is the trackball even worth the extra space on a 4p CP?

[sdweim85]

I'm about to start building a new dynamo showcase cab, and was going back and forth between having the 3' trackball in the center or not.  I really don't want it to be large, which is why Im just doing 6 buttons for 1,2p and 4 buttons for 3,4p. 

Are the trackball games even worth it, I've never even played any of them.  Also is there an alternative to a mounted trackball, could I just buy a trackball, mount it in a small box and have it off to the side?  I have a spinner like that, and it works out great.  Doesn't clutter the CP and I can still play those games.  I enjoy a very clean look.

[ids]

If you don't play the games, it's not worth the space and money.  Some people have made the add-on box as you've described. Go with that, if you ever want the trackball.

I always loved the trackball games, so it was a must for me, but to each their own.

[yaksplat]

I'd think there'd be more occasions to use the trackball than there would be having 4 players at once.  But it's all up to your personal value.

[sdweim85]

I enjoy the 90s 4 player games like TMNT, X-men, Simpsons.  So having the 4 players is invaluable.  The only trackball games I can think of I'd play are rampart and marble madness.

[yaksplat]

I also like having my trackball double as a mouse.  Are you only using MAME?  Would you consider setting up other systems that may use a mouse?  Could this also be used as an htpc?

[sdweim85]

I also like having my trackball double as a mouse.  Are you only using MAME?  Would you consider setting up other systems that may use a mouse?  Could this also be used as an htpc?

I don't know what htpc means, but its just mame.  I tried the whole every game in existence machine and it just caused headaches.  Plus I realized I only really enjoyed arcade games on the arcade, and console games with controllers.

[PL1]

I enjoy the 90s 4 player games like TMNT, X-men, Simpsons.  So having the 4 players is invaluable.

There are also 2-player versions of those games, so you may not want to build a 4-player panel unless you're going to have 3-4 players often enough to make it worthwhile.

Check out tmnt2po/tmht2p, xmen2pa, and simpsons2p.


Scott

[sdweim85]

I enjoy the 90s 4 player games like TMNT, X-men, Simpsons.  So having the 4 players is invaluable.

There are also 2-player versions of those games, so you may not want to build a 4-player panel unless you're going to have 3-4 players often enough to make it worthwhile.

Check out tmnt2po/tmht2p, xmen2pa, and simpsons2p.

Scott

Yea I know there are 2p versions of those games.  Also Aliens vs Predator, and some other beat em ups.  Having an extra 2 players though would only add on maybe an extra foot to the cp though.  I can have a trackball and a spinner on the side, but not additional players.  Even if I don't use the 3-4 player games that much, it'd still be nice to have just in case.  I'm not worried about it being too big because of space constraints, I just think it'd look dumb having a gigantic CP.

I'm trying not to exceed the size of the Dynamo Showcase cabinet specs by Gozer

[harveybirdman]

I see both sides really. I think if you have enough company to warrant a four player panel eventually one of your mates is going to want to play golden tee.

Also with a showcase pedestal you have planned using the wise and conservative button placement that you mentioned you should be able to add the track ball tastefully.

However its your cab at the end of the day and I couldn't agree more with your opinion on unused features and all in one cabs.

[sdweim85]

Maybe I'll try to just have the trackball and spinner slide out of the CP like a drawer. 

Yea, I never understood the mega CPs that had 6-7 buttons for 4 players. 

I don't think I've ever seen a 3-4p game that required everyone to have 6-7 buttons. 

I grew up in the 90s with fighters, shmups, and beat em ups.  My friends don't even know what Golden Tee is.

[leapinlew]

If you can get 4 players, the games you might want to check out for a trackball are Shuffleshot, Worldclass Bowling and Shuuz

Shuffleshot was a huge hit at our place.

[Unstupid]

If I had to choose I'd get rid of player 3 and player 4 before I get rid of the trackball!   

[ohioratrodder]

I am having the same problem. I am building two cabinets and cant decide where to put my trackball. I would like both to look as original as i can and not a mega all in one cp. My two cabinet are a hs-5 so the cp is only 25 3/4 wide, and my 4 player is a wrestle war cabinet(same as tmnt/simpsons/xmen i believe) I thought of widening the 4 player cp a few inchs and having every player have 4 buttons and i little easier for player 3/4 to play.

[sdweim85]

Ive been trying to sketch up ideas for a interchangeable CP.  BEFORE you go linking me to those old horrible CPs on google think about it.

One idea was to have the 4 player CP on rails under the wood, and with a split down the middle.  SO you can slide the CP apart and the trackball and spinner rise up.

Or another idea was to just make a 2 player CP with a trackball in the middle like normal, and have the 3p and 4p on their own small rolling pedestals that can just roll up to the main CP and connect.

There has got to be some zany idea that actually worked out awesome.  And not like those frankenstein CPs on google lol.

[Unstupid]

One idea was to have the 4 player CP on rails under the wood, and with a split down the middle.  SO you can slide the CP apart and the trackball and spinner rise up.

Sounds a lot like TJC's cab: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,112889.0.html

[stripe4]

Here's another solution (by monkey puzzle):
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,59359.msg1311309.html#msg1311309

[sdweim85]

The Switchcade was pretty amazing, I definitely do not have the skill or talent to pull something even close to that off though.  Monkey Puzzle's will probably be the direction I go.  Having a pull out draw seems easier.  Honestly though from looking at pictures, people have seemed to add a trackball and spinner into their CP without making it any bigger if they make it tight underneath the cp.  The increase in size seems to come from adding a 3p and 4p. mmmmmhmm

[secret80sman]

If I had to choose I'd get rid of player 3 and player 4 before I get rid of the trackball!   

I use it as my mouse so it is indispensable. A MAME cab without the ability to play legit Centipede just doesn't seem right either.

[Dawgz Rule]

If I had to choose I'd get rid of player 3 and player 4 before I get rid of the trackball!   

+1

Guests seem to love the trackball for navigating the menus.  Trackball is also a nice alternative for some of the lightgun games.   

[Cynicaster]

The trackball is definitely a pricey piece of kit to buy and never use. 

But if the goal is to allow for 3-4 players at parties, etc. then just make sure you're being brutally honest with yourself about what games you really see being played in such situations.  If it really is the 90's beat-em-ups, then go for it.  Personally, I find those games dull as hell to play today because you just keep mindlessly mashing buttons and pumping in "credits" every 8 seconds to continue, and if the amount of times I've seen those games get played for more than 2 minutes straight is any indication, then most of my friends seem to agree.  To each their own on that front, I guess.     

In my case, even if I did have 4 sticks rather than the conventional 2, their frequency of use would be a fraction of what the trackball sees in 3-4 player situations.  Trackball games like the various bowling titles, Shuuz, Shuffleshot, and Golden Tee are perennial crowd-pleasers at my place, presumably because a) casual- to non-gamers find them approachable, meaning the whole crowd is engaged rather than just the gamer geeks; and b) it opens up the gates for friendly smack-talking and friendly competition (incidentally, I've yet to see somebody say "HA! My TMNT score was 87 to your pathetic 45!  WHO'S YOUR DADDY?")

And that's just the party game situation--there are also the classic trackball games that some would consider to be mandatory, such as Centipede, Millipede, Missile Command, and a handful of lesser-known but nonetheless great titles like Reactor, Wacko, and Marble Madness. 

Aside from the already mentioned "secondary" benefit of the trackball as a "mouse", it can also be used as a general purpose analog controller.  While nothing like the real deal, trust me when I say playing Pole Position, Star Wars, Major Havoc, Tac/Scan and countless others can actually be pretty fun with a trackball; not so with a joystick.

As for the "add on" track ball idea, I suppose that's a fair compromise, but I would think a trackball that is off to the side of a big wide 4-player panel would suck due to being way too far off center--I could be wrong there, as I've never actually tried it. 
   
I'm probably sounding like a slimy trackball salesman here, and that's really not my intent--I'm just trying to give you my perspective and experiences to help you make the most informed choice possible. 


 

[keilmillerjr]

I am on the fence as to wether I am going to go with a trackball in my build. But who knows. I just can't think of any other games I've ever played when arcades were still around that used a trackball, besides golden tee.

You could always put a usb male from your computer to female mount on the front of your cabinet. Make it look professional, like thats how it originally came. Then get a usb arcade style trackball such as the one from Ultimarc. Build or modify a small square nightstand so there is a box on the top of it with the trackball. Do the same thing, with a usb port on the bottom of the box.

All you could have to do is grab the stand, put it against your cabinet, hook up the usb cord, and play your trackball games! It's a solution. As long as the top of the stand is flush with the arcade control box, it would probably work out really well.

http://www.ultimarc.com/trackball.html

[yaksplat]

Players 3 & 4 can use xbox 360 controllers on my cab.  That was my solution.

[sdweim85]

I'd rather have the option of 4 players when people want to play for a game we might only enjoy for 5-10 minutes then denying them the ability to play at all.  Even if it barely happens.  And I wouldn't make them use xbox controllers when 2 people get a sweet arcade setup to use.  While having a trackball on the side if needed.  I just use a wireless mouse and keyboard if I need to menu stuff anyways.

i'll probably end up just adding the trackball and spinner with 4 players.  But making it as tight as possible.  Bumping elbows in 2 player is not fun especially in fighters, but bumping with the 3rd and 4th player isn't an issue as much since the games that are 3-4 are mindless anyways.  The trackball in the center should give enough space from 1p and 2p.  Without exceeding the size of a JAMMA CP.  Such as the one below, which I still own, and will probably end up selling.

http://s1129.beta.photobucket.com/user/sdweim85/media/Arcade/IMG_1033.jpg.html

[ahofle]

If I had to choose I'd get rid of player 3 and player 4 before I get rid of the trackball!   

+2
I have a 3 player panel and the trackball gets about 300 times more use than player 3. 

Having a trackball also opens up your cabinet to tons of cabinet friendly PC games like Zuma, Peggle, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor, Platypus, etc.

[sdweim85]

If I had to choose I'd get rid of player 3 and player 4 before I get rid of the trackball!   

+2
I have a 3 player panel and the trackball gets about 300 times more use than player 3. 

Having a trackball also opens up your cabinet to tons of cabinet friendly PC games like Zuma, Peggle, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor, Platypus, etc.

A three player panel?  I'd like to see a picture of that.

[michelevit]

Trackball is a must for me for several reasons...

use it as a mouse
centipede
marble madness
world class bowling
tiger woods golf for PC

My control design is a two player with streetfighter layout and a trackball centered in between.

If you do decide on a trackball, be sure to place nothing infront or behind it. You'll want plenty of room for power swings.

[sdweim85]

I don't mean to resurrect a dead thread, but I finished my CP.  You all can see the choices I ended up going with.  Between 2-4p, trackball, or not, spinner or not.

http://s1129.photobucket.com/user/sdweim85/media/IMG_20130414_202422_850_zpsdfc6fed4.jpg.html?filters[user]=117496835&filters[recent]=1&filters[publicOnly]=1&sort=1&o=0

[chopperthedog]

helped ya out. 


good day.

[sdweim85]

helped ya out. 


good day.
[/quote]

Thanks man , for some reason I could never figure out the Image button when posting.

[Buick455]

you will be happy with the decision to just go 2 player.. I built a 4P as a test panel and set it up for everyone to play, We would have 30 people at a time here at the house. Most of the time people wanted to play the 1 & 2 player games so when I made another test panel I just did 2 player, added the trackball (This was the best thing I b/c I do use it as a mouse for windows) I just wish I bought a spinner years ago, but I still haven't. Some people do whine about wanting to play driving games but that would have to be a whole other setup, this things big enough already.

[kahlid74]

The trackball for me is a req, but I play many arcade games intertwined with golf/bowling games.

[sdweim85]

I didn't do the wiring yet,  but I just wanted to know, is there like a USB or PS/2 Mount I can put for the PCBs for easy quick disconnect.  To relieve tension from the PCB directly to the PC.  Here's an example.

http://www.focusattack.com/neutrik-nausb-w-a-b-usb-feed-through-silver/

but with multiple slots.  Or like I said a Ps/2 one.

[Dekieon]

I didn't do the wiring yet,  but I just wanted to know, is there like a USB or PS/2 Mount I can put for the PCBs for easy quick disconnect.  To relieve tension from the PCB directly to the PC.

I purchased some USB panel mounts so that i could plug everything into them, for an easy disconnect without having to open the main cabinet and disconnect from the pc.

I paid $3.00 a piece with free shipping on ebay.

[Xiaou2]

The Sliding Control panel looks really nice... but on a game that requires a lot of spinning, I can image
knuckles getting smashed into the CP.   

 The only way around that, on his panel, would be to increase the
trackball settings in mame.   The problem with that... is that its cheating.  It reduced difficulty, as well as
actually reduces the level of control you have.


 I thought up a little solution based on dual sliding TV entertainment centers.

 A  "C"  frame would slide via  Cutting board strips and routed grooves..  Or heavy duty drawer slides.
The control panel would sit inside the c-frame.  Ive drawn the pic with vertical slots, and a auto spring lock.
However... I think you could use spring loaded retractable pegs in the actual control panel... which would be controlled via a release button and some wire.  Then you could have locking holes in the c-frame.  Anyways. locking mechs are not that difficult.  Going low tech is manual pins you slide in... however, I do not recommend that route.  Too many things can cause issues with that method.