Yawn.
You have to have guts to come into a overly saturated market with a device like that.
At a price that is too much for a device I could pick up from Randy for Andy for much less and get a lot more, especially in this tough economy.
Good Luck! ::)
Yawn.
You have to have guts to come into a overly saturated market with a device like that.
At a price that is too much for a device I could pick up from Randy for Andy for much less and get a lot more, especially in this tough economy.
Good Luck! ::)
Armi,
Only a potent mix of jealousy and ignorance could combine to produce a reaction like that. "Overly Saturated Market"?!?! In what alternate universe is there an overly saturated market for arcade parts? This new product of yours is obviously not a clone of ANY product that Randy or Andy already provide, and I defy ark_ader to prove otherwise or admit that was a foolish statement.
I can't wait to see what you come out with next. Keep up the good work!
-EVEGames
Great question, we have been offering the Xin-mo controller for almost a year now, and have two options there for 2 player control panels:
Xin Mo Arcade Controller to USB - Paradise Style (http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/147-arcade-controller-to-usb.html)=28.95
Xin Mo Arcade Controller to USB - PC or PS3 (http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/24-arcade-controller-to-usb.html)=25.00
However, at 65 the Lono comes complete with a full wiring harness. When I check prices, other vendors are charging 55 and up for their in house controller with harness. I will look at the numbers for doing a 2 player controller, it might make sense to have something priced between our current offering and the Lono.
Yawn.
You have to have guts to come into a overly saturated market with a device like that.
At a price that is too much for a device I could pick up from Randy for Andy for much less and get a lot more, especially in this tough economy.
I would be interested on how the units perform in a cab, before purchase.
Bryan was nice enough to allow me to beta test this board (thanks again man!), and I have had it for about a week now. Previously, I had been using a "common" keyboard encoder and never had any complaints about it, it managed to do what I thought was a great job (and I still think it does a decent job in the right applications). Also, I have to admit I was a little skeptical when Bryan was explaining the speed of the board to me, as well as using a controller interface vs. a keyboard encoder. However, immediately after playing my first game with this board I was more than pleasantly surprised!
I, like some, enjoy cutting wires and making my own harnesses. This board does come with pre-made harnesses, which made it incredibly fast to install. I also have a preference of the pin headers over screw terminals, which helps maintain a clean finished look to the wiring if you wire your own harness with header connectors.
Another plus with this is there is no need to assign joystick IDs between the 4 controllers of the board and it is instantly recognized by Windows. Also having 4 controllers ran through 1 USB cable is nice to help keep wiring clutter down.
I do not use MAMEUI32 or 64, and I had MAME configured for keyboard inputs originally. But it was no big deal to adjust MAME's settings to accept the joystick inputs, just a few minutes of setting them and it was ready to play.
The advantages of this board's speed became immediately obvious when I played Raiden (the first game I chose). On my first credit I scored a new personal best, which impressed me. I was able to dodge more easily and shoot faster. The most noticeable difference was the speed at which I could change directions with the joystick. It was like my reaction time improved, although I know it didn't, it was just the inputs being processed faster.
Is this board for everyone? No. But I consider this a must have for those who love button mashers (shmups, beat-em-ups, and the like), and a great interface for those with 4 player CPs. I would also like to see a 2 player version of this board released. I don't think the market is "over saturated", but there are a lot of options out there, and I must say, I am a fan of options.
Outstanding. $10 that this thread goes a minimum of 3 pages and has certain people arguing the relative speed of Hi-Speed USB 2.0 v. other options available. Any takers?
So based on your report of the device in question, how practical would it be for an existing arcade cabinet owner, to change software and hardware to accommodate this new device?
Simply put, is this product faster than a GGG or Ultimarc product?
Cheffo, I'm really surprised. You think ark_ader's "advice" is good... another encoder, yawn, you got some balls trying to bring another encoder to market, eye-roll. Bryan is obviously not creating hand-made keyboard controllers in his basement and selling them out of the back of his van. The man is trying to establish himself in a wide-open (yes, still wide-open) market, and he's obviously way beyond the point of, "ya sure you're not getting in over your head, kid?" type of advice. He wants to become a one-stop shop, and I think he's off to a great start.
You ask for a clear and obvious advantage to the consumer, I'll give you two, even though Bryan has already stated them earlier in the thread. Bryan's product is not a keyboard encoder, it's a USB joystick device. One advantage to that is, not only will it work right out of the box with MameUI (or any version of mame with mimumal tweaking), it will most likely also work with most of the 20 other emulators on your system with minimal or no tweaking. Think of how many emulators have a checkbox to turn on joystick support, rather than mapping each control to a keycode. With this encoder, you can do that.
Here's another one. Read the 5th post in the thread. The ability to engage Shift functions only within your own "bank" of controls... Player 1 can use a Shift function in the middle of game play, let's say Coin Up, and not worry that Player 2 is going to hit a Shifted button on his side and screw up the game. I don't have admin buttons on my current control panel, so when I'm playing Gauntlet with a friend, and I need to coin up, I have to ask him to stop playing for a second while I use the Shift function of my IPac to coin up, because I have shifted functions mapped to nearly every button for use in other emulators like C64. Now picture each player has their own shift button that doesn't affect the other players' controls.
So maybe you can point out what part of my post was foolish, Cheffo, if you show me, I'll cop to it, unlike Ark. :cheers:
Cheffo made a great suggestion, we are waiting for our harnesses to arrive... A great deal of thought went into trying to lay this out so it made sense. For the harnesses, we wanted to make sure that it was easy to wire up. There are 18 connections per joystick and once you get out to the end of the run, knowing if you have button1 or button 10 can be tough unless you have a clear system. So what we did was to have 10 colors per 20 pin connector
Thanks. I'm kind new to this whole thing so I really appreciate your telling me that I am unaware of the market.
Nowadays we get people chiming in who have never even read TH's reviews (which really is required if you want your opinion to be taken seriously), yet expect to be allowed to stand on the lawn shaking their fists.
I find it strange that you write "USB joystick device" as if that, in itself, is something revolutionary. If you think that is, then please shut up now and let the grown-ups talk.
The question that should be answered is what the advantages of the various options are. Just recognizing that they aren't clones of each other doesn't create any compelling reason to buy any of them and, to my mind, makes EVEGames' statement the most foolish, but not the most obnoxious (that honour goes to ark), statement in the thread.
shut up now and let the grown-ups talk.
That tiger heli link IS cool! Nice to know the old folks on here can post useful things instead of telling noobs they are wrong and that street fighter sucks...
EVEGames, this may very well be a troll against me... and I dont care, but I will respond appropriately to set the record straight.
I have posted my opinions about things I have not touched. But this being with knowledge of the product, and a deep understanding of the nature of other related products.
For example, a Leaf switch that has a hard 'bottom out point', will feel different than one that does not. Its simple physics & comparison of the nearly identical physical counterparts. You dont have to have the actual 'thing' to know its behavior.
However, in Arks case, he spouts off without any understanding of the product or its differences... which isnt really right, and as you said, his response was very bitter, and seemed 'personal'.
As for the market, I wouldnt know. I dont sell the things. Nor do I know the sheer number of mame type projects out there. I do know that competition is good though. But then again, sometimes cooperation can be better... For example, if all the vendors pooled resources to get new Vector monitor made (or maybe a laser projector version?), remakes of complex controls such as Race Drivins FFB wheel + the sitdown shifter, a run of specialty plastics parts, etc.
On a personal note, while I do not know technically if the thing gives the results that it claims... I do feel its imperative to have the utmost fastest responses possible. A delay may be fine on certain games, but the more intense games really push you to the limits... and a split second delay can ruin everything.
It may be a little more in cost, but for me, better control = better experience = worth every cent.
Based on beta testing feeback....
We added some functionality to the board.
The Lono will have three start up states, dependent on joystick position at start up. If joystick 1 is in the neutral position the last programmed state will just be reactivated.
State 1) 4 x 1 joystick x 14 button controller
State 2) 4 x 1 joystick x 14 button controller, where button 14 acts as a shift, making buttons 1-13 show up as 15 -27
State 3) 4 x 1 joystick x 14 button controller, where button 14 shifts all the buttons and the joystick directions become 28-31
A lot of controllers have a "shift" button, but it is usually a universal "shift". With the Lono, the board is recognized as four controller devices, and in these separate modes each has it's own shift capabilities. That means you can enter admin controls on player 2, while player 1 is currently be used to play a game without affecting the mapping on player 1. This also gives the lono the possibility of being programmed to 124 different action buttons and 4 joysticks. Each controller, on the 4 controller board, has the capability of 31 different button signals and a joystick.
And it does all of this at a blazing fast speed, making it one of the fastest and more versatile controllers on the market.
Why the skepticism? Lots of people have dealt with Bryan, and I have never seen anything bad written about him. I like his approach to products, he isn't claiming his is the "best" he is just saying that its faster than any advertised rate of transfer, which is an objective fact. Neph provided a mini-review. I don't understand the negativity. You are either implying that Bryan and Neph are liars, or they don't know what they are talking about.
I think word of mouth is pretty strong around here, things that don't work get rooted out fast. If Bryan's product is great, it will develop a following, if its crap, it won't. The thing is though, that since word of mouth is strong people should qualify their remarks as opinions, and not masquerade them as facts. If you have never tried this product, or even never bought from Bryan, how can you possibly have any sort of information that is worth anything to anyone? You are just talking for the sake of talking. You are entitled to your opinion, but it is what it is, an uninformed opinion. Furthermore, just because you knew a lot about what encoders were like 5 years ago doesn't mean you have a clue as to what is being sold now. Also, who cares if you worked in an arcade, building your own controls in 2010 is a LOT different then maintaining an arcade 20 years ago. You can build a mame cabinet with materials and components that do not have a SINGLE component in common with what was in arcade cabs 20 years ago.
This isn't a big dump on the vets on the board, a lot of them have very valuable things to say about things they know. But, for those that pretend like they know everything, here's a clue; technology has advanced and changed since the times that double dragon ruled the arcade and that cab you built 6 years ago on a pentium 2 running mame .36 doesn't have a lot in common with a lot of cabs being built now using different technology, different displays, different form factors, different front ends and connecting PS3's and Xboxes.
Buy what you want, say what you want, who cares, but don't get all sensitive when someone calls you out on your ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow--- and don't pretend that you OPINION is somehow better or more valuable than someone that has 15 posts. 9 times out of ten, from my experience, its not.
What versions of Windows requires drivers for the Lono? The advertisement says most versions. Is that something to do with USB 2.0 compatibility?
What is the speed of the interface using USB 1.0 or is it not compatible?
Is there any blocking or ghosting with all devices being operated at once?
What is the main differences between the Lono, Ipac and the Eco Wiz, except the price?
What sets this product apart from other well known established keyboard encoders?
Can this interface work with rotary Joysticks, or can you add daughter boards to expand control devices?
Have you begun to ship these Lono interfaces, or is the one pictured just a prototype?
Note also that games (especially arcade games being emulated in MAME) only check the inputs at a certain rate, regardless of how often new input data may be available. For arcade games, this is typically once per frame. Since the framerate is usually ~60Hz, as long as new data is available at least that often (and 120Hz+ would guarantee it), there's little to be gained from higher polling rates or lower input lag.
And is this not theoretical? Besides a certain someone with his shaolin death toe that can play any Mame game better than everyone else, can any human hit a button and get faster results than a regular USB device can send?
Pics?And is this not theoretical? Besides a certain someone with his shaolin death toe that can play any Mame game better than everyone else, can any human hit a button and get faster results than a regular USB device can send?
When he plays street fighter, he hits the kick buttons with his feet while standing at his mame cab, true story
he moves too fast to be photographed, remember?
X2 aside... Its not just the amount of info, its the rate at which it's transferred, so this device should get those button presses there faster, which would mean the game would be more responsive, which is basically what Nephs impression was having actually used itI don't think so. If the device is sending the info faster than the software calls for, the rest is superfluous and isn't factored in. I'm pretty sure that's the dumb downed way of saying what MonMotha said. It may not be exactly precise though but it's somewhat close.
I have not tested it on older versions but it should be compatible with the same systems that the Xin-mo has been tested on and that includes 98, 2000, and a few Mac OS's.
I think the rate if transfer is different then the the amount of processes per second. If a single were pressed, it would be sent to the computer faster. So yeah I guess if the limit is 60 registers per second, the volume of button presses registered would be the same, but the USB 2.0 should get those sixty there faster. But it's microseconds, and it might not matter, but it mattered to Neph, the only guy that's tested it so far.
I really appreciate people taking the time to think about this and contribute their thoughts. Cheffo made a great suggestion, we are waiting for our harnesses to arrive... A great deal of thought went into trying to lay this out so it made sense. For the harnesses, we wanted to make sure that it was easy to wire up. There are 18 connections per joystick and once you get out to the end of the run, knowing if you have button1 or button 10 can be tough unless you have a clear system. So what we did was to have 10 colors per 20 pin connector
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_MNpQcmrqXBk/TdFxyVU_ZWI/AAAAAAAABI0/srESZv0RrQs/s640/IMG_3397.jpg)
with two different colors of insulation at the end. For example, Red Clear is button 1, Red Blue is button 10.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_MNpQcmrqXBk/TdFxuzUkwPI/AAAAAAAABIs/j7eqvpE7zaE/s640/IMG_3374.jpg)
The end result is harness that allows for a very wide range of connections, but is relatively simple to use:
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_MNpQcmrqXBk/TdFxwJXgylI/AAAAAAAABIw/TlCwpqW3l6Q/s640/IMG_3376.jpg)
The harnesses are 18" and 30" long to allow for larger control panels and come with a simple .100 female header so that you can just plug them in.
If people want a non-harness, no pin header, version so that you have to do all the soldering yourself.... let me know, I might be able to arrange for a batch like that.
Love the harness. Nice work! Good selling point to differentiate your product.
Love the harness. Nice work! Good selling point to differentiate your product.
To be fair, the Minipac has had a wire harness for years.
To be fair, we'll be launching a new board soon.... so thanks for the bump :)
What's in store?
Keep your eyes open, we are shooting for something small, fast and very versatile.... Funny someone would mention the Minipac...
I'm thinking U-Hid competition.
To be fair, we'll be launching a new board soon.... so thanks for the bump :)
What's in store?
Keep your eyes open, we are shooting for something small, fast and very versatile.... Funny someone would mention the Minipac...
Love the harness. Nice work! Good selling point to differentiate your product.
To be fair, the Minipac has had a wire harness for years.
To be fair, you're commenting on a year old thread.