Please help me understand this fightstick

[vwalbridge]

Craigslist FightStick

Here is a screenshot for when the add gets pulled:

[JMB]

Wow. 

[JMB]

Is he using the iPad as a display?

[harveybirdman]

WTF is the Etch a Sketch for?

[dkersten]

WTF is the Etch a Sketch for?

lol that was my first thought.. until I realized it's the ipad 2 he is talking about.. hope it isn't the display, you would get a hell of a kink in your neck trying to play that..

[BadMouth]

I'm sure it makes more sense when the correct buttons for each game are illuminated. 

[harveybirdman]

This guy never looked at CrapMame before he started his project.

I still maintain that CrapMame filled a valuable public service.

[tomstewdevine]

"I have a lot of money invested into this my loss your gain, $800.00"

 

[BadMouth]

This guy never looked at CrapMame before he started his project.

I still maintain that CrapMame filled a valuable public service.

You leave Mom's Arcade out of this! 
It's one of the great sit-down cabs of all time!

[Howard_Casto]

This guy never looked at CrapMame before he started his project.

I still maintain that CrapMame filled a valuable public service.

Not in this world we live in where nobody wants to ever hear anything negative.  I was publically castrated by many people on this site for even suggesting we do a crap-mame-like, tongue in cheek system here.  I also suggested that *gasp* there are wrong ways to do things, and not every snowflake is beautiful and unique. 

People don't seem to get that when I say your stuff sucks it isn't to hurt your feelings, it's so you'll make better stuff next time.   I gave up a long time ago... I don't say anything negative on projects, I don't even comment because I'm too old to get yelled at for doing the right thing. 

Anyway....

My theory is the buttons are dong-shaped, some subtle warning system to let anyone who buys it know up front they are getting screwed. 

[acvieluf]

iPad 2 16GB - $150 (+unknown shipping)   http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPad-2-16GB-Wi-Fi-9-7in-Black-MC769LL-A-/201509890397?hash=item2eeaece95d:m:mz2tSe9kIiPm2fnNX4f3B-A
iPac 2 - $55 (approx, with shipping incl.)
Trackball (appears to be xgaming, correct me if i'm wrong) - $70 (+shipping)
LED Buttons (15, as far as i can tell) - $112.00
Regular buttons (5) - $12
Joystick of unknown origin (would it be xgaming, too, since track ball is?) - $10 (+shipping)
Carbon fiber sheeting - $30 (looks like the size of two of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/200-300-1-5mm-With-100-Real-Carbon-Fiber-plate-panel-sheet-3K-plain-weave-SC-/261683044717?hash=item3ced86616d:g:kwwAAOSwvTxUlOYP)
Wood - $10 (generous)

For a grand total of $449!   Unless he has over $250 in wiring, i'd say it's more like your loss is his gain...   

[Ginsu Victim]

I just emailed him asking for MORE buttons:

[BadMouth]

The bolt pattern on the joystick is a JLF or JLF knock-off.
x-arcade/happ/etc would be more square.

[Ginsu Victim]

This guy never looked at CrapMame before he started his project.

I still maintain that CrapMame filled a valuable public service.

Not in this world we live in where nobody wants to ever hear anything negative.  I was publically castrated by many people on this site for even suggesting we do a crap-mame-like, tongue in cheek system here.  I also suggested that *gasp* there are wrong ways to do things, and not every snowflake is beautiful and unique. 

People don't seem to get that when I say your stuff sucks it isn't to hurt your feelings, it's so you'll make better stuff next time.   I gave up a long time ago... I don't say anything negative on projects, I don't even comment because I'm too old to get yelled at for doing the right thing. 

Anyway....

My theory is the buttons are dong-shaped, some subtle warning system to let anyone who buys it know up front they are getting screwed. 

My biggest gripe with the Disqus comment system is their removal of the dislike feature.

CrapMAME was valuable to me when starting my first cabinet in 2008!

[harveybirdman]

Bad Mouth: Mom's Arcade, cause SHIFTERS!


Howard:  You're so right about the dick buttons, what game requires 16 buttons that he loved so much he'd be willing to play it with his neck cranked to the right?  You're right about the snowflakes too.... I've posted some of what I've thought were the most innocuous criticisms and gotten brow beaten for it.

[yotsuya]

This guy never looked at CrapMame before he started his project.

I still maintain that CrapMame filled a valuable public service.

Not in this world we live in where nobody wants to ever hear anything negative.  I was publically castrated by many people on this site for even suggesting we do a crap-mame-like, tongue in cheek system here.  I also suggested that *gasp* there are wrong ways to do things, and not every snowflake is beautiful and unique. 

People don't seem to get that when I say your stuff sucks it isn't to hurt your feelings, it's so you'll make better stuff next time.   I gave up a long time ago... I don't say anything negative on projects, I don't even comment because I'm too old to get yelled at for doing the right thing. 

Anyway....

My theory is the buttons are dong-shaped, some subtle warning system to let anyone who buys it know up front they are getting screwed.

I completely agree with much of this post, mostly the correct stuff.

[yotsuya]

Bad Mouth: Mom's Arcade, cause SHIFTERS!


Howard:  You're so right about the dick buttons, what game requires 16 buttons that he loved so much he'd be willing to play it with his neck cranked to the right?  You're right about the snowflakes too.... I've posted some of what I've thought were the most innocuous criticisms and gotten brow beaten for it.

Yep. We're all about sunshine and lollipops here now. No ideas are bad ideas, even the bad ones.

[BadMouth]

I thought we just weren't going to fill someone's build thread with 6 pages of rants against an aircraft carrier after it's already built.  Still room for dropping your 2 cents and moving on.  Still room for 6 people dropping the same criticism and moving on. 

Just give it up after OP acknowledges the criticism and explains why they chose to go a different route.

[wp34]

I thought we just weren't going to fill someone's build thread with 6 pages of rants against an aircraft carrier after it's already built.  Still room for dropping your 2 cents and moving on.  Still room for 6 people dropping the same criticism and moving on. 

Just give it up after OP acknowledges the criticism and explains why they chose to go a different route.

That's how I took it as well. 

[Ginsu Victim]

He sent me a reply.

Re: Could I get MORE buttons on that control panel?

"Yes yes u can add a lot more

Sent from my iPad"

[shponglefan]

At first I thought it might be some variation of a hit box, until I noticed the joystick on the left.

Yeah, I don't get it.

[Le Chuck]

I was publically castrated by many people on this site for even suggesting we do a crap-mame-like, tongue in cheek system here.

Still one of my favorite threads ever.  Not because teh UCAs grew out of that thread but because of Xooche's explosion around the third or fourth page. 

Also you and I have vastly different definitions of castration. 

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,118098.0.html

[CheffoJeffo]

Nazi-Cab Regimer's Salute!

Now you've done it!

[yotsuya]

While I think a Crap MAME II done by a council of members and hosted here is bad idea because it goes against the spirit of this site, I think the original CM is a great learning tool. I know I learned a ton from it.

The problem I think for today is the fact that back then, it was clear what made a bad machine - superwide/large control panels, crazy joystick patterns, tiny screens... but what about now? Some people think 48" wide cabs using gigantic LCDs are cool, others don't. I mean, the quality of cabs have gotten better, but the design tastes have changed. That's where I think things would be difficult.

I just try not to offer opinions anymore, unless it's praise.

[BadMouth]

Gigantic cabs with 48" screens look good in pics on ebay listings.
Like it might even be worth thousands of dollars.
It does look sweet when looking at it from a distance.

Actually playing it is another story.
I don't think I've ever seen anyone with a cab like that weigh in here.
IMO they are made to be sold to inexperienced people who don't know what they're buying.

I think they do belong on CrapMAME.

Quite a few have defended 32" screens and I respect that since we're talking about ending up with something like a 24" 4:3 image

There's nothing stopping anyone from creating a new crapmame site somewhere else.
It doesn't have to be hosted here.

[Howard_Casto]

Exactly.  There isn't any wiggle room on what is crap and what isn't if you have experience, that would have been the whole point. 

For monitors I don't know the exact ratio because I'm bad at "the mathz" in my old age, but the larger the screen, the further back the control panel has to be.  So if that's the case then there's no point in having a exceedingly large monitor.    There are some situations where it makes sense, like lightgun games and sometimes sim games, but that's because you stand/sit much further back. 


It's the same thing with tvs btw, which is why it boggles my mind that home theatres have caught on.  A large display is for a large room, where the seats are far back and thus you need to make the image look the same as it would in a smaller room with a smaller tv.  Unless you are one of those freaks that sits in the front row (seek help), the image your eye sees sitting somewhere in the middle of a movie house is just about the same size as your tv at home. 

I actually had problems with a modest 27 inch crt in my original mame cab.... it just wore my eyes out looking around.  With the new lcd in it's more like 23-24 inches in 4:3, which I feel is about right. 

[CheffoJeffo]

I actually had problems with a modest 27 inch crt in my original mame cab.... it just wore my eyes out looking around.  With the new lcd in it's more like 23-24 inches in 4:3, which I feel is about right.

Weather or not the numbers are correct or not is irrelevant.

Xouchery aside, I agree. I find 25" in a standard cab is just a touch too big. Anything more in terms of playable area seems like too much.

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah and I actually talked to my optometrist about this some time ago.  (This was pre-lcds.)  He said that if the screen is largish, like 25-27 that you really need to be 3 feet or more back because your eyes try to focus on the character which results in a lot of scanning and eye strain.  So it's not just opinion.  Much like how "blue light" from our modern devices are damaging your eyes, it's been proven. 

Which reminds me, I want to pick up some blue reading glasses that are all the rage in Japan... I've been told it could help with my headaches some. 

[CheffoJeffo]

I went to tinted lenses a couple of years ago including a blue pair for reading and it is a wonderful thing. I also have yellow and amber for night driving and glowy screens. Headaches and eye fatigue vastly reduced. Will never go back.

[Howard_Casto]

Well that's the hope.  I haven't kept it a secret that I've been having some really bad problems over the past couple of years.  I've been stable and in fairly good shape health-wise for the past few months, but I've noticed that as the winter months have kept me inside more, the symptoms are coming back.  The headaches I can deal with, but the fact that it's starting to effect my blood pressure, meaning they might have to up the dosage on my beta blocker scares me a little. 

It's a little frustrating how having one minor thing wrong with you, combined with a few other minor things, can interact and make each other drastically worse. 

This whole healthy living thing sucks if you ask me, but seeing as how I intend to live forever I better get with the program. 

[shponglefan]

It's the same thing with tvs btw, which is why it boggles my mind that home theatres have caught on.  A large display is for a large room, where the seats are far back and thus you need to make the image look the same as it would in a smaller room with a smaller tv.  Unless you are one of those freaks that sits in the front row (seek help), the image your eye sees sitting somewhere in the middle of a movie house is just about the same size as your tv at home.

Ah, but the difference is that with a large home theater screen, you can more easily accommodate more seating.  The viable seating space gets larger as the screen size increases.  You also get a variable screen size if you use a projector as opposed to a traditional TV.

[dkersten]

Back in the earlier days of computer gaming when I first went to a 21" crt monitor I found I had to push it back further.  When I got my first 24" lcd about 12 years ago, the problem was worse.  But games have changed to where more peripheral content is on the screen, which means you can still focus on the action but have that immersion, which means bigger screens add to the immersion factor.  Of course that doesn't translate to arcade games, so anything bigger than ~25" (in 4:3, meaning up to 32" in 16:9 with black bars) is just plain too big for close up games. 

In theater it is different, especially now with 16:9 and 2.53:1 formats.  You WANT immersion - for most of your main field of view being covered by the screen. 

[Howard_Casto]

It's the same thing with tvs btw, which is why it boggles my mind that home theatres have caught on.  A large display is for a large room, where the seats are far back and thus you need to make the image look the same as it would in a smaller room with a smaller tv.  Unless you are one of those freaks that sits in the front row (seek help), the image your eye sees sitting somewhere in the middle of a movie house is just about the same size as your tv at home.

Ah, but the difference is that with a large home theater screen, you can more easily accommodate more seating.  The viable seating space gets larger as the screen size increases.  You also get a variable screen size if you use a projector as opposed to a traditional TV.

Yes exactly... why would you want to do that?  More people around me while I'm watching something means more people that can potentially annoy me.  The reason I have a tv is so I don't have to deal with the people in theatres. 

[BadMouth]

meh, I've progressed to larger TVs in the past few years.

I have a 52" in the bedroom, viewed from about 10ft away.
I have a 70" in the living room, viewed from about 13-14ft away.  (it's as big as would fit on the wall between the hallway and open front door)
They feel about right to me, for the distance.

I just wish people would quit hanging them high on the wall like a painting.
Your eyeballs should be level with a mark 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the screen.
(where the best seats in the theater are)

Now excuse me while I fondly remember watching a floor model TV while laying on the floor. 

[vwalbridge]

I just wish people would quit hanging them high on the wall like a painting.
Your eyeballs should be level with a mark 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the screen.
(where the best seats in the theater are)

+1

...and I don't understand curved TVs at all. My buddy got one and it looked dumb as hell terrible at side viewing angles.

[Howard_Casto]

Curved tvs make about as much sense as 3d tvs.  They are great if you have too much space and want to watch tv by yourself sitting in the exact center of the room like some kind of monolith, but other than that they don't work.  You also have to get a certain size for the room, not to big, not too little because their sweet spot is even more precise than arcade monitors. 

I'm not opposed to big tvs btw, you just need to have an appropriately sized room.  Grandma has a 60 incher, but she also has a 20 foot long living room with a couch dead at the back. 

I think what I've got over here is like a 42-46 inch, somewhere in that area, but I only sit about 6 feet away. 

Man sitting in the tv room at grandma's playing Super Mario Brothers in the floor on that old wood grain 27 inch floor model from Montgomery Wards.  Having to get up every few minutes when I pulled the controller cord down in front of the screen.  My guess is people under 20 didn't understand 90% of the sentence. 

[vwalbridge]

Man sitting in the tv room at grandma's playing Super Mario Brothers in the floor on that old wood grain 27 inch floor model from Montgomery Wards.  Having to get up every few minutes when I pulled the controller cord down in front of the screen.  My guess is people under 20 didn't understand 90% of the sentence.

I heard you loud and clear Howard. Understood every bit of that. My parents' TV growing up was....wait for it....


A JC Penny branded TV.

(The remote was the size of a loaf of bread but only had 4 buttons)

[Ginsu Victim]

Man sitting in the tv room at grandma's playing Super Mario Brothers in the floor on that old wood grain 27 inch floor model from Montgomery Wards.  Having to get up every few minutes when I pulled the controller cord down in front of the screen.  My guess is people under 20 didn't understand 90% of the sentence. 

We had this TV clear into the mid-90s!

[dkersten]

Man sitting in the tv room at grandma's playing Super Mario Brothers in the floor on that old wood grain 27 inch floor model from Montgomery Wards.  Having to get up every few minutes when I pulled the controller cord down in front of the screen.  My guess is people under 20 didn't understand 90% of the sentence.

My memory is sitting at the table in the trailer, the wire from the Atari stretching from the table to the 17" Hitachi tv on the bar across the room watching my dad and brother play Atari football.  Then reaching over to switch off the dining room light so I could see better, only to realize that the Atari was plugged into switch tied to the light over the table... I got grounded for that - it was a heated game.

[shponglefan]

Yes exactly... why would you want to do that?  More people around me while I'm watching something means more people that can potentially annoy me.  The reason I have a tv is so I don't have to deal with the people in theatres.

To each their own.  Although I think most people do watch things with friends/family/SO/etc.