Arcade Machine Controls Help - First Build

[BOONY]

Hey guys.

I have decided to make an arcade machine/jukebox using an old computer of mine.

I have set up the computer running Maximus Arcade with MAME32 Emulator and some jukebox software(cant remember name) and it works well with the keyboard.

I've read I can go 2 ways with making a control panel - Ipak or Keyboard/Gamepad hack.
I dont really want to buy an Ipak, as this is just a project for fun.. so my question is... What is better? Hacking a keyboard or hacking a gamepad?

It is going to be a Bartop machine too.

Thanks.

[codefenix]

The I-Pac allows more simultaneous key presses than your typical keyboard.  So if you're interested in playing two player games, you're better off going with the I-Pac.

I got mine two years ago and it works great.  Fine product.

[BOONY]

The I-Pac allows more simultaneous key presses than your typical keyboard.  So if you're interested in playing two player games, you're better off going with the I-Pac.

I got mine two years ago and it works great.  Fine product.

Its going to be a 1 player machine.

[codefenix]

You're probably fine hacking something then.  As for gamepad vs keyboard hacking, first confirm that your gamepad works for everything before your hack it.  Setting up the gamepad driver and getting it to work with your emulator(s), frontend, and juke software is probably more complicated than simply using the keyboard to control it all.  So you'll probably end up hacking the keyboard in the end.

[Louis Tully]

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[CheffoJeffo]

Best thing to do is start reading the wiki ...

[Cynicaster]

Unless you're hell-bent on making it into a science project, just buy an iPac.  They're what, like $40?  Well worth it. 

[GregD]

Or a Keywiz.....

[BadMouth]

I hacked a $7 gamepad just for the learning experience.
Ended up using it in a 1 player cab that had a 4-way stick, 2 action buttons, 1 & 2 player buttons, coin, & escape.
There is a tutorial on here somewhere about doing a cheap gamepad hack.
MALA automatically launches on bootup, games can be selected and exited, & MALA shuts down the PC on exit.
No keyboard hooked up to the cab unless something needs tweaked.
(MAME is the only emulator on the cab)

Unfortuneatly, the gamepad I used required you to press an analogue/digital mode button to use the d-pad and I didn't have enough inputs without using it.  
So I had to add another button on top the cab for that and it has to be pressed every time the machine is turned on.  

If I had it to do over again, I'd still hacked the pad for a learning experience, but I'd used an eco-wiz in the cab:
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_80&products_id=200

EDIT:  Here's the link to the gamepad hack thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=84548.0

[paigeoliver]

Buy a proper encoder of some sort, there are cheaper ones than the I-Pac. Keyboard and gamepad hacks just aren't worth the headaches. Not to mention the fact that they tend to be fragile in nature.

[BOONY]

Unless you're hell-bent on making it into a science project, just buy an iPac.  They're what, like $40?  Well worth it. 

Well, it is a Systems school project 

I hacked a $7 gamepad just for the learning experience.
Ended up using it in a 1 player cab that had a 4-way stick, 2 action buttons, 1 & 2 player buttons, coin, & escape.
There is a tutorial on here somewhere about doing a cheap gamepad hack.
MALA automatically launches on bootup, games can be selected and exited, & MALA shuts down the PC on exit.
No keyboard hooked up to the cab unless something needs tweaked.
(MAME is the only emulator on the cab)

Unfortuneatly, the gamepad I used required you to press an analogue/digital mode button to use the d-pad and I didn't have enough inputs without using it. 
So I had to add another button on top the cab for that and it has to be pressed every time the machine is turned on. 

If I had it to do over again, I'd still hacked the pad for a learning experience, but I'd used an eco-wiz in the cab:
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_80&products_id=200

EDIT:  Here's the link to the gamepad hack thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=84548.0

Thanks for the answer! Ill definitely have a look into the threads.

I wanna do the keyboard/gamepad hack, just because it will be good for learning.. I wanna do something different.

[paigeoliver]

By different do you mean "the way they used to do it 13 years ago before you could buy keyboard encoders"? Or by different do you mean "the least effective method"? Or perhaps by different you meant "the worst method".

If you were building your own bicycle would you cut your own wheels out of wood because that would be $25 cheaper?

And then the hack breaks when you are demonstrating it and you end up looking stupid. Or you ruin a few keyboards and gamepads before getting it right, at which point you are in more than an encoder costs, have far less functionality, and it is still liable to break at the worst moment.

Which one is it? A Systems school project or a project for fun?

Wasting your time and money on control hacks instead of just buying an encoder is one of the number one novice mistakes out there. Doing that made sense in 1999 when there weren't any other solutions. It makes no sense today. Believe me, I have done a lot of control hacks in my day, and used most of the available encoders. There is no comparison at all.

Plus the encoders don't break. Tug on a wire too hard on that hack and the wire will pull the trace right off the board.

I am not trying to be a jerk here. This is just a classic example of the exact wrong place to try to conserve money on your project.

[Yenome]

Having done both a keyboard and a gamepad hack i can tell you the gamepad hack is alot easier as you dont have to deal with the ghosting or blocking that comes with keyboard hacking. as to the problem of the wires pulling the trace off ive done this too on my keyboard hack. but the solution to that is to just wrap the wire around the pcb after you get it soldered. then the pressure point is on the board it self and it or the wire would break before you could pull the trace off. Tho now that ultimarc has a Value edition of there ipac2 there really is no sense to do a keyboard or controller hack. i only did it for the fun and experience of wiring up a real encoder and buttons.

[GregD]

A one player cabinet on a budget.  How about Vigo's encoder?  This seems perfect for this application.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=114744.0