Button layout advice

[domo dan]

I'm building a 4 player cabinet and seeking advice on button layouts. I am running RetroPie and want to be able to play MAME, Atari, NES, SNES and Sega Genesis games. I'd also love to be able to play N64, but would that make things far more complicated?

I'd also LOVE to have a trackball for MarbleMadness, Bowling, etc...

Does anyone have any advice for me on button count and layout? I was thinking that a joystick and 7 buttons for each player (A, B, X, Y, L, R, Z) plus the respective select/start buttons would be adequate, but this is my first project and would love to learn from you all.

Thanks in advance.


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[Mike A]

Search this site for 4 player cabinets. Then search this site for console games with arcade controls. There are (is?) volumes of information on these two subjects. Once you have done that your questions can be more specific, and the answers will be more helpful.

[Nephasth]

Coming from someone who has built a 4 player cab... Don't. Stick to a two player. Six buttons straight for each player. I know, I know, you're going to do the 4 player build anyway. Three to four buttons (depending on how important those couple 4 player 4 button games are to you) for players 3 and 4.

[Ian]

Coming from someone who has built a 4 player cab... Don't. Stick to a two player. Six buttons straight for each player. I know, I know, you're going to do the 4 player build anyway. Three to four buttons (depending on how important those couple 4 player 4 button games are to you) for players 3 and 4.

^ This ^

However,

If you do build it.. 3 buttons for players 3 and 4. Keep in mind that console games dont play the same with arcade controls (I could never get used to it). I would stick to 6 buttons for players one and two street fighter layout.

If I was you though... 2- players with a trackball is perfection.

[nukie]

As you look through the forum you will see this question come up a lot.  The first question to ask yourself is how often will you have 4 people together wanting to play.  That question right there will tell you if a 4 player cab is worth it or if a 2 player will cover you.

Consoles on arcade controls are meh at best.  You can do it with the early systems, but it's not great.

For arcade games you only need 6 buttons for players 1 and 2 (7 if you have to have the neo-geo layout along with street fighter) and 3-4 for player 3 and 4.  The fourth button is only used in a handful of games.

[Cynicaster]

Maybe my social circle is just abnormally uninterested in retro gaming, but I've always wondered how people in this hobby--most of them adults in their 30s, 40s, and 50s--justify to themselves the decision to go 4 player instead of 1 or 2 player when designing and building a MAME cabinet.  That is to ask, how often does one really have 4 people in their home at the same time who actually want to play the same 25+ year-old video game?  I host parties semi-regularly and I suppose, if I really wanted to put such a machine to use, I could cajole 3 guests into playing Trog or TMNT with me for 10 minutes before they got bored and walked away to go socialize with the other adults.  The problem is, my enjoyment level when playing seems to revert to the lowest common denominator of the other participants; it's just not very fun unless they share my enthusiasm for the experience.   

When I was dreaming up my cabinet build I had idealized visions of it being the centerpiece of social gatherings at my house, with friends and family huddled around the machine, clamoring for a chance to play and compete so that we could all revel in retro gaming goodness together.  In real life, it turns out that being a big fan of old video games is a quirky and rare disposition for a man my age to have.  Hardly anybody else has taken more than a fleeting interest in playing on the machine, and over the years the hobby has morphed into one of glorious solitude for me, where the absolute maximum enjoyment I get from it is when I'm down in the basement by myself, often late at night, with a cold beer, hammering away at getting a new high score on a classic game like Donkey Kong or R-Type.  And you know what?  I love it that way, and wouldn't change it even if I could. 

I guess I'm rambling a bit.  To the OP, if you think it will get used and the 4-player games are that important to you, then go for it.  Alternately, you could just do a 2-player layout and keep some USB controllers on hand for cases when you have 3-4 people eager to play the same game at the same time.  That's what I did, and in 6 years of having an up and running cabinet, I've plugged in a USB controller exactly once.

I would like to point out that multi-player track-ball games have been the most successful at generating interest in crowds--Golden Tee, Shuffleshot, World Class Bowling, etc. 

[Mike A]

I am 42. My 15 year old son and his friends like to play the classic machines. Several of my friends enjoy playing. A few of them have little kids that like to play. I recently hosted a super bowl party. All three of my machines were occupied the whole time. The problem is all of my machines are 1 player. I am going to build a 4 player cab because I know it will get used. My machines get pretty consistent use.

[domo dan]

Yeah, I should add that I have 3 boys (aged 6, 8 and 9 currently) and it's pretty uncommon for me to have less than 6 kids at my house every day. I think it will get used. And the cost difference between 2 and 4 player is so negligible that I personally feel it would be silly to NOT do it. Maybe I'm wrong and it will never get used, but I think it will get used a lot. 


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[paigeoliver]

I  have owned arcade games for 16 years now. Even if you have a party, nobody ever plays the 4 player games in 4 player mode. Better to just build 2 separate machines.

[yotsuya]

Yeah, I should add that I have 3 boys (aged 6, 8 and 9 currently) and it's pretty uncommon for me to have less than 6 kids at my house every day. I think it will get used. And the cost difference between 2 and 4 player is so negligible that I personally feel it would be silly to NOT do it. Maybe I'm wrong and it will never get used, but I think it will get used a lot. 


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Because you have 3 boys that age,  I think you'd be ok with a 4 player cab. At least at first,  that is.

[wp34]

Yeah, I should add that I have 3 boys (aged 6, 8 and 9 currently) and it's pretty uncommon for me to have less than 6 kids at my house every day. I think it will get used. And the cost difference between 2 and 4 player is so negligible that I personally feel it would be silly to NOT do it. Maybe I'm wrong and it will never get used, but I think it will get used a lot. 


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Because you have 3 boys that age,  I think you'd be ok with a 4 player cab. At least at first,  that is.

I agree with this.  When my youngest has friends over they play our 4-player Madden all the time.  I'm convinced if we had a 4-player NBA Jam they would play that too. 

Having said that most of the time it is just me or me and one other person playing the games.  A four-player would be overkill once my kids are out of the house.

[KLRinstinct]

I'm going with 6 buttons for 3/4 and 8 for 1/2 and no trackball. Fighters now are starting to use 8 buttons and street fighter X tekken has a 4 player mode so 3/4 got upgraded to 6 buttons rather than 4. I think this will give me a bit of future proofing as I plan on playing new games too.

[thewisteron]

I have 4 kids ages 7-12, so a 4 player cab was a no-brainer for me. We're going to kill it on the Gauntlets, TMNT, Simpsons, NBA Jam.

Here is my CP layout if you're interested.

I recommend making your 3/4 player joysticks so Up is towards the cabinet. Otherwise it feels unnatural.