Best Control Panel Layout for Single Player Games in MAME?

[BrentRadio]

Still new to all of this so sorry for all the noob questions.

What would be the best CP layout to play the most games in MAME? I don't really do fighting games so not worried about that. And of course driving games are another story.

[D_Harris]

Well, omitting driving games, if you are a classic gamer like me you can't do better than three buttons on each side of a joystick. (And possible one below the joystick if you play a game like Asteroids).

Below is an early pic of when I had just finished gluing up a couple of CPs. (One for a joystick and one for a spinner).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

[Drnick]

To play the most games A Modular one would be best surely  

It all depends on your preference for games. The combinations are almost as many as the amount of games. 2 way, 4 way, 8 way, 49 way, joysticks Although you could have a fancy joystick that is all of those). Button layout is different per game 5 Buttons should cover you for pretty much anything other then fighters.

I would get some CPO Designer  software and play about a bit until you get a layout that suits your requirements.

Having had a quick look around on site, here is a nice looking layout.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=59359.msg1103736#msg1103736

It is the Control panel that SammyWI built. Very nice Job indeed.


Once again in my honest opinion and If I had the time, money and most importantly ability I would create a completely modular control panel

[Paul Olson]

2 8-way joysticks and 3 buttons per stick will get you playing most of the non fighters. For the classics, you would want to add a 4-way stick. It is not very fun trying to play Pacman with an 8-way stick.

If you ever want to go crazy and do the modular thing, give me a call. I have one, and I can let you know all of the pros and cons. In a nutshell: Pro - Play any game with original controls. Con - Lots of work, and you have to buy all of those controls. 100% worth it for me.

Let me know if you need any help whichever way you go on this. My suggestion would be to start with the easy one; then if you want more, expand it to modular, or make another one.