two 4 way josticks necessary?

[DaOld Man]

How many games use two 4 way joysticks for two players?
In mame, I can set the controls for player two to match the 2nd joystick inputs, but when I play the game player one and two both use the same joystick (player one).
I tried it on Donkey Kong and burger time.
If you cant use the 2nd joystick on the cabinet for player two, is it necessary to have a four way on that second joystick?
Or am I missing something in the mame input setup?

The reason im asking is Im installing an auto switching servo on my joysticks, to switch between 4 and 8 way, based on the game.
But if player two has to use the player one joystick, there's no need for me to install a servo on the player two joystick. (just leave that one 8 way).
I know two joysticks are used on cocktail setups, but what about two player cabinets?

 

[PL1]

How many games use two 4 way joysticks for two players?

The only one that springs to mind is Karate Champ.  It uses two 4-ways per player.

In mame, I can set the controls for player two to match the 2nd joystick inputs, but when I play the game player one and two both use the same joystick (player one).
I tried it on Donkey Kong and burger time.
If you cant use the 2nd joystick on the cabinet for player two, is it necessary to have a four way on that second joystick?
Or am I missing something in the mame input setup?

The reason im asking is Im installing an auto switching servo on my joysticks, to switch between 4 and 8 way, based on the game.
But if player two has to use the player one joystick, there's no need for me to install a servo on the player two joystick. (just leave that one 8 way).
I know two joysticks are used on cocktail setups, but what about two player cabinets?

If you look at pictures of the Donkey Kong and Burgertime original cabinets, there was only one stick so P1 and P2 alternated using that one stick.  Not sure if there were any other 2 player simultaneous 4-way games besides Karate Champ.   

If you want to configure MAME so P1 and P2 controls both work on 2 player alternating games, you need to map the controls in the MAME "Input (this Game)" menu so they use an OR function.
1. Highlight the P1 input you want to map.
2. Press Enter.
3. Press the P1 control for that input. (maps the P1 control to the input)
4. Press Enter.
5. Press the P2 control for that input. (adds the P2 control to the input so it now shows P1 control or P2 Control)
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for the rest of the P1 inputs.


Scott

[BadMouth]

I did a query on arcade database for 4 way joystick games where 2 players play concurrently.  Only 55 games came up.  The only ones that jump out at me are Klax, Pang, and maybe Timber.
Can't link the results, but here is the page if you want to play around with queries.  http://adb.arcadeitalia.net/lista_mame.php

EDIT: I doubt an 8 way would be detrimental to Klax and that Pang game is from 1989, so I have my doubts about whether it actually used a 4-way joystick.  Timber.....I dunno.  Some games play fine with an 8 way and some don't.  It's most noticeable on games like burger time and donkey kong where you can get hung up on the corners of ladders if using an 8-way.

DOUBLE EDIT: You may want to run a query of 1 player games that use two 4 way joysticks, such as Karate Champ which PL1 mentioned.  I made both joysticks auto-switching without putting much thought into it.

[DaOld Man]

Thanks badmouth.

PL1: I have changed the settings for player two to use p2 controls. I tried what you suggested to use p1 or p2 controls. The game still responds only to player 1 controls for both players.
Went back into settings (TAB while in game), and what i set up for P2 is still showing.

[PL1]

I tried what you suggested to use p1 or p2 controls. The game still responds only to player 1 controls for both players.

Did you map the controls like this with cabinet set to "Upright"?

Just verified here that both P1 and P2 joysticks and buttons control Jumpman during both P1's and P2's turn.


Scott

[DaOld Man]

Thanks PL1. that does work, however it allows p1 joystck to control both players and P2 joystick to control both players too.
I can see where this could be confusing.
Ideal (for me anyway) would be P1 jostick only controls player 1 and P2 only player two.
Is this not possible?

[BadMouth]

Thanks PL1. that does work, however it allows p1 joystck to control both players and P2 joystick to control both players too.
I can see where this could be confusing.
Ideal (for me anyway) would be P1 jostick only controls player 1 and P2 only player two.
Is this not possible?

Not possible because the cab only had one joystick.  MAME is emulating the original game so there is no second joystick to assign.  The game just isn't designed for player 2 to use separate controls.  Someone would have to make a custom rom and rewrite parts of the game.

The default is for both players to use the P1 joystick.  Everybody my age just kinda knows that if a game makes the players take turns, the game only had one joystick and everyone uses P1.  I can see where younger people might get confused, but they'll catch on quick.

[DaOld Man]

Thanks Badmouth.
I think you are right, which leads me to the original question, should I install servo on player 2 joystick? I think I will since Ive already bought it anyway.

Everybody your age? I bet you are younger than me. LOL
I remember the first dinosaur being born. Cute little thing, but I figured no way it would last.

[PL1]

should I install servo on player 2 joystick? I think I will since Ive already bought it anyway.

Good news!  You'll have at least one game that uses both 4-ways for simultaneous play.
https://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,168981.0.html




Scott

[BadMouth]

I think you are right, which leads me to the original question, should I install servo on player 2 joystick?

I would install it.  I happened to remember that one of my favorite games Rolling Thunder uses two 4 way joysticks and it didn't show up on that query.
Who knows what else you might run into someday that will require both.

Everybody your age? I bet you are younger than me. LOL

You been DaOld Man as long as I've been around here (15 years) and you're still here which is good.   

[marioxb]

Thanks PL1. that does work, however it allows p1 joystck to control both players and P2 joystick to control both players too.
I can see where this could be confusing.
Ideal (for me anyway) would be P1 jostick only controls player 1 and P2 only player two.
Is this not possible?

Not possible because the cab only had one joystick.  MAME is emulating the original game so there is no second joystick to assign.  The game just isn't designed for player 2 to use separate controls.  Someone would have to make a custom rom and rewrite parts of the game.

The default is for both players to use the P1 joystick.  Everybody my age just kinda knows that if a game makes the players take turns, the game only had one joystick and everyone uses P1.  I can see where younger people might get confused, but they'll catch on quick.

What about the Switch Arcade Archives versions of games like DK, Pac-Man or BurgerTime? Pretty sure they have each player using their own controller. I wonder if Hamster modified the roms, or how they made this possible?

[fatfingers]

Robotron 2084 is a one person game that uses 2 joysticks.  No cab is complete without Robotron!

[danny_galaga]

I hadn't even thought of this. But they are cheap enough you might as well just have two servo sticks.