I-Pac4 + Mac Mini = complete confusion

[alfonzotan]

Hi, folks... just built up a new control panel that's intended for a Mac (actually Hackintosh) cabinet project.  The good news:  it doesn't look half-bad for a first attempt (although nobody is ever going to mistake me for a carpenter).  The bad news:  almost nothing works--at least as far as the standard buttons and joysticks, which are wired through an I-Pac4 (the trackball and mouse buttons, wired through a hacked mouse, work fine). 

When I plugged it all up to a Mac Mini for testing (and please, let's skip the "Macs suck!" "No, Windows sucks!" manamana this time around), none of the controls corresponded to the keys as laid out in the UltiMarc documentation.  Firing up the Mac IPac software and resetting the firmware to the software's defaults did change the key responses--but they still don't match what they're supposed to be.

And then I ran across this post, stating that the IPacs may not be Mac compatible any more (although I'm not sure what it means by "old Macs"):

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=98753.0

What gives?  UltiMarc's FAQ still states that the I-Pacs are compatible with USB Macs.  Anybody else run into this mass confusion?

I'm going to load up XP in a Boot Camp partition later and see if the thing responds properly on that side, but in the meantime, I'd appreciate hearing from anybody who's successfully (or unsuccessfully) used any variety of an I-Pac with OS X.  The Mini I'm testing with is loaded with 10.5.x. 

One question up front:  what did you select the first time the Mac "saw" the I-Pac and brought up the keyboard recognition screens?

[alfonzotan]

UPDATE:  Looks like it's not a "Mac thing" after all.  I got an email back from Andy at Ultimarc, and it turns out several I-Pac4's were sent out recently with I-Pac2 firmware loaded.  Also ran across this post on another forum from a guy with similar problems:

http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=224176&page=0&view=expanded&sb=3&o=&vc=1

Andy sent me the correct firmware (I hope)... I'll try flashing it in this evening.

[alfonzotan]

That fixed it... Everything working great now.

[taylormadelv]

Just to make this thread worth while to others, did Andy say that all new ipacs are compatible with Old Macs (G4 and older running OS 9) now? Because the last ipac2 I bought was NOT compatible and Andy did not offer any solution besides purchasing an "old" ipac. So I don't see a complete resolution here for "old macs". Old Mac means NOT running OS X and NOT running on an Intel CPU.
BTW, besides AAE, Macmame OS9 is the BEST Vector emulator there is!

[alfonzotan]

Just to make this thread worth while to others, did Andy say that all new ipacs are compatible with Old Macs (G4 and older running OS 9) now? Because the last ipac2 I bought was NOT compatible and Andy did not offer any solution besides purchasing an "old" ipac. So I don't see a complete resolution here for "old macs". Old Mac means NOT running OS X and NOT running on an Intel CPU.
BTW, besides AAE, Macmame OS9 is the BEST Vector emulator there is!

I didn't ask, since I haven't had a working OS 9 install for many years, but it's a good question.

FWIW, the old OS 8 app "Vectorama" was the very best vector emulator I've ever seen, even better than MacMAME.  Not sure where you could find it today, though; I got it from Emulation.net way back in 1997 or so.  One of these days I'm going to beat SheepShaver into working well enough to run that one.

[Blanka]

intended for a Mac (actually Hackintosh)

What's the use of making a hackintosh for MAME? A mac for MAME rocks, as it does not boot with a lame text screen with BIOS crap (I expect you to change the Apple for a nice Pac-Man). The only plus about running OSX is for console emulators, not for MAME, which is much slower on the same processor compared to Windows.

[alfonzotan]

intended for a Mac (actually Hackintosh)

What's the use of making a hackintosh for MAME? A mac for MAME rocks, as it does not boot with a lame text screen with BIOS crap (I expect you to change the Apple for a nice Pac-Man). The only plus about running OSX is for console emulators, not for MAME, which is much slower on the same processor compared to Windows.

I can build a Core2Duo Hackintosh for a couple hundred bucks.  That's the main reason.

[taylormadelv]

I tried that vectorama once but it was clunky for me since I ran it in classic. IMO besides AAE, macmame .56a is the very best vector emulator there is. That particular version allows the vectors to be drawn very bright, much brighter than any PC besides AAE.
Which brings up the next subject...I contacted Andy via email as to whether the A-PAC is mac g4/os 9 compatible this morning, I also lumped in questions about the newer ipacs being mac compatible and I am still waiting for an answer. A Star War yoke macmame may be in my future but the A-PAC is critical or I'll have to do the sidewinder hack.
And forget RAM CONTROLS and the genius USB yoke interface, you can gamble with your money if you like but I can't afford to support an arcade ponzi scheme right now. So all those wonderful, awesome products are no more than "vaporwear" to me now, he'll never get a dime from me directly.

[alfonzotan]

I tried that vectorama once but it was clunky for me since I ran it in classic. IMO besides AAE, macmame .56a is the very best vector emulator there is. That particular version allows the vectors to be drawn very bright, much brighter than any PC besides AAE.
Which brings up the next subject...I contacted Andy via email as to whether the A-PAC is mac g4/os 9 compatible this morning, I also lumped in questions about the newer ipacs being mac compatible and I am still waiting for an answer. A Star War yoke macmame may be in my future but the A-PAC is critical or I'll have to do the sidewinder hack.

I have a couple of Sidewinders squirreled away for that very purpose.

[Blanka]

I can build a Core2Duo Hackintosh for a couple hundred bucks.  That's the main reason.

I get that, but why not run it with windows then? Windows emu's are much faster.

[taylormadelv]

A hackintosh for mame doesn't make much sense to me either. Just wanted to mention that Andy from Ultimarc still has not responded to my A-PAC-Mac compatibility questions. If he never addresses this question, I will have to assume that new ipacs and a-pacs will NOT work with old Macs running OS9. And I may be interested in buying someones pre-made sidewinder hacked....

[alfonzotan]

I can build a Core2Duo Hackintosh for a couple hundred bucks.  That's the main reason.

I get that, but why not run it with windows then? Windows emu's are much faster.

For one, I'm a Mac guy at heart, with no particular interest in keeping a Windows system maintained.  I do more than enough of that at work.  For another, my interest in arcade games starts with Computer Space and ends with anything produced after about 1987.  Even if you're right about Windows emulators (and for all I know you are), it's not relevant to me.  Finally, there just aren't that many Mac cabinets, making it a neat project that hasn't been done a thousand times before.

[Blanka]

Don't forget to replace the boot apple with a pac-man then 

[alfonzotan]

Don't forget to replace the boot apple with a pac-man then 

I was thinking an Atari symbol myself...

[Blanka]

Try to find one of those boot-logo utilities. The problem is with the Intel macs is that the logo should be very tiny. On the old G4/G5's the logo just had a pixel-limitation, not a file size limit. These programs optimize the PNG to get it fit.