4 Player Gauntlet Questions...

[gauntlet_addict]

I found MAME a couple years ago and said "Cool!" ... and forgot about it.  A month ago, I met a guy who had just built his own MAME cabinet and said, "I need to check out MAME again."  Now I am addicted.

I have been talking to some guys at work and we have decided to get a 3 player game of Gauntlet going.  3 geeks in their 30s reliving 1985 is not a pretty sight, but there you have it.

Anyway, we want to try it a couple times on the cheap first and would be willing to pitch in time, effort and money if the first couple of sessions work out.

So ... can I get build controls using 3 8-position joysticks, 6 player buttons and a keyboard hack if I use the right keyboard (Win95) and the right key mappings?  I have read on the internet that it is possible to get over 12 key presses without ghosting on these keyboards if you map it right.  What is the cheapest way to do this for 3 guys with rudimentary electronics skills and advanced programming skills?

Second, sorry for the off topic, but how can we *LEGALLY* acquire the right to play gauntlet?  Is purchasing a Gauntlet PCB enough?  

Thanks for the assist.

[gnateye]

save yourself time and huge headache and get an ipac 4player interface, well worth the money.

[Davestar]

I would second the use for an encoder, especially with 3 people at the same time.  Ultimarcs Ipac is very good, and some like hagstrom encoders, either should work.  As for legally playing the game, if you own any board that uses the rom image will be ok for you to be legal.

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Dave

[jerryjanis]

Just to offer my advice, don't "try it a couple times on the cheap first" and improve it if it's not a waste of time.  I did it cheaply at first, and there was no reason for it.  It is easy if you do it up right the first time.  It's a  lot more time consuming/flaky to do it cheaply (by this I mean using keyboard hacks).

I really recommend getting an IPac.  Also I recommend figuring out exactly what you want and doing it on the first try.  I read about somebody who built a cabinet and made sure that he wired the controls AFTER everything else was completed.  I think that's a really good idea, because I know that as soon as I wired my controls, everything else became a permanent work in progress.

Good luck!  With the help you get on this board and with all of the helpful sites out there, I'm sure that your committee of 3 guys can get whatever you want completed without hitches.

[neuromancer]

You cannont use a keyboard hack to make a 3 player, 6 button setup. Not enough input lines.

You can use 3 usb game pads to test out whether you guys like spending time together.

You could build a gauntlet control pad with a keyboard hack that would be perfectly functional. 4 player, 2 buttons = 16 input lines, which most keyboard decoders have.

Bob

[Lilwolf]

quick note... I'm a HUGE gauntlet fan also.  I bought a 4player captain america cabinet to get it running 4 players... well after owning it for a year, I finally tried removing the marquee (dont know why it took me so long) and guess what...

It was a converted Gauntlet cab!  Way cool!  Now I'm trying to find original artwork for the sides... and not finding any cheap.... but another topic.

but don't hack a keyboard.  You might be able to hack a few usb controllers that work together.  They don't have any of the problems that hacking keyboards do since they are expected to have all the buttons pressed at once.

but they usually don't have as many connections.

btw, I hacked a keyboard... then a joystick... then bought  a MK64 when I got my 4player cabinet.