Please critique my control panel layout...

[Jimbo]

Hi All,

First attempt this.  Please let me know what you think!  Interested in any advice/improvements you can think of!

Some points:

- the 'shift' button is to be used as the shift input for my I-PAC. Its in that place so I can easily map and use P1-1 to P1-6 buttons for admin stuff (like mame tab/menu, enter key, F3/reset etc.) without having to move away from the main controls.

- I moved the spinner to the left to avoid broken fingers when playing Golf/Bowling games with the trackball.

- The 2 buttons to the right of the spinner are for spinner games where spinner is used with the left hand.  I figure I can setup to use normal player 1 buttons if the spinner is to be used in the right hand.

- Joysticks are Mag-Stick Plus's so I can change from 4/8 way on the fly.

Thats about it for now!  Any comments welcome!

Thanks

[DaveMMR]

Looks good but a few points:

• Why do you need a dedicated "shift" button and then have regularly used admin buttons on top of that?  (That question was strictly rhetorical, I read your reasoning).  Outside of perhaps "Escape" and "Pause", there's little else needed on a control panel for regular play (and the shift button was invented to avoid the need to have those buttons on your panel in the first place).  When you need to administrate, break out a keyboard.  Furthermore, the button that does nothing but "Shift" is confusing to people who are not you (plus it makes it way too easy for people to start messing around with settings).  Also something like "Player 2 start" can double as a shift.  I would ditch it.
• It all comes down to preference but I found buttons 1, 2, 3 on the top row and 4, 5, 6 on the bottom row offer the best comfort.  Test that one out and see if you don't agree.
• Also just me, but mouse buttons seems to be redundant and unnecessary on a cab unless you want to play a PC game that has no option of remapping (then again, if you can't remap, what good is it on a cab).  And if you're using it for admin, see my first point.  Most front-ends are keyboard or control driven.  Also, their placement seems awkward since your palm may inadvertently hit them during game time.
• The extra action buttons for the spinner hanging out in between all the admin buttons may be unnecessary at best and confusing at worst.  They will get lost in between the coins, starts, exits and what-have-you.  Ultimately, they are not needed.  Either player's row of six buttons is up to the task.
• I've always preferred a coin door over coin buttons, or coin buttons off the panel.  But that's just my preference and has nothing to do with how you want to do it.  I'm just selfishly working my politics into a critique and you can safely ignore this bullet.

Basically, I'm just of the opinion that fewer buttons are always better than too many, especially when people come over and you have to explain which button does what (you think people actually read labels?).  I ended up ditching even the "Pause" and "Escape" buttons, leaving that to the Shift button (which is P2 Start).

For the layout of the controls themselves, your best bet would be to make a mock-up and play a good hour or so to see if everything is comfortable. 

It's looking good so far otherwise!   

[Thurman]

The only advice I can give would be to cut down on the number of buttons.  People are going to get really confused with that top row of buttons.  What are the P1-1 and P2-1 buttons doing in that row?  Take out the Pause button.  Other than that, looks good.

[TOK]

The shape and layout of my control panel is very similar to what you're planning, but here are the differences that work for me. First, I don't like the admin and coin buttons on the panel, in the interest of keeping it looking like a real machine. There are tons of places to conceal the buttons, and use the coin door for handling the credits, even if you don't use coins in the mechinisms.

Where your shift key is, I put a regular button. I kept it close to the stick so it could be used as Reverse for Defender. My last panel for this same machine had separate trackball buttons. This time around, I consolidated the buttons and mouse 1 through 3 are the bottom row of player 1.

Where the blue button at the bottom right of my layout is will be the spinner. I didn't get it yet, but wanted to make the hole for it. The reason I put it at the bottom is because I wanted the top of the trackball area clear for Golden Tee. Even though you have it offset, many Golden Tee courses require a hard swing left toward your spinner knob. The trackball buttons and spinner location are the only absolute changes I would want for your layout. It's very functional otherwise.

[Green Giant]

Get a coin door first.  Then relocate the coin buttons under the panel so you still have them, but it will look like you just have the coin door.  Wired mine up to accept either input, and I will eventually have a switch to disable the coin buttons where the door is the only option.

Lose the shift or add a second button on the other side for neogeo.  You don't need shift at all.  The main control you will want outside of exit and pause is tab.  Just map two buttons on the panel to be tab.  I have to hit all my pinball buttons at the same time to hit tab.

Lastly, if you want the mouse buttons, I have them, move them above the trackball and towards the outside.  This way you can rest your hand on the panel when using the trackball.

[stuckpixel]

I'll echo what everyone has said and say ditch the shift button. If you really want to do chording for admin functions, you can always chord with P1 Start + P1 buttons, as you really shouldn't  be hitting them simultaneously ever.

Mock the CP up in cardboard or something first. What kind of trackball are you using? If it's a high-lip, then you should be fine but if it's a standard TB, test to make sure you aren't going to be whacking your hand on the spinner/buttons.

Personally, I'd also say you don't really need the dedicated trackball buttons, as you could just use those for your P1/P2 starts or something like that. But, some people plan on being in windows a lot more than others so if that's the case then it's really a judgment call.

Depending on whether you like the more traditional SF setup, you might want to look at the bfauska button layout. It's super comfortable, and looks nice. With my build, I offset the bottom row to give me something that's still really close to Street Fighter, but that will also allow me to play Neo-Geo style comfortably. (I've attached the original bfauska PDF)

Good luck with the build and be sure to post lots of pictures/build updates!

[Jimbo]

Wow, thanks for all the responses and tips.

My dilemma is that I'm left-handed, so I'll almost always want to use the trackball/spinner in my left hand, but I also want all my right-handed friends to be able to use the cab too.  What I think I'll do is create a seperate control panel for the trackball and another one for the spinner.  I'm making the control panels before I build my cab, so if I'm careful about width I should be able to get a nice swappable panel system setup.

So I think I'll go with 3 panels:

1 )  2 x Mag-Stick Plus with 8 buttons each, plus P1/P2 start (thanks for the advice about the admin buttons, I'll keep them under the panel or on the side, or use the P2 start as a shift).  I've decided on 8 buttons per player because I will want to run some of my favourite playstation 1 games on the cab.

2 )  Trackball in centre, plus 3 x buttons on both sides of it (for me and my right-handed friends), plus I might have 2 mouse-mapped buttons underneath the trackball too (since I want to play Amiga games on the cab, and ScummVM games).  P1/P2 Starts on this panel (for alternate play), with admin buttons underneath/on side/shifted.

3 )   Spinner in centre, plus 3 buttons each side of it and P1/P2 starts, admin buttons as in no. 2 above.

I never play pinball, but I think I'll also stick some pinball buttons on the side of panel 1 too.

Thanks again for all the advice!  If you can see any problems with my proposed new setup, be nice to hear your opinions.

Jimbo

[TOK]

Have you tried the trackball layout with both hands? The reason I ask is that I'm left handed too, but find that it doesn't seem to matter with control layouts. If you think about it, right handed people should be at a huge disadvantage with the typical stick/button layout since they're doing the find controls with their left hand but nobody seems to mind.

[unclet]

I would not put the mouse buttons in front of the the trackball.   I would also add some pinball buttons on the side.

[shardian]

The shift button near controls is a BIG no-no. Other people will absolutley DESTROY your settings accidentally, and on a regular basis. There really is no reason why you should need shift functions "on the fly" as I am gleaning is your purpose. The IPAC's use of P1 start as the shift key is useful, but I find I only like that on smaller panels that are meant to look "original". It would be in your best interest to hide the shift button on the underside of the cp, on the side of the cp, or possibly even in the coin door (though that could make it difficult to use.) I also recommend a "cut-out switch" for the shift key, ESPECIALLY if it is accessible by people that don't know how to use it. During a party, you could flip the switch to off and noone could mess up your machine.

Other than that, there really isn't anything horrible or revolutionary about your CP. Do a mock-up, and if you feel you like having dedicated mouse buttons, then keep them. If not, ditch them. We can tell you all day long what to do, but until you personally have messed with it hands on, you don't really know what you want.

Just a few pointers for you to consider. Good luck and ENJOY!

[lanman31337]

i think it would be slick to remove the shift button and put a soda fountain there.  this way you can do a quarter cresent forward plus refill your coke or pepsi in one swoop!

[AcidArmitage]

i think it would be slick to remove the shift button and put a soda fountain there.  this way you can do a quarter cresent forward plus refill your coke or pepsi in one swoop!

omg awesome!

[golfboyusa]

I would definitley move the spinner and mouse buttons. A golden Tee game could get dangerous on that set-up.

[f4phantomii]

One pointer I can give you.....your left joystick looks a tad close to the left edge.

Assuming the panel is going to sit on a box with at least a little overhang.

I ran into this problem with mine.  The joystick itself clears the wall of the box, but the connector sticking out of the microswitch on that side interferes with it.  I ended up having to bend the blade connector on the microswitch about 90 degrees.

Not sure what trackball you are using.  I'm using an Xarcade 3-inch trackball that functions as a regular USB mouse.  I have my P1 and P2 buttons 1,2, &3 wired in as the mouse buttons, freeing up 6 slots on my IPAC for dedicated admin buttons.  That also means those buttons function as a regular 3-button mouse buttons outside of mame, eliminating the need for dedicated mouse buttons near the trackball.

I'm not one of these purists that have to have a clean looking arcade panel with hidden admin buttons.   I wanted mine out front where I could use them.  However, I didn't want them to be regular size fire buttons either.  My admin buttons are much smaller and clustered together with labels.

[Jimbo]

OK thanks for your advice everyone. It's great to have so much feedback

Anyway, I've taken on board all you have said and decided what I *actually* want, and have come up with a new design.  I'll be making removable control panels, but I'll start with the first one (a 2 player one). I want all control panels to be the exact width of the cab.  I've removed all admin buttons, and will have those shifted with P2-start.  I don't want people tinkering with my settings once I have it all up and running! You can't see it in the pic, but I'll also have some pinball buttons on the side.  Comments/advice welcome on the new design of course

Thanks again everyone.

Jimbo

[Jimbo]

Ah just thought of 2 more questions: -

What's the recommended height of a control panel... by height I mean how much vertical space should be made available inside the panel to fit all the controls?

Also, what's the recommended sloping angle, from back to front (back higher, front lower)... or is this purely down to personal taste?

Thanks again

Jimbo

[paigeoliver]

3" of vertical space inside the panel clears any normal controls with room to spare, the only thing that isn't going to fit in 3" are some of the more obscure flight sticks and such.

There is no normal slope, original machines have used everything from totally flat to totally vertical. A large panel should only have a mild slope though. I would just make the monitor side of the panel box an 1" taller than the front side.

Ah just thought of 2 more questions: -

What's the recommended height of a control panel... by height I mean how much vertical space should be made available inside the panel to fit all the controls?

Also, what's the recommended sloping angle, from back to front (back higher, front lower)... or is this purely down to personal taste?

Thanks again

Jimbo

[f4phantomii]

I think the clearance below my main panel is about 5 inches....but I have rotary joysticks and the 12-position switch attached to the bottom of the joystick takes up more room than a standard 8-way.

As for slope, I have either 5 or 10 degrees of slope.  I think it should have been a few degrees more, but it's good enough the way it is.

If you have a CP that is lower to the ground, you probably want less slope.....if it's higher, you probably want a little more.

Mine is 38" from the floor at the base of the joysticks.