man i've been on a "wanna build a controller for bms" bit bc i love the game and would enjoy it more that way than on laptop keyboard, but i realized: when i get home im immediately swapping the springs in my f2 and going back to grinding sdvx like mad. i also am going to be a bit bad for money after uhh not going to work for 3 weeks. i still think it could be a fun project. i can plan things out and then when i have money again decide if i wanna go for it.
basically my thing is that a regular ac style iidx con is 2 big 2 expensive. i like playing bms on keyboard, but the best layout i've found is still not quite ideal. i'm fine skipping the turn table (because i've never actually played beatmania lol) but i do want actual buttons like the con would have. so the current thought is to have the 7 keys and then an extra button (maybe square ones) to either side for the turn table (bms i have mapped to l/r shift keys.)
for materials: honestly to start i'll probably just throw it all in a shoe box. i don't wanna go all out getting acrylic cut and all for a thing that i don't even know i can make work 100% since the exact thing i'm going for i don't think has actually been done before (so there's not just like a list of instructions i could follow haha.) and if the overall design is good and functional it wouldn't be too hard to just put those shoebox guts into a nicer box later. i have thoughts of using my smashbox and just sort of emptying it and cutting a new top face for it to fit the buttons and stuff in. and that might just be what i do further down the line. i think it's enough to worry about literally designing a pcb(??? maybe??? ideally not lmao) and everything else without fear for "oh i measured it bad and i wasted my money."
it's definitely ambitious being a first project but i think it's definitely doable. notable challenges will include: soldering for the first time literally ever. plus doing all the wiring. the aforementioned pcb... im sure there's just a board i could buy to wire everything to. a custom one seems overkill if it's not really doing anything too crazy. there's a neat guide on the cons n stuff github for making one with the case made of wood enclosed in acrylic that looks really nice but i wanna try my way. but it will be useful for reference.
but i dunno im gonna keep thinking about this project idea for a while unless return of sdvx just blows it out of me. i only just had this idea while writing this, but i think it'd be really really cool if i could make something like, thin profiled that would be easy to travel with. i think that would be genuinely awesome. would have to give up actual buttons and instead use low profile mechanical keyboard switches with 3d printed caps... but if i ask honestly, i don't Want a controller for bms, i just want a keyboard that feels better for it haha. im not putting a turntable im just effectively making a controller with buttons to play similar to on kb. just nicer ergonomics i guess. also i would just feel silly buying a mechanical keyboard just to rip out most of the switches and have them still be tiny little keys at spacings / positions made for typing. so i would "just" make a keyboard pcb (i have found a guide, yay) and buy some switches and caps and it should just be chill. get something to put it in and it's done.
anyways if you got to the end of this idk. im open to advice for a first controller diy thing i guess lol