Dreamcast in a cab button layout ideas?

[Rip]

I've successfully hacked my Madcatz DC controllers and was wondering what the best button layout would be for the six buttons.

Chances are it'll be used for sports games (Blitz, NBA, Virtua Striker) and several fighters which all seem to make use of the Z & C trigger buttons.  Is a straight 3x2 setup good enough?  How about a straight 3 with A,B,C in a row, a 4th button (Z) down near the thumb (like a NeoGeo setup), and a top row of 2 X, Y?

Any snaps of a CP you've built and are happy with would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
John

[Dave_K.]

Funny, but all the games you mentioned use analog stick, which isn't going to work on your cab with the d-pad...or at least won't be much fun with a happs 8 way.

On the control panel design, I went with 2 rows of 3 buttons (ala street fighter), and then attached 2 more buttons arcing down off the lower first button (for Soul Calibur and other 4 button neo-geo type config).

I believe the layout for Dreamcast is, LRA on the top row, XYB on the bottom row, and AB again for the two lower ones.  This way ABXY is in a 4 button neo-geo style layout, and the rest are in classic Street Fighter layout.

Using the same control panel with my Playstation2 setup, the row of 6 buttons becomes L1 R1 L2 on the top row and X Y R2 on the bottom row with AB again with the arcing buttons on the lower left.

Here is a pic of one player's layout:

[Rip]

They all use the analog stick, but also react to the the d-pad.  I realize I may not get the fine touch of an anlog stick, but the 8-way seems adequate when I play tested on a mock-up panel.

Even if I hacked the Hall Effect sensors of the stick, it would still ultimately be digital (all on, all off).  Is there another way to hack the analog onto a (very expensive) Happ 49-way?

[Dave_K.]

Even if I hacked the Hall Effect sensors of the stick, it would still ultimately be digital (all on, all off).  Is there another way to hack the analog onto a (very expensive) Happ 49-way?

There is a circuit that is supposed to do this, but my breadboard mockup didn't work.  The Happ 49-way sticks aren't as expensive as the happ analog sticks.  :-). http://www.happcontrols.com/joysticks/50287600.htm

The 49-way to hall-effect circuit of which I speak is in the console faq here:
http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade_consoles.shtml#arcadeanalog

[Lilwolf]

I keep hoping to find a cheap halls effect arcade stick... and try hacking that to it.... Since dreamcast recalibrate every shot... they might actually work

[ArcadeNoob]

*drools* to play games like Shenmue in an arcade cabinet.......