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BritInVA's Project Arcade II attempt :)
britinva:
--- Quote from: mgb on February 07, 2011, 11:20:45 am ---You should also give atomic fe a shot. I found it to be pretty easy for a basic setup.
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Thats my plan for this evening :)
For now I just want to see what some of the classis from my youth look/work....... can always change later.
Also any tips for best configuration of video card, the one I have is ATI RADEON 9200 and using the s-video to TV (25" Sony) and VGA to a monitor (while setting things up - easier on the eye). Should I use 640x480 or 1024x768? Assume Refresh Rate = 60Hx and 16bit colour? Anything else I shold do?
emphatic:
Some people go crazy with the control panels. :dizzy: You don't need to put 20 buttons on there just because you can. If you go with 2 players (best for a MAME cabinet IMHO) I'd do this:
Players have 1 joystick and 6 buttons + start button each. That's all you need to play most games (if you don't like fighting games you will only need 3 buttons for each player).
You can map the start buttons to act as shift buttons. For example you can use this to enable frontend controls such as exit the current game (hold Player 1 start and press fire button #6). Or for "inserting coins" (hold Player 1 start and press fire button #2). Instead of cluttering up the control panel with buttons that you use 1% of the time add a nice instruction sheet, or cleverly include button instructions in your CPO.
Most multiplayer games (2+ players) are available as 2-player only versions. Like Gauntlet or TMNT for example. This way you won't need 4 different coin buttons or 4 stick setups to enable all playable characters should that be important to you.
This will leave you with more room should you want to throw a spinner or a trackball into the mix.
Donkbaca:
I agree with keeping the buttons at a minimum, but I don't like shift buttons. You can get away with 6, but I think 7 is better if you like neo geo games a lot, or are a fan of MK3, because the 7th button allows the 4 buttons in a row setup for neo geo and is also where the run button would be for MK games.
I think you should have coin buttons, start buttons, and one button to exit back to the FE. That's all you need. Shift buttons confuse people, and who reads instructions?
emphatic:
--- Quote from: Donkbaca on February 07, 2011, 12:40:54 pm ---I agree with keeping the buttons at a minimum, but I don't like shift buttons. You can get away with 6, but I think 7 is better if you like neo geo games a lot, or are a fan of MK3, because the 7th button allows the 4 buttons in a row setup for neo geo and is also where the run button would be for MK games.
I think you should have coin buttons, start buttons, and one button to exit back to the FE. That's all you need. Shift buttons confuse people, and who reads instructions?
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How about this:
The colors are for NEO-GEO games and the numbers are for everything else. :lol
I don't have a MAME cabinet, so I have no warm fuzzy feelings for cabinets with more than 6 buttons (as that's the maximum a REAL cabinet use). I sometimes plug a computer into one of my JAMMA cabinets and shifted buttons is all you need to play all digitally controlled games and use a frontend. I don't even need a keyboard as my frontend (GameEx) can turn off the computer even.
britinva:
Thanks - this is all realy helpful.
One question is it possible to play games just with the keyboard (for testing) or is the joystick a must? I'm thinking things like Asteroids, PacMan etc.
If need a joystick I'd better start planning, ordering and creating a mockup control panel now rather than later in the build.