Mame controls wont work after game select

[Goldenjelly]

Hello all, im new here. I currently have a problem with my mame arcade (running mala) i have had the machine delivered back from being repaired. It was sent to williams amusements in yorkshire. when inside the machine as a fuse on the amp had broken, i unplugged the USB connection which my joystick and buttons are connected to. Now ive plugged it back in, i can still select games on the game list in mala. But once any game boots up, none of the controls work. I cant add coins, exit or do anything. I have to power off from the back. Has anyone got any ideas as to why i can select games and scroll through game menu, but then they do not work once any game is loaded?

Any help wpuld be brilliant.

[Slippyblade]

That means Mala still has focus.  There is a setting inside Mala that tells it to minimize or something like that.  I'm at work right now so can't tell you exactly where.  Common problem though.

[Goldenjelly]

Thank you for your help. So i can access it in the mala settings i assume? I only have a mouse and no keyboard with my mame though.

[Slippyblade]

It's been a while since I was in those settings.  You might need to temporarily plug in a keyboard though.  Sorry I can't be more specific.

[Goldenjelly]

Does anyone else know what i can do to cure this? Its been working perfectly until i unplugged the controls and back in again from the USB port. If its a simple as clicking a option please let me know. Im stuck until the place that repaired it re-opens in the new year.

[big10p]

Is this in a cab connected via a J-PAC, or what? "MAME arcade" is a very nebulous definition. I think we need to know a bit more about your setup.

[Goldenjelly]

Im not sure if it is a j-pac (as im no expert) it lloks very small what both controls are connected to. both player one and two go into it,  coming out of that is a USB cable going into the pc USB port. Sorry anout these vague details, im no way a expert in all this. I was just hoping i could click something to correct the problem. As ive not altered any settings. Just unplugged it and re-plugged it

[Goldenjelly]

It is this that the controls connect to.

[BadMouth]

Mala is the front end that is launching the games.

MAME is the emulator that the games are actually running on.

Having the controls mapped and working in one has nothing to do with the other.

Make sure the USB control thing (whatever it uses) is plugged in before launching any other programs.
Plug in a keyboard and launch a game.
Press TAB while in the game (this opens MAME's in game menu)
Map controls for all games (globally).

[PL1]

Welcome aboard, Goldenjelly.   

Im not sure if it is a j-pac (as im no expert) it lloks very small what both controls are connected to. both player one and two go into it,  coming out of that is a USB cable going into the pc USB port. Sorry anout these vague details, im no way a expert in all this. I was just hoping i could click something to correct the problem. As ive not altered any settings. Just unplugged it and re-plugged it

J-Pac


I-Pac


Mini-Pac


None of the above?  Post a pic and we'll let you know.   

That's a Xin-Mo. (Gamepad-style encoder)


Scott

[Goldenjelly]

Ive posted a picture above^^

[Goldenjelly]

So a keyboard and going into the menu is the answer. I will get hold of a keyboard and have a go. Thanks for all your help.

[PL1]

It is this that the controls connect to.

Didn't see the pic until after I posted. 

That's a Xin-Mo. (gamepad)


Scott

[BadMouth]

So a keyboard and going into the menu is the answer. I will get hold of a keyboard and have a go. Thanks for all your help.

Maybe. 

Do a search on how to test gamepads in your version of windows (it varies by version).
Make sure it is working in Windows first.

[Goldenjelly]

Ive been in to control panel and tested the controls and it works and sees them (as theyve been working fine before) And also the controls work on the mala game list selection. But like you said, mame and mala are two different things. So when in mame the controls are not working once a game boots up. I will get a keyboard and try the tab key for the menu.

[BadMouth]

Ive been in to control panel and tested the controls and it works and sees them (as theyve been working fine before) And also the controls work on the mala game list selection. But like you said, mame and mala are two different things. So when in mame the controls are not working once a game boots up. I will get a keyboard and try the tab key for the menu.

If that doesn't work.....
navigate to the mame folder, look for mame.ini, open it with windows notepad, then make sure joystick = 1
That means joystick (gamepad) is enabled.

[Goldenjelly]

And if it is not enabled, where do i enable it?

[PL1]

And if it is not enabled, where do i enable it?

If it shows joystick = 0, change the "0" to "1" and save the file.


Scott

[paigeoliver]

It greatly pleases the mame devs to leave joystick and mouse input disabled by default in order to make mame less user friendly.

And if it is not enabled, where do i enable it?

If it shows joystick = 0, change the "0" to "1" and save the file.


Scott

[Goldenjelly]

Checked the file, joystick is already set to '1'.

[Goldenjelly]

I've managed to access the Malta settings but cannot find where to change settings 'globally' I did find find a tick box 'enable controller detection'. But I'm a bit weary of touching any settings as this machine was fine when delivered to me until I unplugged the sub cable for the joystick.

[Goldenjelly]

USB CABLE^

[yamatetsu]

Does the cab have 2 joysticks ? If so, windows may have assigned the joystick ids differently when you plugged the usb cable back in. I'd just try every joystick in mame, see if anything works.

Next thing I'd try would be to start mame directly and see if the controls work, so I can see whether it's a problem with mame or with the mala/mame combo.

[Goldenjelly]

I've managed to get in to the mala settings and onto the 'mame' tab. It says it the mame 'associated controller file' box is empty.

My cabinet has two joysticks, I've tested them in control panel and they both work and assigned both seperatly as my primary controls to test them. Control panel even see xi-mo as the controller. When I unplug and re-plug I can here the USB 'unplugged noise and same when plugged back in. Also I have no keyboard at this moment so navigating with just a mouse can be limited. As I can't bring up the 'tab key' menu when in mame. Once I get a keyboard I will have another go. It's very annoying seeing all these epic games come on screen and to be denied playing them.

[Goldenjelly]

How can I start up mame directly? Sorry about these silly questions, I'm by far no expert on this

[yamatetsu]

Go to the windows start menu and see if you can find it there. If not, go to 'computer', double click it, select the harddisk mame is installed on, double click it, go to the mame directory, double click it, then double click the mame icon.

[BadMouth]

Why are you messing with Mala settings?  They have nothing to do with whether the controls work in MAME.

[Slippyblade]

It still sounds like the Mala focus issue to me.  Mala starts the game just fine, but doesn't release focus to MAME so nothing works right.  I bet if he plugs in a keyboard and starts a game through his front end, then hits Alt-Tab, the game will work.  Thus the reason I suggested finding the "run minimized" (or whatever the setting is called).

[Goldenjelly]

The reason I'm messing with mala settings is because someone has said mala is 'stealing focus'

[Goldenjelly]

I have a keyboard. I've hit the tab key and can navigate the menu with the joystick and buttons. I can't see anything to turn on or off. I'm not sure which option I need to select

[Goldenjelly]

I've launched mame separately without using mala, I still have the same issue, I can use the joystick to hit 'left and right' to boot game. Then after when game loads. No response from controls?

[Slippyblade]

I've launched mame separately without using mala, I still have the same issue, I can use the joystick to hit 'left and right' to boot game. Then after when game loads. No response from controls?

Ah, this changes things and voids my suggestion.  Can you use the keyboard to control MAME directly?

[Goldenjelly]

Again thanks for everybody's advice, I can't even use mame with the keyboard. It's strange as I can bring up the tab menu and navigate it with the joystick. As I said before, this was all working fine until I unplugged them from the USB port (and re-plugged). I can even see 'xin-mo' selected as the joystick in control panel and the test on there works. Is it something to do with re loading the software that came with the xin-mo board thing maybe?

[Goldenjelly]

Also I've gone as far as to try all of the six USB ports

[yamatetsu]

Boot a game. When the title screen appears, hit 'TAB'. You should get this menu :



Use the cursor keys or the joystick to get to 'Input (this Game)', press 'enter'. You should get something like this :



Ignore the 'nach-oben', 'nach unten' stuff, that will be different for you because I'm using the german version of Mame. The important part is that you have the 'Joy 1 Up' etc stuff in the P1 up, down, left, right lines. That means that the joystick will work.

Now open the windows notepad and press the start player1 button on your CP, you should get a '1'. Press the coin player1 button on your CP, you should get a '5'. If you get anything else, the Xin-Mo encoder is not configured correctly.

[Goldenjelly]

So could the configuration have changed because I unplugged it? As it was working fine three days ago. And if it isn't working correctly now is it simple to re-configure?

[yamatetsu]

So could the configuration have changed because I unplugged it?

I don't know, I'm trying to pinpoint the problem. Seems to me that the joystick works in Mame, so maybe the buttons don't. Try booting a game, at the title screen hit '5', then '1' on the keyboard. That should start the game. Now try using the joystick. It will probably work.

As for configuring the Xin-Mo, I don't know anything about that. There might be a utility for programming it.

[PL1]

As for configuring the Xin-Mo, I don't know anything about that. There might be a utility for programming it.

Xin-Mo is a gamepad encoder, not a keyboard encoder.

There is no programming utility, but you can verify that it is operating using windows control panel -- devices and settings.

Right click on the Xin-Mo icon -- game controller settings -- properties. (typing this from memory, exact wording may be different  )


Scott

[Goldenjelly]

I've been to control panel and it is working, I've tested every button on players one and two. They all highlight when pressed and show they are functioning on control panel.

[yamatetsu]

So, to sum this up : You can boot a game in Mame, after hitting 'TAB', you can navigate the menu with the joystick. You cannot start the game. The joystick works, the buttons work in Windows.

Perhaps the controls in Mame are messed up. Last try, if this doesn't work, I'm out of ideas.

I'll quote myself :

Boot a game. When the title screen appears, hit 'TAB'. You should get this menu :



Use the cursor keys or the joystick to get to 'Input (this Game)', press 'enter'. You should get something like this :

Now go to the '1 Player Start' line and press 'enter'. The '1' on the right side should disappear, two arrows should appear. Now press the player1 start button on the CP.

Go to the 'Coin 1' line and press 'enter'. Press the player1 coin button on the CP.

Press 'escape' two times to get to the title screen. Press the player1 coin button on the CP, then the player1 start button. This should hopefully work.