cobramania Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Hi all, I'm going to build a cabinet but i have some questions about the control panel. I will be trying to use systems like mame, nintendo, playstation, sega, etc with Hyperspin as the frontend. What i am going to use: 2 joysticks (4/8 way) 2 coin buttons / 2 start buttons and make use of the shiftbutton (I-pac) for Enter, Esc, Menu 2 buttons on the right side / 2 buttons on the left side (for pinball games) USB connections for analog gamepads (like xbox controller) What i am not sure of and need your help with. Should i add a spinner or trackball? Are there many games that use them? If i add one or both should i put some buttons with them? Do i need an analog stick on the panel? How many buttons should i give each player? As i said, i will add USB ports for gamepads. Are 6 buttons enough or schould i use 7 or 8? Also i'm going to use a button to power on/off the cabinet. This one is probably going to be hardwired to the pc. I'm also thinking on using a set of aimtrack guns. Not sure if i add them in the beginning or later as an update. (Budget) Do i need 2 receivers for 2 guns or is one enough? Can the receivers be placed behind a plexi bezel? Does the monitor need to be upright or can it be placed at an angle? I know that i'm asking a lot of questions, but the more i read here and on other forums the more i get confused. I hope you guys can point me in the right direction. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNTiGOD Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 There are many games that use a trackball, not as many a spinner. I put a trackball in a cocktail cab i built, but planned it poorly. You have to leave plenty of room around the trackball on the control panel for hand movements (i keep bashing my knuckles against the cab when playing games like golden tee golf). Have you got mame or other emulators setup on a pc? What games are you playing mostly? Have a think about how many buttons are needed. Generally 6 per player IMHO. Cant comment about aimtrak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramania Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 Hey Intigod thanks for your answer. For the moment i don't play much games. If i play, they are really old (80's) and i only need 2 or 3 buttons. The little spare time i have i spend on reading, searching and setting up a system to place in the cab. Did you use dedicated buttons with the trackball? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
showstopper Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Don't go too mental with buttons as the CP can look really cluttered. Check out the bible on CP button layouts here - http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/layout.html Personally i like the 6 button in the picture or the 8 button astro-city layout. TBH you only need 8 button for playstation emulation. Some emulators i just didnt bother to setup. N64 and Atari Jaguar spring to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramania Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 @showstopper Thanks for the reply. I know that too many buttons can look cluttered/crowded. That's why i'm asking these questions. If i only need 6 buttons for mame then that is what i'm going to use. For playstation and others where i need analog sticks, i plan to use an analog joypad like an xbox controller. Thanks for the link. I already read that but i doesn't hurt to read it again :-) Do you know how much admin buttons i need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNTiGOD Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I never used dedicated buttons for the trackball. As mentioned too much clutter. In terms of admin buttons. I had a player one and player 2 button. P1 doubled my button to enter games. I had an exit button and also a coin button. 4 in total... Try to make it user friendly for others using your machine especially if your considering using shift command e.g winipac Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
showstopper Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 On my mates cab we left it stock. So 6 buttons per player and a P1 and P2 button. Then use the ipac and set a shift key. So shift P1 was credit etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramania Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 thanks guys i will only be using shift for a few commands like Enter, ESC, Menu, ... and i'm planning to place that on the graphics of the CP. @intigod so you use the buttons from player one? Anyone used a spinner? Does it add value or are there not much games that uses it and it will only clutter the cp? I used to like Arkanoid but haven't played it for years and i don't know if it is playable without a spinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorsdad Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 If you have room for a spinner and trackball I would recommend it especially if you only plan on making 1 cabinet, will save the "If only I'd done ...." further down the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramania Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 For the moment i only plan one cabinet and that's why i want as many systems on it as i can. And no, i don't wanne say "if only ..." Nice cabinet you have there. I notice you have two flipper buttons on each side and a nudge button. That second flipper button is it necessary? Maybe in the future (very distant) i will build me a race cabinet. But only if this one is a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorsdad Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 For the moment i only plan one cabinet and that's why i want as many systems on it as i can. And no, i don't wanne say "if only ..." Nice cabinet you have there. I notice you have two flipper buttons on each side and a nudge button. That second flipper button is it necessary? Maybe in the future (very distant) i will build me a race cabinet. But only if this one is a winner. It's not really necessary, there aren't that many tables that take advantage of it but it can be used for magna save, again it's to save me from "I wish I'd ....." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramania Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 thanks for the update. Really like your cabinet. Maybe i'll copy your CP (without the artwork offcourse). The side panels of your cab did you laminate them or is it melamine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imagamejunky Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I agree with you cobra. That grounds for divorce cab is awesome. Great job connorsdad. I haven't completed my new emulator cab yet but I will share some of my opinions with you cobramania.. Hope this helps you or someone else. If you think you will play tempest or other spinner roms, then install a spinner if there's room. I'm torn on this one myself and haven't made up my mind. You mentioned installing usb ports for controllers. I have been using the wireless xbox360 controllers with many emulators and have been very happy with them. You don't need a dedicated exterior usb port on your cab if you don't want it. And you also only need one of the usb dongles for up to 4 controllers. I didn't know this originally and purchased 2 dongles with 2 controllers. You can purchase one of these "PC version" controllers that comes with the dongle and then buy regular xbox360 contollers (they work great with the dongle). I will be installing 2 exterior usb ports on my cab to connect 2 Aimtrak guns. You asked about the IR lightbar. You only need one lightbar installed for 2 guns. For the guns I purchased these usb ports from GGG http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70&products_id=406 Joysticks, joysticks... I am SO torn. I have been testing U360's, Servosticks, and J-Sticks on a temporary CP. By the way, all 3 of these use the same screw hole pattern, contrary to ultimarc's site. I was planning on using 2 U360's for P1/P2 and 2 J-Sticks (in 8 way mode) for P3/P4. I wanted to have the analog use for P1/P2. But I just don't like the feel of the U360's. They feel too loose to me and don't have that "click". I installed the U360 top mount restrictor kit (which requires a 1 1/4" hole instead of a 1 1/8") and the little restrictor piece comes a little loose during play. I also don't want to have to keep changing that piece when switching back and forth from 4/8way games. There isn't an easy solution for lighting up the U360's either. I think I am going to end up with 2 ServoSticks and 2 J-Sticks. All of these "feel" tighter and have that nice "click" that I like. Plus the ServoSticks do the 4/8way changing for you. AND you can purchase the RGB handles (when they are available again). I'm thinking that if I need analog control for any games I can use the xbox360 controllers. I think most of the games I will be playing with the control panel joysticks will be 4/8way anyway. You mentioned pinball buttons. On my pincab I have 2 flipper buttons on each side. For the majority of tables running on Visual Pinball (which is the BEST program in my opinion) I use only 1 flipper button on each side. There are a few tables that use the magna-save feature and need secondary flipper buttons. If you purchase the digital plunger from VirtuaPin then you can physically nudge your cabinet to get the ball to nudge in Visual Pinball and you don't need nudge buttons. I believe the ipac ultimate i/o has this feature as well. However, if you plan on playing Future Pinball, FX2, or ThePinballArcade then you WILL need nudge buttons because for now these programs can't use motion sensors. You can use your secondary flipper buttons for nudging with these other programs. Like I said, hope this helps. Junky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorsdad Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Cobramania, so as not to derail the thread I have pmd you re my cab. Thanks for the comments guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramania Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 @Junky Thanks for the info. Helps a lot. I was going to install 2 usb ports for the xbox controllers and the aimtrak guns. But i just read Connorsdad "Grounds 4 Divorce" build and, if i understand correctly, the guns are better kept plugged in. (Sorry for my English) So your info about the wireless controllers is very helpfull. Thanks for the link was looking for usb ports like that and couldn't find them. Joysticks. I wasn't planning on putting analog sticks at the CP because i will use the gamepads when i need those. What kind of 4/8 way i will use i'm not sure. I think the one that changes the easiest from 4 to 8 way and back. I know that there is one that changes from the top by twisting the handle. Not sure what brand it was. Pinball buttons: again very helpfull. Spinner: i can't make up my mind. Need to make layout for my CP and see what can be done. Thank you all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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