Main > Main Forum

Control panel planning (2 u360s and buttons)

<< < (4/15) > >>

ragnar:
Four questions. that are trivial to non-newbies :applaud::

a) How far away should the joystick center be from the centers of the closest buttons?  Assume a 7 button layout with a u360.
b) What is the best software to use for designing CPs?
c) How should the P1 and P2 setups be centered on the CP?  Should I just find the exact center location of the joystick/buttons for P1 and P2 and make sure those are equidistant from the center-line of the CP?
d) How much separation, at a minimum, should there be between the P1 and P2 controls?

mgb:
a) How far away should the joystick center be from the centers of the closest buttons?  Assume a 7 button layout with a u360.
       - Typically around 3-4 inches. Check out http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/layout.html. This site has great info for planning a cp. You can download and print out joystick / button layouts. print them out and scale them so they're actual size and you will get a good feel for what works.

b) What is the best software to use for designing CPs?
       - I use paint shop pro. Others use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. I'm sure a lot more guys can chime in on this.

c) How should the P1 and P2 setups be centered on the CP?  Should I just find the exact center location of the joystick/buttons for P1 and P2 and make sure those are equidistant from the center-line of the CP?
    - From front to back, I guess somewhat centered depending on the size of the panel. From side to side, as far apart as possible so your not hitting player 2, but I guess not so far apart that double joystick games such as crazy climber are impossible. definately look at examples of others CPs to see what should work.

d) How much separation, at a minimum, should there be between the P1 and P2 controls?
       - That all depends on the width of the cp. You want to try and maximize that within what you've got to work with.Good luck

ragnar:
mgb,

Awesome answers.  Much appreciated!  That site you linked is awesome.

severdhed:

--- Quote from: ragnar on August 12, 2010, 05:59:48 pm ---Four questions. that are trivial to non-newbies :applaud::

a) How far away should the joystick center be from the centers of the closest buttons?  Assume a 7 button layout with a u360.
b) What is the best software to use for designing CPs?
c) How should the P1 and P2 setups be centered on the CP?  Should I just find the exact center location of the joystick/buttons for P1 and P2 and make sure those are equidistant from the center-line of the CP?
d) How much separation, at a minimum, should there be between the P1 and P2 controls?


--- End quote ---

a: i keep mine at 3", you can't really go any closer than that and still have room for wiring.
b: i've always used the mameroom customcontrol panel designer software, i dont remember where i got it, but it works well for rough layouts. Click Here for the software. (Link added by moderator)
c: I'd try to space them out as far as possible, the more room you have between them, the more comfortable it will be.  
d: i have 12" between the right-most buttons of player 1 and the joystick of player 2.  you could probably knock an inch or two off, but i have found that this spacing works well for two adults.

dont' forget to take into account the edges of the control panel as well.  my p1 joystick is 3" in from the left end of the panel, my hand pretty much rests on the edge, i wish i would have had an extra inch there.  also, I'm not sure how you are planning your panel, but the top of my panel has a 1/2" overhang on either side of the box below.  plus then take into consideration the thickness of the side wall of the box, (5/8")..that puts my joystick at 1 7/8" away from the inside wall of the box.  with a u360, this is just barely enough room to fit everything in.  (the usb port has to plug into the left side of the board)  with a standard microswitch stick, this is not enough space once you consider the wire connectors that stick out from the switch.  my point being, make sure the center of your joystick holes are at least 4 inches from any of the inside walls of your control panel box, or wiring will be a nightmare.


on a side note, i also vote for the controller adapters.  console emulation with arcade controls usually sucks.

ragnar:
severedhed,

Awesome comments.  Thanks for the idea about the overhang.  I had not thought of this and it makes alot of sense in terms of both comfort and CP design.  Makes the finishing much easier in terms of visible edges where pieces join.  The 4"+ rule from the joystick center to the edge is a good thing for me to remember.

I only have a rough idea in my head for design.  I figure I will do the CP build first, get Mame semi-configured and do sme learning.  Then I will design build the cabinet.  I have a rough idea in my head for the cab design.  I just have to figure out the monitor height, monitor depth into cabinet and CP height.  Everything else should fall into place.

Yes, I might end up with a frankenpanel jr.  If I put 9 buttons on top though, I figure that the worse case is that I have 2 unused buttons.  I view it as I do when remodeling a home.  It's easier to add extra lights in the ceiling when there is no drywall.  You can spend thousands remodeling and lights cost hundreds.  The worse case is you spend a little extra on lights you didn't need.  But the other side of the coin is that if you don't do it up front and need them later, the costs and headaches increase.  I'd rather just add two extra buttons for each player and never use them then end up regretting it later.  It's $10 out of about $500 that I am spending.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page

Go to full version