New to all this stuff....please help

[Hakari]

Just starting my first cabinet build , i've never done anything like this before and i need a bit (well...alot) of help reguarding my controls. And yes, i did search the the forum and site for info first .

Anyway......My cab's gonna contain my (MAME only) PC, PS2, and Xbox. And i need a way to hook them all up to my cabinets controls. Controller hacks look to difficult (i have pretty much no electrical skills whatsoever). I've considered buying an X-Arcade and a couple of console adapters, and fitting the x-arcades guts into my own control panel, replacing the buttons and joysticks with HAPP or Ultimarc ones. is this a good idea?

Also can anyone recomend some good ball-top joysticks for fighting game useage

thanks

[Hoagie_one]

for a first cabinet, you are taking on one of the more difficult projects.  Good luck though

[krick]

Get a copy of the Project Arcade book and read it cover to cover...

http://www.projectarcade.com/

Amazon has it for $19.79...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764556169/buildyourowna-20

[Hakari]

Get a copy of the Project Arcade book and read it cover to cover...

Does it tell me the easiest way to hook my xbox and ps2 to the same contols as i'm using for mame? And does it tell me what the best ball-top option for dragon punching the shiz out people is?

*i'm fairly confident i can build the cab itself, been gettin alot of help from the guys at www.digitalarcade.co.uk here in the UK. just a bit stuck reguarding a few little bits n pieces *

[Hakari]

Just starting my first cabinet build , i've never done anything like this before and i need a bit (well...alot) of help reguarding my controls. And yes, i did search the the forum and site for info first .

Anyway......My cab's gonna contain my (MAME only) PC, PS2, and Xbox. And i need a way to hook them all up to my cabinets controls. Controller hacks look to difficult (i have pretty much no electrical skills whatsoever). I've considered buying an X-Arcade and a couple of console adapters, and fitting the x-arcades guts into my own control panel, replacing the buttons and joysticks with HAPP or Ultimarc ones. is this a good idea?

Also can anyone recomend some good ball-top joysticks for fighting game useage

thanks

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaasssse help 

[NoOne=NBA=]

Alot of joystick choice will depend on what YOU think is the best joystick.

1) What exactly do you want the stick to FEEL like?
Completely round feel?
Slightly square feel?
VERY square feel?

2) How far should the joystick travel?

3) Is rebounding a problem?
What I mean here is if you are pushing right, and let go of the stick, is it going to be a problem if it goes left/right/left/right/left before stopping at the center?

4) How much resistance should the stick have to movement?

5) Do you want it to do double-duty as a TRUE 4-way stick?

[the3eyedblindman]

why dont u just get a modded x box and put mame in there instead of having a computer and an xbox.?

[NoOne=NBA=]

Because X-box MAME sucks.

[Hakari]

Wow my groveling worked , THANKS!

Alot of joystick choice will depend on what YOU think is the best joystick.

1) What exactly do you want the stick to FEEL like?
Completely round feel?
Slightly square feel?
VERY square feel?

As i've pretty much used controllers all my life, so i guess i could get used to anything (whichever's best for street fighter). Possibly slightly square for dragonpunch type movements, But not sure.

2) How far should the joystick travel?

Again, i think i can get used to whatever. Although it would probably be better if i didn't have to move it a long way before a direction was pressed, so i could react quicker and stuff.

3) Is rebounding a problem?
What I mean here is if you are pushing right, and let go of the stick, is it going to be a problem if it goes left/right/left/right/left before stopping at the center?

I don't think so.

4) How much resistance should the stick have to movement?

I don't recon this really matters too much either. Obviously not too much.

5) Do you want it to do double-duty as a TRUE 4-way stick?

Nah....it wouldn't matter at all, as i'd have different swappable controls for 4-way games etc.

And what about the X-Arcade thing? i heard some people say they've got really bad lag, is this true? would putting different joysticks and buttons in make any difference?

Thanks

[tmasman]

And what about the X-Arcade thing? i heard some people say they've got really bad lag, is this true? would putting different joysticks and buttons in make any difference?

Nope... Any lag would be caused by the encoder, not the controls.
I don't have any experience with the X-Arcade Control Panel, but I've used their controls (Sticks & buttons).  & they work fairly well.  They don't compare to the feel of Happs stuff, but they work.