Keyboard LEDs

[SuperRabbit0]

I see on Ultimarc's site and in the MAME options that MAME can be configured to output something to the keyboard LEDs.

According to the Ultimarc site, the LEDs emulate the Caps/Num/Scroll lock keyboard LEDs.  What these LEDs actually do depends on the game. In MAME some games flash the LEDs to indicate coin credits. Some games use the LEDs for indicating
"power-up" or rapid fire status etc.

- Do any games do anything worthwhile with these LEDs (ie. is it worth installing them?)

- Where do the LEDs go.  The P1/P2 start buttons?

[pocketbikez]

Discs of Tron uses the leds for in game actions. another game i like the led effect is in Victory (1982). then of course there are all the old games like asteroids that use them for 1 and 2 player start buttons.

on one of my cabs i hacked the keyboard leds and installed them in the top of a trigger joystick. here is a link if you want to see...

http://netbox.home.mindspring.com/dot/

[Tiger-Heli]

- Do any games do anything worthwhile with these LEDs (ie. is it worth installing them?)

LED 411 -

Asteroids used a lighted volcano style Start button - Frosty has a pic of them in this thread - http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=11123;start=msg85335#msg85335

Better pics by OSCAR at the bottom of this thread -
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=4371;start=msg28025#msg28025

Basically you put a quarter in and the P1 button flashed, put two quarters in and P1 and P2 Start alternated.

MAME uses NumLock and Caps lock to emulate this.  Lots of Atari games used this.

Pac-Man didn't use volcano buttons, but I think some machines had LED's mount above the Start buttons on the CP.  MAME flashes the KB LED's for this too.

Outrun flashes the Caps Lock LED when you press the brake (for no apparent reason).

Ajax flashes the Scroll Lock LED when a power-up is active, but you can see this on the bottom of the screen as well.  This is the only game I know of that uses the Scroll Lock LED for anything.

Missile Command used to flash the LED's for the missile base firing buttons until the base ran out of missiles, but MAME does not emulate this.

Spy Hunter used to flash a VAN light in the yoke when the weapons van was approaching, but MAME does not emulate this either.

Whether it's worth installing them comes down to whether it's a nostalgia thing, (which since you've never heard of them, it probably isn't), whether you think they would be neat, and whether it will bother you that a handful of games flash the buttons and 95% will ignore them.

- Where do the LEDs go.  The P1/P2 start buttons?

I plan on mounting the LED's in this Radio Shack holder above the P1 and P2 Start buttons.

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F011%5F006%5F001%5F000&product%5Fid=276%2D080

I think this looks reminiscent of the Atari buttons without taking away from the more modern Start buttons, but many people feel it looks "Cheesy".  I think the holders could be painted black, but I would worry about the paint chipping, so I doubt I will bother with that.

Erikruud, 1Up (?), and OSCAR have experimented with lighting the P1 and P2 Start buttons themselves as shown below.  To me, this looks unauthentic, but it's personal preference.

http://erikruud.freeservers.com/arcade/buttons.html

http://www.oscarcontrols.com/led/index.shtml

[Tiger-Heli]

Discs of Tron uses the leds for in game actions. another game i like the led effect is in Victory (1982). then of course there are all the old games like asteroids that use them for 1 and 2 player start buttons.

on one of my cabs i hacked the keyboard leds and installed them in the top of a trigger joystick. here is a link if you want to see...

http://netbox.home.mindspring.com/dot/

How are the LED's used in DOT and Victory?  I didn't know these games used them at all.

[pocketbikez]

How are the LED's used in DOT and Victory?

DOT:
the num lock led alternates on and off to simulate the interior black light of the enviromental arcade machine. the caps lock led flashes on when your player gets killed by sark.

Victory:
all three leds flash one after the other in attract mode. in game play they all turn on and off at times.

[Tiger-Heli]

How are the LED's used in DOT and Victory?

DOT:
the num lock led alternates on and off to simulate the interior black light of the enviromental arcade machine. the caps lock led flashes on when your player gets killed by sark.

Victory:
all three leds flash one after the other in attract mode. in game play they all turn on and off at times.

Thanks!

[spauldingd]

I got the LED's and left the NUMLOCK and CAPSLOCK as they were, but since I didn't find much that used the SCROLL-LOCK, I tapped into my PC power LED for that one.  Now, when my cab goes on standby, the LED blinks on and off.  Pretty neat and lets me know my PC is already on, just sleeping.