New Forum Member about to begin build

[BS]

Good Day All,

I read quite a bit on the forum but have now decided to build a cabinet for myself.  I have been playing my favorite old Arcade games for years on a first generation Playstation that has now died.  I purchased all of those game compliation discs like "Atari Collection", "Midway Collection", etc.  I decided to try playing them now via MAME.  I also own an old Vectrex (no longer working) though I still have my carts.  I also have a Sega Genesis and may games.  I really don't play the Genesis games much any more.  I really more interested in the old Arcade games from about 1978-1986.

These are generally my favorite games (listed from Favorite down) that I hope to be able to play on the cabinet: 
Asteroids
Missile Command
Major Havoc
Battlezone
Mrs Pac-Man
Galaga
Star Castle
Tempest
Lunar Lander
Gravatar
Joust
DigDug
Qbert
Satan's Hollow
Space Invaders
Tron
Moon Patrol

Anyhow, I am a big fan of the Vector Graphics stuff and Missile Command.  Man do I love playing MC and Asteroids and cannot tell you which is my favorite I love them both.
I'm thinking about these games and a CP and wondering if it is possible to play that handful of games via one CP.

Also I really want to be able to play Major Havoc with a proper Roller Controller (remember the left right roller that game had?).

I'm thinking about a two person setup with a Joystick and six buttons per stick.  Also I will need a Trakball....which I have.  I was wondering though about Qbert and Battlezone.  Qbert had a 4 way stick that was set at a 45 degree angle and Battlezone had two flight sticks one of which had a fire button.  Also Tron and Satan's Hollow used a flight style stick with trigger too.

Would it be crazy to do a CP with the two stick and six button setup plus track ball but also add the Qbert stick and a couple of flight sticks for Battlezone, etc?

Also where can a guy find a Roller Controller for proper Major Havoc play?  I won't consider a spinner for Major Havoc.  Or will I be stuck building my own roller controller?

Thank you!

[Drnick]

I'll bite

A roller mechanism for major havoc came up somewhere last week for me, let me see now. OH yeah here

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,159237.0.html

OK onto the rest,  You couldn't have picked a bunch of games with more diverse controls if you were trying could you? I've broken the games down by control type below.

Asteroids (Specific 5 button layout)
Gravatar (sic) I think you mean Gravitar (Specific 5 Button Layout)
Star Castle (specific 4 button layout)

Mrs Pac-Man (4 way leaf)
DigDug (4 way leaf 1 button)
Joust (2 way leaf 1 button)
Space Invaders (2 way leaf 1 button or 3 button layout)
Moon Patrol (2 way leaf 2 buttons)
Galaga (2 way leaf 1 button)

Tron (Tron Stick)
Satan's Hollow (Tron Stick)

Battlezone (2 x 4 way top button sticks)

Qbert (4 way leaf offset 45 degrees

Missile Command (Trackball and 3 buttons)

Major Havoc (Special Roller)

Tempest (Spinner, 2 buttons)

Lunar Lander (Throttle control 3 Button)

You can't get a good playing experience on a single control panel with this amount of controls. 

Recommend 2 player control panel with trackball and spinner, Joysticks will want to be programmable ones (not going to feel legitimate though) try one of these.

https://paradisearcadeshop.com/en/home/controls/levers/levers-paradise-arcade/2206_magenta-analog-to-digital-programmable-joystick
or
http://www.ultimarc.com/ultrastik_info.html

You could of course just put in standard 8 ways and add a 4 way leaf joystick on there
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=402

Battlezone is basically a non starter unless you modify joysticks with top mount fire buttons or play it 2 player, one controls the other fires

I would get a good HOTAS Stick and plonk that down on the control panel for Tron/satans hollow/Lunar Lander/ A friend uses one of these.
https://www.box.co.uk/Logitech-G-Saitek-X56-RGB-Throttle-Sti_2348837.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAg_HhBRDNARIsAGHLV52VNverNag0IXJ3XwSa6j-xAWeIssexLkt4lnyiQaNgIaIECHCyO-AaAis4EALw_wcB

[BS]

DrNick,

Thank you so much for your reply!  I am probably not a very savvy or proficient forum participant and I was hoping that my initial post was not going to be seen as that of a troll, etc.  Though I do see that I made several typos.....so sorry about that.

Since my Playstation (It was not and ideal way to play these games anyhow) died and I decided to do a cabinet project I've been doing some reading and thinking about what I would want to accomplish (I guess play, game wise).  The seventeen games I mentioned are from that '78-'86 time period and those years coincide with my teenage years.  I can not imagine a better time to have been a teen.  It was really a great time for the Arcade experience and the music of the 70's and 80's coupled with the Arcade were some amazing times.  By 86-87 I was finishing up my college years and had moved on to the adult world and my arcade days really faded away.  About the time Rampage came out I was pretty much done with my arcade years and I never got into that game or the fighting style games that followed.....those just don't interest me.

I have watched some youtube videos about making a game/mame cabinet and I see these people with 15,000, 20,000 up to 50,000 games in a cabinet and I think "WTF!!?".  I then read that it's best to focus on a small number of games that you really want to play so as to make it easier to have a control panel that will work for you.  Basically that's what I did....I searched my soul for the games that really made my day back then.  I'm sure I could find another handful to add too but the list is already pretty good to me.  Plus I own these games already.

I will look through the links you have sent and study up on the controllers you have suggested.  I have much to learn on those.

I was wondering about Battlezone, which is an all time favorite of mine.  When you say "non-starter" unless a joystick is modified....I wonder this.....Couldn't one play it with a couple of flight sticks with a trigger to fire instead of the top mounted fire button?  To me a Tron style stick could be used for the right side stick and the trigger fire the tank rounds.  The left stick would not be used to fire just aid in steering as was typical of the Battlezone arcade cabinets.  Or am I remembering incorrectly about the Battlezone sticks?  Wasn't it only the right hand stick that had the fire capability?  Or perhaps I'm unaware of some joystick functionality problems?

About a left and right Major Havoc roller controller.  I was looking around the Internet to see about buying such a controller and I found a site where they were posted for sale but in contacting the vendor he no longer had them.  I wonder who manufactures these?  Where can I pick on up? I'm finding that to be a confusing situation.

I think I need to sit down and look at some control panel layouts and also some of the original game layouts and see what I can come up with to play as many of these 17 as possible.  If I had to drop any of the seventeen I would say....I could drop Lunar Lander, Dig Dug, and Moon Patrol.  The remaining fourteen would be harder to sort through, LOL.

Thank you so much for replying....it means a great deal to me!

Bill S. 

[javeryh]

If I were just starting out, I'd just try and build something that works and looks nice and worry about specific games to play later on when building the next cabinet.  You really aren't going to be able to build one control panel that plays all of these games properly.  Also, there are TONS of great games that I only became aware of after building my cab and figuring out what else to play (and reading this forum).  Don't be worried that one cabinet with "standard" controls won't be enough.  It will be plus you can always build a second cab with more specific controls.

[Mike A]

Brother Javeryh speaks with wisdom. Start small.

[Gilrock]

I like a lot of the same games.  I've struggled over what buttons I want as well.  I'll show what I'm going to start with since it sounds similar to what you would like so maybe it will spark some ideas.  I wasn't 100% sure I wanted the spinner and the buttons near it but I finally decided to go with it and make the surrounding button work for games like Asteroids and Star Castle.  For missile command I'll be happy putting one hand on the player1 or 2 buttons to control the bases.  I've never played the fighting games so I reduced it down to 4 buttons.  I've marked the purpose of each hole.

[keilmillerjr]

Get rid of the buttons and spinner up top and your good to go. No one wants to hit other controls while playing. Keep it simple. Unfortunately, to have a good experience, you might have to have more than one machine.

[Mike A]

You could also make a modular control panel. I did that a long time ago. I wired my CPs up to cat5 cables. The Ipac sat in the base of the control panel. I popped 2 CP latches and disconnected the cat5 cables. Put the new CP on, latch it in place, connect a couple cat5 cables and you have a new set of controls.

[Gilrock]

I already know what I'm getting into with mine so I know hitting my hand using the trackball has never been an issue.  I must not play games where it matters because I don't think buttons are going to be in the way playing centipede and missile command.  So OP you gotta make the choice for what you want and not be bullied into removing buttons you really wanted.  I've been playing with this pre-made one I bought years ago so my new panel is a big reduction in stuff for me.

[Mike A]

So OP you gotta make the choice for what you want and not be bullied into removing buttons you really wanted.

Offering sound advice from experience is not bullying.

[Gilrock]

I have a lot of experience as well and I consider my advice just as sound.

[Mike A]

Nobody accused you of bullying. Nobody belittled your advice.

[Gilrock]

My advice to listen to everyone and then decide for yourself is based on my experiences over many years so I did not intend for anyone here to take it personal.  Peace.

[BS]

Mike, Keil, Gilrock,

Thank you so much for helping!  I think each of you is offering me some valuable insight and experience and it is all definitely something I need to consider.

Gilrock thank you so much for those CP images.  Both of those layouts look like they would be pretty functional for the group of games I am hoping to play.
I see in your custome CP pic you don't have six or seven buttons per player....just four.  In thinking about this it hits me that the six to seven buttons per player that I see on other CP's is due to the need to play the fighting style games correct?  If so then I can probably consider going with three or four buttons per player.

About Battlezone.....am I correct in my assumption that I can play it with a Tron style stick with trigger instead of a Flight stick with button?  If I remember correctly didn't Battlezone sticks just do a forward/backward two way movement?  If so couldn't I still use a four or eight way stick too?  By doing that wouldn't I have the option to then play Tron or Satan's Hollow with the same Tron style stick?

Thanks to all of you guys!

Bill S.

[Drnick]

You are indeed correct 2 x 2 way and only need 1 top button. So yes you could play with joystick and flight stick.

[Gilrock]

That's my understanding.  You want the 6 or 7 if you like the fighting games.  I realized I mainly only use 3 on most games and wanted to be able to rest my palms without landing on buttons.  I don't even remember how I'm playing Battlezone I'll have to fire it up again.  Before you pick something I'd look at the pinned posts in the project announcements area.  Go through the hall of fame projects and the I finished my project here's a pic threads and checkout all the completed panels and see if you find one you like and copy it.  Also just search on "control panel layouts" and you will find a lot of discussions.  I just went through this last week making my final decision for this new CP.