New Cabinet Questions

[matvoz]

Good evening all.  I am about to embark on my first cabinet build.  Before I get started I had a few questions I could use some help with.  I have been scouring this site for a couple of months and have gotten a lot of good information.  OK, onto my questions:

1. I want the ability to play Karate Champ, so I need 4 joysticks.  I am assuming there is some configuration somewhere to tell the software that the left joysticks are player 1 and the right joysticks are player 2.  Do I basically just set this up as a 4 player game, but only include buttons for two players?  If I am going to have 4 joysticks would it be silly to not have 3-4 buttons for the player 3 and 4 joysticks?
2. What type of button configuration is best for playing track and field?  I was thinking a 7 button layout with the 7th button offset to somewhat replicate the original game.  I am assuming the buttons can be configured to tell the computer which three buttons I want for playing track and field.  Or, would it be better to use my player 3 and 4 joysticks from my first question and have 3 buttons laid out in the proper configuration.  I guess I am not really sure how much flexibility there is on configuring the software to determine which joysticks/buttons are used for each game.
3. What is the general consensus on the ServoStik's from Ultimarc (are they any good)?  I was thinking of getting two of those for the main joysticks and two more manual 4-8 for player 3 and 4. 
4. Does the J-stik from Ultimarc have a USB connection?

Thank you for taking the time to help me out.  I am sure there will be more questions in the future.  If I need to provide more information please let me know.

[n3wt0n]

My biggest suggestion to you is to test out the software you intend to use before starting so you know how it works. It will give you a clear idea of how many admin buttons you want on your panel as well as how the games you want to play will need to be configured. Once you have your software configured head over to Slagcoin and take a look at the classic joystick layouts on that page. They may give you some different ideas of where you want to go as far as layout. Test your layout using your buttons/joysticks and a shoe box or scrap wood before cutting your final panel, the layout you chose may not be as comfortable as you thought or may be horrible for a couple games on your must have list.

I haven't used a Servostik or a J-stik so I can't help you there.

Good Luck

[processedmeat]

I assume you are using mame to play these games.  In mame you can hit tab and adjust which buttons or joystick presses are used.  I believe you can also adjust them on a game by game basis.

I haven't used these sticks before as well but I don't think any arcade joystick that you buy comes with an USB cable.  You normally have to use an I-Pac or a Zero Delay encoder for arcade sticks.

I also echo matvoz's suggestions to create a prototype control panel so you can test out your layout to see if it matches.

[matvoz]

Thanks for the feedback guys.  Mocking up a CP is definitely a good idea that I will do.

[paigeoliver]

Thanks for the feedback guys.  Mocking up a CP is definitely a good idea that I will do.

Karate Champ is one of those games that trying to properly support it is so much trouble and makes the rest of your machine so weird that you are better off just buying a Karate Champ machine. It is a common "B" title, easy to both buy and sell at $300. Shouldn't take long to find, and won't take long to unload if you get tired of it. None of the parts on it are expensive, so you have no real worries about breakdowns.

It has a vertical monitor and wants 4 joysticks, all 4-ways, not 8-ways and a horizontal monitor like most titles want. So you are going to either do a bad job at supporting Karate Champ or make your machine so weird that it does a bad job at everything else.

[matvoz]

Thanks for the input paigeoliver.  It sounds like I will have to make a standalone Karate Champ game.  I am sure my wife will understand......

[paigeoliver]

Thanks for the input paigeoliver.  It sounds like I will have to make a standalone Karate Champ game.  I am sure my wife will understand......

Just buy it, no reason to build it. It will cost more to build it and be worth less than what you put into it.