Sell me on why I need a spinner!

[Dagg]

Hi folks only my second post but I have been searching this forum non stop for two weeks and planning my cab/CP.

I am building a 4 player CP with 6 buttons each (used for 4 player NES/SNES games as well as mame), I am going to have a 3inch trac ball for GT as well.  I currently have room for either a 4way stick or a spinner.  I understand the benefits of the 4 way for Donkey Kong and Pac Man etc but what would the value of the spinner be.  From my youth I only recall tempest using this.

I think the main games utilized for me will be NBA JAMS (me and my buddies played this to death in the arcade!), Gauntlet, MERCS, tetris etc, SF2 and so on. 

So I guess my question is:What games would really make use of the spinner addition??

Thanks!

[GGKoul]

Best spinner games can be found here.. 

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=19817


If you don't play spinner games, then you don't need one..

[Hoagie_one]

blasteroids

[MajorLag]

but if you don't have a spinner, you can't play tempest. If you can't play tempest, then something is wrong with your cab.

[monkeybomb]

To sit on it and spin, of course.


Really you don't  need it if you don't care about the games and it's jst for you.

You DO need it if you want your friends to come over and play.  They will inevitably ask to play arkanoid or tempest and you want to say that you can play ALL the games they remember.  A few of my friends have mentioned that their favorite games are the spinner games and it sucked when I had no spinner.

[Dagg]

Thanks for the link, I really wont miss to much without a spinner from what I read.

[Veinman]

I'm not doing a spinner OR a trackball. Before you shout blasphemy, here's why- trackballs add a LOT to the cost, and I was never really into too many trackball games. The one that I loved the most was Cabal, and for that I would have to put in 2 trackballs anyway.

Maybe a second, far-future cab.

[Dagg]

Can anyone confirm how tempest looks on a tv with svideo or component?  I have heard best results are on a PC monitor which I am not using.

Thanks again

[KenToad]

Hello,

Check this thread. 

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,34979.0.html

Hope that helps.  You can always do like I did and build your own to defer the cost.  Bearings are the only thing that get a little hard to find, although I would recommend checking a hardware store that has an auto parts department, or maybe just an auto parts store.  Good luck.  Nasty spinner and Twisty spinner are good search terms if you want more info/directions.  Spinners are worth it, nothing like them on your keyboard or any joypad (that I know) that is produced today.

KenToad

[Stingray]

Tempest is a good enough reason. Don;t make me send the boys over there to rough you up.

-S

[hulkster]

if you cant think of a reason yourself, then you dont need one plain and simple.  thats like me loving street fighter and asking everyone "sell me on why i need more than 2 buttons on my control panel"...i would never ask that because i love street fighter.  so if you have to be told why you need a spinner, then the games that required them didnt impact you enough to think of it when you first built your cab.

[GameOver]

Can anyone confirm how tempest looks on a tv with svideo or component? I have heard best results are on a PC monitor which I am not using.

Thanks again

I use a 24" RCA via S-vid.  Tempest looks fine.  Monitors are too crisp, IMO.  I prefer TV over a monitor for Tempest.  Click on the link to my website, I have pics of Tempest and other games running on my TV using s-vid.  To be fair, the pics don't do the actual thing justice.  Quality gets lost in the pics.

[daveg2000]

You want one so you can be cool.

[GameOver]

Spinners make fair steering wheels too...

[Timstuff]

My cab probably won't have a spinner, at least not for my first control panel.

I was sold on a trackball after playing Golden Tee Golf and World Class Bowling for a few minutes. But I was also able to get my trackball for only $17 (inc. shipping) off of eBay, which made the prospect much more enticing. I was able to hack a mouse I already had (with some help from my dad), so putting a trackball on my cab will work out quite nicely.

I was sold on a dedicated 4-way joystick, because I'm gonna use Happ Competition joysticks for players 1 and 2, and many people I have over will want to play old classics like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man, so I eventually decided to order a Happ Universal joystick (switchable 45 degree rotation is handy for the occasional Q*Bert fanatic I might have over). It was another $15 plus the cost of 2 matching buttons (which I've yet to order), but it's a small price for the ammount of versitility it'll add to my control panel.

But as for a spinner, they seem quite foriegn to me. I'd never played a Spinner game in all the years I'd been to the arcades at roller rinks, bowling alleys, and arcades. I downloaded Tempest for my PC, and I'd imagine the game would play much differently if I were using a spinner instead of a mouse. But I have trouble imagining it being worth the investment. If I want a spinner with nice smooth spin, I could go to either Oscar Controls or Slickstick for their tornado spinner, but both seem very expensive to me. The Tornado certainly sounds like the Hercules of spinners, but it's $90. I don't want to spend $90 on a device for games I am not terribly nostalgic about. Oscar controls' best spinners are a bit more reasonable, but they're still $50-$60 bucks a pop.

And when it comes to controls, I want to make sure I'm getting the best that I can without spending a fortune, or not bother. With the trackball I was lucky to get one in good enough condition that it only took a thorough cleaning to make it cabinet-ready. Otherwise I would have been in quite a jam, and might not have even gotten a trackball until I could find one at an affordable price. Also, since I'm using a mouse hack to interface the trackball with my computer, I'd either A) have the spinner share a connection with one of the Trackball's axises on the mouse PCB, or B) spend even more money on an Opti-Pac. Niether option looks so good to me, so I think I'm going to just opt to not have a spinner.

However, you always have the option of having a second control panel. I wouldn't mind eventually making a control panel with a spinner and 8-Way trigger grip joystick so I can play a game of Tron and a little tempest on the side. Having a setup like this would do 2 handy things for me. 1) it would save me money in the short run, and 2) it would keep my control panel from becoming overly crowded. Also, I know that there's not room on my 1st panel for an 8-way trigger grip, so I'm probably best off saving the spinner for when I have a control panel that does.

[Flinkly]

and why did you ask?  i'm with hulkster on this one.  if you don't want one, don't get one.  it's your cab anyways.

[spiffyshoes]

I didn't really have any super fond memories for spinner games either.

[rohan]

Tron...but then you need a stick, too
I probably play this game as much as any other on MAME

[Timstuff]

Well, there's a slickstick tornado on ebay for $60 right now, that's $60 more on the control panel that I didn't want to spend. It's possible that I could consider it seeing as it's $30 less, but it also has a bid on it, and I'm not sure if $60 on a device for only a few games works into my budget.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13718&item=6173384825&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[Timstuff]

Aw crap... I knew this was gonna happen if I went to eBay. The longer I look at that spinner, the more I want it. It's may be $60, but that's still a pretty good sized savings. Grr... If I don't excersise some self control, I might accidently end up buying it.

[wallyworld]

I am a total newbie and just starting to think about what kind of "ideal" control panel I want in the end.  A spinner will definitely be part of my panel for the following games:

- Discs Of Tron
- Forgotten Worlds (ideally a pushable spinner)
- Major Havoc
- Star Trek
- Tempest
- Tron
- Warlords

I'm even considering putting a second pushable spinner in so that we can play 2-players at Forgotten Worlds (and Warlords).  Not sure if it's possible, and probably isn't cost-justifiable, but I'll definitely have at least one.

[Dagg]

Thanks for all the responses.

I am asking because I am not going to be the only player to ever use my machine.

[dema]

The mother of all breakout games....Arkanoid. I can play that game for hours.

[FractalWalk]

I downloaded Tempest for my PC, and I'd imagine the game would play much differently if I were using a spinner instead of a mouse.

Much like I would imagine cutting down a tree with a herring would be different than using a chainsaw.

[quarterback]

I downloaded Tempest for my PC, and I'd imagine the game would play much differently if I were using a spinner instead of a mouse.

Much like I would imagine cutting down a tree with a herring would be different than using a chainsaw.

Exactly.

[MinerAl]

Bomb Bee, Gee Bee, and Cutie Q

[daveg2000]

I am a total newbie and just starting to think about what kind of "ideal" control panel I want in the end.

[bizquick]

My wife couldn't figure out why I wanted a spinner until she played Tempest for the first time. She has fallen in love with that game as well as Omega Race.

I had to have it for the greatest game in the world ... Major Havoc.   

[Stingray]

Omega Race is the second best reason to have a spinner on your cp.

-S