How many buttons do I need?

[Mruvek]

Hi, how do I design my control panel? I only know want it for 1 player. How do i know how many buttons i need and where?

[BadMouth]

Type "how many buttons" in the search box.

[jammin0]

If you want to play most of the games then I would recommend:

6 player buttons
1 coin button
1 start button
1 exit button

[PL1]

If you want to play most of the games then I would recommend:

6 player buttons
1 coin button
1 start button
1 exit button

+1

  Other options include:
Pause
Menu (Avoid this if you have kids or friends that like to fiddle with settings)


Scott

[Mruvek]

If you want to play most of the games then I would recommend:

6 player buttons
1 coin button
1 start button
1 exit button

Start and exit  to start and exit game, or whole cabinet ?

And my PC have Duron 900mhz, Radeon 9200 and 256mb ram. Is it enough to play simple games (I mean i don't want to emulate PS1 or N64)?

[lilshawn]

If you want to play most of the games then I would recommend:

6 player buttons
1 coin button
1 start button
1 exit button

Start and exit  to start and exit game, or whole cabinet ?

And my PC have Duron 900mhz, Radeon 9200 and 256mb ram. Is it enough to play simple games (I mean i don't want to emulate PS1 or N64)?

if you go with an older version of mame, you won't need a huge system to play most of the games. the later releases need more horsepower.

[Mruvek]

I downloaded newest Hyperspin, but it don't works well... so what should i choose to play classic arcade games on this old machine?

[jammin0]

If you want to play most of the games then I would recommend:

6 player buttons
1 coin button
1 start button
1 exit button

Start and exit  to start and exit game, or whole cabinet ?

And my PC have Duron 900mhz, Radeon 9200 and 256mb ram. Is it enough to play simple games (I mean i don't want to emulate PS1 or N64)?

You'll also need a power button to turn on and off the machine.  Most people use a momentary push button (like an arcade button).  From XP and on I believe, one push of the power button will shutdown Windows.  In addition you need a P1 Start button and an Exit button that is like the escape key and gets you out of Mame and back to your frontend.

Hyperspin has a lot going on with it.  You should check out the MaLa Frontend forum at the top of the page.  It might be a little bit harder to setup then hyperspin but they are all sort of equally hard in my opinion.

[Javy3]

I downloaded newest Hyperspin, but it don't works well... so what should i choose to play classic arcade games on this old machine?

No, I have a crappy old computer and it plays plenty of arcade games for MAME new and old, NES-Genesis and even a PSX emulator just fine.  The problem is that Hyperspin actually is pretty taxing on the computer as a front end.  My PC was slow with Hyperspin so I chose Mala as the frontend and am quite content.

Hyperspin running slow does not represent how fast your emulators and games will run.

[PL1]

Start and exit  to start and exit game, or whole cabinet ?

Start/exit for game -- Default keystrokes "1" and "Esc" in MAME.

You may also want a power button for booting up/shutting down.

What type of build do you have in mind?

A standalone portable control panel/fightstick, a full-size cab build, a bartop?

The best choice for buttons can change depending on the nature of the project.


Scott

[Javy3]

Hi, how do I design my control panel? I only know want it for 1 player. How do i know how many buttons i need and where?

I am wondering why you are deciding to make a control panel if you don't know how many buttons you want or need and are not sure about the layout.  The only reason to make your own personal control panel is because you want something that isn't available for purchase, want something custom etc. 

Since you don't seem to have a preference I would recommend just getting a standard X-arcade stick.  I know you said you only want one controller but you will regret that later, trust me, there is nothing more boring/dissapointing then watching someone play a fun arcade classic like Alien vs Predator and not being able to jump in and play even though the game allows it. 

If you want a single player experience get one of the many handheld devices that are open to emulation, like Dingoo or Game Park X. 

[Mruvek]

I just want to build my own bartop arcade. Old PC + LCD monitor + control panel. 1player control panel, but option to plug in usb gamepad for 2nd gamer. I don't want to play much old games - just to 'have it'. More fun to build complete working machine that to use it.

[Player 3]

If you want to play most of the games then I would recommend:

6 player buttons
1 coin button
1 start button
1 exit button

+1

  Other options include:
Pause
Menu (Avoid this if you have kids or friends that like to fiddle with settings)


Scott

You could save button room by using a single additional button for SHIFT functions, like SHIFT + (primary/A button) to pause the game, as unarcadey as that is, SHIFT + (secondary/B) to quit to ROM menu, SHIFT + (coin) to access the MAME menu (like TAB), and SHIFT + (start) to reset the game. Of course, this layout was intended for a two-button cabinet, so results may vary.

[jimmer]

You first have to decide what games you want to play, and how authentic you want the controls to be.

eg Robotron uses 2 joysticks, and once you've got 2 joysticks you might as well have two sets of buttons, and so before you know it you have a 2 player panel

my multi-williams panel has 3 joysticks and is mainly aimed at one player (but it will also do 2 player for any game that used a joystick with one or 2 buttons ) http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,129721.0.html