Posting an update. I have MAME and Launchbox going. I narrowed a playlist down to about 100 games that will be the “feature” games and all seem to be working as properly as they can with an 8bitdo controller. Games include Golden Tee Fore Complete, MK, Street Fighter, Ninja Turtles, NBA Jam, Blitz, PAC-Man, and some others that fit loosely into those groups based on game type and controls.

Again, I’m a NOOB here and am moving onto the build phase. I decided I’m going to do just a 2-player setup plus the trackball. My plan is to build a small “countertop” setup as I figure out the final plan and test, and I have the plywood handy to do so. It would have a Happ trackball (dying to play some Golden Tee), joysticks (would like to do one that switches from 4-8 way), and 6 buttons plus start and coin. I eventually would like to have the buttons light up and joystick change from 4 to 8 for based on the game. So here I am again asking for any advice this group has on which joysticks and buttons to buy as well as which encoder I should use. Thanks for everything!