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All-around rotary solution?
placroix74:
Hello,
I've built myself a cabinet with joysticks only, but am now looking into ways of enabling driving/paddle games and those with a rotary joystick for aiming as well, on a small-sized control board.
My holy grail would be a single upgrade for all of them. I had originally spotted this : https://www.ultimarc.com/arcade-controls/joystick-accessories/ikari-12-way-rotary-upgrade-for-servostik-j-stik/, but (correct me if I'm wrong) this rotary upgrade is :
* Not continuous ("Rotary movement issues a keystroke or gamepad button press for each of 12 clicks")
* Has only 12 signals per revolution, which is way lower than most numbers found here : https://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/Spinner_Turn_Count
... making it useless for anything other than aiming.
I expect that :
* a separate spinner could be OK for driving/paddle, but clunky for aiming;
* aiming can be replicated with buttons.
Is there a way to do this without a dedicated spinner? Am I hunting for a unicorn?
Thank you
PL1:
--- Quote from: placroix74 on July 16, 2025, 05:25:29 pm ---I've built myself a cabinet with joysticks only, but am now looking into ways of enabling driving/paddle games and those with a rotary joystick for aiming as well, on a small-sized control board.
My holy grail would be a single upgrade for all of them.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: placroix74 on July 16, 2025, 05:25:29 pm ---Is there a way to do this without a dedicated spinner? Am I hunting for a unicorn?
--- End quote ---
If you're trying to cover all of the games in those categories, you are indeed hunting for a unicorn.
You can find some control combinations that will work well enough for some of the games, but there will be compromises and some games like Arkanoid will never play well without a dedicated high resolution spinner. What games are on your "can't live without it" list?
https://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/FAQ#What_type_of_build_meets_my_needs.3F
You may want to look into this GRS rotary joystick.
- It has switchable modes/handles for the "clicky" games like Ikari Warriors (mechanical rotary games) or "non-clicky" games like Caliber .50.
- It also has push/pull switches for games like Discs of Tron and Forgotten Worlds.
You will need to configure your settings in MAME, especially for the mechanical rotary joystick games. ;D
https://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/Joysticks#MAME_Settings_for_Mechanical_Rotary_Joysticks
Scott
BadMouth:
I'm not aware of any plug and play high resolution rotary joysticks. I vaguely remember some commercially available licensed table top machine that included classics and had a rotary stick that could be used for driving games. I can't find it now though. You would probably have to roll your own.
Just FYI some of the driving games do not play well without an analog gas pedal.
In Pole Position for example, without being able to only partially depress the gas pedal the tires will squeal on takeoff and cost you enough time to prevent you from progressing in the game. Other games like IVAN Stewarts Offroad play fine with virtual pedal to the metal.
This can be overcome somewhat with the Digital Speed setting that sets how fast the virtual analog control ramps up when you press the digital input (button). Read up on MAME's analog controls and get a good understanding of them. https://docs.mamedev.org/usingmame/ui.html#analog-input-settings
It may be possible to tweak these settings well enough to steer with a standard joystick, but I haven't invested any time in testing it.
There was no JAMMA equivalent for analog controls, so every machine was different and every game needs at least the sensitivity adjusted to play as it should.
I messed around with diy rotary solutions on my joysticks, but do not have enough depth in my control panel and could feel the added hardware while playing other games. For aiming in games that had rotary sticks, I ended up mapping buttons to turn the character one notch per press (thumb and middle finger turning with index finger firing and ring finger off to the side for grenade). It feels pretty natural. Not sure if it's in the new wiki, but here is where I quoted it from the old wiki:
--- Quote ---CALIBER 50
GUERILLA WAR
HEAVY BARREL
IKARI WARRIORS
MIDNIGHT RESISTANCE
SAR - SEARCH AND RESCUE
TIME SOLDIERS
VICTORY ROAD
XYBOTS
From the BYOAC Wiki
http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?title=Joysticks#MAME_Settings_for_Mechanical_Rotary_Joysticks
--- Quote ---MAME Settings for Mechanical Rotary Joysticks
For mechanical rotary games:
"Input (this Game)" menu
Positional Analog to none
"Analog Controls" menu
Positional Digital Speed = 0
Positional Sensitivity = 100
For optical rotary games:
"Input (this Game)" menu
Dial Analog to none
"Analog Controls" menu
Dial Digital Speed = double the default value
Dial Sensitivity = default value
--- End quote ---
--- End quote ---
BadMouth:
I'll go ahead and throw the important part of the mame instructions linked above.
--- Quote ---Each emulated input has four settings on the Analog Controls menu:
The increment/decrement speed setting controls how fast the input value increases or decreases in response to the controls assigned to the increment/decrement settings.
The auto-centering speed setting controls how fast the input value returns to the neutral state when the controls assigned to the increment/decrement settings are released. Setting it to zero (0) will result in the value not automatically returning to the neutral position.
The reverse setting allows the direction of the emulated input’s response to controls to be inverted. This applies to controls assigned to the axis setting and the increment/decrement settings.
--- End quote ---
These are for when digital inputs (keyboard keys, standard joystick microswitches, etc) are substituted for analog controls (steering or gas).
haynor666:
This GRS Rotary stick is quite good. It's even right now on sale - 40% off. I'm using it mostly for Ikari style games but in spinner mode it can used with Caliber 50 or even with Taito Aim'n'fire games.
It can be used as spinner but I don't recommend it. Better get dedicated spinner.
There is cheap one, low resolution but works - https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005801158755.html
It supports driving wheel from the same company - https://aliexpress.com/item/1005006007495738.html
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