17 replies to this topic

[Kagato]

Hey everyone,

Does everyone remember those cool battletech mech pods that were at D&Bs and arcades when you were a kid? I plan on building my own version of them at my home. I need to do some more research on MWO to see if it supports a few things before I invest into building it. I will be building an enclosed pod to simulate a cockpit feel.

I plan on creating a DIY topic once I am done with the project, of course taking pictures and documenting the steps and lessons leard along the way.

Thoughts and Requirements:
It shouldn't be too bad building it. This is what I need for it to work. Support for Logitech G940 joystick system, Nvidia 3D Surround Tech (Maybe their 3D Vision as well), and custom button mapping (which I may be able to figure out myself). If I decide to not go for the Logitech G940, I might try my hand at hacking at the Steel Batalion controller.

Pod Design:
As for the structure of the pod, it depends on how inventive I want to get with it. I am thinking I want to design it modularlly; allowing me to break it down and transport it.

I will use a mixture of wood and metal to build the frame where the monitors will be held. I think I'll have a metal floor as well which the seat mounted on sliders (the car seat already has this system). I have all of the technical (and most of the structural) stuff figured out, but I will need some of my more artistic friends to design the look of the pod (mainly painting and a method to give it a hard metal look).

Pilot seat,
I have a couple of extra leather reclining, car seats from my 350z that I plan on using in the pod then mounting the joystick system accordingly (going to need to design it if I do that), or I'll purchase a playseat which has the mountings already.

Electronics:
This part is fairly straight forward. The current idea is I will buy three LCD monitors, mount them in the pod flushly, use Nvidia's 3D Surround Tech to allow me a wide multi-monitor view of the action. Build a new high end PC (it is definitely possible to do this on a budget too, but I am going the full monty). Build a few LED button boards I can map game functions to, and utilize the Logitech G940. Bam done!

I don't plan on starting the build until I get to play the game, and get more details as to what is supported. Does anyone have any suggestions, or questions?

Cheers,

Kagato

Edited by Kagato, 06 July 2012 - 11:53 AM.

[Project_Mercy]

What you're talking about is generically called a simpit. There's a guy here who built one recently, you can probably find it with a search. Searching on the web will find you other links for simpit design. They don't all look like a tesla pod, but you could make one that did.

[JaYmZzz]

Giving you an idea
Sure you need to change the steering wheel to joystick and pads.
And you can leave paddles for throttle control.
Or you can browse for other gaming cockpits

Edited by JaYmZzz, 06 July 2012 - 06:56 AM.

[Death Weasel]

Check out obutto.com.
Good luck.

[CowboyHatValor]

Very cool! Looking forward to pics and watching the project progress.

[Elwood Blues]

I want this setup.
http://ecx.images-am...EL._AA1500_.jpg

[Homadais]

Good luck on you build

[Kagato]

Cool, good to know the proper name and to know there are some options I could purchase. I'll do some research on what already exists and rethink the design some more. Just to make it clear. I will be building an enclosed pod to simulate a cockpit feel.

[viperdave]

got one built allready out of plywood and 2 by 4s, incorperating saitek x65 with the combat peddles,


send me a message with your email and ill send ya pics, it realy wasnt hard ta build

[CommanderOSIS]

I bought plans for something like this built out of pvc pipe. vreaks down super easy just like youd like. originally designed for IL 2 but Im sure it can be modified. I intend to do something similar. hit me up with you want some more details. I bought plans and diy step by step vids. I forget the site but the guy has done all kinds of stuff. pretty cool really.

[CommanderOSIS]

I got mine from rogerdodger.net. there are other but this guy was really inexpensive and intuitive.

[buckaroo]

Need pics.

[Fruits Punch Samurai]

http://www.instructa...Sim-Racing-Pod/
granted its for a car racing pod but hopefully it can give you some ideas.

[Apnu]

All of this stuff is awesome. Thanks for sharing guys.

[Greyrook]

Regarding the paint and decal stuff—if I was doing this—I would use the cockpit assets from my favorite Mech as a base for the artwork. E.g. if you really like the Hunchback, the developers have the concept work for the cockpit up

Spoiler

I can see the basic framework for a 3 monitor setup and then using painted balsa wood or similar that's cut to look like the window dividers. If you have access to a cheap plot-printer, you could even paste together like a vinyl overlay that's printed directly from these assets (though you'd have to adjust them in photoshop or similar because of the perspective)

As far as the computer you're building for this, this is a great time to build an enthusiast level PC. Both the current Nvidia and AMD graphics cards seem to be performing excellently as they basically just refined the architectures from their last round. Getting something like a pair of GTX660s or possibly even a single 680 is going to give you all the power you need for a surround setup on high settings. I would recommend going for an intel quad CPU over one of the multicore AMDs just because of how the CryEngine uses the cores, but I'm sure that's up for debate. If you do go for an AMD CPU, you will almost certainly need to overclock it so keep that in mind when/if you look for an after-market cooler. Although, getting the "full monty" as you say for your setup is invariably going to run you over $1000USD, probably around 2000 if you want all the bells and whistles.

Edited by Greyrook, 11 October 2012 - 10:29 AM.

[Loc Nar]

If you can make it to Marina, CA with transportation you can get a thrashed 3.0 BattleTech Pod for $25... http://mwomercs.com/...ill-dirt-cheap/


I don't have room for such a thing and also have my own ideas for achieving immersion with MWO (which is very different from what ran in the pods), so I'm going the diy route...

http://mwomercs.com/...440-my-mechpit/

[Hakkukakt]

yeah that's good idea ... if you have place to put in ^^

for myself, my room is not so big to do it ... then i do has simple has possible

http://www.heberger-...-10-11-010..jpg

i have no cockpit ... but that's do the job

[DerelictTomcat]

I find the idea of a self built mech pod to be intriguing and some of the designs we are seeing are just too cool. I cannot help but see the inability to keep up with a standard j-stick or mouse and key.

Having not played MWO as of yet (building a new system) I might be in for quite a shock I guess.