Building machine, question about controls

[jonathanlundstrom]

Hello everyone!

I'm quite new to the arcade world but I'm now building an arcade machine using a Raspberry Pi running PiMAME and an iPac VE encoder.
I've purchased all the buttons and joysticks and other things that I need and once I get the parts it will be time to assemble everything.

Here is a quick mockup of my layout and the keys available: http://d.pr/i/eVFV

Now, my main question is what key I map to what port on the iPac VE. The top "PYR1 START" is meant to be a general "Start" and not a player start as found in the bottom.
The joystick, player start and coin button are self explanatory, but the rest of the buttons are not.

I suppose that the general "START" and "SELECT" should be mapped to 1A and 1B, am I right?
Then, which button (of the 8 remaining) would you suggest I map to which port on the iPac?

Thanks in advance!

Best regards,
Jonathan

[Unstupid]

Whats that button with the picture of the man next to the coin button?  Is that different than the Player 1 Start Button?

[Vigo]

Why do you plan on having more than one start button? What is the select button for? If this is just running MAME, you shouldn't need to have more than just a coin button and a single start button for a 1 player setup.

[keilmillerjr]

Move the two buttons away from under the action buttons. When you rest your wrist, you will be hitting them.

[mgb]

Not really sure why you'd want a general start besides the player 1 start.
Are the buttons below the player buttons, gonna actually be right below them or on the front of the controller?

Any reason why you are having 8 player buttons?

[jonathanlundstrom]

Hello everybody!

I'm sorry for the confusion, I was really tired when I created the topic and I now realize that it wasn't all that clear.
So let's start from the beginning. I'm building an arcade emulator inside a table with controls for two players.

My idea was to let each player have a joystick and 8 buttons (since I've seen some controls using this).
I also added a START button and a COIN button for each player.

Then I figured that maybe I needed to have START/SELECT as found on the Playstation controllers, but I realized that it might not work.
So this is my revamped layout, where you can exactly how I was thinking: http://d.pr/i/8azF.



My main concern now is that I don't know which button should be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 on the controller. What are you guys using, and what's the best layout?
Also, should I keep the two top buttons from my previous layout and connect them to the A/B for each player? Are these used?

Thanks in advance!

[PL1]

If you're only using MAME, you won't need more than 6 player buttons -- unless you want a 7-button layout for a Neo-Geo-type row of 4.

Other emulators may require more buttons -- check all desired emulators to see what they require and if you can map button combinations to functions.

You can use either dedicated admin buttons (exit, pause, enter, menu) or button combos in MAME.

Either method works in MAME, so it depends on your personal preference and whether your other emulators can use button combos for necessary functions.

Another way to support emulators that need more buttons is to use a USB feedthru like the Neutrik to plug in a gamepad.




Scott

[mgb]

I'm not positive but I think you're asking what order the buttons should be?

With a 6 button layout, you would start at the top left so your buttons would be

123
456

With 8 buttons, you can go a couple of different ways.
I would highly advise you to figure out if you really want the 8 buttons or not 

I would be careful of doing it because others have it

[Vigo]

Another way to support emulators that need more buttons is to use a USB feedthru like the Neutrik to plug in a gamepad.

Another way to go with the gamepad route is get a wireless and leave the wireless usb dongle inside your machine. Of course, if you are using a raspberry pi, I think you need a usb hub.

I'm not positive but I think you're asking what order the buttons should be?

With a 6 button layout, you would start at the top left so your buttons would be

123
456

With 8 buttons, you can go a couple of different ways.
I would highly advise you to figure out if you really want the 8 buttons or not 

I would be careful of doing it because others have it

And in essence, you can always remap the buttons to your preference. If you plugged in your wires to your ipca and don't like the order you put them in, there is no need to rewire. Just go into mame or your emulator, and change the key configuration. 

[jonathanlundstrom]

Another way to support emulators that need more buttons is to use a USB feedthru like the Neutrik to plug in a gamepad.

Thanks, I actually went ahead and ordered two of these, they might just come in handy. I have a 7 port USB-hub inside the table, but I will connect these to the hub.

[jonathanlundstrom]

I'm not positive but I think you're asking what order the buttons should be?

With a 6 button layout, you would start at the top left so your buttons would be

123
456

With 8 buttons, you can go a couple of different ways.
I would highly advise you to figure out if you really want the 8 buttons or not 

I would be careful of doing it because others have it

I see, but would it be so bad to have four buttons or would I have no need for the two extras?
Could I use this layout for example?

1 2 3 7
4 5 6 8

That way the buttons could be used, but only if the game / emulator needs them.
Am I wrong?

[mgb]

I'm not positive but I think you're asking what order the buttons should be?

With a 6 button layout, you would start at the top left so your buttons would be

123
456

With 8 buttons, you can go a couple of different ways.
I would highly advise you to figure out if you really want the 8 buttons or not 

I would be careful of doing it because others have it

I see, but would it be so bad to have four buttons or would I have no need for the two extras?
Could I use this layout for example?

1 2 3 7
4 5 6 8

That way the buttons could be used, but only if the game / emulator needs them.
Am I wrong?

yeah that would work. And you can use button 7 for neo geo so that the 4 buttons will be inline but you will need to remap all neo geo games for this button to function as the 4th button.

[jonathanlundstrom]

I'm not positive but I think you're asking what order the buttons should be?

With a 6 button layout, you would start at the top left so your buttons would be

123
456

With 8 buttons, you can go a couple of different ways.
I would highly advise you to figure out if you really want the 8 buttons or not 

I would be careful of doing it because others have it

I see, but would it be so bad to have four buttons or would I have no need for the two extras?
Could I use this layout for example?

1 2 3 7
4 5 6 8

That way the buttons could be used, but only if the game / emulator needs them.
Am I wrong?

yeah that would work. And you can use button 7 for neo geo so that the 4 buttons will be inline but you will need to remap all neo geo games for this button to function as the 4th button.

Great, thanks!
But would you recommend this layout?
Since this is my first build I'm not completely sure which layout is the best, and I highly appreciate any advice that you could give me.

[mgb]

It's a good way to have your neo geo buttons all in a row and with the 8 buttons, it'll be more even looking than a row of 4 and a row of 3.
 I may be wrong but I think the whole 8 button layout really has come about from the fighter sticks that guys use on ps2s, 3s and xboxes.

For me personally, I like the 6 button layout and I like it staggered to have a neo geo layout   

[jonathanlundstrom]

It's a good way to have your neo geo buttons all in a row and with the 8 buttons, it'll be more even looking than a row of 4 and a row of 3.
 I may be wrong but I think the whole 8 button layout really has come about from the fighter sticks that guys use on ps2s, 3s and xboxes.

For me personally, I like the 6 button layout and I like it staggered to have a neo geo layout

Hi again!

Thanks for the advice, do you have this kind of layout?
1   2   3
4   5   6

So you play Neo-Geo games like this?
1   2   3
4

Also, another question. The iPac VE controller has inputs for A and B-buttons for each player.
Are these used by any emulator, and should I include them? If so, I've included an image showing a possible position.
What do you guys think?



Thanks in advance!

[JDFan]

Also, another question. The iPac VE controller has inputs for A and B-buttons for each player.
Are these used by any emulator, and should I include them? If so, I've included an image showing a possible position.
What do you guys think?

The A and B buttons for the 2 players are just like any other button - they probably just didn't want to label them SW9 and SW10 (since most games would never use a ninth and tenth button !!) --- By default they are programmed to be the ADMIN keys in MAME ( Pause, Enter, Tab, Escape) - So if you plan on having those admin buttons in use you might as well wire them up to those inputs to save yourself a couple of steps in setting up the buttons (But as others have mentioned you can change any input to be whatever key press you want fairly simply !!) - SO doesn't really matter how you wire it up you can always go in and reset the presses to emulate whatever keypress you want in the setup program (It just makes it easier if you follow the default settings where possible so you do not have to manually enter each one since any that are wired to the default settings will just work without you having to reset the configuration. ) 

[PL1]

As specified on the the IPac keycode table, the 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B input defaults are admin functions pause, enter, menu, and exit.

You might not want the exit key where you can overshoot the top row while playing a fighter and accidently dump your game. 

Some people prefer using shifted functions (right column of the chart linked above) for the admin functions, but that has some potential downsides as well.

If you choose to do dedicated buttons, clear the shifted functions or you'll have the potential of P2 hitting start at the same time as P1 is hitting start, causing MAME to exit the game.


Scott

[michelevit]

Just use a wireless keyboard for admin functions (pause, esc, enter, reset)

Wireless keyboards are a godsend for mame cabinets.

No need for dedicated admin buttons.

[mgb]

Just use a wireless keyboard for admin functions (pause, esc, enter, reset)

Wireless keyboards are a godsend for mame cabinets.

No need for dedicated admin buttons.

While that can be done, it's not always desirable.
I don't mind using a wireless keyboard when playing console game emus on my tv but i prefer to not have to pull out my wireless keyboard for simply playing some games on the arcade cabinet.
But I guess if there is some reason that would keep you from being able to have dedicated pause and exit buttons, it would work.

 

[jonathanlundstrom]

Thanks for all the input, my build is going forward in a rapid pace now that all the questions have been answered. I'm waiting for the iPac controller, but started putting up a gallery.
Check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathanlundstrom/sets/72157633455245463/

Thanks!