How many buttons for 2 player machine??HELP please

[rollerball]

Hi there....Ok guys Ive almost finnished building my first ever mame machine...Its looking goo....got an I-pac...its a 2 player machine...lowboy style I think you would call it...looks great...software all up and running....just going to order my joysticks and buttons this week....but not sure what to get...Im mostly into older games...and like the metal slug games...Im not going to be playing any fighting games at all...I was just going to go with 3 buttons for each player....should that be ok??Or do I need 4 buttons for some games??...just dont want to get stuck....thanks..paul

[Jeff AMN]

I would put 4 per player if you ABSOLUTELY are certain you won't be needing 6 for anything. Cost really isn't an issue when you're talking an additional two buttons...

[rollerball]

Yeah ok 4 should be ok....anyone know how many games use 4 buttons though??I cant think of any........

I did make my own spinner with an optical mouse as well...here is the link....works great...http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=50654.0

[rollerball]

I was just going to use 3 buttons and have them in a line....so would you do 4 buttons in a line or 2+2 setup

[quarterback]

Yeah ok 4 should be ok....anyone know how many games use 4 buttons though??I cant think of any........

Not many.   This has been covered before and the only one I can remember is that cat and dog game... hmmm... seems I can't even remember the name of that one

EDIT:  Mousetrap

[TOK]

I put 6 per player on my machine, just because it was the typical fighter layout and I didn't want to be short buttons. I find that 90% of the games I play don't use more than 3. Most of the Japanese scrolling shooters are fire/bomb/smart bomb, and most of the classics don't use more than two buttons.

If space is a concern due to the size of your cabinet, I'd be comfortable with 3, but you're really the one who has to decide which games are important to you.

[rollerball]

Thanks alot guys....think you have just made it easy for me...I will go with 3 buttons for sure......in a line with maybe a slight curve....does that sound like the way to go??With a slight curve....or straight line but on an angle as well ive seen..

[quarterback]

Thanks alot guys....think you have just made it easy for me...I will go with 3 buttons for sure......in a line with maybe a slight curve....does that sound like the way to go??With a slight curve....or straight line but on an angle as well ive seen..

Mine are like this:

         O O
      O

I use the top two as my two-main-buttons and I like the lower 'thumb' option for 3-button games.

[Capthowdy]

are there any games that use 7 buttons?

I was planning on using 7 buttons per player PLUS two buttons on the sides as pinball buttons.  Is that way too many?  The room isn't really an issue but if only 2 games use 7 buttons than I'm going with 6 each (plus pinballs).

[deadkenndys1105]

I would go with 6 buttons per player if I was you.  Even if you dont use them you might want to later. My button set up is in 2 straight rows of 3. Mine is a 2 player alteranting cabnet so pacman and galiga worked out nicly.

[Spaz Monkey]

When I first thought I was going to build my own CP, I thought I would have a layout of:

                 1  2  3  4
                 4  5  6

I could still play SF games, and yet have a layout for NeoGeo games.  But now, I think that I'll wire 1, 2, the second 4, and 5 for NeoGeo games (Tekken layout)

[TOK]

When I first thought I was going to build my own CP, I thought I would have a layout of:

                 1  2  3  4
                 4  5  6

I could still play SF games, and yet have a layout for NeoGeo games.  But now, I think that I'll wire 1, 2, the second 4, and 5 for NeoGeo games (Tekken layout)

I did them this way, since it more closely resembles the NeoGeo offset button, and also lets you use the button for Defender's Reverse and stuff like the Bomb function on Smash TV

        1 2 3
     7 4 5 6

The 7 button is actually kind of offset between the two rows, but you get the idea. Just want it accessible by thumb from the stick.