Setting up control files

[said7]

I was trying to setup the controls for my cab for specific games last night. Boy was it a pain in the ass.

I there an easier way to do this besides going into the tab menu and setting the buttons for each game individually? Like making an all streetfighter profile or an all mortal kombat profile that you can load when the game starts.

Just seems to me that there has got to be a better way. What are your guys experience am I missing something?

[u_rebelscum]

Ctrlr ini files.  Once set up, they should work on newer versions of mame, too (unlike the TAB cfg/cfg files sometimes aren't.)  Copy & paste text, copy and rename files, controller specific ini files, parent ini file also changes all clones, driver file ini changes all games in the driver.

docs/ctrlr.txt that comes with mame &
easyemu give pretty good help.  If you have any questions, ask away.

[SirPoonga]

Also I have some hacks for ctrlr files on my site.  Like if you want a specific layout for 6button games and such.


Warning, you will need to compile your own mame though.  It really isn't that hard to do.

[Frostillicus]

I can attest to how incredibly useful SirPoonga's hacks are - and they are easy enough to implement that even a total non-programmer (like me!) can do it.  

[SirPoonga]

I can attest to how incredibly useful SirPoonga's hacks are - and they are easy enough to implement that even a total non-programmer (like me!) can do it.  

I wonder if my site is located on the eastern side of the US.  It's been down for a couple of days nowl.  If I haven;t done it yet I think this version of mame I might go through all my hacks and turn them into diff files.

[said7]

Ctrlr ini files.  Once set up, they should work on newer versions of mame, too (unlike the TAB cfg/cfg files sometimes aren't.)  Copy & paste text, copy and rename files, controller specific ini files, parent ini file also changes all clones, driver file ini changes all games in the driver.

docs/ctrlr.txt that comes with mame &
easyemu give pretty good help.  If you have any questions, ask away.

I read that link several times and I think I got it. In mame how do you switch between the control ini without effecting your default? Can you do it on the fly?

I also looked into your hack Poonga and looks real helpful. Might give it a try.

[u_rebelscum]

Ctrlr ini files.  Once set up, they should work on newer versions of mame, too (unlike the TAB cfg/cfg files sometimes aren't.)  Copy & paste text, copy and rename files, controller specific ini files, parent ini file also changes all clones, driver file ini changes all games in the driver.

docs/ctrlr.txt that comes with mame &
easyemu give pretty good help.  If you have any questions, ask away.

I read that link several times and I think I got it. In mame how do you switch between the control ini without effecting your default? Can you do it on the fly?

Try  the docs/ctrlr.txt file too; it goes a little more into non-default.ini stuff than the easyemu page.  (And will make more sense after you get the easyemu page.)

You ctrlr ini files can be:

• general (default.ini),
• game specific (example: wecleman.ini for WEC Le Mans {look near the bottom of the easyemu page}),
  
• cover parent & it's clones (example: puckman.ini also applies to pacmod since pacmod is a clone of puckman),
• driver specific (example: neogeo.ini applies to all games in the neogeo driver, ie all neogeo games), or
• input specific (example: mouse.ini, but you have to set this in default.ini, covered in dos/ctrlr.ini but not clearly).
• SirPoonga's hacks add number of player specific ctrlr ini files, too.

As for "on the fly", you have to edit the ctrlr ini files outside of mame, and tell mame to use ctrlr ini files when you start mame.  Using ctrlr ini does not change the cfg/default.cfg file, so if you start mame the next time without the ctrlr ini files, mame will show what it showed before you used ctrlr ini files.

I hope that addresses your questions, but I didn't go into much depth.