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Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: Fuzzguitar on October 02, 2005, 11:03:31 am

Title: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Fuzzguitar on October 02, 2005, 11:03:31 am
Hey folks,

I don't have as much room on my cp as some of you but if I really want I can squeeze in two Tornado spinners, because of the small installation footprint.

However, from browsing the examples and searching around I notice not too many people (even those with huge cp's) have two spinners.

Is this because there's not a lot of simultaneous spinner games?

Is it because it's slightly harder to set up in software?

I would have thought that Puzzloop (my gf likes that big time) would rock with this setup - as would top down driving games (my brother digs those). I mentioned them as they will be playing the cab probably as much as me.

Can I get some feedback on why I SHOULD install two spinners?

Why did other people? what games make it worth it etc?

I'm not looking for a full list of compatible games so much as some real world recommendations...

Thanks in advance!


Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: RayB on October 02, 2005, 12:08:30 pm
The only game I can think of that would use two spinners is Forgotten Worlds (and for that, you'd need to be able to pit a fire button at the same time, which means a "push-pull" spinner, or a trigger joystick.)

I suppose you could also play Rotary joy games.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: jerryjanis on October 02, 2005, 04:45:29 pm
Besides driving games, my favorite 2-player spinner game is Blasteroids.

There are also paddle games, which are very similar, and yet very different from spinner games.  Warlords is probably one of my all-time favorite games.  You can play with 4 players using 4 paddles.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: MKChamp on October 02, 2005, 06:28:51 pm
Don't forget Ikari Warriers
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: XtraSmiley on October 02, 2005, 08:23:53 pm
Ikari is not a spinner game, but a rotating handle game.

Forgotten Worlds can be easily played with a rotating handle stick, maybe (never tried, but it seems like it can be)

All those games like Super Off road and Bad Lands, Super Sprint etc that used spinner wheels maybe playable with a standard spinners, but I've never tried it.  If they can, then more than one spinner would rock as these games used up to 3 I think.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Fuzzguitar on October 02, 2005, 08:48:15 pm
Yeah, I was thinking of those games and also there's some F1 games my brother plays contantly on my old cab (8-way joys only) that might work too.

I'm going to get a chance to fire that cab up today (don't have mame on this pc) and search for some more games that might work with dual spinners.

In the meantime keep the thoughts coming - it's a great help!

This is just about the last question I have to answer before I place orders and start on this new cab's CP!
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Timoe on October 02, 2005, 09:47:45 pm
I believe you can play Ikari with a spinner and a joystick.  Preferably a topfire joystick.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: DaveMMR on October 02, 2005, 11:58:17 pm
Off the Wall is a pretty fun game that supports two spinners (two player simo).

*It's like breakout but instead of having to hit every brick, you just have to get the ball into the exit.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: krick on October 02, 2005, 11:59:57 pm
Warlords....  4 Spinners!
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: quarterback on October 03, 2005, 12:06:37 am
Hey, with 2 spinners you could play this (http://www.etch-a-sketch.com/html/onlineetch.htm) the way your remember it!   :laugh:




(Blatantly copied/pasted from my previous post in the thread "Is it worth getting 2 spinners???" here (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=39112.0))
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Fuzzguitar on October 03, 2005, 04:30:45 am
Okay, I looked into this two spinner issue some more today and came up with this for anyone else who's wondering...

There's not many 2P simultaneous spinner games at all!

Out of the games mentioned in this thread and from searching around (Mame, KLOV) I can divide it as such;

"REAL SPINNER GAMES" (Original cab's have spinner/paddle or like)

Blasteroids
Off The Wall
Warlords (up to 4 simultaneous)

"PLAYABLE SPINNER GAMES" (Work with spinner and pushbuttons)

Badlands
Super Off Road
Super Sprint

These are basically driving games where the spinner is substituted for the wheel on the original cabinet.

Please feel free to edit or add to these lists as required, it could be a good quick reference for the boards.

Note: I haven't included games like Puzzloop because although we know it will play with a spinner, no readily available proof exists that it used one. That is, there's no cabinet pics on www.klov.com.

There are also games like Puchi Carat, Pop'N'Bounce that may work too (I say that because Mame has dial settings for those) but like Puzzloop there's not much information to go off.

If you think there should be a section for those, let me know.

So unless people add to this I guess I now must decide two things

1. Will I play any of those games listed above enough to install 2 spinners?

2. What kind of spinner should I get, weighted or geared?

Advice from those who already own spinners on Q2. would be very much appreciated.

Cheers.



Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Lilwolf on October 03, 2005, 07:36:47 am
there are a ton of driving games.. all top down that will be useful.  You will also be able to play ikari warriors, vict road, time soldiers, ect that normally use the 12way rotate joysticks if you also have a joystick near, but only if they have a button accessable (top fire or something).

But all in all.. probably not worth the extra 80 bucks.  I would either try and get another type of controller or just leave some room.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Fuzzguitar on October 03, 2005, 11:07:56 am
Yeah Lilwolf, I was initially pumped for two spinners but now I'm leaning toward what you said.

For some reason I couldn't get Off The Wall to even work in 2P mode (my mame or r*m version maybe?) so the list dwindles.

I'm even toying with the idea of a 4-way instead of a second spinner but that could make things tight...gotta re-evaluate.

Guess I was waiting for someone to come along and say "Puzzloop rocks with two spinners, worth it for that alone" lol.

Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: KenToad on October 03, 2005, 01:26:18 pm
I would say that Puzz Loop rocks with two spinners, but I'm still in the process of planning my two spinner panel.  It definitely isn't the same with just one spinner and a joystick.  My friends seem most impressed by a spinner as a control.  Of course, I don't have a trackball, but everyone has seen a control that moves four/eight ways.  I want dual spinners for Off Road, Super Sprint, Puzz Loop, Off the Wall, Blasteroids and that Japanese arkanoid game for dual co-op simultaneous play.  I think it would be pretty sweet to have three spinners, but I don't want to deal with setting up dual mice.

Also, I'll be building my own, so it shouldn't be cost prohibitive.  If I was buying Tornados, it would definitely be a harder decision.

Also, Fuzzguitar, check the dip switches to get Off the Wall working with two players.  It's only sort of fun with one spinner and a joystick. 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.   

Cheers,
KenToad
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: ahofle on October 03, 2005, 03:48:14 pm
I regret not adding a 2nd spinner for Blasteroids/SuperSprint/ChampionshipSprint/Warlords.  If you have the room, I would do it.  The spinners work amazingly well for the driving games IMO.  Also, I haven't tried this, but if you have any Atari 2600 emulation plans, you might be able to play all the paddle and driving games with 2 players there too.  Not sure if the 2600 emulators out there support that, but thought I would throw that in.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: J.P. Patches on October 04, 2005, 01:04:32 pm
I agree...  I'm putting two spinners on my CP for 2600 and Warlords...  and pong, I suppose, too.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Silver on October 04, 2005, 01:17:29 pm
.... and that Japanese arkanoid game for dual co-op simultaneous play....

Which one is this? I'm currently going through a similar 2 spinners or not debate (its an interface issue mainly - don't seem to have a spare axis anywhere - although advancemame might save me).

I'd LOVE to play a co-op arkanoid game....
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: J.P. Patches on October 04, 2005, 01:30:31 pm
As far as interfacing, I'm going to hook my Tornado spinners up to my Opti-PAC. 

Not to hijack a thread, but do you think there's enough of an interest to make a small run (50 or 100) of kits to replace the Tornado spinners board with Opti-PAC interface boards? 
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: krick on October 04, 2005, 01:38:45 pm
Has Andy from Ultimarc started selling Opti-PAC compatible interface boards for the Tornado spinner yet?

Last time I heard, it was still in the planning stages.


I did my Tornado hack with interface boards from OSCAR Controls...

http://mame.3feetunder.com/tornadomod/

Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Cronos on October 04, 2005, 01:50:37 pm
I have a couple tornados on mine. I've had them on there for a couple of years now and I Luv 'em! I plan on adding a 3rd, maybe even a fourth.

Just to add a bit to what everyone else is saying.

I also have two top fire sticks. The Ikari type games are totally playable with a topfire and spinner. BUT also keep in mind that there is a second grenade button. The way I have my CP laid out is cool though for this because there's a button right off the spinner that I use for that. It's a bit awkward at first though. But I don't play Ikari all that much. Another game that works well with the topfire and spinner is Frontline. Although that's a single player game.

Games like Super Offroad and Warlords are big hits at my house becuase of the dual spinners. Super Offroad and the like works great in my opinion with them. It's the main reason I'm considering dropping the extra c-note to get a 3rd spinner.

Pop N Bounce definitely used a joystick and most likely that's the case with Puchi Carot as well. That's a longstanding MAME error. Disregard it.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Fuzzguitar on October 04, 2005, 05:55:42 pm
Thanks a bunch Ken, Chronos, Ahofle...

Well I've decided I'm going for two spinners now.

The setup sounds like a party game fans paradise, the quality of games in this case wins out over the quantity for me. Warlords did indeed rock in my testing and though I only ever use Mame in cabinets for authenticity, I could even be persuaded to put a 2600 emulator in for all the paddle games.

So no need to apologise for hijacking my thread, as it's pretty much served it's purpose and I too am interested in hearing about possible hookups now.

I always thought the easiest way to connect two Tornados would be to buy a cheap USB hub, use MameAnalog+ to switch axis on second mouse, save settings and away you go.

The only disadvantage (as I see it) is this method means the other controls like trackball are still active whilst you're using the spinner (maybe a problem if little kids are around but not for me). Hence, I shouldn't need an Opti-Pac, especially since my 3" trackball I've just ordered is USB/PS2.

Can someone please correct me if that method is incorrect?

It's just what I came up with from researching here & slikstik forums, not anything I can actually attempt until I get my spinners.

(PS. I'm still going for two spinners even after opeing up my CP for the first time last night revealed wooden support blocks and more routed areas than I had anticipated - basically, I will have either the tightest squeeze of all time to fit all this, or I'll need to totally re-do the CP...Oh well, think of the dual spinners!)




Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: KenToad on October 04, 2005, 07:29:55 pm
.... and that Japanese arkanoid game for dual co-op simultaneous play....

Which one is this? I'm currently going through a similar 2 spinners or not debate (its an interface issue mainly - don't seem to have a spare axis anywhere - although advancemame might save me).

I'd LOVE to play a co-op arkanoid game....

I was just looking through my lists to find the specific gamename of this one and I saw three more pretty cool dual spinner games:  Hotrod, Demolition Derby and Badlands.  Ahh, memories of the fair, especially that crazy Demolition Derby that attracted all the rednecks ... and me.  8)

And the simultaneous Arkanoid is called Arkanoid Returns or ARKRETRN.  It's running fine on my .87 version and seems to be very cool.  You play together on the same board, kind of staggered like doubles tennis players.  If the first misses the ball, the second has an extra split-second to get it.  Or you could strategize and spread out to cover more area with less movement.  So far, I've only played it with a joystick and a spinner.  The joystick player doesn't have nearly as much fun, IMO.

I've really got to get started with my dual spinner panel.  This thread is inspiring me.  And it didn't really even occur to me that so many arcade boxes are made with a trackball and only one spinner.  It's almost a standard design.  Oh well, give me dual spinner action anyday. 

Cheers,
KenToad

Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Cronos on October 04, 2005, 11:10:56 pm
Good add on there with Demo Derby & Badlands!

Hmmmm what else is there? I had a list once upon a time... SuperSprint and Pong also come to mind.

Quote
I always thought the easiest way to connect two Tornados would be to buy a cheap USB hub, use MameAnalog+ to switch axis on second mouse, save settings and away you go.

The only disadvantage (as I see it) is this method means the other controls like trackball are still active whilst you're using the spinner (maybe a problem if little kids are around but not for me). Hence, I shouldn't need an Opti-Pac, especially since my 3" trackball I've just ordered is USB/PS2.

Save your reciept for the hub! I never had issues with the Tornado spinners, but I had an issue with a Happ trackball used in conjunction with all my USB crap! A decent powered hub cured the issue! Seems to be a rare problem these days though.

As far as all your mice being active with MAMEAnalog+? Well... I can't testify for the later MAMEAnalog+ builds that came AFTER the MAME dev control config changes. But I use .69 which emulates most the dual spinner gmaes fine enough for me. And when you map the mice. As long as none of them are set to "SYSMOUSE" or the same mouse (They will numbered like Mouse 1, Mouse2, Mouse 3, etc), you won't have any dual activity. Hope that makes sense?

And you should not need an optipac since everything is USB.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Fuzzguitar on October 04, 2005, 11:39:40 pm
Thanks again, nice to have all that confirmed since I was only using guessing.

Haven't bought a hub yet  ;) I would have tried first without one anyway. I just recall reading that over at slikstik.

And come to think of it, I knew about the Arkanoid game too, I am so rusty after being out of emulation for a while!

Yet another reason to place my orders for two spinners and get to work on getting this panel done!
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Bursk on October 17, 2005, 11:48:05 am
People, could we get a list on the go, please?  I'm also very interested to see how many buttons each of these games requires, as it's relevant to my dual-spinner CP design.  Cheers.

EDIT: Oh, and I was wondering what everyone thinks of Blasteroids.  mameinfo.dat tells me that 'The game was originally to have areas in which a certain ship form was required to get through them, but the game's production was pushed forward, and it didn't recieve the fine-tuning that was originally planned.'

Does the game seem rushed and lacking polish, or is it still a lot of fun?
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: RayB on October 17, 2005, 01:51:18 pm
EDIT: Oh, and I was wondering what everyone thinks of Blasteroids.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Bursk on October 17, 2005, 02:34:14 pm
Sounds pretty good.  Yay for you, RayB!
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: RayB on October 17, 2005, 02:48:32 pm
Oh PS: I'd say the only flaw would be that they allow you to switch between the 3 ships as you're playing. That makes for some really confusing strategy. Might have been better to force the player to commit to their one choice.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Bursk on October 17, 2005, 02:54:15 pm
How do you mean?  Like, you don't know whether you're coming or going with the type of ship you're using?

I've made a start on a list of 2P Sim dial games:

Arkanoid Returns   1 button

Bad Lands   2 buttons

Blasteroids   3 buttons

Championship Sprint   0 buttons   You have to assign a button to P1/P2 Pedal 1 Dec, so it really needs 1 button

Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat   1 button   The single button is used for nitro, but you'll also have to assign a button to P1/P2 Pedal 1 Dec, so it really needs 2 buttons

Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off-Road   1 button   The single button is used for nitro, but you'll also have to assign a button to P1/P2 Pedal 1 Dec, so it really needs 2 buttons

Ironman Stewart's Super Off-Road Track Pack   1 button   As above

Off the Wall   1 button   It seems that the 2 and 3 player start buttons are incorrectly asigned in MAME (tested in v101), so you need to manually change 2 Players Start to button 3 and 3 Players Start to button 2, or you won't be able to start a 2 player game.

Pong   0 buttons

Puzz Loop   1 button   Need to go into Service Mode to delect dial control (default is joystick)

Super Sprint   0 buttons   You have to assign a button to P1/P2 Pedal 1 Dec, so it really needs 1 button

Warlords   1 button   

I'm basing this on screenshots of the control panels and playing the games myself.  MAWS seems to be totally inaccurate on some games.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: RayB on October 17, 2005, 03:32:14 pm
How do you mean?
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: ahofle on October 17, 2005, 07:01:51 pm
How do you mean?
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: RayB on October 17, 2005, 11:07:42 pm
AH docking! I forgot about that!
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Kremmit on October 17, 2005, 11:48:29 pm
I'm pretty sure they designed it such that docked play gives an advantage.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Fuzzguitar on July 22, 2006, 08:41:53 pm
Hi again people,

I know I've said this before but I've been out of emulation/mame cabs for all of this year (going overseas, looking for new jobs, new hobbies etc etc) and only now I'm looking at starting my cabinet mentioned above.

I am not simply bumping - because this thread served it's purpose (in fact reading back over it was a great refresher course) though I am keen to know how people went with hooking up 2 spinners?

J.P and others? I'd love to hear anyone's experiences!

Also, I've had all my parts stored away for almost a year. I have not had time to research but I think there has been some changes to Tornado spinners since I've been here.

Weren't new boards issued for them (right after I purchased two probably!)?

Is the method discussed above (ie. mapping mice axis with mame analog+) still the way to go with dual spinner setups?

Basically, if there have been any changes over the last year or so I'd love for someone here to bring me up to speed.

Right now I just got the opportunity to go to where my cabs are stored to and work on them and I'm short of time.

Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: MaximRecoil on July 23, 2006, 05:14:05 am
I'd do it just for Pong. Now the real Pong machine used pot-based "paddles" rather than optical spinners I believe, but I don't see why spinners wouldn't work about as well. WolfMAME still includes Pong by default, but I don't have a MAME cabinet so I have no idea if it works with spinners or not.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Kremmit on July 23, 2006, 11:37:58 pm
Things have indeed changed.  Current versions of official MAME have much improved support for multiple mice and axis selection.  You can just plug your two Tornados in and map them through the standard MAME tab menu, no fuss, no muss, end of story.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Fuzzguitar on July 24, 2006, 02:03:31 am
Oh wow - you don't how happy I am to hear that, cheers for the response!

I don't suppose you know what version the changes came in?

I think my mame version was up to .88 or so....

I guess I'll be off to get a new Mame now :) hopefully not too many games have been broken in the time I've been away.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: lloydcom on July 24, 2006, 07:10:52 am
To put a spin on the idea (bad I know) I put my spinner to the side of the cabinet, via the HD spindle mouse hack option.

That way I can have them in reach for tempest or warlords, but have the CP free.  With the mouse hack only one port is used, and the spinning action is really good, and there is an option for another spinner on the other side.

I'll post some pics later so you can see where I'm going with this.  I was thinking of those small arcade buttons from Gremlin on the side next to the spinner to play Ikari Warriors.
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: ahofle on July 24, 2006, 12:02:37 pm
Oh wow - you don't how happy I am to hear that, cheers for the response!

I don't suppose you know what version the changes came in?

I think my mame version was up to .88 or so....

I guess I'll be off to get a new Mame now :) hopefully not too many games have been broken in the time I've been away.

I think the new mouse code went in with v0.105.  And yes there are a few broken classics since 0.88 (Gorf comes to mind). :(

Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Fuzzguitar on July 25, 2006, 08:33:41 pm
Cheers, just got 0.107 so will give it all shot setting up soon, and yes pictures would be cool.

How does the spinner play on the side?
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: danny_galaga on July 26, 2006, 06:59:34 am
Hey, with 2 spinners you could play this (http://www.etch-a-sketch.com/html/onlineetch.htm) the way your remember it!   :laugh:




(Blatantly copied/pasted from my previous post in the thread "Is it worth getting 2 spinners???" here (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=39112.0))

 ;D
Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: Fuzzguitar on July 26, 2006, 08:31:11 am
To anyone else considering two spinners, I just plugged in my two tornados and tested them with 0.107 to find they work great!

Things couldn't be easier now, we can use standard mame, usb spinners, enable mouse support in the mame.ini and finally just hit tab in game to configure globally.

I can't wait to get these things in my cab, I highly recommend others go for this option now it's painless to set up...I was testing warlords with one hand on each spinner and even that was fun :)

Title: Re: The case for two spinners?
Post by: HanoiBoi on February 25, 2010, 12:26:58 pm

Puzz Loop   1 button   Need to go into Service Mode to delect dial control (default is joystick)


Crazy old thread, I know....but I'm trying to get Puzzloop to work with a spinner.  I read this, but can't quite figure out how to configure it.

Through setup, I set Service Mode to 'On', but I don't know how to access anything that allows me to select dial versus joystick.

I also see items in setup as;
Service 1 ...... 9
Service ......... F2

But when I try pressing either, I get nothing.   :dunno

Help would be appreciated