spinner action

[danny_galaga]

this is probably a daft question but ive never played any games in the arcades that had spinners so humour me. i was experimenting tonight with a broken mouse on arkanoid. from one side to the other was about three turns of the axis. im thinking of building my own so the question is this:
how were these things used in play? do you sort of give it a spin with the side of your hand? and then know when to stop it spinning? or hold it 'paddle style'? im guessing the former as all the spinners ive seen have a flywheel and (duh) they are called spinners after all! id like to have an idea before i build one because i have a novel way of building it in mind...

[Goz]

Controlling a spinner is typically done by holding the knob. The occasional slap of a spinner knob to get it continuously spinning is done in games like Tempest (not recommended in a heated game of Arkanoid). Retro Blast has a great video review on spinners that should give you a good idea of how the control works.

Hope this helps

-Goz

[Ed ONeill]

Build your for around $10 bucks. I did

Need any info on part list let me know.

Signed
Ed

[rchadd]

i bought these Wico spinners on ebay

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=21574;start=msg174922#msg174922

these arkanoid spinners have gearing - i dont think that tempest spinners do.

the arkanoid spinners dont have momentum when spun they stop nearly immediately. i will need to try and modify somehow to improve gameplay in tempest when momentum is desired.

[danny_galaga]

that vid was very enlightening. that gives me something to chew on. how many turns of the knob on arkanoid do you think?
edit: hmmm, looking at the happs arkanoid model, im guessing its a fraction of a turn rather than multiple turns...

[RayB]

There are 2 kinds of spinners. One is weighted so it can spin continuously (used in Tempest), and one is not weighted, plus has a gear (Arkanoid).

Obviously the purpose of the geared spinner is so you can make very small and precise movements.

The purpose of the weighted spinner is so you can make fast continuous movements.

As for wondering about precisely how many turns, etc... I'd almost say don't think about that.  It will all depend on the sensitivity settings of each game.

If you're planning on using a geared set-up and were wondering about the gear size/ratio, perhaps someone could measure theirs for you.

[danny_galaga]

cool! just had a look in the arkanoid settings. i know i can aim at a 'direct drive' version then and experiment mostly with weight

[Fuzzguitar]

A little off topic but if my memory serves me correctly you're an Aussie right Danny?

Just noticed this interesting device on our ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3945&item=6111999467&rd=1

Never heard of them but I'm curious as to who makes them, what they're like, what they're worth new etc etc

Can anyone fill me in?

[danny_galaga]

very interesting. very interesting indeed. wonder if they were used in any arcade games and if so, what? price is pretty good too. ill keep my eye on that one! 4/8 way would be better, but not bad for fifty bucks...

[whammoed]

That would be an interesting choice for discs of tron as well.  Left right instead of up down.

[Goz]

Shame they will only ship to Australia. A two way + spinner in one device would be very nice. I wonder if there is a US distributor for this item. Can't really tell from the pics what the interface is for the spinner portion or if it is weighted or not.

Anyone have one of these gems?


-Goz

[danny_galaga]

hey fuzzguitar, has your band actually played on triple j? i'll have to listen out for it. one day ill be able to casually drop 'yeah, fuzzguitar once put me onto some quality arcade gear' into a conversation  

[Kremmit]

Shame they will only ship to Australia. A two way + spinner in one device would be very nice. I wonder if there is a US distributor for this item. Can't really tell from the pics what the interface is for the spinner portion or if it is weighted or not.

The knob and everyghing are the same as an original Arkanoid controller, except for the extra microswitches on the side... I wonder if it's just a hack on one of those, of if the company that made 'em also makes this?  Either way, I'd guess it's got the gear system, but who knows?

Is that expensive in Aussie money?  One of you guys should check it out!

[Goz]

I sent the seller an email and asked a buttload of questions including manuafacturer info.. If / when I get a reply, I'll post it in this thread.

-Goz

[danny_galaga]

multiply by (approx) 0.75 for yank dollars. Cheap!

[Fuzzguitar]

hey fuzzguitar, has your band actually played on triple j? i'll have to listen out for it. one day ill be able to casually drop 'yeah, fuzzguitar once put me onto some quality arcade gear' into a conversation  

Danny, that makes me smile but we're far from famous. Yes, we've been on JJJ a few times. Years ago when we started I did a short interview with Richard Kingsmill on the old Oz Music Show and he played some demos and a song or two off each album we released. We just got late night, sporadic play - nothing much to write home about until mid last year when Robbie Buck played our "(I Hate 'Yr) Radio Station" song a few times on Home and Hosed. It was enough to get it into the Request Fest list but I don't think we ever made the Net 50 countdown or anything. I did however do a really fun interview with him about that time when he asked if the song was about JJJ. Funny stuff. I have that one on cd somewhere too.

However, you would have heard of my cousin's band for sure...Spiderbait. Woohoo for their number one song a few weeks back!

The basic deal with our band is that we have been on a break (long story) since late last year but have just begun writing/rehearsing and plan on playing some shows in the future. Truth be known I've been more into arcade cabinets than music in the last twelve months...it all works in cycles though.

And back on topic...someone really should grab a spinner and see what they're like. The only thing stopping me is lack of room on my CP!

[paigeoliver]

On Arkanoid style games you should be able to go all the way left to right without taking your hand off the spinner. So more like a half turn on those games.

[rchadd]

If you're planning on using a geared set-up and were wondering about the gear size/ratio, perhaps someone could measure theirs for you.

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=21574;start=msg174922#msg174922

just checked gearing on the above spinner...

gear ratio is 72 to 16  

the encoder wheel has 24 notches

less than quarter turn of the knob rotates the encoder wheel 360 degrees (approx)

any ideas how this will play in tempest - how can i modify it to play better?

[danny_galaga]

thanks paige, thats the last bit of info i needed.

and fuzzguitar, i think i recall that song!! and your cousin is in spiderbait!?! is she the foxy chic  

[danny_galaga]

back to the topic. i was thinking about that ebay combo spinner. i reckon its probably for some industrial application. like an overhead crane or something...

[Goz]

back to the topic. i was thinking about that ebay combo spinner. i reckon its probably for some industrial application. like an overhead crane or something...

We'll probably never know. The seller is completely unresponsive to questions.

Maybe if I use the Aussie Slang dictionary to form my question, I may have better luck.

-Goz

[danny_galaga]

streuth! that would be a bonzer idea cobber!!

(please note, the only person i know who talks like that is steve irwin!)

edit: just had a captain cook at that site. very informative and current. except, of course for bonzer and cobber...

[Fuzzguitar]

Danny, in answer to your question, Kram (the drummer/main vocalist) is my cousin in Spiderbait.

[RetroBorg]

I think I might buy one of these spinner/joystick combo thingies, fifty bucks what have I got to lose? It looks like it would be good for Arkanoid and as previously stated it would be probably a good option for Discs of Tron, not sure how good it would be at something like Tempest though?

Fuzzguitar, I listen to the Jays but unfortunately haven't heard of your band. I'd have to say Spiderbait is one of my favourite bands though and love Buy Me a Pony, Calypso and Shazzam.

Retro

[danny_galaga]

love the black betty video clip  

[RetroBorg]

love the black betty video clip  

While I was disappointed at first that Spiderbait did a cover, I did like the film clip of the drummer racing the black car down the road, awesome clip.

[Goz]

I exchanged some emails with the seller of the combo spinner / joystick and will be getting one from him. I'll be sure to let you know how that turns out.

-Goz

[SpamMe]

On Arkanoid style games you should be able to go all the way left to right without taking your hand off the spinner. So more like a half turn on those games.

What about tempest, super sprint and pole position?

[danny_galaga]

love the black betty video clip

[stevejt]

Just noticed this interesting device on our ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3945&item=6111999467&rd=1

Never heard of them but I'm curious as to who makes them, what they're like, what they're worth new etc etc

Can anyone fill me in?

I can't see the pics of this auction.  A local guy I bought some things from had one.  I don't know if it was the same but his looked identical the the arkanoid spinner.  It even had the same feel.  Next to a arkanoid spinner, it looked like they took one of those and just added to it.  If I could get one a little cheaper, I would get one.

Steve