Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: UFO on July 16, 2013, 06:35:47 pm
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... oh and a steering wheel each!
This been on here before?
arcade machine gameex home made cab emulators roms (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3wQ_y_WHMc#)
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Yea, it is a monstrosity
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Someone worked hard on this... and obviously stopped short of painting the thing (those rainbow LED case fans will make up for that lack of color I'm sure.) It's a shame because it tries to do everything and seems to end up doing it poorly. You have to reach over a bunch of gratuitous steering wheels to play Streets of Rage? Pass.
And the keyboard drawer slides out at the push of a button. Cool. And completely pointless. How usable is a vertically oriented keyboard that to the left and behind the display? That's time and money that could have been spent on a couple of coats of paint.
And, of course, the cherry on top: angled joysticks.
Eh, the builder's proud of it so to each his own I suppose. Not a design I would recommend anyone copying though... :dunno
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I couldn't deal with that. I need at least 14 buttons per player for accurate Colecovision emulation. :soapbox:
Seriously though in some weird way I kinda really like this thing, and as much as you can like something you wouldn't want within 500 yards of your house.
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Yea, you just can't have a driving setup and control panel in one without it looking terrible and getting in the way. If you go that route you might as well make a dedicated driving machine with pedals/shifter and everything. Then build a regular control panel cabinet next to it.
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You have to reach over a bunch of gratuitous steering wheels to play Streets of Rage? Pass.
While the thing isnt pretty, and has some design oddities.. clearly from the video, theres no need to reach over or around controls. (as is the case with most peoples 4ways, spinners, and trackballs , where often, your arms would lay on buttons and other controllers) The wheels are all under the players arms. Similarly, you dont usually stand with your crotch against a machine. Most will stand at 3 to 8 inches away from the Cp... depending on overhang, depth of controllers, etc.
I seriously dont understand peoples need to poke at others works. If you dont like it.. then dont look at it. It clearly wasnt built for You and Your enjoyment / hate.
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Oh yeah, this cab! I'd made a quick and easy image (hence, the crappiness) for it back in the day:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v633/GinsuVictim/phonejoy.png)
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You have to reach over a bunch of gratuitous steering wheels to play Streets of Rage? Pass.
While the thing isnt pretty, and has some design oddities.. clearly from the video, theres no need to reach over or around controls. (as is the case with most peoples 4ways, spinners, and trackballs , where often, your arms would lay on buttons and other controllers) The wheels are all under the players arms. Similarly, you dont usually stand with your crotch against a machine. Most will stand at 3 to 8 inches away from the Cp... depending on overhang, depth of controllers, etc.
I seriously dont understand peoples need to poke at others works. If you dont like it.. then dont look at it. It clearly wasnt built for You and Your enjoyment / hate.
I can tell you that I clearly remember when I used to go to arcades cleaning directly against the cabinet. I'd always have one knee slightly bent and my leg above the knee leaning against the cabinet where the control panel didn't stick out. This made it awkward for my feet. Cabinets who's panel did stick out, sometimes I'd rest a hip on the edge of the control panel. Some cabinets had hanging control panels, but sides that fully extended forwards, making my feet boxed in. Maybe my weird playing positions was due to my height (tall).
No matter how you look at it, that machine is one giant inconvenience due to the creator trying to include it all. You don't see an iPad including a printer, even though it can print, do you? No. Because it would be awkward to include the two together in one unit, even though they work together. Some times less is more.
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You have to reach over a bunch of gratuitous steering wheels to play Streets of Rage? Pass.
While the thing isnt pretty, and has some design oddities.. clearly from the video, theres no need to reach over or around controls. (as is the case with most peoples 4ways, spinners, and trackballs , where often, your arms would lay on buttons and other controllers) The wheels are all under the players arms. Similarly, you dont usually stand with your crotch against a machine. Most will stand at 3 to 8 inches away from the Cp... depending on overhang, depth of controllers, etc.
Okay, first of all, I need to introduce you to my friend hyperbole. Shake hands and get to know him and you won't have to point out the obvious. Yes, I clearly saw the player working the stick without straining to overcome the obstacles. Now let's excuse Mr. Hyperbole from the room and talk serious. While I never measured my standing distance from the controls, I do know that I have, in the heat of the game, on more than one occasion, encroached upon the edge of my control panel. And when that happens, I thank the heavens I didn't stick a steering wheel where my crotch ended up during said sudden encroachment. And therein lies the other problem: who wants to touch a steering wheel that had some dudes sack resting on it while he was playing a heated game of Streets of Rage?
I seriously dont understand peoples need to poke at others works. If you dont like it.. then dont look at it. It clearly wasnt built for You and Your enjoyment / hate.
How can I tell I don't like it if I don't look at it? It's not that I can unlook at it. Also, you must have missed the part where I said:
Eh, the builder's proud of it so to each his own I suppose. Not a design I would recommend anyone copying though...
The point of my comment was, "sorry, it's not a good design to emulate" and I tried to be as constructive as possible with that reasoning. (Yeah, there was a little sarcasm about the lack of paint but that's not really the major issue here anyhow.) If pointing it out saves one new builder from wasting time and money on poor design choices, then it's served its purpose.
And, in all fairness, I tried to wrap my head around that automated keyboard before calling it out and I still cannot see how that is at all usable. Do you type on it, run around to the front to check for typos and then run back to the keyboard ear to hit enter? Okay, maybe it's removable? But then why even bother with the mechanics if you just have to pull it off anyhow? It is seriously wrinkling my brain!
Okay, that last part was maybe not very constructive and possible venomous but it seriously wasted precious minutes thinking of its practical application.
P.S.: Compared to some of the YouTube comments, we're all actually really mature.
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I seriously dont understand peoples need to poke at others works. If you dont like it.. then dont look at it. It clearly wasnt built for You and Your enjoyment / hate.
If someone is taking the time to upload a video to YouTube, clearly they are looking to broadcast it to the public. And thus will invite critiques, whether positive or negative.
And there is arguably value in negative critiques, because it gives others an opportunity to learn what not to do.
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And there is arguably value in negative critiques, because it gives others an opportunity to learn what not to do.
Subjective comment is subjective. :)
I think it took a lot of work to build that cabinet. Reaching OVER the stearing wheel to play with the joystick would bug me. But to each there own.
One will adapt. Just look at all the different console controller changes over the years. Players adapted.
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meh, no worse than having to stand off to one side of the screen to use a control on some of these franken-panels.
At least they built something, and probably quickly.
Sometimes I wonder if throwing a cab together in a weekend doesn't make more sense than spending a year agonizing over every little detail and spending a fortune on appearance.
In the end, you're looking at the same screen with the same controls in your hands.
The actual gameplay experience isn't much different.
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meh, no worse than having to stand off to one side of the screen to use a control on some of these franken-panels.
At least they built something, and probably quickly.
Sometimes I wonder if throwing a cab together in a weekend doesn't make more sense than spending a year agonizing over every little detail and spending a fortune on appearance.
The youtube description says he has been working on this for 3 years. Just sayin...
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Its much easier and quicker to slap some generic thing together that everyone else has already mapped out for you... than to try to invent and create something unique... hence, its going to take a lot longer. A lot of planning. A lot of trial and error. Especially if your not a masterclass level woodworker.
I dont know what 4 player 270 degree racers there are.. but it intrigues me a bit to discover the drive to use them, instead of 360 degree wheels.
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i remember seeing this over at gameex forum years ago. I think this guy has some skill and potential but just went way over board
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One will adapt. Just look at all the different console controller changes over the years. Players adapted.
Yeah, but it doesn't mean all those controllers were good. There's a reason people don't use N64 or Jaguar style controllers today.
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Found the site with some contruction pics: http://gerbles-arcades.wetpaint.com/page/arcade+machine+project (http://gerbles-arcades.wetpaint.com/page/arcade+machine+project)
The wiring is a little... um, yikes.
Also, they are apparently offering to build these for money (!): http://gerbles-arcades.wetpaint.com/page/price+list (http://gerbles-arcades.wetpaint.com/page/price+list)
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Found the site with some contruction pics: http://gerbles-arcades.wetpaint.com/page/arcade+machine+project (http://gerbles-arcades.wetpaint.com/page/arcade+machine+project)
The wiring is a little... um, yikes.
Also, they are apparently offering to build these for money (!): http://gerbles-arcades.wetpaint.com/page/price+list (http://gerbles-arcades.wetpaint.com/page/price+list)
It's so expensive that you have to call for a price. Must be the cost of finding a floppy drive. This cabinet was created in 2007. Mac's stopped carrying floppy drives in 1998. Now they are staring to not have cd-roms. Obsolete technology. lol
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Well, that answers that. Says the 4 wheels are for Mario Kart. More power to him for dedicating his passion with something better than those horrid thumbsticks.
Only thing that doesnt make sense, is that there does not seem to be able analog pedals around.
As for the extra buttons.. thats not explained. Maybe theres another console or PC game that they play, that makes use them. (He mentions call of Duty 4. Maybe its for that.. )
I actually like the ingenuity of the Drill Motor driven slide out keyboard. Id rather put it in a frontal position however. Id have a keyboard on a cab, not just for setup initial.. but for tweaking mame setting on the fly. There are a lot of new options, such as HLSL.. save and load state, framerate adjustments, f10 fast-forward, and more.. that I use quite often on my pc.
You could use a wireless setup.. but they only seem to last about 3 to 4 yrs before they stop working.. plus all the battery expenses.
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Well, that answers that. Says the 4 wheels are for Mario Kart. More power to him for dedicating his passion with something better than those horrid thumbsticks.
Only thing that doesnt make sense, is that there does not seem to be able analog pedals around.
As for the extra buttons.. thats not explained. Maybe theres another console or PC game that they play, that makes use them. (He mentions call of Duty 4. Maybe its for that.. )
I actually like the ingenuity of the Drill Motor driven slide out keyboard. Id rather put it in a frontal position however. Id have a keyboard on a cab, not just for setup initial.. but for tweaking mame setting on the fly. There are a lot of new options, such as HLSL.. save and load state, framerate adjustments, f10 fast-forward, and more.. that I use quite often on my pc.
You could use a wireless setup.. but they only seem to last about 3 to 4 yrs before they stop working.. plus all the battery expenses.
Bluetooth wireless keyboard that came with my iMac lasts about 3 months, trackpad maybe 1.5 months. I use the computer constantly every day.
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This machine is a classic example of why you shouldn't do something just because you can.
He has a bunch of 270 degree wheels on there and I am not currently aware of a single title that uses more than one. While I see no shifters or pedals at all. Driving games are a category that are ridiculously hard to emulate in bulk on a single cabinet. As there are 3 different basic steering wheel types, a buttload of pedal combinations, and shifters that range from 2 gear to 6 gear, plus they can have upwards of 6 buttons in addition to the wheels, pedals and shifters.
Build your mame cabinet and then just toss down $300 to get a decent driving cabinet to sit next to it. Don't spend another $300 to make your mame cabinet emulate a bunch of drivers crappily.
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He has a bunch of 270 degree wheels on there and I am not currently aware of a single title that uses more than one.
Mario Kart, according to the write-up. And looking at the videos and write-ups, it seems to be a cabinet for everything (PC games, console and arcade).
I agree though that it's better to build seperate systems for specific game types rather than trying to cram everything into one monster machine.