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Feedback on my Franken-panel?
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arzoo:
Let me guess your first reaction; Seven joysticks, what the hell was he thinking? :o First let me list my priorities for this panel;


* Classic game oriented! I was in college during the dawn of arcade video games (Asteroids, Pacman, Donkey Kong, Defender, etc.) so those are the games I love. I own a Defender, Stargate, and Berzerk (sold my Jungle King).
* Controls for some of my favorite games; Trackball (Missile Command, Centipede), Spinner (Tron, Tempest), Two Joysticks for each player (Robotron, Smash TV), 49-way Joystick (Sinstar, Food Fight), Trigger Joystick (Tron, Zaxxon), and a customizable 2-way/4-way/8-way restricted Joystick.
* I have two teenage boys so it had to handle 4 player games.
* Button layout for single player classics should allow for left-hand or right-hand play and put the player on center (or close to center) of the monitor.
* Button layout for fighting games (again, this is for my boys).
* Wrist support (I
arzoo:
I received my first feedback... from my wife. She feels the player 1 and player 2 controls are too close. The space between the player 1 left joystick and player 2 right joystick is 5 inches (center to center). Standing side-by-side to play Smash TV, our arms are touching. Making the panel wider would solve this, but at 40 inches, it's already almost a runway.
JONTHEBOMB:
I'm in a state of oooooohhhhhs :o and aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhs looking at your Franken-panel.  The only thing I don't like is where the trackball is located.  It looks like the joysticks in front will be in the way and personally I don't like reaching for a trackball.  Also, I would suggest lowering the buttons just a little between joystick 2 and joystick 5, and the buttons between joystick 1 and joystick 6.  I can't wait to see your Franken-panel complete.
arzoo:
With the trackball elevated 2 inches above the joysticks and set back, I don't think they will interfere. If necessary, I can raise the second deck another inch. I like your idea about moving the buttons down a bit as long as the wrist support remains adequate. I'm going to build a single player proto-type (starting tomorrow) just to see how the button layout works. If all goes well, I hope to start the main panel in a few weeks.
Bones:
Firstly, congrats on your design. It is obviously well researched and thought out.

Initially I went down the design path of the dual level CP based on the Supercade design. In my opinion it is one of the most tasteful around....

But you know, I just couldn't make it work even with a similar design as yours. There always seemed to be a compromise between player comfort and that dreaded trackball position. Finally I gave up and just enlarged my control panel.

I am sure you have heard it over & over, but it really is worth the investment in time to mock-up your entire design for testing.

I am interested if you can make it work and wish you good luck, but there does seem to be a lot of controls in a limited amount of space.

Cheers dude,
Bones
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