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How many admin buttons should I use on my CP?
fjl:
So far I plan to have only three admin buttons on my CP. Those being "Exit," "P1 Coin" and "P2 Coin." I notice some people mentioning P1 & P2 Start. But the start buttons are not admin buttons
Anyways here is a mock up of my layout...
I still have to redesign it so the exit button is not so close to other buttons. I plan to use P1 Start as the ENTER button.
As for accessing the admin options, I will add a hidden button underneath the CP but above the coin slots. It will be upside down. It will be a shift button. You will have to hold it down and press buttons from P1 or P2 to be able to do the admin stuff like accessing the menu, resetting the game, accessing the games service, pausing, accessing mames volume control and all that other sordid stuff. But I plan to add a switch inside the CP that allows me to turn off that underneath shift admin button.
As for the whole pausing thing, I don't believe there should be a pause option. The original arcades didn't have a pause button. I'll know how to pause it though and I'll let only certain people know how to pause it as well.
As someone once mentioned, adding the pause button can lead to trouble since a person can pause the game, walk away and render the arcade useless since other players will not want to disturb their game. Or will disturb it by unpausing or changing games, causing the person who paused the game in the first place to return and be mad that his game was turned off. So no pause button for me!
Guaranos:
--- Quote from: Spyridon on May 08, 2007, 09:15:55 pm ---I like the idea of setting up the coin return buttons for credits. Is this realatively easy to do?
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Piece of cake. Just mount a microswitch from a button or joystick (or even a cheap RadioShack button) in such a way that it is triggered when the coin return button is pushed in. It might take you a few minutes to find the optimal place to put the microswitch, but that's about it.
Grinch:
--- Quote from: shmokes on May 08, 2007, 12:31:18 pm ---I vote for zero. Maybe put an exit button on top of the cab, but the control panel itself should have no extra buttons, cos they're ugly and unnecessary. You can always have your Player 1Start button (which I don't really consider admin, but if you do then change my vote of zero to a vote of two) act as a shift key and then have combinations of the shift plus other player buttons do various admin stuff. No need for coin buttons, IMO, when you can just wire the coin return buttons built into the coin door to give credits when pressed. It's not so much that I'm a hardass about authenticity (though there's probably a small amount of that going on). It's more that I just think the cleaner the panel can be, the better it looks, so adding unnecessary buttons is out of the question.
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Indeed.
I have zero admin buttons. I have a cup on a shelf near the machine full of coins and you pay to play. I use all the standard shortcuts. P1 + P1 Down = Pause etc...
Spyridon:
As a new member of this forum and someone who is about to start thier first cab, I just wanted to thank everyone for the great advice. :cheers:
I think I've decided to go with Pause and Exit as my only two admin buttons. I like the idea of using the coin return as the credit buttons.
I'm guessing I can map Enter to an existing button so I won't need a seperate button for that.
miles2912:
--- Quote from: Peale on May 08, 2007, 03:09:59 pm ---Zero. None of my cabs have any. Any of those functions have to be gotten to with a keyboard. Keeps the players honest.
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If I want to keep my players honest.. and I do sometimes :) All of my admin buttons are on a hidden switch that will lock out the buttons. Turns the machine into a 'real' arcade game.
As you can see there is a lot of debate on what buttons to put on your CP. Some people like a clean look with no or a few hidden buttons. I am the opposite. My cab was designed to be a MAME+ box that would do more than just play MAME. The mouse buttons are used all the time.
You just need to pump a lot of thought into how your cab is going to be used and plan ahead.
Don