Thinking about building a 2 player controller...

[Pete Harcoff]

Hi all.  First post here...

I recently discovered this site, and after browsing through lots of other controllers people have built, I am strongly considering building my own (I originally thought about getting an X-Arcade, but I guess it's more fun to do it yourself).

I mainly want a 2-player controller for the various Capcom fighting games.  Here's my current design:



The only thing I'm debating about is the 3 purple buttons in the middle.  I want to make it "lefty friendly" and am wondering the best way to go about that.  My main question is how do lefties play?  Would the buttons layout be mirrored compared to having the buttons on the right (i.e. button 1-3 go from right to left)?  Or do the buttons go in the same direction (from left to right)?

Should I put an additional 3 buttons (so there are 6 buttons on the left) and simply wire them so they are clones of the buttons on the right?

I'm also wondering about what material might be best to build this out of.  Weight isn't a big factor (ideally I want it to be a bit heavy to keep from moving during frenzied gaming).

Also, what's the clearance needed for standard horizontal microswitch buttons?  Would 3 inches be enough?

[JamesS]

If you have Visuo at home, download the templates from this website.  I used that for mine and if you at my post about drilling and wiring it, you can see that the layout worked great.  

As far as lefties I do not know how that would work.

But it looks good so far.

[Pixelhugger]

happcontrols.com should have all the dimensions for the buttons (hole size, bezel diameter, etc.) I wish I had set mine as close together as possible (bezel edges nearly touching) since leaving extra clearance between buttons left them a bit too far apart to comfortably rest my fingers across.

As far as lefties go, I'm guessing they'd play the same as right handed people, since they'd have gotten used to playing on "right handed" games....unless they never played on an arcade cab, in which case I guess they'd have a natural preference....dunno...

[unclet]

Pixelhugger we get the point  

I would recommend putting a 4-way joystick up there where the blue/red/yellow buttons are located (move those buttons somewhere else) and have 4 buttons associated with that joystick.   These buttons would have the same mappings as your "4" purple buttons next to your 8-way joystick.   If the player standing on the right side of your control panel wants to play lefty then he can simply use the 4 buttons associated with the 4-way joystick instead.  This way if you do not have a lefty playing you will also have a 4-way joystick to play games like PacMan, DonkeyKong, etc...   and you will not have 3 odd looking purple buttons in the middle of a control panel (since this is where a trackball should go   )


Having the lefty buttons not directly to the left of the joystick should not really matter... we are only talking about a few inches.

[Pete Harcoff]

I think I'm going to go with the full 6 buttons on the left (for the 2P), like so:



I'm planning to use the KeyWiz MAX controller, so that means I'll be able to have 3 of those buttons individually controlled and the other 3 will simply be clones from the right side.

As far as the specific layout goes, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.  I'll download those Visio templates and see how they look, but in the end I plan to do some mock-ups and put together a layout I know will be comfortable.

unclet, I don't plan to put in a 4-way joystick, trackball, or anything else for now.  I mainly play side-scrollers and fighting games, so this is what I want this controller geared for.  If this project goes well, I may build a more generalized MAME controller in the future.

[unclet]

Pete: Sounds like a plan.   Good luck and make sure to post pics when you done.

[chrisindfw]

Here is my two player cp if you need some ideas.

I have the visio stencil if you would like it.

[arkowi]

Hi all.  First post here...

I recently discovered this site, and after browsing through lots of other controllers people have built, I am strongly considering building my own (I originally thought about getting an X-Arcade, but I guess it's more fun to do it yourself).

I mainly want a 2-player controller for the various Capcom fighting games.  Here's my current design:



The only thing I'm debating about is the 3 purple buttons in the middle.  I want to make it "lefty friendly" and am wondering the best way to go about that.  My main question is how do lefties play?  Would the buttons layout be mirrored compared to having the buttons on the right (i.e. button 1-3 go from right to left)?  Or do the buttons go in the same direction (from left to right)?

Should I put an additional 3 buttons (so there are 6 buttons on the left) and simply wire them so they are clones of the buttons on the right?

I'm also wondering about what material might be best to build this out of.  Weight isn't a big factor (ideally I want it to be a bit heavy to keep from moving during frenzied gaming).

Also, what's the clearance needed for standard horizontal microswitch buttons?  Would 3 inches be enough?

I am a lefty and I can tell you I can not play on anything but a standard setup (stick on left, buttons on right). You have to think, it's what we are familiar with. We play right handed guitars, drive maunal transmissions, use the mouse with our right hand...and use right handed video game controllers.

[Witchboard]

Ya know, there IS an option to change your mouse to left handed.  

All the lefties I've seen usually cross their hands while playing video games.  At least my friends that are lefties do.  I may make it harder for them to play with the ergo setup you got going, but unless you are left handed then I wouldn't worry too much about it.  Like arkowi said, it's what they are used to anyway.

[Stingray]

I guess I must be the oddball. I'm right handed, and I prefer the stick on the right, buttons on the left. I can't imagine why anyone who is right handed would prefer to operate the stick with their left hand.

-S

[arkowi]

Ya know, there IS an option to change your mouse to left handed.  

All the lefties I've seen usually cross their hands while playing video games.  At least my friends that are lefties do.  I may make it harder for them to play with the ergo setup you got going, but unless you are left handed then I wouldn't worry too much about it.  Like arkowi said, it's what they are used to anyway.

Yes, I know there is an option. I am the technology director for a bank, and I end up in front of so many computers during the course of the day, it would be impossible if I was used to it to go work on other computers. I do however: play basketball equally well with both hands, ride a snowboard regular, use right handed scisors, and bat equally well with both hands...so maybe I am weird. (definatly cannot write with both hands)

And for your friends that cross their hands, How do they play Gameboy? Consoles?

[Pete Harcoff]

In another thread, the lefties on the forum convinced me to abandon the extra set of buttons.

So here is my current design (I also changed the button layout):



I built a cardboard prototype and did up all the measurements, so I'll probably start chopping up the MDF this weekend.

Oh, and my Happs order arrived today, too (w00t!).  Of course, I'd originally ordered planning for the extra buttons (plus a few more buttons on the side), so now I'll have an extra ten buttons or so left over.

All that's left is the KeyWiz MAX and I'll have everything I need...

[Witchboard]

Yes, I know there is an option. I am the technology director for a bank, and I end up in front of so many computers during the course of the day, it would be impossible if I was used to it to go work on other computers. I do however: play basketball equally well with both hands, ride a snowboard regular, use right handed scisors, and bat equally well with both hands...so maybe I am weird. (definatly cannot write with both hands)

And for your friends that cross their hands, How do they play Gameboy? Consoles?

I'm the same way.  I bat right handed but throw left handed.  I'm kinda messed up myself.  As for the consoles and gameboys, they use them normally.  I guess it's different swirling around a bat stick than rolling your thumb across a pad.  I never said it made sense.  

As for the CP, it looks like you can make it smaller now that you have extra room in the center, or you could leave it the way it is for a very comfortable elbow room.  I'm not sure how wide it is to begin with.  I may have missed it in the posts.

[Pete Harcoff]

As for the CP, it looks like you can make it smaller now that you have extra room in the center, or you could leave it the way it is for a very comfortable elbow room.  I'm not sure how wide it is to begin with.  I may have missed it in the posts.

The base will be 36" wide (the top will be a few inches wider for some overhang).  I plan to have about 12" between the 1P buttons and the 2P joystick.  I did a cardboard mock-up with about 8" between and found it was a bit too cramped.