What is going on here?

[Apollo]

Look I know I'm fairly new on the scene here but for pitys sake what is going on here?
I am building a cab with a 26" arcade monitor ( lucky for me, I got it cheap ). My controls are 2X8 way joysticks with 6 buttons each, 1X4 way joystick with 3 buttons and a couple of admin buttons. The CP looks clean and I can play 95%+ of all games.
What is up with all this dual trackball, spinner, 4 player, 20 admin button CP's that people are building?
I just don't get it they look totally crazy, I mean what is up with this?
Case in point below. I know there's a lot of work gone in to this but come on.

http://cohort.cc/uaiicp/images/CPUA2%20010_jpg.jpg

I don't really want to slag this off but is this not getting out of hand? Or do I just have not enough mates to build a 4 player panel lol. Or can people just not live without Arkanoid, Tempest and Missile Command?

[paigeoliver]

EXACTLY.

I always do my best to fight that kind of panel every chance I get. It doesn't look like a real game.

And also. What is up with everyone who MUST have 4 player panels, spinners, and trackballs, but then don't even have a 4-way joystick.

Those panels might play a zillion games, but they are pretty confusing to people who just walk up and try to play.

And I never really got the fascination with 4-player machines. The extra expense involved is enough to pretty much make a second 2 player machine. And really, how often did you ever actually play a 4-player machine in the arcade that actually had more than two people on it? I certainly never have. Although I do recall once playing a 6 player X-Men that had a total of 3 people on it.

I have two finished cabinets, and two unfinished ones, and none of them have more than one control type on the panel. (With the exception of the pseudo-tron panel I am making for my swappable panels cabinet, as that has a top fire joy and a spinner, but that is how the real game was too!).

Of course I am totally in the minority here.

I also prefer my cabinets to look as original as possible. No custom marquees or non-original sideart. The only changes I ever make in that respect is to switch to plain black control panel overlays.

I also firmly believe that one Wico leaf switch stick is worth 2 dozen of Happ's microswitch ones. I have also used all kinds of different "4-Way" sticks, and they are almost all junk except for the original Wico 4-ways, the Ms. Pac/Galaga replacement one, and the Ms Pac/Galaga one that actually comes in the reunion machine (which is a different stick, not sure how different, but the actual machines have shiny balls, and the replacement sticks are textured).


I also prefer 19" monitors (or 21" VGA ones, which are basically the same size). Bigger monitors make most games harder, except for fighting games, and that is only because you don't really have to keep track of much onscreen with them.

I don't like most hand built cabinets. I guess I have looked at too many real ones, and the home made ones usually look "wrong" to me.

Of course my biggest pet peeve is refitting classic 19" cabinets with oversized control panels (or God forbid 4 player panels). Even if the person does a killer instal job, it still looks "wrong" to me, because they never came that way in the first place.

Ok. I think I have pretty much insulted everyone here, so time to shut up.  

[Isometric Bacon]

I agree totally. When I built my cab, I wanted it to look simple and effective. Simply 2 - 8 way sticks, and 6 player buttons a side. Player 1 and 2 start buttons, and nothing else on the CP. The coin buttons are located in the coin doir, and admin pause/exit buttons will most likely be hidden under the CP.

I've also decided to make it so the actual control panel doesn't exceed around an inch from the outside of the Cabinet... otherwise it just never fails to look tacky.

[paigeoliver]

I always thought it would be funny to have a contest for the worst Mame cabinet. Maybe with the winner getting a new cabinet so that they can try again.

Of course that would only result in a lot of feelings getting hurt.

Although if I ever got a big 33" showcase cabinet, then I would have a few extra controls. I would do it like this. (2player only layout).

4-Way,8-way,6buttons ----Trackball ---- 4-way,8-Way,6buttons.

You can install a 4-way right next to an 8-way and let them share the same button bank (and wire them as the same stick). I used to have a cabinet setup that way. It works nicely, and allows you to switch on the fly if you want to (which I would often do during puzzle games).

[REBIRTH]

First off, I understand where you guys are coming from because I too didn't want too many buttons on my CP so I stuck to a 2 player CP.  I "had" to have a trackball (love missle command),  "had" to have a spinner (love Tempest/Arkanoid), and "had" to have a 4-way joystick - and the whole reason I went with a rotating CP design was so I didn't have to put allthose on one cluttered panel.

Secondly, beauty is in the eye of the Mamer...  Some guys are into those big CP's, like having 4 man games.  So I would lay off a bit about it "getting out of hand" it not looking like a "real" game.  May be out of hand for you (and for my taste too   ) but doesn't mean that the person who is using the big CP isn't loving it to death.  That is what I love about these boards and building a Mame cab - you can do whatever the heck you want.  So if you want 934 buttons on one CP, more power to you!

[Hoagie_one]

I dont want the 4 player cab but I do want access to trackball adn spinner games.  Love em.  I'm thinking about doing a normal 2 player cab with one extra 4 way and then making some sort of mini CP that can plug into the current CP and set on top.  Still working it out in my head.

[CCM]

And I never really got the fascination with 4-player machines. The extra expense involved is enough to pretty much make a second 2 player machine.

So you're saying that the cost of 2 extra joysticks and 8 extra buttons is more than a second cabinet, computer, monitor, etc...?

That being said I do agree somewhat, some of the 4-player mega panels are a bit cluttered.  

I have 2 8-way joystcks with 6 buttons each, 1 4-way stick with no buttons (uses same as player one 8-way), a trackball with 2-buttons (mouse buttons), a spinner and 3 admin buttons.  My cabinet has been finished (if they are ever really finished) for about a year and I can honestly say I could have done without the spinner, I just don't use it very often.   I do however use all the other controls on a regular basis.

On the other hand who are we to say how many controls someone should have, if they have the money and that's what they want, I say more power to them.   It all depends on what games you like and how often you have groups of people at your house to play.  I have a friend that wants me to build him a cab with a 4-player panel.  He loves games like gauntlet, x-men, and tmnt, and he regularly has people over...

All in all it's just personal preference...

[Frostillicus]

Here's my experience - initially there is an interest to play every game possible ("I don't want to leave out my 3rd and 4th best friends!!") So you build a huge freakin panel. My first one was the ugliest, biggest monstrosity this side of the mason-dixon line.  I'd post a pic but I'm so ashamed of it    It had spinner, trackball, Ls-30s, super 8ways, giant trigger sticks, mini control panel for winamp...good lord it was huge.  

But, after I built it, I sort of 'got it outta my system', so to speak - and then I could focus on some real arcade action.   No more 4-player for me.  Eventually I tore it apart and salaged all the controls/encoders.  Used it in my new cab.

So everybody has to learn, is what I'm saying.  Yes you can tell them they don't need it, yes you can even show examples of horrible horrible 4 player panels (like mine was), but in the end, they gotta learn for themselves.

[paigeoliver]

And I never really got the fascination with 4-player machines. The extra expense involved is enough to pretty much make a second 2 player machine.

So you're saying that the cost of 2 extra joysticks and 8 extra buttons is more than a second cabinet, computer, monitor, etc...?

The controls cost is the same for either one 4 player cabinet, or two 2player ones (using 2 cabs is cheaper in this aspect if you make cab #2 a single joy 2 button 4-way one).

19-21" displays for 2 player cabinets can be had dirt cheap. While a 25-27" display for a 4-player cabinet costs much more, more than double usually.

The I-Pac 4 costs more than the I-Pac 2.

4-Player cabinets are VERY hard to come by used, and when you can find them, you usually end up paying for them. Or else you have to build them, which REALLY costs a lot of money.

While standard 19" cabinets are a dime a dozen, and can be had from free to $50 all day long, assuming you know the right people.

Computer cost is almost negigible. I just bought a computer for my Amazing Mame. It was a P3 733/128 MB RAM/ 15 GB hard drive, and it cost $85.

[Apollo]

I'm just in the middle of my MAME job but I have a little cab in the garage that I love.
It's just a dedicated 19" vertical with 1X8 way and 1X4 way. I'm gonna play some Galaga, Pacman and 1942 on it coz hey that's what it's all about really.

[night]

i just finished the majority of my CP last night. and will be going to steal my parents digicam on the way home from work.

it is a 4P panel but i think it looks damn good. not tacky at all. it is a spinner, tball, 2 optical joys, and 2 supers, with each having 6 buttons. wont be playing much mame 4 player, but SNES and N64 have many good 4 player games that will use the buttons.

but check back for a pic later today. didnt wanna post one yet since the cab isnt done, but i'll do it specially for this topic

[Chris]

I'm fighting this problem myself now.  I have a classic-style 19 inch cabinet.  The control panel area is 23" x 7".  When I got the machine, the CP was configured as a fighter with two sticks and six buttons per player.

Version 1 of the panel had two sticks, 4 buttons per player, a 2-inch trackball, a spinner, player 1 and 2 start, and three control buttons (pause, menu, exit).  Coins were handled by pushing in the coin rejects.  This worked well for a while, but the spinner got in the way of the trackball...

Version 2 of the panel was almost the same, but the trackball grew to 2-1/4" and the spinner was removed.  At this time, a light gun was also added. Pinball buttons were also added to the side of the cabinet.

The trackball (a modified PC trackball) wore out pretty quickly, and I purchased a 3" Happ trackball to replace it.  This is where it gets complicated, as a 3" ball will not fit into the current control panel (its footprint is about twice the size of the PC balls it is replacing).  In addition, even if I could wedge it in, it would be too close to the glass for World Class Bowling, Shuffleshot, and Golden Tee.

In addition, I'm finding classig games completely unsatisfying without a 4-way joystick, and I'm starting to miss the spinner (although I'll probably still leave it off).  The machine has also sprouted a second lightgun.

To top things off, in my new house my PC is upstairs and my MAME cabinet is in the game room downstairs.  They used to sit next to each other, so people could play PC games on the PC (most notably You Dont Know Jack and racing games) and arcade games on the cabinet.  I really want to keep the gaming on the cabinet now, so now the cabinet also needs a keyboard and the ability to add PC game controllers such as steering wheels.

The design of my cabinet precludes a rotating control panel, and the reach up inside the coin door to the clamps is too far for interchangeable panels, so now I need to figure out a way to integrate all of these things without creating a monster.  So my new panel will need:

- 2 8-way sticks with 4 buttons per player
- 1 4-way ball-top stick (I got a DK Jr stick on eBay)
- A 3" trackball with 2 buttons at least 8 inches from the glass.
- 5 emulator control buttons (I really want Load and Save buttons as well)
- A keyboard (Mine is only 8" wide, but it's gotta go somewhere)
- External USB ports for PC controllers
- Enough lip to the control panel to clamp on a PC steering wheel
- A mounting point for a control module to support very specialized controllers like a Star Wars yoke
- A pinball plunger
- Pinball nudge buttons
- 2 Light Gun holsters
- 3 You Don't Know Jack buzzers (handheld, removable)
- 4 numbered buttons for You Don't Know Jack (although if I add Player 3 and 4 start, I can use the player start buttons)
- A Screw button for You Don't Know Jack

And all this has to fit on a 23" wide panel  (I really don't want to overhang the edge) without looking like a monstrosity!

I'm probably going to put the keyboard and You Don't Know Jack buttons on a slide-out panel beneath the main panel. The main panel will curve out to accomodate the trackball, and the 4-way will sit behind the trackball close to the glass.  It'll be about 6 inches from the trackball, so hopefully I won't hit it a bunch....

--Chris

[mattreynolds]

Sigh.  Most of us have been there...I know I'm going through this right now.

I bought a used, 4 player, 27" Sunset Riders cabinet (works perfectly).  I noticed that during parties, that game had a line up to get played and always had four people on it.  Every one of my friends said that being able to play with three other friends is great fun.

So, I've started reworking the panel to suit all of our tastes once it gets MAME-ified.  The panel will likely be four player (P1 and P2 with P360s and 6 buttons, P3 and P4 with Supers and four buttons), and might have a trackball and/or spinner.  It will have a dedicated 4 way and a few admin buttons.  What does this mean?  It means it will be ugly; a true affront to the eye.  But I guarantee you it will be played a heck of a lot.

I've resigned myself to creating this large monstrosity, working out the problems, then redoing a more streamlined CP -- I can reuse the controls, so it will cost me a bit of money for the wood and lexan.  I think that is a good tradeoff to learn what gets played, which controls get used, etc.

If I want a more authentic (although arguably less popular at house parties and BBQs!   ) cabinet, I'll do that down the road with a simple two player cabinet.  But seeing how popular my four player cabinet with one game was, I'm going for the hideous control panel for now!

For a lot of people, they'll only ever have one cabinet in their house.  They are choosing to create one that allows the widest variety of playable games...not necessarily one that looks authentic.

Matt

[Chris]

I was fortunate that I never really got into 4-player games other than Gauntlet, and I find Gauntlet to be very unsatisfying with no quarters on the line.  Getting surrounded by baddies loses all of its adrenaline rush when you can just push the credit button a dozen times and brute-force your way through...

However, I am thinking of building a 3-wheel Super Sprint/Off Road module... that was great with three players!

--Chris

[hyiu]

well.... I'm going to build a cp with spinner, trackball... 4 way and 2 8 way and buttons...
I'm 1 of those crazy ones....

now.... I don't really care for anyone who walks up to MY cab when I'm not around... (sorry... sounded a bit selfish...)
but this is MY CAB... and my baby.....

I LOVE arknoid.... (although I might not have spell the name right... lol....) and missile command.... (trackball...)

also... I like to scroll around and try out games....
(this is like my child time's dream.... I used to be the kid who stand there at the arcade spending my spare time... (and actually... school time and off school time both are considered spare... right ??) but I have no $$ to keep pouring.... also... my skills are limited.... (hey... a lot of those old games are not easy....) so... I ended up standing there watching people play 90% of the time..... (holding on to my last coin thinking which machine should I use it on......   tough choice....)

I always hope I will 1 day just stand there and play endlessly.... haa haa haa.... all games.... every game.....
haaa haa haaa..... (ok.... daydreaming now in the office is not a good idea....)  

now.... I can afford it !!!.... why not ??.... why not make myself happy ??..... I know exactly what to use on my panel..... haa haa haa.....

(ok... I guess I've lost control.... I should stop now...)

[Inaba]

Hyiu sums it up pretty good... I, too, stood around in arcades without a quarter (or token!) in my pocket often, wishing I could play.  I wasn't exactly poor as a kid, but I didn't have a lot of money for arcades

Now that I've got the jing to run with the boys... why not have it *all*  

Seriously though... I built that 4 player panel as a test, mainly, to see what I'm getting into and get a feel for the layout of the controls.  My neighbors, their wives and my girlfriend + myself, we have 4+ people to play.  When I originally was thinking of games I'd like to play, Gauntlet was certainly one of the "greats."  But as been mentioned, Guantlet just doesn't have the same rush as it did when money was on the line... much to my Chagrin.

Like I said in my other post, I think multiple CPs are in order at this point.  A dual trackball/spinner + trigger stick panel + a bare bones 4 player panel would suit just about everyone.

The 4 player panel would do double duty in this manner:

Inner sticks are Happ P360's for the 8 way games.
Outter sticks are rotary Ikari Warriors and those types of games
All 4 sticks can double duty as 8 ways for 4 player games
Then a 4 way up in the middle.

That would leave the panel uncluttered.

The "analog" panel I envision would have a trackball on the far left and far right, and two spinners down (towards player) a bit and between the two track balls, then a trigger stick would be between the two spinners.  This would allow for some serious DoT action (my fav), as well as giving enough room for the crazy trackball types to really wing the ball.  Would also allow for double player Marble Madness and the like.

I don't believe my panel currently is too crowded, there's not really any "squeeze" when playing. Could stuff be laid out better? Sure!  No doubt about it.  If I had it to do over, there's a few things I'd change.  

I'm not into the "authentic" side of retro-gaming.  I want it all... even if it's not authentic.  I've got 2 Cabs in the works (one almost done), and I've got a Dragon's Lair I'm refurbishing... and before all is said and done, I'll probably have a 3rd Mame Cab.  It's all about experimentation and learning for me.   I just can't seem to get a handle on it conceptually w/o actually building it and then futzing around with it.  CP's are terribly hard to build, just time consuming in the extreme.  I'm not really thrilled with the wiring either!  However, after wiring up the above panel, anything else is gonna be pretty easy.  150' of wiring is ridiculous!

At this point, I'm inclined to agree about leafswitches vs microswitches.  I think my next sticks will be leafswitches.  The click-clack of the top fire and ultimate I have on there now is annoying.  The Happ P360's are pretty nice though, and a good alternative to the leafswitches if you want to roll with that kinda dough.  Since cost isn't a factor for me, I want to make my panels super functional, even if it is at the cost of authenticity.  The only way I'm going to get that super functionality (for me) is to try out different scenarios!

[u_rebelscum]

I never was one for the all-in-one control panel, but I understand the "I want to play it all" mentality of those CPs: too many of the games I want to play need "special" controls.  However, I sort of went a backwards path to most of the above, "build a huge test CP with it all", examples.

Soon after I started mame, I bought a hotrodse, naively thinking it would be all I'd ever need.    I quickly found out many of my favorite games were either trackball, 360^o steering wheel, spinner, analog stick, rotary, or some other non-all-digital inputs game.  (Only a very few 4way joystick games, and even less 4 player or 270^o steering wheel, were on my scope, plus I never was a big fighter gamer.)  So even with the hotrod covering 85-90% of the games emulated in mame, I felt I was missing too many of my "best" games.

But I feel no need to rebuild that hotrod.  Like I said, with 90% of mame's games taken care of, I can concentrate on building individual, "special case" CPs designed for "perfect" play with those games I "have to have".  For example, there is no way to fit 3 360^o wheels for "real" SuperSprint action on even a "do it all" CP anyway, so I might as well "do it right" on it's own CP.  Currently I'm up to three different CPs "in use", with more on the drawing board.  I am planning on a swapable CP cabinet, and in the future hope to have one cab for each CP (if I ever get enough $$$, time and space).

[LunarLoveLust]

I haven't had a chance to read all the replies, but i'll post anyways

It really depends on when you were born and what games you played in the arcades I guess. For me and all my friends it was 4 player Beat em ups, and that's the reason i'd like to build a cabinet.

I wasn't raised on Missle Command, Space Invaders, Pac-Man and such (still great games tho ) I was raised on X-Men, TMNT and Crime Fighters.

All the extra parts (Trackball, Spinner and so forth) I want so I have a chance to play all the other great arcade games I was never able to play.

Sorry for the rant

[night]

here is that pic

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=9292

[Mike]

You build your control panel to suit who will play it. For me a spinner is critical, I love arkanoid. 2 8-ways with 6 buttons each are pretty much required to be able to play a majority of the games. The trackball is nice when people are over, nothing like drunk video bowling. Real reason I have a trackball though is in hope that Golden tee will eventually be emulated but for now I use it for the PC version. I can understand the 4 players CP too if those are the games you like. I think the worst are the ones with admin buttons. If you take the time to set your FE up right they really aren't needed at all for normal play and really take away from the look of a real arcade CP. Sure there are times when you need to do some other stuff that you don't have keys for but that is why the ipac and others have the keyboard pass thru. My cab has been going for about 2 years now and it has never had an admin button.

[Sasquatch!]

Kinda harsh to point out someone's exact panel for your example dude, ain't it?  

That said, while I'm not a fan of trying to jam a billion buttons onto one CP, I also have to agree with Hyiu's "gotta play 'em all" mentality.  The time it takes to rotate a rotating control panel (or worse yet, swap out a separate control panel) would take away from gameplay for me.  I realize it's because I'm REALLY impatient, but hey, that's just me.  I want to just fire up a game and KNOW that the controls that I need are right there.

I would make exception - like u_rebelscum said though - for "super special" controls like a steering wheel or a yoke.  I think I'd put those on a dedicated cab.

[telengard]

Look I know I'm fairly new on the scene here but for pitys sake what is going on here?
I am building a cab with a 26" arcade monitor ( lucky for me, I got it cheap ). My controls are 2X8 way joysticks with 6 buttons each, 1X4 way joystick with 3 buttons and a couple of admin buttons. The CP looks clean and I can play 95%+ of all games.
What is up with all this dual trackball, spinner, 4 player, 20 admin button CP's that people are building?
I just don't get it they look totally crazy, I mean what is up with this?
Case in point below. I know there's a lot of work gone in to this but come on.

http://cohort.cc/uaiicp/images/CPUA2%20010_jpg.jpg

I don't really want to slag this off but is this not getting out of hand? Or do I just have not enough mates to build a 4 player panel lol. Or can people just not live without Arkanoid, Tempest and Missile Command?

Hehe, you're not alone.  Someone described these panels as
"frankenpanels" not too long ago. I guess it's different strokes for different folks.
I must admit that some of the larger panels look great with the artwork etc, but
it's just not my cup of tea.  My favorite cabs are the likes of Defender and Dig
Dug and they had quite small panels.  Maybe it has to do w/ age or the games
you remember or like best.

I wanted authenticity but I too like some of the oddball control games so
I went with a modular approach.  I'm glad I did.  It was probably the same
or maybe a little more work than the larger ones to build and involves more work
to switch between game types but I don't mind.

[paigeoliver]

My compromise with this was just to make multiple cabinets, with swappable panels on the final one. My cabinets have all been free, and my 21" VGA displays for the three big ones were only $75 each, and the small cabinet (Space Firebird mini) is getting a 14" VGA, which was free.

Having different cabinets is really great, because they all have different feels. Different joysticks, monitor orientations, control panel angles, and monitor angles all have distinctly different feels.

[knuttz]

I don't mind the 4 player panels.  I just don't like when there is a line of about 12 admin. buttons along the top.  Use some shift buttons for goodness sake.

[Howard_Casto]

Well I think everyone knows my view on these hideously cluttered control panels.  For the record what generation your are from has absolutely nothing to do with it.  It's an eye for asthetics, good designing skills, common sense, ect.  

I, for example, grew up in the age of 4 player beat em ups.  As a matter of fact, tmnt is probably one of my all time favorite games.  I have enough sense not to make a 4 player panel though.  Why?  Because when I played it in the arcades the game was, new, exciting, and there were actually 3 other people willing to play it with me.  Now it's old, not as exciting (at least to other people)  and your lucky if you can get one of your friends to set down for a nice long game.  

Also tmnt had 3 buttons per player, no start buttons, no nothing.  It's panel had plenty of room for 4 people and looked quite nice.  If I were to add 4 more buttons for player 1 and 2, 4 start buttons, a trackball, ect it would look awful and be painfully cramped.  That is unless you make a HUGE control panel like certain people are, which look just as bad because they overpower the cabinet.  Arcade designers understood this.... that's why the more players a game had, the simplier the controls got.

Btw this excludes modular control panels, or rotating panels.  These are the only proper methods of adding a bunch of controls imo.  

Oh and for those of you who say politically correct things like "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" are smoking some serious stuff.  

It's like they always say:

Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly is all the way through.

[hooded_paladin]

I agree with Mr Reynolds - my (future) four player panel (just standalone)  is for parties.  As rare as a 4-player game is, for gatherings with plenty of people you just can't beat it.  I really like gauntlet (and am itching for Gauntlet Legends...)  and if there's enough people, who WOULDN'T prefer a big 4 player game?  Call it cluttered or ugly but that's what I'd prefer to play on.

This is just my big slab of portable controls.  When and if I build a cab, I want a modular main panel for two players and two removable side panels for 2 more.  I think a little more neatness is required considering that projects like these are FURNITURE.

[jerryjanis]

I think you guys are crazy to say that all you need is a 4 or 8 way joystick and a few buttons in order to be happy...  The Hot Rod layout plays 95% of the games accurately, but 95% of those games lack any kind of creativity.  Ever since I added spinners and trackballs, I could almost do without any of those 95% of joystick games because most of the games with wacky controls are really fun and unique, and carefully thought out.



A typical night of video gaming requires very little swapping, because we'll usually pop one set of controls in and go through all the good games that use them.

I'm still not even remotely satsified...  Man alive!  4 player Warlords...  4 PLAYER WARLORDS!!!  I used to play that all the time on my Atari and it was freaking awesome.  The arcade version is even sweeter, and I won't be able to rest until I can play that at home.  I like the idea of having a two player panel for most nights, with a giant 4 player panel in the closet for when it's necessary...

One last thing:  Half of the layouts in the picture above are for games that I have never seen in real life that I play all the time at home:  Discs of Tron, Marble Madness, Snake Pit...  I had to find out what it was like to play them, and I like what I've discovered!

[joeblade]

To put my 2 cents worh in. My current plans are for a 4-player cabinet, mostly because (regardless of the coin issue) myself and my wife both love Gauntlet.

On top of that I have a fair few mates (with kids) who all love playing video games, and playing with real people is cool fun (in my opionion anyway).

The intention on my cab will not only be mame games but consoles etc.
4 Player Micro Machines 3, or Fifa in ePSXe will be a hoot (on numerous occasions I have had mates around for 8 player sessions of fifa on the psx. It can get confusing with that many people, but its still great fun).

Admittedly I won't have any spinners or a trackball, as for this first cab I don't feel a need.

For me, this is a classic example of a 4-player CP (not mine, I intend no trackball, and probably less administration buttons). I guess the artwork makes it though.

http://zinfari.iwarp.com/photo2.html

Cheers

 

[Smittydc]

I agree with the people who noted that it's the games you played growing up -- I've never seen the need for the 4-person panel.  I do like a lot of the classics though, and went modular:

1 - 2 person, 3 buttons each, trackball  (my fav)
1 - defender control panel -- original layout
1 - mortal kombat -- MK3 layout

and I've got the parts for a tron repro (that will also be used for gorf, arkanoid, etc) -- eventually I'll get around to building it.

I can't believe I still haven't put up pictures anywhere -- I love this baby!  Hopefully I'll find time in the fall...

[DarkKobold]

Ok, if feel I need to add my opinion. The MAIN reason I am building my cabinet is to play TMNT and Simpsons. If I didn't have 4 controllers, it would be the farthest thing from authentic. I want the trackball for golden tee, and the 4 way for Ms. Pacman, etc. I don't consider my control panel "hideous" as Howard would say.

PaigeOliver: I have a friend that says "If you don't use the original Jamma board, its not authetic, because no emulation is %100 perfect". Even Authenticity is in the eye of the joystick holder

Joe Blade: That cab looks awsome! I couldn't find any full pics of it though. There wasn't enough info on it!

[TalkingOctopus]

I have a 4 player cp with a trackball and 6 admin buttons.  I think the 4-player games are a blast!  I also enjoy the trackball games.  The only thing I am missing is a 4-way joystick, but I felt that there was no room for one on the cp.  I like how my cp turned out and do not feel that it is clutered.  Here is the template of it:



I think that everyone needs to decide what cp is right for them and go for it.  If that includes jamming every control possible on it, that's fine.  I think it is very undestandable that people want to play as many games as possible with their expensive home built arcades.

P.S.  I think I will be posting some pictures of my cab tomorrow, so you can tear it apart then.

[Daver4676]

I think the whole topic is subjective...

There are people who want the cab to look as authentic as possible -- and that means keeping off controls.

There are other people who want to control as many games as possible.   And while, yes I have seen some cluttered cps, there have been some clever solutions to control the excess of joysticks, trackballs and spinners.

I'm the type of person who wants to get as much as possible onto my cab while keeping everything out of each others way.  I've already drawn up plans for my rotating panel and today's the day I start putting the monstrosity together.  Overkill?  Perhaps.  But my thinking is that I don't want to sit there slightly put off by not being able to play a game I love on a cabinet I plunked down four-figures on.  Of course I have to spend a whole lot more time in the planning stage but in the end it'll be worth it.  I haven't the space for multiple cabinets right now.

Many people don't like four-player cabs either.  Many people do.   I like having the option there, but that's just me.  Because when all is said and done, "The Simpsons" is most fun with four people on the screen together.  

My thought is, if someone created a panel and is happy playing with it - more power to 'em.  It may not be something everyone will copy but needs differ between people.  

Ahh.. just my two cents.  I haven't said anything in a while.  

[ThePaul]

I thought building your own cab was a sort of hobby? How can you slam anyone on what they do for a hobby? Some people carve garden gnomes out of logs for a hobby ... some people collect ear wax to mold into life sized Star Trek characters... you can't bash them for that.. it isn't what they do for a living and they aren't trying to claim to be the best of the best.. they are doing it for fun.

[HeadRusch]

I've seen some ugly-assed CP's...and I've seen some nice once too but in the end.....

Your Opinion (especially Howards) don't mean jack.

I wanted a 4 player Cp......and a spinner.   F the trackball, the 4 trackball games I'd ever play aren't missed by me, especially when many of them (Cabal) play just as well (if not better) with a joystick.

I didnt, however, wnat one of those 3 feet deep "have to stand on a ladder and use a back brace to reach the 4 way" Cp's.......you know, the CP's that look like the dashboard on any late-model camaro or firebird, the ones with enough real-estate to serve a buffet meal on..........

So opted to make my CP onlya bout 14" deep, and make it wide...and let me tell you something, it was the best decision I'd made regarding design.  It looks ok, but also there is plenty of room for 4 30-something guys to stand and play.  4 player simpsons, 4 player gauntlet, you name it.  When I have people over its usually in groups of 4, so having a 4 player cab means only 2 people are left out at any one time.
Coin buttons below, start buttons on the CP, and no "extra buttons" for the spinner, etc.  Its all layed out in a manner that you can use any of the other buttons with the spinner for your fire buttons, etc.

The one thing I DONT like that people do with CP's is put too many redundant buttons on them.  IE:
a Trackball with its own buttons, a spinner with its own buttons, etc.   Makes it look ugly, I think.
(remember tho, my opinion don't matter...just like yours )

I dont have space for many more cabs, not without getting rid of other furniture...something the wife won't allow...I am trying to figure out a way to do a 1 player driving cab, but I'm not sure if I have the room to make it a sit down right now....but we'll see.

The other thing I dont like are "swappable control panels".  I know they take skill to make, but frankly my one huge issue with this has always been: IF you want to play a game, who wants to have to swap out a 20 pound PANEL for gods sake.??!?  Who wants to have to bust out a huge block of wood when they want to play TRON, then put in another one to play..final fight or whatever...to me, thats an example of ego overshadowing practicality, but hey.....who cares..build what you like.


And, for that matter, what do you do with these ugly-assed panels when you aren't using them??  

[Daver4676]

My problem with swappable control panels is that when people come over and want to play different games, I'm the one who's going to have to fetch them and connect them every five seconds.  They're good for some people -- I'm just too lazy.  

[Daver4676]

- 3 You Don't Know Jack buzzers (handheld, removable)
- 4 numbered buttons for You Don't Know Jack (although if I add Player 3 and 4 start, I can use the player start buttons)
- A Screw button for You Don't Know Jack

Hey Chris, my original cp mockup had YDKJ controls too but I had to sacrifice them for space considerations.  I had them in the plan when I was working on a three-way rotating cp.   I had since changed it to a two-sided rotations, so Jack had to hit the road (sorry... completely unintentional annoying song reference).  

But if and when you implement that let me know -- I'd like to know what could've been *sigh*.  

[jakejake28]

see, i'm with paige all the way on this one... multiple cabinets. i have my vertical 4-way with 4 buttons (cocktail), a trackball, spinner, dual optical rotarys (reg. upright) and a two player street fighter layout (reg. upright) and i have never had any problems. maybe you all should think about that...

[Aceldamor]

I really don't have an opinion save 1....

Apollo:

You could have got your point across WITHOUT using someone elses hard work to bash.....bad form man.

As far as "frankenpanels"?  I would have go agree with what some folks said, it's just inexpieriance (sp?) or "glory-vision".  I would also agree with Howard and say that Rotating or Modular panels are the answer to that problem.

Give theese folks a break man, if anything offer constructive cirticisim and applaud them for building thier own panel.

[DarkKobold]

I think 1-UP summed it up in his original sig

"It is SO choice"

Possible misquote, but you get the friggin point

[Frostillicus]

I think there is a bit of misunderstanding on this post.  We are offering advice on why not to build a 4-player panel (answering the original question, BTW), not  bashing someone's design.  

If you really really want a 4-player, good for you.  I wish you well and all kinds of happiness playing it.   But just use a little forethought - and think about this:

1. Seriously, how many 4-player games are there  (even counting the bad ones) compared to 2 player?
2. How often will you have 3-4 people wanting to play those few games at once?
3. How long until the novelty of 4-player wears off and the games get boring?

answers:  1: "not many"; 2: "not very"; 3: "not long". Nobody likes it, but some games just get old.

Consider using 2 USB gamepads for player 3 and 4.  I mean, even Gauntlet Legengs, the coolest of the cool will get tiring after awhile.