slim cabinet, large control panel.

[Arc Kalocal]

I'm looking without much luck to find plans for a space saving cabinet and include a 4 player control board with 8 buttons each for newer console emulation. Does anyone know of one that fits my requirements?

[paigeoliver]

I'm looking without much luck to find plans for a space saving cabinet and include a 4 player control board with 8 buttons each for newer console emulation. Does anyone know of one that fits my requirements?

4 player with 8 buttons each and space saving are basically mutually exclusive. Sort of saying that you need a vehicle that can tow 12,000 pounds but also gets 40 miles to the gallon.

You would also have to be very careful designing something like that, as it is likely to be a flip over hazard if you don't do it right.

What 4 player game would you be playing that requires 8 buttons?

I am working on a Gauntlet at the moment, but I don't entertain the fantasy that it will ever see much 4 player action. I have owned a lot of machines and the 4 player ones never, ever, ever fill up. People don't like squishing in like that and to avoid the squish factor they have to be HUGE.

[yotsuya]

I'm with Paige. Just build a regular 2 player slim cabinet for the arcade stuff, but add USB ports for controllers for the console games. You'll be much happier in the long run.

[Arc Kalocal]

I probably wont need all 8 buttons, but I figured better safe than sorry with console emulation. I did consider the issue of balance and that was my main reason for asking before building. Im definitely going the 4 player route as I entertain often, including lots of children. The 4 player aspect is more important to me than the slim aspect for this machine.

I'm looking to emulate up to GameCube games so I figured if space weren't an issue then there is no worry. I won't be including any additional controls on the cabinet so I figured a 4 foot wide control panel would suffice. Its just that most cabinet plans I see are humongous or minimalist. Im looking for something more along the lines of like a 2x2 foot base. Does that seem out of the question?

[paigeoliver]

A 4' wide control panel is almost off the scale humungous.  Most of your classic 4 player control panels clocked in at 28"-32" wide.

Remember that most modern consoles have analog controls and directional shoulder buttons and thus many titles do not translate well to arcade controls.

The main problem in trying to conserve depth in a 4 player cabinet is that of monitor viewing angle. Thus most 4 player machines are really deep so the guys on the side can see the screen.

[Arc Kalocal]

A 4' wide control panel is almost off the scale humungous.  Most of your classic 4 player control panels clocked in at 28"-32" wide.

Remember that most modern consoles have analog controls and directional shoulder buttons and thus many titles do not translate well to arcade controls.

The main problem in trying to conserve depth in a 4 player cabinet is that of monitor viewing angle. Thus most 4 player machines are really deep so the guys on the side can see the screen.

Definitely noted. I'm flying by the seat of my pants here as I'm really new at this and am probably going to learn a lot through the mistakes I'm about to make! Off the top of my head I'd like to play super smash bros melee on here. That's 7 unique button commands iirc. Maybe at this point I'll stick to something I know has worked for others and just be happy with it.

You guys are so smart you're making this easy for me!

[severdhed]

It is difficult to get a comfortable 4 player panel without doing a pedestal style cabinet. With a pedestal, a 4 foot panel doesn't look out of place, plus you get that extra distance from the monitor so that everyone can see well.  I'm getting ready to start building a new pedestal panel in the next week or two. I'm not doing a full showcase cabinet, just a control panel on a pedestal. It will connect to a Wall mounted LCD tv.