Author Topic: Most Essential "non game" Buttons (Read 3074 times)

Mmmbacon · « **on:** February 23, 2003, 10:00:52 pm »

A question for people with completed cabinets and control panels, what are the most essential "non game" buttons, ie: ones used to control mame. Ive seen some cabs with 5 or 6 and some with a couple. Thanks

PoDunkMoFo · « **Reply #1 on:** February 23, 2003, 10:06:14 pm »

IMHO.... Escape & Tab

eightbit · « **Reply #2 on:** February 23, 2003, 10:28:31 pm »

In mame you don't need dedicated buttons. Even if your encoder or hack doesn't support it you can program shifted buttons.

A key or shifted keys programed to exit the game is the only one that I would say is absolutely required. A nice one to have is a key programmed to the config menu. Another one thats nice to have is Pause.

Personally I don't like any extra dedicated administrative buttons. You can get the result by using shifted or combination buttons.

Nailz · « **Reply #3 on:** February 23, 2003, 10:28:32 pm »

I'd agree with the above and also and "Enter" to the list. I am one of those guys that has like 7 non-game buttons on my CP. It looks ok because I have a big control panel, but next time I will go with less, I rarely use more thna Esc, Tab, or Enter.

SirPoonga · « **Reply #4 on:** February 23, 2003, 10:31:28 pm »

I only have quit and pause as dedicated buttons. Enter is mapped to my p1b1 while the shift function for p1b1 is tab. my pause button is my shift button.

You will like pause if you are playing your arcade and someone calls. You don't have to remember the shift combo, it's a one button hit then a mad dash to the phone:)

Dr. J · « **Reply #5 on:** February 23, 2003, 10:42:13 pm »

I only have "enter" and "esc", but I was considering only having a single button to both stop and start games. My FE starts games on "Q" and I was going to set up Mame to exit on "Q."

Brad Lee · « **Reply #6 on:** February 24, 2003, 12:51:37 am »

Esc / F2 / F3 / Pause

motorfish · « **Reply #7 on:** February 24, 2003, 01:43:53 am »

I've found that I'm comfortable with five non-game buttons, most of which I've aded for purely for conveinence:

"Enter"
"Tab"
"F2"
"Escape"
and the almighty "Pause"! (so very handy!)

Jakobud · « **Reply #8 on:** February 24, 2003, 03:11:09 am »

Now something that I have found very interesting in the Mame CTRLR documentation that I have never heard ANYONE on this board mention before is that setting up your CTRLR files a certain way, you can actually make your own custom "SHIFT" keys and function. Like the IPAC, but 1. its in software and 2. you can have as many as possible in any number of combonations...

Like I said, I have never heard anyone discuss this before. It certainly suprised me when I read it in the docs.

Homebrew · « **Reply #9 on:** February 24, 2003, 08:05:34 am »

Wow, i really feel like i'm overdoing it now. I have a massive 10 buttons for non game controls.

~(only added so i could have an even amount of buttons)
-F2-service mode
-F3-reset
Tab
ESC
Pause
Enter
F6-cheats
F10-Throttle on/off
F11-FPS

I decided on most for convenience since my keyboard is not readily accessible. Obvoiusly could do without the ~ key, but i originally was gonna have the buttons split, so i wanted an even amount for each side. I was also originally running an 800mhz computer so it was nice to have the FPS and Throttle buttons handy to dianose slow frame rates. Since i've upgraded to a 1200mhz cpu, these can probably go as well. Its also nice to be able to turn a cheat on or off, so for me that seemed worth having as well. Reset and service mode also seemed worth having. I consider TAB, ESC, PAUSE, and Enter essential. Much less use of the keyboard when having those 4 buttons. I will admit that my 10 buttons looks like alot, but i wanted a little more function at the risk of form. I may drop some buttons when i revise my CP though. The FPS related buttons are nice to have, but i use them much less now that i have a decent CPU.

-Kevin

jets · « **Reply #10 on:** February 24, 2003, 08:43:18 am »

Quote from: Jakobud on February 24, 2003, 03:11:09 am

Now something that I have found very interesting in the Mame CTRLR documentation that I have never heard ANYONE on this board mention before is that setting up your CTRLR files a certain way, you can actually make your own custom "SHIFT" keys and function. Like the IPAC, but 1. its in software and 2. you can have as many as possible in any number of combonations...

Like I said, I have never heard anyone discuss this before. It certainly suprised me when I read it in the docs.

Yep, that is cool. I'm not going to have any extra buttons

My nephews were playing on my cab before I began to convert it. They mash every button about a thousand times a second so buttons like that are out of the question for me. The J-PAC has most of the functions setup already. I will just be adding a shifted 'F2'

Mmmbacon · « **Reply #11 on:** February 24, 2003, 10:01:06 am »

thanks for all the helpful replies, its really helping me decide the layout on my project.

Control panel parts are arriving tommorrow, theres NO turning back now :-)

AlanS17 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 24, 2003, 10:52:35 am »

I don't use any extra buttons. My machine lives in a frat house and those guys don't know what the hell they're doing anyways. I suppose it's the truest test of a machine's durability, though. I use a J-Pac, though, and just use shift functions. Sucks, though, when you're making a mad dash to hit start to continue at the end of Sunest Riders and your partner hits his start button (throwing you out of the game entirely). However, my control panel is TINY since I didn't modify the control panel's size from the original machine - 2 joysticks with 2 buttons each.

I just realized something... I talk too much.

Chris · « **Reply #13 on:** February 24, 2003, 11:14:43 am »

I don't think you can get away with at least one extra button, that being a shift button to get to all of your other functions. But if you don't want to clutter your control panel, put Radio Shack momentary pushbuttons inside the coin door for Tab, F2, F3, and any other "non-game" functions; that's where they would be on a real arcade machine, right?

On my latest control panel, I have three "administrative" buttons: a dedicated "Function" (Shift) button, a Pause button that doubles as the Menu button, and an Exit button that doubles as Reset. Any other functions I need are doubled off of player buttons.

--Chris

SirPoonga · « **Reply #14 on:** February 24, 2003, 12:36:00 pm »

Quote from: Jakobud on February 24, 2003, 03:11:09 am

Now something that I have found very interesting in the Mame CTRLR documentation that I have never heard ANYONE on this board mention before is that setting up your CTRLR files a certain way, you can actually make your own custom "SHIFT" keys and function. Like the IPAC, but 1. its in software and 2. you can have as many as possible in any number of combonations...

Like I said, I have never heard anyone discuss this before. It certainly suprised me when I read it in the docs.

It's been discussed. the ctrlr file are a replacement to the cfg files. and setting up a software shift key has been discussed many times. Put the two together:)

Anyway, software shift funciton is great if you plan on ONLY running mame.

JayTea · « **Reply #15 on:** February 24, 2003, 02:05:29 pm »

The only non-game buttons I have are for my trackball mouse when in Windows 98 (R and L click). The L click is also a fire button for Centipede. Everythig else is programmed via the IPAC shift function.

Minwah · « **Reply #16 on:** February 24, 2003, 02:25:48 pm »

I like Howards mentality that 'real' arcade machines have no extra buttons on the CP, so nor should ours...but you are bound to hit an occasional problem using a non-dedicated shift key (eg P1 start) - especially if your mates are mashers (there's always 1!)...

I like Chris' idea having dedicated non-game buttons behind a door 2.

I'm fairly keen to have a dedicated Escape and Pause button, but that said I don't want them too easy to hit as said button masher (see above) will no doubt find it funny to press esc while you're wooping his arse at SF2.

I've no idea myself what to do now.

bionicbadger · « **Reply #17 on:** February 24, 2003, 02:30:45 pm »

My prototype panel doesn't have any extra buttons aside from the mouse 1 and mouse 2 buttons for the trackball and I havent had any problems. You don't even need a special shift button since P1 is defaulted to shift on the IPAC.

wobbie · « **Reply #18 on:** February 24, 2003, 04:33:42 pm »

isnt it also worth making sure that O and K are included somewhere. .. as left and right or something ... so you can get past that anoying prompt you get when you load most roms.

jets · « **Reply #19 on:** February 24, 2003, 05:15:21 pm »

Quote from: wobbie on February 24, 2003, 04:33:42 pm

isnt it also worth making sure that O and K are included somewhere. .. as left and right or something ... so you can get past that anoying prompt you get when you load most roms.

Um, where'd you grow up...the moon??? just kidding. It's widely known across all the galaxies that you if press the joystick left and right at the OK to start screen you will actually get past it.

Minwah · « **Reply #20 on:** February 24, 2003, 05:32:21 pm »

Even better, go on, build your own...those OK's will be gone forever.....

neuromancer · « **Reply #21 on:** February 24, 2003, 05:51:30 pm »

Coin

Maybe shift.

The only reason for other dedicated buttons that I can see is if you want it to be _easy_ for others to figgure it out when you're not around.

*I* know that shift-button1 means escape, but no one else ever would figgure that out.

An instruction card might help, but who reads those ;-)

Bob

_Iz- · « **Reply #22 on:** February 24, 2003, 05:59:18 pm »

Quote from: AlanS17 on February 24, 2003, 10:52:35 am

I use a J-Pac and just use shift functions. Sucks, though, when you're making a mad dash to hit start to continue at the end of Sunest Riders and your partner hits his start button (throwing you out of the game entirely)

This is the only negative I've found for the *pac's default config. I set mine to custom and only changed the shifted coin 1 to esc (instead of start 2). Solves the problem completely, no one hits start 1 and then coin 1, it's always the other way around... It also makes it more convenient to get "esc"...


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