Anyone played a Simpsons arcade?

[StLouisRod]

My Mame cabinet is designed after a real Simpsons arcade game, with 4 players.  The two side joysticks (player 3 and 4) are mounted at 45 degree angles so players can be off to the side.  Unfortunately, this can be confusing to players who keep saying "It's not going UP!!!" because they are pushing up towards the monitor instead of at 45 degree angle.  So my question is, does the real Simpsons force players to twist 45 degrees off axis to play the game, or are the side joysticks mounted just like the other 2?  Thx!

[meta87]

Here is a pic, looks like the joysticks are all lined up but the buttons are at an angle. (I love this game )

[StLouisRod]

Thanks, but I've seen pics of the control panel on KLOV, etc.  This doesn't necessarily mean that the joysticks are mounted exactly the same, just that the bolt heads line up the same.  Granted, the joysticks would have to be some weird custom design with the switches rotated at 45 degrees, but the bolt holes in the traditional locations (all 4 corners).

Your picture actually supports my idea that the joysticks are 45 degree mounts.  How could you play straight away with those buttons right where your arm would rest?  You'd HAVE to be off at a 45 degree angle to comfortably push those buttons!

[meta87]

I used to play this game alot but can't remember.

I was always Bart  

[spectre]

i was always homer, i love that game!  (crazy simpsons head over here lol) i love homer... but marge was easiest with the giant vaccum.. in any case i remember them being straight...but that was years ago, since then i've only seen 2 player cabs...

[Amra]

The game used regular joysticks, they were all mounted the same way, not cocked at 45 degrees.  People push te joystick in the direction the character needs to go, thus when the character needs t go up, they push us, which is diaganal on your cab.  Change the orientation 45

[Dexter]

Yep, if memory serves they were all mounted the same i.e. no 45 degree angles.

Dexter

[jakejake28]

i actu ally have a simpsons 4-p cab, fully restored. the joysticks line up, the buttons do not. the joysticks are oriented not towards the moniter. they are oriented parralel with the p-1 and p-2 joystick, so up is the same direction for all 4 players

[HeadRusch]

I'm curious...Simpsons has a great attract mode....and fun graphics...but..the game totally stinks, its like the most boring beat-em-up ever

Plus, does anyone ever really want to play as marge or lisa?

It shoulda been Homer, Barney, Moe and...FLANDERS!
With his patented "Bible Thumping" move!

[BillyJack]

Yeah, and Moe could cut you up with broken beer bottles and his "stinger" boxing glove.  Wow, they really could've done better with that game, but I think it was a time of "let's use the TMNT engine and just replace the sprites with the biggest thing"... or maybe it was an x-men engine? or an avenger's engine?  anyway... those games weren't very fun but I still played the hell out of them.  It could've been great though.  With all the characters you can choose from in the newer SF type games, you could've chosen any out of like 200 characters from the Simpsons!  (Do I exagerate?)

Bumblebee Man, The Sea Captain, Disco Stu, Handsome Pete, etc...   and don't you think they could've done better than Mr. Burns as the bad guy?  Think about Kodos and Kang or Reverend Lovejoy or someone truly evil...  Well, maybe Mr. Burns but jesus... a diamond in Maggie's mouth, WTF!?

Sorry,

BillyJack

[Wade]

Amra is right... BUT rotating the sticks that way on your cab will make every OTHER game play weird.

Wade

[HeadRusch]

It definately wasn't the Avengers engine, that was a Data East license......(but that is an example of what I consider a really fun side-scroller beat em up).  

It was the TMNT Konami engine I guess......but anyhow, getting back to controls...agreed: Never angle your player 3 and 4 sticks.

It looks cool, and IMHO plays crappy for Players 3 and 4.......plus it makes using dual joystick games like smash TV a pita if you're doing it 2 players...

[StLouisRod]

Thanks everyone for answering my question!

I'm still surprise that the real Simpsons control panel had such hideous locations for the player 3 and 4 buttons!!!  You'd have to stand on the side or corner, twist your left hand at an angle since the joysticks weren't rotated, then wrap your OTHER hand around to somehow press the buttons.... YUCK!!!  Luckily the game doesn't require exact diagonal movements, so it didn't really matter play-wise.  Now a game like Sunset Riders where you have to power slide to beat the bosses becomes quite difficult with the 45 degree rotated joysticks.

I still prefer my design over the Simpsons one.  But the question is, why didn't Konami put the player 3 and 4 buttons high and right?  THere's plenty of room for them there!

[paigeoliver]

The original Simpsons panel looks several inches smaller than yours. If you look at the button layout carefully you see it is designed to have the people standing more at the SIDE of the panel, instead of in front of it.

I never actually played one of those things with more than 2 people, but I always remember being Lisa, and don't recall having any control problems at all.

[JODY]

Don't rotate your sticks.  Leave them as is so things work fine for most games.  In the Simpsons, use the Tab option to go into the control settings for just that game and reprogram player 3 and 4 to work properly.  Similar to the way a lot of people change an 8 way stick to only recognize diagonals for playing Q*Bert.  Should work great as long as your sticks register diagonals well.

On second thought that won't work because it is an 8-way game and Mame wouldn't know that up, down, left, right are really the diagonals.