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help with game list for dedicated 4 way joystick only cabinet
BSR:
I only have an 8-way Wico, so I can't test. From what you're saying a 4-way Wico will still hit the corners partially.
MAME's PORT_4WAY simply makes it impossible to hit corners, which in some cases it is a good thing.
I was going over the manual for Nibbler. It clearly states that the game uses a four way joystick. It cautions that "no two switches should make [contact] at the same time as this will interfere with the direction 'Nibbler' travels". It also suggests bending them back to ensure this is so.
Nibbler is currently set to 8-way in MAME. I recompiled Mame with the PORT_4WAY and my high scores instantly doubled.
It seems there are two classifications of 4-way games. The ones were hitting a diagonal is benign and the others where it will temporarily lock up the controls.
Kremmit:
--- Quote from: BSR on May 02, 2005, 06:33:47 pm ---MAME's PORT_4WAY simply makes it impossible to hit corners, which in some cases it is a good thing.
--- End quote ---
But that's not all it does. When your stick hits a corner, Mame's software 4-way restriction tries to guess which direction you meant to hit, and goes there, which in some cases is a bad thing.
BSR:
I'm not sure why it seems everyone is sour about MAME's 4-way restriction. If you are using a joystick with a 4-way restricter, then it shouldn't be an issue (should it?).
If I remember correctly, one of the main reasons it was added was because with Kung-fu Master it was difficult to execute a flying jump kick with 8-way controls. It might have also had something to do with the steadykey command (another hack).
Are there any games currently set to PORT_4WAY in MAME which don't perform well with 4-way joysticks?
Any PORT_4WAY games that will perform better with 8-way controls and set to PORT_8WAY?
Kremmit:
--- Quote from: BSR on May 04, 2005, 07:00:23 pm ---I'm not sure why it seems everyone is sour about MAME's 4-way restriction. If you are using a joystick with a 4-way restricter, then it shouldn't be an issue (should it?).
--- End quote ---
If you are using a physically restricted 4-way stick, then it won't matter, no.
The problem comes in when you are using an 8-way. Then, MAME's software restriction will "guess wrong", and PacMan dies. I'm not saying it's a totally bad thing, it may work better than it would without the restriction code, just that it isn't a CURE for the problem.
Tiger-Heli:
--- Quote from: Kremmit on May 05, 2005, 01:02:47 am ---
--- Quote from: BSR on May 04, 2005, 07:00:23 pm ---I'm not sure why it seems everyone is sour about MAME's 4-way restriction. If you are using a joystick with a 4-way restricter, then it shouldn't be an issue (should it?).
--- End quote ---
If you are using a physically restricted 4-way stick, then it won't matter, no.
The problem comes in when you are using an 8-way. Then, MAME's software restriction will "guess wrong", and PacMan dies. I'm not saying it's a totally bad thing, it may work better than it would without the restriction code, just that it isn't a CURE for the problem.
--- End quote ---
I replied to this in this new thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,36396.0.html , so we can move 4-way restriction code discussion there.