EVERYTHING panel... where is it?

[jlml]

Has anyone made a cab with the big mother of panels, that plays nearly everything? Minus the "flick stick" games... or, hey, why not those too! Were talking, enough trackballs to cover everything, cabal, even rampart multi player, enough spinners for full warlords, etc, tank controls, dual smash TV, SNK rotary... etc etc etc so on so forth

Someone with deep pockets needs to go all out and do it. Just because it can be done. Although a unique encoder might be needed?

[allroy1975]

and it would look like butt. 

you could start a new sport though  Xtreme Frankenpaneling.

Allroy

[M3talhead]

Someone with deep pockets needs to go all out and do it. Just because it can be done. Although a unique encoder might be needed?

Yeah.....I'm sure "someone" is willing to shell out thousands of dollars just "because".

[NoOne=NBA=]

It's not a matter of money.
There isn't a CP out there with THAT kind of space.
There are too many controls that are needed.

Probably the closest panel, so far, is Xiaou's "Rotating Frankenpanel".

[Veinman]

That Superman panel was filled to the max also.

[Stingray]

and it would look like butt. 

Indeed. Just because you can do it, doesn't mean that you should.

-s

[quarterback]

and it would look like butt.

[Bones]

Is there an explanation to this bizare layout??

[Crazy Cooter]

Is there an explanation to this bizare layout??

Drugs.

[Goz]

Is there an explanation to this bizare layout??

Rectal Cranial Inversion Syndrome 

-Goz

[Stingray]

I believe that Crazy Cooter and Gozur are both correct in equal measures.

-S

[Bones]

Well it's definitely....unique.

[quarterback]

Well it's definitely....unique.

LOL

[Stingray]

I'm sure it must be somebody's idea of a joke, although I'm not sure I get the punchline.

-S

[quarterback]

I'm sure it must be somebody's idea of a joke, although I'm not sure I get the punchline.

-S

There is (arguably) actually some method to that madness.  It was explained and the picture discected in a thread a while back. 

I'd repost the info here, but it ruins the comedic element a little bit.   Don't get me wrong, even with the explanation it's still a freakin' mess, but I'd say that the panel probably *was* constructed with some kind of plan in mind.... not a good plan, but a plan nonetheless.

[Silverwind]

and it would look like butt.

[AmericanDemon]

You mean like this?

..:: Changed image link ::..

[pointdablame]

You mean like this?

..:: Changed image link ::..

but its missing a 270 wheel.. and a 360... and a rotary joy... and full analog joy... major havoc roller... 720 joy.....

I'll stop.

A panel for "everything" would look absolutely horrible.  If someone did it, I would laugh at them, not with them.

[M3talhead]

and it would look like butt. 

[homer simpson]Mmmmmmm..... frankenpanelllll........[/homer simpson]

Oh the HUMANITY!!!

That's a Gauntlet cab... 

[AmericanDemon]

but its missing a 270 wheel.. and a 360... and a rotary joy... and full analog joy... major havoc roller... 720 joy.....

I concur.  I would laugh terribly at someone who added all of those to a single panel.

[jlml]

Hey guys... what's with all the "thinking inside the box" negativity here? The point of my post was to fantasize about an awesomely comprehensive machine, and to think about how it could be done nicely with some ingenuity.

Take the well-known "two-tier" cabinet, which I think looks perfectly sweet, not cluttered or ugly in the slightest.

Here's what I'm thinking would be cool, and come quite close to accomplishing what I propose: remember those sit-down Nintendo VS "cocktail" things with the dual screens? Take the dual-screen idea, incorporate TWO sets of controls along the lines of the two-tier cabinet. I'm sorry guys, but this could be done faily easily without being an eyesore. It could look quite awesome with a competent builder.

Now, to take this to the extreme... try a FOUR screen FOUR sided cabinet. Or a three-screen, three-sider if it needs to be close to a wall.

Not every cab has to look like Ms Pacman, for !@#$%^&( sake. Personally, I applaud the people who try to innovate and come up with something unique with their cab designs. There were plenty of very odd arcade cabs which I think people sometimes forget around here. In some peoples mind, the only "classic" cabs are the most generic stand up or cocktail cab. Sorry but I remember all kinds of freakish cabs as a kid, far more freakish than a two-monitor cab.
 

but its missing a 270 wheel.. and a 360... and a rotary joy... and full analog joy... major havoc roller... 720 joy.....

I concur.

[jlml]

A dual-screen cab can also be joined at an angle, which would make for a slick design if done properly.

[lustreking]

Here's what I'm thinking would be cool, and come quite close to accomplishing what I propose: remember those sit-down Nintendo VS "cocktail" things with the dual screens? Take the dual-screen idea, incorporate TWO sets of controls along the lines of the two-tier cabinet. I'm sorry guys, but this could be done faily easily without being an eyesore. It could look quite awesome with a competent builder.

Now, to take this to the extreme... try a FOUR screen FOUR sided cabinet. Or a three-screen, three-sider if it needs to be close to a wall.

Why not just build two or three or four cabinets with a sensible set of controls on each, so that each one is more specialized, ie. a fighting cab, a driving cab, etc?  Much less confusing to use, and probably not that much more expensive to build.

-S

[IntruderAlert]

i think they want to do a "Monster Garage" type project

[jlml]

So long as they are linked up, for dual player Cabal etc.

Has anyone with multiple cabs tried linking them up somehow? This could be interesting.

This also gets me thinking...
Does mame have any support for multi-unit games?
I haven't seen anything about that in all the years I've been following mame. It would be neat for all those multi-cab driving games, or Cadash.

Why not just build two or three or four cabinets with a sensible set of controls on each, so that each one is more specialized, ie. a fighting cab, a driving cab, etc?

[pointdablame]

but you see there is no need to have it all in a linked cab design.  Yes if you wanna do it go ahead... but IMHO it'll wind up looking like a complete eyesore, or if its a 4 sided design like you suggest... would take up an entire room.

There is no game that requires fifty controls at one time.  If you are really thinking of building a 4sided machine (even as a fantasy) why not just make 4 dedicated machines.

You can have a dual joy 7 button layout for one machine and take care of like 50% of the games in MAME.  Take care of all the vertical games with a joy and a few buttons (for the most part).  One machine could have dual trackballs and dual spinners, or something to that effect.

It's not thinking "inside the box"  It's thinking realistically.  Try to explain gameplay to someone when your CP has 8 joys, 2 wheels, 4 spinners, et al.  Now try to explain that while telling that you need to be at the Southern CP near the window, not the Northern CP near the door.

Sorry.. I still say it's silly.

[forbiddenlyrics]

I agree, I think that building several cabinets with specialized controls than having a huge panel and trying to include every control known to man kind. Several cabinets would also be more "true" to the arcade feel.

[Xiaou2]

 Some things to consider...

 If you make multiple cabnets.. you need multiple monitors, more wood housings, maybe coin doors, and multiple sound systems..ect.   Not to mention, multiple pcs.
The cost will be very high..  and, the room that 3 or 4 games will take up will be the same or more than a single unit design.

 My new design will take up about half a room of space.. but to me, its well worth it.   My new design will be a horizontal spinning controller that has 6 to 8 sides.  Im still planning it all out.   Its based on unclet's cab.   But I will be adding more controls, and some interesting suprises.   Also, I believe I will enclose it - to make it like an enviornmental cabnet.   A personal mini game room enviornment.   Even may have is own AC.  : )   Home theater surround sound system..ect.

 While its sometimes nice to have many machines, cause then many people can play different games at once.. its also very costly too.

 Im also all about saving time and energy.  So not having to swap panels is a big plus to me.

 I had started with a 6 sided rotating panel system (vertical pig-roast style) .. but then decided I wanted to play racing games while sitting down... so am switching it up.

 

[Crazy Cooter]

A dual-screen cab can also be joined at an angle, which would make for a slick design if done properly.

Nintendo Vs. cabinet.  I have one.  It is a good layout, but I can't fit it through any door in my house, so it resides in the garage.

[Doc-]

I think the modular panels come close to playing just about anything you want.  If there is anything missing you can just cut another panel and add it.  Further you can reconfigure the panels to create a layout that is very close to the original game.

    http://www.beersmith.com/mame

One could always add more (and I'm always looking for more to add)- but how much is enough?

Cheers!
Doc-

[Xiaou2]

 Modular has its advantages.. but also many disadvantages...

1)  if controls are not completely enclosed, they may get damaged when in storage or transport, or in install.

2)  takes time away from gameing, as you have to swap things out each time you go to another game type.

3) artwork isnt always as cool

4) grooves may be felt on the panel.

5) plexi might not be easy to add.

  There may be more, but the swap time and possible transit damage are the reasons why I chose not to make such a setup.

 

[armax]

 Modular has its advantages.. but also many disadvantages...

1)

[Nannuu]

and it would look like butt.

[Tiger-Heli]

You mean like this?

..:: Changed image link ::..

Thanks for posting the pic of the SuperCade.  That still is, IMNSHO the best example of a classy "do everything on one panel" cabinet.

[Nannuu]

The Supercade rules.  That is by far my favorite frankenpanel.  It doesn't even look franky to me.  That is a very playable panel in my opinion.  It almost gets everything.

[JODY]

Were talking, enough trackballs to cover everything, cabal, even rampart multi player, enough spinners for full warlords, etc, tank controls, dual smash TV, SNK rotary... etc etc etc so on so forth

I've got all the controls mentioned plus several analog joys, driving controls, light guns, etc.  How to get it all in one cab is the question.     My thoughts are it can't be done in one cabinet without removeable panels or some very alien looking machine.

[NoOne=NBA=]

Hey guys... what's with all the "thinking inside the box" negativity here?

Unfortunately, you MADE the box to think in.

If you had asked if anyone could design a multi-monitor/multi-cab setup to cover it the answers might have been different.

If you want ONE cp to cover all of that, it better be a showcase CP that sits across the room from the screen for your projector.
You'd need that much room to do it.

If you did a 4-p setup, with 3 wheels between them, with dual sticks for P1/P2, you'd NEED at least a 6' wide CP.
That's assuming you are using joysticks for the shifters.
Now add trackballs, spinners, tank sticks, etc.... and you go up from there.

[toyfiend2004]

You mean like this?

..:: Changed image link ::..

Thanks for posting the pic of the SuperCade.

[Apollo]

A 4 sided machine has been done but only once as far as I'm aware, by me. Arcade 360 has 1 large arcade monitor that rotates horizontally to 4 different control panels. It worked extremely well and I had a lot of fun with it but it is currently undergoing conversion to a MK1 replica cab. By the way it only takes up as much room as a standard cocktail cab. I didn't have evry control but could easily have had many more controls without the Franenpanel effect. Here's the thread link.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,22004.0.html

[Silverwind]

and it would look like butt.

[jlml]

I'm typing this while staring at my VS cabinet.
I really like the thing, very comfortable for long play sessions.

Nintendo Vs. cabinet.

[jlml]

All those cabinets would take a ton of space, money, and electricity.

Why so many people on this thread think it all needs to be on one panel mystifies me...

I agree, I think that building several cabinets with specialized controls than having a huge panel and trying to include every control known to man kind. Several cabinets would also be more "true" to the arcade feel.

[jlml]

I still haven't seen a modular system with more unusual configurations, such as dual trackballs. There was one system I saw awhile back, where each CONTROL had it's own panel... seems like an ideal candidate for a "covering nearly ALL the bases" situation, assuming enough disposable income.

I think the modular panels come close to playing just about anything you want.

[jlml]

How about two cabinets?

Were talking, enough trackballs to cover everything, cabal, even rampart multi player, enough spinners for full warlords, etc, tank controls, dual smash TV, SNK rotary... etc etc etc so on so forth

I've got all the controls mentioned plus several analog joys, driving controls, light guns, etc.

[jlml]

Hi Apollo, looking at your cab actually gave me the idea for this thread.

A 4 sided machine has been done but only once as far as I'm aware, by me. Arcade 360 has 1 large arcade monitor that rotates horizontally to 4 different control panels. It worked extremely well and I had a lot of fun with it but it is currently undergoing conversion to a MK1 replica cab. By the way it only takes up as much room as a standard cocktail cab. I didn't have evry control but could easily have had many more controls without the Franenpanel effect. Here's the thread link.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,22004.0.html

[Setabs]

You mean like this?

..:: Changed image link ::..

I think I read some where that the guy had problems getting into trackball games because he would hit his hand on the step.  This is by far the best fraken panel I have seen though.

[NoOne=NBA=]

I still haven't seen a modular system with more unusual configurations, such as dual trackballs.

I've got them, but don't have a website up on my cabinet.

[armax]

You mean like this?

..:: Changed image link ::..

I think I read some where that the guy had problems getting into trackball games because he would hit his hand on the step.

[jelwell]

You mean like this?

..:: Changed image link ::..

I think I read some where that the guy had problems getting into trackball games because he would hit his hand on the step.

[Tiger-Heli]

Are those arrow buttons  (like on a nintendo controller) pressed up against the bezel?

I'm pretty sure those are OSCAR restrictor plates, if we're talking about the same things?

[markrvp]

Are those arrow buttons

[lustreking]

jelwell,

Is that a pinball plunger on the front of your cab?  How did you get that to work?

-S