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noob joystick/encoder question

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SammyLJ:

Hey everyone
long ago I used emulators to play my favorite nes games on my pc but I had never thought of building my own cabinet. I stumbled upon this website while searching for info about an arcade auction in my area. Now that I have the space and funds I have decided to build my own mame cabinet. I have pretty much figured it all out but I do have a few lingering questions.
My plan is to build a 4 player cabinet with a trackball. My friends are over often and the 4 player games i used to play in the arcade appeal to me like tmnt, xmen, simpsons etc. The trackball is specifically for Golden Tee. Player one and two will have 6 buttons for Marvel vs capcom, players 3 and 4 will have 4 buttons. The trackball will have the 3 Golden Tee buttons. My CP will have the 4 start buttons but what else do I need to navigate the front end?

Does a 4/8 switch joystick have 4 micro switches or 8?

how many encoders will I need, will one do everything I need?

I would like to have a coin door that accepts tokens as credits, I assume these connect to 2 switches which in turn connect to the encoder. Is this correct? How difficult is this to do or can i just buy a setup that takes the tokens?

thanks for all the help, I have enjoyed reading the forum for the last few weeks to gather all my info

BadMouth:

Either joystick has 4 switches, but an 8-way is allowed to trip 2 of them at once when pushed into a corner.

Advice for newbs building 4-player CPs:

There are no 4 player games in MAME that use more than 3 buttons, so it's pointless to have more than 3 buttons for players 3 and 4 unless you plan to use them for console emulators (N64 or Dreamcast).  The only arcade game that is an exception is Guilty Gear Isuka, but it's not playable in MAME (it is on Demul).

Nearly all 4 player arcade games had the sticks of player 3 and 4 oriented so that "UP" was toward the monitor.
In other words, you wouldn't push up in relation to your body, but in relation to your character.
This sounds screwy, but most people intuitively move the joystick like this and get confused when it's not done this way.
Notice where "UP" is on this joystick even though the player stands on the side:


Sometimes you can squeak by with encoders that handle less inputs, but for something like this, why risk it?
You might want to add more buttons later.
I'd recommend something like a LONO (72 Inputs)

https://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/en/search?orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=lono

or I-PAC 4 (56 Inputs)

http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html

EDIT: Just to clarify, you'll also need a separate interface for the Trackball (or buy one that's USB).

BadMouth:


--- Quote from: SammyLJ on May 10, 2012, 02:13:21 pm ---Player one and two will have 6 buttons for Marvel vs capcom, players 3 and 4 will have 4 buttons. The trackball will have the 3 Golden Tee buttons. My CP will have the 4 start buttons but what else do I need to navigate the front end?

--- End quote ---

I'm fairly sure that the Golden Tee games that are playable in MAME are too old to have the backspin button if that's the 3rd button you're referring to.
If it's the Start button you are referring to, just use player 1 start.  
Some might knock you for having the left/right buttons when you could use other buttons on the CP, but I'd prefer having them, especially since you're adding a trackball specifically for that game.  I think flush mount triangular buttons would be cool for there, but it's your CP.

You don't really need anything else to navigate the front end.  The joystick and buttons you're using for the games can do that.
 I like having an exit button and that's about it.  Some people like having pause.


--- Quote from: SammyLJ on May 10, 2012, 02:13:21 pm ---I would like to have a coin door that accepts tokens as credits, I assume these connect to 2 switches which in turn connect to the encoder. Is this correct? How difficult is this to do or can i just buy a setup that takes the tokens?

--- End quote ---

You can buy a coin door with coin mechs installed and just hook your encoder up to the switches already in it.
Player 3 and 4 will need coin input also, so you'll either need to buy a 4 player coin door or add a credit button for those players.
The most common method is to put a credit button next to each player's start button instead of spending money on a coin door.
It's up to you and your budget.

BobA:

A 4/8 way switch joystick uses just 4 switches.

SammyLJ:

thanks for the great info guys!
After a little searching, your right, no backspin button needed since i cannot find a new enough rom. I think I will leave room for one in the future.

any thoughts on the led buttons? I like the feel of the classic one but I like the look of the lit up ones... how do they play?

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