Trackball / Spinner support for BigBox - Spin the wheel!

📋 Summary

Add support for trackballs and spinners to control Big Box wheels, using up and down mouse style movement to navigate game and platform selection.


Problem

Big Box wheels are typically controlled via keyboard, gamepad, or joystick, but many arcade setups include a trackball or spinner that feels perfect for this type of navigation.

Currently:

  • Trackball and spinner movement does not map cleanly to wheel navigation

  • Arcade cabinet users lose an intuitive, tactile way to browse

  • This has been requested multiple times over the years, and similar front ends already support it


💡 Proposal

Allow trackball and spinner input to control wheel scrolling:

  • Map up and down movement to wheel navigation speed and direction

  • Support both trackballs and spinners as mouse movement style input

  • Add an input option in Big Box controls, for example:

    • Enable Trackball or Spinner Wheel Control

    • Sensitivity or acceleration setting

    • Optional inertia smoothing for a natural spin feel


📦 Benefits

  • Makes arcade cabinet navigation more authentic and fun

  • Improves accessibility for setups that are built around these controls

  • Reduces reliance on a separate joystick or d pad for browsing

  • Brings Big Box closer to the experience offered by other arcade focused front ends

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Upvoters
Status

Open To Community

Board
Custom icon

LaunchBox for Windows

Date

7 days ago

Author

fursphere

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