looking for opinion on this CP mock up

[CitznFish]

very high tech mock up in cardboard 

I have a CP that is 30.5"W by 9"D.

I'm debating between the 6 or 7 buttons.

The spinner is a must. There isn't anything to the left of the spinner so you can really give it a massive spin when needed

The trackball is currently centered with the joysticks but I could move it down an inch or two. I'm not a huge golden tee fan but I think there's room to play if needed.

In my fake playing/testing it feels comfortable. There's room to rest your wrist at the bottom of the CP.

for 2 players you are standing shoulder to shoulder, not much I can do about that.

[PL1]

Looks like there isn't going to be enough room between the trackball and P2 joystick.   
- A trackball needs about 6" x 6" under the panel.
- A joystick needs about 3.5" x 3.5" under the panel, plus a bit extra for the wiring.


Scott

[CitznFish]

Looks like there isn't going to be enough room between the trackball and P2 joystick.   
- A trackball needs about 6" x 6" under the panel.
- A joystick needs about 3.5" x 3.5" under the panel, plus a bit extra for the wiring.


Scott

I mocked up the space needed for each controller, you can kinda see them in the bottom pic. they fit but it's close, like 1/2" gap between the trackball(Ultimarc U-Trak)  and the player 2 joystick.  Not sure what I can do about that while keeping some sort of symmetry.

I agree the player 2 joystick may get in the way for games like golden tee but I think it should be OK for everything else.

[PL1]

Also, the Exit button is very close to the spinner and very close to Pause.
Might be good to increase the space between Exit and Pause.
Consider trading positions for Exit and Pause with P1 Coin and Start or move Exit and Pause above P2 joystick.


Scott

[javeryh]

I would definitely not put Exit and Pause next to each other like that.  There will be many times where you go to hit pause and next thing you know you are back at the game list.  Or someone is losing and hits exit "by mistake"

[CitznFish]

I would definitely not put Exit and Pause next to each other like that.  There will be many times where you go to hit pause and next thing you know you are back at the game list.  Or someone is losing and hits exit "by mistake"

Also, the Exit button is very close to the spinner and very close to Pause.
Might be good to increase the space between Exit and Pause.
Consider trading positions for Exit and Pause with P1 Coin and Start or move Exit and Pause above P2 joystick.


Scott

Good call on the exit and pause . I've separated them, one on each side of the cp now.

Also decided 6 buttons is enough.

[yamatetsu]

How are you going to mount the CP? If you screw it on a box/ some battens, those will take up some space. Because of that, the spinner won't fit in that position, and the upper buttons probably won't, too.

Also you have to consider that every compoent takes up more space underneath the CP than above. For the buttons it's the micro scwitches and the wiring, for everything else it's the wiring. If you put the buttons so close together, you are going to have fun trying to align the switches and wiring them together.

I suggest to use of scrap piece of wood, drill all the holes and actually put all the components in or at least cut holes in the cardboard mockup and put everything in (don't forget the space that your mounting method will eat up!). Try to mockup some of the wiring, too, as this also uses up some space.

Last but not least, you have to put the encoder somewhere, too.

[Howard_Casto]

This isn't a realistic layout.  I mean the layout itself isn't that bad but it's going to have to be a few inches wider to properly accommodate everything.  I'm not loving that trackball and spinner on there.... spinner games really need a place for you to rest your hand if you play for any length of time.  The trackball is doable but you'll still need more room.  Also just my 2 cents but admin buttons don't have any place on a control panel... if you don't want to do a coin door then slap those credit, pause and exit buttons on the front of the cab somewhere.... nothing is worse than playing a long game to have someone accidentally hit the exit button on you  in the heat of the moment. 

[zestyphresh]

I recently built a similar control panel, albeit narrower and there are a couple of things;

1) If you're using Launchbox you don't necessarily need pause and exit as they have implemented 'Pause' screens, although it might not work on every last emulator (it does on MAME, Retroarch). If you're using an iPac, 1 Start + 2 Start is Exit anyway.
2) Move the coin buttons somewhere else.
3) Assuming the screen is going to run perpendicular (or around that) to the control panel the Trackball won't work for Golden Tee. You cannot use the single handed push as you'll keep banging your hand into the monitor and the P2 Joystick makes it very uncomfortable (or even impossible) to do the two handed thumb roll. It will be absolutely fine for Missile Command, Marble Madness etc, but not games that require Golden Tee like usage. Mine was intended for the former but it was still a bit disappointing when I tried Golden Tee and couldn't play it comfortably (although Neo Turf Masters is better anyway )


My build thread is here. It's 63cm wide (so ~25") but doesn't have the 7th button. It's slightly deeper though at about 10"-11" I think.