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6 or 7 buttons, how many buttons total?

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Richard_Nixon:
Hey guys, a newbie here with a few questions.

I've just about finished designing my cabin-err, coffee table desguised mame machine. And I'm in need of some design advice.

What would you guys say is the right amount of action buttons to use? 6?,7?,is 8 overkill?
I'm looking to play the regular arcade fare, and some NES-SNES-GENISIS games thrown in as well.
I see many cabs with 6, I see many with 7. Is that extra thumb button worth the work? Any use for an 8th?

Also to the veterans that might read this post, what is an ideal curve to put on those buttons? In my CAD drawing I have them curved on a 7" diameter circle. It seems alright on my printout, but is there an ideal diameter?

Besides the action buttons, Player 1, Player 2 and maybe a shift button for each player. What would you guys say is a standard amount? (I won't be installing a trackball or spinner)

Thanks guys, awsome, very informative site BTW.  :notworthy:

nitz:

--- Quote from: Richard_Nixon on January 19, 2012, 11:47:11 pm ---What would you guys say is the right amount of action buttons to use? 6?,7?,is 8 overkill?

--- End quote ---

8 is definitely overkill for what you're looking to play. Nothing in mame worth playing uses more than 6 buttons, unless you like mahjong and quiz type games.

I would say the standard amount of buttons is 6. The only real reason to have 7 is if you're planning on playing some later generation consoles (doesn't sound like you are) or want the thumb button. Are you really into Neo Geo games? Do you think you would like a thumb button for running in Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3? If you answered no to both those questions, you probably don't need the 7th button.

I have no experience with curved button layouts, so will let someone else answer that one.

Welcome to the forum. :cheers:

Dawgz Rule:
Ditto.   The seven button layout is nice if you are going to play Neo-Geo games.  Here is a good link that discusses button layout:

http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/layout.html

Malenko:
I like the "thumb button" not only for neogeo/run in MK but I use the ABC of the neogeo layout as the regular action buttons (like turbo, pass, and shoot in NBA Jam)

Richard_Nixon:

--- Quote from: Dawgz Rule on January 20, 2012, 05:51:21 am ---Ditto.   The seven button layout is nice if you are going to play Neo-Geo games.  Here is a good link that discusses button layout:

http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/layout.html


--- End quote ---

Great link, has good mesurements of curved layouts as well. Thanks.

Looks like I'll be going with lucky number 7. 

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