Author Topic: PS3 GT6 multi-monitor "arcade" driving rig (Read 12997 times)

jbserra · « **on:** April 21, 2015, 03:05:14 pm »

I'm new to the forum only having one other game that loosely fits the definition of "arcade", but that aside, I'm also building a driving rig with PS3s.

I'm curious if anyone else has done anything similar and if there are any tips/tricks to make this feel like a real arcade game.

I have:
Logitech GT wheel/pedal set
3x32" LCD
3xPS3
3xGT6 games
gaming rocker
network

I have it set up and running. I have mounted the TVs to posts in the appropriate locations so they are well lined up and off the ground. The steering wheel is currently hooked to a side table with the pedals underneath and I can choose a seat :-) It works and I'm impressed with the results, but now on to the next steps.

5.1 surround is in the works. I'm considering an actual car seat with rails and a possible e-brake. I'm probably going to put everything up on a platform to make it easier to get into the seat and to raise the TVs by the same amount.

One thing that strikes me as painful is having to bring up the 3 playstations each time. Any hacks to make it more automated?

Any recommendations on the cockpit design?

Like I mentioned earlier, I was looking for any ideas for those that may have done something similar. Thanks in advance!

jbserra · « **Reply #1 on:** April 21, 2015, 05:27:30 pm »

Updated with picture of current setup. As you can see, the playstations are updating. A reason why I've pulled them off the internet now so they only request the update when I want them to! Updating 3 playstations when you want to just play a game is frustrating!

Typefighter01 · « **Reply #2 on:** April 22, 2015, 06:29:01 pm »

I guess I could just google it, but I am assuming running 3 x PS3's will allow you to run three monitors in extended mode on GT6? Is there any type of hacking involved to do this?

SailorSat · « **Reply #3 on:** April 22, 2015, 08:30:28 pm »

I like that desk

What games do support multi-monitor setups like that?

Fursphere · « **Reply #4 on:** April 22, 2015, 09:36:57 pm »

I think just Grand Turismo supports it...

jbserra · « **Reply #5 on:** April 22, 2015, 09:44:02 pm »

Quote from: Typefighter01 on April 22, 2015, 06:29:01 pm

I guess I could just google it, but I am assuming running 3 x PS3's will allow you to run three monitors in extended mode on GT6? Is there any type of hacking involved to do this?

There is no hack. Both GT5 and GT6 support it currently. I don't believe they did when they were released, but they had updates that added the feature. I believe there was a PS2 GT that also supported it.

Technically, I can add 2 more screens for a total of 5 (well, if I want to buy 2 more PS3s and 2 more games). What's nice is it doesn't stretch the view, it adds to it.

Quote from: SailorSat on April 22, 2015, 08:30:28 pm

I like that desk

What games do support multi-monitor setups like that?

I wish there were more, but just GT5/GT6 at this time. A flight simulator would be awesome or a shooter :-)

I put the tvs on swivel mounts, so I could spin each tv away and could do any LAN game that PS3 supports with each user getting their own screen. I did this for a Minecraft party for my kid.

Yes, the little "desk" is just an end table :-) I will build more pieces, but I'm taking it slow and mocking up different things and researching different setups, hence my post.

Boomslang · « **Reply #6 on:** April 23, 2015, 02:55:54 am »

I used to have a setup like this but its best really to just use a pc and do triple screen gaming that way as there just isn't enough console games that it supports.

I also used xbox 360 and Forza 3 and 4 both allow this and so does Baja:Edge of Control

cant remember if any others allow it but its just better to do it on pc and then almost any game can be used with it

vandale · « **Reply #7 on:** April 23, 2015, 04:19:47 am »

Quote from: Boomslang on April 23, 2015, 02:55:54 am

I used to have a setup like this but its best really to just use a pc and do triple screen gaming that way as there just isn't enough console games that it supports.

I also used xbox 360 and Forza 3 and 4 both allow this and so does Baja:Edge of Control

cant remember if any others allow it but its just better to do it on pc and then almost any game can be used with it

Agree. Probably cheaper to build a PC than buy 3 PS3's etc. I did a quick test prior to building my cab and uploaded a video. Its a Radeon 265, was great for car racing and Alien but needed 2 of them for more complex graphics

jbserra · « **Reply #8 on:** April 23, 2015, 08:37:45 am »

While I agree the PC solution may be more flexible, I don't think it would be less expensive.

I started down this path after I wasn't able to grab a used Sega Ferrari F355 deluxe 3-screen setup. This setup is a lot more flexible than if I would've grabbed that arcade, but obviously not as much as if it were a PC. I still think the Sega would've been cool, I keep telling myself I got a more mature, update-able, more tracks, more cars, etc. I never really got into Gran Turismo, so the fact that it is entirely new to me is also appealing.

Cost-wise, I'd be curious to see the math. The PS3s are priced well on the used market now. They were maybe $100 each. Technically, I already owned 1 ps3, but lets call it $350 if I built it from scratch today. Do you think I could build a PC for $350 that will drive 3 32" screens? Maybe I'll hook both up! I think each TV has a VGA as well. I'll have to check.

SailorSat · « **Reply #9 on:** April 23, 2015, 09:29:46 am »

Don't forget BuggyBoy and TX-1

vandale · « **Reply #10 on:** April 25, 2015, 12:09:03 am »

Quote from: jbserra on April 23, 2015, 08:37:45 am

While I agree the PC solution may be more flexible, I don't think it would be less expensive.

I started down this path after I wasn't able to grab a used Sega Ferrari F355 deluxe 3-screen setup. This setup is a lot more flexible than if I would've grabbed that arcade, but obviously not as much as if it were a PC. I still think the Sega would've been cool, I keep telling myself I got a more mature, update-able, more tracks, more cars, etc. I never really got into Gran Turismo, so the fact that it is entirely new to me is also appealing.

Cost-wise, I'd be curious to see the math. The PS3s are priced well on the used market now. They were maybe $100 each. Technically, I already owned 1 ps3, but lets call it $350 if I built it from scratch today. Do you think I could build a PC for $350 that will drive 3 32" screens? Maybe I'll hook both up! I think each TV has a VGA as well. I'll have to check.

You could be right, maybe its location that changes the cost. I am in NZ and my costs were as follows:
PC solution:
Ex lease quad core workstation with windows 7 64bit pro $80
Radeon infinity car $150
mouse/KB $10
Games <$30 each
Total $270 (1 game) $300 (2 games) or $240 if you torrent your games and don't play online

PS3:
3x PS3's $450 ($150 each here)
Games $30-$100 each (remember you have to buy the game 3 times to play on 3 screens as opposed to PC which will play 3 screens per single game license. My PC rig has Grid 1 and 2, Dirt 3, Ridge Racer and F1 2013/2014 all of which cost less than $200 in licenses. If you were to do that on PS3 if it had the capability then you would be buy 18 game discs

Chur

Boomslang · « **Reply #11 on:** April 25, 2015, 03:49:50 am »

even if ps3 is slightly cheaper its still limiting yourself to about 3 games vs over 100 games on pc really not to mention additions such as head tracking. However if you truly LOVE Gran Turismo then you will still have a great time

Personally I wouldn't bother with the 3 monitor setup anymore as Oculus Rift is the future. I just can't go back now after using mine to 2D monitors on a racing rig such as this. The immersion is awesome and beyond anything ive ever experienced on my old triple monitor but hopefully this works out awesome for you bud

only giving extra options! There is no bad way to do what your doing after all

Fursphere · « **Reply #12 on:** April 25, 2015, 11:52:11 am »

Quote from: Boomslang on April 25, 2015, 03:49:50 am

Personally I wouldn't bother with the 3 monitor setup anymore as Oculus Rift is the future.

Have you tried one? I personally haven't yet, but I've watched a few videos of people using them for 30+ minutes, then not being able to walk when they take the things off for a period of time. Screws with your equilibrium pretty bad apparently. No thanks!

I have a head tracking setup. Its pretty cool, but not as useful as I thought it would be. (TrackIR 5)

Boomslang · « **Reply #13 on:** April 25, 2015, 06:15:41 pm »

Yes I have one and no I have no issues. I believe the first version had a lower refresh rate which made people feel funny however I don't suffer with latest version at all.

vandale · « **Reply #14 on:** April 25, 2015, 07:44:55 pm »

Quote from: Boomslang on April 25, 2015, 06:15:41 pm

Yes I have one and no I have no issues. I believe the first version had a lower refresh rate which made people feel funny however I don't suffer with latest version at all.

I have the latest oculus and to be honest I don't use it for car racing. I used it to play Alien resurrection right through, very good and immersive but imagine staring really close to a 1080p screen with half the res for each eye, it isn't the best looking and can be pixelated compared to my 3 screen 24inch 1920x1200 driving frame.

Personal preference I suppose.

We have 27inch 4k's at work, 3 of those together looks awesome!!!

Regards

Boomslang · « **Reply #15 on:** April 25, 2015, 09:59:02 pm »

Yes however it's still not the finished product remember. The resolution will be fine. I played iracing with it and I would never go back to triple monitors now. 4k triple screen would need a insane pc to run games

jbserra · « **Reply #16 on:** April 27, 2015, 10:01:52 am »

Well, I can't picture an arcade full of people with Oculus Rifts attached to their heads. While it may be cool, I think the party would lose some of the social interactions and fun. Regardless, I'm not going VR or head mounted displays or tracking any time soon. If anything, I'm going bigger and getting projectors :-)

Again, I'm just looking for anyone that has integrated PS3s into an arcade type setup and any recommendations to make it more seamless to the user. I think this is a solid platform. Everyone that has tried it could sit for hours because it's addicting. In the end, the rig is flexible to accept other inputs as well, but right now I'm focusing on the PS3s.

I ordered a PS2 Sega Ferrari F355 Challenge so I can pretend like I picked up that arcade. Fortunately it works with the same Logitech GT wheel, so it will be some single screen fun. Unfortunately, no multi-screen for that title...

Malenko · « **Reply #17 on:** April 27, 2015, 10:15:04 am »

Quote from: jbserra on April 27, 2015, 10:01:52 am

Again, I'm just looking for anyone that has integrated PS3s into an arcade type setup and any recommendations to make it more seamless to the user. I think this is a solid platform. Everyone that has tried it could sit for hours because it's addicting. In the end, the rig is flexible to accept other inputs as well, but right now I'm focusing on the PS3s.

I didnt do multi screen PS3, mostly because of the very limited number of games, same thing for XBOX360. But I did get a wheel that works on PS3, 360, and PC so I can enjoy all of them on the single screen I do have. I do plan to eventually expand to 3 screens and making a real driving seat set up, but the outside screens would be for PC only, the center would be for the consoles. Right now its just a TV on a small shelf in front of a race chair.

PS3 sits on top of the PC, 360 sits on the shelf opposite the dreamcast. Right now the 360 is a few feet over hooked up to my main TV. I sit in that chair when I wanna game downstairs while my wife watches TV. She did make fun of me for playing Cruisn USA on N64 with a controller while sitting in front of a wheel

jbserra · « **Reply #18 on:** April 27, 2015, 05:33:19 pm »

Thanks for sharing. Looks like you have a good setup/plan. I should be able to do PS2/PS3/PC with my wheel, but I guess I'm limited to just that. Also all other games will just use the main screen unless I do something with PC. It sounds like I almost HAVE to add that in anyway :-)

For those that are multi-screen PC racing, is the game smart enough to add view or just stretch the view? Do all games support adding the view or would that depend on the game as well?

Malenko · « **Reply #19 on:** April 27, 2015, 07:19:40 pm »

there are ways to fake it, like with softTH but most modern games support multiscreens

vandale · « **Reply #20 on:** May 02, 2015, 08:09:07 pm »

My old attempt to celebrate the release of GT6, sold long time ago though.

ant2 · « **Reply #21 on:** May 02, 2015, 09:15:55 pm »

Ati cards use eyefinity (that's what i run) this then increases the resultion.
So for example if one screen runs at 1920 x 1024. Then it will set the display to 5760 x 3072.
Search in youtube for mamerigs. I've got a clip of my rig running burnout. And another video which is an overview but it was filmed on a crappy camera a few years back. Will do a new one at some point.

Malenko · « **Reply #22 on:** May 03, 2015, 08:53:59 pm »

Quote from: ant2 on May 02, 2015, 09:15:55 pm

Ati cards use eyefinity (that's what i run) this then increases the resultion.
So for example if one screen runs at 1920 x 1024. Then it will set the display to 5760 x 3072.
Search in youtube for mamerigs. I've got a clip of my rig running burnout. And another video which is an overview but it was filmed on a crappy camera a few years back. Will do a new one at some point.

close, 5760x1024 you triple the width not the height, unless you have 9 monitors

vandale · « **Reply #23 on:** May 04, 2015, 02:51:15 am »

I have 3x 24inch Dells and get 5760x1200

jbserra · « **Reply #24 on:** May 06, 2015, 09:48:58 pm »

Quote from: vandale on May 02, 2015, 08:09:07 pm

My old attempt to celebrate the release of GT6, sold long time ago though.

Wow! That's a great setup! Was that completely from scratch or did you use an arcade as a base?

vandale · « **Reply #25 on:** May 08, 2015, 06:58:37 pm »

Thanks. It was an empty battle gear 2 cabinet. I just added the screens, ps3's, control hacks and audio amps. The logitechs fit snug behind the control panels without any need to modify the cabinet.

I wish I never sold it

jbserra · « **Reply #26 on:** May 12, 2015, 12:32:39 pm »

Hooked up my PS2 and put in Sega Ferrari F355 Challenge. Might have to adjust the sensitivity on the wheel (over sensitive) and the feedback was clunky. Gameplay was ok, but I'm thinking the GT6 was the way to go. I'll still put in some game time before switching it back :-)

jbserra · « **Reply #27 on:** May 13, 2015, 11:32:42 am »

Ok, I may have figured out how to automate bootup. I'm going to get IR receivers for the playstations and have a remote run through all of the commands. I should be able to run all 3 off of one remote and use the same commands to get all 3 up and ready to drive. I have one IR receiver I'll play with before I order two more. I'll report back in case anyone else is interested.

jbserra · « **Reply #28 on:** May 26, 2015, 09:21:23 am »

More good news, I'll be picking up a sit down cabinet in 2 weeks. I will migrate all my hardware to it and get closer to a "proper" setup :-)

I'll see if I can get the IR boot up and the hardware migration all done together and I'll post the results.

Boomslang · « **Reply #29 on:** May 26, 2015, 03:02:48 pm »

I've done this before with event ghost and used the Logitech harmony ps3 adapters. Works fine for booting ps3's and making it choose game etc

Otherwise if you have a hacked ps3 or xbox you can ftp into the consoles and load the games via batch files from a pc

jbserra · « **Reply #30 on:** May 27, 2015, 09:29:25 am »

Quote from: Boomslang on May 26, 2015, 03:02:48 pm

I've done this before with event ghost and used the Logitech harmony ps3 adapters. Works fine for booting ps3's and making it choose game etc

Otherwise if you have a hacked ps3 or xbox you can ftp into the consoles and load the games via batch files from a pc

Whoa! That's good information. Thanks!

jbserra · « **Reply #31 on:** October 26, 2015, 10:58:03 am »

Ok, Driving Rig has been on the sidelines for a while. With winter coming, more progress will be made.

I picked up a driving cabinet that I'm going to modify, moving away from my mock up. I know there are some opinions of what is right/wrong when it comes to shapes and configurations for arcade cabinets, so I thought I would throw this out there. The cabinet is not wide enough for a 32" LCD. I also plan to attach the 2 additional peripheral screens at some point, but need to decide how to modify the cabinet for the 1 screen "Phase 1". My thought was to just notch straight in and put the TV over the opening. This would recess the TV slightly and I think it wouldn't hurt the aesthetics too much. There is a marquis that tapers in slightly toward the monitor and if I did the notch, it would leave a piece of wood that protrudes slightly. Option #2 is to follow the contour of the marguis and then continue the notch as planned after that. I'm not sure I like the profile that would create on the side view. Open to any additional options. What do you think?

I masked off the profile to see which I liked. The outside edge of the tape is where I would cut.

jbserra · « **Reply #32 on:** June 14, 2017, 04:28:55 pm »

Wow, it's sad how slow I move :-)

Finally moved the full 3-screen mock-up into the arcade style cabinet. Generally happy with the cuts I made and layout, but may have to do some tweaks with TV height and driving position.

Hopefully this won't be my last update for 20 months...

ant2 · « **Reply #33 on:** June 21, 2017, 10:19:36 am »

Hi, I built a tripple screen racer about 5 years back, I did a couple of mods to it a few years ago:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,148617.0.html

Lots of transducers and on springs

All the best with your project

isamu · « **Reply #34 on:** June 28, 2017, 08:34:32 am »

Quote from: Boomslang on April 25, 2015, 03:49:50 am

even if ps3 is slightly cheaper its still limiting yourself to about 3 games vs over 100 games on pc really not to mention additions such as head tracking. However if you truly LOVE Gran Turismo then you will still have a great time

Personally I wouldn't bother with the 3 monitor setup anymore as Oculus Rift is the future. I just can't go back now after using mine to 2D monitors on a racing rig such as this. The immersion is awesome and beyond anything ive ever experienced on my old triple monitor but hopefully this works out awesome for you bud

only giving extra options! There is no bad way to do what your doing after all

Sadly this is the path I've gone down as well. I say "sadly" because like you, I'm having a hard time going back to playing racers on a flat 2D screen. VR is like a death-trap. Once it gets its hooks in you, it's hard to let go. I was playing a bunch of OR2FXT and some Ridge Racer just now, and all the while thinking to myself "God, give me strength to resist the temptation to load up F-Zero GX in DolphinVR" LOL. What I wouldn't give to have hacked version of OR2006, Daytona 2, Scud Race and Ridge Racer that support VR.


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