I-Pac question: 28 or 56?

[paig2956]

Hello all!

I am planning out my first MAME cabinet, and am already confused on one front.  Which I-Pac do I need?  I want to make a 2 player cabinet... with the following:

First player button
First player coin
Second player button
Second player coin

6 buttons for player 1
6 buttons for plater 2

2 - 8 way joysticks (how many inputs does this require?)
1 - 4 way joystick (how many inputs does this require?)

I assume that the buttons would require 16 inputs, leaving me 12 more.  How many do the joysticks take?  Are six buttons good per player?

Thanks.
Shawn

[Thenasty]

Why don't you count it ? Just in case you can't count, take a look at what I got for you .

First player button         1
First player coin             1
Second player button    1
Second player coin        1

6 buttons for player 1    6
6 buttons for plater 2     6

2 - 8 way joysticks      4 each = 8
1 - 4 way joystick        4

So the total is 28 and that would be IPAC2 not IPAC4

[paig2956]

Thenasty-

I guess my confusion was that I did not know that an 8-way controller took 4 inputs.  I thought that it took 4 or 8, but I was not sure.  Thanks for your help.  I can count but I was not sure what to add.

Do four way joysticks only require 2 inputs, or do they also require 4 like 8-way?

Thanks.
Shawn

[Thenasty]

as my reply above, 4-way or 8-way still takes 4 inputs.
The 8-way (up.down.right,left) then where the hell to make it 8 ? well when you push the joystick diagonally, UPandRIGHT this trigger the diagonal that make it move diagonally. so, you have 4 diagonals and the other 4.

[Brax]

You could also save yourself 4 inputs and wire the 4 way into the same inputs as the player one 8 way. That would free up a few buttons in case you wanted a dedicated escape or something... You just have to remember you cant bump the 8 way while you're playing 4 way games (or vice versa)  

[Scotty]

Brax,

I was just about to say the same thing.  I have a HotRod SE and have hacked all kinds of contraptions to it.  I currently have a Midway coinbox wired to the 3 and 4 keys inside of the HotRod, and I aqquired a 4 way Pac-Man joystick that I wired to the left control pannel.  Works great in 4 way games, but have not mounted it yet.  I still have to hold it in my hand like the Atari 2600 days.    

Works great though.  I am in the process of building a Mame cab out of a PLaychoice 10 machine, with dual monitors.  Until then, I have a "Poor Mans Mame Cab" with a HotRod SE, a KDS 19" monitor that is vertical more than horizantal, a coin box screwed in to the fron side of my bookcase connected to the HOtRod, and the 4 Way PacMan stick for the older games.

Scotty

[SirPoonga]

What brax said, wire the 4way to the same input at the player 1 8way, it's the same inputs anyway.  that will leave you with extra buttons if you want a dedicated button for pause, quit, or whatever.  Check out my cabinet, all that is wired to the IPAC2 (there was no IPAC4 when I got mine).
The buttons on the shefl, the left group of 4 are start and coin buttons.  The middle three, quit, power, pause.
The spinner and trackball are USB...


To word it another way than TheNasty, a 4way joystick bocks the joystick from moving tot he diagnals.  And 8way doesn't, hence eight directions then.  But it still just has 4 buttons, it know the diagonal when the up and left button are pushed, etc...