Main > Main Forum
Auto Up (F1), Advance (F2), and Reset (F3) buttons
PCtech:
Here is a excellent thread on this topic
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=52150.0
It's a very entertaining read as well....still maks me laugh... :laugh2:
The first post in this thread by jelwell is where it starts getting interesting.
clhug:
--- Quote from: Dizzle on May 02, 2006, 02:37:37 am ---I think there were also a some games that required you to restart the machine when turning it on for the first time. So for those games, you'll need reset in MAME.
The first time starting up Robotron, I needed to hit f3 to get it to work if remember correctly.
--- End quote ---
AH! Now that's familiar!! I'm new to the whole MAME thing and I thought I was either dreaming or it was a bug in the software. A few games do that to me, Robotron, Defender, and Joust I think for sure. Good to know that's how it's supposed to be. BUT, it seems to only be the VERY first time you go in to the game. When it happened to me I just exited the game and went back in and it worked after that. So if it's just a first time thing I could live with having to exit and go back in. If I do find though that it's happening all the time then I can see having the F3 available for that.
clhug:
--- Quote from: wpcmame on May 02, 2006, 07:16:38 am ---The "Auto Up" button is a toggle button (i.e. it stays down until pressed again). In many cases it was more of switch than a button. The button's two states are called "Auto-Up" and "Manual-Down" (note the hyphen).
The names come from the button's 2 functions which both work together with the "Advance" button.
1. The button selects if the "Advance" button should move to the next or previous entry (in settings and audits). "Up" means move to next, "Down" means move to previous entry.
2. The button selects if the game is in "Automatic" or "Manual" mode. Don't remember but I think "Automatic" was used to have the game cycle through various tests. When in "Manual" mode the "Advance" button moves to the next test.
In mame the "Auto up" naming is confusing. It would be better if it was called something like "Auto & Up / Manual & Down".
Don't think the button is marked as a toggle button in mame (you need to hold it down manually to set it in Auto or up position).
--- End quote ---
Thanks for the explanation. That helps some. But what's the reason I'd need to access these screens this in any particular game within MAME? I can understand them being there purely from an emulation standpoint if they want to truly emulate the original game functions, but if I care about is playing the games, what would I use these functions for?
Thanks again!
clhug:
--- Quote from: MYX on May 02, 2006, 08:07:02 am ---Couldn't you set up a shifted option so you don't need a physical button on the CP?
--- End quote ---
Yes, I think that's what I plan to do. I do want a dedicated Pause button that's easy to use for guests, but I think I'm going to take somebody else's idea I read in another thread and have Pause be my shift button and then a 2nd button for Exit, so to Exit you'd have to press and hold Pause and Exit to prevent people from accidentaily hitting Exit by itself. I may or may not assign an unshifted function to that 2nd button, but I'm trying to get a better idea of what these other admin functions do to decide if I want them easily accessible or not. I do also have a keyboard and mouse inside the cabinet but I hope to not have to use that very often, if ever, in general game play.
clhug:
--- Quote from: PCtech on May 02, 2006, 08:13:45 am ---Here is a excellent thread on this topic
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=52150.0
--- End quote ---
Yep, I had read that thread already before posting this thread. Beyond the side discussion there, it gave me a some good general ideas but still never explained specifically what the F1 and F2 were or why I'd need any of them (including F3) during regular game play.