Classic Mame CP Design

[grahamallan2e]

Hi all,

I have conceived the attached CP design with the following in mind:

1. Must have a 4-way stick for many of the classic games I love (Donkey Kong, Pac Man, etc.) in a primary (not secondary) location.
2. Must allow switch between LH and RH play (I prefer to "jump" with a left button [i.e. Donkey Kong] and "shoot" with a right button [i.e., Moon Patrol])
3. Must have two 8-way sticks for Robotron, etc. - preferably with the 10" Robotron spacing
4. Must have an authentic Defender/Stargate layout with close approximation to the orginal CPs.
5. A trackball is nice and go big or go home - 3" or bust.  Buttons must be on the left like the original Missle Command CP
6. A spinner if there is room (looks like there is above the trackball).
7. Pinball flipper buttons if possible (may take too much room beside the trackball).
8. I have no need for any fighter configurations - I never got into the fighter games.

So the end result looks unconventional.  Not that that is bad but there is a lot of experience on this board that may help me avoid mistakes.  The CP is ~34" wide which is a tad wide for pinball flipper buttons but I cannot see where to take out space without compromise.

Any feedback or comments are welcome!

[grahamallan2e]

The pdf file does not seem to show up - here is a jpg.

[Buddabing]

Hi all,

I have conceived the attached CP design with the following in mind:

1. Must have a 4-way stick for many of the classic games I love (Donkey Kong, Pac Man, etc.) in a primary (not secondary) location.
2. Must allow switch between LH and RH play (I prefer to "jump" with a left button [i.e. Donkey Kong] and "shoot" with a right button [i.e., Moon Patrol])
3. Must have two 8-way sticks for Robotron, etc. - preferably with the 10" Robotron spacing
4. Must have an authentic Defender/Stargate layout with close approximation to the orginal CPs.
5. A trackball is nice and go big or go home - 3" or bust.  Buttons must be on the left like the original Missle Command CP
6. A spinner if there is room (looks like there is above the trackball).
7. Pinball flipper buttons if possible (may take too much room beside the trackball).
8. I have no need for any fighter configurations - I never got into the fighter games.

So the end result looks unconventional.  Not that that is bad but there is a lot of experience on this board that may help me avoid mistakes.  The CP is ~34" wide which is a tad wide for pinball flipper buttons but I cannot see where to take out space without compromise.

Any feedback or comments are welcome!

I would remove the center joystick and put the spinner where it was. Your Defender buttons will make a nice ergonomic button placement for spinner games. If the distance between the two remaining joysticks is too great for a comfortable game of Robotron, you can scrap this.

The existance of the Ultimarc T-Stick Plus (easily switchable 4-way to 8-way) make a dedicated 4-way joystick unnecessary.

I'd also reduce the number of administrative buttons. One or two is all you really need. You can use one admin button as a "shift" to get all your admin functions. The other can be a coin up button. So on the upper layer I'd have a pause/shift button, a coin up button, player 1 start and player 2 start.

I presume the green button to the right of the leftmost stick is your Defender reverse button. You might, for aesthetics only, align the buttons to the left of the leftmost stick to the buttons to the right of that stick.

The only problem I see is that the player two controls (if you are using the missile command buttons) might be a bit awkward. But there are compromises in every design.

Good luck!

[grahamallan2e]

Thanks Buddabing,

I guess I forgot to mention that I am primarily after a single player interface.  I also thought that the side flipper buttons may work in a pinch for player 2 if I ever had a player 2.  I mostly solo game or prefer the alternating player games like Robotron!

I also thought about the T-stick plus as it would indeed solve a lot of problems but from what I have read on RetroBlast and such is that the Happs joysticks are more in line with my personal preference.

Good point on the admin buttons - I did get too carried away!

The buttons on the left of the 4-way are the preferred location for games like Donkey Kong.  The defender arrangement on the right is a compromise created by Defender/Stargate so it is something I have to live with.

[Tiger-Heli]

Two things - The 4-way should ideally be in the center of the cab for Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, etc, but I don't see a good way to set this up.

Recommend changing

1Start-2Start-1Coin-2Coin to

1Start-1Coin-2Coin-2Start or

1Coin-1Start-2Start-2Coin

Two reasons - better symmetry, and having each players coin and start buttons together avoids one player reaching across the other's start button to put another credit in.

Or ditch the coin buttons on the panel altogether and use the coin Reject buttons.