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Spinner Suggestions

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twitami:

Well, I actually tried to buy the Apache, but the website kept giving me unfound pages when I went to order :(

So, I ended up ordering 2 Slikstik Spinners, plus some new Joystick handles from them (1/4" higher means I dont have to rout out the space!), and more buttons..because I can't count.

RandyT:


--- Quote from: RetroBorg on November 05, 2006, 01:02:08 am ---
--- Quote from: RandyT on November 04, 2006, 11:00:40 pm ---For the record, parts for the next version of the TurboTwist are being built as I type this.  I think it will be well received ;)

--- End quote ---

Are you implying an up/down version?

--- End quote ---

Sorry, not this time around.

RandyT

apachecontrols:

Hey guys,

If you have problems with our website, please let us know. This is the first time anyone has suggested there are issues with the website, as we continue to fulfill many customer orders each day.

If you experience any issues, please email us and we'd be happy to help work directly. support@apachecontrols.com :)

For the record (stated once more in case folks missed earlier threads), the Apache Blackhawk is great for all sorts of game play, including Arkanoid. If you are looking for an original game feel for Arkanoid (aka geared spinner) then your best bet is to make your own, since no-one makes an original Arkanoid. With that said, for ALL other games, the Apache Blackhawk is your best bet. This spinner is outstanding for all scenarios of game play.

This is all we do (spinner market) at the moment, so our energies are continuing to provide customers an outstanding product.

Try it, and you won't be disappointed, we guarantee it!

  :)

    David


Apache Controls, LLC
Honeoye Falls, NY (USA)

ONLINE: www.apachecontrols.com
EMAIL: support@apachecontrols.com



RandyT:


--- Quote from: apachecontrols on November 05, 2006, 08:57:31 am ---looking for an original game feel for Arkanoid (aka geared spinner) then your best bet is to make your own, since no-one makes an original Arkanoid.  Don't let the resolution "teeth count" nay-sayers dissuade you with technical garb.

--- End quote ---

If one doesn't mind turning the control twice as far as the game intended one to, or that the paddle jumps in 2 or 3 pixel increments instead of having single-pixel precision, then that individual may not find resolution to be important.  But I'm guessing that most avid gamers (the ones who are spending $1000+ on an arcade rig) might feel differently, or they will once they have experienced the difference that proper resolution can make.  This goes not only for titles like Arkanoid, but the numerous potentiometer based titles as well.

And "for the record", HAPP controls sells a geared spinner for an original Arkanoid machine right here, if you really want one.  Just don't expect them to work well for general purposes with a PC due to the gearing.

And while we're on that subject;

The true Arkanoid spinner puts out the equivalent of a 486 aperture (tooth, spoke, etc.) count and utilized it at 1x.  180 positions for the paddle meant a range of motion of 120 degrees at the control to get it from one side of the playfield to the other.

With modern electronics, one can get 4x decoding (if not placed on the Z-axis of certain mouse controllers), rather than the 1x used by the original hardware.  That means that instead of the 486 aperture requirement, you now have a 486 / 4 or 121.5 (let's say 122 so there is no "loss.") 

An encoder with, say 50, apertures is woefully short of the 122 required to play Arkanoid properly, even with the advancement in decoding technology.  The same could also be said of the numerous potentiometer based games (perhaps more so.)  This is why resolution is important in a spinner and the reason the current TurboTwist spinner has an encoder wheel with 130 apertures (which delivers 520 raw "movements" per revolution with its Opti-Wiz based encoder.)

Just as with anything, there comes a time when you no longer get any returns for the extra resolution and it can even become a problem.  Once you have the bases covered, excessive resolution just makes the low end harder to adjust for.  When sensitivity is based on percentage in whole numbers, and you have a spinner that delivers 2000 movements per revolution and need to set it to, say 3.5% to match a particular games controls, you now have a problem.  Setting it to 3% gives you 60 movements per revolution and 4% gives you 80.  So what can you do to reach that magic 70 the game was designed to use?  Nothing.  You either have to use 3% and things move slower, or use 4% where movement is faster or, in some titles, increases the likelihood of issues like backspin.  This problem at the low end just gets worse, the higher you go beyond that.  Spinner resolution, especially as used with applications like MAME, isn't something you can just pick arbitrarily.  It has to be thought out and done "correctly" or problems can occur on both ends of the spectrum.

Everything in this hobby is "technical".  I hope the above illustrates how these "technicalities" can be important.

RandyT


patrickl:

WTF, that apache that spinner costs $145 with a knob?!?!?!

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