2nd NEWB Question (Which IPAC is right for me?)

[highholyme]

Edit: Let me re-phrase. Do I need 4 inputs per joystick, or just one?

Secondly, since i'm not quite clear on this... which IPAC should I get? I will have 26 buttons, plus 4 (8 way) joysticks.

I'm trying to save a few bucks, so some wisdom would be nice.  

[Comtek]

you'll need an ipac4 the ipac2 does not have enough inputs
the ipac 2 only has 32 inputs
you need 26+(4*4)=42
the ipac4 has 56 inputs

[Hoopz]

Each direction on a joystick is a separate input, so one joystick needs four inputs.

[highholyme]

Ah. Thats what I needed to know.

So even if its an 8 way stick it only needs 4 inputs?

[Hoopz]

Ah. Thats what I needed to know.

So even if its an 8 way stick it only needs 4 inputs?

Yes.  When you want to up in a diagonal, the joystick hits two buttons.  If you want to up diagonally up and to the right, the joystick hits up and right at the same time.  If you look at Mame's default key assignments, assuming you're using Mame, you'll notice that nothing is set for a diagonal.  Or rather, you'd see that only the cardinal directions have key assignments. 

Does that help?

[highholyme]

Yes I did notice that in mame, that was EXTREMELY helpful.

One last question. Are mounting plates really a necessity for Happ Super Sticks?

[javeryh]

26 buttons sounds like an awful lot.  Have you posted your CP layout yet?

[highholyme]

I did, but eh.

4x 8 Way Joyticks
2x 6 Button Layouts (SF-Style)
2x 3 Button Layouts (For P3 and 4, respectively)
4 Start Buttons
4 Coin/Credit Buttons
3 Admins Buttons plus one More for Exit... So I suppose that would be 4 admin buttons. 

So wow, my math is off. Thats 30 buttons. Me = 

[Hoopz]

I think you still need an I-Pac 4 but let break this down a little differently please.

Joys need 16 inputs (each one needs four so four times four equals 16).   
P1 and P2 need 12 inputs
P3 and P4 need 6 inputs
Start - 4 inputs
Coin - 4 inputs

That's 42 distinct inputs that you need at a minimum. 

You'll hear various and sometimes emphatic reasoning on admin buttons.  Suffice it to say, build it how you want.  The one thing that may want to take into consideration is that the I-Pac 4 comes with a shift mode.  You may want to read up on it if you aren't familiar with it.  What it can allow you to do is assign multiple functions to the same button. 

For example, if your admin buttons are assigned to functions 1, 2, 3 and 4, you can use two buttons and assign functions 1 and 2 to the same button.  It's function 1 when pressed regularly and function 2 when it's shifted. 
That could eliminate two buttons if you want.... 

[highholyme]

I was reading that.

Thanks again gents! 

[javeryh]

Ahhhh, you are going for a 4P cabinet...  I'm not a big fan of 4P CPs so I'm not the best person to give advice on them but have you thought about how often you will have 4 people together to play?  Lots of people build them and then think twice about it down the road.  

Also, there are less than 10 games I can think of that are worth playing with 4 people (mostly clones of each other) and all of those games are plenty fun with 2 players.  NBA Jam, Gauntlet, TMNT, The Simpsons, X-Men, Sunset Riders - anything else?  Building a 4P cabinet adds unnecessary bulk and unnecessary expense for a feature that I just don't think gets used as much as people envision it will when they first start building.    

That said, I've seen plenty of super sweet looking 4P cabs around here.  The Gold Mine cabinet by KrawDaddy is pretty awesome, for example.    Just something to think about!  

EDIT: Oh yeah - you need an iPac4!  Good luck!

[highholyme]

I had considered that, but my 2 kids alone are already fighting over who gets to play with daddy. Add in their 10 plus cousins into the mix and I may have to start tying muchkins down. 

[drventure]

I built a 4p panel. I'd generally back Javeryh up on his comments, though. There's not a lot of games for 4p. But, meh, I went for it anyway. Then again, my cab isn't your typical fair either 

You're thinking right about the 3-4p, 3 buttons should be plenty.

The SHIFT function on an ipac is handy, but be prepared to have a cheat sheet or something, cause it's real easy to assign those shift keys and then completely forget them 

If your cab will have a coin slot, you may not need the coin buttons. I'd probably put em in anyway, it's just more convenient.

As for admin buttons, I've got a PAUSE and EXIT. I've also got a wireless keyboard that I can tuck out of the way for any weird stuff. Personally, I haven't found a need for any other admin buttons. I use CABVOL with my spinner to control volume, and I use a shifted key set to allow easy access to SAVE/RESTORE GAMESTATE for 1-4 states (Mame will do 10, but I've got em set for the coin buttons 1-4)

You might consider using U360's for P12. They have, I think, 8 button inputs right on the sticks. If you go with 4 of em, you could easily get by with just an IPAC2. They are SO NICE for the remappability. I'd highly recommend them if you can somehow swing the budget. I've got 2 for p12.

[CheffoJeffo]

For posterity, since people don't seem to clue in,

IPAC-2 ... 2-Player
IPAC-4 ... 4-Player

Andy did try to make it easy to choose ...

 

And, yeah javeryh is dead on right -- most people who start off building 4-Player panels would be better served with 2-Player panels.