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Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: leapinlew on November 29, 2006, 11:11:25 am

Title: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: leapinlew on November 29, 2006, 11:11:25 am
Man... ever since Randy introduced the super cool spinner, I been debating whether I should put one on my mini multi-williams machine I'm building.

The problem I'm having:

Is Arkanoid, Blasteroids, Breakout, Cameltry, Kick, Tempest, Puzz-Loop, and a few driving games worth the $80.

Argh!! This was much easier when a spinner conviently wouldn't fit on my panel.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: ahofle on November 29, 2006, 11:12:22 am
It's absolutely worth it IMO.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: ChadTower on November 29, 2006, 11:16:03 am

Major Havoc is required.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: javeryh on November 29, 2006, 11:20:12 am
Heh, I'm wondering the exact same thing.  I could easily fit this on my panel but I'm going for simplicity.  Are there a lot of vertical spinner games?  I love Arkanoid.... *sigh* I'll have to check maws...
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: Ninten-doh on November 29, 2006, 11:26:39 am
I debated this for awhile before finally pulling the trigger...and I'm glad I did.  I love playing Warlords and Arkanoid in between marathon Golden Tee sessions.   ;D

Pricey for sure though.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: leapinlew on November 29, 2006, 11:28:26 am
Heh, I'm wondering the exact same thing.  I could easily fit this on my panel but I'm going for simplicity.  Are there a lot of vertical spinner games?  I love Arkanoid.... *sigh* I'll have to check maws...

Javeryh,

in your case - you may find that your daughter loves to play Kick(which is natively vertical) but non-vertical games on your 17/19" LCD will also look ok. Kids love to play my driving game because the interface is a steering wheel and shifter.

On the flip side, you don't want your daughter to be playing with the spinner while playing Ms. Pacman!
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: javeryh on November 29, 2006, 12:32:37 pm
Heh, I'm wondering the exact same thing.  I could easily fit this on my panel but I'm going for simplicity.  Are there a lot of vertical spinner games?  I love Arkanoid.... *sigh* I'll have to check maws...

Javeryh,

in your case - you may find that your daughter loves to play Kick(which is natively vertical) but non-vertical games on your 17/19" LCD will also look ok. Kids love to play my driving game because the interface is a steering wheel and shifter.

On the flip side, you don't want your daughter to be playing with the spinner while playing Ms. Pacman!

Stop tempting me!!!!  ;)

I know I'm going to cave - that spinner is just too cool.  Now the only question is whether to install it to the left or right of the joystick.  I'm thinking on the right and in the dead center of the CP with the action buttons to the right and the joystick to the left... I don't know...
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: fatfingers on November 29, 2006, 12:32:52 pm
On the flip side, you don't want your daughter to be playing with the spinner while playing Ms. Pacman!

Why?  It should be no different than if she was playing with the buttons while playing Ms. Pacman.

Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: postalp123 on November 29, 2006, 12:51:53 pm
Is Arkanoid, Blasteroids, Breakout, Cameltry, Kick, Tempest, Puzz-Loop, and a few driving games worth the $80.

Don't forget the many driving games that work suprisingly well with spinners like: Ironman Jimmy Stewart's Off Road, Super Sprint, APB, etc....
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: leapinlew on November 29, 2006, 12:55:18 pm
On the flip side, you don't want your daughter to be playing with the spinner while playing Ms. Pacman!

Why?  It should be no different than if she was playing with the buttons while playing Ms. Pacman.



It's the law of averages.... add more things, more things to distract her and the longer it will take to get it. I didn't realize there would be  :police: here to point out that if a child is distracted by a spinner they would also be be distracted by buttons. Of course, if you'll notice I addressed that to JaveryH and if you bothered to read his other thread you would know that he was concerned about his daughter actually comprehending what was happening and the addition of a spinner might be too distracting.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: Nannuu on November 29, 2006, 01:17:59 pm
That's a silly question.  Of course it is!
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: fatfingers on November 29, 2006, 02:35:05 pm
On the flip side, you don't want your daughter to be playing with the spinner while playing Ms. Pacman!

Why?  It should be no different than if she was playing with the buttons while playing Ms. Pacman.



It's the law of averages.... add more things, more things to distract her and the longer it will take to get it. I didn't realize there would be  :police: here to point out that if a child is distracted by a spinner they would also be be distracted by buttons. Of course, if you'll notice I addressed that to JaveryH and if you bothered to read his other thread you would know that he was concerned about his daughter actually comprehending what was happening and the addition of a spinner might be too distracting.

Yikes...I wasn't trying to be difficult (and I did read the other thread).

Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: PoDunkMoFo on November 29, 2006, 03:44:02 pm

Is Arkanoid, Blasteroids, Breakout, Cameltry, Kick, Tempest, Puzz-Loop, and a few driving games worth the $80.

Remove Arkanoid, Blasteroids, Breakout, Cameltry, Kick, Puzz-Loop, and a few driving games from your list and the answer is still YES.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: ChadTower on November 29, 2006, 03:48:44 pm

The obvious solution:

If you don't want it to clutter your panel, you have to build a second cab for it.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: leapinlew on November 29, 2006, 06:36:57 pm
Yikes...I wasn't trying to be difficult (and I did read the other thread).

My reply was all bark... no bite!  :)
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: Fozzy The Bear on November 29, 2006, 06:43:59 pm
The problem I'm having:
Is Arkanoid, Blasteroids, Breakout, Cameltry, Kick, Tempest, Puzz-Loop, and a few driving games worth the $80.

 :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2:
Surely this isn't even a serious question.....

If you've got space for one then, not fitting one isn't even an option. It's one of those things in life that just has to be done. Your games list is a bit short too dude! way more games than that can take advantage of it.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: FrizzleFried on November 29, 2006, 06:58:35 pm
Even if there was only one game that used the spinner and that games name was TEMPEST...

...IT'S WORTH IT!

Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: leapinlew on November 29, 2006, 07:51:53 pm
:laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2:
Surely this isn't even a serious question.....

If you've got space for one then, not fitting one isn't even an option. It's one of those things in life that just has to be done. Your games list is a bit short too dude! way more games than that can take advantage of it.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

I assure you it was most serious! My games list is the games I would play. For me, it's one of those things where I'm near the end of my cab build and a spinner was never in the budget.

I'm THINKING!!!  ;D  RandyT.... love'em and hate'em
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: fatfingers on November 29, 2006, 10:26:47 pm
... a spinner was never in the budget.

Isn't Santa coming soon?


P.S. I'm with Fozzy -- it's necessary.

Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: Texasmame on November 29, 2006, 10:47:12 pm
Man... ever since Randy introduced the super cool spinner, I been debating whether I should put one on my mini multi-williams machine I'm building.

The problem I'm having:

Is Arkanoid, Blasteroids, Breakout, Cameltry, Kick, Tempest, Puzz-Loop, and a few driving games worth the $80.

Argh!! This was much easier when a spinner conviently wouldn't fit on my panel.

How about just getting a used Tempest on or something similar for half that off eBay?

Lastly, depends on how much you like spinner games.  I couldn't do without Tempest for example. . .
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: Thenasty on November 29, 2006, 10:53:56 pm
try playing Tron w/out a spinner  :hissy:
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: leapinlew on November 29, 2006, 11:26:10 pm
try playing Tron w/out a spinner  :hissy:

As hard as that is - playing it without a "tron" stick or a top fire stick is even harder.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: AlanS17 on November 30, 2006, 02:02:35 am
Ever since RandyT's new announcement, I've been wondering the same thing - especially with that clever wheel attachment. I had absolutely no plans to add a spinner since it didn't get much use in my last machine (crappy homebrew thing), but this thing is just so freaking cool!

My solution - I'm adding his other new clever idea (GGG gift certificates) to my Christmas wish list.

Of course, if you're giving a cab as a gift, you probably don't have the luxury of waiting til Christmas.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: Gh0sty on November 30, 2006, 04:18:53 am
Beside Arcade games i run some Console & Computer emulated Games. some of them
are Spinner/Paddle games, i plan to get two of this fine Spinner cuz playing Pong two
Player is all worth it ! :D
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: quarterback on November 30, 2006, 11:34:43 am
Quote
Is a spinner worth it?

I'm going to buck the trend and say 'not really'.  I mean, I have a spinner on my cab and for ~$20 for a NastySpinner I can say that it was 'worth it' but I rarely use it at all.  A trackball on the other hand is 'more worth it' in my mind.  AND it's cheaper.

When asking about 'worth' it's all about weighing the alternatives.  If I had $80 in my pocket to spend on an item or items for my cab, there are so many things I'd buy first before I ever got to a spinner.   For $80, you could populate your entire CP with translucent leaf buttons and LEDs and still have a chunk of change left in your pocket.  Hell, you could probably do that AND add a trackball.   

The downside in the past is that spinners have cost closer to $100 than $70 and they still didn't do EVERY spinner game justice. At that price point, again, I'd say it's definitely not worth it to me.  There're so may other things I'd spend $100 on first.

But, obviously, RandyT has changed the landscape a bit.  He's offering an option that (afaik) can do triple duty as a "tempest", "arkanoid" and "steering wheel".  PLUS it's at a lower cost.   It really starts to change the landscape.

I guess it comes down to priorities.  If you have everything else you want on your cab, then why not.   Even though I'm really tempted by the TT2, I still have other things I'd like to do with my machines that take priority.  But at the point I'm all 'done' with layout, controls, CP overlay, artwork, marquee etc then the TT2 will be next on the list because it does look SWEEET!
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: ahofle on November 30, 2006, 11:38:49 am
For $80, you could populate your entire CP with translucent leaf buttons and LEDs and still have a chunk of change left in your pocket. 

 :o

Spinner > Lighted buttons

 ;D
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: ChadTower on November 30, 2006, 11:42:11 am

Not if you have enough lighted buttons.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: quarterback on November 30, 2006, 11:50:51 am

Cost of Spinner > cost of Lighted buttons

 ;D

Fixed :)
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: ahofle on November 30, 2006, 11:54:22 am
 :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2:
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: ChadTower on November 30, 2006, 12:00:37 pm

I like the irony of the guy with a big ARCADE AMBIENCE PROJECT in his sig recommending something over lighted buttons.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: Hoopz on November 30, 2006, 12:04:55 pm

I like the irony of the guy with a big ARCADE AMBIENCE PROJECT in his sig recommending something over lighted buttons.

You realize that his project is audio right? 
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: ChadTower on November 30, 2006, 12:26:17 pm

The term ambience includes lighting.  It was a joke. :banghead:
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: Congui on November 30, 2006, 03:44:01 pm
Beside Arcade games i run some Console & Computer emulated Games. some of them
are Spinner/Paddle games, i plan to get two of this fine Spinner cuz playing Pong two
Player is all worth it ! :D


I concur.    Pong is really sweet. ;D

Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: rackoon on November 30, 2006, 05:44:51 pm
gotta agree with FRIZZLEFRIED and say itz all about TEMPEST! :troll:.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: screaming on November 30, 2006, 05:51:35 pm
Quote
Is a spinner worth it?

I'm going to buck the trend and say 'not really'.  I mean, I have a spinner on my cab and for ~$20 for a NastySpinner I can say that it was 'worth it' but I rarely use it at all.  A trackball on the other hand is 'more worth it' in my mind.  AND it's cheaper.

How hard is it to play spinner games with a trackball?  If "not hard" or "its playable" is the answer then I will definitely agree.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: Donkey_Kong on November 30, 2006, 05:59:57 pm
Quote
Is a spinner worth it?

I'm going to buck the trend and say 'not really'.  I mean, I have a spinner on my cab and for ~$20 for a NastySpinner I can say that it was 'worth it' but I rarely use it at all.  A trackball on the other hand is 'more worth it' in my mind.  AND it's cheaper.

How hard is it to play spinner games with a trackball?  If "not hard" or "its playable" is the answer then I will definitely agree.


Well it might work but not well!! Tempest...Tron...Arkanoid??...With a trackball?? I can tell with out even trying it that it would be pretty cruddy to say the least.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: JustMichael on November 30, 2006, 10:31:26 pm
Quote
Well it might work but not well!! Tempest...Tron...Arkanoid??...With a trackball?? I can tell with out even trying it that it would be pretty cruddy to say the least.
They just aren't the same without a spinner (not even close).
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: ChadTower on December 01, 2006, 10:03:53 am

Spinner games with a trackball just isn't worth it.  You're better off trying to play them with a 2 way stick.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: FrizzleFried on December 01, 2006, 11:53:41 am
I'd have to disagree with the above poster regarding the 2-way stick.   I find that the trackball is MUCH more intuitive than a joystick when a spinner is not an option...for many games.   Arkanoid is one that works "OK" with a trackball.   Tron is another that works "OK" with a trackball...especially since the only other option are the buttons and that sucks to HIGH HELL.  That said,  a spinner is MUCH MUCH more desirable.
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: u_rebelscum on December 01, 2006, 02:18:53 pm
I'd have to disagree with the above poster regarding the 2-way stick.   I find that the trackball is MUCH more intuitive than a joystick when a spinner is not an option...for many games.   Arkanoid is one that works "OK" with a trackball.   Tron is another that works "OK" with a trackball...especially since the only other option are the buttons and that sucks to HIGH HELL.  That said,  a spinner is MUCH MUCH more desirable.

Agree.  Basically, if the spinner moved the "player" left and right (arkanoid, DOT, etc), trackball is pretty good, and IMO far better than a 2-way joystick.  But if the spinner rotated the "player" in a circle (tempest, forgotten worlds, etc), spinner is better than a TB (and a 2-way is still worse).
Title: Re: Is a spinner worth it?
Post by: Mark70 on December 02, 2006, 01:21:39 am
The spinner makes a gigantic difference in arknoid and other games.  I don't have a spinner on my CP.  For fun I hacked a mouse and made a spinner out of the bearings and axel from a roller blade wheel.  Add in a bolt or two and some large diameter washers and you have a spinner.  After doing that and trying even my bodged togther prototype spinner with no knob and only a bolt head to spin with... it was better than the trackball.

If I could add a spinner where it wasn't a danger to your health playing golden tee, I would do it.  I'm considering doing it when I change my CP art.