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4-Player UAII Control Panel - Suggestions/Feedback??
DougHillman:
Nice use of my template. :)
First off, (why does it seem that I'm saying this so much lately?) don't angle the P3 & P4 sticks in. All original games had them mounted the way you do now. You want the stick movement to match what the on-screen character is doing. Up = up.
Have you bought your controls yet? Are you dead set on the Happs sticks and a Wico 4-way? Are Ultimarc T-Stiks 8/4-ways not an option for you? I grew up in the 80's playing with leaf sticks and honestly have no complaints with the T-Stiks. I guess it's more of a cost/aesthetics thing though, as you're gonna end up with some dead space anyways with this layout. It's not like you really don't have the room for the 4-way.
Unlike JAMMA's opinion, I don't think that your P3 & P4 are too close to P1 & P2. Might be nice to spread them out a little more if you can, but they don't seem unbearably tight. Have you mocked this up as a full sized template yet? Your top panel is gonna be shaped like the box?
I do think that your P1 & 2 buttons are a little close to their respective sticks though.
I'd probably bring the spinner down next to the trackball. It's a pretty long reach down to the buttons there. I suppose you could remap the games to use your mouse buttons though.
You got the top fire for Tron? If so, and you wanna stay more true to the original, you'll wanna get it over on the right of your spinner.
Personally I'd use switchable 8/4-ways for P1 & P2, dump the 4-way, move the top fire over to the right, put the spinner where the top fire is now, and move both of 'em down about 1.5 - 2 inches. Move the P1 buttons & P2 stick a little towards the center. And maybe move the trackball a little to the left if you're one of the types who feels he's got to slam it as hard as he can in a game like Golden Tee. (Myself, I learned long ago that extra physical effort doesn't always = extra force exerted. The trackballs can only spin & register so fast. I can get just as much velocity outta using two thumbs on a trackball as someone who's trying to break the machine.)
I don't think they're in my original template, but I put pinball buttons on the front angles of the CP box I just finished. Sorta like a mirror of where your admin buttons are. With a plunger on the straight front piece. As for your admin buttons, if you're gonna have 'em on there (which I am a fan of), put them where they're quickly & easily reachable. Maybe on a bezel panel between your CP and the monitor?
Keep at it. Designing is half the fun (well, for me anyways.) And seriously, do a full sized mockup out of foamboard, or cardboard, or whatever. No matter how good it may look on the screen there's nothing that'll show you the truth better than hands on experience.
jerschwab:
--- Quote from: JAMMA Guy on August 25, 2004, 09:06:57 pm ---Nice design ... but that looks extremely uncomfortable :-\
Your button mashing hand is darn near on top your joystick.
That hurts just looking at it ... lol
Give your right hand some room ;D
As for player 3 & 4 ... heck there going to have to be right on top of players 1 & 2 to even access there controls .
Player 3 & 4's body and arm positons to access there controls correctly looks like a visit to the chiropractor will be in order after that gaming session.
Pinball buttons on a 45"+ control panel .... thats quite an arm stretch .... hehe.
Ditch players 3 & 4 and spread your player 1 & 2 joysticks and buttons out ... and you got a killer 2 player control panel.
That's just my two cents :)
--- End quote ---
Hi, thanks very much for checking out my control panel and offering feedback!
As for the joystick proximity to the buttons, I will be using the same spacing as on the Hotrod SE. I like the feel of those controls, so I hope that will work on a 4-Player design as well! On the design I posted, It looks like the buttons are touching because the outer ring of the button is actually bigger than the button itself. From button to button, it is 1 1/2"... same as the template I've posted here. I'm working on a new mockup and I'll post it very soon... please give me your thoughts!
jerschwab:
--- Quote from: DougHillman on August 26, 2004, 01:50:15 am ---Nice use of my template. :)
First off, (why does it seem that I'm saying this so much lately?) don't angle the P3 & P4 sticks in. All original games had them mounted the way you do now. You want the stick movement to match what the on-screen character is doing. Up = up.
Have you bought your controls yet? Are you dead set on the Happs sticks and a Wico 4-way? Are Ultimarc T-Stiks 8/4-ways not an option for you? I grew up in the 80's playing with leaf sticks and honestly have no complaints with the T-Stiks. I guess it's more of a cost/aesthetics thing though, as you're gonna end up with some dead space anyways with this layout. It's not like you really don't have the room for the 4-way.
Unlike JAMMA's opinion, I don't think that your P3 & P4 are too close to P1 & P2. Might be nice to spread them out a little more if you can, but they don't seem unbearably tight. Have you mocked this up as a full sized template yet? Your top panel is gonna be shaped like the box?
I do think that your P1 & 2 buttons are a little close to their respective sticks though.
I'd probably bring the spinner down next to the trackball. It's a pretty long reach down to the buttons there. I suppose you could remap the games to use your mouse buttons though.
You got the top fire for Tron? If so, and you wanna stay more true to the original, you'll wanna get it over on the right of your spinner.
Personally I'd use switchable 8/4-ways for P1 & P2, dump the 4-way, move the top fire over to the right, put the spinner where the top fire is now, and move both of 'em down about 1.5 - 2 inches. Move the P1 buttons & P2 stick a little towards the center. And maybe move the trackball a little to the left if you're one of the types who feels he's got to slam it as hard as he can in a game like Golden Tee. (Myself, I learned long ago that extra physical effort doesn't always = extra force exerted. The trackballs can only spin & register so fast. I can get just as much velocity outta using two thumbs on a trackball as someone who's trying to break the machine.)
I don't think they're in my original template, but I put pinball buttons on the front angles of the CP box I just finished. Sorta like a mirror of where your admin buttons are. With a plunger on the straight front piece. As for your admin buttons, if you're gonna have 'em on there (which I am a fan of), put them where they're quickly & easily reachable. Maybe on a bezel panel between your CP and the monitor?
Keep at it. Designing is half the fun (well, for me anyways.) And seriously, do a full sized mockup out of foamboard, or cardboard, or whatever. No matter how good it may look on the screen there's nothing that'll show you the truth better than hands on experience.
--- End quote ---
Hi, thanks so much for making that template... I'd be lost without it (or have some seriously ugly looking CP that people would laugh at!).
I won't be angling the P3 & P4 joysticks in, I've read at least that much... and I agree with your point.
I've bought all the controls except for the Wico Leaf. It's something I'll likely add later. As for the Top Fire, I don't really need to put it on... if anything, it will be the last thing I install.
I have mocked it up as a full size template. I also compared it to the original UAII layout and my P3 & P4 are a *little* but closer... I will do some playing around on the mockup to see if I like it. I really can't decide where the spinner should go. What buttons are typically used with a spinner? Am I using the ones from the trackball?
Yes, the top panel is shaped like the box but bigger... 1 1/2" lip on the front and sides.
As for the top fire, I don't really know why I bought it... I thought it would be fun to play some games with the fire button on the top of the joystick (even like Galaga or games that never really had that setup). But if I put the spinner in between the trackball and the 4-Way would that work? My next post will be the revised diagram.
I don't know if I'm confortable with some of the things (such as the trackball) being off-center... should I worry about that?
jerschwab:
Here is my new/revised drawing of my control panel! As always, comments and criticism are more than welcome!!
Here are the changes I made to the last drawing posted:
[*]Added front pinball buttons
[*]Switched the 4-Way with the Top Fire joystick
[*]Spread out the P3 and P4 controls more
[*]Moved the spinner beside the trackball.
[/list]
Also, I wanted to make a point to again thank everyone here for their help with my project! This is an excellent forum and sure makes the experience that much more fun!
DougHillman:
I like this one better than the last. I'd still probably move the Wico, spinner & top-fire down another inch or so. And maybe move the spinner over towards the top-fire a bit.
As for stuff being off center, it's not gonna be symmetrical anyways due to the fact that you've got some extra controls. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'll never say that how it looks isn't important, but how it feels is foremost.