Hows my CP layout? **UPDATED!!**

[EndTwist]

This is my player 1 layout for my cocktail cab. The actual size is about (more/less rounded off) 11x5.5.

Anything I should change/move?

** REMOVED ** See new post below! ** REMOVED **

[TalkingOctopus]

Am I the only one who does not understand the pac man logos?  Please explain.

[MrSaLTy]

Am I the only one who does not understand the pac man logos?  Please explain.

I believe those are player 1 & 2 start.

[EndTwist]

Yeah, sorry about that, its 1 & 2 player. I was just using it for placement.

[AlanS17]

The 2 start buttons seem pretty close to the wall. Keep in mind that the buttons have a lip and when you drop it down in it's gonna be pratically touching that wall. The joystick is cool cuz you've got space, but those buttons are gonna be hugging the wall.

[IG-88]

Hey EndTwist, what did you use to design your CP with? (software wise)

[EndTwist]

The 2 start buttons seem pretty close to the wall. Keep in mind that the buttons have a lip and when you drop it down in it's gonna be pratically touching that wall. The joystick is cool cuz you've got space, but those buttons are gonna be hugging the wall.

So would it be worthwhile to move the player buttons over more, towards the joystick and move the start buttons to the left too? Or would that cramp the 4 player buttons?

Hey EndTwist, what did you use to design your CP with? (software wise)

Adobe Photoshop. (I had to design the buttons/joystick images too)

[Malachai]

I'd use smaller buttons for the p1/p2 start.  Something like this would save some space.
http://www.happcontrols.com/pushbuttons/49057700.htm

[Nailz]

The 1 and 2 player PacMan start markers are very, don't change them.  I think the only people that wouldn't "get it" probably weren't alive at the time these games were out there.  

I agree that the 1 and 2 buttons probably need to move left a bit, but maybe consider moving your 4 other buttons into a diamond pattern just to free things up a little.  Or maybe just make your CP a bit larger if that's a possibility?

[EndTwist]

Actually, even I wasn't alive during the time of pacman, but I still get it. Diamond pattern? Nah, and I can't make my CP bigger. I think shifting everything left is my best choice. Malachai, I want it to be a little more authentic, so those buttons are no good.

[Tiger-Heli]

Actually, even I wasn't alive during the time of pacman, but I still get it. Diamond pattern? Nah, and I can't make my CP bigger. I think shifting everything left is my best choice. Malachai, I want it to be a little more authentic, so those buttons are no good.

I WAS alive during the time of PacMan and now I feel OLD!!!!

The player select logos look cool, though.

I would leave the action buttons where they are and just move the start buttons over 1/4-inch or so!

Or you could replace them with the Atari Volcano buttons (like Asteroids and Missile Command used) which would look authentic, if you can find these anywhere.

[AlanS17]

I was thinking the same thing about the volcano buttons but I wasn't sure what to call them. Moving just the start buttons over wouldn't be a problem. If the pacman pics are too large then just scale them down a bit. No biggie.

[paigeoliver]

It actually isn't possible to get the buttons close enough to the joystick to make them feel cramped. Even right up against the base is fine.

Secondly. Is it a 4-way panel with a vertical monitor? If so, then you can ditch buttons number 3 and 4 (almost nothing 4-way has more than two buttons). If it is an 8-way panel with a horizontal monitor, then why the heck do you have a picture of Pac-Man there if you can't play it? (My number one Mame cabinet gripe is pictures of Pac-Man on a horizontal cabinet that only has 8-way sticks).

Also, that 4 button config isn't very playable. A diamond would be better, and a line would be even better. If having all 4 buttons present and usable is important to you, then you may want to move the start buttons off the panel and onto the lower section of the cabinet.

Moving the start graphics above and below the start buttons could also buy you some breathing roo,.

Recap.

If this is a 4-way vertical cabinet, then you only need two buttons (I have one too).

If it is 8-way horizontal, then you may want to rethink things entirely(especially since few 8-way horizontal games have cocktail mode anyway).

Vertical is the way to go with a cocktail, most cool cocktail games were vertical.

Finally, if you are building from scratch. Then I would suggest that you don't look at the Midway cocktails for inspiration, but instead look at the Cinematronics cocktails. They have 24" wide control panels, and don't need actual glass, but instead use a monitor plexi much like uprights. Go to arcadeflyers.com and look at the Jack the Giantkiller flyer. I used to own one (kspiff owns it now), and if I was ever going to scratchbuild a cocktail then I would copy that design.

[EndTwist]

Yeah...to late to rethink my cab design, because it's already being built. It's probably going to be vertical, and 4-way. I may leave the extra 2 buttons on, as I will have them anyway, and just move it into a diamond shape. The cab is based on the Pac-Man cab (Kyle!) which I thought was nice, since it is a good size.

[danamulder42]

So, I have this incredibly boring and uneducational internship. I ask my boyfriend (whoa whoa, watch out--a chick on the boards!) for some sites to keep me occupied...I check out techtv.com and I see a story about a PacMan cocktail table. I'm psyched! --but I don't see the fun in using a kit or buying premanu'd...so onto my n00b questions.

I've been reading these message boards for a few days straight and I've gotten plenty of excellent ideas from them, and even spawned my own (only to later find that someone else thought of them first ), but I wanted to throw out a few ideas I had for some plans.

1) As I said, I definitely want to start with a cocktail design. Old school vertical games like PacMan, DK, Galaga, etc. are very important to me, and it seems the only way to go with these is to get a 4-way joystick...but I have access to a fairly decent computer and I don't want to limit myself when I have the potential to play more modern games that utilize an 8-way. So I was hoping I could get some opinions on the ideal CP config? Here's *my* plan: place a 4-way with 2 buttons as per the classic table design on each of the short ends of the table (also as suggested in this thread; it seems that it's unlikely I'll encounter a 4-way game which requires more than 2 buttons--though if you think it's worth adding a few more I'd appreciate the input), then place 2 8-ways with 6 buttons side by side on one of the long sides for the horizontal games...But this stems concerns with the I-PAC, which is my vehicle of choice for the joystick hookup:

2) Technically, this table is for 2 players but there are 4 joysticks. Is it possible to hook this up to an I-PAC2 since it's only two players (i.e. hook 1 4-way and 1 8-way up to the player 1 connection and 1 4-way and 1 8-way up to the player 2 connection (I know there isn't literally a player 1 and player 2 connection; but hopefully you understand what I mean) simultaneously--2 joysticks on one connection for each player)? If not, will it be a problem to hook the 4 up to an I-PAC4 and have it recognize positions 3 and 4 as players 1 and 2 (I'm guessing this just depends on how you map the buttons through the software)?

3) My other concern was how badly I'm limiting myself by just having a 4-way and an 8-way on the short and long ends, respectively...like I said, I want the real deal in terms of feel (man that had a beat..), so I don't see a viable alternative to the 4-way on the short ends of the cab due to space restrictions...but what do you think about putting a 4-way AND an 8-way on the long ends (assuming my last question in number 2 up there about being able to use multiple simultaneous connections is possible)? I don't know how common 4-way horizontal games are, though, in order to determine if it's even worth using up the valuable space.

If you can think of a better CP config considering my hopes and dreams I'd like to hear all about it...and uh, if you could follow all that you should get a medal...but I don't have any to give. How about thanks in advance for the help!

~Rach

[jakejake28]

2) Technically, this table is for 2 players but there are 4 joysticks. Is it possible to hook this up to an I-PAC2 since it's only two players (i.e. hook 1 4-way and 1 8-way up to the player 1 connection and 1 4-way and 1 8-way up to the player 2 connection (I know there isn't literally a player 1 and player 2 connection; but hopefully you understand what I mean) simultaneously--2 joysticks on one connection for each player)? If not, will it be a problem to hook the 4 up to an I-PAC4 and have it recognize positions 3 and 4 as players 1 and 2 (I'm guessing this just depends on how you map the buttons through the software)?

3) My other concern was how badly I'm limiting myself by just having a 4-way and an 8-way on the short and long ends, respectively...like I said, I want the real deal in terms of feel (man that had a beat..), so I don't see a viable alternative to the 4-way on the short ends of the cab due to space restrictions...but what do you think about putting a 4-way AND an 8-way on the long ends (assuming my last question in number 2 up there about being able to use multiple simultaneous connections is possible)? I don't know how common 4-way horizontal games are, though, in order to determine if it's even worth using up the valuable space.

i made my cocktail in more or les the same way... each end has a joystick and 4 buttons and the middle has 6 buttons and two joysticks. you can hook 2 inputs into each terminal (i used an ipac 2 as well), just buy a lot of wire: controls will be on 3 sides. to solve the problem about the 4 vs 8 way joysticks, i used j-sticks from ultimarc. i can switch both end's joys from 8 to 4 way (real 4-way, with blocked diagonals) in arund 1 minute. used them on the side panel as well, they are great for fighters, imho.

[paigeoliver]

You don't need more than 2 buttons for a vertical 4-way setup. I have a dedicated 4-way vertical Mame cabinet, and it only needed two buttons. Some of the vertical 8-way games however do use 3 buttons

You can wire the joysticks/buttons on the horizontal side to the same inputs as the ones on the vertical sides.

For maximum play you can put both a 4-way and an 8-way in each playing position. It only takes an extra 2" to do so. You just install the 4-way and 8 way right next to each other with the bases almost touching.

Like this on each vertical side.

4way,8way,3 buttons

Like this on the horizontal side.

4way,8way,6buttons ----- 4way,8way,6buttons.

That setup will play ALMOST every joystick game with both the correct sticks and the correct orientation. The only games it wouldn't play right are the dualjoy vertical games like Black Widow and Mars.

All of that could be wired to a single standard Ipac (with a total of 4 joysticks for player 1, and 4 joysticks for player 2).

[danamulder42]

Wow, thanks for the awesome replies jakejake28 and paigeoliver...you really cleared things up for me, and now I feel a lot better about pursuing the entire plan.

paigeoliver, I was considering what you said before I posted last night, with using both a 4- and 8-way in all 4 positions. I assume when you say they can all be hooked up to a standard IPAC, you mean the IPAC2? If the joysticks are so close together, though, is my hand always going to be hitting the other one that's not in use? That would be a problem both in terms of my movement on screen (say I'm using the one joy, accidentally hit the other, and move in some weird direction) and might make gameplay uncomfortable (since I'd feel myself hitting it all the time). Also, are the buttons going to be cramped against the side of the CP with so much stuff on there (especially for the short ends)?

It does sound like an awesome setup capable of doing exactly what I want (and thanks for the input about game playability with the different joysticks/# of buttons), but I don't want to sacrifice gameplay and comfort for versatility. Thanks in advance!

~Rach

[EndTwist]

Um...was this suddenly your thread, dana? No, it wasn't.


It was mine, and I'd like to thank everyone for their responses. I am going to make & post a new layout soon.

[Sprucemoose]

Easy Tiger

[AlanS17]

Um...was this suddenly your thread, dana? No, it wasn't.

Be nice, EndTwist. You don't get your "Rudeness License" until your post count hits 1000.   j/k

Seriously, though. She's a new member and she may not know if you're joking or not.

[Luxury]

please forgive my ignorance:

but why do you need both player starts on the same side?  I assume since its a cocktail - player 1 is on one side, and player 2 is on the other.  why not have the pl 2 start on the player 2 side?  

[AlanS17]

That's how original Pac cocktail machines are configured. You're taking turns, anyways. Plus there is no continuing. So either way you can't use the player 2 side without player one's consent. I guess it prevents someone from trying to jump in on your game without permission or something. Other than that, I dont' know.

[danamulder42]

Yeah, sorry to invade your space.. I thought that it was an appropriate spot...seems to me that a common trend on boards for people build off of each other. Maybe I'm wrong. Anyways..good luck with your project.

[EndTwist]

Sorry about that, shouldn't have gotten so weird about you posting like that. You are right that it is a common trend to build off of each other. It's good, you're learning from other peoples posts, that's what's supposed to happen.

Anyways, like I said, I'll have a new layout soon.

[danamulder42]

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[EndTwist]

I made 3 more layouts. Which one is best?

Layout Prototype 2A
Layout Prototype 2B
Layout Prototype 2C

Also, I figured some people might be able to use the control images I made: CP Layout Images
The zip contains:
- The button image
- The joystick image
- The background grid pattern

No credit is necessary, its free to use for whatever purpose.

[Nailz]

I think 2A is the way to go if you want 4 buttons (didn't I suggest that earlier?    )

If you have decided you only want 2 buttons then 2B would be the way to go.  Either way they both look fine.

[EndTwist]

I'm really not 100% sure, but I'm leaning toward 4 buttons. If anyone can convince me otherwise -- go ahead!