Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: severdhed on September 04, 2013, 11:27:53 pm
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this is my first time designing a control panel overlay for my 4 player pedestal cabinet...what do you guys think?
i reduced the size for posting here, but i have it as a psd and tiff file at 360dpi for printing.
opinions?
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Nice manhole cover texture, text, and turtles.
I figure 4 of the 5 buttons across the top are P1-P4 Start. (Using Slammedniss' black vinyl for the player figures on the buttons?)
What's the green buton for? Coin?
Hope you have a 4-slot coin door so you can get all 4 players going on TMNT, etc.
Do you want a pause button? Exit?
Bonus points if you use a green translucent trackball w. LED lighting for the "ooze" factor.
Scott
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Looks Good!
I'm not in love with the staggered buttons along the top, but I don't have any alternative placement ideas.
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The green button is the pause/exit button, I use an autohotkey script so that a quick press will make it pause, but if held for 3 seconds, it exits. This works very well on my other cabinet.
The other four buttons along the top are the start buttons. I have 4 black player start buttons, I'll remove the centers of these and put them inside the colored buttons so they will be black in the center with colored outside rings matching the player controls. I'll then use the remaining parts to make four black buttons with colored centers to use as coin buttons, which will be mounted not on the panel, but on the edge of the box below the panel.
As for the trackball, I do eventually plan on a green glowing translucent trackball. (I told my wife that is what I want for Christmas) right now, I have a 3" white wico trackball that is collecting dust in my basement. I pretty much exhausted my budget on this cabinet, and side we are expecting our fourth child at the end of this month, I don't have any extra to spend on a new trackball right now.I figured since I am using a trackball mounting plate, it should be relatively easy to swap out the trackball once I get the new one.
I made a full size mock up of the panel, button and stick locations all feel good. The layout is almost identical to the 4 player showcase cabinet I just sold, so I know it works well. This panel is 46"wide by 18" deep.
I'm still consideringa dedicated 4 way stick, but I'm not sure.I'm using ultimarc j-sticks, so it is easy to lift the panel and turn the restrictor if I need to. And I have another cabinet set up with a 4 way, trackball, 3 buttons and a vertical monitor, so I'm not sure it is necessary. Opinions?
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I'm not a fan of the 7 buttons, but to each their own. I think the layout and design are fine. I use a 6 button layout and for neogeo go bottom left, top left, top middle, top right for my four buttons, works perfect for me.
Also, ultimarc just put out the servo-stick upgrade kit for the JLWs, so you could skip the dedicated four way and fit the servo kit. You can then either use command line to toggle the servo, or mount a toggle button hidden somewhere to easily switch between 4/8 at the press of a button. I used the "will open up if I need to and switch" mentality, but turns out I never end up wanting to open up the CP and just skip all my 8 way games when its on 4 way LOL.
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That's awesome. I almost bought a servo stick but needed to keep the budget as small as possible...that upgrade kit looks very tempting though.I'll skip the 4 way and eventually get that servo upgrade .thanks.
I am mostly looking for opinions on the artwork. I have built many panels over the years, but this is the first time I've designed artwork for a control panel. I know a lot of you like to make graphics to surround the controls, but I'm worried about getting then lined up perfectly...and due to the size of this panel, I don't want to have to print it more than once. I had a hard enough time convincing my wife to let me print it in the first place. I know a photographer with a high end large format printer that agreed to print it on photo paper for$35, which is cheaper than staples...but still not exactly cheap.
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It's nice; I really like the concept of it, particularly the idea of using the sillouetted turtles. They work much better having parts obscured by the controls than typical character art.
That said, I would probably play with the placement of a few of them. I'd probably try moving Donatello and Leonardo to the left a bit, while Raphael I would move up and to the right. The main reason is to give their heads (and particularly their teeth) more room from the controls. In Raphael's case specifically, his teeth are very close to the buttons and it creates a cluttered look.
In contrast, Michaelangelo's head & facial features seems better spaced from the controls.
Only other suggestion is maybe trying a transparent border around the individual top buttons. The idea would be to create a bit more unity between the underlying art and the placement of those buttons. Right now they look like they are just floating there.
Overall, very good job especially given it's your first time designing one!
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Bonus points if you use a green translucent trackball w. LED lighting for the "ooze" factor.
That would be awesome. ;D
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I am mostly looking for opinions on the artwork. I have built many panels over the years, but this is the first time I've designed artwork for a control panel. I know a lot of you like to make graphics to surround the controls, but I'm worried about getting then lined up perfectly...and due to the size of this panel, I don't want to have to print it more than once. I had a hard enough time convincing my wife to let me print it in the first place. I know a photographer with a high end large format printer that agreed to print it on photo paper for$35, which is cheaper than staples...but still not exactly cheap.
Well, if you are satisfied with the overall size and shape, print the sucker out when you are happy with it. Put little + where the middle of the joysticks to be on your actual artwork. Then, when you are ready to drill the holes, you can lay your artwork on top and make little identions or marks at the exact center of all your holes, thereby lining the finished product up perfectly.
As far as the artwork, the only thing for me is that the blue of LEO turned turquoise when the opacity was applied. I would try to ensure the correct color on the four turtles. Overall, I think its pretty sweet. A little diamond plating on the pedestal would really tie it together!
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You're going to point third and forth player joysticks towards the screen and not angled right?
Looks good to me.
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thanks. none of the joysticks are angled, are mounted in relation to the screen. I'll tweak the blue of leo this evening, as well as play with something around the start buttons to see what it looks like.
diamond plate would be cool, i'll have to consider that. I do not have a coin door, the front panel could use a little dressing up. I may pick up a 4 player coin door at some point, but that is alot of expense for something i really don't need at all.
i did find that by using the current TMNT graphics, it opens up some other options for me down the road. for instance, i thought about eventually picking up these for the sides of the base to dress it up a bit..
http://www.amazon.com/RoomMates-RMK2249GM-Teenage-Mutant-Turtles/dp/B00CEEU86G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1378405590&sr=8-2&keywords=tmnt+roommates (http://www.amazon.com/RoomMates-RMK2249GM-Teenage-Mutant-Turtles/dp/B00CEEU86G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1378405590&sr=8-2&keywords=tmnt+roommates)
http://www.amazon.com/RoomMates-RMK2251GM-Teenage-Mutant-Turtles/dp/B00CEEU8BG/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_y (http://www.amazon.com/RoomMates-RMK2251GM-Teenage-Mutant-Turtles/dp/B00CEEU8BG/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_y)
they should be just about the right size and aren't too expensive.
if i don't do a coin door or diamond plate, this would just about perfectly fill the front panel..
http://www.amazon.com/RoomMates-RMK2284SLM-Teenage-Mutant-Turtles/dp/B00D81CWLI/ref=sr_1_8?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1378405780&sr=1-8&keywords=tmnt+wall+decal (http://www.amazon.com/RoomMates-RMK2284SLM-Teenage-Mutant-Turtles/dp/B00D81CWLI/ref=sr_1_8?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1378405780&sr=1-8&keywords=tmnt+wall+decal)
but it could be a while until i do that.
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Leo's got a button RIGHT on his groin. :dunno
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Leo's got a button RIGHT on his groin. :dunno
Silly goose. It's a cod piece.
good day.
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Leo's got a button RIGHT on his groin. :dunno
You mean Donny? :P
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You mean Donny? :P
(http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/28700000/donnie-donnie-wahlberg-28760611-483-600.jpg)
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Leo's got a button RIGHT on his groin. :dunno
Could have been worse, such as a blend of Joynicorn (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,129794.msg1327826.html#msg1327826) and logo fail (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,129794.msg1328531.html#msg1328531), but a little nudging of the turtles' locations might be a good idea. :lol
Scott
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Leo's got a button RIGHT on his groin. :dunno
Could have been worse, such as a blend of Joynicorn (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,129794.msg1327826.html#msg1327826) and logo fail (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,129794.msg1328531.html#msg1328531), but a little nudging of the turtles' locations might be a good idea. :lol
Scott
:whap
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The diamond plate is a great idea. I think it would be cool to install some, and then put some dingy paint on it, let it dry and then buff off the top so the silver shows through like wear on a manhole cover.
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i took your suggestions and tweaked it a little...here is what i came up with. not sure on the button labels. i moved the turtles around so there were no crotch buttons, brightened up Leo and Raph a little.
i do like the diamond plate idea, i'll have to look into that.
what do you think?
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Logged in just to say I love the artwork.
The shadows of the turtles with the colored bandannas and the splash of color behind them looks great!
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Button labels look good. It gives a sense of placement for that row of buttons and they no longer looking like they are floating. Only thing I'd recommend trying is maybe making the shadow around them a little less soft, to tie in better to the other silhouettes.
Overall very good job! :applaud:
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thanks guys, that means alot. I was so nervous about making my own artwork, i really didn't expect to turn out as well as it did. It is drastically different than what i originally set out to make. i'm working on tweaking the shadows right now, as well as brightening up the colors on michelangelo and Donatello
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Do you have a separate photoshop file that has the drill template?
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No. I marked all of the control locations on the wooden panel before creating this graphic. I then placed the control images on the overlay in the same location where I have them marked so that I could arrange the turtles and other graphics so they would look ok in relation to the actual controls. That is why I didn't want to make button outlines our anything like that
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Okay, it isn't that hard to superimpose the slag coin layouts onto your design and use that as a template for your control panel. Always good to have something to make the buttons stand out, I got tired of making CPs where the buttons are just kind of floating in a sea of art.
Anyways, good work I like it.