Gauntlet Legends Control Panel - What should I do with it?

[DeLuSioNal29]

I just picked up a Gauntlet Legends Control Panel on e-Bay. 

I've attached a pic of it below.

So, I'd like to hear opinions on the best way to modify it to MAME it.  It has four 49-way joysticks!  Should I try to hook those up?  If so, don't they need a special interface for the 49 way?

Or should I leave it alone and try to get the Gauntlet Legends PCB and hard drive?

Thoughts?

DeLuSioNaL

[tcleary]

if you want to use it with mame you should probably sell the 49 ways, I think it's a pain to get them working well with mame, I could be wrong though, but you could definately get some extra cash if you sold them and put in 8 ways.  if you like gauntlet legends you could track down the pcb/hard drive, but I don't think it's worth it personally.  I actually had this machine for a while, was going to mame it, but decided I'd rather mame a MK cabinet.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Hey, thanks for the info.  Yeah, I may remove the sticks and sell them.  But I'd like to do more research first before I go that route.  Anyone know what it takes to hook up a 49 way joystick?  Is a special encoder needed?

** update **
GroovyGameGear.com has a GP-Wiz49 Max which looks VERY promising.  It can allow the joystick to work in 49 way mode, 8-way, 4-way, 2-way and even diagonals for Q-Bert!.  I may have to use them in my vertical cab I am working on.  They would be perfect.

Found some interesting stuff here:  http://www.mameworld.info/tigerheli/set49mode/

D

[Lilwolf]

I'm not sure if you would really care about having 4 of them since you probably aren't playing 4 player legends... and there might not be any 4 player analog style games that you would want to play.

I think you get enough inputs that you might be able to get away with swapping the player 3 and 4 joysticks with 8ways, keep the 1st two... and you might be able to use the extra buttons from the player 1 and player two to control player 3 and 4... save yourself buying more encoders.

[Popcorrin]

I might have to dig around but I think I have a Gauntlet Legends boardset and harddrive.
As far as hooking the 49 ways to a pc, the gpwiz49 works pretty good but hasn't been in stock in ages.   There is another interface available for the 49ways, it is the AKI3.0, found here  http://bspeclabs.com/Electronics/8-AKI30

[zelony]

I suggest that you sell it to me for a modest profit and use the money toward some standard controllers.

[bkenobi]

RandyT has been selling those 49-way encoders for ages, so I'm sure they work fine.  The typical way people seem to be going with analog controls today is the U360, but it's basically just a 49-way + encoder in one.  Since you are very unlikely to need all 4 of those 49-way sticks, it's going to be way too costly to set up 4 encoders IMO.  I'd sell at least 2 of them and go 8-way with them.  You might consider selling all 4 and getting a pair of U360's if you don't want to deal with the encoder.  I don't know how the cost would play out, but it seems like the popular choice ATM.

[u_rebelscum]

Huh, before the u360 came out, the 49-way stick + GPwiz49 was the best all around fad, fashion, err, solution here.  Now people are dogging the sticks.

The combo is great if you want what I call "rough analog" (7 values per axis vs "standard analog" 256 values) sticks, switchable to 8-way and 4-way sticks, as long as you don't mind long throws and soft edges.

If the above doesn't float your joystick boat, go ahead a replace 'em.  u360 + restrictor, 8-ways, or some mix.  But test the sticks feel first.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I will probably end up using 2 of them and selling the other 2.  I really bought the CP for the panel more than anything.  I plan to use some bondo to cover up some of the holes and drill additional ones for a 7 button layout.  The 49 ways were a bonus.

But after reading up on them I may in fact keep two to play around with.  Not quite sure yet.

By the way U_Rebel... I found your useful page on 49 way joys:  http://urebelscum.speedhost.com/49waySticks.html
Nice job.

Zelony... send me a PM if interested.

DeLuSioNaL

[DashRendar]

As I read it, the 49-way sticks + a GPwiz49 functions identically to a u360 stick (when wired for analog).

As mentioned, unfortunately GPwiz49's have been sold out for a long time, with no sign of coming back in stock.   

[u_rebelscum]

As I read it, the 49-way sticks + a GPwiz49 functions identically to a u360 stick (when wired for analog).

No.

The GPwiz49 in analog mode (there's two but basically the same) can send out 7 values per axis.  Center, and three values above center and three below.  They might be (I'm guessing the numbers): -128, -85, -42, 0, 42, 85, 128 (normal analog), or -128, -64, -32, 0, 32, 64, 128 (progressive analog), but that's still only 7 values per axis.  I call this "rough analog".

The u360 in analog mode can send out 256 values per axis.  That means -127, -126, -125... all the way to 128.  I call this "full analog".  (Whether human's hands and precise enough to hit each one is another issue; but 24 to 64 per axis is reasonable.)

This shows or doesn't in different game to different degrees.

For example, Terminator 2 can be played pretty well with a u360.  It can't be played with a 49-way stick, as you can hit only 49 spots on the screen; the u360 and original hardware theoretically have 65,536 possible spots, I'm not sure if the game is coded that precisely.

Other games you'll notice very little difference.  Road runner, blitz, Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters are all probably fine with either.