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X-Arcade Tankstick limited button presses (6 button limitation)
ark_ader:
If it such a big deal get a Xbox 360 kit and use it for the PC.
No limitations.
Like X Arcade said the games you are going to play will not have the issue. Playing custom mame roms on it might, but that is your problem, not theirs. ::)
ABACABB:
Their response is B.S.!! Easy for them to sit there and say it won't be a problem, but it is. Anyone who has ever played 2-player NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, Mortal Kombat.....(the list goes on) on a Tankstick realize this quickly becomes a problem.
Isn't that ironic that they have to make this claim right on their website yet it is not true??
MonMotha:
--- Quote ---all USB keyboard do have a limitation
--- End quote ---
This is wrong. All USB keyboards running in the so-called "boot protocol" mode have a 6-button limitation due to the way boot protocol mode operates. There is nothing in the standard that forbids keyboards not operating in boot protocol mode from having this limitation, and in fact the standard implies that you'd want to have an alternate setting which lifts this limitation. In particular, there's no real reason for a device that isn't even a real keyboard to support boot protocol mode at all (it's only needed for compatibility with the BIOS, DOS, and Win95). I have definitely made plenty of USB devices that show up and function perfectly well as a "keyboard" that will let you activate every darn button input on the thing.
FWIW, the standard DOES require that keyboards use "array" format reports i.e. they need to report USB keycodes in an array, not a bitfield, and there's a limit to how big you can practically make a report. Since each keycode is a byte, this imposes something of a soft limit on the number of button presses, but it's much higher than 6. Windows XP, Linux, and OS X all support using bitfields ("variable" format main items in the report), and then you only need one bit per key. For some reason, the standard forbids this (as a specific exception to them normally being freely usable), but it seems to work fine on all modern OSes.
relay01:
It's okay everyone! You see, since it's YOUR tankstick and you know about the limitation you instantly have an edge over anyone.
For instance, say you're playing Street Fighter and you toss out a fireball. Well, just immediately mash all the buttons on your side and your opponent won't be able to jump out of the way! :laugh2:
@ark_ader : What do you have stock in the company or something? You can't tell me that the above scenario is acceptable for an ENTHUSIAST market who focuses on recreation of their original experiences.
I'm using PS/2 right now and am perfectly happy with it but IMHO why bother throwing in USB support if it isn't complete.
BTW: To get around always having to have a bulky keyboard plugged into the back of the tankstick to use PS/2. I gutted a keyboard for the controller board and wrapped it up in a neat little package. Now it's sortof like a dongle that I can neatly stash out of sight. :-)
postmortem:
Back when I was dealing with the issue (before converting it to ipac) I had issues with ps/2 as well as usb AND playstation usb adapter. The playstation adapter added a slight (very slight) button lag. I had the tankstick plugged into the xarcade playstation adapter and then the playstation adapter going to a usb adapter to the computer.
There were no limitations on ps/2 like there were on usb but sometimes randomly the scroll lock light on the keyboard would turn on and the last button I pressed would get stuck like I was holding it down (even though I wasnt). I tried like 3 or 4 different ps/2 keyboards till I'd had enough and ordered the ipac.
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