Almost talked myself from a 4P CP to a 2P

[clnilsen]

Hey everyone - I have been reading these forums ever since my wife picked up a no-name non-working cab from work last year. I was originally planning on going the 4P control panel route, and even started picking up gear to do it. However, after reading a lot of posts here I have ALMOST talked myself down to a 2P control panel.

So far I have picked up the following:

• TWO GGG eletric Ice trackballs
• 2 Ultimarc 360's
• 1 Turbo Twist High Low spinner
• ex Xenophobe stick that would be converted to a tron-like stick via GGG's new Tron handles
• Misc Happ pushbuttons

So I have a lot of pieces here, and could still go either way. My original goal was not to limit my ability to play games as much as possible.  About the only games I figured would be out would be driving games that required a pedal, and the star wars yoke.

That said, I have laid out a pared down version of my original plan, and I'd like your collective thoughts on what I am losing, if anything. Here is what I am envisioning for my new 2P panel.

Thanks in advance!

Chuck

[javeryh]

Good call on the 2P panel.  Some comments:

- There doesn't appear to be enough room to rest your hands next to the joysticks or the spinner
- I'd rethink the volcano buttons in the upper left - you don't need that many admin buttons
- Maybe put the admin buttons on the front of the CP or right below the monitor?
- You DO NOT want your pause button right next to your exit button, trust me
- You don't need separate "mouse" buttons so I'd get rid of those
- The 1P and 2P start buttons seem like they are 'floating' in no man's land
- Are you going to be playing console games?  If not, you don't need 8 buttons per player
- Check out Kneivel's standard layout.  You seem to want the "generic 2P panel" to play as many games as possible and his design is elegant and has proven to work time and time again - I'd start there.

I'd also recommend building a mock-up out of cardboard to test everything.  Have fun!   

[drventure]

I'd second Javeryh's comments, but I'd also consider moving the tron stick to the right of the spinner. It's really more a personal pref than anything I suppose, but I'd want my right hand on the stick and left on the spinner in games that work that way.

[cmoses]

Good call.  My cabinet that I am still working on had a 4 player NFL Blitz Control Panel.  I figured a 2 player would be more practical and have more room.

You mentioned (2) GGG Electric Ice Trackball's - is that a mistake?

I would also loose the mouse buttons and consider moving the spinner if you want to play any golf, bowling, shuffleboard, horseshoe type games.  Most people have the flight sticks on the right similar to TRON.  I am planning to do (6) regular size admin buttons.  Top left corner Esc - Top Right Corner Pause.  Above Player 1 and Player 2 a coin and start button for each.  With my MiniPAC I can assign shift buttons for the rest.  I am going with a (7) button curved layout, it felt much more comfortable than the straight when play testing.

I built a mock up on MDF because I got a great deal on a full 4' x 8' sheet.  It has been great for testing and making decisions.

[retrometro]

Here's one benefit to having a 4 player cpanel (other than playing 4 player games):

2-Player Karate Champ

Oh yeah.

[leapinlew]

Here's one benefit to having a 4 player cpanel (other than playing 4 player games):

2-Player Karate Champ

Oh yeah.

Karate Champ used 4 way joysticks. It's very sensitive on an 8 way. SmashTV and Total Carnage are good fun though. If you make 1 of them top fire - there are some decent tank games you can play.

[DaveMMR]

Although I completely recommend removing all admin buttons except perhaps an EXIT button (maybe a pause) for simplicities sake, if you are insisting on them, I wouldn't use Atari Volcano buttons.  They're easier to find than they used to be, but I still think they're too pricey for what you want to do with them compared to simple Radio Shack buttons you can get for a buck or two a piece.  Then again, I'm the type that thinks they look better on small, classic panels rather than the more modern, oversized panels.  Not that I'm discouraging you from using them.  I just think they are better as START buttons.  I dunno. 
 

And I second everything javeryh listed.

[vidmouse]

For me the big decision on whether to go 4p or 2p was how much I wanted pinball buttons on the SIDE of the CP box to play Visual Pinball games... this totally affected the width of the box.  Otherwise, everything else could have fit whether I had 4p or 2p.

Having said that, so far I've gone with a 2p panel, but lately I've been rethinking it.  I'm mulling around a few ideas to get the best of both worlds but nothing comes to mind that aesthetically pleasing yet...

[drventure]

Good point about the width of the panel affecting pinball buttons. You might want to take a look at the supercade dual level cp
design.

With that, you put the pinball buttons on the sides of the upper level, which is much narrower than the bottom level and they fit much nicer. I based my cp off this design.

http://cosmicjive.net/arcade/super/control_panel.shtml

[gatordad]

2 player or 4 player move the spinner. I have mine in the position that you have in your sketch and constantly bust my fingers when playing Golden tee. I wish I could change it now.

[clnilsen]

Thanks everyone for the input. I am searching the forums right now to find some Knievel plans but haven't found a clean picture yet. I found his website, and was looking at some of the pictures but haven't quite digested it all yet. I am going to revise my plan based on everyone's feedback soon here.

You mentioned (2) GGG Electric Ice Trackball's - is that a mistake?

Yea, when I was still on the 4P kick, i was going to do 2 trackballs and two spinners.

As a follow up question from what I understand, I can forgo dedicated 4 and 8 way sticks if i am using the ultimarc 360's. Obviously there will not be restrictors to give the physical restriction, but is that everyone's experience as well?

I also like the idea of the admin buttons below the monitor. I'll have to see what I would have to mod on the cabinet to make that happen.

[vidmouse]

Here's what I'm thinking of going to for my 4p panel, which will still allow me to do pinball.  I think UncleT did something like this, I forget the thread ID...



Diagonal lines and black are there just to help me match up the separate sheets during a print out.

Edit:
Just saw that Dazz actually has a pinball layout like this..
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=92303.msg970004#msg970004
(not exactly, but same premise)

[clnilsen]

- Check out Kneivel's standard layout.  You seem to want the "generic 2P panel" to play as many games as possible and his design is elegant and has proven to work time and time again - I'd start there.

  OK, my search is failing me. Can you point me in the direction of which of his machines (or a diagram) you mean? I see the neon machine and the woody, but i'm not sure which I should be looking at?

Thanks!!!!

[javeryh]

- Check out Kneivel's standard layout.  You seem to want the "generic 2P panel" to play as many games as possible and his design is elegant and has proven to work time and time again - I'd start there.

  OK, my search is failing me. Can you point me in the direction of which of his machines (or a diagram) you mean? I see the neon machine and the woody, but i'm not sure which I should be looking at?

Thanks!!!!

He uses the same CP for most of his cabs.  Check the Woody thread - he has a few overhead pics in there.  I'd still modify it to suit your needs (I sort of made one but with no 4-way and a slightly different 6 button layout for P1 and P2).  I'm pretty sure that with an extensive read of the thread you can get all the dimensions you need.... at least that's what I did.   

[clnilsen]

Hey everyone!

Thanks so much for the input here, it's been really great. I've made a bunch of changes based on everyone's input here.

A couple of things I'm unsure about -

- I'm not sure on the ergonomic vs. straight line button layout (hence why P1 is different vs. P2)
- I was thinking two spinners would be nice for driving games and Atari 2600 emulation (which is one of the main things I'd like) not sure about the positioning here.
- Not sure about the second (red) flightstick yet. This may be overkill, and for the moment I have it there due to symmetry.

[bartre]

I personally like the ergonomic button layout, but it's really a personal choice.
maybe try them both in some cardboard and see what you like?
as far as the second joystick, not a big fan, seems like overkill unless you're gonna be playing virtual on.
and if you don't keep it, i'd like to suggest moving the spinners inward a little bit.