CPO Critique?

[Witchboard]

My first attempt at a CPO.  I would like feedback and tips on how to improve it.  Overall I like it, but I think it's missing something.  I'm not sure how to explain it.  I guess I'm just spoiled with all the other nice CPOs.    Thanks to JoyMonkey for loaning me his button and joystick images for placement reference.

[JoyMonkey]

Nice! The buttons and joystick look particularly fine  
Did you end up making the volcano buttons yourself? They match the others perfectly.
I really like the 4-way PacMan, 8-way 1942 icons. Might have to run with that idea myself to stop people going '4-way movement, what are you some kind of arcade geek?'

Is that a T-Stik Plus you're putting in there? Maybe you're missing something to tell people how to switch from 4-way to 8-way.

[Witchboard]

Yeah, I requested some volcano button images, but nobody replied.  I had to make my own.    I used the Visio stencil as a guide so they would be the correct size.  I got the 1942 icon from www.upup.us.  It's one of the members pages here, but I honestly don't remember which one.    I didn't care for the pacman icon they had so I made my own, but stayed with their format.

I'll be installing a T-Stick Plus.  I'll have instructions on how the T-Stick operates on the bezel.  The nifty thing is that the T-Stick Plus has a lever on the underside that swings back and forth as it's changed from one mode to the other.  I have some microswitches with actuators I'm going to mount next to the lever so that when it's one way or the other, one of the switches will be active.  They will control LEDs that will backlight the 4-Way/8-Way symbols of the plane and pacman.  

[JoyMonkey]

...I have some microswitches with actuators I'm going to mount next to the lever so that when it's one way or the other, one of the switches will be active.  They will control LEDs that will backlight the 4-Way/8-Way symbols of the plane and pacman.  

Thats the best idea I've heard in a long time! Might have to steal that idea too. Need to figure out how it'll work with my homemade 4/8way switch though. Are you using joystick microswitches with the long actuators, kinda like these:

[Witchboard]

Yup.  That's what I'll be using.  I was going to keep it hush-hush until I actually had it up and going, but what the heck.  

I noticed you said something about your own switching mechanism.  What joystick are you going to use?  Just a plain T-Stick?

I think I need to do something to the white part.  I don't really want to run scanlines though.  Any suggestions, or do you think I should leave it as is?

[JoyMonkey]

Yup.  That's what I'll be using.  I was going to keep it hush-hush until I actually had it up and going, but what the heck.  

I noticed you said something about your own switching mechanism.  What joystick are you going to use?  Just a plain T-Stick?

I think I need to do something to the white part.  I don't really want to run scanlines though.  Any suggestions, or do you think I should leave it as is?

I'm using a couple of cheapo Bao-Lian joysticks that I converted to switcheable using a knob on the CP (just above the joystick). It's still going through some 'prototype' revisions, but looks like the sticks will work well.

As for your background, I was going to suggest a little pin-striping. Doesn't hurt to do a quick mockup and see what the whole thing looks like. Or maybe some concentric circles centering around the joystick. Something like this, but perhaps using some less gaudy colors:

I ended up not using this CPO because it tends to give me a headache if I look at it for more than 10 seconds. With some more subtle colors it might work well on yours.

[Witchboard]

Whoah... I'm entranced.  Reminds me of clowns, candy and the hospital for some reason.    I'll run through some stuff and post some updates.  Thanks for the suggestions.

[Witchboard]

Wow.  No more feedback?  Is this the, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" rule?

[grueinthebox]

Wow.  No more feedback?  Is this the, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" rule?

Nope, it's pretty sweet.  The 4/8 way indicator is particularly slick.  It's nice seeing a simpler CPO for a change - no elaborate graphics, no ten thousand controls/buttons...  Especially since you've added something unique to the mix.  Good job!

I'd like to see it with the white background replaced by some other colors, for comparison...  Seems a little too much white to me, but that's really just a personal preference thing.

[Witchboard]

I agree there's too much white.  The only other white on the cabinet is going to be the t-molding.  I'll see if I can break it up by doing something similar to JoyMonkey's suggestion.  I'm stumped on the bezel too.  I guess I should come up with a theme and it may make the bezel easier to design.

[Crazy Cooter]

What if you added some blue around the Action 1 button?  It would put a little blue into that portion of the panel and emphasize the "main" button.  Right now the red of the buttons is kind of... red.  I don't know how to say it.  See what I mean though?  the rest of the panel looks awesome.  I think if you can offset the redness of the buttons, I'd keep the white background.

[BobbyG66]

...I have some microswitches with actuators I'm going to mount next to the lever so that when it's one way or the other, one of the switches will be active.  They will control LEDs that will backlight the 4-Way/8-Way symbols of the plane and pacman.  

Thats the best idea I've heard in a long time! Might have to steal that idea too. Need to figure out how it'll work with my homemade 4/8way switch though. Are you using joystick microswitches with the long actuators, kinda like these:

I was "Thinking" the same thing too, looks like actually be the first to do it...

I would move the Pacman and Plane icons to the top of the joystick area. Make them a little smaller and move the 4 way to the left and the 8 way to the right. Then add some arrows to show the movement of the 4/8 way switching. Maybe put a box around the whole area to tie it in.

Looks great so far!

[Witchboard]

I was thinking about doing that in the beginning, but I had all this nice space to the left and thought I would crowd the middle if I placed them above the joystick.  I'll do a mock up and see how it looks.  Thanks for the tip.

Edit:

Here's the whole picture.  Of course I'm not finished with the bezel, but maybe this way you guys can see what I'm working with.  It's going to have the CPO and bezel on the same plane, so the image will be just one large print.  I checked and don't feel comfortable moving the light indicators over the joystick.  I'm afraid the light produced will wash through the plexi and make the screen more difficult to see.

[Popcorrin]

You mentioned that you were going to use 2 microswitches for lighting your 4 or 8 way symbols.  It's not that big of deal but I think you should ble able to get by with one.  Just hook one of the led's up to the NO contact and the other one up to the NC contact on the microswitch.

[Witchboard]

True.  I thought about that, but if I set it up that way, the indicator would glow before the mode was actually switched.  The light would change as soon as the lever under the T-Stick Plus moved far enough to unclick the switch.  With using two, it kinda fool-proofs it and makes sure they continue to twist until the joystick clicks and lights the other indicator.  If they aren't in either mode, stopping before the restricor plate finishes rotating, then no light would be on.  This wouldn't be possible with 1 switch.  Thanks for the suggestion, keep them coming.  

[Lord Hiryu]

Good idea.
You have thought about using small buttons, like those of 1p/2p to activate the 4/8 directions.
Perhaps you would have to include a 1 more button, for games type Golden Axe, or 2 more, for those of NeoGeo.
And for the coin button, it

[Witchboard]

Good idea.
You have thought about using small buttons, like those of 1p/2p to activate the 4/8 directions.
Perhaps you would have to include a 1 more button, for games type Golden Axe, or 2 more, for those of NeoGeo.
And for the coin button, it

[Lord Hiryu]

Now I have understood it.
This happens to me to read only last post.
Well, is logical to use 2 buttons for a bartop mame cabinet, however, I think you need one more button.

GunSmoke uses 3 buttons, and your machine can handle this game.
Again, I think that one more button is necesary.

Kind regards.

P.D.: Not scared too much with my pathetic level of english........I do everything what I can.

[Witchboard]

I'll look into it, but I'm pretty sure I'll be sticking with 2.  One more button on the CP is actually 2.  I'm running out of space pretty quickly.  I can understand your English fine.  Thanks again.

[JoyMonkey]

I've built vertical only cocktails in the past, and used 3 buttons. But there is no game that I would play that uses the 3rd button, so Button3 hasn't been seeing much action lately.