What admin buttons do you have on your CP?

[erictrumpet]

Hi guys -

Just wondering what others do for admin buttons. I have always believed in a minimum of admin buttons on the CP. Which ones do you think are essential? Besides Player 1/Player 2 start buttons, what else must be on the CP? Coin, Pause, Exit... any others? (And even coin could be left off if you either hide the button on the back/underside of the CP or just use your coin door every time.)

I'm looking for ideas about this for my next project. Confession: I have never used a front end. I've always just used Mame32. But for this new cab project I definitely want to use a front end, and perhaps even conceal the Windows environment entirely. So, what do I need to include on the CP, without cluttering it with too many admin buttons?

(P.S. Not to hijack my own topic, but I welcome front end recommendations. I am not a MAME newbie by any stretch, but I am definitely a front end newbie and the numerous options are somewhat overwhelming.)

Thanks!
Eric.

[erictrumpet]

Just found this in another thread and thought it was interesting enough to post it in my own topic.
The pinball buttons would make good pause buttons. (Except in pinball, obviously.)
This eliminates one of the admin buttons from the CP top and keeps pause easily accessible -- and sort of "hidden" since pause is, after all, a form of cheating.

Eric.

[Dazz]

All I have is a hidden pause/tab button and just added an EXIT/ESC button.  The hidden pause/tab button pauses the game and also goes into the MAME button config and brings up my CPWizard info.

[G1zm0]

just use the shift function and shift your admin keys

like hold player one and press player 2 and get tab, player one press joy up and get  exit and so forth.
any combo you want, or add a extra button and use that to trigger shift

saves adding extra buttons and cp clutter

[shmokes]

I vote for none.  They are unnecessary and ugly.  Use the shift function or hide the buttons away.

[shmokes]

. . . I welcome front end recommendations.

The public beta for Hyperspin was just released.  Looks pretty cool.

[Franco B]

I think it comes down to who will be using your cab, what space you have and how cluttered you want the CP to be

If its just you that will be using you cab you could get away without any physical admin buttons and just use shifted inputs (as long as you are using an encoder that supports shifted inputs).

That would give you the cleanest/least cluttered CP but its easy to forget exactly which shifted inputs do what if you have more than a few and you don't want to accidentally exit a game, overwrite a save state or open the config by mistake in the middle of a session.

Just using shifted inputs makes it even harder if you have guests playing on your machine, especially at a party. If you are just using shifted inputs you will be going back to the machine every 15 minutes or so as someone wants the game changing or they have exited by accident or something.

What I would suggest would be just to have enough admin buttons to control the functions that you regularly use and then use shifted inputs for everything else.

For me this will be start game, exit game and also volume up and volume down. The front panels of my CPs have the coin and start buttons on. I will then use shifted inputs for pause, save/load state etc.

Its easy to have an admin button for everything but this can end up being cluttered, confusing and can be a waste having a button for something you use once in a blue moon.

You also don't have to have your buttons on the CP itsself. You could have full size or smaller buttons mounted below the monitor, or in my cocktails case mounted in the sections either side of the CP.

Example of buttons below the monitor:



Planned location of my admin buttons:

[protokatie]

I vote for none.  They are unnecessary and ugly.  Use the shift function or hide the buttons away.

IDK, I would think that having atleast an easy to see/access exit button would be a good deal. Do you really want to have to tell your friends how to use the shifted buttons to exit a game? I personally planned 3 admin buttons that are to be placed in a manner that isnt in your face, but still easy to see (the admin buttons will be: shift, exit, and pause).

Then again, if the cab is only going to run one game, then no admin buttons would be the absolute best.

[TOK]

I vote for none.  They are unnecessary and ugly.  Use the shift function or hide the buttons away.

What he said.

I hide the buttons either up top or under the panel. There was just another thread on this and I posted pics of the little coin-up button I hid inside the coin return.

[Ginsu Victim]

Do you really want to have to tell your friends how to use the shifted buttons to exit a game?

I have a nice, but simple, instruction card for this. (Though it has gone through some revisions)

[shmokes]

IDK, I would think that having atleast an easy to see/access exit button would be a good deal.

If you feel you need a dedicated admin button or two, I say put them on top of the cab or under the panel.  It's not like you're going to have it in a commercial location.  When someone new wants to play the cab you simply say, "That's the exit button.  It will take you out of a game and back to the menu if you decide to play something else."  Shift buttons may not be for everybody, but IMO, a panel with no admin buttons is just superior to one without.  You don't necessarily lose any functionality (cos you can still have the buttons), and it looks much nicer and more authentic.

[jeffhlewis]

On my actual CP:

1 - Exit from Game to Mala Menu
2 - Pause


On the back of my cabinet (though these aren't really "admin" buttons per se):

1 - Power On
2 - Service (F2)


The pause button I had to think about a lot but beyond that I didn't want to go overboard with dedicated Tab buttons and whatnot.

[erictrumpet]

Thanks a lot for the replies guys.

I have used shift function for my previous panels but there are two downsides:
- explaining it to others (and now I have little kids old enough to play my cab); and
- kids/strangers (or even me!) accidentally activating a shift function while playing.
So, I wanted to stay away from shift functions this time.

I think this is what I will do:

- Coin will be a button on the backside of the "wing" of my CP. Also, using an actual coin in the coin door of course.
- Pause will be my pinball buttons. If playing pinball, sorry you can't pause.
- Enter/Select and Exit will be visible on the CP and labeled.

So, basically just two visible admin buttons.

Thanks for the input!

Eric.

[shmokes]

Scratch the coin button altogether and wire your coin door so that when you press the coin return button it gives you a credit.  Better looking panel, and 1000x cooler too.

[TOK]

This is where I hid the small button for mine. The coin mechs function as original, but this can be used when there aren't quarters around or a bunch of credits need to be added (good for the games that don't have freeplay during parties).

The control panel with sticks, trackball and spinner is a giveaway on my horizontal cab, but my two other machines have regular panels on them. Only people from here could make an educated guess that they are mutigame/MAME cabs. I think thats kind of cool.

[miles2912]

Thanks a lot for the replies guys.

I have used shift function for my previous panels but there are two downsides:
- explaining it to others (and now I have little kids old enough to play my cab); and
- kids/strangers (or even me!) accidentally activating a shift function while playing.
So, I wanted to stay away from shift functions this time.

I think this is what I will do:

- Coin will be a button on the backside of the "wing" of my CP. Also, using an actual coin in the coin door of course.
- Pause will be my pinball buttons. If playing pinball, sorry you can't pause.
- Enter/Select and Exit will be visible on the CP and labeled.

So, basically just two visible admin buttons.

The p1 button is usually used to select a game.  The 'enter' key is really only used (at least on my cab) when you have tabbed into a game's setup and need to select an option.   The pinball/pause thing should work ok.  I have a shifted exit on my game.. good so that adults have no problem learning how to exit (they pick up on it quick or get stuck w/ one game) and kids only get to play the games I want them to.

To each his own however ...

[shmokes]

This is where I hid the small button for mine.

Heh . . . that's kind of cool.  My coin door has the standard, translucent rectangle coin-return button built into it, so I'm just going to hack a switch onto it so that pressing it will give a credit.  I figure there's already a button there . . . might as well make use of it.

[Paul Olson]

I have two coin buttons and a pause button on the bottom of the panel. They are shifted for Tab, ESC, and Enter.

[Franco B]

I vote for none.  They are unnecessary and ugly.  Use the shift function or hide the buttons away.

They don't have to look ugly, I agree that a load of standard 'happ' or larger admin buttons can look ugly but in fact I think they can make a cab look even better. Im either going to use some luminated anti-vandall switches with some Pongo vinyl cutouts like these:



Or use these 5v touch/proximity sensitive PCBs I traded with a friend (you know who you are) and mount them behind some plexi with vinyl graphics on the front. There wont be any button, you will just touch the graphic and it will perform the required task:

[erictrumpet]

Wow, two great ideas from the last several posts:

1- wire the coin return button (or add a little button on the coin door) for credit. Somehow, "interacting" with the coin door -- even if not by dropping in a coin -- is so much more authentic.

2- forget the enter button, just use Player 1 start.

The only problem with the coin door located coin button is that on this particular cab I am converting (NBA Jam Extreme - 1996), the coin door is quite a bit down and "under" the CP, so this may not be very convenient, especially if seated on a stool with your knees under the CP. And that's how it came from the factory - the game was originally a 4-player CP, so I am retaining the exact dimensions of the original CP and instead of being 4-player it's just a typical 1/2-player Frankenpanel.

Thanks again - keep the ideas coming

Eric.

[ideft]

I have a shift button and a pause.  The shift is I use in Mame for all the extra stuff, in the consoles I use it as an exit button and in the frontend I use it to call the menu.  A pause button in my opinion is a must, I also use that in the frontend as well to select games.  If I were to do another CP (hopefully someday)  I would stick with 2 admin button, no more no less.

[TOK]

Wow, two great ideas from the last several posts:

1- wire the coin return button (or add a little button on the coin door) for credit. Somehow, "interacting" with the coin door -- even if not by dropping in a coin -- is so much more authentic.

2- forget the enter button, just use Player 1 start.

The only problem with the coin door located coin button is that on this particular cab I am converting (NBA Jam Extreme - 1996), the coin door is quite a bit down and "under" the CP, so this may not be very convenient, especially if seated on a stool with your knees under the CP. And that's how it came from the factory - the game was originally a 4-player CP, so I am retaining the exact dimensions of the original CP and instead of being 4-player it's just a typical 1/2-player Frankenpanel.

Thanks again - keep the ideas coming

Eric.

My vert Dynamo cab is kind of like this. I put a button under the panel right against the edge of the cab. You don't see it while playing because its on the overhang.

[javeryh]

Scratch the coin button altogether and wire your coin door so that when you press the coin return button it gives you a credit.  Better looking panel, and 1000x cooler too.

This is what I did - it's badass.



Details HERE

[javeryh]

Or use these 5v touch/proximity sensitive PCBs I traded with a friend (you know who you are) and mount them behind some plexi with vinyl graphics on the front. There wont be any button, you will just touch the graphic and it will perform the required task:

Franco - You have to do this AND write a detailed explanation - that sounds awesome.   

[Franco B]

Don't worry, I will give lots of info when the time comes. I didn't include the name of the person who i got them from because I don't want them to be  inundated with requests for the PCBs as AFAIK he only had a few produced and he was kind enough to trade with me with the spare few he had.. I will point him to the thread though and he can input if he wishes to.

Basically there is a 3 lead harness. +5v power, switch output (to IPAC etc) and ground. I have tested the PCBs so far and they work though a minimum of 1.5mm plastic/glass. I was hoping they would work though 1/4" glass so I could have admin buttons on my table top but not to worry. After testing  I can still mount the PCBs behind some 1mm material + vinyl and still use them as intended.

[Jack Burton]

Eh, I have have three admin buttons on mine. 

Exit
Menu
Pause

In addition to having dedicated service and coin buttons.  It's just more convenient than having to get up and down to add credits or change button configuration settings.  I run advmenu as my front end. 

Might wire up the coin door now that I've got replacement parts though.  I'll still keep the coin button because it's quicker and easier to access.