Having just recently started moving to the 'sim racing' market myself, I can tell you that "arcade controls" and "sim controls" have very little in common. Arcade games are about eating quarters after all. 
Not true.
Arcade machine pedals, and PC based pedals... use the same technology. They either use an analog pot.. or in the case of a more expensive brake... they use a load sensor now. The arcade games "Hard Drivin" and "Race Drivin" have a load sensor on the brake pedal, and Hard Drivin was released in 1989. (Well before Sim Racing used load sensors AFAIK.
Not only that... but they also use a 5 way shifter. 4 gears + Reverse. The shifter uses dual pots, and snaps in gear with good authority. Probably better made than most Sim shifters. Similar for the pedal set... which has Gas, Brake, and an Analog Clutch.
And, its 900 degree wheel (10 turn pot) has a more powerful force feedback motor than pretty much anything ever made.
But even with all that said... Any analog racing game can use the same controls..., because they function the exact same way.
Are there any arcade games (emulated in MAME or otherwise) that actually support multi channel (greater than 2) channel output?? Arcade cabinets aren't really built to support any kind of surround sound for the most part, and it would increase the cost of the cabinets, while adding very little (if any) value to the 'arcade experience'.
Again, not so.
There are games going back into the 80s that have more than 2 Channels.
A few:
1981 Sega Turbo - 3 Speakers. two smaller speakers up top.. and 1 large 10" woofer below the control panel. The larger speaker was mostly for the engine noises.
1983 TX1 - 4 Speakers. I believe is: Front (under monitor area), Seat: Left and Right near the ears. Seat: Under seat
The game pans the cars sounds to each different speaker, as you approach and pass them. Its gives a very realistic 3d positional effect.
(TX-1 also used3 monitors. Awesome game, pushing the envelope... in the early 80s)
1983 Discs of Tron Environmental - 4 speakers (as well as additional lighting effects)
1983 Spy Hunter Sit-Down - 4 Speakers
1983 Sinistar Cockpit - I believe the standup was mono.. but with the cockpit, they added another speaker or two in the seat.
(While technically Stereo... with proper surround sound, you can assign speaker output to different physical areas on the cabinet.. for accurate compatibility with pretty much any game)
And many more. Especially in the 90s... when 3d based racing games became very popular and common.
Yes, they Did add a lot to the experience. Especially TX-1.. which you could distinctly tell where the cars were around you.. due to its panning. You could hear their approach from the front.. hear if there were cars on either side of you... and even when there was a car coming up from behind you - or you passing a car.
Turbo was another great one too. The smaller speakers carrying most of the typical game sounds... and the 10 woofer carrying mostly just the engine sound. The separation makes for a more clear audio up top.. and a much lower bass sound on the larger speaker below.
It also creates a different spatial sound effect... due to different speaker positioning.
A lot of those older cockpit games added unique sound effects and panning, when you purchased the Sit-down versions of the games as well. Meaning, it was not simply mono wired into two channel output. Discs of Tron even has light bulbs that flash in sequence in its seat section... that do not exist on the basic model machine.
Most arcades are so damn noisy you can't hear the games anyway...
Not true.
One of the reasons why speakers were built into the seats of many of these games... was also to make them more audible.. as they were closer to the players ears. And in games like TX-1.. you were inside of a cabinet... and the arcade shell shields a lot of the surrounding noises. (as well as providing more sound resonation within the shell)
Edit:
Im also going to add how disappointed in KLOV and other arcade documentary sources. There is so much missing and incorrect information, that its sickening. For example, there is no mention of speaker numbers, placements, separate audio boards, cabinet differences, lighting, and often the controls stated are completely incorrect... or too generic. Controls listed as "Brake", for example. do not list: Optical, Pot, Strain Gauge (load cell sensor).
Sometimes you can find certain things in the manuals.. however, many of the manuals are only for certain cabinet types... with others completely missing.
If things do not change... its possible that many things will be lost to time. Especially when Mame itself doesnt even know.
Edit 2:
Howard... How about a way to use LCD based 3d Shutter glasses without any special driver.
Most of these use Infared LEDs in field of sight... to Sync the glasses to the display. (and many are quite cheap to find on ebay these days)
Maybe use a light based output board, or other voltage output board that the vendors sell now ... to drive a simple IR LED set?
Continental Circus has a Stereoscopic 3D mode.. that you can start up using something like F2 in game. The effects are Jaw dropping, and worth it for that game alone. Smoke, Tires, and other parts are constantly flying out of the screen. Its a blast.
( I was able to see the effect partially... using a Sega Master system turned on at the same time I had mame running... and peered through the glasses. Only problem was that there was no way to sync mame to the glasses... so the stereo was rolling in and out. Still, its something awesome to see. Takes an average 6 ish racer... and makes it a solid 8.
There are other 3d based games in mame too. As well as in other consoles such as the Sega Master System... which has:
Missile Defense 3d (Awesome lightgun game), and many more.
Even the Elder Famicom had a 3d LCD glasses set... Ive only seen the glasses.. but not sure what games were available. Amiga and other older computers that are now emulated into the new mame / mess system (ume?)... could also be used.
I think you already have the setup from working with T2's four flashing gun mounted LEDs right?
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Topic: Mame force feedback support? Hard / Race Drivin (Read 10715 times)
