Control Panel - Amount of Controls Question - Too ambitious?

[Gildersneeze]

Okay, I'm getting ready to start my first cab, and have a question about the control panel.  I need to know if this is going to be possible, because if not, I'm going to send back a few things.

I'm going to be connecting SEVERAL USB devices, and need to know if I'll be able to pull this off without having to leave a panel open for the connection of USB devices on the fly (which I will do if necessary).

I plan to connect the following via USB (likely using two four-port USB hubs inside the case):

• 1 USB I-PAC⁴ 56 input keyboard encoder
  
• 1 USB Opti-PAC
• 2 Saitek ST-90 USB flight-sticks (easier than hacking sticks to the happ sticks for me, plus with the way the housing is made, they will mount REALLY well to the cab with little cutaway in the surface and feel less like a hack, as well as freeing up the two Happ Ultimates I bought for the hacking, all without taking up another four inputs on the I-PAC).
• 2 Act-Labs TV lightguns
• Connected to the Opti-PAC will be two Ultimarc 2-1/4" trackballs and an Oscar Model 3 spinner.

I'll be running Mame32 under Windows XP Home Edition, and was curious as to whether MAME will recognize all those USB inputs at once, or if I'll need to run a special version of MAME (like Analog+ or NoName), or if it's possible at all.

Any help is appreciated!

[Paul Olson]

I think you will need Analog+ for the dual trackballs with XP.  Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

The Actlabs guns have a short USB cable, so you will need to plug those in to the back of the PC.

You will definately need Analog+ for the dual lightguns.

Paul

[BULL]

Yes you

[Sylentwulf]

I could be wrong, but I think you'll also need 2-3 swappable control panels for that much stuff as well.  

[Gildersneeze]

I could be wrong, but I think you'll also need 2-3 swappable control panels for that much stuff as well.  

Why would I need that?  It's going to be based on the "Supercade" style CP.  The bottom tier will be four players with two extra joysticks on the sides of P1 and P2 for games like Robotron 2084 and Smash TV.  The top tier will be the Trackballs, Flightsticks and Spinner.

[Sylentwulf]

I would just suggest laying this out in visio, and printing it out to see exaclt yhow you're going to fit all of that. Even based on the supercade layout, you've list a LOT of stuff.
My CP is a 2 player with a 4-way and 1 trackball and it's just about right IMO and is 34"*14" which to me seems pretty big.

2 trackballs are going to take a LOT of space, as will the 2 flight sticks. I woul ddefinitely drop one of the trackballs at the least (why do you need 2 trackballs? were there any games that needed or even supported this?)

[paigeoliver]

Some games supported as many as FOUR trackballs.

Although, back to the real world, we are only talking like a tiny list of multi-trackball games.

Atari Basketball, Football, and Soccer (was their a Baseball?).
One version of Rampart.
Marble madness.
A couple of also-ran titles from the lesser manufacturers that I can't think of at the moment.

Now, games that support multiple flight sticks, I can' think of ANY of those.

[Gildersneeze]

Some games supported as many as FOUR trackballs.

Although, back to the real world, we are only talking like a tiny list of multi-trackball games.

Atari Basketball, Football, and Soccer (was their a Baseball?).
One version of Rampart.
Marble madness.

My brother and I are some Two Player Marble Madness Playing Mother F**kers^TM.

Now, games that support multiple flight sticks, I can' think of ANY of those.

Ahhh.  This design is more for single player games of things like Vindicators and Battlezone (and, should it be emulated, Virtual-ON Fighters).  If everything works out, I may see about having room for four of them in a two-player Vindicators config.  Dunno, though.

Also, I'm looking at building some type of removeable "linker" that would allow it to feel like a yoke.

As for space, the two joysticks I have for flightsticks only need about 1.5" to mount.  Go take a look at the Saitek ST-90 joysticks.  The gimble is actually in the joystick HANDLE, not the base.  The base is roughly 1.5" with foldout legs (which are now removed).  A little epoxy to keep the leg locking mechanism in place turns it into the perfect mounting assembly.  Just a touch of laminate, or a washer-like piece of plexi (cut so that it can be put around the joystick, and you have a mounted flightstick that looks and feels natural.

Plus, they're only $18 at CompUSA, so it's a pretty cheap alternative to even a Happ/Raider hack.

[Gildersneeze]

I would just suggest laying this out in visio, and printing it out to see exaclt yhow you're going to fit all of that. Even based on the supercade layout, you've list a LOT of stuff.
My CP is a 2 player with a 4-way and 1 trackball and it's just about right IMO and is 34"*14" which to me seems pretty big.

2 trackballs are going to take a LOT of space,

If you look at the Supercade, he put 12 pushbuttons, a flightstick (which had a large base, whereas mine does not), a spinner and a four-way joystick up there.  My other flightstick would be where the four way is, and the trackballs will likely be where the pushbuttons are.

Still, I haven't received my stuff from Ultimarc yet, so I can't really lay out anything without the dimensions of the T-Stik and the Ultimarc 2-1/4" trackball.  This is still a work in progress, to be sure, but a work that will be worked out.

[etumor]

If you look at the Supercade, he put 12 pushbuttons, a flightstick (which had a large base, whereas mine does not), a spinner and a four-way joystick up there.  My other flightstick would be where the four way is, and the trackballs will likely be where the pushbuttons are.

Regarding Supercade:

For the record, the 12 buttons on either side of the Flightstick are redundant (the six on the right are mapped the same as the six on the left).  In actual practice, this has turned out to be more buttons than I'll ever need.  Next year (after I'm done with a couple other cabinets) I'm going to redesign that part of the panel.  I wouldn't have more than four on each side in the next version.

I'm also planning on eliminating the seventh button on the blue and yellow player positions.  It was originally there to form a "Neo-Geo" setup, but I haven't found it to be at all useful (maybe because I don't play NeoGeo fighter games).  I'm planning on just having a SF2 style setup for the blue and yellow players.

You really will need to map this all out ahead of time.  I barely fit the stuff that I put on my top tier.  If I hadn't planned it ahead of time (I used fireworks) and worked it down to the 1/8", it would have been a distaster.  Trackballs have a very big footprint, and getting them on the sides of the top tier is going to be difficult -- unless you're planning on changing the shape of the upper panel.

-Jeff "etumor"

[Gildersneeze]

unless you're planning on changing the shape of the upper panel.

-Jeff "etumor"

Yeah, I was going to extend it from the monitor a bit to give room for my Golden Tee fanatic friends to beat the hell out of my trackballs  .

Seriously, I was thinking of several different things, and haven't solidified on a design yet.  I was just wondering if it was possible to have MAME recognize all those controls at once.  Design will come after I figure out whether or not I actually NEED to have modular controls.

I don't particularly WANT modular controls because my roommates and their friends are morons.  I could explain the switching process to them until I was blue in the face, and I'd still get a call while I was at work.

"Okay, Gildersneeze, when you said 'remove the current panel and put the new one on', did you mean 'remove the current panel by ripping out all the bolts and wiring and throwing it across the room, then take the new panel and shove it through the screen?'  Because that's what we thought you meant, but the cabinet doesn't work now.   Oh, and Mike's kind of electrocuted to death, so that's a bit of a downer."

Also, like I said about my flightsticks.  From what I saw on the Supercade website, the flightsticks needed what looked like a 5"x5"x2" box to hold them in.  My Saitek ST-90s need a round hole no bigger than 1.5" in diameter, with no supporting box of wood, as all the PCBs and the gimble is in the STICK, not the base.  If I had my digital camera, I'd show you.  Either way, since they'll be much closer together than your fourway and flight stick, that would save edge room for trackballs.  If I extend the top tier from the monitor just a couple more inches, that's definately enough room.

Anyhow, like I said, I still have yet to get the four ways and the Trackballs in, so it won't be until next week that I can start designing this bad boy.  Unless someone can tell me the dimensions of the Ultimarc 2-1/4" trackball and its assembly, that is.  I'm assuming the T-stik won't really be much bigger or smaller than a Happ Ultimate, which is what I have for the main player stations.

[Sylentwulf]

The four ways are the same size as the eight ways.
The 2.25" ultimarc has a 6" * 6" mounting plate. (I just finished measuring mine for my CP) the actual trackball assembly itself is something like 5.25" diagonal height by 3.25" diagonal width (if that makes sense).

[Gildersneeze]

The four ways are the same size as the eight ways.
The 2.25" ultimarc has a 6" * 6" mounting plate. (I just finished measuring mine for my CP) the actual trackball assembly itself is something like 5.25" diagonal height by 3.25" diagonal width (if that makes sense).

Plenty of sense, and very much appreciated to boot!  Now I can start planning this bad boy out.