Main > Main Forum
Help choosing proper controller interface
Tiger-Heli:
--- Quote from: wudaben on March 30, 2007, 07:15:50 pm ---At this point an extra $30 or so for an encoder would be well worth it. I might test it out without the encoder just to see the difference. On a side note....I've read about ghosting issues but have you ever seen any odd behavior in Mame from various controls basically being "piggybacked" through several usb devices/hubs? I'm an IT consultant and have seen this with certain pointing devices if they are connected to a usb hub but have never researched this with controls.
--- End quote ---
Again, if you are using MAME only, I think you would be okay just using the mouse buttons.
There are three issues being discussed here, so I want to go over each of them, as I am not quite sure which one you are referring to.
Ghosting/Blocking - This is a "feature" implemented in most keyboards, to prevent multiple keys from being pressed. You need to worry about it with keyboard hacks and such, and also encoders that just use a modified keyboard controller circuit chip. Most high-end and certainly all of the GGG and Ultimarc encoders are aware of this problem and have taken steps to avoid it, so you don't need to worry about it.
Latency - This is what I think of with your comment about piggybacking, basically asking about plugging a KeyWiz into the pass-thru port on an I-pac, and or both controllers fighting to send their signals through at the same time and one of them getting lost. I think in theory it could cause some problems, but I have never heard of it happening in a practical sense.
Hubs - The problem here is with two USB devices with the same circuit controller swapping Device ID's. (Which is what KayTrim refers to). Basically, Joystick 2 may be either Joystick 1 or Joystick 2 on bootup. The U360's allow you to change their UID through software, which will avoid the problem. The issue is well explained by Kremmit in Reply #4 here.