4-direction joystick placement on 4-person CP

[TxGlenn]

Hi everyone.  This is my first post.  I got the "fever" for adding an arcade to my gameroom  so have been addicted to this site and the various others explaining how to go about it.  Great stuff! 

Most of the games I can think of off the top of my head that I am anxious to play are 4-direction only games (DK, Pacman, Tapper).  I noticed most of the CPs I've seen in the CP thread had the 4-way pretty high...close to the monitor.  Since I imagine the 4-way joystick will be the "focus" of my game playing I thought I should have it in a more prime location on the CP.  Of course, I'd still like to have a trackball and the four 8-direction sticks.

I was looking for thoughts from anyone who also had this concern when they started and what you ended up doing.  Or from people who regretted putting it high or really any advice for me.  Perhaps the high location isn't as uncomfortable as it looks like it would be?

[severdhed]

i put the 4 way stick up high on my first 2player panel, and it was uncomfortable to use.    i then removed the trackball and spinner and put the 4way stick in the center where the trackball was, it was much better that way.   my friend just built a giant 4 player panel and the 4way stick is pretty high again, above player 1's buttons, however due to the added depth of the panel, it feels pretty good like that.  the biggest problem with mine was that there wasn't enough space between the top of the player 1 buttons, and the 4way, so you had no where to rest your hand.  i just convinced my wife that i need another cabinet, so i am going to make one with two 8way sticks, and the other cabinet will have a 4way, spinner and trackball...that way none of the panels are overly crowded and you should be able to use all of the controls really well.

i think that in your case, as long as the panel is deep enough, you shouln't have a problem.  just for reference, my friends panel is 18"x48"

[Ian]

Check out the artwork Waveryder made for me called the "ninjacade" The four way is above player 1...

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=74926.0

[aumameman]

What about the Mag Stick plus http://ultimarc.com/controls.html that way you can switch between 4 and 8 way on the one stick and have a nice clean Control panel. 

[TxGlenn]

Thanks for the replies guys.  Looks like I may have jumped the gun a little as after I posted I found those Ultra-Stick 360's which look like they are well-reviewed and would fit the bill perfectly. 

There is so much info to take in I guess I need to research all aspects of things before I pick a starting point.   

Thanks for the help!

[TxGlenn]

If I used an Ultra-Stick 360 for Player 1, would that be the only 360 I would need on the 4-player CP?  Could I use a Mag Stick for the other 3 players? Do they look the same?

I was trying to think of a situation where I would need two 4-way joysticks at the same time (Robotron, maybe?) Are there any games where 2 players play simultaneously with 4-way sticks?

[dgame]

If I used an Ultra-Stick 360 for Player 1, would that be the only 360 I would need on the 4-player CP?  Could I use a Mag Stick for the other 3 players? Do they look the same?

I was trying to think of a situation where I would need two 4-way joysticks at the same time (Robotron, maybe?) Are there any games where 2 players play simultaneously with 4-way sticks?

Karate Champ uses two 4 way sticks. I think the general consensus is that the two sticks should  match in dual stick games. I am using 4 U360s with round restrictors on my Smash TV MAME conversion. 

Layout:
Stick 1 -- 6 buttons -- Stick 3 --- space --- Stick 2 -- 6 buttons -- Stick 4

Sticks 1 & 2 will interface the P1/P2 buttons and Sticks 3 & 4 are the second sticks for dual stick games.


Also note that although the U360s can operate in 4 way mode, you won't have the 4 way only feel unless you install a 4 way restrictor. This is an easy physical modification, but keep in mind that they will operate as a 4 way in software, but will only feel like a 4 way with the restrictor installed.