4-Player Control Panel Mockup

[stones]

Hello! I'm new to this forum and this will be my first time building a cabinet. I was hoping someone could take a look at my 4-player control panel mockup and let me know if there are any glaring issues:



The admin buttons up top are hard to read, so they are as follows: pause, exit game, left & right mouse. The buttons on the outside of the panel are the four credit buttons. I will probably include a reset button on the side of the top right or top left of the panel (or possibly the back, where the panel would overhang past the cabinet itself).

Some questions:

1. I may sub out the 4-way super in the middle of the cabinet for a rotary joystick at some point. Are there any rotary games that require more than 3 buttons? Is there a more elegant way to apply that eyesore of a 5th joystick?

2. There are no buttons specifically for the trackball. I'm curious to know what buttons you map to accompany the trackball? First player's buttons 1 & 2? The mouse buttons?

Any comments/help appreciated, thanks very much.

[Turnarcades]

Looks fine as far as layout goes, if that 5th joystick is really necessary.
I would suggest having the side players at less of an angle. Up to 45 degrees from the front edge should be ok, but anything more will give people orientation difficulties when using the joysticks.

[stones]

Hey, thanks. For players 3 and 4 I was hoping I could feel that out at the next stage, where I can hopefully make a junky cardboard version. I'll probably do this after monitor-install so the viewing angles are good.

The 5th joystick actually isn't totally necessary, but I've heard more than many times that something like an 8-way or a Perfect 360 won't be able to control the older games (ie. Donkey Kong) properly. Is this a fact or are they being picky? I don't need face-melting scores in any of these games, but I'd like to play them without wanting to cry. What would you have recommended if there were no 5th?

[Turnarcades]

If, like me, you're a mid-80's/90's gamer and 4-ways aren't really your thing, go with just 8-ways. If they are, get a joystick that is 4/8-way switchable either by an electronic switch or with a quick-adjusting restrictor plate like many of Ultimarc's sticks, and fit that for player 1 instead.

[Avrus]

I'd recommend to have P3 and P4 positioned at a 90 degree like P1 and P2 but leave the buttons angled.  I'd recommend moving Joystick 5 (4way?) over a few inches to the left as you may smash your hand into it during aggressive trackball play.

[DaveMMR]

....Angled Joysticks!!!!!  Kill it!!!

Seriously, that's not going to work because the sticks are angled to absolutely no reference point (most "pro-anglers" at least parallel them to the way the panel is cut).  No one is ever, ever, EVER going to know how they are oriented (and no one "looks" at joystick bolts or "feels" corners when player games).  Seriously, they'll be completely worthless sticks.

Harsh?  Absolutely.  But I just saved you time and money.  Honestly, that will not work at all.  If you MUST angle your sticks, at least cut your panel in a way that's parallel with the way the sticks are laid out.

On the plus side, the rest of the design is solid.  If you get a joystick that can switch between 4 or 8 way (either through software ala U360 or other way), you can ditch the 5th stick that you're not digging.

P.S. I never figured out who started the whole "angling" thing when most contemporary 4-player cabs had rectangular CPs with joysticks all oriented straight.  Ah well...

[stones]

Awesome, thanks for the comments guys. I wasn't aware of the grand "angling" controversy, and really didn't even know it was a thing that existed. If anything, those joysticks were angled out of photoshop-rotate-tool-convenience, but it's great to know that they should be 90 degrees, so thanks much.  Just to clarify, if I'm player 3, and I hit "up" on the joystick, am I pressing towards the monitor, or towards player 4 (ie: north or east)?

Question about the 360's, is it possible to switch the p360's to be 4-way through software?

By the way, for future reference, all the joysticks are paid for.

[Avrus]

Awesome, thanks for the comments guys. I wasn't aware of the grand "angling" controversy, and really didn't even know it was a thing that exsted. If anything, those joysticks were angled out of photoshop-rotate-tool-convenience, but it's great to know that they should be 90 degrees, so thanks much.  Just to clarify, if I'm player 3, and I hit "up" on the joystick, am I pressing towards the monitor, or towards player 4 (ie: north or east)?

Question about the 360's, is it possible to switch the p360's to be 4-way through software?

By the way, for future reference, all the joysticks are paid for.

You push 'north' as it were.  Towards the top edge of the control panel.  It may seem odd but you drop someone into that position and they automatically do it right the first time.

[DaveMMR]

Awesome, thanks for the comments guys. I wasn't aware of the grand "angling" controversy, and really didn't even know it was a thing that exsted. If anything, those joysticks were angled out of photoshop-rotate-tool-convenience, but it's great to know that they should be 90 degrees, so thanks much.  Just to clarify, if I'm player 3, and I hit "up" on the joystick, am I pressing towards the monitor, or towards player 4 (ie: north or east)?

Question about the 360's, is it possible to switch the p360's to be 4-way through software?

By the way, for future reference, all the joysticks are paid for.

You push 'north' as it were.  Towards the top edge of the control panel.  It may seem odd but you drop someone into that position and they automatically do it right the first time.

The monitor is the number one visual reference point for direction of joystick.  You don't have to stand front and center in front of the panel to control a sprite intuitively (see: Gauntlet).