Space_Fortress_(Space_Zap)_Custom_Controller_(Bally_Arcade)]
doubledown 
May 4, 2023

This post is found on AtariAge, here:

https://groups.io/g/ballyalley/message/20115

As a 46 year old man (born in 1976)...I have been playing video games most of my life, and I grew up during the heydays of the arcades...and thus I love arcade games, especially ones I have fond memories of.  Sure we had ports of arcade games on our home consoles/computers, but obviously they were never as good as their arcade counterparts, mostly because a $40 - $50 cartridge, being played on a $200 - $300 console, could never compete with the hardware of a dedicated, 1 game, $2000 arcade cabinet.  As I would love to fill my house with arcade cabinets...they simply cost too much, are too damn big, and with the ones I'd want now being over 40 years old, are subject to break-downs, and thus needing repairs.  So building these larger Enhanced and Experience controllers like I do, is my way to bring part of the arcade experience home...in a way that takes up a lot less space, and is a lot less expensive, comparatively.  A lot of these types of controllers that I build, are built due to the arcade game having some sort of unique controller, or control scheme...that while yes it can be played with a console's stock controller...that's not how it was meant to be played.  And since arcade cabinets almost always had lots of beautiful artwork, I always try to replicate as much of it as I can, as faithfully as I can.  With that said, my newest controller features probably the least amount of artwork of any of the controllers I've built, but that's how the arcade cabinet was, so without further ado, introducing my:

Space Fortress (Space Zap) - VVG Enhanced Controller
[Picture:  Space_Fortress_(Space_Zap)_Custom_Controller_(Bally_Arcade)]
While I couldn't source the original arcade buttons, the Suzo HAPP Large Round buttons are very close in size to the originals, and with my modifications to them (changed out the microswitches for leaf switches, and shortened the plunger springs), they feel very similar to the originals.  Artwork-wise...what little there is of it, I took cues from the full-size upright and cabaret arcade cabinets, as well as details from the Bally/Astrocade port of Space Fortress itself.  Then, I did find out when researching the game, that there were a few other "ports" of similar games on other consoles including Cosmic Ark for the 2600, so I made myself a short Bally/Astrocade to 2600 adapter cable, which re-pins the Aim and Fire buttons (joystick and button controls) from the Bally/Astrocade pinout to the Atari pinout...so that this controller can also be used on other consoles, for other games, when & where appropriate.  Its definitely a lot different playing Space Fortress with a controller like this versus the Hand Controllers, or even my arcade stick controller...and it is very satisfying, to feverishly slap the large buttons during gameplay.  And finally, for complete Bally/Astrocade console compatibility, I installed a Knob and redundant Trigger control, where the P1 & P2 start buttons were on the original arcade cabinets (marked as Select and Start).  This way, the menu, and game selections, can all be made directly from the controller itself, versus having to use the console's keypad for these options. 

I'll admit, if someone told me a couple of months ago that there would be 4 unique controllers worthy of being built for the Bally/Astrocade, I would have told them they were crazy...but here we are...#4.  Enjoy!