Retro USB Ports (NES, SNES, etc.) and the U360 - Joystick ID Numbers

[EddieArcadian]

Hello,
I'm considering buying some of the usb adapter plugs that allow you to plug-in your real retro controller for use with my console emulators, but I am concerned that they might mess up the Joystick ID's of the 4 U360's I have installed, or that windows will run out of of ID's or the emulators won't support Joystick ID's numbered past X.

I will be purchasing at minimum 2 NES plugs, 2 SNES plusgs, and 2 Atari plugs.   That's 6 USB ports.  I will more than likely need to add a USB hub to my computer.  I might even splurge at some point and attach 2 Genesis, 2 N64's, 2 Playstation, and more.    As you can see, we're using a lot of joysticks.  Some of these might be adapater-based for use with real controllers, some might be the reproduced fake controllers.  I plan on buying a USB hub and leaving them all plugged-in.

My concern before buying is - is how will windows and my emulators handle all these joysticks?  Especially since I already have 4 U360's plugged-in.  Is there a limited number of joystick ID's in windows?  What about the joystick ID's in the emulators themselves?  Will I be able to assign values to them within the emulators so that if my NES controller is Joystick 12, I am still able to assign it and its directions/buttons in Nestopia.

I'm running Hyperspin 1.2.  Windows 7.  Emulators in Hyperspin are as follows: Mame (Arcade), Nestopia (NES), ZSNES (SNES), Stella (Atari 2600), VisualBoyAdvance (Game Boy), Fusion (Genesis), PSXFin (Playstation), Project64 (N64), MESS (multiple), and others.

Does anyone else have a similar setup? 

How did you hookup all you retro USB ports for console controllers?  Any interference with the U360's or other issues?

A quick "you'll be fine Eddie" will sufice too if this isn't a big deal.

Thanks in advance!
~EA

[yotsuya]

You'll see issues with the joystick IDs if you do a lot of swapping. Since you indicate that you're getting a hub and leaving them all plugged in, you might be OK.