Spy Hunter on a Standard CP?

[ahofle]

Another simple option is to set the sensitivity such that you do not need to slam the wheel full right to knock off the enemy cars.

I also don't think anyone is suggesting the original controller is not superior to any other option.  Just that a 270 degree PC steering wheel is an inexpensive and acceptable alternative.

[TheShanMan]

Good point Xiaou2, but for $25 I'm not that concerned about how long it lasts. I view it as my introduction to wheel controls. If and when I need to replace/upgrade, I'll be more knowledgeable about what I need. Better to make mistakes on a $25 setup than a $250 setup!

[Paul Olson]

You must live closer to the seller than I do. Shipping was $30 for me.

[TPB]

Has anyone tried playing Spy Hunter with a Flight Sim. Yoke, such as those from Saitek or CH Products ?


http://www.saitekusa.com/usa/prod/yoke.htm

http://www.chproducts.com/retail/y_fsyusb.html


The yoke appears to be a natural replacement for the Spy Hunter wheel.

You could use the Y axis of the yoke for the gas pedal (acceleration) ... or better still, ignore the Y axis, and use a dedicated "driving gas pedal" in conjunction with the yoke.

These yokes have plenty of buttons to handle the requirements of Spy Hunter :

* Machine Guns
* Oil Slick
* Smoke Screen
* Missiles
* Weapons Van
* High / Low gear change (assign a button to toggle between the two).

[TheShanMan]

I'm finishing up on my swappable 270 wheel panel today, using that logitech PC wheel ahofle mentioned. It turned out to be a bit more effort than I expected (otherwise I wouldn't have decided to take it on right now), but I'm really excited about getting it done. I'm planning to post some CP pics to the CP database thread sometime soon.

[Axe]

lol now i want a dedicated spy Hunter!!

You ---daisies---!

[Flake]

I just purchased a used Logitech Driving Force Pro PC wheel off E-bay for $47 with shipping (not too bad).  I have been watching them for about a month now and they are going between $30-$55 (before shipping). 

Anyway, hope it arrives soon so I can try it out.  I long to play Spyhunter with a decent controller.  Hope the setup isnt too terrible.  I doubt its just plug and play.

[TheShanMan]

It's actually quite simple to set up (I played some tonight on my semi-finished panel) - it pretty much is plug and play. Just make sure joystick is turned on in mame, then in the config menu set the buttons as desired.

I suggest getting a bezel that shows the weapons lights - either the "official" one, or the minimalist one I made (I only care about the lights, not the other bezel stuff). You can find mine in the software forum. Without the bezel you won't know what weapon you get from the weapon truck.

BTW, a steering wheel works really nicely for paperboy too!

[arzoo]

An analog flight stick can work, theoretically. Forward/back could be the pedal, then left/right and all the buttons on the stick (plus the button bank under your left hand) should cover it all. But man, what a compromise. Spy Hunter is one of those games you just sort of have to live without unless you have a dedicated cab/panel. However, I use my analog flight stick for Star Wars, which is totally wrong of course, but it is very playable and enjoyable, probably because flying an aircraft with a flight stick feels natural whereas driving a car with one is just weird.

Eric.

I've been playing a bit using my u360 in analog mode. It works ok but I can't seem to get the sensitivity correct - the steering and gas are just too quick. It would probably work better without the restrictor plate (which shortens the throw).

[Neverending Project]

BTW, a steering wheel works really nicely for paperboy too!

How do you simulate pushing the handlebars forward with a steering wheel?

[Darth Nuno]

With an A-Pac, there should not be to difficult to hack the originals controls... except the Low/High Shifter 

Maybe a special version of Mame would be able to handle this ?

[TheShanMan]

BTW, a steering wheel works really nicely for paperboy too!

How do you simulate pushing the handlebars forward with a steering wheel?

As long as your wheel comes with pedals, then you're set! No pedals = coasting. Gas = pedaling. Brake = braking.

[Ummon]

This is what I'm planning - a cab with a yoke

The CH Products yoke ?

http://www.chproducts.com/retail/y_fsyusb.html


Does this yoke work with MAME ?

No, I meant an SW yoke. Although if it's analog, I suppose you could use that one you posted. The important thing with these kinds of modern products are the span and resolution (if that's what it's called in this case) of the steering pot. I've tried a 270 degree analog PC wheel and it just blew. Granted, it was only a sixty-dollar wheel (I think - I got it for thirty bucks online), but still.

[TheShanMan]

It's unclear to me whether you're talking about playing Spy Hunter with a 270 wheel, but if so, I have to disagree. It's very playable with my 270 wheel. Paperboy also works well with a 270 wheel, but I'd guess a yoke would be even better. But if you're referring to star wars I would agree - a wheel definitely isn't the way to go, though an analog joystick I hear works well.

[G1zm0]

ive got a old racin force cab (namco 94) im going to convert to racing, it has 270 dg wheel,2 peddals,hi/low shifter,
so i wonder if i add  some buttons aswell

 if spyhunter will play ok on that setup

[Ummon]

It's unclear to me whether you're talking about playing Spy Hunter with a 270 wheel, but if so, I have to disagree. It's very playable with my 270 wheel. Paperboy also works well with a 270 wheel, but I'd guess a yoke would be even better. But if you're referring to star wars I would agree - a wheel definitely isn't the way to go, though an analog joystick I hear works well.

No. I meant Spy Hunter - with the wheels I used. Maybe a hundred dollar one would work better? However, a big reason to use an SW yoke for SH and Paperboy is that X axis (sorta confusing, but it is the X axis - the rotaton of the grips) can be used as a throttle, which wouldn't be too different than Paperboy and I'm betting easier to manage. I think the design for it's 'yoke' is unstable given the plane it's mounted in relative to the player.

I tried to map a gamepad that has dual analog sticks for Paperboy and I just couldn't find a configuration that I wasn't a gimp with.

[TheShanMan]

My $25 logitech 270 wheel works great for SH. What problem did you have with it? Maybe you just need to adjust the joystick settings. I did.

Works very well for paperboy as well, with wheel to steer and pedals to brake or accelerate. I don't know that a yoke would make it easier to manage in paperboy, but it certainly is closer to the real paperboy controls (though it's not like the real controls are that realistic anyway in terms of braking and accelerating).

[Minwah]

Works very well for paperboy as well, with wheel to steer and pedals to brake or accelerate. I don't know that a yoke would make it easier to manage in paperboy, but it certainly is closer to the real paperboy controls (though it's not like the real controls are that realistic anyway in terms of braking and accelerating).

What Mame version are you using? Last time I tried it the Paperboy X axis seemed to not quite work right...with controller centered I think the bike was turning slightly to the right. This could be my setup, I haven't had much chance to look into it yet.

However I can say, accelerate/brake works nicely with a SW yoke

[TheShanMan]

I'm using 0.126.

[Flake]

OK so I just finally got my Logitech Driving Force Pro last night and hooked it up.  Pretty much plug and play however, I have one question.  The wheel itself seems to have a short range off center in both directions where the games (like spyhunter) dont recognize the movement and therefore the car doesnt move until I get past this point.  It also seems to be the point where the wheel "resistance" seems to kick in.  I'm sure if I am explaining myself well but within in this range off center in both directions the wheel moves without any "resistance" and past that point you can feel and almost hear the resistance the wheel gives.

I bought this thing off E-bay.  Do I have a defective wheel?  Does anyone have any other issues like this or is this just the way it is.  I can get used to it but for SH it makes it a little more difficult to control the car.

I also tried it with Cruisin World and it seems to not be so much of an issue in that game.  Cruisn World doesnt run 100% for me though, the sound lags and I'm the sure the game play itself lags a bit but it is playable.

[u_rebelscum]

OK so I just finally got my Logitech Driving Force Pro last night and hooked it up.  Pretty much plug and play however, I have one question.  The wheel itself seems to have a short range off center in both directions where the games (like spyhunter) dont recognize the movement and therefore the car doesnt move until I get past this point.

Decrease mame's -joystick_deadzone from the default 30% (0.3) to closer to 1%-5% (0.01 to 0.05).

[Flake]

OK so I just finally got my Logitech Driving Force Pro last night and hooked it up.  Pretty much plug and play however, I have one question.  The wheel itself seems to have a short range off center in both directions where the games (like spyhunter) dont recognize the movement and therefore the car doesnt move until I get past this point.

Decrease mame's -joystick_deadzone from the default 30% (0.3) to closer to 1%-5% (0.01 to 0.05).

Awesome Rebel - thanks so much I will try it out tonight.

[Flake]

One more question I forgot to ask.  The wheel I have is a 900 degree wheel.  I noticed last night it only seems to be utilizing 270 degrees.  Does this option on the wheel only kick in for 360 degree Mame games?  Does it automatically detect the mame game settings and adjust accordingly?  So if I select pole position will it switch to the 900 degree settings automatically?

[u_rebelscum]

The wheel I have is a 900 degree wheel.  I noticed last night it only seems to be utilizing 270 degrees.  Does this option on the wheel only kick in for 360 degree Mame games?  Does it automatically detect the mame game settings and adjust accordingly?  So if I select pole position will it switch to the 900 degree settings automatically?

270 vs 900 is totally up to the wheel's driver, AFAIK.  Not sure if the driver can tell the difference between different games in mame.  And even if it could, the degrees turn we use to describe the input is misleading.  "270" really means "limited turn" in mame, and "360" is short for "free spin."  The 900 degrees on your wheel is still limited turn, so it won't work well with free spin games like pole position.

FWIW, hard drivin and race drivin used wheels that could turn almost 1080 degrees, but the games are still described as "270" games since they are limited turn.  Not sure about the newer driving games, but these used to be the only games that your wheel in 900 degree mode would bring it closer to the original arcade control.

[Neverending Project]

I'll post this here instead of starting a new thread, as it seems to fit. I am trying to configure my Logitech Steering Wheel for Spy Hunter in MAME (v127u6) and I can't get the throttle set correctly.

I have set the Digital Inc and Dec to None for both Paddle and Throttle. In the Analog Paddle setting, I selected it, turned the wheel, and it was subsequently set to Joystick 1 X axis. This works correctly. But on the pedals connected to my steering wheel, the brake pedal is the -Y axis, and the gas pedal is the +Y axis. To explain: if you were looking at the joystick movement, stepping on the brake pedal has the range from center to the BOTTOM of the screen, and stepping on the gas pedal has the range from center to the TOP of the screen. OK, so I select the Analog Throttle in MAME, step on the gas pedal, and it registers Joystick 1 Y axis. But in a game, stepping on the gas pedal will stop the car, and foot OFF the gas pedal will be full acceleration.

What am I missing here?

[Flake]

I'll post this here instead of starting a new thread, as it seems to fit. I am trying to configure my Logitech Steering Wheel for Spy Hunter in MAME (v127u6) and I can't get the throttle set correctly.

I have set the Digital Inc and Dec to None for both Paddle and Throttle. In the Analog Paddle setting, I selected it, turned the wheel, and it was subsequently set to Joystick 1 X axis. This works correctly. But on the pedals connected to my steering wheel, the brake pedal is the -Y axis, and the gas pedal is the +Y axis. To explain: if you were looking at the joystick movement, stepping on the brake pedal has the range from center to the BOTTOM of the screen, and stepping on the gas pedal has the range from center to the TOP of the screen. OK, so I select the Analog Throttle in MAME, step on the gas pedal, and it registers Joystick 1 Y axis. But in a game, stepping on the gas pedal will stop the car, and foot OFF the gas pedal will be full acceleration.

What am I missing here?

hmm...wish I could help you out here.  I dont remember doing much to get mine setup other than adjusting the analog settings on the .ini file.  I certainly dont remember "mapping" the pedals but i could be wrong. 

Did you have to change a setting in your .ini file?  Like change analog from 0 to 1 maybe?  I doubt this is your problem, I'm pretty lame when it comes to activating controllers and adjusting the .ini file.  Hopefully URebelScum will hear your call for help and pipe in with some advice.....

[ahofle]

OK, so I select the Analog Throttle in MAME, step on the gas pedal, and it registers Joystick 1 Y axis. But in a game, stepping on the gas pedal will stop the car, and foot OFF the gas pedal will be full acceleration.

What am I missing here?

Have you tried reversing the Y axis in MAME?  I seem to recall something similar but I can't remember what I did.  Now that I think of it, maybe I have been just using the brake pedal for acceleration in Spy Hunter.

[Neverending Project]

Have you tried reversing the Y axis in MAME?

How do you do this? And would it apply to every game, or just Spy Hunter?

[TheShanMan]

I don't have a good answer for you, other than it worked out of the box with my wheel. Pedals work the same as you describe. I wonder if you just have a messed up cfg file. Perhaps try deleting and start over, seeing if it plays without any input modifications (you'll probably need to modify buttons though).

[ahofle]

Have you tried reversing the Y axis in MAME?

How do you do this? And would it apply to every game, or just Spy Hunter?

Press tab in game, and select 'analog controls'.

[u_rebelscum]

Have you tried reversing the Y axis in MAME?

How do you do this? And would it apply to every game, or just Spy Hunter?

Press tab in game, and select 'analog controls'.

This should fix it.  If it doesn't, that's a new bug (feature stopped working).  Let us know if it worked.

[Neverending Project]

OK, I deleted the .cfg file as ShanMan suggested and started over. The default setting for the throttle worked as expected.

But I realized what is happening. The default setting is Joystick -Y Axis. If I select this and step on my gas pedal, the registered setting becomes Joystick Y Axis. Note that it doesn't differentiate between +Y or -Y, but rather only registers that it is the Y Axis. Is there a way to set the +/- Axis manually? I would assume that the +/- settings is specifically for a situation like my pedals, where the gas pedal is only +Y and the brake pedal is only -Y.

[u_rebelscum]

OK, I deleted the .cfg file as ShanMan suggested and started over. The default setting for the throttle worked as expected.

But I realized what is happening. The default setting is Joystick -Y Axis. If I select this and step on my gas pedal, the registered setting becomes Joystick Y Axis. Note that it doesn't differentiate between +Y or -Y, but rather only registers that it is the Y Axis. Is there a way to set the +/- Axis manually? I would assume that the +/- settings is specifically for a situation like my pedals, where the gas pedal is only +Y and the brake pedal is only -Y.

Ah, that's right.  It used to work the following way: enter, move analog axis --> mame maps full analog axis, then repeat the enter, move same analog sxis --> mame maps that half of that analog axis.  Bug reported and fixed, but I don't have an analog stick at work,err... with me ATM, to test.

[Neverending Project]

Perfect. As always, thanks for the info and help.