Action button labels: poll

[Grench]

Call me out of touch...

I'm still confused how we went from the 4 buttons on the pictured board example to mapping 6 keys.

Has ED ever officially endorsed or stated that the 4 buttons was changed to 6?

 

[Exophase]

Has ED ever officially endorsed or stated that the 4 buttons was changed to 6?

Yes, although it isn't a sure thing.

 

[Grench]

Has ED ever officially endorsed or stated that the 4 buttons was changed to 6?

Yes, although it isn't a sure thing.

At least 2 polls and hundreds of posts - and it's a 'maybe'?
Can someone on the team ping back to one of these threads on if the preview board's key layout is 'done' or if these changes/additions/etc... stand a chance at all?

 

[God Ginrai]

Has ED ever officially endorsed or stated that the 4 buttons was changed to 6?

Yes, although it isn't a sure thing.

At least 2 polls and hundreds of posts - and it's a 'maybe'?
Can someone on the team ping back to one of these threads on if the preview board's key layout is 'done' or if these changes/additions/etc... stand a chance at all?

Well, it's more a probably. EvilDragon said he plans to have six buttons as long as they will fit. Since they should fit, it's pretty likely we'll have six.

-God Ginrai

 

[WizardStan]

From official spec website

Gaming controls (DPad, 4 shoulder buttons, 6 face buttons*)

With an asterisk beside the "6 face buttons" to indicate that things may change. 6 is apparently the plan, but let's see what the case designers say. Could be they can't make it work.

 

[Neelix]

Even with it just as a maybe,  it still makes sense to base this discussion on a six button layout, as a 6 button layout can be pared back  for 4 buttons easily, but  if we decided on a 4 button layout then later needed labels for 6 buttons it would mean having to decide labels for those 2 extra buttons separately. (which would have a direct logical progression in some cases, but not all)

- Neelix

 

[Tenka]

No.  I believe a label choice and layout made for six buttons will probably lose just as much sense if two were to vanish as a four button layout would if two blanks appeared, assuming it made sense.

4  5

1  2 Etc.

Still, six was chosen, we'll fix it when it breaks.

 

[_wb_]

No.  I believe a label choice and layout made for six buttons will probably lose just as much sense if two were to vanish as a four button layout would if two blanks appeared, assuming it made sense.

4  5

1  2 Etc.

Still, six was chosen, we'll fix it when it breaks.

Some of the proposals would make more sense with a four button layout than with six buttons (e.g. card suits, directions, keeping Pandora layout), others would make less sense (e.g. dice symbols, chess pieces, SEGA-style). Most of them would make about the same amount of sense (e.g. Greek letters, blank labels).

Let's just assume for now that there will be 6 buttons and not use "reducing to 4 buttons" as a criterion for judging the proposals.

 

[_wb_]

Update from IRC:


< _wb__> EvilDragon: any word from the case company yet about the viability of 6 action buttons?
<@EvilDragon> _wb__, No, but I don't see a reason why it shouldn't owrk.
< _wb__> EvilDragon: what layout will the 6 buttons have? Pandora buttons plus two to the northeast of Y and B ?
<@EvilDragon> Nope, above and below the current A.
<+B-ZaR>
< TrashyMG|Work> distanced enough not to interfere with nub use?
<@EvilDragon> Small enough.
< _wb__> so...
< TrashyMG|Work> ah smaller buttons?
< _wb__> C  Y
< _wb__> A     B
< _wb__> Z  X
<@EvilDragon> _wb__, Yep.
<@EvilDragon> On the other side, it would interfere when pressing X or B.

 

This means the proposals in this poll will need to be reconsidered. Here is a first attempt to modify them:
 
1) Pandora layout + C and Z
 
C  Y 
A      B
Z  X
 
2) Pandora layout + two extra buttons
(here shown as C1 and C2 but this could also be Z1 and Z2 or something like that)

C1  Y  
 A       B
C2  X
 
 
3) SEGA-style

Y   Z 
X       C
A  B
 
???
 
4) Extended SNES
   
Y  X   
Z     A
C B
 
5) Colored letters
(the other proposals can be colored too, but for this one it is obligatory)
      
M Y   
C     B
R G
 
6) Directions + extra buttons
 
X1  N 
W        E
X2  S
 
 
7) Greek letters that look a bit like Playstation layout
       
Φ  Δ     
Π      Ω
ψ  χ
 
 
8) Pandora-like (lowercase) Greek layout
     
μ  γ   
α      β
ν  χ
 
9) Dice symbols
⚀  ⚁  ⚂  ⚃  ⚄  ⚅  in some order (without the boxes around the pips)
 
10) Various PlayStation-inspired symbols
      
⌂   ⚇   
≡       ✓
← ✗
 
 
11) Playing card symbols + red/black
   
R  ♥ 
♦      ♣
B  ♠
 
or
   
R  ♣  
♦      ♥
B  ♠
 
 
12) Chess pieces
       
♔  ♗  
♙      ♘
♕  ♖
 

13) Media buttons
[play]  [back]
[prev]            [next]
[stop]  [forward]
 
 
14) Roman numerals
 
I    II
III      IV
V  VI
 
or some other ordering
 
15) Just label them with their keyboard mapping:
                    
[ins ]   [PgUp]      
[Home]        [End ]
[Del ]  [PgDn]
 
 
16) No labels at all
 
17) Alphanumeric combinations

G5  G6
G3        G4
G1  G2
 

or some other ordering
 
18) Arabic numbers:

5    1
2        3
6    4

or some other ordering
 

This new information may also inspire people to come up with new proposals...

 

[bzar]

This changes everything

 

[WizardStan]

This gives me happiness. Whenever someone complains I will just have to be more pleased with this change of events to compensate until I'm a freaking ball of infinite sunshine!

 

[God Ginrai]

This gives me happiness. Whenever someone complains I will just have to be more pleased with this change of events to compensate until I'm a freaking ball of infinite sunshine!

Well, try your damnedest, because this is the most depressing news I've heard all day in the past month. -_-

-God Ginrai

 

[WizardStan]

FREAKIN'

BALL

OF

INFINITE

SUNSHINE!

 

[Exophase]

Z Y
A B
W X

And uh, yeah:

ζ γ   
α   β
ω χ

 

[Neelix]

17) Alphanumeric combinations

G5  G6


G3        G4


G1  G2


or some other ordering

I'd probably go with

G6  G5

  G4     G2

G3  G1

YMMV

(offset based on where I would put additional keys above and below the current A - putting them in a direct vertical line doesn't feel right)

- Neelix

 

[God Ginrai]

(offset based on where I would put additional keys above and below the current A - putting them in a direct vertical line doesn't feel right)

If EvilDragon cared about making it feel right, it wouldn't be above and below the A in the first place...

-God Ginrai

 

[WizardStan]

Feels pretty right to me.

edit: no, no. It's all left.

 

[slaeshjag]

(offset based on where I would put additional keys above and below the current A - putting them in a direct vertical line doesn't feel right)

If EvilDragon cared about making it feel right, it wouldn't be above and below the A in the first place...

-God Ginrai

That's how ED found a way to include 6 buttons without making the Pyra bigger. It's that or four buttons.

 

[God Ginrai]

Feels pretty right to me.

It's utter bullshit. All EvilDragon is doing is throwing 2 buttons on because there were enough people who wanted 6. With the buttons in this layout, it's just as bad as having to use the O and P keys on the keyboard as extra buttons on the Pandora.

This is like requesting a stylus and EvilDragon packages a toothpick.

EDIT:

That's how ED found a way to include 6 buttons without making the Pyra bigger. It's that or four buttons.

There have been plenty of ways to include 6 buttons suggested, all of which should work.

EDIT 2: And all of which retain the integrity of that Cross Pattern you all like so much.

-God Ginrai

 

[_wb_]

λ         Δ

 Π             Ω

γ         χ
 
Lower case lambda and gamma for the extra keys. Big keys get upper case, small keys get lower case.
 
Feel free to pronounce the symbols as "Triangle", "OpenSquare", "OpenCircle", "Curvy Cross", "Small Up" and "Small Down", if you don't like Greek.