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4p control panel dimensions for inline 3/4 player sticks
DaveMMR:
--- Quote from: gonzo90017 on June 24, 2008, 01:07:17 pm ---That looks kind of crowded. I think Lucid's design is roomier.
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Careful: "Roomy" sometimes translates to "6-foot wide". Granted, 4-Player panels in the arcade were hardly a beacon of breathing room, but it's important to strike that fine balance between acceptable crowding and surf board.
--- Quote from: bardon on June 24, 2008, 12:17:46 pm ---I ended up going for a mod on jakobud's design that looks like it'll work. Still in the process of building it, but here's what I have so far:
This means that the full cab will look something like this:
That is, of course, once I actually get around to finishing the build. Panel is wider than the cab, but I don't think it'll be too bad.
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I like this design a lot but I agree that the button numbers are overkill for the outer players (inner players too, actually). Remember that SNES and PS1 games only supported 4-players through a separate adapter (read: there weren't that many 4-player simo games released). I would make a list of games you intend to support for those systems to see if you really need that many buttons. Otherwise, 4-6-6-4 (standard) would be fine. (Replace the 6's with 7's or 8's if needed).
bardon:
The inner players need 8 buttons-6 action plus coin and start buttons. While it's also true that there are VERY few games that support 6 buttons for 4 players, I can't really add more buttons later on if I made the panel narrower and decided to go with 4-6-6-4 like I've seen elsewhere. Better to have more buttons that you don't need than want more later. Besides, it also means that you could have 2 people on a 2p game at positions 3 and 4 if you want a whole lot of extra breathing room, or even go with something like a lefty flip (buttons from p3 and stick from p1) for a real challenge. Basically, it seemed like a good way to keep things versatile without building a fully modular panel. There's even enough room in the middle for a trackball/spinner if I want to add one in later on.
miles2912:
There are only a handful of games that use a start + coin button for players 3 and 4. The games that do need it only use 2 or 3 buttons at most. With a standard 6 pack of buttons you can just remap some unused buttons. .. if you want to save some CP space that is. Also check your spacing between the joystick and the buttons. Looks a little tight. I might head to an arcade and see what kind of spacing you like. Might want to consider angling players 3 and 4 just for people spacing. I have some pretty heathy eating friends that would fell cramped with your set up.
Just some thoughts ...
lanman31337:
I did 8 because my friends and I loooove to play Powerstones/Powerstones 2. Works out perfect for those games.
Ginsu Victim:
--- Quote from: lanman31337 on June 25, 2008, 01:04:07 pm ---I did 8 because my friends and I loooove to play Powerstones/Powerstones 2. Works out perfect for those games.
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But you only need six for Dreamcast.