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Franken-panels Vs. Multi-Swaps
UncleMame:
Having just built my first cab, I tinkered with the thoughts of a swappable panel, and voted against it, and am glad I did. I feel that swapping out panels would be a pain with guests over, would risk damaging components and need more storage space. My feeling was perhaps in the future, I would build a second cab for things not included in the first - Perhaps a small racing cab?
Perhaps this might work for you: I compromised on my build. I built a wider cabinet to allow for a larger monitor(cab is 29" wide). My CP has two Joys with 6 buttons each, a flush mounted TB in the center and a spinner up in the left upper corner and two admin buttons on each side at the top - So perhaps one might consider it a Franken-panel Jr ? ;) - However on the wider surface(38" wide) it spreads it out very nicely and does not look crowded) Looking back on things I am glad I avoided the swapping panel idea and like my Franken-panel Jr.
Just my 2 cents.
eds1275:
The problem I see with swappables is the USB dilemma. It's hit and miss! You set the controls to work a certain way, unplug your CP, plug in the other one and it won't work until you remap the keys. Of course with keyboard encoders this shouldn't be a biggie but with other peripherals it is - so perhaps a spinner, trackball, usb joystick like the u360 etc it might be a pain.
... then again there's always having everything connected with some sort of port like a printer port or cat5. Either way it's something to think about.
I like the idea of swappable control panels if you can get it working flawlessly and consistently. And the guest question??? Have themed game sessions. Trackball, shooter, classics etc. Makes choosing games easier as well if you have to narrow it down by available controls!
Nephasth:
--- Quote from: eds1275 on May 30, 2011, 11:48:25 am ---And the guest question??? Have themed game sessions. Trackball, shooter, classics etc. Makes choosing games easier as well if you have to narrow it down by available controls!
--- End quote ---
Totally agree with this. Most guests are blown away just by the fact that there is an arcade machine in your house. The majority of guests will be perfectly happy playing whatever the machine is set up for. Less time teaching controls and more time playing.
D_Harris:
--- Quote from: eds1275 on May 30, 2011, 11:48:25 am ---The problem I see with swappables is the USB dilemma. It's hit and miss! You set the controls to work a certain way, unplug your CP, plug in the other one and it won't work until you remap the keys. Of course with keyboard encoders this shouldn't be a biggie but with other peripherals it is - so perhaps a spinner, trackball, usb joystick like the u360 etc it might be a pain.
... then again there's always having everything connected with some sort of port like a printer port or cat5. Either way it's something to think about.
I like the idea of swappable control panels if you can get it working flawlessly and consistently. And the guest question??? Have themed game sessions. Trackball, shooter, classics etc. Makes choosing games easier as well if you have to narrow it down by available controls!
--- End quote ---
The idea of swapping controls panels is not really for guests. It's for the owner who cares about uncluttered Cps and original control layouts.
And I don't understand what you mean by having to remap the keys. You only have to keep the controller at it's default and just wire each control panel once the correct way.
Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
menace:
Haveing done all 3, I definitely settled on the swappable. Sure its not for guests but nothing beats playing pole position with a wheel that spins and pedals down below. Now I'm probably dating myself here but 7 years ago when I was going hardcore I built a spinning panel.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=12683.0
This thing had a cool factor like no other but was an absolute nightmare if anyone besides me got in front of it. I rebuilt the cabinet with swappable panels instead just using simple velcro to hold it down--no vapourware springy things, or fancy plugs--just wiring it into male and female harnesses that plug into the encoder (yes I did mean to sound like someones grandpa there.. :P)
In seven years I have yet to finish the tron panel so it goes to show how much it actually got needed...I mostly use the main panel, the steering wheels and the light guns--although my kids are a bit too young to hunt zombies...
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