dual trackballs worth it?

[rordog]

hey guys,

i'm in the throes of designing my control panel.  I want to go with a two player cp initially b/c of space, but I have this nagging desire to put two trackballs in (3" happ translucent) instead of just one.  with my current cp design this puts me at a big crunch for space.  so my question is, is it worth it to put in two?  are there really any games that would even need 2 beside maybe marble madness?  just wanted some opinions.

thanks,

Rory

[CthulhuLuke]

my suggestion would be to go for one 3" trackball, and just buy a Oscar Pro Spinner with the money for the other trakcball.  Playing Marble Madness 2 players sure might be fun for a bit, but I'd much rather play Marble Madness, then play Tempest, then play Arkanoid, and back to some more Marble Madness.  Plus those bowling games and those golf games only take 1 trackball, so ya know.
    -CthulhuLuke

[Minwah]

What OS are you using?  I believe u_rebelscum's AnalogMAME seperate mouse inputs feature only works in Win 98.  You will need to use this for 2-trackball games.

I would go with just one trackball.  But if you're mad for any 2-trackball games then do it

[u_rebelscum]

hey guys,

i'm in the throes of designing my control panel.  I want to go with a two player cp initially b/c of space, but I have this nagging desire to put two trackballs in (3" happ translucent) instead of just one.  with my current cp design this puts me at a big crunch for space.  so my question is, is it worth it to put in two?  are there really any games that would even need 2 beside maybe marble madness?  just wanted some opinions.

thanks,

Rory

It could depend on if you want to play lightgun games with trackballs.

Games with 2+ lightgun inputs in mame .61:
gunbulet
gunbustr
mechatt
othunder
policetr
ptblank
revx
term2
undrfire
zeropnt

games with 2+ trackball inputs in mame.61
(games I like with trackballs in bold)
(some may be 2 player (1 player simultaneous) cocktail games)
abaseb
arcadecl
atarifb
atarifb4
ataxx
bbusters
bking
bladestl
bootcamp
bsktball
cabal
combasct
ebases
gghost
gridiron
gridlee
gtg2
krzybowl
lemmings
magworm
marble
missile
mjleague
poundfor
rambo3a
rampart
sdi
shufshot
slither
soccer
spacegun
spiker
stratab
suprmatk
syvalion
tehkanwc
wacko

I'm in the planning stages of a trackball control panel.  It's going to have two or three trackballs.  Except for the $$$, I like the three trackball idea.  It lets one player trackball games play in the middle of the cp, two player trackball games can use the ones on the ends, and also be able to play three player rampart. 8-D~  However, I'm toward two trackballs because of money and size.

Also be aware that the standard mame does not do dual mice/trackballs.  You either need dmame & optimouse driver, or mame:Analog+ & USB trackball connections & winME/98, for two trackballs.

[Rocky]

I'm planning a multiple trackball cp. It's on the back burner for now because I'm just trying to get one cp up and running on my cabinet.

I picked up a few used trackballs and refurbished them. I'm putting one 3" Happs on my main 2player cp. I have three 2 1/4" wico trackballs that I'm thinking about putting on their own cp, similar to u_rebel's plan.

It's probably a bit overboard, but then again, so is the whole mame cabinet thing.

I still keep wondering why I want a 400 pound game station in my house, then I come back to my senses and continue working on it.

Rocky

[u_rebelscum]

I still keep wondering why I want a 400 pound game station in my house, then I come back to my senses and continue working on it.

Rocky

LOL, same here.

[eyal8r]

So is there any way to run, say, XP and 2 trackballs and a spinner? I'm looking to run to TBs as well, and don't see any other way other than Win98 and Analog...
Thanks!
D

[Silver]

wow, thats an old thread.... ;-) got confused for a minute there.

I believe the restriction on dual mouse/tb inputs was been (rather superbly) worked around in XP and you should be able to run that fine in XP - possibly even with regualr mame. I'm sure someone here with the hardware can confirm it.....

[jerryjanis]

I was wondering why there was so much outdated information in this thread...

Regular Mame still won't support multiple trackballs properly, particularly in Windows XP.  Let me know if I have this right:  In Windows 9x, regular Mame can use multiple trackballs (usb only), but the 1st trackball will control everybody.

In Windows XP you can use multiple trackballs & spinners using Mame Analog+, and there is no restriction to USB mice.  You can mix-and-match ps/2, serial, and usb mice.

There is no way to use multiple mice in Windows 2000.

In Windows 9x, you can use multiple mice & spinners using Mame Analog+, and they all have to be USB.

[eyal8r]

so let me get this right- in XP, you CAN use 2 trackballs and also have at least ONE spinner running- is it possible to get TWO spinners and TWO trackballs as well?  I don't know what Mame Anaglog+ is- is that the Mame software? Are there any limitations to that? I maybe getting in over my head with adding all this- I might just keep it simple for this first one. LOL.
Thanks
D

[goofy]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't  think MAME Analog+ exists anymore. I believe the current versions of MAME have gotten all of the additional functionality that was in Analog+ and not in MAME. So, for trackballs, mice, spinners, etc. you can just use the current version of MAME.

[eyal8r]

Hmmm- so I guess the real question is this- can the current version of MAME, running on XP, handle multiple trackballs and spinners?

[gradbert]

You could always run linux and xmame.  which has no problem supporting multiple mice

[jerryjanis]

is it possible to get TWO spinners and TWO trackballs as well?  I don't know what Mame Anaglog+ is- is that the Mame software?

You can use 8 spinners and 4 trackballs if you like in Windows XP using Mame Analog+.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't  think MAME Analog+ exists anymore. I believe the current versions of MAME have gotten all of the additional functionality that was in Analog+ and not in MAME. So, for trackballs, mice, spinners, etc. you can just use the current version of MAME.

This is totally not true.  Mame Analog+ is still going strong.  It has many desireable features that don't exist in standard Mame.

Check out the Mame Analog+ site for a list of features:

http://www.urebelscum.speedhost.com/