Depending on how you have the controls connected to the pc will depend on how you can get what you want. easiest way as you probably already know is with a keyboard encoder. if you have two usb encoders say zero delay encoders you will want to use joytokey or xpadder to translate the gamepad button presses to keyboard. at least for rocketlauncher and hyperspin anyway.
I've got an IPAC2 installed in my cabinet, so yes, I've got a keyboard encoder. And, yes, all I want to do is have a closed cabinet that has nothing but arcade buttons, my arcade joysticks, a spinner, and trackball (plus 4 admin buttons: Enter, Tab, Pause, and Exit) to select emulators (I have *only* MAME and Daphne installed), and then to select a game.
Since I'm coming back to revisit my arcade cabinet and see about upgrades, I was thinking about changing out my joysticks and buttons to have RGB LED buttons and RGB LED joystick toppers to give it a little more flash -- and if I move forward with that plan, I was thinking about the Ultimarc IPAC Ultimate I/O to handle all that. However, for now, all I want to do is get my cabinet up and running the way it was about a year ago.
*Update: I downloaded and installed the 1.5.1 version of Hyperspin and that sxs.dll file and then fired up Hyperspin -- looks like I'm back where I was! The cabinet runs again! Now I'm back to setting up various playlists and trimming up my ROM lists so I don't have to wade through 8000+ games every time I fire it up.
I’m curious on how you do your playlists
I use producer wheels
Capcon
Neogeo
Nintendo
Cave
Pc games
Then I have
Arcade classics wheel; this has an untouched list of everything, in case a friend requests a game I don’t have in my producer list
Then I have
A Genre button, so I can get to any game by catagory
(I need to make an Irem wheel and maybe a Konami and Taito wheel. Some day, making themes is not my forte)
I have all of this above on a street fighter 2 arcade , 2 joysticks, 6 buttons per player, start buttons, and a coin button. Key combos that I only know are used to access admin areas
Trackball games; I have an originalcentipede arcade with 3 buttons instead of just one, vertical monitor... only trackball games and a few spinner games
Flight stick and spinner, I have a Tron arcade with games that use those controls
Vertical 4 way classics; fix it Felix jr arcade
Shmups; 2 player vertical candy cab, and a 1 player vertical candy cab
This list isn’t a flex, just a 17 year solution to all of my arcade challenges being met head on.