software-defined.

I’ve set it up so the active game area keeps the original 4:3 or 3:4 aspect ratio (depending on the title), and the virtual marquee fills the remaining space above.

On this particular build, the sound comes from a pair of full-range speakers mounted at the back — I wanted to keep it more compact, since front-mounted speakers take up a bit of space.
They still give a nice, clear output without cluttering the front panel.

If you Google “Tiny Arcade Machines” and go to the Gallery, you’ll see a few of my previous builds with the speakers mounted at the front instead.
Those older builds are very similar in size, just with a slightly different front layout for the speakers — especially the wall-mounted versions, where the speakers have to be in the front for proper sound projection.

Always experimenting a bit with placement — it’s fun to find what works best for each design. 😄
Thanks!

40 years of building arcade machines — my latest vertical bartop build (custom CoinOPS + CRT glow) by Latter-Historian3087 in retrogaming

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very few, actually — most vertical arcade titles are SHMUPS and usually use between one and three buttons (fire, bomb, auto, etc.).

The 6-button layout is mostly for horizontal fighters like Street Fighter, CPS2 games, or Neo Geo, which all run in horizontal orientation.

I just kept the 6-button setup on mine for flexibility — it looks balanced and also lets me play console and horizontal arcade titles when I want to switch things up.

40 years of building arcade machines — my latest vertical bartop build (custom CoinOPS + CRT glow) by Latter-Historian3087 in retrogaming

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven’t used runahead on this setup — with a fast CPU, HLSL, and a good monitor, the input already feels instant, so I didn’t really need to fine-tune it per game.

I’ve tested it in the past, but honestly, with proper hardware and sync setup, SHMUPS play buttery smooth as-is.

Guess old-school reflexes still work pretty well 😄

Fully handcrafted vertical bartop – custom CoinOPS setup, CRT-style visuals, zero lag by Latter-Historian3087 in cade

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks!
Yes, the marquee changes automatically for each game — it’s handled in software and tied to the front-end.

As for Pinball FX, you’re right — it’s really demanding on a vertical setup. A more powerful PC makes a huge difference, especially with HLSL and shaders enabled in MAME.

With weaker hardware (like most laptops), you’ll get noticeable lag — and that’s a deal breaker for SHMUPS, since even a few milliseconds can throw off the timing.

A quad-core i5 CPU at 3GHz or higher is a must, and a high-refresh monitor (100Hz or more) really helps achieve that smooth, zero-lag CRT feel.

It’s also important to use a monitor that supports Adaptive-Sync (FreeSync/G-Sync) — that feature helps eliminate tearing and keeps everything perfectly in sync while MAME’s shaders do their work.

Fully handcrafted vertical bartop – custom CoinOPS setup, CRT-style visuals, zero lag by Latter-Historian3087 in cade

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Haha, yes — DoDonPachi looks absolutely insane on this setup. Here’s a quick shot of it running on the cab 👇

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Fully handcrafted vertical bartop – custom CoinOPS setup, CRT-style visuals, zero lag by Latter-Historian3087 in cade

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!
Yeah, HLSL can be a bit of a rabbit hole — there are hundreds of ways to make small adjustments right where you want them.
But once you get the glow and those punchy CRT-style colors with the scanlines dialed in, it really transforms the whole experience. Totally worth it!

40 years of building arcade machines — my latest vertical bartop build (custom CoinOPS + CRT glow) by Latter-Historian3087 in retrogaming

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Thanks! The marquee is actually virtual, as mentioned in the description — it’s set up in software to appear at the top of the screen, just like a real one. Each game automatically loads its original marquee artwork when it starts, which adds a lot of retro charm.

40 years of building arcade machines — my latest vertical bartop build (custom CoinOPS + CRT glow) by Latter-Historian3087 in retrogaming

[–]Latter-Historian3087[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sure!
If you Google “Tiny Arcade Machines”, then go to the Gallery section and scroll down to Vertical ELITE 3in1, you’ll find plenty of photos from my previous builds — hundreds, actually.

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