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Defender style general MAME control panel
Paul Olson:
I made a defender/ stargate layout for my modular cp, and it turned out great. I still suck at defender though. This thread has lots of info to help you out:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=82479.0
jukingeo:
--- Quote from: pcolson on December 04, 2008, 01:23:04 am ---I made a defender/ stargate layout for my modular cp, and it turned out great. I still suck at defender though. This thread has lots of info to help you out:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=82479.0
--- End quote ---
Thanx for the info, I will check it out.
I am not that good with Defender either. I still like the game. Back in the 80's, we had a Defender for the longest time in our Karate school. Then we got a Pac-Man and an Asteroids. I preferred the latter two over Defender (mainly because I was better at them). But Defender is still WAY cool and over the years the game has proven it's staying power. One of the things that makes it interesting was the control panel. Very few games of that era had that many controls.
I did have Defender for my Atari 2600 back in the day and I aced that one easily. I thought it would improve my skills for the arcade version....No dice! You don't have the same controls!
Another game of that time that had a cool control panel was Lunar Lander. These were pretty hard to find, even back in the 80's! I have not seen one (in person) for a LONG time.
--- Quote from: pmc on December 03, 2008, 11:58:28 pm ---One reason I went with swappable panels is because I wanted to be able to swap in a panel with the authentic Defender layout. Of course, I never built the panel, but I will when I get some time. Swappable gives you flexibility and you never have to live with one-size-fits all.
-pmc
--- End quote ---
I am not going for strict authenticity since I do want to alter the panel a bit and add a button next to the reverse. With that set up, I know I can play MOST of the MAME games in my box without resorting to using a "Frankenpanel".
Other panels I would consider right away are a trackball with a spinner. I have a new found love for spinner games. Tempest was a game I despised back in the 80's, but now I am growing to like it. Arkanoid was always a favorite though.
Finally, I want a dedicated "Tank" panel, with a double set of joysick controls mainly to play Tank Games. I always enjoyed Tank style games, but I 'need' to have a two stick setup. Single joystick tank games turn me off!
I too wanted the flexibility (and capability) of switching panels right off the bat. But starting from scratch on this project, I did want to start off with a panel that would be able to play most games. Naturally, of the games you want to play, you will think of the one that has the most controls. So Defender/Stargate came to mind. Later I found out I wasn't alone in that venture. This panel or even more so, the Multi-Williams panel is very popular with the Mame crowd that want to play older games like I do.
Thanx,
Geo
pmc:
I forgot to mention that because my Defender sized panel has two sets of player controls, you can play two-stick games like Smash TV, tank, Crazy Climber, and Black Widow (luv that one). With the smaller panel, the two sticks aren't too far apart and it feels right. But of course you'd need four sticks to play those games with two people. Smash TV just isn't the same without a friend covering your back.
And yeah, that 2600 version of Defender was a completely different game but they did a really, really good job with it.
-pmc
Texasmame:
I would strongly consider going modular as I did.
Doc was the inspiration:
http://www.beersmith.com/mame/
I have a panel that are strictly for Defender since it's my fav. Put the dedicated Defender stick and a reverse button on a modular and layout some buttons on other multipurpose panels accordingly.
jukingeo:
--- Quote from: pmc on December 04, 2008, 02:47:16 pm ---I forgot to mention that because my Defender sized panel has two sets of player controls, you can play two-stick games like Smash TV, tank, Crazy Climber, and Black Widow (luv that one). With the smaller panel, the two sticks aren't too far apart and it feels right. But of course you'd need four sticks to play those games with two people. Smash TV just isn't the same without a friend covering your back.
--- End quote ---
Yup, that is why I was thinking along the lines of this panel:
http://arcadecontrols.com/images/Roswell_CP(orig).jpg
This is VERY similar to the Multi-Williams machine. For me the deal sealer for this control panel was the extra button next to what would be used as the (Reverse) button in Defender/Stargate.
If you stare at that panel long enough you can easily see that you have somewhat faithful control of button only games, such as Space Invaders, Early Galaxian, Moon Cresta, and of course Asteroids. The two buttons on the left are a natural for (Left-Right) designation.
And yes, I did think about being able to play two stick/ tank games. I do hear you about the second player, but I would want to create a dedicated two player two stick panel anyway because I would like to play tank games accurately. But in a pinch being able to do it (single player) on the Defender type layout is cool.
--- Quote ---And yeah, that 2600 version of Defender was a completely different game but they did a really, really good job with it.
-pmc
--- End quote ---
Actually it WAS Defender, but if you were getting at the control interface, I hear you there. Yes, they did a pretty good job of that port. Ms. Pac Man, Space Invaders and Asteroids were good ports too. BUT regular Pac-Man was an abomination. Also you can memorize the ghost pattern in Pac Man and essentially keep playing that pattern for hours on end! Then there were the excessive flickering of the ghosts. 2600 Ms Pac Man didn't have any of those problems, and was much easier on the eyes! Overall game play was much better too.
Geo
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