Are there other alternatives to CP console compatibility besides X-arcade?

[Doom bucket]

I had written up a long post weighing the pros and cons of getting an X-arcade control panel VS making my own, but my browser crashed, so here's the gist of it.

I'd like to make my own control panel. I've planned for it, in fact. But, the X-arcade is compatible with consoles, and that's an important thing for me to consider. Soul Caliber 2, Marvel VS Capcom 2, Guilty Gear Isuka, so far as I know those games can't be replicated on the PC legally. I'm big on fighting games, so my arcade cabinet experience would be limited if I couldn't play them!

Are there any other alternatives I haven't thought of or don't know about?

[severdhed]

im not aware of anything that has the connectivity options of the x-arcade.  Im using an x-arcade 2 player unit in my cabinet....i gutted it and built my own control panel for it, which  got rid of most of the complaints i had about the x-arcade. (button layout and spacing between players)

i couldnt be happier with it now, and it works great with my dreamcast.  some people say they dont like the buttons or the joysticks, but i have no problems with them. 

having the option for 4 different buttons configs on the encoder is nice too, for those times when certain games/emus dont allow complete reconfiguration.

i have used mine with xbox, playstation, playstation2, gamecube, and dramcast and have been impressed with its functionality. (i only have a PC and dreamcast in my cabinet though)

if you plan on using an x-arcade in your cabinet, with multiple consoles/pc...you can get a serial data switch box that will allow you to switch the controls between systems without unplugging anything...they are cheap and they work great.

[Doom bucket]

:/

I want a trackball in my cab, and although X-arcade does sell one, it's a seperate product from the joysticks.

[versapak]

If you don't want to go the X-Arcade route, you could hack some playstation pads. There are adapters galore for using those with just about every system.

[Doom bucket]

Hack some PS1 pads, you say? Hmm... I've got plenty lying around... It just might work. How, though?

[versapak]

Hack some PS1 pads, you say? Hmm... I've got plenty lying around... It just might work. How, though?

There are numerous guides around as far as the hacking goes. Search here, and search google, and you will find a wealth of info on that subject.

As for how to use them with various other consoles... There are adapters you can buy to use a PSX for pretty much any other console. Again, a google search (or maybe Froogle rather) would produce a number of hits.

[NightGod]

http://www.cliffracer.com/

They're in the middle of a server upgrade, but those are the same guys that sell the LCD Top Guns here in the US and they have a TON of different system/control adapters. Their shipping is extremely fast and well packaged, I wouldn't hesistate to recommend them to anyone.

[Hizzout]

Guilty Gear Isuka, so far as I know those games can't be replicated on the PC legally.

You can get Guilty Gear X for free from here though:

http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?gameid=3936

[severdhed]

i have a trackball in my cabinet, as well as my x-arcade.  when i bought my "empty" cabinet, it had a trackball lying in the bottom of it.  so i hacked it into a  mouse and it works fine.  there are options...

hacking a ps2 controller is an option, however i have had mixed feelings about the adaptors for other systems...sometimes they work great, other times they dont

[AtomSmasher]

The I-Pac is compatible with the PC, PS2, and XBox.  The only reason to get an X-Arcade is if you don't want to make your own control panel.

Also, the Quasicon is another pre-built arcade controller compatible with PC, PS2, XBox, XBox 360, and Game Cube, and it has both analog controllers and analog buttons which is something no other control panel has.  The downside is its expensive.

*edit* link to review of Quasicade:  http://www.retroblast.com/reviews/quasicade_3.html

I-Pac link: http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html

[Doom bucket]

Oh-ah. Sounds like the Ipac is the way to go then. Thanks!

[AtomSmasher]

I just thought I should add that only the ps/2 version of the Ipac is compatible with the PS2 and Xbox.

[sphetr2]

Use the x-arcade build your own interface kit. You can switch joysticks between analog and digital and the console adapters they have are full compatible with it.

http://www.xgaming.com/byoarcade.shtml

[Kremmit]

Use the x-arcade build your own interface kit. You can switch joysticks between analog and digital and the console adapters they have are full compatible with it.

http://www.xgaming.com/byoarcade.shtml

You can switch between SIMULATED analog and digital.  It's not the same as real analog, and games that make real use of the analog functions will suffer from it. 

The Quasicon is still the only ready-made panel with analog sticks (and analog buttons), and they won't sell their encoders or analog sticks/buttons separate from the panels.

 I've still not heard of anybody hacking the analog portion of a Playstation controller.. Anybody?

[Howard_Casto]

Thought I would chime in ... the best pad to hack would be the xbox pad.  It's usb so it works on the pc out of the box(have to splice in a usb cable or buy an adaptor though).  This also means that it "sorta" already works with the ps2 so the adaptors to use it with the playstation/ps2 are very cheap.   Finally it has more inputs... 10 digital, a dpad, two analog sticks and a set of analog shoulder buttons.  Since it has more buttons than any other console of that generation, the only sure fire way of making a universal controller out of a hack is to use the xbox pad.  Remember, the 360 is out now, so you can get a xbox pad to hack for as little as 10 bucks.