Help needed mapping gamepad inputs (GPWIZ49) to MAME/MAMEWAH

[y2k600f4]

Sorry for the Newbie question....but yesterday I was trying to interface my CP I was wondering if there is documentation or previous posts (can't seem to find) for mapping Gamepad inputs (specifically on the GPWIZ49; 23 inputs each) so that MAME v0.115b and my front end MAMEWAH (v1.62b16) knows what buttons are what ? I have (2) 49 ways which seem to be working fine with the GPWIZ49s and I have 6 action buttons per player, (2) coin buttons, 1P and 2P start button, and (3) admin buttons which are Pause, restart and quit (I am thinking I may need joy2key for that ? 19 buttons total. Other than that and trying to incorporate set49mode into my FE I am ready to test out my CP wiring and integration to both MAME and my FE. However without this info I am sort of stuck at the moment. Can anybody help out ? Thanks.

[Green Giant]

I am not too familiar with mamewah, but mapping for mame is easy.

Just open up any mame game, preferably something that uses all six buttons like street fighter.  Hit tab and then mame input general.  You can assign every joystick button to the mame input of your choosing.  This will be used everytime you start mame.

You might think about using mala.  It is similar to mamewah, but you setup everything in a graphical interface.  For navigating throught the front end, you just assign the joystick buttons the way mala sees them.  The only thing is that mala can only see I think 12 buttons max, not all 23, but mame should be able to see them all.   I have dual gpwiz 49's, and I used the first 12 inputs for each gpwiz49. 

Set49mode is pretty easy to setup.  You just tell it where the controls.ini file is and the GPWIZ49.exe file is and you are done.  Then when you start you send it the rom name and it sets up your joysticks properly.

You shouldn't need joy2key at all.  I have it setup on mine just so I can use it to exit from certain emulators and to map a few keys for some emulators like vpinball.  If all you are running is mame, you won't need it at all.

Be careful where you place your restart and quit buttons.  I wired my exit button up to two different buttons on different sides of my control panel which require you to hit both buttons at the same time to exit.  This helps cause your friends can screw with you or screw up when playing.

[y2k600f4]

Green Giant 

Exactly the info I was looking for !! That is great help, thanks for taking the time to type all that out.

I was in the process of looking at MALA before your post and downloaded all the necessary files.

The only thing I have a question on is..do you have MALA set up to reset the GPWIZ49s to a default mode such as an 8way upon exit of a game ? I read that some people where working on a plugin for that. I know you can set it up in MAMEwah but it would be great in MALA especially if you are playing a game that uses only a 2way joystick.

Also I see you can change all the inputs in user interfaces, player 1/2 contols and input general. Do you need to assign all the types of inputs to the joystick (GPWIZ49 gamepad) or does set49 take care of that ?

[Green Giant]

I am still trying to get it to reset to the 8way upon leaving.  Thought I had it, but I need to test out another configuration.  The only game I played that caused trouble when exiting to mala was qbert, but opening up another game with my trackball fixed that.  Just give it some time and someone will perfect the 49way support.  I know someone was working on a plugin.  That is one nice feature about mala where other users can create plugins so development is open to all. 

About the inputs, sounds like you are asking about mala controls.  To setup the joystick you just open the options and select controls.  Then you can select the joystick tab.  Enable the joysticks and start setting the inputs.  They even have a separate tab to see what each button is, ex. your first button is seen as joybutton3. 

Set49 only switches the DRS mode of the joystick for the game, like 8way, 4way, or 49way...  It sets up its own file after reading the controls.ini folder.  Then when you select a game, it sends the rom name and sets the drs mode.  To set the other controls in mame, you just hit tab and set the general controls which carry over to all games.

Is that what you were asking about.

[y2k600f4]

Green Giant.....thanks again. I think that explains everything.

If I understand correctl I need only set up my buttons in MAME. For the controls e.g. joystick mode set49 will take care of the rest. I guess I need to put into practice what you replied to on this post. I am sure it will all make sense out when I actually sit down and set it up and actually play a few more games.