245 replies to this topic

[HankCzinaski]

Freakin' epic.

[Turbo Corvair]

Bloodshed Romance, on 02 April 2012 - 12:33 PM, said:

I'm probably going to attempt to take this on with my 500 every two week weekend job pay..
but I have a few.. probably simple questions..
what kind of computer case was used on top and did you move the power and reset switches and remount them yourself?
how did you get your router power switches and stuff in the top left?
how did you get the status lights and stuff on the top right?
where did you get the voice for start up and shut down and what was your method to implement them into windows?

Alright Bloodshed, I'll do my best =)

The computer case came from Newegg.com maybe 5 years ago, it was a cheap case but I can't find a name on it. I'm sure you can just find a case with a nice side cover you like and use that. I simply took the case apart and removed the whole front panel complete with all the switches/buttons and fished the wiring harness out to come with it. I made a hole big enough to put the harness through and just screwed the front panel to the ceiling panel. The fan was just as easy, but required making a big hole with a drill and saber saw.

The switches up top you mention are illuminated wall switches from Home Depot. We wired the switches and standard "duplex" wall outlets into a harness... basically just as if we were wiring a room in the house, but without the wall. So each switch turns an outlet on and off. All the stuff in the pod is plugged into an outlet wired to the proper switch. I wish the switches stayed lit all the time, but they are lit only when they are off. I didn't find any that stay lit all the time which makes sense considering their intended use.

The status lights top left and top right... Ok I made holes in the panels, then cut a piece of clear plastic to the right size to cover them. I bought "niteshadez" spray meant for tinting car tail lights and painted the plastic panels so they look black but the lights can still show through (and clock). Next I built some plywood boxes the right size to fit up above and mounted the alarm clock and modem in the left one and the router in the right one. I aligned them in the box so the faces of them with the lights would show through the tinted plastic panels. I did have to black out the faces of some of these items using black tape so the white edges wouldnt show through the plastic.

The startup sound was posted as a reply to this thread http://mwomercs.com/...179#entry167179 and the shutdown sound and many others are posted as a complete package near the end of the thread on page 2. Only the startup sound is MW4, the rest are MW2 I think. Go to control panel-sounds and set these sounds to replace the ones you want. The startup sound is set as the "login" sound, and the shutdown sequence sound is set as the logout I think. I also have "ejecting" from MW2 set to go off when I empty my recycle bin hehehe.

Hope this helps!

Edited by Turbo Corvair, 02 April 2012 - 02:09 PM.

[Mechanus]

You, good sir, are my hero.

Words.....cannot.....emotions.....

[Dirk Le Daring]

Fantastic !! You have done a great job.

[Alpha Nexus]

Right now I hate and love you so much...

[Sym]

Outfrakinstanding!!!

[Punisher 1]

It runs on windows 7 its dooomed to fail.....

Kidding, nice work guy if that does not get ya in the mood to kick *** not much else will!

[Opus]

I'll buy one...

no seriously, I will buy one....

[MacabreDerek]

This is quite possibly the most epic thing mechwarrior/battletech related I have ever seen. I am (like many) seething with jelousy. I feel ashamed that I'll be playing this with mouse and keyboard.

[Turbo Corvair]

Opus, on 02 April 2012 - 06:36 PM, said:

I'll buy one...

no seriously, I will buy one....

If you decide to take up temporary residence in the living world let me know if you are near NE Pennsylvania =)

MacabreDerek, as far as being competitive a mouse is hard to beat for precision and fast response time. For me however, it's all about immersion and that is what my cockpit is all about.

I finally played MW4 in the simpit today and the butt shaker worked beautifully in that... exactly as I had hoped.

Edited by Turbo Corvair, 02 April 2012 - 10:02 PM.

[Steve Varayis]

Just...



Wow...

[HepatitisTK]

Wait.... I'm SE PA! OMG I CAN HAZ ONE?!?

[SeaR Dagoth]

Just want to say.... this is awesome I would love to play in that pod!!!
Now I am thinking... should I even play? I mean what chance do I have with my laptop and mouse?
With everyone talking about building computers and such just for mwo I'm kind of thinking that I should just go back to cbt tt.
Lol I love your setup!!! If pay to play in it!!!

[Turbo Corvair]

SeaR Dagoth, on 03 April 2012 - 12:24 PM, said:

Just want to say.... this is awesome I would love to play in that pod!!!
Now I am thinking... should I even play? I mean what chance do I have with my laptop and mouse?
With everyone talking about building computers and such just for mwo I'm kind of thinking that I should just go back to cbt tt.
Lol I love your setup!!! If pay to play in it!!!

Truth be told, a mouse is hard to beat for precision and reaction time. I think in many cases a joystick is a slight disadvantage vs. a mouse (as long as the mouse has enough buttons, mine has 11).

Also, the wider field of view isn't nearly the advantage you would expect. It's really not all that great, and won't be until games start being specifically programmed for these setups. In the meantime, I'd prefer that PGI set things up so I can see the game world from the middle screen only, and put all my instruments (damage displays, map, etc.) on the side displays. If they did it this way dual monitors would be useful in the same way, where stretching the game across two displays put's monitor bezels right in the middle and make the game unplayable.

[Alan Grant]

I like how mechwarrior really brings out the creativity in people.

This is simply amazing. I wish I had some spare cash to make one of these. Maybe by the time the clans hit I will.

[guardian wolf]

O.O
*Jaw falls to the floor, and bounces around on the ground, man snatches it and smacks it back into place*
Holy !@#$ THAT IS SO FRIGGIN AWESOME. Man, I would love to build that, but, I don't think that I would be able to in my current situation.

[Reno Blade]

can you sent me one to germany please )

[Andrimner]

Don't post much but just had to log in and say: - Well done!

[Tearalum]

You, sir, are a god among creative designers!
This is awesome, and even if I have to contract some construction firm to make it for me, I shall have it!

[SideSt3p]

That's fantastic....It honestly reminded me of the PODs we used to use when we'd go to Wizards of the Coast in Seattle and do their MechWarrior simulation game there.

The wife and I are about to move to a new house for a couple years and I'm honestly considering building one of these things now...Means I'll need to buy 3 more monitors so I can still have my 2 work monitors and then three for gaming but....SACRIFICES MUST BE MADE!!