Main > Project Arcade - the book!

Anyone layout their CP like the book? How is it?

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namedos:
In building my first cp I've been bouncing around several different ideas.  I originally decided to go with a similar design of a slikstik classic panel.  I figured that it was a good selling item so they must have put a fair amount of research into it.

However, once I put it down on paper I'm not sure I like where the 4 way joystick is and the spinner seems odd as well.  My current layout is on a big sheet of graph paper but I want to set up a model so I've decided to order the majority of my parts and play around with them on cardboard and/or some 1/4" plywood. 

I have played 4-way games such as donkey kong with 8-way joysticks and it drove me nuts so I know I want to use a dedicated 4 way joystick.  The majority of games I plan on playing are the older, "classic" style games.

SadGamerGeek:
I too am planning on the book layout but with the 4 way removed (again using 2x 4/8 switchable joysticks) and 6 buttons instead of 7.

It will be my first cabinet & CP and my main concern is how easy the spinner will be to use when placed behind some of the buttons. I'm worried that when the spinner is in use the left arm will get in the way of some of the buttons. Has anyone found this a problem?

Cheers,

Richard

GameOver:
I understand about the $$$, but will tell you that Oscar's model-3 is one nice spinner!  But you're right, these things aren't exactly cheap.  Can't say how putting the 4 way joystick  towards the back of the CP would be, but I can tell you the spinner where it is on my CP is no problem at all.  It's worked out great exactly where it is -  my left arm rests on the CP inbetween the joystick & the 6 buttons, while my right arm either works one or more of the six buttons, or works one of the three trackball buttons.  Either way it's a good fit.  If anything, I would move the spinner on my CP an inch or two more to the left if I could do it again.

Good  luck on your spinner hack!  I'm sure there are others in the forum that have done it that could give pointers.

namedos:
Hey Gameover, for the classic style games that require 4-way sticks, have you had any problems?   I've ordered two perfect 360's and if I don't really need a third joystick it would make more sense to me to put the spinner the top center of the cp rather than another joystick.  I think it would look better as well.

By the way, I like the layout and color schemes that you have used.  I do get tired of seeing everyone use black and blue as the only color choices.   :)

Do you have any problems with people not knowing which buttons do what?  What did you do about administrative buttons?

GameOver:
Those 360's s/b sweet!  I've never used 'em, but think I'd get 'em if I did another cab.  The microswitch joysticks get pretty 'clicky', especially when I'm playing Robotron.  I use Ultimarc's T-stik + which allows u to switch between 4/8 way w/o going into your CP.  This is a nice feature, I don't know how the 360 switches between 4/8 way.  I think the Ultimarcs work great when playing classics that prefer 4 way control.  Again, I'm not sure how the 360 switches between 4/8 way, but expect it would get old fast if you had to go into your CP everytime you had to switch.  I decided against a dedicated 4 way only because I didn't want 3 joysticks on my CP.

Regarding the spinner, I would mess with whatever you are using to design your CP to see what arrangement works for YOU! I enjoyed spending time in Paintshop Pro arranging my controls & switching colors around until I felt I had a CP I could live with.  If you spend time planning, chances are you wont be dissapointed with your results!  If you don't have PSP, use cardboard or draw it on paper, and look at lots of examples of other peoples designs to get ideas.

For buttons, I used the I-PAC encoder which includes a 'shift' button.  This let me keep the # of buttons on my CP down to a minimum.  People only need to know which buttons to put a coin in, start a game, and escape out of a game.  I handle eveything else (cab admin).  I really didn't want a lot of buttons on my CP so the Ultimarc 'shift' solution worked out well.

Can't wait to see some pics!

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