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As far as controller hardware goes- what else might I need?
SpatzST:
Hello everyone, I am new to arcade building, and the most daunting task to me seems to be the electronics. I plan on having a 4 person setup. I did some research and found that 6 buttons for players 1 and 2 is best, and 4 for players 3&4. I came across USB controller boards which seems simple enough, just plug the joystick and buttons into it, then in to the computer. Is it that simple?
Additionally, does the amount of buttons make sense? 4 6 6 4 with joysticks? And a player select for each person... Should I have any additional buttons?
thank you for your input
-chris
severdhed:
4-6-6-4 is a pretty standard setup for a 4 player panel. you will need start buttons for each player, plus i highly recommend a coin button for each player, as well as exit and pause buttons. sure, you can use button combos to perform those actions, but that just gets confusing for other people who use the cabinet. i like to use a single button for pause and exit...quick press pauses, hold for 3 seconds and it exits. (made possible by an autohotkey script)
SpatzST:
Thanks for the reply,
So for instance player 1 will have 6 buttons + a Player 1 button, coin button and an Exit/Pause? or is the Exit/Pause a master control for everyone?
so player 3 and 4 would have 4 buttons + player, coin?
PL1:
As previously noted here, one thing to watch for on the IPac4 default keymap is that inputs 2SW5-2SW8 (Player 2 buttons 5-8) come mapped to the same keystrokes (I, K, J, and L) as the P3 joystick directions. :dunno
If you don't change the defaults, P2 can press button 5 or 6 and move P3 up or down. :lol
I recommend reprogramming the IPac's P2 buttons 5-8 since they come undefined in MAME (no associated defaults) -- HOME, END, PAGE UP, and PAGE DOWN keys aren't used by MAME and would be good choices AFAIK.
For easiest setup, you'll probably want to define the new keys in MAME's "Input (general)" menu instead of manually configuring all of the 5 or 6 button games. :cheers:
--- Quote from: SpatzST on January 22, 2014, 01:50:23 am ---is the Exit/Pause a master control for everyone?
--- End quote ---
Yes, 1 pause and 1 exit button is usually shared by all 4 players -- be sure that the pause and exit buttons aren't too close to any coin or start buttons to avoid accidental presses during vigorous gameplay.
--- Quote from: SpatzST on January 22, 2014, 01:50:23 am ---so player 3 and 4 would have 4 buttons + player, coin?
--- End quote ---
Each player gets their own coin and start button.
Scott
uiucphoenix:
Listen to PL1 and severdhed, they know their ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---! Here is the control panel layout I went with after getting everyone's advice: