How to play rotary joystick games without a rotary joystick?

[fleskebacon]

How do you play rotary joystick games like Ikari, Midnight Resistance, Heavy Barrel etc. without a proper rotary joystick? I know there are joystick hacks for a couple of these, but that's beyond the point. I have a six button layout, and one spinner.

It's not gonna be optimal in any case, but what is, in your opinion, the best way to make this work with a regular joystick, buttons and a spinner?

I've tried using buttons for turning, works ok, but not great. Kept tinkering with the sensitivity settings without really finding a setting that worked well.

Using a spinner in addition to buttons and joystick requires either three hands(!) or incredible dexterity.

What do you prefer, and what settings do you use?

[PL1]

Here's one approach that works great for Xybots.

(I know . . . not a true mechanical rotary game, but same principle applies)

With a 6-button layout like this . . .

123
456

 . . . map the buttons this way:

1. Turn left
2. Fire
3. Turn right
4. Zapper/Start

IIRC 3 is the largest number of player buttons on rotary joystick games. (list here)


Scott

EDIT: You may also need to change these MAME settings.

[fleskebacon]

Hey!

Positional Digital Speed = 0
Positional Sensitivity = 100

This made my day. Cannot believe I haven't tried this! Thanks!

[DarthMarino]

Though far from ideal, I've used a spinner and a flight stick together. 

[Brian74]

I just use my rotary's connected to two kades!

[PL1]

Hey!

Positional Digital Speed = 0
Positional Sensitivity = 100

This made my day. Cannot believe I haven't tried this! Thanks!

That's exactly how I felt when Degenatrons pointed these settings out.   


Scott

[GeoMan]

Using a spinner in addition to buttons and joystick requires either three hands(!) or incredible dexterity.

I am using one of the controllers i built for these games:

[ark_ader]

I use a cheap PC USB Flight joystick like the one below.

Then map the dial left and right to the buttons on the joystick.  Plays great and you can pack away easily when finished.

DOT needs a spinner but this joy works as good as the DOT joy.



Might look a bit tacky but this is BYOAC after all.   

[clok]

Have not tried it, but couldn't you map it somehow like a Smash TV? second stick rotates? I spose its stepping so there is no way to make it point the dir the stick is.. it would just step through the clicks.

[PL1]

The only problem with using the "two stick" method for rotary games is pressing the player buttons to shoot, throw grenades, etc. while your hands are on the sticks.


Scott

[clok]

I was thinking that too. but there was a post here about making  button top sticks.. I myslef would like it for Battlezone and the few games where 2 sticks (my CP is 4 player so I can play 2 player SMASH TV) work for that. But again, since its a once click 1 rotation click, could it be mapped to one?  it would seem any click would just rotate it one spot?  I like the idea, but can it be done?  Ikari Warriors, Front Line.. heck some good way to play Forgotten Worlds would be cool.. I have mine mapped to 2 joysticks.. but the precision that spinner gave.. hard to give that up.

[PL1]

since its a once click 1 rotation click, could it be mapped to one?  it would seem any click would just rotate it one spot?

Try Ikari Warriors with this map for two sticks.

The first (left) stick controls up/down/left/right motion.

The second (right) stick controls:
*Left - turn left
*Right - turn right
*Up - fire
*Down - grenade

Usng the MAME default settings for Positional Digital Speed and Positional Sensitivity appears to work well for a setup without a rotary joystick. (I wondered why they used those settings. ) If you press and hold, you'll continue to turn.

If you use the Positional Digital Speed =0 and Positional Sensitivity =100 settings mentioned earlier, one press right will turn you clockwise one position. Another press will turn you clockwise another position. You'll have to press/release for each position you want to turn.

Ikari Warriors, Front Line.. heck some good way to play Forgotten Worlds would be cool.. I have mine mapped to 2 joysticks.. but the precision that spinner gave.. hard to give that up.

For Fogotten Worlds, you can use either an 8-way joystick and a TurboTwist High-Low or a top-fire joystick and a spinner.

The thought of playing it with 2 joysticks . . .   


Scott

[ckovanda]

I have a joystick/spinner setup and what I do for Forgotten worlds and other spinner games where you only have one fire button is go into the mame controls for the game and set the fire button to "up, down, left, right, right/up, right/down, left/up, left/down, mouse_x"  so essentially every movement action via the joystick or the spinner fires.  then it's only a matter of dialing in the spinner sensitivity to where I like it.

I also use a similar technique with Assault, a game with double firing joysticks.  I just set the fire button to all possible joystick positions.