My custom button layout for shmups

[Muchi Muchi Spork]

I wanted to share this because I'm sure at least 1 other person out there will also prefer and play better with this layout. With most of the shumps I play, I end up holding down button 3 most of the time and then also pressing down button 1 when going to the concentration shot with 3 still down, and it works best for me to just have my thumb down on 3 and give button 1 timing control to my trusty old index. Then I get bombs with the middle and for game like Akai Katana, I have the immediate ring for button 4 so I don't even have to consider using my pinky. I cannot play games with my pinky. So with that in mind and also wanting the layout to be just where my hand naturally plops down, I came to this, my dream layout. Give it a think before knocking it.

[emphatic]

I think that's great, but I've learned from my own layout experiments that you're basically ruining all arcade visits for yourself as they rarely have that setup there. Also, your guests might be really confused unless you put labels on the buttons.

[Muchi Muchi Spork]

Well I'd say you are pretty lucky if you have local arcades with recent shumps or local friends who are into them. I haven't had either since the 1980s.

[Wonderbanana]

Looks interesting but I wouldn't cut my cab panels up to use it even if I liked it tbh.

[gabe]

You strike me as the type of man who uses a Dvorak keyboard.

I like the way you think, and I follow your logic... I'd even like to try your layout, but not badly enough to actually mod any of my control panels/joysticks - primarily for the reasons listed by emphatic.

[shmuppyLove]

You could easily accomplish the same thing on a normal 6-button layout by just rewiring the buttons, no cutting/modding necessary.

I always play Espgaluda this way, with auto on my thumb, shot/laser on index, kakusei on middle and bomb/shield on my ring finger.

However with 3-button games like Mushi or Donpachis, I prefer to use my ring finger for auto and leave my two more nimbler fingers (index and middle) for laser and bomb.

I might try using my thumb instead for auto, it seems like it might be more comfortable.

[Muchi Muchi Spork]

It's that sort of layout that got me messing with using my thumb for button 3 to begin with but it's not the same. Here I have way more space between that and the other 3 buttons so it's a natural fit. It's custom to my hand. I even meant for the 2 and 4 buttons to be closer together than the 1 and 2 because I broke my middle finger years ago and it didn't heal perfectly straight. It's customized to my hand like a personal bowling ball.

[chempop]

Interesting, but I'm not sure I see the point in adding space between the index and thumb buttons.
It's essentially the same as any curved button setup (unless I'm not understanding it correctly).

For 3 button games I always use middle finger for rapid, thumb for laser, and index for bomb.
For 2 button games I use middle finger to shoot and index to bomb.

[shmuppyLove]

It's that sort of layout that got me messing with using my thumb for button 3 to begin with but it's not the same. Here I have way more space between that and the other 3 buttons so it's a natural fit. It's custom to my hand. I even meant for the 2 and 4 buttons to be closer together than the 1 and 2 because I broke my middle finger years ago and it didn't heal perfectly straight. It's customized to my hand like a personal bowling ball.

Sorry, couldn't resist

[Muchi Muchi Spork]

Interesting, but I'm not sure I see the point in adding space between the index and thumb buttons.
It's essentially the same as any curved button setup (unless I'm not understanding it correctly).

For 3 button games I always use middle finger for rapid, thumb for laser, and index for bomb.
For 2 button games I use middle finger to shoot and index to bomb.

The point with the space is comfort. On my last controller I had no space there. I could still play but had to curl my fingers the whole time and I kept on noticing that when I just wanted to hit the button with my thumb, my fingers laid way above the top row of buttons so I started this plan. This is on a supergun and I keep the wires with clips instead of soldered so I can change buttons for some games, like Muchi Muchi Pork, so if you wanted to use laser with the thumb etc., you could. Anyway my idea is plop your hand down the most comfortable way you can imagine then and cut out buttons from thumb to ring that fits your hand perfectly.