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Which encoder do you use? and the main reason why
Bgnome:
i wouldnt say that a non-programmable encoder is a huge drawback. for example, a keyboard hack is non-programmable, but you have all the keys anyway. on the other hand, when you are dealing with a limited number of inputs and programs/emulators/games that dont allow you to reassign controls, reprogammability is a nice option to have.
Wizard of DelRay:
Being programmbable doesn't matter to me as the only PC games I play are ones that are best controlled with a mouse.
What I am curious to know is do keys like Alt, Ctrl, Tab and the arrow keys pose a problem? I thought I read somewhere not to use the arrow keys, PgUp, PgDn, Delete, etc, but I can't remember where right now. Is the standard MAME layout fine or should I remap?
Bgnome:
--- Quote from: Wizard of DelRay on October 14, 2004, 05:29:00 pm ---What I am curious to know is do keys like Alt, Ctrl, Tab and the arrow keys pose a problem? I thought I read somewhere not to use the arrow keys, PgUp, PgDn, Delete, etc, but I can't remember where right now.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: Wizard of DelRay on October 14, 2004, 01:52:23 pm ---Gotcha. I wasn't really sure what the big deal is with an encoder being programmable but that cleared it all up for me. Now to finish reading your page on Key Assignments. Thanks.
--- End quote ---
::)
standard mame layout is fine, if you are using mame :P the key assignments issue is really only if you have a keyboard buffer to worry about, which usually isnt the case with your standard encoders for this market..
Wizard of DelRay:
--- Quote from: Bgnome on October 14, 2004, 05:39:09 pm ---standard mame layout is fine, if you are using mame :P the key assignments issue is really only if you have a keyboard buffer to worry about, which usually isnt the case with your standard encoders for this market.
--- End quote ---
Sounds good. Maybe I'll go ahead and give the MAMI48 a shot then.
Bgnome:
just to clarify on the keyboard buffer issue, here is a bit gleammed off of Tiger-heli's keyboard hack writeup:
There are certain keys which send extra commands to the keyboard buffer and should be avoided. Highlight these non-recommended keys in Gray (for example) as follows: Direction Arrows (note that both HotRod and X-Arcade avoid these), Windows Menu Key, L Windows GUI, R Windows GUI, R Ctrl, R Alt, Insert, Home, Page Up, Delete, End, Page Down, PrntScrn, Pause, Keypad Slash, and Keypad Enter. Details of how I came up with this list are available here. Most keys send three characters to the keyboard buffer. These all send five or more.
While I recommend avoiding these keys even for dedicated encoders, the problem is orders of magnitude worse with a keyboard hack. Dedicated encoders have been optimized for speed and throughput, because they expect to be used with arcade games. Keyboards are designed for typing in a word processor.
There is a catch-22 with the arrow keys. While MAME itself can be easily programmed to get around using them, many Windows programs and probably even some front-ends for MAME cannot. However, the HotRod is non-programmable, and it does not use them.
In some cases, you may have no option other than to use these keys. ... This is acceptable, the keys will still work, they just slow down the processing, so their use should be minimized.
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