New Project - newbie - need suggestions

[edub]

Hello all (fyi - this was posted on the main forum - I reposted here - not sure how to delete the other one or where this is best placed in the forums for the most exposure - sorry),

I've been monitoring this forum and site for 3+ months as I get started creating my first MAME cabinet. I do have to say THANK YOU to all for your participation. I'm impressed with the solutions, ideas and even the rhetoric on here. There is no way I could have even started without the combined efforts of all of you. Also, I've been in contact with Andy Warne at Ultimarc - I've asked him probably 50+ questions and he always has the time to answer and take care of my stupid newbie requests. I couldn't be more impressed.

So, my wife wants a slim mame - no surprise. Also, I like the look as well. My design is almost a copy (if not a direct copy/paste) of Knievel's Woody - thanks to Knievel and all that responded to his post on here. My CP is very similar.

I am looking for any and all suggestions. I'm a newbie, so I'm a sponge for ideas. Thanks in advance for your attention.

My design goals:
1. Be able to play Asteroids, Defender, Donkey Kong, Crazy Climber, Space Invaders,Frogger, Qix, Centipede, Missile Command (the ones I grew up with).
2. Street Fighter (a medium interest, but I intend to probably get into it more)
3. Several Trackball and spinner games
4. One CP ever (or at least for a very long time) that can handle most games. I'm not looking to handle everything - just make it as generic as possible.

I do have an admin panel with Exit/Pause, and Enter/Tab on it - similar to Knievel but not exactly the same. Those buttons are not shown below. Also, I want simplicity - no shifted buttons for now.

Button explanations:
Top Left (L to R) - Coin1, Player1, MouseL
Top Right (L to R) - MouseR, Coin2, Player2
U360 joysticks (x 2)
7 button player layouts with 7th button there for a close approximation of the Defender reverse button
Trackball (3")
Spinner on top row with two buttons (I know one will be used for Tron "fire" - or a button in the player area)

I am now leaning toward a straight button layout - which is easier for Asteroids playing with:

123
456

buttons 12 and 56 especially since the bottom row is shifted. I could also opt to use 23 (player 1) and 12 (player 2). I do like the slightly curved option as well. Hard to decide. If I go curved, then I will probably not shift the bottom row as much and I will have to use player1-2 buttons for the 4-finger Asteroids layout. I have exact dimensions for placement of everything on the CP if desired - for now, I just thought I'd start with the overall layout and the exact button layout.

Ok, enough said.

Thanks,
edub

[edub]

 

I sure would like to get some suggestions from the experts out there on the control panel. This is my first attempt at an arcade cabinet and I certainly don't think it can be great the first time out. Did I not post this in the right part of the forum?

I do plan to emulate other games - Gameboy, Sega, etc - but mostly Mame games.

Thanks,
edub

[saleem]

all i can tell you (but people might have something more to say about it who know more than me) if you want to play defender and asteroids,do yourself a favor and make sure you can map the rotate buttons cos it proper suxs on controller stick.even have preset layouts for these types of games,the same gos for defender,you will need to have something similar to the arcade to be able to realy enjoy a game like that.i got a 2player 6 buttons each and it is proper bummer trying to play defender and asteroids on it.

other than that all i can say is good luck if you have not built the cab yet,you will need it,i know i am just 1/3rd through my first scratch build in cold weather and space is a premium for me.

[edub]

Thanks saleem.

Personally, I'd prefer to have all dedicated layouts for each game - you're right, it would provide a better experience. The problem is if you want to play 10 games on one CP, there has to be a compromise somewhere. Asteroids won't be too bad on a straight layout - I think I can get used to it. For Defender, the reverse button is probably the biggest key (some have even shaved off the corner of a joystick to get it 1.75" right and 1.5" down). Well, another compromise. Mine is about as close as you can get without mucking with the joystick mounting plate.

And, if something is a "bit" off, you can probably get used to it. If it is wildly different than the original, I can understand the frustration.

Your suggestion about mapping out each game (especially the ones I plan to play more than others) is a good one. Hence this post about exposing the games I plan to play often and any suggestions about changes I could make to to the CP to increase the fun with Asteroids and Defender - the two that have very distinct layouts. Also, missile command, tron, centipede, etc. I'm sure there is no such thing as a perfect CP - or we'd all use the same one. However, my desire is to get close.

I suffer from over analysis as it is...so the planning phase for me is quite long. Too many options sometimes for an engineer like me to make sense of it all. At some point, you have to say "enough is enough" and hit the "buy" button the controls. I tend to use my skills well beyond their usefulness - hence the over thinking.