At the Spinner Joystick Crossroads...

[HeadRusch]

......Having now had my cab for more than a year, make that a year and a half (!??).....I must admit...the thrill wore off and it sat there gathering dust for awhile.  Lately, I've been staring at it again......remembering how much work went into it

SO I updated the Roms to .89 and decided it was time to decide what to do with the Happs Spinner Sticks I bought.....you know, the 8 way joysticks with the optical disc underneath....spinner joysticks...for playing Ikari Warriors, Time Soldiers and what have you.

Everything runs into an IPAC..and currently, I have 1 Spinner connected to an Optipac.

The Happs sticks I was going to install in place of my existing standard controls, but I'm confused as to wether its worth it for me to install 1 or both.

I have Win98 as the OS on that box right now.  I believe I can use one of the AdvanceMame builds to play games like Ikari and such with 2 seperate joystick/spinner combos right?
(My information is at least half a year old at this point BTW...so if this statement is  incorrect....)

I would really like to install Windows 2000 on this box for stability reasons, but if that is the case, then the most I can get is one spinner joystick attached.  I can play Ikari and Guerilla War and such, but only single player.

Is that still the case?

Lastly....would the smart move be to wire the joystick (or joysticks if I install them both) into the Optipac on any available axis that are left, or should I run 2 wires into the optipac inputs where the Spinner currently resides.    Its been awhile so if this qualifies as a stupid "Why would you do that!?" kind of question, forgive...forgive

I do NOT have a trackball installed on this cab using the Optipac so thats why I have free inputs on it.  Currently only 1 axis is being used for the spinner.

Suggestions pls!


EDIT: I'm a tard, you're right....I'm not talking about Perfect 360's...I'm talking about thsoe Spinner sticks that Happs sells....not the 12-way rotary, but the free-spinning optical rotaries.

Its been awhile since I've been here    It shows!

[thrash242]

Uhm, unless I'm horribly mistaken, the Perfect 360s are not spinner joysticks.  They are optical, yes, but function just like a microswitch joystick, just without any clicking and with very smooth movement.  They still output only left, right, up, and down, in other words.  That being said, they're supposed to be excellent joysticks with a very nice feel, and I plan on getting some for my fighter panel and maybe my Robotron/Smash TV/Total Carnange panel.

If you're looking for a joystick with a rotating top for games like Ikari Warriors, I think you need a "rotary joystick", which Happ also makes.

If I misunderstood what you're saying, I apologize.

[HeadRusch]

Nope, you're right..I'm wrong...I was thinking of the wrong part!

My sticks are the optical spinner sticks from happs, not P360's!

[Kremmit]

You can use both, at the same time, for two players.  Even though you've got the optical version instead of the mechanical one, they can be used for Ikari, etc.  The feel isn't the same, but they will work.  You can hook them to any inputs on the opti-pac you want- Since you've got open ones, I'd use those instead of the one your spinner is on.

Have fun!

[HeadRusch]

Using AdvanceMame under Windows98?

[Kremmit]

I think you want MAME Analog+. 

[HeadRusch]

Fine, kick a man when he's down...

Mame Analog...Mame Plus...AdvanceMame.....who can keep it all straight!?!?!