Looking for advice\info on CP button setup using ZD encoder.

[JDFan]

New member looking for some Sage advice from the Forum members !

Background Info :
Getting ready to start building a bartop setup using a Double Joystick, Single Player Panel to play games like  Battlezone, Robotron, Smash TV, Karate Champ, Crazy Climber, etc. as well as some use with other games and was thinking about a CP setup similar to that shown below :



But would also need to add a few more buttons for Admin functions and 1 and 2 player coin ( for use in turn based 2 player games not simultaneous - unless I decide to build a secondary CP daisy chained to a USB port added to the Front\Side panel  for 2 player simultaneous gameplay but that will be done later if done and would have it's own encoder) I currently have on hand a ZD encoder (got it for $10.99 shipped from China after VIGO announced he was not returning to sales) and the various buttons\joysticks ( purchased a 14 button, 2 joystick Happ package on Ebay ) + some misc smaller buttons from other projects that might be used due to space constraints on the Bartop CP

Was thinking about the setup of the buttons and was wondering if this would work or if there were any problems that would appear using it. and was also wondering if using a program like Joy2Key to emulate keystrokes or leaving it as joystick button input would work better.

Proposed Layout :

Joystick 1 Up - Down - Right - Left (using default connections)

P1 Buttons using a 6 button setup (Using Default connections for joystick buttons 1 - 6) 

Joystick 2 Up -Down - Right - Left (Sharing Buttons 3-6 connections with P1 buttons)
                                                  figured No 2 joystick game also used more than 2 buttons
                                                  so could share the same input for the Joystick as these
                                                  buttons to save limited inputs.

Coin 1 --  Button 7
Start 1 -- Button 8
Coin 2 --  Button 9
Start 2 -- Button 10
Pause -- Button 11
Esc -- Button 12

And Finally the Questions :

What other ADMIN buttons are needed ?

Will sharing buttons 3-6 for buttons and Joystick2 directional cause any problems ?

Will using a button set up to press both Joystick1 Up and Joystick1 Down or Joystick1 Right and Joystick1 Left simultaneously be able to be used for a couple more Admin button for those I missed ?

Should I use a dedicated ESC and Pause button or setup as Coin1 + Coin2 and Start1 and Start2 for those functions ?

The Encoder has a Mode button that could be used to allow 4 more inputs if I Add a Shift button - would that be a better use for adding missing Admin buttons (ie. Mode + Joy1Up = , or Mode + Joy1Down = a seperate input than just Joy1Up - The game controller sees the mode shift as a POV Hat instead of Joystick direction when used) ?

Any other thoughts\concerns with the setup ?

I'll most likely be building just a CP first so I can test these things on my own but was wondering if anyone had any insights they felt like sharing since they may have already tested and might have some experience with problems that could occur or how to avoid them ! Thanks in advance for reading and any replies !








 

[JDFan]

Guess no one has any experience with this encoder so will have to run some experimentation on the wiring ! Have started working on the design a bit will probably be going with a Robotron 2084 theme based on a 75% size version of Floriske.nl's "evo XR cade" Here's a quick MAX 3d model off the plans with art applied.

[Nephasth]

You don't need a Coin2 button. And Esc and Pause can be combined button presses, no need for dedicated buttons for those either.

[Vigo]

If this is just for mame, I personally wouldn't muck around with the mode function or joy2key. Mame controls are about the most configurable out there. I agree with Neph, just set up button combinations for advanced functions in Mame.

[JDFan]

Thanks for the input guys --- was thinking MAME was fairly easy to set up but wasn't sure exactly what all buttons were needed - I've gone ahead and setup a test CP and everything seems to be working well - just need to play with it some more to get it all setup properly since I'm testing on my PC and do not always have the CP plugged in which makes things mess up if I set it just for the CP joystick and buttons, since after unplugging the keyboard input is gone but finally figured out how to set it up with both inputs  after a bit of playing with it, so now it is working well but just wanted to make sure that when setting it up for the actual system that I wasn't missing something or doing something that would cause headaches later ! (guess I was overthinking things since it just seemed too easy to actually work the way it does !

Guess it is about time to get to the hardware store and pick up a bit of MDF and start cutting now that I found a design.