"Frankenpanel"

[JCKnife]

I'm a little disturbed by the use of this term, "Frankenpanel." Maybe I'm misunderstanding what it's about. It occurs to me that one of the advantages of this hobby is customization and tailoring controls to your own preferences. On the other hand, I can see that some folks might needlesly waste space, duplicate controls that could be handled more efficiently, and otherwise improve on their designs.

I just wanted to hear some opinions--is a "frankenpanel" only one that is needlessly wasteful or inneficient, or is it also sometimes just one that  you don't like?

[Gunstar Hero]

A frankenpanel is a cluttered control panel with many controls.

Probably named so because of the "patchwork" nature of such a thing... a spinner from this, a stick from that, ect ect...

It doesn't matter how many controls you have, as long as it works for you.

[Apollo]

Marble contact paper, too many admin buttons, 4 ways, 8ways and rotaries all over the place, huge surface area etc the list goes on. Shudder.

[walls83]

"Marble contact paper"


lol 

[RacerX]

I guess I've been using the term incorrectly.  I didn't think it was necessarily a negative thing, although it could be.  I just took it to mean a very large control panel with a lot of varying controls on it.

My control panels have marble contact paper under lexan on them, but on one there is two joys with six buttons each, P1 Start, P2 Start, and 2 small admin buttons.  The other panel has a trackball with 3 buttons on each side (for right or left handed play), a spinner, P1 Start, P2 Start, and 2 small admin buttons.  They may not be as fancy as someone with giant sized printouts of Wolverine, Spider-man, or Street Fighter XXXII Super-Duper Ultimate Championship Edition characters all over them.  But they are quite functional, and I've never had anyone who played on my cab tell me it didn't look cool enough.  Admittedly, that's because they didn't know any better, but still...   

[Gunstar Hero]

I wouldn't take it as a negative term at all... just a description.

Fighter panel
Driving panel
Frankenpanel

Like anything else (black and blue cabs, cocktail machines, old school conversions,X-Men vs. SF themes) all-in-one panels will be liked my some, hated by others.

 

[hulkster]

well i disagree with some of the definitions given here.  just because the cp is big, doesnt mean its a frankenpanel.  i have a 49" wide cp, for 4 player support, and a trackball.  its very clean looking and the artwork is good (thanks Pixel)....does this make it a frankepanel???  no.  i always thought a frankenpanel was a control panel that sticks out real far from the cab.  for instance, take like a street figther cabinet.  and you want to add a trackball and a spinner but dont have enough room in the original width of the cab, so you build out, making a box that the controls are on.  example....my first cab!  very ugly, very frankpanely (just made up that word).  to me its a negative word describing someones hurried attempts to finish their mame'd old cab that used to be a mortal kombat or something.  at thats what i did, and it sucked...therefore...frankenpanel.

[RacerX]

Yours is a showcase cab, though.  They're supposed to have big control panels.

And, you're correct, as long as you don't have 10,000 different controls on it, I wouldn't consider it a frankenpanel either.

Of course, I think the term has different meanings for different people...

Heck, some folks might call 1Up's cab a frankencab because it is sort of a "mad scientist" type of cab, but in an extremely cool sense.  When I first saw it, it blew me away that someone could cram that many controls into a cab.

That's why I don't think it's necessarily a negative term.

[Apollo]

Believe me the term "Frakenpanel" is definately negative.

Just because a panel is big doesn't make it a "Frakenpanel", there are plenty of large panels that are stylish, minimalist and functional. To qualify as a "Frakenpanel" your CP has to have a delicate balance of redundant features, ugly colour scheme and non-aesthetic looks etc. 

[Xiaou2]

 
  That term is a derogatory term.    Made up by people who have no clue,  and have nothing better to do than to pick on others work - mostly to  make themselves feel better about thier shortcommings.

  1st off -  some would say that you could use one controller type to substitute for 2 simular controller types.  This may save space and additional trouble, and maybe that ultra clean look that some prefer... however... that dosnt mean its a better way. 

  Game designers specifically made certain controls designed that way for many reasons.  They were also tested over and over going thru many prototypes untill a controller with perfect feel/comfort, durability, and most importantly - Precise control, were achieved.

 To substitute another controller will most likely result in a loss of control, speed, accuracy... and lead to overall lower scores,  shorter playtime,  fusteration...ect.   These people who can live with that most likly are not big fans of the games that use these controllers - and may never have played an original machine with that type of controller.   Yet somehow - they feel they are qualified to judge and ridicule others over something they have no experience in. 

  Some would say - split the different types of control into a few different cabs.  However...  not everyone can afford the expense or space..ect. 

  And then there is the joke about marble contact paper.   Ok, it may not be the most  artistic  option.   However... at the time of its presentation,  it was all the rage.   Also, many other options did not exist... as now there are many quality printing places to order from.   
Its also was very cheap... so a good option for people who can barly afford to make a cab in the first place. 

  Anyway...  youll never  be able to please everyone here.   The key is to do what you like - and enjoy it.     : )

[RacerX]

I put the marble contact paper on my cab back in 1999.  It actually *was* pretty cool back then.  And, in any case, it looks a whole lot better than the sky blue Formica that's underneath it.   

[saint]

It's not always a negative term. I've always used it to mean a big panel with lots of controls. Sometimes good, sometimes icky.

[KrawDaddy]

Heres a nightmare

There is no other panel that fits the bill closer!

47 1/2" X 22"

Holy nightmare batman!

[Xiaou2]

 If you dont have anything positive to say - maybe you shouldnt say anything at all.

   Of course... I see your parents didnt do such a good  job of teaching you good edicate.

 
 Btw - I prefer the term "monster Panel"   as in monster garage, monser house..ect.   Thats more of a positive term. 

 Frankenstein was a hideous beast made of rotting parts of dead human remains.   Not exactly a positive image.

[Sasquatch!]

I put the marble contact paper on my cab back in 1999.  It actually *was* pretty cool back then.  And, in any case, it looks a whole lot better than the sky blue Formica that's underneath it.   

Hehe, 'sup "putting marble contact paper on my 1999 cabinet" buddy?

Heres a nightmare

There is no other panel that fits the bill closer!

47 1/2" X 22"

Holy nightmare batman!

So I guess the true definition of "frankenpanel" is a panel that causes jerks to come out of the woodwork and point what they don't like about other people's cabinets in a derogatory way, huh?

[Xiaou2]

 
no.   Pretty much any panel will get jerks to comment negatively - as that what jerks do.   

"frankenpanel"  is a name made by inconsiderate --I'm attempting to get by the auto-censor and should be beaten after I re-read the rules--'s that have no respect for others hard work... and thier willingness to share thier creations,  knowledge..ect.

  Its a childish attitude that should be done away with here... but Im sure will never go away - sadly...

[Quarters]

Umm guys... That's his own panel.

LOL @ KrawDaddy

[Xiaou2]

 I actually had a feeling it was his  : P  : ) 

 However... it still is a valid point from the original poster... that negative names and comments arnt welcome here.

[krick]

I don't think frankenpanel is negative.

[Xiaou2]

 Well,  just for fun....

  If you relate this to human traits.... whereas ones abilities and attributes are simularly 'stitched' together to form the person that you are...

 Would you call your girlfriend a "frankengirl" ?!

     : )

[versapak]

I always figured it just meant several different control types put (stitched) together on the same panel.


Never had any negative meaning to me.

[Chris]

In my mind, a frankenpanel was always a large, overcrowded panel that was done poorly, with disparate controls too close together, and usually larger than a 4 player size but bolted to a 23" wide cabinet (my personal pet peeve).  I don't think I've ever used the term, but when I hear it that's what I picture.

[Lilwolf]

Kraws isn't even CLOSE!  (he could fit in about 3 - 4 extra controllers in between the pinball ones... and thats the middle!)

I love the 2 layer one.. but the second picture in that post I don't like.  I could NEVER explain which buttons to use to my kids.

Frankenpanel is a panel is any controlpanel that has more then one games controls on a single panel.

I think there are 4 (and a super).

Limited but original - 4 way with button... Can play a decent chunk of games.. but there are games that had that exact layout.

Functional - Original + a few - Like 2 8ways with 7 buttons.  Looks almost like a original but an extra button or so to add a bunch more games.

Hot swappable - Bunch of originals.

Frankenpanel - Hybred of many controllers. 

Super Monster Frankenpanel - Everything possible control panel.

But frankenpanel should NEVER be considered a bad word.  There are good and some bad.  Overcluttered is overcluttered.  If it works great go for it!

How many people get to have a full arcade in their basement.  Sure it would be cool to have 3 or 4 mame machiens and a bunch of originals... and some pinballs... But your lucky if you get one.  And I LOVE trackball games AND fighters AND rotaries AND 720 AND classics... 

so for me... it originally was frankenpanel... but when I started getting too many controls (yes, ebay is evil) then I had to move to a hot swappable.

btw, I would rather have a franken panel myself.  You can be done (good thing) and you don't have to find a place for the panels (2) and hotswappables you expose the innards so wires come loose often (3)

[Apollo]

Pretty sure the one in the second pic is a joke dude.

[FractalWalk]

Pretty sure the one in the second pic is a joke dude.

No, it's not.

edit to add URL: http://lillypad.4mg.com/lillypad/mamepad.html

[whammoed]

Pretty sure the one in the second pic is a joke dude.

No, it's not.

I remember a thread about it.  The maker had an explanation for the control placement but I can't begin to remember what the explanation was.  Whatever works for the person using it!

[FractalWalk]

I remember a thread about it.

[NoOne=NBA=]

Any control panel that requires you to read an owner's manual before operating it qualifies as a Frankenpanel to me.

[Tailgunner]

I think of it as a negative comment, usually in relation to where someone's notched the sides of a classic cab to fit that huge box in place.

[SeaMonkey]

Here is my last CP. It is a sit down cockpit style frankenpanel.
The chains were analog, so I hacked them to a sidwinder joystick to make them a USB joystick for windows. Much smoother than sapping out the pots. One drawback though is that they draw power from my neck-bolts.



Seriously though, it is just a descriptive term. It is only derogatory in the mind of the person that wants it to be.
I am a Jew. Is that derogatory? If a person doesn't like jews, he will spit the word out....but it is not, at its heart, derogatory.

[Tiger-Heli]

Krick NAILED it in reply #18.

[yourfatmama]

Roger Franking That dude (sry, just had to do it)



i want to build a quad "frankenpanel" for the versatility that lilwolf speaks of and believe it can be organized and aesthetically pleasing as Krick displays.

the Mame Cabinet concept (as the software its born from) is fundamentally dynamic and versatile allowing retrogaming happiness to  the reproduction purist wanting to pull one classic out of the past and into the present; or to the retrogamer who wants access to all that mame can deliver.

blah blah blahdity blah. 

[Kremmit]

Since we're voting...

I always took frankenpanel to be a descriptive, not a derogatory.  Same as modular, or 2-player Fighter.

That said, they are often ugly, which is why I think so many people think of it as a derogatory.  But as shown above, they can be done well.  I mean, that split-level panel looks good, and if it's not a frankenpanel, I don't know what is.  There's what, 6 sticks on there?

[Pacific Ripper]

...and there are bad frankenpanels...

OMG ... I just wanna peel off that wallpaper-like material and re-squeegee it straight At the very least, I really wanna mail a squeegee with instructions to the owner.

[1UP]

...and there are bad frankenpanels...

OMG...I just had the best laugh of my lifetime!    Good Lord, there's just no reason for that...  I could care less about the blue marble contact paper, but the random array of buttons of every conceivable color is just dazzling.  It's alive!  MUAHAHAH!    No offense, of course...

I always think of a frankenpanel as one at least 3 feet wide, with way too many controls.  If the controls are redundant or totally mismatched, that makes it an even better candidate.  Having bat sticks AND rotary sticks is logical enough.  Having 50 buttons, half of which do exactly the same thing as the other half, is just bad planning.

A single panel with 5 joysticks, a yoke, two trackballs, a spinner, 20 game buttons in various colors and configurations, and 6 admin buttons would definitely be a frankenpanel.  Whether it's ugly or not is up to the beholder, but it's still a frankenpanel.

Frankenpanels generally are better suited as standalone control panels.  I built a 4 foot long frankenpanel to take to a family reunion last month because my cab wouldn't fit in the trunk...  it worked great, was ugly as hell, but most people didn't care.  It took a couple hours to build, and it was fun!

Frankenpanels on cabs usually destroy the look, and are generally so large that you must stand almost out of view of the monitor to use certain controls.  This is where planning the layout of your controls comes into play.

The best alternative to frankenpanels would be multiple cabs, swappable panels, or even rotating panels...

[versapak]

Frankenpanels generally are better suited as standalone control panels.

I would tend to think the opposite of that. I would consider the smaller control panels as the better suited choice for stand alone. The larger control panels would be a much more tedious thing to hold, but they mount quite nicely to a cab.

I am a fan of the UAII cab design, and I don't think my wide 4 player control panel looks bad on it at all. Though it does have 4 sticks, 32 game buttons, and 12 admin, I wouldn't consider it to be a frankenpanel (doesn't have any other control types), but it is a nice hefty 49" wide. I think it looks great there, and would dread the thought of that thing ever sitting on my lap.

[stevejt]

I really don't understand why some people get so upset , (some alot more than others) if somebody else doesn't like, or even makes fun their control panel?  I am about to make my first this week.  I am SURE I am going to get some laughs.  Since it is my first, I obviously don't have the experience of someone that built 10 of them.  Thats how you learn.  I look at it this way, if it makes you laugh, I am happy you enjoyed it so much.  If someone calls mine a frakenpenel and I start whining, someone please smack me...

Steve

[Edgedamage]

Your cabinet=your panel=your choice!  Now lock this putting down each other thread.

[Pacific Ripper]

I really don't understand why some people get so upset , (some alot more than others) if somebody else doesn't like, or even makes fun their control panel?

[1UP]

I wouldn't consider it to be a frankenpanel (doesn't have any other control types), but it is a nice hefty 49" wide. I think it looks great there, and would dread the thought of that thing ever sitting on my lap.

Well, I was thinking more along the lines of a tabletop controller, rather than a lap-top controller.  I tried using an X-Arcade solo on my lap before, and although it was small and light, it's just awkward to use on your lap.  It would probably be better on a desktop.