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360 wheels and mame
winnydapoo:
Hi folks,
I am looking to make my own custom cab dedicated to super sprint. just wondering what the options are with regard to 360 wheels and what interface they link to with respect to mame. I have only built standard joystick/i-pac type mame cabs before so not quite sure where to start with this one.
Is it possible to make a DIY wheel, or are there decent priced 360 wheels on the market?
Anything that points me in the right direction would be appreciated.
Thanks!
winnydapoo:
Actually a follow up question is, is it actually possible to have 3 spinners in use simultaneously using mame, to simulate a super sprint scenario? I'm not actually sure of that...
BadMouth:
Your options:
1. Use spinners from GroovyGameGear or Ultimarc with the mini steering wheel attachments they offer.
Although I like the product for occasional use, I wouldn't go this route on a dedicated cabinet.
These devices weren't designed to take the abuse a steering wheel takes.
2. Use original arcade wheels and optical boards with an interface such as the Opti-Wiz (groovygamegear), Opti-Pac(Ultimarc), or U-HID (Ultimarc).
This is the route I would take.
The Opti-Wiz and Opti-Pac both show up in windows as a mouse. One device can be interfaced with two wheels (the x axis and y axis).
These devices also have an input for the Z axis (scroll wheel), but because of the way MAME handles the z-axis it cannot be used for a wheel or spinner.
Beware that there are a few oddball driving games that had the original optical sensors configured backwards compared to most ("active-high")
I know badlands and hotrod are among them. The Opti-Wiz will not work with these wheels. The Opti-Pac and U-HID can be configured via software to handle it.
The U-HID can be programmed to do anything, including handling the analog pedals. I'm unsure if it can handle more than two optical axis though.
(it would have to show up in windows as two mice to do this). I'd ask Andy at Ultimarc before purchasing.
3. DIY. You could build your own. You'd need the wheel attached to a shaft, secured in a bearing. On the end of that, you'd need an old hacked optical mouse
or the wheel and boards from an old arcade driving or trackball setup. Given you'd need to use the wheel and encoder board from an original machine anyway,
I'd just go with option #2.
It is possible to use 3 spinners simultaneously in MAME. Multi-Mouse must be enabled in mame.ini
This will make MAME view each mouse separately (mouse 1 x, mouse 1 y, mouse 2 x, mouse 2 y) instead of getting input from the windows system mouse (where they all work the same pointer).
I would also encourage you to use analog pedals. You'd need an A-Pac, U-HID, or hacked gamepad to interface those. I've also read that there is an analog firmware available for the KADE device, but I'm not sure of the details. In games like Pole Position it's important to have analog pedals, otherwise the car squeals the tires and loses time every time you take off.
In games like Super Sprint and Ivan Stewart's offroad, I just mash the pedal anyway. ;D
PL1:
--- Quote from: BadMouth on October 15, 2014, 09:01:46 am ---2. Use original arcade wheels and optical boards with an interface such as the Opti-Wiz (groovygamegear), Opti-Pac(Ultimarc), or U-HID (Ultimarc).
--- End quote ---
KADE also has two beta optical firmwares for the miniArcade/microArcade encoders and compatible atmega32u2 AVRs.
--- Quote from: BadMouth on October 15, 2014, 09:01:46 am ---These devices also have an input for the Z axis (scroll wheel), but because of the way MAME handles the z-axis it cannot be used for a wheel or spinner.
--- End quote ---
Minor correction -- you can recompile MAME to divide the Z-axis by 4 which would make it behave like the X- and Y-axes.
TopJimmyCooks mentions doing that here.
--- Quote from: BadMouth on October 15, 2014, 09:01:46 am ---I would also encourage you to use analog pedals. You'd need an A-Pac, U-HID, or hacked gamepad to interface those. I've also read that there is an analog firmware available for the KADE device, but I'm not sure of the details. In games like Pole Position it's important to have analog pedals, otherwise the car squeals the tires and loses time every time you take off.
In games like Super Sprint and Ivan Stewart's offroad, I just mash the pedal anyway. ;D
--- End quote ---
The atmega32u2 AVR in the KADE miniArcade/microArcade can't handle analog inputs. (no analog pins)
For analog pedals, you'll need an atmega32u4 (or newer) AVR like KADESTICK (see sig) with an analog firmware.
I'm also testing a modified version of the KADESTICK firmware with another 32u4 board that is more commonly available -- details will be posted in the KADESTICK thread fairly soon. ;D
Scott
winnydapoo:
Thanks for the info, gives me plenty to go on :)
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