Help with cab control panels

[Nailz]

I'd appreciate any advice, suggestions for my upcoming cocktail project.  Here is what I have so far...



Bottom CP shows a T-stick so I can switch between 8 and 4 way games, a spinner (gray dot) for the old classics, as well as a trackball on the right side.

Right side CP has room for 2-players.  Left joy is a Rotary Joystick, the right CP is another T-stick or just a regular 8 way, and another spinner for some of those horizontal games like 720.

Top CP would be another T-stick for any 2 player games that would happen to flip, etc...

Any advice on what is good and what could be changed would be awesome.  Oh, the top and bottom would be recessed a bit underthe cab, they are just out so I can see the layout.

Thanks!

[rampy]

Neato..  I want a 3-sided coctail cabinet someday too.. but here are somethings to consider...

are you gonna be "ok" with the spinner between the joy and the buttons i.e. are the buttons too far away from the joystick to be comfortable?

Are there any vertical games that use 6 buttons? (I wouldn't think so, but I don't have first hand knowledge of ALL of MAME's games =P )

*shrug* I dunno... just the thoughts that popped into my head.

Rampy

[Nailz]

That's what I am looking fo rampy, get me thinking.....

Mayeb I can get away with 3 buttons a piece (or even 2?) on the top and bottom.

As for the spinner, maybe I should move that next to the trackball but not too close as I don't want to be slapping the spinner as I am using the trackball.  I am right handed with a trackball, left handed with a joystick (is that how most of you righties do it?).

Great observations, keep them coming!

BTW, I do like the old school games more, but love Metal Slug and some of the newer ones as well.  Not really into the fighters, although my step-son is....

[Nailz]

nudge... anyone else with an idea or two?

I was looking for a sorting tool that I could break down the games by vertical, # of buttons, etc., so I could figure out how many buttons I really need for the top and bottom CP's, but have found nothing yet that really works.

I downloaded that Sortinfo program, but that is next to worthless....  I did a search for trackball games, it left out Centipede, how does that happen?  It seems very arbitrary whether or not the game will even be included.

[eightbit]

nudge... anyone else with an idea or two?

I was looking for a sorting tool that I could break down the games by vertical, # of buttons, etc., so I could figure out how many buttons I really need for the top and bottom CP's, but have found nothing yet that really works.

I downloaded that Sortinfo program, but that is next to worthless....  I did a search for trackball games, it left out Centipede, how does that happen?  It seems very arbitrary whether or not the game will even be included.

Very busy, lots of wiring. Can you wire up a trackball and 2 spinners at the same time? Have you thought how you are going to interface that many controllers? Will they all be wired up at the same time? Are you going to have it so that it can play 4 player games or just 2 sets of 2 player controls?

[Frostillicus]

nudge... anyone else with an idea or two?

I was looking for a sorting tool that I could break down the games by vertical, # of buttons, etc., so I could figure out how many buttons I really need for the top and bottom CP's, but have found nothing yet that really works.

I downloaded that Sortinfo program, but that is next to worthless....  I did a search for trackball games, it left out Centipede, how does that happen?  It seems very arbitrary whether or not the game will even be included.

Actually sortinfo was really helpful to me - what you need to do is export it as a comma delineated excel file and sort it in that.  I first separated the whole list by horiz/vert then by type of control.  pretty handy.
The occasional game slips through control-wise, like it says DIAL instead of TRACKBALL but on the whole it's pretty good.  
It's all about what your fav games are and building around them.

[Nailz]

nudge... anyone else with an idea or two?

I was looking for a sorting tool that I could break down the games by vertical, # of buttons, etc., so I could figure out how many buttons I really need for the top and bottom CP's, but have found nothing yet that really works.

I downloaded that Sortinfo program, but that is next to worthless....  I did a search for trackball games, it left out Centipede, how does that happen?  It seems very arbitrary whether or not the game will even be included.

Very busy, lots of wiring. Can you wire up a trackball and 2 spinners at the same time? Have you thought how you are going to interface that many controllers? Will they all be wired up at the same time? Are you going to have it so that it can play 4 player games or just 2 sets of 2 player controls?

I was going to go with the IPAC and the Opti-PAC, and in my reading on their site it appears I can have 2 trackballs and up to 4 spinners or rotary joysticks, unless I have assumed something I shouldn't have, that will work for me right?

I also hadn't even thought about that being a 4-player cab, although I suppose it could, couldn't it?  I figured it would be a 2 player cab...  one on each side for vertical games in cocktail mode, and then the 2 side-by-side for fighting games and whatever else.

I'll take another look at Sortinfo as well, thanks Frostillicus.

[SirPoonga]

I'd put a spinner and trackball on both sides.  I lke games like warlords and atari football.  But then you need to run analog mame and windows 98.

[Nailz]

I'd put a spinner and trackball on both sides.  I lke games like warlords and atari football.  But then you need to run analog mame and windows 98.

Do you mean on the top and bottom CP's?  I had thought about that, but the odds are that I will be the only one playing most of the time and Warlords and atari football weren't in my top list of games to play.

I do however keep thinking about a trackball on the right side, but am not sure how many horizontal games out there make use of a trackball.

[shmokes]

Missile Command uses three buttons doesn't it?  If so you need three buttons for your trackball.

[Nailz]

Yeah, I think 3 buttons would do it for the top and bottom CP's.

Anybody else have anything for me?  This is all good stuff guys, thanks.

[shmokes]

Analog Mame requires Windows 98???  I'm glad that got mentioned.  I had planned to put Win XP on my cab, but I'm planning to put in two trackballs for Marble Madness.

[u_rebelscum]

Analog Mame requires Windows 98???  I'm glad that got mentioned.  I had planned to put Win XP on my cab, but I'm planning to put in two trackballs for Marble Madness.

If you want two or more trackballs, yes Analog+ needs Win98 or WinME.  Since you want Marble Madness, that means win98.  

All other features (splitable spinner/mouse axis, ect) work in winXP also.

[Nailz]

So, for what I am wanting to do... 2 spinners, a trackball, and a rotary, I will need to use Analog+?  I was planning on running DOS and using ArcadeOS as my FE, will this affect my choice of OS or FE?

[Nailz]

I should also mention that I am not planning on using any of the spinners or trackballs at the same time, they will all be used individually if that makes a difference either u_rebelscum.

[u_rebelscum]

So, for what I am wanting to do... 2 spinners, a trackball, and a rotary, I will need to use Analog+?  I was planning on running DOS and using ArcadeOS as my FE, will this affect my choice of OS or FE?

The standard dos mame can handle two trackballs as seperate devices with the right dos drivers.

I should also mention that I am not planning on using any of the spinners or trackballs at the same time, they will all be used individually if that makes a difference either u_rebelscum.

If you aren't worried about someone, for example, spinning trackball A while you are using spinner B in a game, any standard mame will be okay.  Along the same line, if you don't need to use two spinners at the same time, any standard mame will be fine.

Analog+ adds stuff like splitting the trackballs in windows, or splitting two spinners on the the X & Y axes of one mouse in dos & windows.