Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum

Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: patm95 on August 15, 2006, 10:58:00 pm

Title: Arcade Controls
Post by: patm95 on August 15, 2006, 10:58:00 pm
I am just now starting to plan my cabinate.  I am looking forward to planning my control panel, trying to decide what controls would be best.  I am looking for some advice from my fellow enthusiats. 

I am looking to design a 4 player CP.  For player 1-2, I was thinking about the happs rotary optical joysticks.  This would enable me to play games like Ikari warriors and have the 8 way control.  For players 3-4, the happ competition joystick, a cheaper 8 way.  An Ultimarc e stick for 4 way games with the option to rotate for Q Bert. A push-pull spinner for games like tron (Apache controls).  Last but not least, I would like to mount a trackball for games like centipede and golden tee.  I have not sorted out a layout yet, but as you can probably tell, I am trying to design a panel that would enable me to play the largest variety of games possible.  Thinking about an aviation joystick, but just not sure if I would have the space to mount it lol.

So does this sound like a good combination?  Criticism is appreciated!  Thanks.
Title: Re: Arcade Controls
Post by: horseboy on August 15, 2006, 11:07:37 pm
For player 1-2, I was thinking about the happs rotary optical joysticks.  This would enable me to play games like Ikari warriors and have the 8 way control. 

You want the mechanical rotaries
Title: Re: Arcade Controls
Post by: NightGod on August 16, 2006, 01:45:31 am
I think you'll run out of room before you get that aviation joystick mounted. I'm building a massive CP (48x20) and have basically the same thing you have listed there, no way I could fit in an aviation stick, there just simply isn't the room for it.
Title: Re: Arcade Controls
Post by: patm95 on August 16, 2006, 07:28:11 am
Thanks for the input guys, I will look into the mechanical rotaries too.  I guess the aviation stick wouldn't be a huge loss, if I couldn't fit it on the CP.  I just thought it would be cool to have it.
Title: Re: Arcade Controls
Post by: horseboy on August 16, 2006, 09:49:24 am
You could always go with swappable cp's.
Title: Re: Arcade Controls
Post by: RobotronNut on August 16, 2006, 02:30:38 pm
any panel wide enough to fit 4 players must be able to fit a flight stick. it doesn't have to be in the same row as the sticks for the 4 players. my 2-player panel (http://personal.palouse.net/gsk/ArcadeControlPanel/) is 35" wide, and it fits a flight stick very comfortably.

you just need to make a mock-up, to make sure your forearms don't bump into controls in the lower row.
Title: Re: Arcade Controls
Post by: ahofle on August 16, 2006, 02:40:51 pm
any panel wide enough to fit 4 players must be able to fit a flight stick. it doesn't have to be in the same row as the sticks for the 4 players. my 2-player panel (http://personal.palouse.net/gsk/ArcadeControlPanel/) is 35" wide, and it fits a flight stick very comfortably.

Nice looking CP there...where did you get that flight stick?
Title: Re: Arcade Controls
Post by: RobotronNut on August 16, 2006, 04:40:07 pm
i had slikstik include the (optional) flight stick when they built my panel.

the flight stick is a Happ Heavy Duty 8-Way Trigger Joystick with 2 Fire Buttons (http://www.happcontrols.com/joysticks/50997000.htm) (you need at least one "fire button" (=thumb button) for discs of tron).

you can get them directly from happcontrols.com, or probably less expensively from divemaster127 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=47066.0) or ponyboy (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=36770.0).
Title: Re: Arcade Controls
Post by: RobotronNut on August 16, 2006, 05:09:27 pm
btw, standard mame builds don't support the rotary properly. i run MameAnalogPlus for rotary games and standard mame for all others.

also, i've found that i'm not as excited about rotary games as i thought i would be. if i had it to do over again, i might replace the rotary with a second flight stick. 2 flight sticks would be awesome for tank games.
Title: Re: Arcade Controls
Post by: patm95 on August 16, 2006, 11:05:19 pm
While we are on the subject of controls, I am not planning on having a keyboard hooked up at all, just for authenticity.  What administrator buttons are recommended?  I guess I will need at least 1 for exiting the game?  I plan to just use tokens for credits.  I would like to keep the administrator buttons hidden if possible and kept to a minimum.  Maby back of the cabinate?
Title: Re: Arcade Controls
Post by: AtomSmasher on August 16, 2006, 11:09:39 pm
While we are on the subject of controls, I am not planning on having a keyboard hooked up at all, just for authenticity.  What administrator buttons are recommended?  I guess I will need at least 1 for exiting the game?  I plan to just use tokens for credits.  I would like to keep the administrator buttons hidden if possible and kept to a minimum.  Maby back of the cabinate?
pause, exit game, menu, and "enter" to navigate the menu
Title: Re: Arcade Controls
Post by: TehJefe on August 17, 2006, 02:30:04 am
+a coin button if youre into that kinda thing... far be it for me to pass judgement.  ;)
Do you really need an enter button? Cant that just be like.. any specific button on the cp?
And a good place to hide those admin buttons would be underneath or on the sides of the cp.