Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Software Forum => Topic started by: -ief- on November 06, 2007, 10:59:47 am
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i was just sitting here and wondered about this.
wouldn't it be possible to get some software to just ignore the 4 extra positions of the 8 way joystick so one could easely choose 4 or 8 way on a 8 way joystick?
and if it is, am i missing something else as why it isn't being done? :-\
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No, not possible, because the diagonals are read as combinations of Up, Down, Left, Right.
Let's say you hit a diagonal, which direction should it choose? There's no way to know.
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i'm not sure if we are on the same page here (first of, i'm talkin mame and a like), as far as i understand (knowledge is limited tho ;) ) the switches of the joystick are linked to keyboard controls, for argues sake;
up = w
right = d
as i see it that makes w + d = diagonal upper right, or am i missing something?
if i'm right, have a 8 way joystick and want to play a 4 way game the software only needs to disregard w + d input ( and w + a, s + a and s + d )
but....perhaps this is allready happening and there is another reason why people don't like playing pac-man or donky kong with an 8 way joystick ofcoarse...
in the latter case, this is/ was a daft question 8)
edit > harum, i now see your point btw...but that was not the way i was thinking as you can see above.
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FWIW, there are a few ways mame can handle the "ignore diagonals" suggestion:
A. Totally ignore when a diagonal is pressed. Con: dead spots with different sizes depending on the joystick's characteristics.
B. Treat moving to a diagonal as a change to the other ordinal direction. Pro: quick changes. Con: changing "switch points".
C. Treat moving to a diagonal as a not changing from the last ordinal direction. Con: "Slow" to change to other directions, and changing "switch points".
D. Treat diagonals as a "rotated ordinal"; such as a diagonal pretends it's the direction clockwise to it. Pro: fixed change points. Con: rotated so not "natural" points.
E. No nothing and let the game ROM handle it.
Mame's default is B if the game driver marks the input as a 4-way, E if as an 8-way. C used to be doable with a now removed option (-stickykey IIRC), and now needs a hack to the source (but it was removed for IMO a Good Reason). A & D are possible by remapping, using the ANDs and NOTs features (ask if you want quick howto).
None of the above are as good as a true 4-way joystick, or some analog joysticks (u360 good, flightstick bad). Which is why people still want 4-way joysticks.
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litlle late but...
TNX for that answer, made me feel even more daft but nonetheless ;)
i recntly hacked a sidewinder in a topfighter snes joystick and now i know how it feels like playing 4 way games with 8 way stick, it plain s***s :)
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Everyone should just use Ultimarc 360 joysticks. No more worrying about which type of joystick to use for a particular game. Sure, it takes a bit to get used to the "feel" of it but once you do it works great. I don't think I'll ever go back unless I'm building/restoring a dedicated machine or something.