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Swappable CPs: What controls on each panel?
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Necro:
Ok...sorry, I realize there's a ton in this I didn't consider.  One of them being what you just brought up Turnarcade.  I have an Ipac2 that I'm using for the buttons (as needed), an OptiWiz for the spinners/trackball, and a PacDrive for the LEDs I will eventually use. 

The main thing I was looking for from this thread is - overall - what I needed control panel wise.  I'm fine with rebooting between swaps if needed.  Hell, the cabinet is already a PITA because it's mirrored and - contrary to popular believe - nearly NOTHING support mirrored cabs (except for MAME and a few FE software that only works on certain OS's). 

So...from a control standpoint - ignoring that things will take me a ton of time to actually get working - what do you think? :) 

(Extra info here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=85429.0.  This cab has been in development for 3 years almost.  I had a kid, things got delayed, etc.  I want to finish.  I need some help getting over the 'control setup' hump.)

Necro:
Here are the current layouts visually with CPO's, in case that helps.
VanillaGorilla:
I had a single-interface cat-6 cabled swappable set up on my first rig .It was OK, but you never wanted to swap, it was too many cables, etc. I now just throw down and put whatever interface I will need on the control panel itself, and then have 1 or 2 usb cables connected. Much easier to deal with.

An optiwiz costs like 15 bucks. You can connect a trackball, 3 buttons, and a spinner to it.
A Xin Mo 2 joy 22 button joystick interface - $25

The LED controllers are what will break the bank. Esp if you're doing RGB.

Spinner/Trackball CP: 2 Spinners, 1 trackball, 6 buttons (3 on each far side)  -you'll need 2 interfaces - $30, I would just do 1 spinner here(arkanoid), then you only need one interface....

Fighter: 2 joysticks , 6 buttons each side, 1 & 2 player - 1 interface - $25

Classic 'Multi': 2 Joysticks, Spinner, 7 buttons (2 on left, 5 on right, close to Multi-Williams Layout) - if you use the u360's here, you just need 1 addtl optiwiz - $15

Personally, I'd skip the saitek. They never look 'arcade', and flight sticks get very limited use in most set-ups. But thats a real personal decision. For all
I know, Afterburner is your favorite game....

Thats not a bad outlay; $70 in interfaces for 3 panels.
Necro:
For interfacing, I actually have a three cable setup - all DB cables.  Each one runs to one specific 'controller' - one cable for the Optiwiz, one for the PacDrive, and one for the Ipac.  There is also a USB hub located within reach so the U360's I have and other USB devices can connect easily. 

If that doesn't work, I may just get seperate controllers, but the limited space on the CPs themselves (24"x6", with only about 5" of usable space front to back due to cab design) makes it easier to have them off CP (even if swapping is a bit of a PITA). 

The desire to not swap constantly is why I'm going to select joysticks for the Classic and Fighter that allow for play of as many games - even suboptimally - as possible.  I'm thinking the classic is the 'standard' CP and the 'fighter' is the CP I use when we have a party or people over to play (i.e., most likely to play fighters).
D_Harris:

--- Quote from: Necro on April 12, 2011, 09:18:24 am ---For interfacing, I actually have a three cable setup - all DB cables.  Each one runs to one specific 'controller' - one cable for the Optiwiz, one for the PacDrive, and one for the Ipac.  There is also a USB hub located within reach so the U360's I have and other USB devices can connect easily.  

If that doesn't work, I may just get seperate controllers, but the limited space on the CPs themselves (24"x6", with only about 5" of usable space front to back due to cab design) makes it easier to have them off CP (even if swapping is a bit of a PITA).  

The desire to not swap constantly is why I'm going to select joysticks for the Classic and Fighter that allow for play of as many games - even suboptimally - as possible.  I'm thinking the classic is the 'standard' CP and the 'fighter' is the CP I use when we have a party or people over to play (i.e., most likely to play fighters).

--- End quote ---

The actual number of control panels you want for your set-up shouldn't dictate a need for more than one controller interface.

A while back I mentioned my idea of setting up a controller inside of a project box that would be separate from the control panel and positioned in between whatever control panel you want to use and your computer.

(You'll only have to use a cable between it and your control panel).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
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