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Modular CP...is it worth it?

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Lilwolf:
Moduler allows for exact button settings if you like (have a 6 button part, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1).  This isn't useful for most... but someone with kids it might helpe not to have extras.

Swappable is nice because you can get it so others can do it without you there.  Moduler makes for more things to plug in / configure.... IE, one plug (or for me, putting it in its place) and your done.

I have about 10 panels now... and I would change to a moduler system if I could do it over... (but gauntlet cabinets don't seem right in a moduler setting)  Mostly for getting just the right settings for game a / b.  Like my tron stick is currently next to my trackball  and there is one or two games that use trackball with an 8way trigger stick... But I'm going to move it to another panel this weekend next to my spinner... It would be nice to move them back/forth...  More smaller speicfic panel parts that all work toghet is a good thing.




tetsujin:
Here's my perspective:

I feel that modular allows for a lot of cool functionality: getting the correct layouts for each game in a single cabinet without compromise, that's the big one.

However, a lot of my cabinet design is being done with the idea of letting guests play (as I'm sure most cabs are) and I want my cabinet to reflect that.  Meaning
1: Operating the cab is simple
2: The player is not subjected to excessive complexity - the machine will be only slightly more complex than the original arcade machines.
3: The player is never led to think about how the cabinet was implemented.  Never allowed to know there's a PC inside or that the controls are USB or whatever.  I want people to see the games, not the machine.

With any CP there's a compromise in how the controls are setup.  Either it's configured as a universal CP (with too many controls for most games, but enough controls for most games) or it's configured as something more specific to a limited selection of games: in which case the layout is better but the selection of games is smaller.  The ideal situation for any game is to have the controls you need, and nothing more.

From that perspective, the advantage of a regular or swappable CP is that it looks better.  The advantage of a modular CP is that the configuration can be changed with a much finer-grained level of control than with swappables.

But to me, the advantage of being able to change the CP configuration isn't a great one.  What's the cost?  The panel can't have much in the way of artwork because it won't line up when you change the modules around.  The panel will have seam lines running down the middle.  And if you ever swap CP modules while people are visiting, you introduce them to all the hairy details of the CP construction - which isn't at all something I want to be associated with the experience of playing on my cabinet.  Plus you have all these modules kicking around.

With swappable CPs you'll also have modules kicking around - and they'll be bulkier.  But my general aim is for guests to never think about the fact that the CP is swappable.  So extra modules will be kept out of sight, and unlike with modular there'll be no way to tell the difference from a dedicated panel.

I would bear in mind that it's possible to turn a swappable CP into a modular one, and almost equally possible to turn a modular CP into something more like a regular swappable CP by creating modules that take up the entire CP space.  In light of that, I'd recommend swappable for the first cabinet because it's easier, less complex, and better looking.  You can build a modular control box for it later if you find yourself wanting the flexibility.

armax:
tetsujin, that was my line of thinking about the subject.  At first, I thought modular was the only way to go.  But after much research, I find that many games share a common setup or easily adapted to setup at hand.  In other words, there is a standard configuration that will run 80% of the games out there.  The other 20% tends to be rather specialized.  I started thinking, why not run the universal setup with artwork and either come up with other swappable tops for specialized games as I need them or construct a modular system as a swappable top.  I like the funtional aspect of modular but the looks really seem to literally be pieced together to guests rather than give the appearance of, "wow, you have an actual arcade game in your house?  BS, you didn't make that."

In planning the construction of my cabinet, I love the modular flexibility but feel like I'm coming up short in constructing the arcade cabinet that I was so familar with growing up.  Decisions....decisions...decisions..

Doc-:
I have a very nice modular setup (see signature block), and I've had it for almost a year now:

Positives:
 - Modular offers more flexibility than any other design I can think of
 - You really can play every game that you can afford to purchase controls for
 - Swapping panels only takes 15-20 seconds in most cases
 - You don't buy duplicate controls or extra IPACs
 - It avoids the frankenpanel syndrome
 - Huge size advantage - you can create a compact yet fully functional cabinet
 - Expansion is unlimited - you can add new modules anytime you want as you can afford to buy and manufacture them
 - There is no added complexity in swapping panels.  Any 5 year old can be taught to do it in a few minutes with my design (my son for example!).
 - Artwork is possible - the best solution I've heard of is to print the design on laminated vinyl (similar to most side art) and then cover the panels with it.  In fact I've been toying in my head with some yellow/black art modules for a future design based on ms pac man (for example)
 - Most people don't notice the seams or even that the panel is swappable until I lift a panel out. 
 - They usually say "cool - you have a Galaga machine - can I play?"

Negatives:
 - Some added complexity in making the panels, though I believe it is less than rotating panels, and probably comparable to wiring most swappable panels.
 - Storing the extra panels can become an issue (I have over 20 now!), though you can build shelves in the back of the cabinet for most of them.
 - Certainly some complex artwork just will not work well

Keep in mind I started with a static panel (2 joysticks, 7 buttons each and a spinner), but the first thing my wife asked once I finished the cabinet was "Can I play Centipede?"  Then we did not have a 4 way, then I wanted to play  an analog game, driving game, tron style game, etc, etc...

Was it worth it?  Absolutely.  There are certainly a number of games/configurations I don't play every day but inevitably a visitor or I will get the urge to play a classic game and within a few seconds I have the panel matching the original configuration.  I would have had to build dozens of non-modular panels to match them all.

Cheers!
Doc-

zvar:
The one question I have with modular panels is how stable are they with the joysticks?
Don't want to be playing a game where milliseconds count and the joystick fall off the cab.

Steven

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