Dedicated Coin button vs Free Play questions

Hello all, longtime lurker in retro, but first time poster, i have a couple of questions re coin inserts on a mame cab.I'm currently building my second cab, a bartop, running hyperspin, after selling my first upright cab for lack of space reasons.

I'm going for a minipac interface, with 2 player, 2 sticks, and 2x straight six button layout (for street fighter ), 2 pinball side buttons, and 2x player start, and i'm giving a lot of thought to the other buttons i plan to build in, for space reasons, and was hoping to get some pointers.

I wanted to avoid using a standard button for coin insert if i could. I have looked at setting the dip switches to free play in my roms, but i think it's just too messy and too much hassle for all games, as it has to be done individually and results vary.

Does anybody know of any interesting custom or specialized buttons specifically for coin insertion for mame, or has anyone seen any other way to get around the issue of allocating credits in mame games that doesn't involve very complicated coding hacks or messing with thousands of dipswitches?

Any help, pointers, or even some good food for thought on how to tackle this would be much appreciated, as I'm going for as authentic a look as possible on this one.

Steve X2

Deleted User wrote: »

Hello all, longtime lurker in retro, but first time poster, i have a couple of questions re coin inserts on a mame cab.I'm currently building my second cab, a bartop, running hyperspin, after selling my first upright cab for lack of space reasons.

I'm going for a minipac interface, with 2 player, 2 sticks, and 2x straight six button layout (for street fighter ), 2 pinball side buttons, and 2x player start, and i'm giving a lot of thought to the other buttons i plan to build in, for space reasons, and was hoping to get some pointers.

I wanted to avoid using a standard button for coin insert if i could. I have looked at setting the dip switches to free play in my roms, but i think it's just too messy and too much hassle for all games, as it has to be done individually and results vary.

Does anybody know of any interesting custom or specialized buttons specifically for coin insertion for mame, or has anyone seen any other way to get around the issue of allocating credits in mame games that doesn't involve very complicated coding hacks or messing with thousands of dipswitches?

Any help, pointers, or even some good food for thought on how to tackle this would be much appreciated, as I'm going for as authentic a look as possible on this one.

Just add an extra button or 3 and hook it up via jpac.

I've got a couple of hidden buttons on my candy cab that I use for various actions on my MAME/Hyperspin pc and also the Xbox 360.

It's really easy to do.

.

Pyongyang

Does installing 'hidden buttons' involve cutting in to the CP or the cab itself? Or do you just rest them in the CP area and leave the CP unlocked?

The Last Bandit

Or for a software only solution, you can also change the 'coin insert' key mapping to a combo like "UP + Button 1" for example or what ever combination suits you best.

These can be configured using the MAME gui or by editing the default.cfg file in your mame/cfg folder.

I've remapped MAME quit to "UP + Coin" on mine so MAME shuts down cleanly saving hi scores etc instead of the usual ESC which Hyperspin grabs first and forcefully kills MAME.

Steve X2

Pyongyang wrote: »

Does installing 'hidden buttons' involve cutting in to the CP or the cab itself? Or do you just rest them in the CP area and leave the CP unlocked?

I have 2 hidden buttons below the control panel assembly.

They're actually sitting in the holes that would hold the locking mech for the control panel(I've no need to lock it). It took a few orders before I got the correct sized buttons but they fit perfectly.



One side is set to the escape button for hyperpsin and the other is the Xbox 360 guide button but they can be changed easily and quickly if required.

.

Steve X2

The Last Bandit wrote: »

Or for a software only solution, you can also change the 'coin insert' key mapping to a combo like "UP + Button 1" for example or what ever combination suits you best.

These can be configured using the MAME gui or by editing the default.cfg file in your mame/cfg folder.

I've remapped MAME quit to "UP + Coin" on mine so MAME shuts down cleanly saving hi scores etc instead of the usual ESC which Hyperspin grabs first and forcefully kills MAME.

Just make a change in the hyperspin settings to allow it exit cleanly and it saves hi scores etc. That's what I did and it works perfectly.

.

The Last Bandit

Steve SI wrote: »

Just make a change in the hyperspin settings to allow it exit cleanly and it saves hi scores etc. That's what I did and it works perfectly.

.

Cool, must look into that.

The Last Bandit

The Last Bandit wrote: »

for a software only solution, you can also change the 'coin insert' key mapping to a combo like "UP + Button 1" for example

I'm looking to make it as idiot proof as possible, and get away from anything i'll have to explain to anyone re: how to use the machine, so any kind of hidden keypress combo is not ideal. I will be using an minipac as my interface, which allows me to have a "shift" key that lets all buttons have a second function, which will cover me nicely for the buttons i need for config and admin for mame, but for all the basic operations of using the machine i think i'm looking to have dedicated buttons on the cab.

Steve SI wrote: »

Just add an extra button or 3 and hook it up via jpac.....I've got a couple of hidden buttons on my candy cab that I use for various actions

Yeah, i think so. I'm not going to go the hidden buttons route, for the reason's explained above, but I'll be buying all the sticks and buttons from gremlin solutions in the UK, and they've got these for sale which might be ideal:

http://www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk/products/sspb4.htm

It's a fat 3 in 1 button that sits in a standard 28mm hole but has 3 separate switches, i was thinking of putting it on the front wall of the cab. Red and Green buttons for "escape/back out" and "Coin insert" respectively makes sense, and that would leave a spare button for whatever else is important, maybe pausing whatever game is running.

A nice circular adhesive graphic under the button to explain what each one does would work well to keep it as self-explanatory as possible. This is kind of the idea that's in the lead at the moment, unless i can come up with a better option.

Myrddin

Is there space for a coin mech? Its the most idiot-proof of all solutions. The xPAC products all default to 1p Start + P1 Button 1 = 1p coin anyway, if your dexterous enough to be able to play games, that shouldn't pose a challenge

EnterNow

EnterNow wrote: »

Is there space for a coin mech? Its the most idiot-proof of all solutions

No, unfortunately there's not, space is really at a premium on this thing if i don't want to clutter up the actual control panel. I would have mounted a microswitch behind the coin reject button if there was, and a press of it would have resulted in a credit via the interface, rather than dealing with coins and tokens.

That would have been an ideal solution, but unless i can find a really small one, like 30x40mm or so, it won't work, there just isn't enough room on the cab.

Incidentally, this is a pic of the kit i'm going to go with, to give an idea of the kind of space I'm working with. It's prefab, but it's modification friendly, for adding holes and things, so if anyone has any suggestions, shoot. At the moment, a 3-in-1 switch on the bottom front panel, halfway between the 1p and 2p start buttons looks like the best plan.

http://tinyarcade.co.uk/Arcadebartop.html

Myrddin

Deleted User wrote: »

No, unfortunately there's not, space is really at a premium on this thing if i don't want to clutter up the actual control panel. I would have mounted a microswitch behind the coin reject button if there was, and a press of it would have resulted in a credit via the interface, rather than dealing with coins and tokens.

That would have been an ideal solution, but unless i can find a really small one, like 30x40mm or so, it won't work, there just isn't enough room on the cab.

Incidentally, this is a pic of the kit i'm going to go with, to give an idea of the kind of space I'm working with. It's prefab, but it's modification friendly, for adding holes and things, so if anyone has any suggestions, shoot. At the moment, a 3-in-1 switch on the bottom front panel, halfway between the 1p and 2p start buttons looks like the best plan.

http://tinyarcade.co.uk/Arcadebartop.html

I'd put a central button on the face part of the bottom of the cp, in between where there already two holes bored for 1p & 2p start. A central button in between those won't mess up the look of it at all

The Last Bandit

EnterNow wrote: »

I'd put a central button on the face part of the bottom of the cp, in between where there already two holes bored for 1p & 2p start. A central button in between those won't mess up the look of it at all

That's exactly the layout I've on my homemade yoke and looks perfect.

EnterNow

EnterNow wrote: »

I'd put a central button on the face part of the bottom of the cp, in between where there already two holes bored for 1p & 2p start. A central button in between those won't mess up the look of it at all

That's exactly the plan. A 3-in-1 button centred between those 2 start button holes, so as to keep with the look of the cab, a couple of pinball flipper buttons on the sides, and a mini button on the top or the back that's wired to the PC's power switch for powering it on (and maybe off as well).

To be honest, if I can't find a better button option than the 3 way button, that's probably the way I'll go.

CathalDublin

Shift buttons for esc and coin for me, I've also a sneaky pause in there too

Pyongyang

Steve SI wrote: »

They're actually sitting in the holes that would hold the locking mech for the control panel

Thanks for the snap Steven Emmanuelle Ulysses SI.

Alas on an Astro you'd have to remove the bolts to allow for similar mounting. I'm not at that stage yet of shoving pad hacks, kippers and Sodastream makers in my cab yet so I'll keep it on the back burner. Useful info to have on board though so muchos gracias.

After much interweb searching last night, i couldn't find a more suitable option, so i went for the 3 way button i posted, and plan to mount it in an aftermarket 28mm hole on the front of the cab, along with a couple of happ competition convex buttons for pinball flippers on the sides.

The cab, sticks, buttons, and interface are all ordered now and on their way to me, so I'll have plenty to do over the christmas hols

Thanks to everybody for the advice.

The Last Bandit

Good luck with the build, let us know how you get on

The Last Bandit

The Last Bandit wrote: »

Good luck with the build, let us know how you get on

Thanks, will do. It's my second cab, so I've a fair idea what I'm doing at this stage, and I plan to keep a photo log of the project, as it's something I never bothered with for the first one.

Where's a good place on boards to post finished pics?

I just got this cab completely finished, after months of work here and there on it when i could get time. Here's a link to a thread i made with info and some pics. Thanks again to everyone for your help & advice.

Hyperspin Arcade Bartop