Is there such thing as automatic 4way/8way in GM + ultrastik/servostik?

[keropi]

Hiya!

Before I order a couple of ultrastiks/servostiks (haven't decided which yet) I thought I'd ask: can these sticks auto-switch from 4way<->8way with groovymame?

I have read that one can define in mame.ini an "analog joystick" and thus mame will do this automatically with an ultrastik (not sure about servostik) and I suppose one can define a pre-launch option in other emus so that maximus arcade runs it before a console emulator starts and switches stick modes.
The big question is: will things work that way so that I won't have to bother with joystick modes? (max laziness  )

Thanks in advance for any info/help/tips!!!

[sean_sk]

I'm actually surprised no-one has answered this yet. Anyway yes, it is possible to do automatic 4way/8way switching with servostiks, as I am running this setup at the moment. I'm not familiar with ultrastiks so I can't comment on those. Also it's been awhile since I set mine up and have probably forgotten a few things.

I am using 4 servostiks each with their own motor. 2 servostiks share a controller board connected to the computer via USB, so I have 2 controller boards in use since I'm using 4 servostiks. Once you have fitted and connected them to the computer you can use the test application on the Ultimarc's servostik page to test them. Whatever you do, DON'T press the "Change to Hardware Mode" button otherwise you'll be stuffed, as this setting is permanent and cannot be reversed and you'll need new controller boards. Hardware Mode is only used if you are not using a PC with them and have a switch hard wired to them to change 4way/8way modes.

Depending on which front-end you use you can use Ultimarc's "JoyTray" utility or another application called "LEDBlinky". I noticed that you said you use Maximus Arcade, which I'm not familiar with, but hopefully it has command-line options that you can use with either of the programs i just mentioned. I use Hyperspin with LEDBlinky. LEDBlinky uses the controls.ini to determine which servostik control mode to use for which game. The controls.ini can be found here: http://controls.arcadecontrols.com/
I have it setup so that the servostiks are in 4way mode for the Hyperspin menu and then will automatically change to the required mode for the selected game.

The servostiks will take some time to setup and care is needed when mounting them to your control panel as well as the need for proper cable management so everything is tidy, but they are really worth it once set up.

[keropi]

thanks so much for the info, really appreciate it!!!
now I need to research how to integrate switching to maximus arcade, hopefully I can use ledblinky as well after setup, maybe.... 

edit:
the ledblinky tip led me to this thread here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=142556.0 , it explains how to do exactly what I need 
thanks again sean_skroht