Admin Buttons

[Vincefaro]

I am about to finish my Control Panel but I am having trouble with placement of some of the buttons , I am trying to remove some buttons that i don't need , my question is do I need exit ,start ,menu buttons? Can I use one of the player buttons for start- exit?

[yotsuya]

No, you don't need any admin buttons, and yes you can shift function other buttons, If you're using an I-Pac.

[Vincefaro]

So how would the shift buttons work? Push two buttons together to exit ? or start?

[BadMouth]

I like having a dedicated exit button, but that's it.

P1, button 1 launches the games (their hands are resting there anyway)

Use a wireless keyboard for maintenance (menu, mapping games, tweaking settings).
Do not give people access to the menus or they'll screw stuff up.

[yotsuya]

On my set up, I hold down the player one button to act as shift, and I push player two to exit to menu.

[yotsuya]

Once you teach people how to exit to menu, they don't forget. That's why I've never found a need for a dedicated button. But I definitely understand why people want one.

[PL1]

I am about to finish my Control Panel but I am having trouble with placement of some of the buttons , I am trying to remove some buttons that i don't need , my question is do I need exit ,start ,menu buttons? Can I use one of the player buttons for start- exit?

IMHO, just say no to a dedicated menu button and remove the shifted function for menu, too.

There are two schools of thought on the subject of admin buttons.  There are pros and cons to both approaches.

Number of admin buttons

Commonly used admin buttons/function include P1/P2 Start (1/2), P1/P2 Coin (5/6), Pause (P) and Exit. (ESC)

To keep guests or children from accidently messing up their cab configuration, many individuals choose to not include a Menu (Tab) button and disable the shifted function for Menu. (P1 Start + joystick right on I-Pac)

There are several schools of thought concerning admin buttons -- some people prefer dedicated admin buttons, while others prefer using "shifted functions".


Dedicated admin buttons:

    PRO + Button functions can be clearly labeled on the panel art or using inserts in translucent buttons.
    CON - Too many buttons can be confusing and make a panel look cluttered.

Commonly used dedicated admin buttons include P1/P2 Start, P1/P2 Coin, ESC (exit), Pause, and others. Some console emulators may also require additional functions so be sure to install and configure desired emulators before building your panel.


"Shifted functions":

    PRO + Can make the panel look less cluttered.
    CON - When the "shift" button is pressed, any button pressed at the same time will output the associated shifted function. This may trigger an unintended function (exit, pause, menu, etc.) during a multi-player co-op game when one player performs a shifted function and the other player continues playing.

"Shifted functions" require a button/input to act as the "shift" button -- P1 Start on the IPac, HWB on the KADE, and Shazaaam! on the KeyWiz.

Pressing P1 Start and P2 Start will cause an IPac to output ESC. (exit)

Include an instruction card on the control panel overlay or screen bezel so family members and guests can figure out how to operate the cab.

Scott

[Vincefaro]

Ok, Thanks, I think i like the idea of a "few" admin buttons , maybe I will remove "start " , and just keep exit and pause.

[romshark]

I only have a pause button (on the side of my control panel.) This goes to a toggle switch in the coin door, which in turn has both ends connected to the i-Pac. Both connections on the i-Pac are set to "p" for pause, but only one is also a shift key. So if I have visitors over, I can set the switch in the coin door so the pause key has no shift function (and people can't exit out or anything if the coin door is locked.)

[Laythe]

I personally like admin buttons located off of the control panel proper.

Coin slots were usually down somewhere by your knee.  If coin-up is a button you don't even have to reach for, I think games like Gauntlet actually kind of suffer.  I find the inconvenience of having to reach down for it - while still lower than the cost of actually spending another quarter - does "cost" just enough to keep me engaged in taking the game a little seriously.  Maybe that's just me, but, it works on me.

If Exit is somewhere up on the main panel, I think it's more likely to get hit by general flailing, or vindictively.

[DrakeTungsten]

Depending on your definition of an admin button (I consider coin buttons a necessity and using P1 and P2 start buttons to launch games a no-brainer) I only have a dedicated Escape button in a top corner and a dedicated pause button on the side of the PC, and never had a problem with kids or adults accidentally using them.

For administration/updating/troubleshooting, I use VNC instead of a keyboard attatched to the cabinet.

I also use Autohotkey to make my pause button double as a shift button for certain emulators, but if you have no programming experience or are looking to shift buttons in recent stock versions of MAME, then AHK is not the way to go.

[Vincefaro]

I agree Drake, I have Player 1 and Player 2 start buttons on the control panel , as well as coins for both . As far as admin buttons i was talking about , menu, exit, and pause. I don't think I will care about menu , so I think I will just have exit and pause. or at the minimum , pause.

[Titchgamer]

I have admin buttons on my cab.
I use dedicated buttons for Back a menu, Favorites, Genres and Exit game.
I also have shifted buttons for Service, Test, Volume up and down, pause and Mame Options. Oh and I have one for Coin as well (I use a coin mech otherwise)

Admitidly the only reason I have the favorites and Genre buttons is because they were my old coin buttons and had no purpose after fitting the coin mech so I made a purpose for them LOL