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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! :cheers:
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.