Dyamically remap controls and leds

[elsie]

I searched the forums but couldn't find the answer, so hopefully someone can help me out.

I have a 2 player 8 button control panel using ultimarc ultrastiks, with an "extra" 8 way joystick and 2 buttons in the center above a trackball.  The 8 way is intended as an option for "simple" games like pac man or donkey kong.
All of the buttons have leds.
I am using a gpwiz and an led wiz from groovy game gear.
I am planning on using Mala, but can change that if necessary.

1.  To light up the buttons needed for each game, what do people recommend - the Mala LEDWiz pluging or LEDBlinky?  Any advantages/disadvantages of each?
2.  Can I map the buttons for each game in Mala, or do i have to go into each game in mame to do that
3.  for games like pac man and donkey kong, is there a way to dynamically swap back and forth whether you want to use the ultraticks or the 8-way.  I was thinking that maybe a button on the control panel could swap the controls.

Thanks!

[Nephasth]

Why are you using an 8 way joystick for 4 way games like pacman and donkey kong?

[drventure]

Also, you can change the mapping of the ultrasticks to your preference for 4way or 8 way games. the sticks come with a program called Ultramap that can do this, and you can configure it to be run right before loading specific games to load specific maps into the sticks.

Granted, it's not quite the same as a real 4 way stick for those games, but it works pretty good.

[arzoo]

3.  for games like pac man and donkey kong, is there a way to dynamically swap back and forth whether you want to use the ultraticks or the 8-way.  I was thinking that maybe a button on the control panel could swap the controls.

Both the P1 u360 and the 8-way should be active at the same time - allowing the player to choose which to use. But I would suggest swapping out the dedicated 8-way for a dedicated 4-way. As drventure mentioned, the u360s can be mapped to emulate 8-way sticks. There are a couple of software options (including LEDBlinky) which can automatically remap the u360s based on the selected game.

[elsie]

Why are you using an 8 way joystick for 4 way games like pacman and donkey kong?

It's actually a top fire joystick, which i could only find in 8-way.  Not ideal, but nothing ever is.

[bkenobi]

There's always a chance you could add a restrictor gate.  Some joysticks include a gate already that can be rotated/moved to change modes.

[yotsuya]

I bought LED Blinky for the LED-Wiz+GP I bught this summer. Best utility I have ever bought for this hobby!