Good Steam games compatible with a 2P Arcade Cab

[Layby2K]

Hi Guys,

Can anyone recommend some good Steam games that play well on an arcade cabinet with Big Box?  I'm looking for games that are simple to launch and play with minimal setup and operate just like an emulated arcade game or Taito Type-X machine.  They run, press start, choose amount of players then play...no B.S. options etc.   Additionally they will easily quit to Big Box with a hotkey (ALT-F4).

I have a standard 2P layout with 6 buttons each + start, exit and 2 player select buttons

Cheers

[IlhanK]

Arcade Type Games:

Broforce

Perhaps Castle Crashers, although that game may need the right stick of a gamepad...

Non Arcade Type Games that should play well on your setup regardless:

Limbo

Sonic Generations

Oddworld

Outland

 

Edited August 6, 2017 by IlhanK

[Layby2K]

Hey thanks Man, I'll check them out.

[madpossum]

What kind of control panel are you using? For my arcade cab, for Steam, I have a bunch of fighting games (Street Fighter V, Mortal Kombat X, Injustice, UMvC3, etc), Castle Crashers, and Nidhogg. My control panel uses an IPAC, which is basically a keyboard emulator, so getting all those games to work using 2 players took a bit of work (basically launching VJOY and x360ce before each game and then closing them after the game closes). If your controller set-up uses Xinput then they are pretty much plug and play.

[Hoakypoaky]

Damn I tried to get MKX to work with my xtension control panel (configured for mame), and it almost drove me insane.  I gave up.   I was able to get the controls mapped in the MKX controls menu (which was a pain), but in the character select screen, the joysticks don't work & I cannot select the player 2 controller layout before the match.   Lazy programming by game developer if you ask me.  It's unplayable  

i have no idea how to fix.  I tried screwing around with Street Fight V, but got nowhere.  Configuring other Steam games like Nidhogg were a breeze.  Can you explain in a little more detail how you were able to get MKX & SFV to work for two players?

[madpossum]

Sure, it took me awhile, like you I struggled for a long time to get it to work right (this and setting up to be able to use two lightguns on my arcade cab took longer than anything else).

First you need a program called Vjoy. It uses your IPAC or keyboard to create two virtual joysticks. Just install it and and set up your buttons for player one and two (I just used the default MAME (same as your control panel) setup for both of them). I used Vjoy version 1.2 (there are newer ones out there) because I found it easiest to use and it worked. Make sure you checkmark the "block keys" box in the upper right or you'll get some unintended results while playing, especially when using the default MAME set-up.

Once that is set up you need to make sure it launches before your game you need it for and closes after the game. I used a .bat file to open it and a .bat file to close it and set up Additional Applications in Launchbox to run those before the game and after the game, respectfully.

Some of the older games will let you use just Vjoy to get two players working (I think Injustice did) but for most you also need the next step, since most newer games require Xinput compatibility. So you'll also need a program called x360ce. Now, for this program you download it, unzip it, and then copy every thing from that  clean version into the program files of the game you are using it for. It's very important you copy that original, "clean", unziped x360ce.exe and place it into the program files of each game. You'll then launch the x360ce.exe from within the game's program files and then configure it for that game and save it. You can't just download it, unzip it, make a default set-up, and copy it into the game files, that won't work. You have to copy the files from that original, unipped "clean version" of x360ce and copy those into each game's files and set it up individually for each game. So if you want to use it for MKX and SFV you'll need to copy it, place it, and configure it twice, once for each of those games.

The place you put the x360ce files is usually where the game's .exe is located. For example, for MKX, for me, it would be D:\Steam\steamapps\common\MK10\Binaries\Retail. Street Fighter V is a little tricky, you have to put it in this folder:  \Steam\steamapps\common\StreetFighterV\StreetFighterV\Binaries\Win64. It won't work if you just put it in \Steam\steamapps\common\StreetFighterV, even though you'll see a StreetFighter V.exe there.

Also note, there is a 32bit and 64bit version of x360ce, you'll need the right version for 32-bit and 64-bit games. It will tell you when you first go to configure it after placing it in the game's files if it is the wrong version, so if you see that just download and copy in the correct version.

When setting up x360ce, first make sure Vjoy is set up and running (so x360ce will "see" your two virtual controllers).  Then launch the x360ce from within the game's program files. Just hit next when it asks to automatically search for settings. Then just click on each button of the pictured Xbox360 pad and then click on the button (or joystick direction) you want to assign it to from your control panel. I think I assigned my joysticks directions to the d-pad. After doing that for controller 1 and controller 2 you're good to go, x360ce will automatically run when the game is launched and automatically close when the game closes.

 

I hope I explained that OK, let me know if you have any trouble.

   

[Hoakypoaky]

OMG.  Thank you so much for taking the time to explain that in detail!  I would have NEVER figured that out.  Not sure I understood all of that, but I will take the time to learn.  

Its on my to-do-list.  Right now I'm setting up my first system (MAME) & getting all that dialed in.  If I have questions I'll reach out to you.  Thanks again!

 

[Layby2K]

Thanks Madpossum, I also got those games working that way too.  If only the menu systems could be more arcade friendly like the version of Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition for Taito Type X, it's just straight to the game without going through menu after menu of useless options when all you want to do is fight your buddy next to you or A.I. in an offline game.

 

[latin625]

Hi!  Layby2K!

Did you have a joystick and buttons board separately on your build?  I have Ultrastik 360s and a miniPac

[Layby2K]

16 hours ago, latin625 said:

Hi!  Layby2K!

Did you have a joystick and buttons board separately on your build?  I have Ultrastik 360s and a miniPac

I have an IPAC2 keyboard emulator and 2 Sanwa arcade sticks.  All buttons and joysticks are wired into that. 

Edited August 14, 2017 by Layby2K

[latin625]

Just now, Layby2K said:

I have an IPAC2 keyboard emulator and 2 Sanwa arcade sticks.  All buttons and joysticks are wired into that. 

Yes, I have Sanwa analog joysticks connected via USB and my Mini pac from xarcade via usb

Both are separate.  Do you recommend to wire everything to the minipac?  I have been pondering that, but my issue is only with PC games.

[Layby2K]

I am not familiar with the mini IPAC however all works well for the IPAC2.  PC games that require mouse or joystick control are almost impossible to play well with only keyboard controls.  Games like Street Fighter V and MK X can be semi mapped to keys on the keyboard emulator but with all the extra menus for online play and customization it's makes it too cumbersome to load and play on an arcade cabinet.

 

[haleksander]

Quote

 

Isn't Steam able to take Dinput-devices? By mapping them in "controls" and selecting "use generic gamepad" ?  i think you should be able play every game, since Steam does the "Dinput -> Xinput-conversion" if i should call it that... 

 

I haven't figured out yet which control panel are good to use on my arcade cab. since my XIN-mo is a pain in the anus to make Steam register joystick axis in. (