pboland

I have you on the list for one unit with green roller as well.

I have you on the list for one unit with green roller.

Okay, you are on the list with green roller.

Please be aware that my roller controller is USB only. I supply no way to interface with actual arcade hardware. I don't even know if that's possible. the PCB on this controller is nothing more than an optical USB mouse. For that reason I have focused on its use with MAME.

It has come to my attention that the PS2 does not recognize the mouse PCB that I use for both my Cyclone spinner and this new roller controller. Not sure how big of a deal this is because most will be using this with a PC in MAME, but I thought I should mention it.

You're on the list. One unit with green roller.

I got you on the list for one unit with red roller.

I got you on the list. I can tell you I will not be supplying the buttons themselves. I will most likely be adding the connections for two buttons (just like I did on the Cyclone spinner) since I have a feeling that's what most people are going to prefer.

I guess I should start a list of interest. You are on the list and listed for (1) unit with "green" roller. I originally had it on the Y-Axis because it was easier to fit the PCB on the unit. Placing the PCB on the X-Axis meant I had to have a higher degree of precision when mounting the PCB. The top of the PCB edge sits about 1/32" below the flange mounting surface. It's tight, but it fits. To all who read this topic and are possibly interested in purchasing a controller, please state your interest and color of roller you might want (green, red, or black). I only have 7 green wheels as of today (11/17/20)

Just wanted to give an update on this project. I'm working on it here & there between other things. The design isn't changing, but I did have to adjust the position of the PCB (which changed the print slightly). I now have a nice clean left to right motion (X axis) of the mouse pointer natively when plugged in to the computer. I originally had it set up in the y axis, but after seeing doubledown's post on using it with a PS2, I thought X axis natively would be better for compatibility (since I don't know what kind of options the PS2 has in that game for mouse control). Not only that, but it makes it easier for set-up in mame. One would just need to adjust the speed of the mouse. It's looking like there is some interest in making this controller available for purchase. I think I will do this once I have tested this controller a little further. In anticipation of this, I have purchased all the bright green wheels I could find (which isn't many). I was only able to purchase 8 wheels that are the correct size for this controller. Apparently, this green color is not a popular color. I also have 4 black wheels and 4 Red wheels on hand. As to pricing right now I'm not sure (heck of a lot less then the $300-600 price of the original that's for sure), but I do know that it take about 12 hours to print all the parts for one controller. And I don't like running my printer while I'm sleeping, so that means only about one controller a day I can make. I currently have parts for five controllers printed. The reason for this was just to see if I could streamline my process. Anyway let me do a little more testing, and maybe a small video of the roller in action. More to come, but for now a couple more pics (Red & Black roller without PCB mounted just to see what different colors might look like):

Thanks! I almost got some blue wheels as the Arcade flyer for the game shows a blue roller: In reality one could use any color wheels. The control panel overlay was something I put together just because I didn't want to look into the plastic storage box. My understanding is Atari had custom rollers made. The original controller had a solid roller (so it could be back lit) and it rolled on two shafts (kind of like a track ball). The way I'm making mine, I just put the shaft through the center of the wheel since there's a hole there anyway.

Actually, to keep cost down (plus I have them on hand from some other projects) I'm using nylon bushings. I'm quite happy with the result and it does have very good spin momentum.

Major Havoc uses a unique roller controller and that controller is quite expensive to obtain. Using what I've learned from my Cyclone Spinner project, I decide to take a stab at a "cost effective" USB roller controller in the style of Major havoc. I'm still tweaking the dimensions a little, but this is the design I came up with. It uses a skateboard wheel (70 mm dia. x 51 mm long). Again, this is meant as a cost effective type controller and not a true reproduction of the original. With that in mind my controller will be made of mainly 3D printed parts and because of the way I'm making this, back lighting the wheel isn't planned. As to the sizing of the roller, it's close to the original, but not exactly the same (I didn't want to have to make/cast custom rollers). I am trying to make the mounting close to original, but of course that's a little hard to find. I did come across an image that had some dimensions on it and decided to run with that. Here's the mounting I'm going to be using for my roller controller: The pictured unit above is actually my second go at this. I'm getting ready to put this unit through some testing. I've decided to mount this controller in a storage box (just like my Cyclone controller) for testing. Here's what that looks like: Not only should this controller be good for playing Major Havoc via emulation, but it should work really good for games like Breakout & Arkanoid as well. More to come...

Your on the list.

Functionally it's exactly the same as the II. Because of all the craziness this year, my parts cost jumped. I didn't want to up the price on the spinner, so I had to redesign it to use less costly parts. It's now a unibody design and mainly 3d printed and it's still has the same bolt pattern as well. Here's a couple pics of my test spinner:

I have you on the want list for one Cyclone III (the Cyclone II is no longer made). ----------------------------------------------------- For all those on the want list (which totals 18 units currently). I will be contacting you via personal message here on AtariAge in about a week with details. We are getting really close... More to come. Sorry for the delay. This year has been crazy! 🤪

Good idea, but connecting via the controller port I think is problematic. Most OD2s don't have detachable sticks. Some do, but the vast majority of them do not. It would most likely need to be built into the cartridge like the Bally.

I was trying to find this: http://akinokure.blogspot.com/2009/03/home-video-game-consoles-did-not-kill.html when I first responded to this topic. The best part about the article is this graph that shows consoles vs. arcades: It actually shows arcades losing steam before the rise of consoles (1981 time frame). And then it shows a slight bump at the same time as the rise of NES. The decline of the arcade is pretty steady from 1988 to 2002. Consoles over took arcades briefly in 1983ish, but consoles didn't really out pace arcades until about 1990ish. Heck, both arcade and consoles (1991-1996) declined for a time together (meaning the rate of decline, yes I can see consoles were higher than arcades). No matter your feelings about the topic, this graph is still interesting (IMHO).

This is one heck of a bump! 15 year old topic. None the less a good topic. Yes, the OD2 is under appreciated. At least here in the states. Back in the day I think the OD2 was more prevalent than people tend to give it credit for these days. In '79 I knew just as many people with an OD2 as I did an Atari 2600 (3 vs 3). By the end of X-mas season 1980 I started seeing more people that had 2600 vs OD2. I don't think it was until the release of Space Invaders for the Atari 2600 that sales went crazy for the Atari 2600 (that's looking back at it as an adult). The games we liked to played BITD on the OD2: - Pic Axe Pete - Attack of the Timelord - K.C. Munchkin (2600 Pac-Man sucked) - UFO - Quest for the Rings - Armored Encounter! / Subchase - Cosmic Conflict - Freedom Fighters - Killer Bees Once I started collecting as an adult I wish we had the voice with "Smithereens". I play that one with my kids from time to time. I always felt the keyboard function was way under utilized. "Quest for the Rings" used it well (it came with a keyboard overlay). I would have loved to have seen more games back in the day that used the keyboard as a way to expand game play.

The idea of a mini 5200 isn't new. Heck, the original Flashback 3 was going to be based on the 8-computer line and have a 5200 look and that's going back to 2006: The Atari Flashback 3 Petition

^^^This^^^ is what changed. IMHO this is the main reason arcades basically died. I know the old tired ideas of consoles and PCs killed the arcade market, but that's not what I see when I look back on the whole thing today (and yes, I use to think consoles and PCs were reason for decades). Hindsight is 20/20 and the things is, arcades BITD were new for just about everyone. The experience was new and it was a new social thing. After a while people get tired of their old toys. That's what happened with arcades. It wasn't the graphics and it wasn't the fact that you had to put a quarter in it. People just wanted different experiences that you are not going to get in 30-60 seconds. The quarter munching model didn't work once people decided they wanted longer experiences and didn't necessary want to socialize with the gaming experience. Look, BITD video games and bowling allays/pool halls (at least where I live) went hand in hand. How many people really go bowling or playing pool anymore? Bowling is looked at as some old person game and if you like pool, you most likely have your own table because it cost a lot less today to own that table then it did 30 plus years ago. It was just an evolution of the video game idea. You start out crawling then walking then running. Video gaming is no different. Think about, if it was truly all about graphics the arcade should have never died. You can fit a heck of a lot more computing power in an arcade cabinet than in a console (or even a standard PC case). Admittedly, I'm struggling to put this idea in text, but I hope people understand what it is I'm trying to say.

Correct. If anyone is interested please PM me. Thanks!

A pleasure to do business with! Paid quickly and promptly and very good communication. (purchased "Jaguar Replacement Overlays") Thanks!

You're on the list. Just to let everyone know, I've started printing parts. So, I'm hoping I'll be ready by late September early October time frame.

Good communication and fast payment. Thanks again!