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Trackball vs. Spinner
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Felsir:
Hi,

I'm currently in the planning phase of my arcade cabinet. I have already bought the parts I want to use (just waiting impatiently for those to arrive).
I have not yet bought a spinner control or trackball.

I would like to hear your opinion:
Is a trackball okay as input device for games like Arkanoid? I'm wondering if I could use the trackball also as input for spinner games, saving some space on the CP.

Sephroth57:
well anything short of a spinner in arkanoid just wouldnt feel right. its pretty much how much of a perfectionist are you? if you can deal with not so precise in some games but the great trackball feel in games made for it then yeah. but i think if youre going as far as to add a trackball id add a spinner too. I dont want to clutter my fighting cab so ill probably just make a separate CP (maybe switchable) for classics, which are the majority of games that use spinners/balls
Stingray:
While there aren't many games that use trackballs & spinners (compared to the number that use joysticks) the ones that do require them don't "seem" right to me with any other type of input. My cab will eventually get a second swapable panel with a spinner & trackball.

Of course this is only my opinion. As they say, your mileage may vary. Try a few spinner games with a trackball and decide if it's good enough or not.

-S
Felsir:
Thanks for the input! I guess swapable control panels doesn't sound too bad... I noticed that many people swap CPs around and now I can see why  :)
My first version will be a straightforward 2-player-6-button-each affair. I'll probably make a trackball + spinner panel later. Currently the only trackball/spinner games that really interrest me are Marble Madness and Arkanoid (I noticed that Space Harrier is also playable with a trackball, might look into that one too)...

On with the planning for the CP then! Tonight I'll start the cab by measuring things twice and cutting those things once as in the advise I found on the message board here  ;)
Stingray:

--- Quote from: Felsir on February 03, 2004, 10:52:13 am ---
My first version will be a straightforward 2-player-6-button-each affair. I'll probably make a trackball + spinner panel later.
--- End quote ---

This is exactly what I have going on right now. The joystick panel is finished. After I get the cab up and running (hopefully in about a week) I'll get started on the other panels. First will be a trackball/spinner panel - possibly with a Tron stick as well. Next will be a Steering wheel/ shifter panel. Somewhere I'd like to squeeze in an angled four way (for Q-Bert), but that will only be added if space allows.

-S
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