Another trackball problem with Mame 1.06

[Ifko]

Sorry guys,  I have spent 2 full weekends and about 8 hours trying to educate my self on the problem and solution so I wouldn't have to post this. 

Yes, I read through previous posts on this,
yes,  I read Easy EMU Mame guide on INI files, Config files, etc, etc
yes, I have tried  Trial and Error
yes,  I wanted to put TNT in my arcade cabinet
after 8 hours, and asking my self "What would Jesus Do?" Even God himself would of pulled out the Magnum and put it to the pasture.

My control setup works perfectly on earlier versions, but I really do want to get 1.06 up and going.
I am running 2 joysticks, one being rotary, a spinner and a trackball (trackball doubles as my mouse input)

Basically mame always recognizes my spinner as mouse input even if I deactivate it, but never my Trackball.

What have I done:
I went  through my mame.INI files and tried every possible configuration:
from  setting mouse to 1 (turning it on)
then changing  mouse input device--  from mouse to mouse(1-5).
each time trying it with setting the on mouse function eachtime on 0, then 1.
I went into TAB controls (General)   Controller 1--  It will Never register a movement for both Mouse input or Trackball.   I can move the spinner and it will always calibrate.

Lastly, I tried messing with the CNFG files with trackball code,  I am not the best at this but inserted trackball code into default CNFG file and still no luck.

What am I over looking,  were might the issue lye???
Setting up my rotary controls were cake to this.

going nuts in the Detroit subs
thanks Scott
scott (dot) ifkovits  (at)   comcast (dot) net

[kiddk1]

go to your input settings in mame while in a game and push the tab button and select the input general settings and go down to trackball and set it.  it is probably not set highlight it and set it for both x and y axis. and it should work, I have a nasty spinner set up and a trackball and both work fine.

ps what type of connections are your mouse and trackball

[Ifko]

yes, been their tried that.....in my post above,  you'll see  ..."I went into TAB controls (General)   Controller 1--  It will Never register a movement for both Mouse input or Trackball.   I can move the spinner and it will always calibrate."

I am not running a mouse,  my trackball is my mouse  it is a ps2 type connection.

still very baffled,  especially the fact that it wont register movement in the tab settings.

Scott

[ahofle]

This may seem dumb, but I have had problems getting the trackball to register in one axis if I also accidentally spin a little on the other axis.  When setting Track X for example, do a quick but short spin in the horizontal direction only.  If it doesn't register do it again in the same direction but backwards, and repeat until it picks it up.  I'm sure you're way past this though, just thought I'd throw it out there.

[Ifko]

thanks Ahofle for the reply,  yes way past that, I read your post on this in my research for a quest for a solution.

I tried all directions fastly, and slowly, too just slightly.........still nothing.

just a quick question, some guys have said that their mouse was registered to mouse port 2 and etc...  how do they know this,  just by trial and error and thats what it worked on??

Scott

[kiddk1]

just so I am clear, did you go to Tab-> P1 controls-> track x analog then track y analog?

when you get to track x and select enter the field goes blank, you must then spin your mouse left to right to set x and then do track y?

[Ifko]

I really apreaciate you wanting re clarification,  I guess  its still could be possible that there is something I might be overlooking that I am not doing correctly.

Unfortunately,  the Tab screen isnt one of them.    Its the Tab   then general control screen,  you go into  P1 controls  and then either mouse or trackball control==hit enter  and no matter how I turn the mouse it wont register.

I can get the spinner to register, in the tack ball X axis,   if that makes a difference.

thats another odd thing,    MY spinner always works,  I always can calibrate it, not the trackball.

and everything works in previous versions,  and I do want to get this to work.
Scott

[kiddk1]

what type of connection is your spinner?  is your trackball the only ps/2 input or are you running a ps/2 splitter?  what I might also suggest which is what I am running is a ps/2 to usb adapter and run the trackball as a usb input device.

[ahofle]

just a quick question, some guys have said that their mouse was registered to mouse port 2 and etc...  how do they know this,  just by trial and error and thats what it worked on??

Scott

I think they mean that MAME recognizes is as "mouse device number 2".  So when you spin it in the tab->input settings, it records it as "mouse2 X axis" or something similar. 

Your problem definitely sounds unique though.  So in windows, do both the spinner and trackball move the cursor around?  Also, can you elaborate on the rotary interface you're using?  Is it also optical?

[Ifko]

Thanks for sticking with me,  I appreciate you guys coming back.

The Track ball is run off of its own PS2 port,   The spinner is run off its own USB port.

and Yes, I can move the MOUSE CURSOR with both the spinner and trackball at the same time in Windows,   I can make it move in funky directions.

As far as the rotary controls,  I was having this problem before adding the rotary input device,  but it was pretty much plug and play,  it plugs into a USB port,   its the one that is been worked on currently by Jeremy Shaffer,  they were discussing it on the boards recently.  It is a full input device, that offers immediate at on rotary and optical rotary inputs.   I am using it as an add on with my Ipac.   Very simple to use, add, and worked immediately.
but I was having this problem before the device was added.

is it worth trying to switch the ps2 trackball to a usb input??

also off the top of my head (without triple checking) how my ports are set up:
first ps/2--  keyboard/ ipac
2nd ps/2--  trackball
1st USB-  Spinner/ optical encoder
2nd USB-   Rotary encoder

thanks
Scott

[ahofle]

Well if you are controlling the cursor with both spinner and trackball in windows, and only the spinner works in MAME, it's sounding to me like some issue with the MAME mouse input logic.  I was hoping u_rebelscum or Derrick Renauld (the MAME dev who recently revamped the mouse code in MAME v0.105) would see this thread and have some ideas.  My minimal expertise on the subject is exhausted I'm afraid.
  Although I'd definitely fiddle with the trackball on USB as you suggested and see if that helps. 

[u_rebelscum]

I've been following this on and off, aholfe, and you were saying what I would have said and much more often than I was checking in, so I didn't post anything yet.  Why do any work when someone else already is.

first ps/2--  keyboard/ ipac
2nd ps/2--  trackball
1st USB-  Spinner/ optical encoder
2nd USB-   Rotary encoder

It might be that the trackball is on the ps/2 port, but I thought this was the one spot rawinput was better than directinput (besides winXP vs win9x). 

Hmm, now that I said that, what version windows are you running?  If you're running winXP, I won't expect this to be happening (I'll have to test (tomarrow ) to be sure).  If you're running win9x/winME, that TB needs to be on USB with the new changes.

[Ifko]

That could be it,  I am running Windows 98.   In all my readings I didnt know that could be an issue.

I will switch the trackball from the PS2 and get a USB converter for it.

I will post back the results tommorow night.


Scott

[u_rebelscum]

That could be it,  I am running Windows 98.   In all my readings I didnt know that could be an issue.

It's a new thing that came with the multiple mice changes, about a version ago.

You actually bring up one of the strongest reasons to bring back/in the system mouse (anything to add, Howard?).  PS/2 mice don't work in mame if any USB mice are plugged in in win9x. 

Adding it will raise a huge problem, though: mapping mice.  There is no way for mame to know if you want to use sysmouse, the USB, or both USB & sysmouse (not OR) when using the TAB Input remapping (if sysmouse always shows).  Having a -singlemouse option would need special handing in cases when it's sometimes used and other times it's not; as is mame would "unmap" any input mapped to mouse 2-8 down to mouse 1 when -singlemouse is enabled and save it (so sysmouse doesn't show at same time as individual mice).   And it's a win95/win98/winME only problem.

I will switch the trackball from the PS2 and get a USB converter for it.

Yah, I think that's the easiest thing to do.  Make sure you don't get a low quality converter, though; they're too choppy, too much lag.

[Ifko]

doooohhh,   I bought the wrong connector,   I will get another tommorow     (friday)
thanks
Scott

[krick]

You actually bring up one of the strongest reasons to bring back/in the system mouse (anything to add, Howard?).  PS/2 mice don't work in mame if any USB mice are plugged in in win9x. 

Adding it will raise a huge problem, though: mapping mice.  There is no way for mame to know if you want to use sysmouse, the USB, or both USB & sysmouse (not OR) when using the TAB Input remapping (if sysmouse always shows).  Having a -singlemouse option would need special handing in cases when it's sometimes used and other times it's not; as is mame would "unmap" any input mapped to mouse 2-8 down to mouse 1 when -singlemouse is enabled and save it (so sysmouse doesn't show at same time as individual mice).   And it's a win95/win98/winME only problem.

I thought that it was supposed to work like this...

Code: [Select]

  if ( RAWMOUSE_SUPPORT && (MOUSECOUNT > 1) )
  {
      use_raw_mouse();
  }
  else
  {
      use_direct_mouse();
  }

That way, it always uses the "normal" behaviour unless the user has XP and more than one mouse.

Is that not how it works?

[kiddk1]

if you can upgrade to xp i think that will solve your problem

[u_rebelscum]

You actually bring up one of the strongest reasons to bring back/in the system mouse (anything to add, Howard?).  PS/2 mice don't work in mame if any USB mice are plugged in in win9x....

I thought that it was supposed to work like this...

Code: [Select]

  if ( RAWMOUSE_SUPPORT && (MOUSECOUNT > 1) )
  {
      use_raw_mouse();
  }
  else
  {
      use_direct_mouse();
  }

That way, it always uses the "normal" behaviour unless the user has XP and more than one mouse.

Is that not how it works?

It is how it works, except this isn't the cause of what's happening.  Note that official mame could do multiple mice in win98 since mame 0.85 (except for remapping through tab interface), so "normal" is not what you're thinking.

The problem is rooted in both the new directInput & RawInput mame code do the same thing: If number mice found > 1, then ignore the system mouse.  The difference between rawInput and directInput (well, besides the first does multiple mice in winXP and the second does multiple mice in win9x ) is that directInput can only see PS/2 & serial mice in the system mouse, while rawinput can see them individually.  (Both DI & RI can see USB mice individually, and a virtual mouse of all mouse inputs combined aka "system mouse" if wanted.)  Since the system mouse is ignored (for good reasons), with win9x, DI & at least one USB mouse, mame can't see any PS/2 mice.  And even if mame did see the sysmouse (like before the changes), the input from sysmouse would also include the USB movements.


Solutions for Ifko:
Get mouse PS/2 to USB converter
Upgrade or hack a USB interface to replace the PS/2 unit
Upgrade to winXP
Use old mame from before it started ignoring system mouse
Edit mame source.

[Ifko]

MISSION ACOMPLISHED!!

solution:

Get mouse PS/2 to USB converter--

I got this,   and then had the trackball running on one of my USB Ports,   currently I have nothing running on that second PS/2 port.

I was able to go into Tabs then general controller 1 screen and configure the trackball,   and yes it is now registering the movement of the trackball.
I did this for both X and Y axis.

That was it,   thank you
If you are running windows 98, you have to either use anolder version of Mame,  or have your Trackball/mouse  pluged into a USB Port and Not a PS/2 port.
or upgrade to XP,  which is a definate option, I didnt want to go through the hassle.


Now, not to confuse things, but I will test this... I am thiking that no controller, will be playable with it plugged into the PS/2 port with Windows 98.   I have a USB to PS/2 converter and was going to try it with the spinner.


Scott

[ahofle]

       

And thx to u_rebelscum, from whose every post I learn something new.
And kiddk1 who suggested the ps2/usb converter in the first place.

[kiddk1]

glad to help out