Pedestal controller with screen project

[extracampine]

I'm embarking on a project to build a pedestal arcade controller with built in Hypermarquee screen. I chose a pedestal design for a few reasons, including for use with a big screen.

I have an idea in my head of what I want to build, but I'm just in the early stages of getting some sort of draft design down. I've done a 3D model of the control panel, and am keen for any feedback on this before I move forward.

Here is a view from the front:



And from the side:



The 3D model in Sketchup:

https://ufile.io/qyl0a

The screen at the top is a Litemax SSH0822-E (8" ultra wide LCD panel) for using with Hypermarquee. The buttons will be Ultimarc Classic RBG LED buttons to use with LED Blinky and the joysticks will be Ultimarc Servostiks. The trackball is an Ultimarc U-Trak. The player buttons are in roughly the area I planned, but I've not measured the exact layout yet. The panel is 5" deep at the back and 4" deep at the front, giving a slight angle. The wood is planned to be 5/8" MDF, over which I can place a 1/8" plexiglass to bring the total top thickness to 3/4".

Thanks for any comments or advice.

[PL1]

Is there a reason for using 1-1/4" button holes instead of standard 1-1/8" holes?   


Scott
EDIT:  Just to clarify:

1-1/8" = 28.575 mm

1-1/4" = 31.75 mm

Threads = 28 mm

Button bezel = 33.5 mm



1-1/4" holes provide too much wiggle room.

It is harder to center the buttons properly and if they are far enough off-center, the button bezel will not cover the hole.

[extracampine]

Is there a reason for using 1-1/4" button holes instead of standard 1-1/8" holes?   

Thanks for the tip. I think my diameter was just a rough estimate, based on the diagram you provide. It wasn't clear to me from all those measurements on the diagram what size the actual hole should be!

[Mike A]

You need more buttons.

[PL1]

Since you mention using estimates, one other thing to look into is the button layouts at Slagcoin.

Printable Slagcoin layout(s) + cardboard test panel + actual buttons = knowing which layout actually feels right to you before you drill holes in your panel.


Scott

[PL1]

You need more buttons.

Pretty sure Mike is referring to the number of admin buttons.

Most builds use 5 or 6 admin functions.
- P1 Coin
- P2 Coin
- P1 Start
- P2 Start
- Exit
- Pause

How many admin buttons do you want/need and do you want dedicated buttons or "shifted functions"?

https://web.archive.org/web/20160809113045/http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?title=FAQ#Number_of_admin_buttons


Scott

[drventure]

Cool. Just curious, why is the trackball angled? Or is that something else in the middle?

[extracampine]

Thanks for the replies.

PL1 - good tip; that is exactly what I was planning to do. I was going to use the "standard Japanese arcade layout" shown on Slagcoin (but without buttons 7 & 8 ).

Regarding admin buttons, I was planning to use the ones you list PL1, except for player 2 coin. As I understand it, a single credit button should suffice as both players can use the available credits, or am I wrong here?

The additional buttons I was going to add are:

Select, favourites, volume down and volume up. I figured that since i have the space up top, I may as well. Also, guests wouldn't know about shifted functions.

Drventure - the trackball is angled, or at least the mounting plate is. I plan to use the U-trak, and according to the Ultimarc website the plate is mounted at an angle:

https://www.ultimarc.com/images/tb_diagram_top.jpg

[PL1]

As I understand it, a single credit button should suffice as both players can use the available credits, or am I wrong here?

Depends on your game list.

You did make a game list already, right? (A list that reads "All of them" is pretty much guaranteed to cause problems.)

Some 2-player versions of games like Gauntlet (gauntlet2p) assign credits to players based on the coin slot, while some like TMNT (tmnt2po) don't.

The additional buttons I was going to add are:

Select, favourites

One common way to avoid a dedicated "Select" buton is to use P1B1 to launch games from the Front End and use "Coin" as Select in console games.

Have you already figured out how to configure your desired Front End to work with the Favorite button? (You might decide that this button isn't needed.  )


Scott

[extracampine]

Lol....my list is pretty much "all of them" (I'm expanding my collection) - I'm aware there will be creases to iron out. My front end is Hyperspin, and I can use the favourites button with that. You're saying that I need 2 credit buttons for P1 and P2 for some games? Good to know...maybe I will replace the favourites button with that, if necessary.

[PL1]

One more consideration regarding how to get to your final game list.

Let's assume that you want to end up with a huge list of 1000 that doesn't include crappy bootlegs, games like Thayer's Quest with controls that you can't duplicate, and games that aren't working yet in MAME.

Which is easier, counting up from 0 to 1000 or counting down from 20,000 to 1000?

The math works, even with a crazy game list of 2000 where you spend more time scrolling thru the list than playing.

IMHO it's better to add diamonds than subtract coal. YMMV.

The "All Killer, No Filler" game lists here are a solid starting point.


Scott

[extracampine]

Thanks Scott, I'm sure you're right. At the moment I have around 7000 DOS/Windows games alone, and over 150 systems on my wheel (including MAME). Don't know what the total game count is but a few tens of thousands at least. I'm sure that there's plenty of "coal" in there, but it's just the collector in me At the moment I'm focusing on the hardware - perhaps I will pare things down once I've completed the build!

Nobody has commented on the marquee screen in the controller. I've not seen this done before, and wondered if folks' think that it's a good, bad or indifferent idea. My only concern is that the screen might be distracting from the gameplay screen, but I presume that the marquee screen would be dimmable.