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Control panel review - 4 player with spinner
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vidmouse:
I needed the separate power switch because I don't have one of those smart powerstrips, just a free hand-me down I had laying around.  I'll need another for the PC anyway, and I had the buttons, no big deal.

I'm actually not piping sound through the tv, just running it to my computer speakers setup so that I can have it come out of the speaker panel.  My subwoofer will rest in the base of the cab and it comes with a remote that can be run to the keyboard drawer to control volume and bass, plus a headphone jack.

Zebidee:
Cool.  Sounds like you have your sound stuff all at hand.

In Australia where I am, there is a fantastic master/slave power board (powerstrip in US) for only $20 at Bunnings Hardware!  Branded "Click", but says on the back "Made in China for the Mistral Group of companies...www.mistral.com.au".  Can't help but wonder if there is an equivalent in your local hardware store, wherever you happen to be.

I'm not talking about the TV sound, but putting a potentiometer on the line out from the PC to your amp.  It takes up as much space as a button, but you can have it discreetly hidden away. You couldn't see mine in the photo before, because it is behind the left wing,  but easy for P1 to access with left hand.  I even made it black to blend in.  I have the volume control wiring and mounting down pat now, but am still trying to work out how to wire a phono plug (headset jack) correctly.  The guy at the electronics store gave me bum advice about both.  I worked the volume out anyway, but gave up on the phono plug.  Need to find a guru.  But hey, you can buy a USB headset now and a USB port is dead easy.


vidmouse:
Cool.  I don't think I will need the potentiometer because I have the wired remote to my amp (which I guess IS a potentiometer, I just didn't have to make it from scratch).

Heh, turns out I was wrong about my TV... should've tested it before.  Apparently when it loses power (say if I shut off the main power strip) it will still come back on and at the same channel (or Input-1) as it was when it lost power.  I'm not sure if there's a  time limit on it or not though.  Oh well.. wiring up the power button was still cool.

I did some work on my TV bezel today... couldn't figure it out until I tried playing around with some scrap MDF.  Turns out that some of the extra pieces I had leftover from when I made the cab were the perfect size -- I really didn't have to cut hardly anything, just make a few angled cuts so that they would butt up against the speaker panel.  I really like how it turned out.  Still have to add plexiglass -- probably will go for tinted, I like how that looks on some other people's cabs.

I also took a playbreak and hooked up my prototype to my cab... everything still works.  The PC and equipment is what will go into the cab (at least until I get a more powerful PC probably next year) sans control panel box.  Man, it was great to play, now I'm even more motivated to finish...
Zebidee:
Guess that my point about the potentiometer & USB port is that if you have these two things, then you don't need a keyboard drawer .... !  Maybe I just don't like keyboard drawers. 

Your TV should stay like that, so don't worry.  Maybe you could adapt/redirect the switch to your PC, so that you can turn it on/off without turning the monitor/TV off?

Go for real glass - it looks better.  Tinting can influence your colours.  Real arcade operators only use tinted glass for cabinets that are intended for outside use (tinting cuts glare).

On the weekend I played AD&D-Shadows over Mystara on my four-play cab with four people (me+three) and P3/P4 joysticks angled.  I played P4.  It was great fun!  We had to be dragged away ....
vidmouse:
In my case I guess I'm a proponent of keyboard drawers -- at least it's a cool thing for me b/c I couldn't figure out how to do it until I did my tiny cardboard model.

Yeah, I still need a switch to turn on/off the PC.  I might still add the button for the tv, we'll see.  All I know is I'm not getting into my TV again just to _remove_ the wires I added.

I thought tinting was also used to help hide some of the imperfections/guts of the machine that might show otherwise.  Now in my case now with my new bezel I don't think that's much of a problem but I was still thinking of going that way.  One thing I thought of was using the same stuff you can get to tint your windows in cars; I believe it's removeable so if I don't like it it can come off.

My son and I love playing ddsom.. .  he always uses up his magic too soon though.  For me this was part of the whole reason for wanting 4-players, even if two of them are modular.  My other 3+ multiplayer favorites:

TMNT (1 and 2 both)
Gauntlet
X-Men (and with my USB ports and gamepads I think I can even make 6 players work)
Rampage (of course)
D&D Tower of Doom
Warriors of Fate
Growl
Cadillac's and Dinosaurs
Knights of the Round
King of Dragons

That's the immediate list I can think of...  If there's a 3p/4p shump I can't think of it.

If you liked D&D, have you tried Dungeon Magic?

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