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The Mame Tapper build - Finished! - 12/1/2010
LeedsFan:
Going back to the joysticks how often will be wanting to switch between 4-way and 8-way? This is something that is a prime consideration for me on projects. For example the Sanwa JLW is just a round plastic plate that swivels round when the four screws are loosened a bit. So it's just a case of lift the lid and turn the plate to switch modes. The JLF though is more intricate and takes a little more effort. And the 4-way doesn't work properly anyway on the JLF. I'm going with Seimitsus on my next project as they have a restrictor plate that just clips to the base in different positions.
markronz:
--- Quote from: LeedsFan on October 16, 2010, 04:21:50 am ---Going back to the joysticks how often will be wanting to switch between 4-way and 8-way? This is something that is a prime consideration for me on projects. For example the Sanwa JLW is just a round plastic plate that swivels round when the four screws are loosened a bit. So it's just a case of lift the lid and turn the plate to switch modes. The JLF though is more intricate and takes a little more effort. And the 4-way doesn't work properly anyway on the JLF. I'm going with Seimitsus on my next project as they have a restrictor plate that just clips to the base in different positions.
--- End quote ---
Can you explain the switching between 4 way and 8 ways for me again please, and why it's necessary. I mean I get it. Like, you switch back to 4 way for older games, Pacman is always a great example, where there is no diagonal directions in the game. I get that part. But what I've never got is why you can't just play those games with an 8 way joystick. Maybe I just have good stick control *snicker snicker* but I've never seemed to have a problem playing those games on 8 ways, and just simply not pressing diagonal directions. I've built one cabinet before, and I have dedicated 8 ways in that one as well. On the JLF's I got the octagonal restrictor plates. So you can clearly feel all 8 directions. So if I were pressing diagonal, I'd think I would know it. I guess I should really test it out and see if it's a problem for me. What do you mean though that the 4 way doesn't work properly on the JLF though? You mean just with the 4 way restrictor plate, it doesn't work right? Or what?
I guess it would seem that it all comes down to personal preference. Admittedly, I don't play THAT many classic 4 way games, and maybe that's why it's never been that big of an issue for me, but I know that I've played them before and never felt like I had a problem. Am I the only one like this? Or is everyone pretty set on having a way to use a real 4 way joystick? I don't have the money to spend on the U360's, and I don't like having to manually switch the joystick from 4 to 8 way. I guess of any of the options, I would probably add a third joystick that's dedicated 4 way, but I just don't like the idea of adding another joystick just for that, not to mention screwing up the symmetry of my control panel. :)
So I dunno, just let me know what you think about all this. I appreciate you bringing it up though. If nothing else, I will definitely hook up the joysticks first, before committing to them in my control panel, and testing them out on 4 way games to see if it's a problem for me first.
severdhed:
i say build it the way you want, chances are you will end up changing it later anyway. i dont think there are many of us here who built our panel exactly the way we wanted it the first time and just kept it that way. i've redone my control panels several times. most of the classic 4 way games used vertical monitors, so build this one the way you are planning, and setup a second one with a vertical monitor and a dedicated 4way stick. that way you get the best of both worlds.
BadMouth:
I bought a jlw to use as a dedicated 4-way. I put it in my test cp and played a bunch of the games that supposedly benefit from a 4-way restrictor.
It didn't do anything for me. I didn't do any better on the games and they didn't feel any more authentic either.
I put jlf's with the octagon restrictors in my x-arcade and I really like them for 4-way games. Like you said, with the octagon, there's no doubt what direction you are pushing.
LeedsFan:
Well just last night I learned something new regarding Mame. In that it has a software fix for 4-way and 8-way games etc. Not sure which version it was implemented but basically when you select a 4-way game Mame will ignore any diagonal inputs. You have to h+ave it set in the Mame.ini and I'm not sure how good it works.
Basically if you play a 4-way game with an 8-way joystick and you hit a diagonal then sometimes the game does something completely different to what you intended. Pressing up in Pacman (or you think you pressed up) ended up sending up/left diagonal... and off shoots Pac in a different direction! Of course different joysticks will behave better/worse in this situation. And it may not even be an issue now if that Mame fix works well. Perhaps someone can shed light on this?
Even so there are some purists who still want the "feel" of the stick moving diagonally along a 45 degree gate between the 4 directions. Each to their own. Personally I don't mind changing a restrictor or swivelling a gate if it takes only a few seconds.