stair-stepping with joystick using a keyboard encoder

[Rhetro]

Hello.

I was wondering if there was anyway to create a joystick deadzone with a keyboard encoder in Mame32.

When using the joystick (a tron/gorf type) I get stair-stepping in the diagonals if it isn't totally aligned with a cardinal point (N,S,E,W).

Since I'm using micro switches in the joystick so if there is no fix I'm guessing the problem is purely mechanical.

However. I was wondering if Mame32 had something I could do to help if not fix the situation. I don't know. Something to make the joystick less sensitive.

Again, this is NOT and analog joystick. It runs of the Happ keyboard encoder.

Thanks in advance!

[Crazy Cooter]

Use a 4-way joystick.  

[OSCAR]

If you are getting stair-stepping, it sounds like you are already using a 4-way since it is only registering 1 direction at a time.  Many Happ joysticks have an actuator that will flip over, make sure the large end is towards the base of the joystick.  A true 8-way joystick will not stair-step diagonals, it will register both directions at the same time.

[RayB]

Nah OSCAR, the stair stepping is not the joystick's fault, it's the game he's playing. What's happening is that the joy is held in a diagonal, which activates two switches. The game, which is suppose to use a 4-way goes through its input logic, and detects the first switch, so it makes the direction go in that direction, then it detects the second switch, and so it makes the direction go in THAT second direction. It repeats that over and over, so you get a stair-step effect.

The solution is DON'T use an 8-way stick with 4-way games.

Since Rhetro said he's using a microswitch joystick, there's no such thing as "sensitivty". A microswitch is either on or off. What would be interesting is if there were an option to turn off diagonals in MAME. I know some SNES emulators have this option...

[OSCAR]

Depends on the actual situation, I guess.

Play Berzerk with a Happ stick in "4-way" mode and try to run in a diagonal.  What you get is a zig-zag run rather than a true diagonal run.  I know because I accidentally had one of my P360's in 4-way and that exact thing was happening to me.  That was what I thought the original poster was referring to.  If not, then your's or the other poster's comments are also valid.