4 player control panels ?

[Wade]

Related to the other thread... I believe that everyone has their own purpose and what they want to do with their own stuff is fine by me...  that said...

I can understand making a 4 player panel.  The thing I don't understand is making a 4 player panel with 6 or more buttons for each player.

All the 4-player games I can think of offhand only use 1 or 2 buttons.  Are there 4 player games that actually use 6 buttons?

One other question.  On the 4 player CP's that have the outer joysticks angled.  Doesn't this pretty much screw up most of the games?  It would make TMNT, Simpsons, and Gauntlet not play correctly (pulling the joystick in a specific direction would make the player move in the wrong direction).  I understand the controls can be remapped, but wouldn't it be easier/better to keep the joystock oriented properly, since the outer controls are likely only going to be used for these games anyway?

Wade

[hooded_paladin]

if the outer joysticks have more than four buttons, it's either a mistake or a use other than MAME, like other emulators that tend to have more buttons.

On the outer joysticks angled question, people angle the joysticks because they angle the sides in to give people elbow room while still keeping a small sized panel.  Typically, someone looking at the screen interprets it as a flat pane pointing at them, even though in perspective it's really kind of crooked.  Then, most of the time they'll push up, ie away from their body, to move up.  It works.

[TalkingOctopus]

Go check out some real 4 player cabs!  Maybe that will alleviate some confusion.
Some 4 player games need 4 buttons, (Capcom's Dungeons and Dragons comes to mind).

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=S&game_id=9550
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=T&game_id=10052

[Inaba]

I have 6 buttons on my 3 and 4 player sticks because I sometimes use 3 and 4 as 1 & 2 for certain games.

I could probably get away with less buttons, but there really wasn't a reason to, and it gives the panel some symmetry to have 6 in each slot.

[Silverwind]

It is true that most games use two, or maybe three buttons.  Some games as mentioned above do use more than the standard buttons.

I did my control panel 4 players with six buttons per player.  Mainly so that it looks nice and symettrical.  Also it gives way to the ability to use player 1 and 2 on the outsides, if you are using large stools that may be too crowded to sit in the middle.  Some consoles support four players and use 3 buttons or more per player also.

I figure, how much is it per button, a couple of bucks??  You are spending a decent chunk of change if your building an entire cab.. why cheap out on a couple of buttons.. it does not hurt to add them right?  Takes two minutes to drill a couple of extra holes..

[Howard_Casto]

It is true that most games use two, or maybe three buttons.  Some games as mentioned above do use more than the standard buttons.

I did my control panel 4 players with six buttons per player.  Mainly so that it looks nice and symettrical.  Also it gives way to the ability to use player 1 and 2 on the outsides, if you are using large stools that may be too crowded to sit in the middle.  Some consoles support four players and use 3 buttons or more per player also.

I figure, how much is it per button, a couple of bucks??  You are spending a decent chunk of change if your building an entire cab.. why cheap out on a couple of buttons.. it does not hurt to add them right?  Takes two minutes to drill a couple of extra holes..

It's not a matter of money, it's a matter of 6 buttons for every player looking crowded and 3 or 4 buttons for player 3/4 not.

[Inaba]

It's not a matter of money, it's a matter of 6 buttons for every player looking crowded and 3 or 4 buttons for player 3/4 not.

So once again, we have a personal opinion.  In my opinion, and I dare say I've probably had more arcade experience than you, 3 and 4 buttons on players 3 and 4 looks stupid... exceedingly so.  And as has been mentioned, if you want to use 3 / 4 as 1 and 2... what are you going to do when you're short on buttons.

Sorry, but no... once again, you try to foist your own closeted opinions off as fact or the "right" way to do things, when they are no such thing... You're opinion is fine, state it all you want, but don't try to foist it off as being the word of god or some such, because it isn't even close.

[unclet]

I spent a lot of time building my cab and I have 6 buttons for 3/4 player and 7 buttons for 1/2 players.  I wanted to make sure it functions correctly for any future game releases.  This includes any "PC" non-Mame games which can be played by 4 players at one time which might need more than 3 or 4 buttons.

Also, different players like to use different button layouts, so if you have more buttons, the player can choose which buttons to use while playing a game.