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Quad Control Panel Layout Feedback
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BadMouth:

--- Quote from: zanna5910 on July 22, 2013, 01:57:35 pm ---IMO, Your outside (P3/P4) should be appropriately angled for screen viewing and the angle of your CP, not straight on. 
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I'd disagree with that.  They look good to me.  Joysticks should remain parallel to the screen, not angled.

The only thing I would change is having 8 buttons for player 1 and 2.
No arcade game will use more than 6. 
Playing a console game that used that many buttons could get confusing.

So, I'm pretty much just restating what Drnick said.  :lol
Xiaou2:

--- Quote ---MO, Your outside (P3/P4) should be appropriately angled for screen viewing and the angle of your CP, not straight on.
--- End quote ---

 Bad information.  Dont follow.

A for the rest...   some things to consider...

 If you plan to use the trackball for arcade use... you will need about a 8 to 12 inch diameter of free space.   As it stands, your hand would crash into the nearest joystick pretty easily, with a good spin.    Buttons are not a problem, because they are low enough, and the hand usually arcs up as it follows through.

 4 players - Make a cardboard mock up and have a few people stand at the controls.  Make sure theres enough arm / elbow space.. as usually, peoples forearms flare out to a minimum of their body width.. but usually a slight more.


 Visibility of the monitor for 4 players is not dependent on player angle.  Its how far the monitor is from the player.  So make sure to mount the monitor far enough away to give optimal viewing for everyone.   Some cabs tilt the monitor back at a higher degree than others, to attain the needed distance.
(those cabs usually do not have  'blinder'  side-walls... as that would block the point of sight on side players)

 Angling sticks causes problems... because unlike a handheld controller.. you cant feel which way is Up on a mounted joystick.   And... even from a side stance... your brain often thinks  UP  is  vertical relative to the monitors position, rather than their position.   Out of all arcade 4 player set ups, there are very few that angled their sticks.  Most all of them are parallel to the monitor.  Its merely the buttons that are angled, due to angled stance and thus altered hand position.
zanna5910:

--- Quote from: zanna5910 on July 22, 2013, 01:57:35 pm ---IMO, Your outside (P3/P4) should be appropriately angled for screen viewing and the angle of your CP, not straight on.  You probably dont need all those admin buttons.

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Guess it depends on scale of actual CP size to those that disagree.  If the CP is wide, then it doesn't matter, if its really small, maybe angling slightly gives you more room.  I'm not talking anything dramatic like the simpsons cab....  Guess no one else wants it angled... ignore it.  That design just looked a little tight to me.
severdhed:
i think it really depends on what you want to play, but if mame only, ditch the 7th and 8th button.  also, i have found that admin buttons seem like a good idea, but generally are not.  you are the only one who will be using them, and once the cabinet is set up, you only really need pause and exit....all the admin stuff can be handled with a hidden/removable keyboard.  if the buttons are there, people will mess with them.  personally i like to move the coin buttons off the control panel, to the edge of the box below the panel, which not only eliminates panel clutter, but simulates reaching down to insert a coin.   

i think it looks like a good layout though
DaveMMR:

--- Quote from: zanna5910 on July 22, 2013, 05:22:35 pm ---Guess it depends on scale of actual CP size to those that disagree.  If the CP is wide, then it doesn't matter, if its really small, maybe angling slightly gives you more room.  I'm not talking anything dramatic like the simpsons cab....  Guess no one else wants it angled... ignore it.  That design just looked a little tight to me.

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This has been discussed to death but real 4-player cabinets were not typically all that wide. Take Gauntlet - you actually could work the joystick from the side - or any - standing position since the stick itself followed the "universal up" direction. Angling dictates a very specific place to stand which actually works against the space-saving theory.

That being said, I think the panel looks pretty decent - just lose those admin buttons. All of them (maybe keep EXIT, maybe PAUSE...) You're just asking for people to screw up your settings having those out in the open. Keep a keyboard handy for those one or two tweaks every now and again.
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