Uncle DT's Random Image Thread

[Blaze]

One of the [many] things on my to-do list is building my Raspberry Pi arcade machine and I'll make sure to get all of the Dragon Lair's games on there too. One of the best confidence boosters about the arcade was going in there when they first opened up and still seeing your name on the high score list from the day before...

[Kruger]

Ooooh, building a Raspberry Pi arcade console is on my to-do list as well.  I built a small one, just basically a box with a joystick and buttons.  With a 15' HDMI cable it can plug it into the TV at the cabin and have fun.  The downside is running the power to the plug as well so there are two wires tethering me to the wall.  But there are a couple of things that I wish to figure out before I really dive in.

• Incorporating a trak-ball and a spinner.  I am thinking the spinner can fit between the two players on the main control.  But the trak-ball would probably want its own panel, so maybe a rotating panel that locks in place and you flip from one to the other as needed.
  
• Incorporating some kind of start screen that displays as the game is loading or before the game starts that identifies the controls for that game.  Which buttons correspond to which action would help.
  
• Figuring a way to flip the joystick to left or right handed.  So for most arcade games I would want a left handed joystick (joystick for left hand, buttons for right).  But for Atari 2600 games, I want the joystick in the right hand and the button from the other player controls.
  
• Figuring a way to use buttons from both players in a single game.  This probably goes with the previous want and is for games like Asteroids that just used buttons, I'd like to replicate that experience instead of using the joystick...
  

[Blaze]

I think we had a topic on the controllers panel before and I was thinking of a rotating/flipping panel. But thinking about this more, the Vectrex controller gave me an idea of just having multiple panels that can be swapped out. You could have your main panel with the joystick and 6-button standard configuration and then some specialty panels like Missile Command, Asteroids, Tempest/Tron. And if you wanted to get super crazy, steering wheels and pedals and flight yokes...

[Kruger]

Hmmm, Interesting thought.  So you would build a button / joystick / controller configuration that could then be just connected to a port on the base cabinet for different games.  Then you realistically could just use a "real" controller for 2600 games by using that dongle that converts the D9 to USB.

How would you mount the various controllers to ensure they are solidly attached to the base cabinet?

[Blaze]

Yeah, a different board for each of the various layouts. And the cabinet should be mostly empty space, so build a door on the side with some shelves to store them. As for attaching, either use some fancy thumb screws underneath to attach the boards or clip them in with some steel door sliding latches also underneath to keep the appearance looking clean. I mocked up something like this (just pretend each of those boards has a different layout)...

[Kruger]

Wow, I dunno why I have spent lots of time just thinking and dreaming how to manage different control panel styles when I shoulda just looked to see what others have done and used those as inspiration.  I have looked at a few and this is the one that impresses me the most.  Add on that this guy also developed one of the most well known and popular homebrew software packages that's used today gets an additional thumbs-up...

[Blaze]

Now that's a genius idea. Independent modules that can be combined for whatever style you need is some big brain thinking. I clicked through his site and saw a link for Future Pinball and ended up spending a hour looking at the tutorial for creating your own tables...

[Kruger]

Will I ever build a cabinet?  I dunno, but if it does happen, I will plan on using those ideas to better customize the controllers.  Your response reminded me of a video that I saw a few years ago where someone built a room that had an omnidirectional treadmill and paintball guns spread around the perimeter so you really did know when you got hit in the game...

[Blaze]

Guns that shoot at me. That's a whole lotta nope for me. What's next? They wire you up to some tasers and AED. You get hit, you get zapped "dead" and then the AED shocks you back to life? Those VR treadmills look fun but I would have to be in a -10 degree room in order to play them. I'd be a dripping pool of sweat after 20 minutes. I've tried just using a controller while on the stationary bike to play games and that turned into a sloppy mess...

[Kruger]

It's just paintball.  Sure it hurts, but that'll learn ya to keep your head down....

[Blaze]

I've been hit by my fair share of paintballs and to say "it's just paintballs" does it a disservice. That shit hurts, especially below the jaw bone and above the clavicle...

[Kruger]

I'm not saying it didn't hurt, but then again I've only been hit in the back, shoulder, and front.  So I can imagine getting hit in the clavicle or near it would sting a bit...

[Blaze]

I was always getting hit in the one spot on my neck that my gear couldn't cover - a freaking 2" gap. Do I get hit in the back, the chest, the legs? Nope. Every. Single. Time. it was in the neck. I gave up playing that stupid game...

[Kruger]

The only time I ever played paintball was with the relatives at Uncle Alby's property in Ellington.  I was pretty young, maybe 11 or 12 at the time and we all had the same gun.  They were single shot so you had to cock it after your shot.  The only PPE that we wore was a heavier jacket and those old 80's goggles.  Other than that you were on your own.  I think a couple got shot in the head even though our rules said no head shots.  And the lump it would raise on the noggin was pretty intense, so I don't doubt that getting hit in the neck wasn't accompanied with a bit of pain...

[Blaze]

I'm still not sure if it hurt more or less than when we used to have BB gun or bottle rocket fights...