Re: Questions on layout of my control panel

Subject:

Comments:
: : 1) I want a 4 player version, with the ability to play games such as Street Fighter (needs 6 buttons). Should I make all 4 players have 6 buttons, or would you suggest to only make 2 with 6 buttons and 2 with only 3 or 4 buttons? Are there any 4 players games where each player needs 6 buttons?; Are there any 1 or 2 player games that need more than 6 buttons? : Not that I know of, but better safe than sorry. (plus it looks more symetrical) : : 2) Since I want 4 players, but realize most games are 1 or 2 players, I'd like the 1st and 2nd player to be in the middle of the panel, and 3rd and 4th to be on the outside (left and right). My question is when playing most 4 player games (ie nba jam), is team 1 usually player 1 and 2, and team 2 player 3 and 4?? If so, do you think such a layout will be unfair since one team will always be in the center and the other will always be on the outsides? Preferably, I'd like team one to be say player 1 and 3, and team 2 to be player 2 and 4 (is this possible to set up in MAME automatically for all 4 player games??) : it is possible and in fact very easy to do in MAME. Simply configure the controls seperatly for the 4 player games. Assign players 1 and 4 to the outside, 2 and 3 to the inside. However, in this way, player 2 will have command over the MAME GUI and the frontend. (this is because I am assuming joy #2 will be wired to the arrow keys) : : 3) I'm considering adding a track ball - do I need separate buttons for this or can it be setup to use the buttons say from player 2, which will have 6 buttons? : Depends. If the trackball is for windows as well as MAME, you might need seperate buttons, although it might not, depending what interface you use. : There is a way around this by using a small circuit, but you must know how to solder. E-mail me if interested. : If the trackball is only for MAME, no extra buttons are needed. : : 4) I plan on having the following 6 buttons along in inside front (below the control panel) to handle all the usual buttons needed in MAME - are there any others that you'd suggest : : - ENTER : : - ESC : : - TAB : : - ~ : : - F12 (to capture screen images for ArcadeOS) : : - PAUSE : If you want to have the least # of extra buttons, one of the players' 6 buttons could be wired to the enter key, as this key will not screw up gameplay if pressed. : Don't forget the player start buttons, they look best on the top of the control panel though. : Also, you'll need buttons for coin credits. Theese don't look very good on the bottom either, though. I would recommend an authentic coin door, but this will be hard to fit on a stand-alone control panel. : : 5) lastly, with all the controls I want, what would you suggest the dimension be to fit it all without being to crammed. : Look at examples of other peoples 4 player control panels. If you find one that somewhat resembles what you're thinking of, you can use thoes dimentions. : : Thanks

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL: