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Another 4p CP to critique
Ldsfunaz:
Well Here is my first attempt at my control panel..
I will be using Tstick Plus's for 1p and 2p.
nickbuol:
Here's what I've learned from others...
Dump the 3 "mouse" buttons for the trackball, or hide them under the bottom of the control panel for when (if) you need to use the trackball as a mouse.
Get rid of, or move to a hidden location all of the MAME (or other Emu) buttons at the top of the CP.
These 2 will help give it a more clean look.
Do you really need a "Q-bert" joystick? Seems like a dedicated stick for one game. Maybe you do, not my decision, I am just bringing up something to think about.
I've read somewhere on these forums that you can use some code to make an 8 way "think" that it is in Q-Bert orientation as a 4 way, and then use the same code to turn it back into a regular "4 way". Not sure how well that works, but then it would be more of a 4 way for Pac Man, Donkey Kong, and all of those games, and it will also, with a little help from software, work with Q-Bert.
hulkster:
i have a 4p cp, and i opted not to put in a dedicated 4 way. i know you may not want to build another cab, but if you are building a 4 player panel, why use it for 4way controlled games? build a dedicated classics cab if you are wanting to play pacman, frogger, etc. just my opinion, but thats what i plan on doing.
anyway, for the trackball situation, i got rid of the mouse buttons on my cp and i just use player 1's first couple of buttons for mouse buttons. for the frontend buttons at the top, i just used two, pause and escape. the save and load features are cool, but how many time will you use those? i found that i only used those in certain games in rare occasions, so i just keep my keyboard handy for that.
Ldsfunaz:
good suggestions but i have my rebuttals..
I only have the 3 mouse buttons because i saw some one post about using them in games that use a spinner and buttons
I like the admin buttons on the top.
Lilwolf:
Consider having player 1 joystick be a happs 49 way with the GP49. That will give you 4way joystick + qbert + 49way + analogish. Seems like the best all around joystick....
Then after that...
Consider hotswappable control panels that are all small and simple and too the point. Once you can do it you can always add more later (like find a good price on a defender joystick?)
After that...
build a prototype (even if its on cardboard without the controls) to size. And try using all the components without touching the others. You can get pressboard for about 4 bucks for a 4x8 sheet. Then cut everything quickly and place it. Sure the wiring sucks, but you don't actually need it plugged in (or all of them plugged in) to test.
you will not like the spinner / qbert joysticks if you have to rest your arm on buttons. You have to be able to move a few inches (4-6) on each side of a trackball to really get a swing going (but only for some games... I use mine 95% of the time for centipede which doesn't have this problem).
Next... dedicated 4 way is a lot more useful then a dedicated qbert. But both are nice. I have a control panel withc is a 4way, then asteroids buttons, then a qbert 4way. The combo classic control panel is very nice and works for a ton of games. But I use that 4way 50 times more then the qbert. Thats for qberts and congobongo only.
Good luck