4p control panel dimensions for inline 3/4 player sticks

[bardon]

I'm trying to figure out a good set of dimensions for a 4p panel with 6 buttons on each stick (no spinner or trackball yet), and I'm having a hard time finding decent dimensions.  I've been using some of the layout's at jakobud's site as a starting point, but I'm curious whether something like his 4p design gets too crowded with 4 people playing at once.  It looks like a lot of other designs have angled the 3/4 player sticks, but I'd rather keep them inline with the center 1/2 player ones for twin stick shooters.  Given that I have a 27" TV going in the cabinet, I have some space to play with, but I'd hate to build a 4p panel that's too small to actually get 4 people around.  Maybe a minor mod on jakobud's layout without the spinner and making the panel a full 48" wide would work?  It'd give 2p games a little more breathing room, and might still work for 4 players. 

Anyone care to share some opinions on 4p cabinet design?

[KWeise]

Did you come up with anything here? I'm about to do a 4 player panel now, and looking for good playable layouts. My friends and I are Gauntlet fools... 

[nuka1195]

has anybody thought of doing two two player cp's and a dual dsiplay setup. those 4 player cp's are huge and kinda ugly.

[lanman31337]

Lucid's design for cab.  CP is 47x19.  Fits 4 guys comfortably.

[slsimon]

has anybody thought of doing two two player cp's and a dual dsiplay setup. those 4 player cp's are huge and kinda ugly.

Yeah the 4 player cabinets are all around monsterous.  Below is a link to the 4 player panel I built and works out great with multiple players.  Since then, I have replaced all the colored buttons with GGG's Electric Ice buttons as well as the GGG Electric Ice trackball.  Just now getting to the software configuration portion of the setup for the RGB boards.  Overall I am very happy with the way the cabinet turned out.  Not to shabby for my first build. 

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=74813.0

[DaveMMR]

Lucid's design for cab.  CP is 47x19.  Fits 4 guys comfortably.

Non-angled joysticks?    Best 4-player panel EVER!!!   

But to answer the question of the OP, you should check out KLOV and look at some actual 4-player panels for Gauntlet, NBA Jam, etc. to get some ideas of layout and dimensions.   Also, check out www.jakobud.com for some dimensions.   Because even with adding a trackball and/or spinner, you shouldn't need to add a great deal of width/depth to a panel.

[bardon]

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. 

[Blanka]

Thought player 3 and 4 never use more than 4 buttons. Games that use 8 for any person are also very rare.

[gonzo90017]

That looks kind of crowded. I think Lucid's design is roomier.

[bardon]

You're right, there are very few times when you'll need all 8 buttons for players 3 and 4, but you can use them in 4p SNES games.  They're also there for a bit of symmetry, and because there's room on the ipac for them.  They can become extra system buttons or something else if I decide later on that I want to reprogram them. 

[DaveMMR]

That looks kind of crowded. I think Lucid's design is roomier.

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. 

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. 

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]

I did 8 because my friends and I loooove to play Powerstones/Powerstones 2.  Works out perfect for those games.

But you only need six for Dreamcast.

[grumlenz]

repost, sorry.

[grumlenz]

repost, sorry.

[grumlenz]

repost, sorry

[grumlenz]

How is the playability of a straight across layout like this (and others in this thread) for players 3 and 4? Since they are not angled looking into the monitor is it still good? This looks like a viable option for me as my panel will be 48" wide (27" monitor), though I will have only 4 buttons for players 3 and 4. Seems like this would eliminate any awkwardness with the whole angled joystick or not for 3 and 4... Any feedback? Thanks!

Lucid's design for cab.  CP is 47x19.  Fits 4 guys comfortably.

[Ginsu Victim]

Modify

[grumlenz]

Good call! My bad. 

[Jack Burton]

I am against 4 player 1 display cabinets.  I know many of you guys have owned, built, and loved them, but for me they have always been a headache to play on.  If they have angled joysticks then I 

Don't get me wrong, I love 4 player gaming.  But if I were to make a 4 player setup it would definitely be something with 2 displays. 

I want to build something like these and link them together back to back.



or MAYBE build some truly monstrous cab with a 50 inch monitor or something.

[grumlenz]

That would be sweet to link up 2 separate cabinets! Would you be "less against" a 4 player cabinet like the one pictured since the joysticks are not angled? I think I may ste mine up similar to this one.

[Silverwind]

That would be sweet to link up 2 separate cabinets! Would you be "less against" a 4 player cabinet like the one pictured since the joysticks are not angled? I think I may ste mine up similar to this one.

You know you could probably build two cabinets, use one computer, and a VGA splitter or some such.   Sort of like the 4 player cadash, but that one was a little different because the screens were not mirrored you could be in separate areas.