Controller advice

[Brunnen-G]

I'm starting on building my MAME/Daphne cabinet and I'm in the planning stages now.

So far, I have the computer I'm going to use, an old Supermatch 20 Plus fixed frequency monitor that I'm trying to coax my video card into supporting, and most of the MDF and wood I'll need.

However, seeing how Sinistar and other games that use 49-way controllers are difficult to play using an 8-way joystick, I was wanting to add a single 49-way joystick to my control panel.  If I build the 49-way to Hall Effect circuit, can that interface directly to an analog joystick port?  Or, if I bought a regular Happ analog joystick, how would that be interfaced?  To a gameport?  Or to a device like an I-Pac?

Thanks!

[u_rebelscum]

However, seeing how Sinistar and other games that use 49-way controllers are difficult to play using an 8-way joystick, I was wanting to add a single 49-way joystick to my control panel.  If I build the 49-way to Hall Effect circuit, can that interface directly to an analog joystick port?  Or, if I bought a regular Happ analog joystick, how would that be interfaced?  To a gameport?  Or to a device like an I-Pac?

Thanks!

PC analog joysticks work great in mame for sinistar and other williams games that used 49-way sticks.  Pigskin and Arch Rivals used 49-way sticks also, but mame currently is not set up for this, so 8-way joysticks work as well as any other stick ATM.

So this means the best way is to interface with the gameport as an analog joystick (or USB port as analog joystick).  
To hook the happs analog's, you could either switch the POTS to those of a PC analog joystick (100k) and use that stick's circut, or you could use some of the hacks posted before of analog gamepads that used the same 5k POTS as in the arcade.  
Not sure about a halls effect stick, but if you can match the resitance to that of a POT, you can use the halls effect circuit instead of POTs, and the computer won't know the difference.

[SirPoonga]

PC analog joysticks work great in mame for sinistar and other williams games that used 49-way sticks.  Pigskin and Arch Rivals used 49-way sticks also, but mame currently is not set up for this, so 8-way joysticks work as well as any other stick ATM.

How did you come about all this information;)

The only games in mame right now that use is the ones that use the williams driver that sinistar uses.  Sinistar, blaster, blastkit.  The other games, as urebel mentioned are archrivl and pigskin.  Who ever wrote the williams driver, salutes, was wise enough to put in the analog control hack.  The archrivl driver does not.  At least pigskin and archrivl are playable with an ordanary 8way.

BTW, Shhh.  urebel and I (mostly urebel, I just did research) have been looking into an analog hack for archrivl.  I've been playing archrivl alot now:)  one of my favorite games.  I don't know what urebel's plans are with that.  It seems to work fine for me.  I don't want to put words in his mouth, but will it be included in the next analog mame??  Or are you just going to try and submit it to mame?

[u_rebelscum]

How did you come about all this information;)

BTW, Shhh.  urebel and I (mostly urebel, I just did research) have been looking into an analog hack for archrivl.  I've been playing archrivl alot now:)  one of my favorite games.  I don't know what urebel's plans are with that.  It seems to work fine for me.  I don't want to put words in his mouth, but will it be included in the next analog mame??  Or are you just going to try and submit it to mame?

Have you tested pigskin too?  I included the changes to that game also.

The changes will be in the next mame:analog+, and I will submit it to mame.  After some clean-ups I've been meaning to do, and a confirmation on pigskin.

[SirPoonga]

Works quite well in pigskin too.

[Brunnen-G]

A small update.  After replacing the crappy SiS6326 video card in the computer with a still crappy, but much better Number Nine SR9 (Savage4) video card, I managed to coax the monitor into working after using PowerStrip to reverse the sync signals.

Now I'm trying to figure out how to set up AdvanceMenu and AdvanceMAME to flip the screens correctly.  I want a rotating monitor setup, but Galaga is vertical in one direction, Sinistar the other.  Just need to figure out how to flip Sinistar.   :\

I'm impressed with the video effects in AdvanceMAME, and if some of you haven't tried it out I recommend that you do.