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The Control Panel Files by Ice Cream Jonsey 06/22/2006, 4:37pm PDT
Welcome to the Control Panel Files. The ultimate goal is to create a MAME cabinet. It should be noted that this cabinet will be created by someone who hasn't done any wood working or soldering since middle school.

It should also be noted that you have options in addition to making the panel by hand. It may even be cheaper to have someone else do it, although I can't say for certain. SlikStick can create a control panel to your specifications, for instance.


The first thing I wanted to do is buy a spinner. There aren't a lot of games that require one, but there are more than you might initially think: driving games work really well with spinners. The Atari 2600 paddle games can benefit with one. The games I personally wanted to enjoy again were Discs of Tron and Tempest. Rather than get an authentic Discs of Tron unit, I decided instead to keep my refrigerator. It's a choice you'll have to make for yourself, either way.

There is a guy over at Retroblast who did a roundup of various spinners. His roundup is here. The guy went out and picked up an actual Tempest unit from eBay to perform this review. There are certain people I'd never fuck with, and the Retroblast guy is one of them. He knows his shit and doesn't care if people think he's crazy. He has affiliate links, but I get the impression that he made friends with people that made good stuff, rather than be a shill for advertisers before he reviewed their stuff.

Unfortunately, you may not have as many options as he did. Aside from having to hunt on eBay for a Tempest spinner, the guy running Oscar Controls has stopped shipments indefinitely. But there are also two spinners not included in the review -- the first is from a guy selling them at www.ezarcadesolutions.com. That's the one I ended up going with for my first control box experiment due to the low price. The other is a newly offered spinner from Groovy Game Gear (though that one was reviewed later).

The EZ Arcade Solutions guy is helpful, ships quickly and puts out a decent product for the money. It was recognized just fine in MAME32. The arcade feel of it varies: my girlfriend used to live with an Arkanoid cabinet, and she said that the feel isn't the same -- she was able to cover the entire field of play in Arkanoid by giving its knob a half spin. That isn't possible with the EZ Arcade one, no matter how sensitive. It's fine in Tempest, but I would probably go with the Groovy Game Gear one for the actual cabinet I (eventually) (hopefully) put together.

Oh, and the EZ Arcade spinner uses a USB connector. Warrants mentioning. No driver issues. There are actually two buttons inside the unit, but they are difficult to activate. It's nice that they are there I guess, but you're eventually going to want to real buttons, which we'll discuss next post.

One last thing that I learned: the spinner used in Discs of Tron is actually a push-pull spinner. You know how there were 4 year olds in the bowling alley that didn't understand the concept of attract mode? So their parents would leave them in the area with the machines and they would sit there and hog the machine, even though they weren't actually bringing the ghosts out for their introductions and nicknames. Apparently I was that kid when places in front of Discs of Tron, because I have been playing it for 20 years (including through MAME for Christ's sake) without realizing that you could affect the tilt of your discs, in addition to their direction. I don't currently know of a push-pull spinner that is available on the market. Is there a hidden push-pull mode to on-line first person shooters? Because I fucking suck at those, too.

Next post I will discuss my crushing disappointment trying to buy buttons directly from Happ and getting together something for an Asteroids layout, which is all buttons.


the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!
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The Control Panel Files by Ice Cream Jonsey 06/22/2006, 4:37pm PDT NEW
    Re: The Control Panel Files by Fussbett 06/24/2006, 8:58am PDT NEW
        Re: The Control Panel Files by Ice Cream Jonsey 06/24/2006, 1:41pm PDT NEW
            Re: The Control Panel Files by motherfuckerfoodeater 06/24/2006, 11:09pm PDT NEW
            The Apache spinner is on sale and reviewed. by Fussbett 07/03/2006, 4:30pm PDT NEW
                WHAT IS A PUSH/PULL SPINNER? (logs) by Fussbett 07/06/2006, 8:22pm PDT NEW
    Re: The Control Panel Files by Ice Cream Jonsey 07/05/2006, 2:23am PDT NEW
        Right behind you, buddy! by Fussbett 07/06/2006, 9:19pm PDT NEW
            16450 Asteroids NT by Fussbett 07/08/2006, 12:21am PDT NEW
            Happ Ultimate installed on the test plank by Fussbett 07/11/2006, 8:40pm PDT NEW
                It's ERECT!!! by Fussbett 07/16/2006, 10:11pm PDT NEW
                    "Mommy, what are those two Sega systems doing TO THE EXTREME?" NT by "They're BLAST PROCESSING, dear." 07/16/2006, 10:16pm PDT NEW
                    Re: It's ERECT!!! by Ice Cream Jonsey 07/17/2006, 12:39am PDT NEW
                        Re: It's ERECT!!! by Fussbett 07/17/2006, 8:24am PDT NEW
                            Home Depot has summer hours, but no sunny moods. by Fussbett 07/19/2006, 1:54am PDT NEW
                                Re: Home Depot has summer hours, but no sunny moods. by Joe M 02/22/2013, 3:51pm PST NEW
    Why would you choose the TurboTwist over the SlikStick Tornado? Just the $20? NT by Fussbett 07/08/2006, 4:39am PDT NEW
        Why would you choose the TurboTwist over the SlikStick Tornado? Just the $20? by Ice Cream Jonsey 07/08/2006, 11:56am PDT NEW
            I've got a good-looking knob you can spin on NT by One more obvious joke guy arriving 07/08/2006, 9:30pm PDT NEW
                Right on the button. Anyone else want some? NT by Quentin Beck 07/08/2006, 10:00pm PDT NEW
            Here's the problem with the TurboTwist by Fussbett 07/17/2006, 12:19am PDT NEW
                PUSH PULL IT IS, BABY!! NT by Ice Cream Jonsey 07/17/2006, 12:28am PDT NEW
                    GroovyGameGear owner slams Apache spinner by Fussbett 08/16/2006, 3:16am PDT NEW
                        Re: GroovyGameGear owner slams Apache spinner by Ice Cream Jonsey 08/18/2006, 2:08am PDT NEW
    TurboTwist: arrived, installed by Fussbett 10/09/2006, 3:19am PDT NEW
        Re: TurboTwist: arrived, installed by Ice Cream Jonsey 10/09/2006, 12:05pm PDT NEW
            Re: TurboTwist: arrived, installed by Ray of Light 10/09/2006, 1:01pm PDT NEW
            Spinner speed FIXED by Fussbett 01/13/2007, 6:24pm PST NEW
    TurboTwist 2 debuts -- makes other spinners look like DOGSHIT! by Fussbett 12/30/2006, 2:35am PST NEW
        I have a spinner update, too! by Ice Cream Jonsey 12/30/2006, 3:25am PST NEW
            Does it have to be MAME? There's LOTS of superior arkanoid clones out there by Mischief Maker 12/30/2006, 4:14pm PST NEW
                Arkanoid needs to be beaten, not sidestepped. NT by Fussbett 12/31/2006, 2:38am PST NEW
            Arkanoid by Fussbett 12/30/2006, 5:45pm PST NEW
                Re: Arkanoid by Ice Cream Jonsey 06/26/2009, 10:36pm PDT NEW
        Full DUAL sealed-ball bearing design provides for maximum shaft stability. by Entropy Stew 01/14/2007, 5:26pm PST NEW
    TurboTwist spinner, two and a half years later by Fussbett 06/26/2009, 8:49pm PDT NEW
        Corrected spacing by Fussbett 06/26/2009, 8:51pm PDT NEW
            blow in the end of the cartridge? Pour water on it? NT by Entropy Stew 06/26/2009, 9:56pm PDT NEW
        If it's any consolation... by Mischief Maker 06/26/2009, 10:36pm PDT NEW
 
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