Control Panel Art 90% done

[DirtyDachshunds]

After many hours of deciding on the art I came up with this.  The last thing I have to do is put 2 characters below Bison and Akuma to hide their poor cropped bodies, and haven't decided on those yet.  I will update with those characters in tomorrow.

Let me know what you guys think.  All suggestions are welcome.

[Ginsu Victim]

What's the deal with the angle of the player 3 and 4 sticks?

[bkenobi]

I think I would put the turtle's layer behind the SF characters.  The head bands look like they're in an awkward position IMO.

[DirtyDachshunds]

What's the deal with the angle of the player 3 and 4 sticks?

They're in line with the buttons.

[DirtyDachshunds]

I think I would put the turtle's layer behind the SF characters.  The head bands look like they're in an awkward position IMO.

I agree.  I'll change that

[Ginsu Victim]

What's the deal with the angle of the player 3 and 4 sticks?

They're in line with the buttons.

So UP is not toward the monitor? Might be a problem...

(Waits for angled vs straight argument to begin) 

[opt2not]

If I were you, I'd reverse the facing-direction of Ryu and Ken.  Right now it looks like they're gazing into each other's eyes (looks like Ken wants to make-out with Ryu here...kinda homo IMO). If you have them more back-to-back, facing the antagonists, it would strengthen the composition.

[Ginsu Victim]

If I were you, I'd reverse the facing-direction of Ryu and Ken.  Right now it looks like they're gazing into each other's eyes (looks like Ken wants to make-out with Ryu here...kinda homo IMO). If you have them more back-to-back, facing the antagonists, it would strengthen the composition.

For sure.

[push2reject]

like Ken wants to make-out with Ryu

lol - It's like he's saying "Why fight?  Lets just hug this one out"

[Dazz]

"How you doin'?"

[DirtyDachshunds]

Good stuff

...any better?

I'm also thinking about making some outline around the edge so the art doesn't look like its falling off the panel.

[jholman76]

I know its semi-off topic, but what 4P games need 6 buttons for P3 and P4? I guess all of the 4P CP's I have seen always have just 4 buttons for P3 and P4.

Do you have any specifically in mind? Not a big deal, but maybe you can save a few bucks there!

joe

[DirtyDachshunds]

I know its semi-off topic, but what 4P games need 6 buttons for P3 and P4? I guess all of the 4P CP's I have seen always have just 4 buttons for P3 and P4.

Do you have any specifically in mind? Not a big deal, but maybe you can save a few bucks there!

joe

I want to use the cabinet for Dreamcast and Playstation emulation as well

[jholman76]

ah, yes that makes perfect sense. Carry on!
 

[javeryh]

Superman's "S" is backwards.

[jholman76]

would having Ryu in front of Ken make it look like they aren't cuddling?

[DirtyDachshunds]

would having Ryu in front of Ken make it look like they aren't cuddling?

Hah, I didn't notice that. 

Superman's "S" is backwards.

Fixed

[jholman76]

getting better!

I like Ryu more than Ken anyway, so he should be in front!
 

joe

[bkenobi]

Yeah, but now Ken is trying to decide if he likes Dirk or Homer more.   

[bpark42]

I am a huge Simpsons fan, but Homer and Bart seem really out of place with the rest of that crew, visually and conceptually.

[bkenobi]

Bart is kissing Ryu's shoulder, isn't he?

[Ginsu Victim]

I am a huge Simpsons fan, but Homer and Bart seem really out of place with the rest of that crew, visually and conceptually.

Oh good, I'm not the only one who sees this.

[Malenko]

looks like a buncha clip art copy and pasted together.

[DirtyDachshunds]

I am a huge Simpsons fan, but Homer and Bart seem really out of place with the rest of that crew, visually and conceptually.

I thought about that before putting them in, but I needed something to fill the space.  And once I put them in, I didn't think it was so bad...but not ideal

Ideally, I'd like to get more X-men and Mortal Kombat characters, but can't find them on the VectorLib and the one wolverine pic I found is corrupt.

[DirtyDachshunds]

I think I've moved from 95% to 90% done 

[bkenobi]

So our "help" is actually counterproductive?  HA!   

[DirtyDachshunds]

It's all good.  This is what I wanted.

I have little photoshop (or in my case gimp) experience and am not an artist.  I need all the help I can get.

[Malenko]

got a theme and dimensions in mind? I can try to whip something up

[Ginsu Victim]

So our "help" is actually counterproductive?  HA!  

Quite the opposite. If he has to take a few steps back to avoid doing more in the future, then our help worked.

[DirtyDachshunds]

got a theme and dimensions in mind? I can try to whip something up

The dimensions are 48"x21"

My original theme was to try to incorporate all different MAME characters is all genres, but I found more vector art of fighters and started leaning that way.  I mainly just want something that uses arcade characters that looks good.

Thanks for the help.

[javeryh]

got a theme and dimensions in mind? I can try to whip something up

The dimensions are 48"x21"

Holy bananas that is HUGE.

[DirtyDachshunds]

got a theme and dimensions in mind? I can try to whip something up

The dimensions are 48"x21"

Holy bananas that is HUGE.

She's a big girl.  Same dimensions as the 4 player CP from Mameroom

[DirtyDachshunds]

Alright, here is my CP rev 1.  I had to take out a few characters because when I looked at the panel at 100% I could notice they were pixelated.  I like the Simpsons characters in there because that was one of my favorite arcades growing up, but I put them more in the background.  I also added a border which I think looks nice.

I still want to add some mortal kombat and marvel characters, but can't find any high res enough or vectorized.  I'll keep looking later tonight.

But I wanted to get opinions whether this is better/worse than before.
 

[kronic24601]

My two cents?

Border: First off, applying the artwork perfectly, and more importantly, cutting the curves and sanding down to match your design perfectly can be difficult, make SURE you cut and measure the curve before you order your artwork. What currently bothers me about your design is the borders are already uneven, which (as was in my case) if there are any discrepancies between your artwork size and board size could end up looking bad. The front border has NO room to give. Id probably increase the border to match the sides. (better to have more border in this part of the project than to have no border on the top and bottom and some border on the left and right.

On a total side note, I personally think you are going to hate how large this is in the end and wish you had made it a little smaller. I hear complaints about the mameroom 4p size all the time. I mean ... it's 4 feet wide ?? holy crap! As for the Dreamcast/Playstation emulation ... good luck with that ...    (j/k ... but seriously ... you might want to built a test panel of scrap wood and see if ANY of the 4 player games with that style setup are even remotely fun... you might just find you built a 4ft panel for something you'll use 1-2 times in your life.)

[Ginsu Victim]

Dreamcast takes a decent system, but Playstation emulates nicely on just about any PC.

[DirtyDachshunds]

y two cents?

Border: First off, applying the artwork perfectly, and more importantly, cutting the curves and sanding down to match your design perfectly can be difficult, make SURE you cut and measure the curve before you order your artwork.
I was planning on ordering a 48x21 rectangle, without the white curved ends.  That way, it can still look good without being perfectly cut.


 What currently bothers me about your design is the borders are already uneven, which (as was in my case) if there are any discrepancies between your artwork size and board size could end up looking bad.
There shouldn't be any discrepancies

 The front border has NO room to give. Id probably increase the border to match the sides. (better to have more border in this part of the project than to have no border on the top and bottom and some border on the left and right.
I have gone back and forth about this.  But I'm really not worried about the border not fitting the wood.  Even on the top and bottoms, my cut would have to be off more than a couple inches to really mess it up with regards to the art.

On a total side note, I personally think you are going to hate how large this is in the end and wish you had made it a little smaller. I hear complaints about the mameroom 4p size all the time. I mean ... it's 4 feet wide ?? holy crap! As for the Dreamcast/Playstation emulation ... good luck with that ...    (j/k ... but seriously ... you might want to built a test panel of scrap wood and see if ANY of the 4 player games with that style setup are even remotely fun... you might just find you built a 4ft panel for something you'll use 1-2 times in your life.)
You might be right.  But the two extra buttons for P3 and P4 aren't causing the panel to be an extra 1' wide.  I like the clean layout a 4' panel provides.  I want a 4P panel, and I would rather it be large and spacious than tight and cramped.

But I appreciate the feedback.  Good things to think about.

[DirtyDachshunds]

Dreamcast takes a decent system, but Playstation emulates nicely on just about any PC.

I've already got dreamcast emulation working great on the cab PC.  The PC is semi beefy.

[bpark42]

I don't want to derail the thread, but what are you using for your Dreamcast stuff?  I have messed around with a couple different emulators with mixed results.  I eventually would like to have DC support in my (yet-to-be-built) full size, 2 player horizontal cab.

[javeryh]

I might also add the "halos" or whatever you are using as a border for your action buttons for the trackball and admin buttons so everything is uniform. 

Also, in regards to the 4P set-up, a lot of people (myself included) do not like them.  Well, it's not that I don't like it, I just think it is overkill and won't get used as much as you think it will.  Also, there are only a handful of games (10 maybe?) that support 4P and they are mostly clones of each other.  Of course, I'm not counting console emulation in which case there may be more games but for those you could always rig up some controller ports for the extra players.  I don't know... it is expensive, large and might not get as much use as you think it will (I'm lucky to get a 2P game going in my house other than the few times a year we have a party).  I don't think the benefits outweigh those things. 

At the end of the day though you have to do what makes you happy - there are some KILLER 4P setups around here so it can definitely be done.  Just be sure it is for you - I have a 4P setup on my cocktail table and I HATE it.  I can't wait to take a saw to the long CP.   

[DirtyDachshunds]

I don't want to derail the thread, but what are you using for your Dreamcast stuff?  I have messed around with a couple different emulators with mixed results.  I eventually would like to have DC support in my (yet-to-be-built) full size, 2 player horizontal cab.

I'm using NullDC.  It works the best with my FE (Hyperspin).