Need design opinions..

[monkeysmuggler]

OK, I finally decided to start putting together my final plans for my cabinet yesterday, and went over the cabinets I really liked one more time for ideas. Unfortunately, I ran across this board and noticed 1UP's rotating panel idea, along with a few cabinets that use removable CPs. This threw things all out of wack. Now, I'm trying to make a decision: Do I need additional CPs?

The majority of the games I play are fighters and puzzle games, most of which are just fine with an 8way joystick and a handful of buttons. I would like to have a second panel with 2 trigger joysticks and a spinner, but I really don't know if I'd use it enough to justify building some insane contraption like 1UP's rotating CPs, not to mention the additional money and time involved in constructing something like that and in purchasing the sticks and spinner themselves.

Do you guys think the additional money and time would be worth it, or should I settle for a more standard cabinet with a single CP?

[Howard_Casto]

What you do is think ahead.....

1up's desing is simply brillaint, but it's pretty much overkill for most.  Most people that have multiple control panels simply remove the top of the cp and replace it with another....

The smart thing to do is build the box that your cp will be resting on in such a way as it will be easy to convert it for modular panels later....

Make the cp top snap onto the box in such a way that it is easy to remove but yet still locks into place.

Try to standardize your wiring and keep your ipac and any other electronic boards seperate form the actual control panel top.  This way later on all you have to do is invest in some quick disconnects for the wiring and your all set for a modular setup.  

If you follow that kind of thinking it will be easy to add stuff later and you don't have to worry about it now.  

hope that helps...

[Vectoraster]

Ditto that.  I'm in the process of building my 3rd cab this one without an interchangeable control panel.  However my I-Pac and Opti-Pac's are both going to be connected with a DB25 connection if I decide to do something else later.

The Vectoraster Project

[1UP]

Here's some advice straight from the crazy man himself!  Hoohoo!  Hoohoo!

My rotating panels are really working out great for me, and now that thew are done, I'm glad I went that route.  But they added a LOT of complexity to the construction (there are as many panels and as many cuts in the panels as in the rest of the cabinet itself!)  In short, they were a pain in the --I'm attempting to get by the auto-censor and should be beaten after I re-read the rules-- to build!  I think having swapabble panels of some sort is a good idea.

My design is basically the same effect as having swappable CPs with a built-in storage system, the storage being within the cab.  Most people would probably be better off making removable panels, but I just didn't have the storage space to keep panels separately, and I'm too lazy to bother changing panels.  So I basically did all the work up front...

Actually, one of my panels is a modular panel in a different sense.  It's a blank panel with bolt-down points for up to 3 controllers.  This is where my yoke and T2 guns can be mounted, as well as any future controllers I might want to use...

Do whatcha want, but I think the removable panels idea will be easier.  But I would love to see someone else successfully follow my plans!  

[Howard_Casto]

Your not crazy, your just big boned! Umm wait that's not right.....  Your not not crazy your Insaine-American. No wait that's not right either.... I'll get back to you on that.

Btw I think your panels kick --I'm attempting to get by the auto-censor and should be beaten after I re-read the rules--! I just think that the skill/time to build them might be beyond the average mamer.  One of these days I might give it a go and you can make fun of how crappy it turns out.  

Actually I start construction on a new cp for my cab next week.  My needs in terms of special controllers won't be that great so I will opt for a design that allows modular comonents in the center of a standard two-player cp.  I know thats been done to death but I have a special method that should actually make it doable without huge ugly metal plates and wobblie setups.  More info on that as it develops.  

[monkeysmuggler]

See, the storage issue is the same reason that I have no desire to do removable CPs. Either I'm satisfied with the main CP (which at this point I think I will be, but I have this feeling that down the road it may not stay that way, heh) or I have to have something that is contained within the cab that switches things around *easily* since the other panels would only be used on a handful of games I play on a regular basis at this point.

I guess if worse comes to worse it's pretty realistic for me to pull all of my working ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- out of the cab and sell the cab itself and start over. That seems a little crazy to me though

I don't know. I'm going to jigsaw and route and such Friday, and at this point I think I'm going to go with a single CP in a contained box design so, if I really do feel the need, I can make it removable and just hide the CPs in a closet somewhere, heh.

[ErikRuud]

I like 1Up's rotating panel, but I can see where many people would not want to attemp it. It is a lot of work.

If you want storage for removable control panels, you could possibly store them in the bottom of your cabinet.

Another design that I really like is Jelloslugs modular CP.

[Howard_Casto]

You know I've heard this point a lot and I never have understood it.  Extra control panels have a storage space... inside the cab!   I have mountains of junk stored inside my cab including enough spare arcade parts to start my own business. I personally could fit about 4 or 5 full sized control panel tops inside my cab no problem.  The key is to design your cab so that you have easy access to them.  it might be hard to fit them through a coin door, but if your front panel hinges out (like mine) then this isn't a problem.  

[SirPoonga]

It also depends on your design for the removable panel.  There's no way I could easily fit my cp in my cabinet.

[1UP]

I may be doing another cab for my workplace (don't worry, it's not going to be pay-for-play.)  If so, I don't want to spend anywhere near the time I did on this one, so it'd probably be all white melamine, no coin door, and the usual oversize Frankenpanel (4 joysticks, spinner and t-ball.)  This personally isn't my taste, but good enough for fun at the office!

My main reason for not doing removable panels was my purchase of the T2 guns (my first arcade purchase.)  Basically, once I was able to win them on ebay, that's when I decided to build a cab at all.  The guns require a fairly large base to keep them far enough back from the screen, so if I stored them in the cab, I wouldn't really be able to fit all the other panels I wanted, plus the PC itself!  Also, I could just imagine the botoms of the sticks and the microswitch tabs scratching the lexan on the CPs, and having to pull EVERYTHING out so I could get to the guns buried on the bottom didn't sound like fun to me.  But I really wanted to do everything self-contained, and not keep parts of the cab in my non-existent closet space.  So a couple dozen sketches, 36 revisions to my 3D model, and 10 trips to Home Depot later...  

Anyway, I'll be putting my plans up on my site, so you can try to follow them, if you dare!