Arcade cabinet controls AND/OR Joypad controls

[fl00die]

hi guys.

new to this forum and just starting my first ever arcade cab build. It will be going in my man cave but I have a query.

I plan for it to be sat in the corner but as I will be having a projector in there I MAY occasionally like the hyperspin PC that is running the cabinet to be shown on the 100" screen. My question is, if/when this happens I would like to pull out a couple of joy pads from the draw on inside the cabinet and play using them rather than standing at the arcade cab using those dedicated controls. I assume if I have joypads then they would be players 3 and 4 which obviously wouldn't work.

Is it possible to have dual inputs for player 1 and player 2 so no matter what I use it still works?

Many thanks
David

[yotsuya]

Save yourself the headaches - leave the arcade stuff on the arcade cab and hook a console  up to the projector.

[thomas_surles]

You could use joy to key To assign keystrokes. So you can have joy 1 and game pad 1 have the same inputs and so on.

[thatpurplestuff]

Sounds like a miniConsole+ with the arcade expansion board would be the ideal solution for you, although the kickstarter has been ridiculously slow in delivering so I have no idea when/if they will be available for purchase.  Basically you can operate games with your arcade controls and hotswap in whatever controller you want without having to worry about USB ID's or changing any settings.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kadevice/kade-miniconsole-a-smart-open-source-retro-gaming

They just started shipping out to backers recently, so hopefully they will offer them for sale sometime in the near future (but if this is a project you want done immediately, you'll want to look at other options).

[fl00die]

Crikey. For a guy with almost 15000 posts to say "save the headache" it really mustbe abit of a ball ache. Problem is. I like to have the option of if i have a load of guys round and have conpetition night. I guess soectators can watch the projector whilst the guys play at the cabinet. I guess simply hdmi'ing out to the projector to repeat the screen wouldnt be a problem.

Thomas: that seems feasable. Do you see any issues doing it that way? The consensus  seems to have an opposite view

Thanks TPS. Ill take a look into that

[yotsuya]

Fl00die, it's not impossible, but depending on your physical build and how easy it is to access stuff, if might be more trouble than it's worth. If you unplug your USB gamepads, for example, you will probably have to deal with Windows ID reassignment, which means reprogramming, which means you'll need to access Windows, etc, etc. You have to ask yourself if you really want to hassle with extra programs or finding hardware for something you're not going to use a whole lot. Again, it's not impossible, but it's not without issues, especially if you envision those same gamepads functioning as P3 and P4 as well.

Mirroring the video seems like the easiest way to go for spectators, as they'll see the games as they're being played.

[fl00die]

AHHH you're right!. windows dialogues will appear or cause issues taking away the illusion of the cabinet being "PC / windows-less"..

Yes, I think the ends don't justify the means at all really.

Thanks for your help

[Rockstead]

Would wireless gamepads have the same issue?

[RandyT]

I think it can be done, so long as it is set up correctly and a few rules are observed.

If I were to try this, I'd say you would need...

.. to see if your front end will allow more than one controller to operate it.  Without this capability, you probably won't get any further.

.. one of the pieces of software which lock down the controller ID assignments (there are a couple out there, IIRC)

.. to configure each of the bindings in MAME to be (arcade control) OR (gamepad control)

.. to not unplug the gamepads, rather just store them plugged in.


There may be a utility out there to mirror multiple controls to a single "virtual" controller, but I am not currently aware of one.  If you can find one, it will makes things a lot easier, but you may still need to lock down the ID's and keep them plugged in.

[BigCurtis]

The solution is simple, you simply use a video splitter to get it on the big screen, when you build your 'cade, incorporate that splitter with a panel mount HDMI port. Hook up the external projector or whatever you want to the HDMI port as you need to.

Use wireless controllers. Yes can overload inputs, anywhere you can't (what input encoder limitations are present), have a batch file or something to swap out game input setting files as needed.

Have a sweet audio set up within the cab to begin with, and crank it.

[fl00die]

Hi Guys,

sorry the delay..

Thanks for all your replies here, food for thought - although a couple are seeminly going over my head I do get what you mean at the core so will do some further research and weigh up wether the ends outweigh the means.. thanks again

[jaywv1981]

This is what I would do which is basically what everyone else said.

For example say your actual arcade player 1  keys are as follows:

P1 Up = Up Arrow
P1 Down = Down Arrow
P1 Right = Right Arrow
P1 Left = Left Arrow
P1 Button 1 = A
P1 Button 2 = B
P1 Start = 1
P1 Coin = 5

Install a program like Joy2Key or XPadder and assign the same keys to the buttons on the  gamepad you want to use for Player 1 when you are playing on the tv.  Then do the same for player 2.  The emulator will see the gamepad exactly the same as it sees the arcade controls and will allow you to use either to play.

[fl00die]

Hi Jay - yes I did think of something like that but Id have thought that would've been mentioned so thought perhaps its not possible.

That's great.. I assume they need to remain plugged in all the time?

[jaywv1981]

I've used Xpadder before and it seems like it remembers everything even if you unplug and plug back in.   I think the only problem I had was with multiple types of game pads (Xbox 360 plus Wii U controllers) being plugged in at the same time....seems like it got confused as to which gamepad it should apply the settings to.

[RandyT]

I think the only problem I had was with multiple types of game pads (Xbox 360 plus Wii U controllers) being plugged in at the same time....seems like it got confused as to which gamepad it should apply the settings to.

This is why the need for the software which can keep the gamepad devices straight. Not sure whether the software is compatible with Xpadder, or if it's MAME specific.   Without it, Windows can jumble USB control ID's which have the same USB device numbers (i.e. multiple identical controllers) between boots, or when plugging and unplugging them.

[tscottn]

Listen Here is the solution,
Do exactly what Jaywv1981 said to do with the controls.  Use XPadder to accomplish this. 

But here is what you do with the actual controllers, use xbox360 wireless controllers.  Leave both receivers plugged into your usb ports on the motherboard all the times.  Whenever you want to use the gamepads just turn on the controllers. you will never see a dialog box and have no issues with assignments or anything.  I have done this exact same thing and it works beautifully. 

[fl00die]

Great! thanks very much!, I will see how it goes!... helpful forum!!

[JudgeRob]

I haven't tried it, but maybe this utility is what you need to keep the ID assignments:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,108767.msg1154628.html#msg1154628