Bind keys to MAME

[GeoMan]

I use MAME 0.183. As i have at least 4 different controllers connected (and 3 more for hotswap), i'd like to bind different keys to specific MAME games, without manual editing or the need to rebind all again.

For example:

I have already setup Joy1UP, Joy2UP, Joy3UP, Joy4UP for PacMan. Now i want to setup Joy5UP. Can it be done without remapping all 5 joysticks for UP again (or manually editing the .cfg files)?

[Tiger-Heli]

Not sure what you are trying to do ...

So you might potentially have 5 or more joysticks connected at the same time and want any of them to work in PacMan

[GeoMan]

It's simple:

I want to add to existing button assignments without setting up all assignments again for this action. So if for example the Player Button 1 is already assigned to CTRL, Joy1B1, Joy2B1, can i also assign Joy3B1 without reassign all 4 again?

(If you just press Enter to assign a new button, all existing assignments are removed...)

[Tiger-Heli]

Again, I assume you know this, but ...

If you have one joystick plugged it, it is Joy1B1.  If you plug in a second one, it becomes Joy2B1.  If you remove the first one and start a new game, the second one is now Joy1B1.

The only way this matters if if you might have 4 or 5 joysticks plugged in at the same time.

I got to where I preferred manually editing the .cfg files, but I think there was a way to add a new binding without losing the existing bindings, but you had to carefully time how long you wait between button presses (but that was also 70 or so MAME versions ago).

[GeoMan]

As i have at least 4 controllers connected at any time, i use the mapdevice to have stable gamepad IDs (http://docs.mamedev.org/advanced/devicemap.html)

So unplugging the first Joystick the second one doesn't become Joy1.

The trick you are mentioning is to exclude keys: for example "D not K"

You press D and then double press K to produce "not"

[DeLuSioNal29]

(If you just press Enter to assign a new button, all existing assignments are removed...)

You're doing it wrong.  The above statement is true if you arrow down after assigning the the button that you want.  However, if you hit enter to assign a button and then press enter again on the same one field, it will allow you to enter an additional button.  Do this many time if you wish depending on how many buttons you want assigned to that particular action.



For example:
If you want to assign P1 up to two inputs:  Arrow down to P1UP:  <Hit Enter> <Press Up Arrow> Stay on the same field <Hit Enter again> <Press Joy1 UP>

If you want to erase what you just did, simply arrow down to another field.  Arrow back up, <Press Enter> <press a new key> It will erase what was there.

Hope this helped!

DeL

[DeLuSioNal29]

Sorry, just re-read the OP and realized you want to add an input without erasing them.   

Have you tried CFG magician?  I'm not sure if it works on more recent builds of MAME but you can give it a shot:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88948.0

Updated link to download CFG magician here:  http://emumovies.com/files/file/601-cfg-magician/

DeL

[GeoMan]

Thanks, i'll give it a try!

[DeLuSioNal29]

Thanks, i'll give it a try!

Make sure you back up your configs first of course...

[GeoMan]

I have a full backup, but CFG Magician doesn't seem to work for what i want to do. It allows you to modify multiple .cfg files adding the same controls to all.

[yamatetsu]

So if for example the Player Button 1 is already assigned to CTRL, Joy1B1, Joy2B1, can i also assign Joy3B1 without reassign all 4 again?

You can do it semi-manually by using a text-editor that can replace text in multiple files, something like Notepad++, which is free. You have to put all .cfg files you want to change into one folder,
open the first one with Notepad++ and then replace the assignments for each button in all the files.

For example, this is the config for 10yard.zip. Player 1 button 1 is set to Joy1B1 and Joy2B1.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!-- This file is autogenerated; comments and unknown tags will be stripped -->
<mameconfig version="10">
    <system name="10yard">
        <input>
            <port tag=":IN1" type="P1_BUTTON1" mask="128" defvalue="128">
                <newseq type="standard">
                    JOYCODE_1_BUTTON1 OR JOYCODE_2_BUTTON1
                </newseq>
            </port>
        </input>
    </system>
</mameconfig>

To add Joy3B1, you use 'replace' to replace JOYCODE_2_BUTTON1 with JOYCODE_2_BUTTON1 OR JOYCODE_3_Button1. If you use 'replace in files', you change the button 1 assignment in all files.

You have to do that for every joystick button, but it sure beats editing every file by hand.

[GeoMan]

I already use Notepad++. I could also do the editing with an Autohotkey script. I was just wondering if it was possible to do it through the Mame interface.