Getting ready to order equipment

[bhille]

Okay, I've been hanging around here for long enough.  I think I'm ready to start building.  Or at least, I thought I was.  I'm getting ready to order my IPAC4, OptiPAC (was thinking about waiting for the USB version), 2 T-sticks, 2 Happ rotating Supers, 2 oscar spinners, trackball, and buttons.  I want to run Windows 98 2nd Ed on the cab.

I've searched and read and read and read and read about trackball, spinners, and OptiPACs.    I'm going to use swappable CPs, but wanted the above on one panel.  I have a layout that I think will work, but I'm confused on the hardware to order.   I read somewhere that in Windows you can really only use one Com port.  If that's true, how would I hook this puppy up?

Do I order a HAPPs trackball with a PS/2 or USB interface, should I get the Interial trackball with PS/2 connection?  If I do that, how will that work with the spinners attached to the OptiPAC which is then connected to a Com port?  Can I use standard MAME32 for this, or am I looking at Analog MAME?  I think I need Analog, but I'm not sure.  

I feel so stupid.  I thought I had this all worked out and then now that I'm ready to act, I forgot everything.  I suppose I should have kept better notes.    Thanks to everyone that helped me the first time.  Will you please help me again??  I promis to take notes this time!!

[cdbrown]

From what I've been told, to use the two trackballs through the optipac so using two serial ports, only have one plugged in when windows boots, there is a driver found on www.mame.net which allows the second trackball to run.  I believe you then need to run mame not mame32 and install the driver (I could be very wrong).  To get the two spinners and 2 rotaries going without having to go through the problem of a second serial port have spinner 1 and rotary 1 plugged into the player 1 x inputs and spinner 2 rotary 2 plugged into the player 1 y inputs.  Use analog mame which can then split the information x-axis for player 1 and y-axis for player 2.

Best bet is just to do a couple of searches through the boards on rotary, optipac, analog mame, etc.  For the majority of games you can just use mame32, but if you want to play 2 player rotary or spinner then there's a little bit of fiddling you have to do.  But I'm sure it would be well worth it  .

Cheers
-cdbrown

[bhille]

Do I use a PS/2 trackball then?  Would that allow hot swapping?

[John]

check out EMU+ or Analog+ of the MAME that will allow you to have multiple mouse.  But as far as I know you need multiple USB devices.  I ended up buying the usb kit from happ but Andy is testing a USB version of the opti-pac which may do the trick as well.

john

[rampy]

If i understand correctly... you want 2 spinners and one trackball...

I'm pretty sure you could get by, by doing the following...

use your optipac for thae trackball (you could use it for everything but there might be a snag as someone desbriber earlier in the thread)... you could also wait for the usb version which seems like a panacea for your woes... but i'm getting ahead of myself...

optipack to trackball interfaces with serial port...  use a mouse hack for your two spinners (up and down axis on spinner .. left and right axis on the other) ...

wait... I had a thought...  you could wire the trackball, 2 spinners in parrallel  to the optipac but utilze that circuit that someone in an older thread uses to shut off the spinner when using the trackball or shutoff the trackball when using the spinner ...

it's late.. i'm a little incoherent..but maybe I gave you an idea or two... or not...

good luck regardless....  best bet wait for usb optipac as it sounds awesome!

rampy

[cdbrown]

Use Analog + if you are going to use USB trackball and also to be able to use 2 spinners or rotarys (player 1 spinner and rotary plugged into port 1 rotary x1 and x2, player 2 spinner and rotary plugged into port 1 rotary y1 and y2 - this requires the use of only one serial plug from the optipac) with axis splitting.

USB is the only thing that allows hot swapping when you talk about un/plugging from the computer.  A lot of people get around this by leaving the ipac and optipac connected to the pc at all times and having a connector between them and the panel.  That way the computer always sees something attached (ipac and optipac) even though there is no panel attached to the ipac and optipac.  It probably looks like you will need to un/plug stuff at some point and just use the right version of mame that works.  mamew in a window for 2 serial inputs, analog + for multiple usb and axis splitting, mame32 for everything else.  Just remember when it's just you playing then mame32 will work fine, it's just the second person that makes it a little more tricky.  Hope Ihaven't confused you or made too many mistakes but that's how I understand it from asking the same questions a couple of months ago.

Also, just work out whether or not you will be using just one panel - you don't want to many things around the place, it may look good on paper but you need to have clear access to each component - or multiple panels which some people have gone for because of the problem of congested controls.  You need to make sure the gameplay is comfortable, not worry too much about having to plug things in, if it ain't comfortable you won't play it much and end up changing it.

Cheers
-cdbrown

[Tiger-Heli]

Okay, I've been hanging around here for long enough.  I think I'm ready to start building.  Or at least, I thought I was.  I'm getting ready to order my IPAC4, OptiPAC (was thinking about waiting for the USB version), 2 T-sticks, 2 Happ rotating Supers, 2 oscar spinners, trackball, and buttons.  I want to run Windows 98 2nd Ed on the cab.

I've searched and read and read and read and read about trackball, spinners, and OptiPACs.    I'm going to use swappable CPs, but wanted the above on one panel.  I have a layout that I think will work, but I'm confused on the hardware to order.   I read somewhere that in Windows you can really only use one Com port.  If that's true, how would I hook this puppy up?

Do I order a HAPPs trackball with a PS/2 or USB interface, should I get the Interial trackball with PS/2 connection?  If I do that, how will that work with the spinners attached to the OptiPAC which is then connected to a Com port?  Can I use standard MAME32 for this, or am I looking at Analog MAME?  I think I need Analog, but I'm not sure.  

I feel so stupid.  I thought I had this all worked out and then now that I'm ready to act, I forgot everything.  I suppose I should have kept better notes.    Thanks to everyone that helped me the first time.  Will you please help me again??  I promis to take notes this time!!

Like most things the more this gets explained, the more confusing it gets  .

I'll try to cut through things and explain what you need to know.  

First USB is really only a benefit for hot swappability or for desktop computers or many multiple controls (I am planning two trackballs, two spinners, and a steering wheel controller, either all USB or some going through the new USB I-PAC).  For your setup, you don't NEED USB, not that it hurts, but it doesn't gain you anything either.

You need MAME Analog + to split the mouse axes for the spinners, and I recommend doing this.  http://www.urebelscum.speedhost.com/

The whole dual driver, two port, what OS, what MAME, don't have a driver installed at startup stuff only comes into effect if you want to use two ports at the same time . . . one ps/2 and one serial trackball for marble madness, two USB trackballs for CABAL, etc.  For your set-up, it won't matter.

Now the options:

You want 2 spinners, 2 rotary joysticks (assuming optical), and one trackball.  There are no spinner games that also used a trackball, no rotary joy games that also used a trackball, and no spinner games that also used a rotary joy.  So if the spinners and joysticks split the axis of one port, then you only need one port per game and your connections are a lot simpler.

RECOMMEND (Order is not important):  Hook Opti-pac port 1 to Serial Port 1 on the PC.  Hook Spinner 1 to Opti-PAC Port 1 Rotary X1 and X2,  Hook Spinner 2 to Opti-PAC Port 1 Rotary Y1 and Y2.  Hook Rotary Joy 1 to Opti-PAC Port 1 Trackball X1 and X2.  Hook Rotary Joy 2 to Opti-PAC Port 1 Trackball Y1 and Y2.   The opti-pac will now auto-switch between the rotaries and the spinners.  (whichever is moved last has control).

The trackball can now be connected to either PS/2, USB, or the least expensive option is to wire it in parallel with probably the rotary joys (higher resistance to turning) to Opti-PAC Port 1 Tracball X1, X2, Y1, and Y2.

Wiring to PS/2 or USB, the trackball will share cursor control with both the spinners and the rotary joysticks, so moving any of these controls in a trackball game, will affect gameplay.  Wiring through the opti-pac, the spinners will be auto-switched, so only the rotary joysticks will possibly conflict with the trackball  (and vice-versa, accidentally sending the trackball whizzing during rotary joystick games can have interesting results )

Hopefully careful control placement will minimize this possibility, or you might want to look at swappable control panels.

Hope this helps.  Post a reply if I need to confuse you more.