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Raising Awareness of Japanese Parts and Button Layouts

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Le Chuck:

I use a curved layout (the one pictured as a 6 actually) and love it, but I don't and never have hit the buttons like I type so I really don't think they keyboard analogy will hold water for everybody.  Besides, straight line keyboards are ergonomic nightmares meant to fit as many keys as possible into a useable space... not unlike some of the panels I see here from time to time.  ;D
 
When I play using a curved 6 button, or even a curved (offset) 2 button layout my right thump and pinky are anchored on the panel and my fingers lay flat on the buttons.  I am pushing the buttons with the finger pads not the finger tips.  I personally like this and find it reduces fatigue.  I'll knuckle up for track-n-field but other than that I haven't found a game that I can recall in which I need to change my hand position to improve play.      

Candy cabs are harder for the novice to build (lots fun curves) and that is why you don't see as many IMHO... oh and have you ever made a full candy out of MDF, sonnofabitch that sucker gets heavy when you start double and triple layering wood for those curved panels.

As for the sticks, I was under the impression that a lot of the sticks carried by RandyT and Andy were jap in origin but with minor or sometimes zero modifications.  Isn't the Omni2 a japstick at heart?    

BadMouth:

Love my JLFs.
Just had to replace the spring with a stiffer one from a Seimitsu,
the switches with quieter zippys,
and the balltop with some smoother HandCandy from grooveygamegear.  :lol

Currently using round restrictors.  The octagons are good for training, you definitely always know where the stick is.

I read somewhere that the Japanese "pro" players never hit the restrictor.
They move the stick just far enough to trip the switches so they can transition faster.

The discussion about curved layouts makes me wonder if they also keep their hands flat instead of arched.  ???

ahofle:


--- Quote from: BadMouth on March 14, 2012, 09:34:22 am ---Love my JLFs.
Just had to replace the spring with a stiffer one from a Seimitsu,
the switches with quieter zippys,

--- End quote ---

I think that's exactly what I need to do.  My JLFs feel sloppy especially since I added the shaft extenders to them.  Where did you get your stiffer springs?
Oh, and FWIW, I used this layout (minus the two buttons on the far right) on my recent cocktail build.  It's nice, but I don't think it's a huge difference in terms of comfort or ergonomics.  Most shooters only have two buttons anyway.  I guess if you only play fighters it might be a big help in the long run.



Jack Burton:


--- Quote from: Xiaou2 on March 14, 2012, 12:05:36 am ---The generic plastic cabinets of Japan are just that... Generic Crap.

 They are made to be light, easy to move, easy to swap kits in and out of.
 The monitors are too large, and too close..  and the control panels are too small for good comfort.
 The raised buttons (convex) are horrible feeling.
 The joysticks are nothing special.
 
 But the worst... is the curved button layouts.

 Its completely Wrong to say that just because your hand shape is curved, that button arrangement should also be curved.   Your hand is only curved when its lying down FLAT!  When you are pressing buttons, your fingers are raised and bent... and so they form a STRAIGHT LINE!
Which is exactly why almost ALL keyboards have perfectly straight lines of keys.

 The curved layout was probably a means to try to save control panel space.. and or to make it look more interesting to the eye.  However, with a curved layout, you tend to hit the button edges more so than the actual center of the button.  This creates a bad feeling, and doesnt always fully depress the switch.

 The modern Japanese cabinets are not the true arcade experience.  They were a Generic creation of cost cutting, and space savings.  Made well after the true arcade days... they do not have the same spirit, comfort, looks, nor control.

--- End quote ---

Those generic plastic cabinets are one of the reasons the arcade industry in Japan is thriving to this day.  Some of them are made of metal btw.  

You're just so full of  :censored: and self-righteous it's amazing.  

I've played SF for years at the highest levels.  I started out with a MAS systems Super Pro Stick with a happ ultimate stick.  That was crap.  Then  I switched to an x-cade super knockoff.  That was a little better.  Then I used an IL sourced competition stick in it.  That was pretty good.  

Then, just as the japanese control craze started in the US I was an early adopter and tried out a Sanwa JLF plus Sanwa convex 30mm pushbuttons.  I built my own case to house them in and used the exact layout off of the 1st player side of an astro cab.  

I've never looked back.  It's by far the best hardware and layout for competitive fighting games, and that's why it has risen to be the standard for tournament play.  

Each year in Columbus, OH they host the Season's Beatings fighting game tournament.  And each year there is a Super Street Fighter II tournament.  The entry fee is $50.  The very best players from all around the country come there to play.

Do you know what controls they use?  Japanese in a Japanese cabinet with a Japanese layout.  These guys are killers.  They all have literally thousands of hours logged into these games. They take every advantage they can to improve their gameplay.  If there were anything inferior about these controls they would have hammered out the differences a long time ago.  

I love wooden cabinets, I love MAME.  I love this site.  And I know most of you guys have a much more even-minded point of view.   So I'm sorry if this sounds harsh.  But in the -true- (hate that term) arcade scene these days, it' s Japan or nothing.  

eds1275:

I grew up with straight button layouts, and am not a pro gamer. I think that while the curves may or may not be ergonomic, the straight layout feels right to me so that's what I'm going to use, no matter what sort of medical science papers and hand curvature graphs you may post.  :P

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