System buttons

[getnate]

I am making a 2 player Mame cabinet from scratch and I am considering how many system/admin buttons to put on it.

I plan to have these admin functions with custom graphics labeling them:
1. Volume up
2. Volume down
3. Back/Exit
4. Fast forward
5. Pause

Here are some admin buttons I dont want on my CP:
1. A separate joy stick to control the frontend
2. Go button
3. Coin buttons (i'll just use my coin box/door)
4: Power button


Some questions for those of you that have completed your mame cabinet:
1. Did you regret not having enough admin buttons on your CP? Did you regret having too many?
2. What admin buttons do you find indispensable? What functions did you include but were worthless?

-Nate

Edited: fixed grammar error

[OldTymeToys]

Hey Nate-

Check out this recent thread:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=91788.0

[ivwshane]

That's too many admin buttons in my opinion.

I've seen people make a volume knob which looks cleaner than volume buttons.

There is no reason to have a fast forward button as that can be easily mapped to one of the player buttons and you will never use it during a game.

A lot of people have suggested not having a dedicated exit button because in times of fast play it may accidentally be pressed. I personally have my exit button mapped to two button presses at the same time (P1+admin1/tab).

I have two admin buttons (that are also my left and right mouse buttons when in windows), I have a tab button for on the fly mame configuration and I have pause button.

Every thing else is only used when not playing a game so I have any other needed buttons mapped to the player buttons. For example, I have a back button (which when pressed enough times will exit mala) and I have a launch button which is mapped to player 1 and 2 start.

Volume control would be nice but to keep the arcade feel I plan on mounting a knob to the back of the cab as opposed to the front (since it's usually a one time per session setting no need to make it prominent).

[Namco]

The problem with admin buttons is you end up using them too much ie, launching a game and playing it for 15 seconds before quitting and launching another. Sometimes I want to go back to editing the autoexec.bat file to launch mame in dos and stick with one game and enjoy it. I say, just setup the front end/emulator to use the existing controls properly, use a coinmech for credits, and a secret key combination to escape.

For volume, you can't beat having a keyboard with volume control sitting on top of the cabinet, out of sight. Keeps the control panel area clean.

[DaveMMR]

I'll make this quick and dirty. 

1. Volume up/2. Volume down - Two buttons that don't need to be on your CP.  Put a simple knob in the back or off-panel.  Or use "SHIFTED" buttons.
3. Back/Exit - Useful, that one's good.   Just make it far away from the action.
4. Fast forward - Only a handful of games really have a use for this (mostly those DECO games for which there are non-DECO alternatives).  Otherwise it ends up being another button that you do not really need, wastes space and confuses people.
5. Pause - I'm on the fence with this one.  I personally don't like it out in the open (only "shifted") but it is useful.

Here are some admin buttons I dont want on my CP:
1. A separate joy stick to control the frontend - Something wrong with the joysticks you use to play games?  A dedicate joystick just to select a game is confusing, needlessly costly and uses too much space.
2. Go button - Not necessary.  Unless you mean the standard "Start" buttons (for which "Go" can double). 
3. Coin buttons (i'll just use my coin box/door) - Yup.  Definitely!
4: Power button - A given! 

Here's the thing I always repeat in all the "admin button idea" threads: Too many buttons becomes ugly and confusing.   Less is always more on your panel.  Also, too many admin buttons give your guests ample opportunity to mess with your settings (unwittingly or otherwise). 

Some questions for those of you that have completed your mame cabinet:
1. Did you regret not having enough admin buttons on your CP? Did you regret having too many?
2. What admin buttons do you find indispensable? What functions did you include but were worthless?

Actually, I had no admin buttons on my first panel.   Everything was shifted.   While it hides the stuff guests don't need to be bothered with, it did make exiting a little bit confusing until I explained it.   Even then, they often hit the "wrong" button and ended up in my TAB menu, etc.   So I added a cheap, $1.49 Radio Shack button on my revised panel for exiting.   

[javeryh]

I put P1 Start, P2 Start, Exit and Pause on all of my CPs.  I hide the volume knob inside the coin door and I hide the power button on the back of the cab (recessed).  I rig a coin return button for Coin (but also use quarters).  That's it.   

[severdhed]

power button and volume control knob on top of cabinet, pause, exit and player start buttons on panel, coin slots only.  all other functions shifted.   i have been through quite a few revisions of control panel...and each time i simpified it a little.  the more you have on there, the more confusing it is for your friends and family.  keep it simple, use shifted functions for Tab and whatever else you want.

[surface tension]

Not intending to self-promote here, but offer up an opposite view... On the surface tension table, I have a pair of volume buttons, as well as esc, pause and a credit each. They are fairly small buttons, and don't really get i the way. I use them all the time. They're not in line with authenticity... but then again, neither is the product.

You can see some good close-ups of the panel on the surface tension flickr page... http://www.flickr.com/photos/surface-tension

The Escape key can't be pressed accidentally as it needs a fairly solid press... that said, it could be pressed by stray little fingers!

[CrazyKongFan]

Why does everyone consider player 1 and 2 start to be system or admin buttons? How would you start a game without them? Just about every arcade game has separate start buttons, except for ones that use a start button as one of the action buttons (like Gauntlet, for example). That being said, here's what I have on my CP, with small buttons out of the way so they're not easy to hit. Top left, I have ESC and TAB, and in the top center (accessible to both players, but out of the way), Pause. Inside the coin door I have F2 and F3 on a switch (where it would normally be located on a real machine. F2 is to access service menus on some games, and F3 is reset). Also have the coin switches wired up to coin 1 and 2, but also have 2 buttons sticking on the front for the same feature (I used existing security bolt holes, and the buttons fit perfectly in them). That way, if I don't want to use quarters, I don't have to, but still have the option