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Cabinet Design Help
PL1:
--- Quote from: ninjawhiteboy12 on September 11, 2012, 12:59:06 am ---Is there a regulation distance between buttons and joystick or between players? Even a ballpark would be helpful.
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Slagcoin is your friend, as are cardboard box test panels.
Scott
matsadona:
When it comes to control panels – less is more!!
I know we all have different taste and preferences, but I consider most of the examples here as frankenpanels.
My personal opinion is that some kind of modular/swappable panel is the second best option, for those who don’t have the possibility to have dedicated cabinets. Then you can have a clean design that is probably more convenient to use as well.
Eventually you would probably realize that the panel most used is the one with two joysticks and 4 buttons per player.
Honestly, how many here do have reoccurring sessions with 3 friends playing 4 player games?
Spinner, yes that is nice. For Arkanoid or Tempest on the actual hardware. So far I have never seen it being emulated properly. If you like Arkanoid or Tempest that much, buy the real hardware =)
Trackballs, are nice for Missile command and maybe Marble madness. Have never tried it emulated though, so I can’t tell if it’s worth it or not.
But once again, will you play it that much so it can be justified to have a frankenpanel? Yes, there are some good examples with trackballs, but as soon as you add 5 additional joysticks and 76 buttons you are back at frankenpanel.
My experience is that the more options you have, the less playing time it will be, because you simply get bored within 5 minutes and try another game. Find out what your actual favorite games are and concentrate on them. That will give you more satisfaction in the end. And if possible, build/buy dedicated cabinets or at least dedicated panels.
Finally this hobby is all about living your dream, and play games that you love. So what is right for you can’t really be questioned by others.
However, from the esthetic perspective I will never stop crying every time I see first builders going all in with everything arcade related they could ever think of and trying to mix it on a frankenpanel that is more than twice as wide as the cabinet itself.
Trip:
--- Quote from: matsadona on September 11, 2012, 04:02:41 am ---When it comes to control panels – less is more!!
I know we all have different taste and preferences, but I consider most of the examples here as frankenpanels.
My personal opinion is that some kind of modular/swappable panel is the second best option, for those who don’t have the possibility to have dedicated cabinets. Then you can have a clean design that is probably more convenient to use as well.
Eventually you would probably realize that the panel most used is the one with two joysticks and 4 buttons per player.
Honestly, how many here do have reoccurring sessions with 3 friends playing 4 player games?
Spinner, yes that is nice. For Arkanoid or Tempest on the actual hardware. So far I have never seen it being emulated properly. If you like Arkanoid or Tempest that much, buy the real hardware =)
Trackballs, are nice for Missile command and maybe Marble madness. Have never tried it emulated though, so I can’t tell if it’s worth it or not.
But once again, will you play it that much so it can be justified to have a frankenpanel? Yes, there are some good examples with trackballs, but as soon as you add 5 additional joysticks and 76 buttons you are back at frankenpanel.
My experience is that the more options you have, the less playing time it will be, because you simply get bored within 5 minutes and try another game. Find out what your actual favorite games are and concentrate on them. That will give you more satisfaction in the end. And if possible, build/buy dedicated cabinets or at least dedicated panels.
Finally this hobby is all about living your dream, and play games that you love. So what is right for you can’t really be questioned by others.
However, from the esthetic perspective I will never stop crying every time I see first builders going all in with everything arcade related they could ever think of and trying to mix it on a frankenpanel that is more than twice as wide as the cabinet itself.
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Mine sits in a motorcycle garage/shop, friends come over all the time to wrench and it's constantly played by 4 people on weekends.
Trackball gets used a ton for bowling and golden tee. If you like trackball games, it's gonna get used A LOT.
Spinnner is the only thing that I feel I could of probably left off if you wanted to free some space. It doesn't get used a bunch for tempest or akranoid at my house, someone will want to try Ivan Stewart's Off Road with it more than any other game.
However, with all that said I agree with you, definitely would be cooler to have a bunch of dedicated cabinets with different CP layouts than one big franken panel, but I don't think my wife would be fond of that. HA HA.
matsadona:
--- Quote from: Trip on September 11, 2012, 07:50:13 am ---Mine sits in a motorcycle garage/shop, friends come over all the time to wrench and it's constantly played by 4 people on weekends.
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Then I agree that a 4 player panel might be motivated. However my opinion is that there is only one 4 player cabinet that isn’t ugly, and that’s Gauntlet. Happens also to be the only 4 player game I really love. I envy all of you that could gather friends to have 4 players sessions with that one =)
--- Quote from: Trip on September 11, 2012, 07:50:13 am ---However, with all that said I agree with you, definitely would be cooler to have a bunch of dedicated cabinets with different CP layouts than one big franken panel, but I don't think my wife would be fond of that. HA HA.
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This hobby of mine started with a MAME cabinet also. And I do understand that most people doesn’t have a big house less an understanding wife that of course limit the possibilities. So for the majority of people here some kind of compromise is the only way to gaming nirvana. But I still think it doesn’t have to end with a frankenpanel.
I am a very fortunate man that qualifies on both a big house and an understanding girlfriend, so I have a lot of arcade cabinets nowadays. That might also be a reason why people are scattered on gaming nights and it’s hard to get more than 2 people interested in the same game at the same time. Hopefully that will change when I finish my Track & Field cocktail build =)
Cynicaster:
I was recently looking into a new project and considering a spinner, since it is something that my original cabinet doesn’t have.
I was actually pretty enthusiastic about the idea at first, but after researching it a bit, I’m left with the distinct impression that it’s just not worth it unless there is a specific game that you absolutely MUST be able to play. I don’t care about Tempest and Arkanoid, and I honestly can’t name a single other spinner game. Oh, there’s Avalanche. But I have a 2600, and Kaboom! has nicer colors. So, I deep-sixed that idea in a hurry—in my case it would be a waste of time, money, and space.
As for using it for an ersatz steering wheel, buyer beware—unlike joysticks and trackballs, arcade steering controls are much more difficult to make “generic”. From what I was able to gather, the spinner is only workable on the games with “free spinning” wheels like Pole Position and Iron Man Stewart, and completely sucks for games that use the 270degree wheels (for example).