[quote="Ice Cream Jonsey"][quote="Tdarcos"]I have a question here. Why would anyone building a controller unit use a trackball over a joystick? I mean, a trackball is about the inverse of a mouse ball, and it would seem that since the ball has to roll over an edge, skin could get caught in there, and thus the manufacturer might be liable for lawsuits from injuries kids got from skin pinching or cuts.[/quote]

Personally, I only use trackballs on my home and work computers. I can not [i]stand[/i] having to pick the mouse up and move it to the center of the desk when you get to the edge. It seems so comically foolish, and I will never, ever understand how the mouse became more popular than the trackball.[/quote]

I happen to disagree. I've used computers with a trackball in place of a mouse - probably a laptop before they thought of the mousepad - and I had found it was irritating and actually painful to use a trackball over a mouse.

But considering what has happened, I'm thinking, maybe with my carpal-tunnel-syndrome equivalent, perhaps a trackball would be less painful to work with than a mouse. Typically my time limit for using a mouse is one or two hours, after that, I can be in pain for five or six hours.

I'll see if Micro Center has one. Hold on while I switch tabs and look. Okay, I'm back. They do, but it's expensive. When I have to buy a mouse, I can buy a cheap replacement for around $3.99. Micro Center has literally 82 different mice available below $20. The cheapest trackball is $24.99. They also have a wireless keyboard with trackball and scroll wheel for $39.99.

One of the reviews for this keyboard may give some insight into why trackballs were not the choice for home computers: the guy says it's not that precise for playing games. Mice have very high precision, 200 dpi and more even on cheap mice. I'm not sure what the resolution on a trackball is, but it might not be as precise as what people expect now.

I'm half-tempted to put the mouse on my left side and telling windows to run the mouse left handed.

[quote="Tdarcos"]I have a question here. Why would anyone building a controller unit use a trackball over a joystick? I mean, a trackball is about the inverse of a mouse ball, and it would seem that since the ball has to roll over an edge, skin could get caught in there, and thus the manufacturer might be liable for lawsuits from injuries kids got from skin pinching or cuts.[/quote]

Personally, I only use trackballs on my home and work computers. I can not [i]stand[/i] having to pick the mouse up and move it to the center of the desk when you get to the edge. It seems so comically foolish, and I will never, ever understand how the mouse became more popular than the trackball.

That being said, there are a host of trackball-based games that just plain suck when you play them with a joystick: Centipede, Millipede, Missile Command, Crystal Castles, Wacko, Quantum, Marble Madness, Atari Football, and any of the Golden Tee games come to mind.

With the X-Arcade depicted above, you can use that for your regular computer / MAME cabinet with ease. When they are working correctly they are excellent.

[quote="Tdarcos"]I really can't remember a lot of games using a trackball, typically they all used a joystick when they had to have that sort of control.[/quote]

The title of this thread is "I am suddenly a Centipede broker"

This thread is about the arcade game Centipede.

Centipede uses a trackball controller.

You are really, really dumb.

[quote="Ice Cream Jonsey"]Yeah, they are fucking terrible in quality. I have the exact trackball that Vark posted and it simply stopped working after a year. My attempts to clean it did not get me a functional trackball.[/quote]

While the X-Arcade equipment is quite popular (and thus well supported), I vaguely remember that they used knock off happ components for their sticks / buttons, along with plastic rods in the trackball. I prefer my sanwa controller / buttons and USB devices for specific games, though I guess the X-Arcade would work well enough.

[quote="Ice Cream Jonsey"]Yeah, they are fucking terrible in quality. I have the exact trackball that Vark posted and it simply stopped working after a year. My attempts to clean it did not get me a functional trackball.[/quote]

I have a question here. Why would anyone building a controller unit use a trackball over a joystick? I mean, a trackball is about the inverse of a mouse ball, and it would seem that since the ball has to roll over an edge, skin could get caught in there, and thus the manufacturer might be liable for lawsuits from injuries kids got from skin pinching or cuts.

If anything it would seem a simple joystick would be cheaper to include than a trackball and probably more reliable. I mean, look how many video game consoles (especially commercial coin-op units) used a joystick and how few used trackballs.

The only major game I remember using a trackball was Missile Command. I really can't remember a lot of games using a trackball, typically they all used a joystick when they had to have that sort of control.

Or am I wrong and trackballs were more often used?

Yeah, they are fucking terrible in quality. I have the exact trackball that Vark posted and it simply stopped working after a year. My attempts to clean it did not get me a functional trackball.

Isn't the quality of the X-Arcade gear questionable? I vaguely remember a string of customers who cried foul when they discovered that their shiny new controllers didn't function properly and were supposedly fragile.

And seeing a centipede trackball has brought back memories of the twin joystick setup that Smash TV utilized... Ah, memories.

I think that, after all, this is more in line in what I want my buddy to purchase. This is so much easier to move around and maintain!


[img]http://cache.futurelooks.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/xarcadetrackball-010.jpg[/img]

Couple other thoughts:

An x-in-1, theoretically, would be easier to maintain/repair than a dedicated Centipede cabinet. A real Centipede machine is going to consist of 30 year old parts. It may or may not have the original power supply and monitor, but it'll definitely have the original PCBs.

An x-in-1 can run off of any PC power supply, any modern monitor (CRT or flat panel), and the boards are new. A multiboard is more likely to have newer parts and require less arcade-specific knowledge to repair.

48-in-1 boards have been out of print for a while now. You can actually get a 60-in-1 cheaper. Some boards support trackball controls, and all of them will run off of a PC power supply and connect to a VGA monitor. I'll write more when I reach a real keyboard in a day or two.

Actually, 48 in 1, or 60 in 1 cabinets, seem to be relatively common. I already found one outside of Buffalo. The underlying issue here is that my friend, who does have the space for a cabinet, has absolutely no technical skills in order to maintain/repair an arcade machine. I seriously hope that it was one of those half-drunken wishes that he entreated me to locate one for him. Perhaps when I call him later this week and mention that I actually found one but he's going to have to come up with actual money (and a trailer) he will change his mind.
I know that if anything happens to his game he will call me to come fix it and I have never been inside a video game before, hell I've never read 'Invading Spaces' before.
Maybe I'll just point him to one of those USB trackball things I've seen for the PC. he can just plug that in to his computer and he'll be much happier. I know I will!



THE
EMULATOR EASY
AARDVARK

[quote="AArdvark"] Now I must search.[/quote]
With what you're going to have to do to find what you're looking for, I suspect the [i]real[/i] name of your quest is "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream".

If you search, I'd like to believe that you'll find a 48-in-1 FAQ [i]on this very site! The calls are coming from inside the house!![/i]

Here's the FAQ if it didn't turn up for you:

http://www.joltcountry.com/index.php/features/i-wrote-this-jamma-48-in-1-faq

However, it's interesting you mention Centipede...

The 48-in-1 is marginally cheaper than the 60-in-1. But the 60-in-1 includes more games (Gunsmoke is one of them) and includes support for trackballs.

So I am thinking it would be ideal to go for the 60-in-1. It is pretty terrible that I never switched out my 48 for a 60.

Turns out my friend has been wanting to buy a Centipede cabinet for a while now. I suggest a 48 in 1 or something similar, so he doesn't get bored with it. He says: 'what's a 48 in 1?' Now I must search.