Arcade controls for 1st player...and standard PC joystick for 2nd one ?

[Jeehemdee]

Please excuse my ignorance...here is my question

I'm on a 1 player cabinet, running advmame(advmenu) and I wonder where (and how) I can set up it to accept  "player 2" connected with a standard PC joystick on the serial interface...

Thanks very much

[Lilwolf]

You can, but why?  Do you want to make sure that one of you has an advantage?

Here, My cabinet and I always play player one... and heres your thumb pad...

the price of an extra joystick and extra buttons is VERY small compared to everything else in a cabinet.  Doesn't seem like the place to save a few pennies...  look at www.videoconnect.com for cheap buttons and joysticks... (best place when I last bought items... plus have some weird items)

[neuromancer]

That could be a cool idea for Bartop cabinets, to allow for multiplayer games. It might not be too bad , esp. for cooperative games -- Gauntlet, for example. It might not be too bad for fighting games, if the game pad has macros...

Might also be a decent solution for occasional 4 player play on standard sized 2 player cabs...

Bob

[Jeehemdee]

That's exactly the case, my cabinet has only 1 built in controller (and I don't want, neither need to change it).
I just would like (as told by Neuromancer) to occasionaly add a second player....(all that in advancemame/menu)

so thanks for any kind help ;-)

[Lilwolf]

Yes... just setup your player2 buttons to the joystick or whatever.

I've seen this on bartop tables.

[Tiger-Heli]

Please excuse my ignorance...here is my question

I'm on a 1 player cabinet, running advmame(advmenu) and I wonder where (and how) I can set up it to accept  "player 2" connected with a standard PC joystick on the serial interface...

Thanks very much

Not sure where I'm supposed to go with this, as you left it pretty vague and wide open.

First off, standard PC joysticks don't connect on a serial interface.  They use a DB15 gameport connection.  If you don't have a gameport, you need to add a soundcard for around $10.  If your gameport is used for your current player 1 controls, I would recommend getting an I-PAC for $40 and re-wiring.

Assuming you have a gameport, you can get a 6-foot joystick extension cable (check www.pricewatch.com or locally, if there's a www.microcenter.com near you) and route it to the front of your cab (side of your cab) for a place to plug the joystick in.

The MAME default is to have the joystick control Player 1 so you need to remap it to Player 2 and away from Player 1.  For MAME 0.60 and up, this is easiest using controller.ini files, see  http://www.fraggersxtreme.com/arcadepanels/faq.htm, about half way down the page for info on setting these up.

That should get you there!  Having said that, this is NOT the way I would go.  Consider the following.

Your cab probably already uses an I-PAC or some kind of keyboard encoder with unused inputs for Player 2 available.

From here, you can route half of a cut DB15 (joystick), Mini DB15 (VGA monitor) or DB25 (RS-232, cheaper) extension cable to a port on the panel, similar to what I recommend for the joystick connection.

The other half goes to REAL arcade controls.  You can get a Happ joystick and 6 buttons from www.therealbobroberts.com for under $20 or you can get an off-brand joystick and 10 black buttons from http://xgaming.net/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=XOS&Category_Code=exp for $12.

Now you need a 12-inch wide 1x6 to mount the buttons and joystick to.

The tricky part is figuring out how to attach this to your cab so it is removable, sturdy and Player 2 can see the screen.  One idea is to mount brackets to the front or side of your cab for the panel to attach to.  Another would be making a "podium" out of the controls so it is free-standing and can be brought out/put away as needed.  Or you could just add 3-inch tall 1x6's under each side for a desktop (bartop) style controller.

Hope this helps!!!

[Jeehemdee]

Thanks very much for your reply

Assuming you have a gameport, you can get a 6-foot joystick extension cable (check www.pricewatch.com or locally, if there's a www.microcenter.com near you) and route it to the front of your cab (side of your cab) for a place to plug the joystick in.

This is exactly what I want (and have done)

The MAME default is to have the joystick control Player 1 so you need to remap it to Player 2 and away from Player 1.  For MAME 0.60 and up, this is easiest using controller.ini files, see  http://www.fraggersxtreme.com/arcadepanels/faq.htm, about half way down the page for info on setting these up.

The only reference on "controller.ini" that I can found on this page is "0.60 - Controller.ini files added.  Provides ability to edit a text file to change key assignments." but it doesn't apply to Advanceame ? How do I do specificaly in AdvanceMame ? Thanks

[Tiger-Heli]

[The only reference on "controller.ini" that I can found on this page is "0.60 - Controller.ini files added.  Provides ability to edit a text file to change key assignments." but it doesn't apply to Advanceame ? How do I do specificaly in AdvanceMame ? Thanks

You wanted to go further down the page to the question worded "Can you explain what Ctrlr.ini files are and what are the advantages of using them?"

I can see that I need to split this into MAME FAQ's, Controller FAQ's, etc.  Oh well, another project for a different millenium.

I know nothing about AdvanceMAME.  The last time I used it, it was basically just a mod of the official MAME source to allow for custom video resolutions, but I think it has evolved significantly since then.

If it doesn't use ctlr.ini files, it may use the standard user interface (Tab Key - Inputs All Games).  Otherwise, I don't know what to tell you.

Sorry.