Older FPS games on a cab: controls setup?

[erictrumpet]

Hi all,

I want to play some older FPS games (Wolf3D, GLQuake, etc) on my cab but I can't settle on a controls setup.

This seems like a good setup:
"Quake - Arcade Tournament Edition" http://klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9188
CP closeup: http://klov.com/images/11/118124215520.jpg

What has me stumped is the thumb button for fire being right next to the trackball. Seems to me it would get in the way when playing trackball games that don't need it, don't you think?

So I was thinking something else, along the lines of the typical FPS keyboard+mouse control scheme:

Left hand on buttons (the player 1 bank on a typical cab CP):
1 2 3
4 5 6

2, 4, 5, and 6 would be like the W, A, S, D keys for forward/back and left/right strafing.
1 and 3 could be for secondary functions, like weapon switching or whatever. 3 would work well for jumping perhaps.

Right hand on trackball for aiming/looking. But what about a fire button?

Another thought: left hand on a button top joystick. There's forward/backward and strafing, plus a fire button. But with the other hand occupied with the looking/aiming trackball, you have to remove one of your hands from one of those controls to do any secondary functions. Or to jump. Trouble with this is I don't really like button top joysticks.

It's a real stumper. I really want to play Wolf3D, Doom, and GLQuake, and if I can get a control scheme that really works I might expand that to include games up to and including those using the Quake3 engine.

And Wolf3D didn't even use a mouse, did it? Funny that I can't remember that, since I spent 10,000 hours playing that game!

Thoughts? Anyone playing FPS games on their cabs?

Eric.

[massive88]

Personally I think true 3d games are too cumbersome to play on a cab.

However Doom2 is hella fun, and Doom Legacy especially, as it allows for splitscreen deathmatch.

Way back before I had to learn mouse and keyboard for Quake, I played Doom2 with just the keyboard.

I have a layout of
 123
 456
7

I use 7 as strafe on/off, 4 as fire, 5/6 as strafe left right (for others, I always just use strafe on/off) then the top row is mapped to use and jump. I have two sticks per player, so the right stick scrolls through weapons on left/right.  Though its not needed that much, you could also make a button on the top row just cycle weapons.

Its a lot of fun, and works well enough.  Once you add a third dimension in it though, its too much control imo, unless you are wanting to play single player with the trackball, and at that point, you might as well be on a console with dual analog and triggers, or on the computer with keyboard and mouse.

[abzman2000]

I am having the same problem, and it put the brakes on my cp design real fast, but I think I have it figured out.  NXDoom (a doom port for the dreamcast) uses one analog stick, 2 analog shoulder buttons, and 4 other buttons.  The analog stick moves forward, back, and rotates; the shoulder buttons are strafe left and right; and the four buttons are for changing weapons(2), fire, and the use key.  In order to change weapons you are required to remove your thumb from the analog stick but it doesn't hamper gameplay.  If your trackball had at least 2 buttons (I would have 3 for other games) above it you could easily change weapons.  buttons 4 and 5 could be for strafe, 6 for fire, and 3 for the use key.  

For games that use free look (like quake 2 and half-life) the trackball could be like the mouse and if you could get a trigger stick for the left hand (wasd) the trigger could be the fire button and the use key could be the thumb button (or alt fire and use if you have 2 thumb buttons).  If you only have access to joysticks with one extra button you could just forgo the joystick, make 2, 4, 5, and 6 wasd.  then 1 could be use and if you could do a 7 button layout then the 7th button (to the right of #6 and a bit lower) could be fire for your left thumb.  

[erictrumpet]

Yes good suggestions. I guess the real breaking point is trying to reconcile the "mouselook" capability that came on the scene with Quake1. But Wolf3D and both Dooms should be workable with a standard cab controls setup using just a stick and buttons. But since discovering the existence of that Quake Arcade Tournament machine, I can't help but be obsessed with figuring out how to play a true 3D FPS on my cab. And since game technology has come so far in recent years, original Quake is sufficiently "vintage" as to make it more or less appropriate on my cab. Any other ideas? Anyone here ever play on (or happen to own) a Quake Arcade Tourney Edition machine? How's it play?

Oh yeah, and seeing this thing gives me an absolute hard-on for building a hardcore sit down full-immersion cab with a smokin' PC and 42 inch flat screen for state-of-the-art FPS gaming (someday, perhaps I will):
http://tinyurl.com/6gdyw6
http://tinyurl.com/5g7swz
http://www.asbv13.dsl.pipex.com/other/HLArcade1.jpg

Eric.

[Organic Jerk]

I have Doom (via the Legacy port mentioned above) set up on mine and it works beautifully. 



The deathmatch and co-op options provided by the Legacy port really bring the arcade experience to the game...Although work on 2.0 is slow, they're working on 4 player splitscreen so that's something to look forward to..



I also really desired to be able to play an FPS that allows you to look around, but I actually had an idea with two joysticks with topfire buttons that can be exposed when you want them to.  I would have used topfires, but the shape on them leaves alot to be desired...

The idea is still out there for anyone who has modding skills...


Either way, Doom Splitscreen rocks, give it a try...

I actually have a whole section of my Mala set up dedicated to doom and doom wads

[RoomTenONine]

IMO it must be very awkward using arcade controls for the mouselook 3d fps games (think Quake).  I can see it working for Duke Nukem and other sprite based FPS, but once you get into the real 3d games that really depend on a mouse I would think it difficult to control even with a trackball.

For those interested in older FPS games, check out what I've done to Quake using Darkplaces engine, Rygel texture pack, QRP/Plaque models and a self tweaked Gunter/Orgo creature model pack.  If this interests you be sure to see quakeone.com

[AmericanDemon]

Thats an intriguing view of Quake!  I like it.