Cab Idea

[Richy]

This is still in the planning stages. But i have an idea for a cab( My second). It's a cocktail cab, but with 4 players, one at each side. This means
I can play normal cocktail upright games at each end.
I can play 1 player normal screen games at the side

But best of all i can play 4 player games at each side. I figure this will work for games such as super sprint, warlords, gauntlet, demolition derby etc.

Has anyone else built a cab like this?

Your comments are appreciated

[rampy]

smack has done a similiar one except it's 3 sided, but still 4 player see this thread

there's another one out there... lemme look... brb

rampy

okay I was thinking of  mamehac's project but that's not a 4 player either... the 2 steering wheels through me off... *shrug* good luck though

[hyiu]

but for 4 player games.... the player who sits in the opposite side will have a difficult time controlling his character ??.... since its the other way around....

??.... not sure... maybe I'm not thinking straight myself...??
kinda like thinking out loud...

[Darkstalker]

but for 4 player games.... the player who sits in the opposite side will have a difficult time controlling his character ??.... since its the other way around....

Yea, it makes sence, and your right.  All of the joystick directions would have to be encoded from the P1 point of view, or whoever is looking at the screen in the correct orientation for games like Gauntlet.

     3
1        2
     4

If that's the seating arangement, and player 1 is viewing the screen "normally", then both of player two's axis would be reversed for "single screen" games.   Up towards the screen for P2 would actually need to input a P2 'down' command so the sprite travels the correct way in Gauntlet for example. Left to the second player, would actually need to be P2 'right'.

Now, for games with screen flipping, you'll have to completely change P2 again, because the screen flips to where the joystick is correct.  Each game will have to be treated seperately.  That's fine if your just running a couple of games, but each one you add will have to be configured independantly.  Either that, or you'll need to run two seperate emus; one for screen flips, one for "single screen" games.

Driving games are a piece of cake, CCW makes the car turn left, CW makes the car turn right.  Same thing with spinner games like Warlords.

[SirPoonga]

I will be.  My cocktail will only do vertical games.  Maybe, space duel was one of my favorite game sI played on a cocktail all the time.  Though I have my upright for that:)

I plan on just having 1 player on each side, except I might make the CPs modular.  There will be 4 spinners, for warlords.  However since I am thinking of modular, those spinners will probably be able to be replaces with trackballs, incase someone wants to play football:)

[Richy]

I had planned on just leaving it normallywith up facing the screen, down facing you etc, so for a few games, i'll just reconfigure the controllers.

 Another thing, I was planning on using 4 way joysticks for the tops and botttoms, and 8 ways for the sides, because i notice most cocktail games use 4 ways and i want to be able to play pacman properly. I also plan on having 3 buttons per player, so the controls don't get to cluttered. (Defender won't work though)

[Lilwolf]

I like this idea (and hopefully going to do it soon)...

on the vertical ends will be 8way with oscar plates for all vertical games.  The 8way for flight games.  4 buttons each.

Then on one horizontal side, I will add 2 8ways with 6 buttons each (maybe an extra for neogeo games).  

And for 4player games, player 3 and 4 will be at the vertical end.  Their controls will suck, but not much you can do about it.

Then on the last horizontal side, I might add 2 steering wheels.  Or maybe a place for a hotswappable (the only hotswappable) bit.  So maybe a starwars yoke (but that would want to go on the vertical side I guess....sigh...).  But you get the idea.

The trouble will be adding extra code to my frontend so that it will automatically setup the controls and the settings so vertical games will enable the right joystick.

One thing that made me want to do this again is at a new house I'm about to move into, someone left a glass table top thats in octigonal in shape and would be perfect for a 4 player cocktail table.  It's 3/4 inch thick and about the size of a standard cocktail table, but the shape.  

[Richy]

The mondo turtle head cab seems to have beaten me. I like the idea of two people at the same side though. I might do that instead, so normal two player games can be played.

[Analog-X]

http://www.beerisgoodfood.com/mame/cocktail/controlpanels.htm

For those who are lazy a directlink to the mondo turtle thing.