The following is copy/pasted from the thread about spinner sensitivity settings. Values in parentheses are the MAME sensitivity settings that most closely match the original arcade games, assuming you have a spinner with the same specs as one from Ultimarc or Groovy Game Gear. Here's the thread if you want more details and the single spinner games lists:
https://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,164017.0.html Dual Spinners:
Arkanoid Returns [486] (40.5) seems more like [144?] (12) – This is a great game, 2 player co-op Arkanoid. I’m not sure how the emulation ended up at this sensitivity, though. I would have expected that it would match either the first or the second game, but a sensitivity setting of 12 makes it match the feel of the other games.
Blasteroids [288] (24) - I set my spinners to 29. This is Atari’s somewhat fun 2 player co-op update of Asteroids utilizing the hilariously-named “Housequake” sound system and graphics digitized by Industrial Light and Magic. The first boss yells at you, reminiscent of Sinistar.
Block Block [486] (40.5) - Only the Japanese version has spinner support, but this is a decently fun co-op block breaker. The difficulty at least through the first part of the game seems to be quite a bit lower than Arkanoid.
Caliber 50 [24] (2)(8?) - I have this one set to sensitivity 8. The game used an optical rotary joystick with a 24 slot encoder wheel and apparently no multiplier, but it really plays like crap in MAME at 2% sensitivity. I played this one in my local arcade way back when it was new, but my memories of the rotation are really hazy, although I remember thinking that it felt weird compared to Ikari Warriors, since there was no clicking in the rotation.
Eco Fighters [288?] (24) - I only added this one after I saw Haze’s YouTube video demonstrating spinner functionality in this game that was added to MAME 0.169 in 2015. As Haze said in his video description: "it can be seen as a spiritual successor to Forgotten Worlds." In graphics and gameplay, Eco Fighters is as good as or better than Forgotten Worlds. Give this one a try if you have a spinner, joystick and a reachable button. It’s amazing.
Fighting Soccer [24?] (2) (25?) – I can’t find much information about this game, but it supports four players and seems to be another with an optical spinner joystick similar to Caliber 50. It’s probably similar hardware to Touchdown Fever 1 or 2 because it looks almost like a re-skin of that game, right down to the arrow spinning around the character holding the ball. Also, just like Touchdown Fever 1 and 2, it supports 4 spinners and works fine at the MAME default sensitivity of 25. There is a joystick hack of this game that is much easier to control, but obviously lacks the precision of the spinners for aiming your shots and passes.
Forgotten Worlds [1792?] (150) - An absolute classic, the first game on Capcom’s CPS hardware. I was lucky to be able to play it in my local arcade back in the day. This is one of the big reasons that I installed spinners near the player 1 and player 2 joysticks on my control panel and it’s one of the reasons why I installed a microswitch foot pedal, since operating the fire button with my foot eliminates the need for a push button spinner. The spinner itself seems to have four gears like Arkanoid, although, IIRC, it used a bigger and heavier spinner knob that spun slightly more freely. I’m not sure why the spinner sensitivity is so high, but setting it at 150 makes the spinning pretty much 1:1 with the shooting, which feels right to me.
Ghox [486] (40.5) - This Toaplan classic is another 2-player co-op block breaker, but it mixes in good music and absurd gameplay, including fairies you can collect and a “bomb” that you can trigger with a button to split the ball into dozens of balls. The original spinner used an up/down button mechanism similar to Discs of Tron, but it’s just for moving the paddle slightly up or down in the playfield. However, there seems to be little reason for moving up from the bottom of the screen. The buttons can be mapped to the joystick just in case.
Off the Wall (Atari) [256] (21.3333) - 3 spinners – Basically Pong crossed with Arkanoid, I prefer this game to Arkanoid in some ways. It supports 3 players and the ball reacts more realistically, bending and curving if you hit it while moving the paddle. The graphics and music are cute and feel like a product of the times.
Off the Wall (Sente) [288?] (24) (50?) – This game is a really fun classic. It’s playable at the default sensitivity of 100, but feels better to me at 50. Apparently, the original used the same spinner as Aztarac, but a sensitivity of 24 feels a little sluggish to me.
Pop ‘n Bounce (22?) – This is an interesting and decently fun head-to-head block breaker on the Neo Geo that can be controlled by dual spinners if you change the input method in the dip switches. Although it may have commonly used an Arkanoid spinner, a sensitivity of 22 feels right to me, maybe because you only ever utilize half the screen, even when playing single player.
Puchi Carat [144?] (12) – It plays like a mix of Breakout and Puzzle Bobble and it has a two player head to head mode. A good game, but not too exciting as it can be difficult to pinpoint your shots like you can in Puzzle Bobble.
Puzz Loop [972] (81) – Select dial controls in the service menu to enable analog controls. Of all the games on this list, this one made me want dual spinners the most. Even though the presentation feels a bit budget, the Puzz Loop concept is so great that it was copied by the PC game Zuma.
Puzz Loop 2 [972] (81) – Select dial controls in the service menu to enable analog controls. The sequel is a great game that feels a bit more polished, although I miss the Caribbean-esque funky music from the original and the guy sitting in the middle shooting the balls from between his legs is totally bizarre.
Squash (squaitsa.zip) (6?) – This seems to be a poorly designed clone of Sente’s Off the Wall. Mainly, the physics just don't play well at all. There’s very little interest or enjoyment playing the computer. It might be fun with two human players, but I don’t see why anyone would choose this over the original Off the Wall.
Touchdown Fever [24] (2) (25?) - 4 Spinners, I never played this quirky game or its sequel in the arcade, so I’m not sure what sensitivity is supposed to feel right. Apparently, the game used similar optical spinner joysticks as Caliber 50. However, the MAME default sensitivity of 25 works fine on my Turbo Twist 2 spinners. The most fun part of the game is the run button that you tap to run faster, similar to Track and Field. You can zoom down the field if you tap the run button really fast and it's pretty hilarious. Otherwise, the game just isn't fun because you can't see enough of the field to make a decent pass play.
Touchdown Fever II [24] (2) (25?) – See above for Touchdown Fever. These games do support up to four spinners, but the gameplay isn’t that great. For me, the cheesy voice samples made testing the games sort of enjoyable.
Twin Squash [486] (40.5) – A lackluster block breaker where you face off against either a human or a computer in a race to break all the blocks before they advance down to the bottom of your screen.
Two Tigers [64] (5.3333) (11?) - A Tron conversion that uses dual spinners to control fighter planes trying to shoot down planes and sink ships. Just like Tron, the sensitivity seems to be better when it’s set to 10 or 11, even though the BYOAC wiki has it listed at a resolution of 64.
VS Block Breaker [486?] (40.5) – Despite the generic title, this incredibly cute game has a delightfully absurd premise of the balls actually being balled-up hamsters kept in the air by a character running across a floor and holding the paddle. The game is intentionally slow-paced, as it has a unique timer of a large sprite squeezing your window of play, forcing you to keep the pace as quick as possible. You have a little jump move to help keep your hamster at full speed, which you’ll need to do in order to beat the timer. The game also features a slew of bizarre voice samples. It never gets old seeing your character’s shock when the hamster ball splats on the floor and walks away.
VS Hot Smash [486?] (40.5) – Basically virtual air hockey, the game has an odd mechanic where your paddle shoots forward when you spin quickly, allowing you to hit a quick shot at your opponents goal. It takes some getting used to, but it works well once you figure it out. When you play single player, you are always at the bottom of the screen. When you play versus another human, the other player has to be at the top of the screen, which is slightly less intuitive. Unfortunately, the game has very little going for it beyond the wonky paddle slapping forward gimmick. Graphics are bland. There are some different boards with different configurations of obstacles, but they aren’t all that interesting. You’ll probably be ready to stop playing this one after hearing the annoying scoring jingle a few times.
Warlords [120-130 degrees travel end to end of castle] (50) - The cocktail version of this cabinet supported up to four players. You can easily add a trackball or mice for the extra players, but this one plays best with spinners. It’s a classic with a lot of chaos and fun. *EDIT* I had the chance to test this game at Galloping Ghost arcade in Chicago. It seemed to be almost exactly a half turn of the dial to move end to end of the castle, so a lower sensitivity may be more correct.
Multiplayer Steering Wheel Spinner Games:
American Speedway (9?) – 2 players, this game is brutally difficult and it taunts you with “Good Job! Buy your way to the top” when you spend money to continue. Otherwise it’s just a forgettable racer compared to the later Sprint games.
Bad Lands (7?) – 2 Players, Mad Max inspired post-apocalyptic sprint, you have a basic machine gun upgradeable to a missile launcher mounted on the top of your vehicle and some other cool upgrades on these otherwise Sprint-looking courses.
Car Polo (??) – 4 player car soccer, very early precursor to Rocket League, controls don’t seem to work for me. Apparently, player controls were fixed in MAME version 0.211.
Championship Sprint [72] (6) (7?) – 2 players, it’s Super Sprint, but for only 2 players, along with track variations, and it’s just as fun.
Danny Sullivan’s Indy Heat (30?) – 3 players, it feels like a spiritual sequel to the Super Off-Road games and is really fun.
Demolition Derby (50?) – 4 players, this game isn’t too fun when you take it out of the county fair arcade tent.
Drag Race (10?) - 2 players, I'm not sure how this one is supposed to control, but a sensitivity of 10 works fine for me to keep the car from crashing.
Grudge Match (15?) – 3 players, I have no idea how this is supposed to play. Unfortunately, it’s not that good, either.
Hot Rod (20?) – 3 players, Sega’s take on the Sprint formula, the interesting part of this game was that the screen scrolled, so you travel from one place to another more like a rally game, rather than doing laps around a racetrack. It’s also slightly slower-paced, but manages to still be fun.
Ivan Stewart’s Super Off-Road [155-165] (30) – 3 players, for me, this is the pinnacle of Sprint style games. The off-roading, jumps, constant upgrading, and the nitro boosts add a ton of fun. It’s pretty hilarious that the game allows players to completely upgrade their vehicles right from the start by adding more credits. Leland was really ahead of the curve regarding pay to win microtransactions.
Ivan Stewart’s Super Off-Road Track-Pak [155-165] (30) – 3 players, basically the same game with different courses and the ability to play as a buggy instead of a truck. I slightly prefer the original’s tracks, but both Super Off-Road games are amazingly fun.
Redline Racer (25?) – 2 players, a lackluster Sprint imitation, it does have a name entry system to apparently save your progress and some funny voice samples, but the gameplay feels pretty hollow.
Rough Racer (10?) – 2 players, bizarre and fun game from Sega adding unique twists to the Sprint/Off-Road formula, like a steam roller on the track or breakable barriers. It has a duck announcer and a track intro that reminds me of Duck Game, if any BYOAC’ers have played that.
Super Dead Heat (??) - 4 players, this is an early and rare 4 screen Sprint-esque racer added to MAME .215 in 2019. At the moment, I haven't been able to test it, as I'm still using MAME .201.
Super Sprint [72] (6) – 3 players, plays well at sensitivity 7 with a 7 inch wheel, I love this game, but I get annoyed by the AI that always gives you a race or two by going incredibly slowly around the track after you insert a coin. The game is a classic, but a lot more fun with human opponents.
Wheels Runner (10?) – 2 players, a bad Sprint clone.
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Topic: MAME Games with multiple spinners (Read 13713 times)
