Recommended mapping for arcade cabinet controls to work with multiple emulators

[sakurasanta86]

I've just installed retroarch and intend on installing as many classic emulators on my arcade cabinet as possible.

Is there a recommended setting or mapping for a two player arcade config (2 player, 2 rows of 3 button each, with 3 controls on each player (start, select, ...) that will work with the most emulators/games possible?

Something like:

X Y L1

B A R1

with controls start, select, quit (quit is not a player mapping but rather a retroarch control mapping to exit to front end)

What are your recommendations and why?

[paigeoliver]

I suggest this or something similar. Tons of console games use the shoulder buttons in a directional manner, so they need to be on the left and the right, however even this is a bad solution, which is why the arcade version of the Super Nes hardware basically had an oversized Snes pad glued to the panel.

L1 Y R1

X B A

For these reasons I suggest not installing the Super Nes at all. Everything after the Super Nes just makes the problem worse with even more shoulder buttons and an increasing number of analog controls.

The last console that the games just all played correctly on an arcade panel was the Genesis.

[DrakeTungsten]

I ended up using per-console mapping, and even within consoles, I use per-game mapping as needed. I don't see much point in saying "I would enjoy this game more if only this button here was swapped with that button there", when the ability to swap those buttons exists. That said, my most common mapping matches Paige's, except I have the "x" and "y" swapped.