6 or 7 buttons, how many buttons total?

[Richard_Nixon]

Hey guys, a newbie here with a few questions.

I've just about finished designing my cabin-err, coffee table desguised mame machine. And I'm in need of some design advice.

What would you guys say is the right amount of action buttons to use? 6?,7?,is 8 overkill?
I'm looking to play the regular arcade fare, and some NES-SNES-GENISIS games thrown in as well.
I see many cabs with 6, I see many with 7. Is that extra thumb button worth the work? Any use for an 8th?

Also to the veterans that might read this post, what is an ideal curve to put on those buttons? In my CAD drawing I have them curved on a 7" diameter circle. It seems alright on my printout, but is there an ideal diameter?

Besides the action buttons, Player 1, Player 2 and maybe a shift button for each player. What would you guys say is a standard amount? (I won't be installing a trackball or spinner)

Thanks guys, awsome, very informative site BTW. 

[nitz]

What would you guys say is the right amount of action buttons to use? 6?,7?,is 8 overkill?

8 is definitely overkill for what you're looking to play. Nothing in mame worth playing uses more than 6 buttons, unless you like mahjong and quiz type games.

I would say the standard amount of buttons is 6. The only real reason to have 7 is if you're planning on playing some later generation consoles (doesn't sound like you are) or want the thumb button. Are you really into Neo Geo games? Do you think you would like a thumb button for running in Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3? If you answered no to both those questions, you probably don't need the 7th button.

I have no experience with curved button layouts, so will let someone else answer that one.

Welcome to the forum.

[Dawgz Rule]

Ditto.   The seven button layout is nice if you are going to play Neo-Geo games.  Here is a good link that discusses button layout:

http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/layout.html

[Malenko]

I like the "thumb button" not only for neogeo/run in MK but I use the ABC of the neogeo layout as the regular action buttons (like turbo, pass, and shoot in NBA Jam)

[Richard_Nixon]

Ditto.   The seven button layout is nice if you are going to play Neo-Geo games.  Here is a good link that discusses button layout:

http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/layout.html

Great link, has good mesurements of curved layouts as well. Thanks.

Looks like I'll be going with lucky number 7. 

[DaveMMR]

Ditto.   The seven button layout is nice if you are going to play Neo-Geo games.  Here is a good link that discusses button layout:

http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/layout.html

To add to that, 7 buttons are good if you play a lot of Neo-Geo fighters. A lot of the non-fighting Neo-Geo games (e.g. Metal Slug) used 3 or less buttons and are easily handled on a single row.

I'm only saying that in case you're hurting for space and fighting games are not a top priority.  Nothing wrong with "future proofing" and adding the seventh button if you have the space.
 

[eds1275]

I prefer the 7 buttons, even for one or two button games I like having the bottom row including the so called "thumb button" for my main action buttons. The little curve down there is very comfortable, and then of course if you need 5+ buttons you just go to the top. Plus the neo-geo layout is there albeit not entirely accurate but close enough for an all-in-one type of game, and the street fighter, tekken, and MK layouts are all right there too.

[Vigo]

To clarify, you don't need 7 buttons for most arcade fighters, but if you are a purist about the layout of fighter controls, or just want a more ergonomic layout for playing fighters better, 7 buttons is really helpful. It lays out the buttons so that you don't need to constantly jump between buttons when playing.