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Cabinet Design Help
ninjawhiteboy12:
Hey guys, I'm trying to design my cabinet and can't decide on what the control panel should consist of. I am looking to create a 4 player all around MAME that can play as many games as possible short of having a cluttered control panel with unnecessary controls. I spent about two hours looking through the control panel database and saw a number of different configurations using 6...7...8 buttons for players one and two and 4 or 6 for players three and four. I am also debating wither to incorporate a trackball and a spinner into the layout or not. What are your thoughts on more/less buttons on the different players and on the need for a spinner or trackball. Also, with the added number of controls how are the interface requirements affected?
Here are some images of control panels that caught my eye, even though I'm not completely sure what some of the controls are used for.
Any help is much appreciated, Thanks.
MTPPC:
I think the consensus is 6 buttons for players 1 and 2 and 3 buttons for players 3 and 4. A track ball with plenty of topside clearance is great for golf/bowling and a single 4 way is great for pacman. Try to limit the admin buttons and probably use an I-Pac4 or two of degentron's diy keyboard encoders for the interface: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,120362.0.html
And don't forget to keep all the joysticks oriented the same (including P3 and P4).
ninjawhiteboy12:
That's what I thought at first, but after seeing panels with 7 or 8 buttons I got confused. Do some of those buttons serve non game play purposes or are they only used on a select few games? Also I had planned to use Ultrimarc Ultrastik 360 sticks for the 1st and 2nd players and since they can be used as 4 way, 8 way or as an analog stick. That would serve the same purpose as the singe 4 way stick correct?
Thanks for the response.
SigmaX:
--- Quote from: MTPPC on September 06, 2012, 01:56:34 am --- 3 buttons for players 3 and 4.
--- End quote ---
I was under the impression that most CPs had 4 buttons for players 3 and 4.
I'm very new here so I can't say I know a lot, but I believe Dungeons & Dragons uses 4 buttons for 4 players.
Le Chuck:
Folks will put more than three buttons on P3&P4 because they think they are going to have marathon sessions of smash bros with 4 peeps or mega console game tourneys on their cab. Neither of these really ever happens. (insert guy who does and feels the need to defend his build)
7 is popular for P1&P2 so you can get the stock NeoGeo layout and a slightly better layout for MK. 6 works just as well IMO but I do like the four across, it's just not necessary for me.
A lot of your examples are not what I would consider to be great CPs, at least with respect to the cab they are stuck on. 1 & 6 (#'d from top to bottom) are nice. Some of the others were really versatile in their day but are somewhat dated now due to advances is available controls (ie auto rotating joysticks, wireless hot-swappable trigger sticks, easily done rotatable mods...). I would argue that there really isn't a need anymore for a separate 4 way stick on a panel like these, or even a dedicated TRON stick. If you're a die hard Wico player you probably want a dedicated cabinet closer to what all the early/mid 80s games where on anyway.
You want a great example of a very versatile CP, check out TopJimmyCook's Switchcade. That is versatile done right. Whatever you decide mock it up in cardboard first, spend some time playing with it before you commit. Oh, and welcome!