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4 Player CP layout
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WwonderLlama:

--- Quote from: Bgnome on August 20, 2004, 09:13:30 am ---you can barely see the carriage bolts in that pic but you can see that all the joysticks are mounted the same way: up towards the screen.  you dont remember because you most likely did not notice.  people playing 3 and 4 will be standing somewhat at the sides of the machine and turning their heads to look at the screen.  movement feels more natural when it is relative to the movement of characters on the screen.  if people on that TMNT cab were playing 3 and 4 and controls were relative to their position, UP would be towards the center of the cp, which would be 90 degrees off from the direction characters would actually be moving.  i think that would be a lot more noticeable and take some getting used to.

--- End quote ---

Point taken, and you're almost asuredly right.  


--- Quote ---you dont even need to spend $5 on particle board..  you can use cardboard or i have seen some people use a plank for fences..

--- End quote ---

I tried the cardboard bit, and although it gave a sense of proportion, I couldn't tell how it'd feel.  Since I'm modelling the whole cp (not just the joysticks),  I need wood that's roughly 2'x4'x3/4" and particleboard is the closest think I found.
DougHillman:
Bgnome is 100% corrrect.  Seriously, I'm sure somebody put some thought and research into this when they were designing the original cabinets.   The layout may be angled on the CP, but the sticks are always mounted so that it's relative to the characters onscreen.  Don't try & reinvent the wheel.
WwonderLlama:

--- Quote from: DougHillman on August 20, 2004, 10:56:46 am ---...Don't try & reinvent the wheel.

--- End quote ---

Hey, if noone tried to re-invent the wheel, we'd still have square wheels!   ;D

Like I said, I'll give it a try and I'm sure he's right.
WwonderLlama:
Well, for those of you that followed this thread in it's infancy, here's a quick update:

I decided to go with a 42" wide panel and mounted all the joysticks with the same orientation (as suggested).  The people on P3 and P4 though it was cumbersome, but were able to get used to it after a few quarters-worth of playing.

Thanks for all the help!

Current status:
artwork: http://www.llamamuds.com/gallery/ControlPanel/arranging_buttons  (I've cleaned up the lines a little since then, but it's still basically the same.)

Cabinet phase: http://www.llamamuds.com/gallery/cabinetconst/MAME_10_15_04_012

Planned artwork/paintjob: http://www.llamamuds.com/gallery/cabinetconst/artwork_black_game_001

I'll be submitting these and other pics in the projects area in the (hopefully near) future. As always, comments are welcome. :)

Thanks again for the input!

--Phill
johnnysmitch:
I actually never considered having 4 joys all aligned in the same axis on my cp... looking at all the 4p control panel examples here with the angled buttons, I kinda assumed that the sticks were rotated too  :P  I went ahead and built mine at an angle though, (with t-nut mounting, so I hope I don't have to attempt to change em...) so hopefully when i get my Ipac working for them, I can try them out and post here my feelings on the matter.  Keep in mind, though, that it might be a bit different since mine's a showcase-style

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