History of the keyboard hack

[spystyle]

Hello there,

Any old-schoolers out there remember the roots of the keyboard hack? I am writing an article about it and this is what I came up with :

The keyboard hack is an 'old school' device, conceived back when keyboard encoders were $150. The average arcade builder had no alternative to making one.

However, it's pure speculation. Anyone remember the first keyboard hacks, perhapse who concieved it, maybe a pic?

Thanks,
Craig

[JoyMonkey]

The place I first heard about making a Mame cabinet was the PC2Jamma project (put together by a fellow Irishman no less).
It was the first place I know of that talked about hacking a keyboard.

Brian Lewis (the original author of ArcadeOS, which to my knowledge is also the first piece of software specifically written to be used in a home PC driven arcade cabinet) wrote those pages sometime in 1998 (I think). Brian is no longer in the emulation scene, but you might be able to email him a few questions if you want.

There's probably an earlier reference out there somewhere, but this is the first I can remember. When I Mamed my first arade machine, a DIY keyboard hack was the only option available (to me at least, maybe people had started using encoders in the US).

Edit: The above text could be way off the mark. Back in the day, I was unaware of ArcadeControls.com, and I have no idea how long BYOAC has been going - maybe Saint would be the best person to ask about such historic developments.

[saint]

DeCosa (http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade_joyofjoys.htm) is the first one I recall, and was 1 of the reasons BYOAC was born. DeCosa spoke about his hack on Dave's Video Game Classics message boards way back in the day. I don't recall if MameHAM was a keyboard hack or not, but that was another early pioneer and another reason BYOAC was born. Shadow was the third that inspired me to start the site (http://web.archive.org/web/20001204081600/www.cs.ius.indiana.edu/AK/Brian/web_docs/pcarcade/intro.htm).

From "About this site" on the main page (http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade_welcome.html):

The FAQ is maintained by saint.  It began sometime in late 1997.  I believe it was in mid 1997 that I was frequenting Dave's Video Game Classics message boards following a thread between a few guys about how great it would be to make arcade controls for computers.  Three guys, Eric, Shadow & DeCosa did more than talk about it - they made it happen.  All of them were kind enough to pass on instructions on how to duplicate their work.

There was a lot of discussion about the hows and whys and such, and I asked if maybe someone could compile it all and post it on a web site.  Then I asked again a few days later... Then I got the hint, and voila - Build Your Own Arcade Controls was born

----------

Cheers!

--- saint

[Stingray]

Hell, up until I discovered this board I thought I invented the keyboard hack.

-S

[Thenasty]

I dunno if this count but I have started a Cabinet with C64 hack w/ custom menu I created and hack the joysticks to Arcade Joystick back in 1991. So my interest in building an Arcade cabinet was before MAME came along. That Cabinet happens to be Donkey Kong and I fitted a a 19" Television (throw away the original monitor Duh!!) in there (thats was tuff). I still got some pics of it too... I only manage to program my menu for 52 games and controlled by the Joystick and an A/B switch to switch between PORT A and PORTB of the joystick port. Some games the joystick must be in Port A and some on Port B. I also hack the Keyboard Input part because some of the CRACK games, it has trainers and you must push "y" or "n" etc..
I also hack the GAMES itself, instead of saying "F1 to Start" I changed it to "Press Fire to Start" etc... It was alot of work. I no longer have the C64 cabinet (I sold it) cause MAME came into my life. However, I still visit the person who bought it from me and help them with little problem they would have on it.

[spystyle]

OK,
I've finished the 1st draft of my new chapter "Building the keyboard hack"

any old-schoolers care to comment on it?

[menace]

Looks good but just curious how you addressed the issue of multiple wires coming into one terminal point?  was space an issue?

[GGKoul]

You should add an IPAC to the list.  As most people on here use an IPAC.

[spystyle]

Hi Menace,

The terminals fit about 6 stripped 22 guage wires without much trouble.

If a person built a keyboard hack and 1 terminal had like 10 wires going into it they would have to use 1 wire coming out of the terminal with a wire-nut (or similar) connecting it to the 10 wires.

[HaRuMaN]

You should add an IPAC to the list.  As most people on here use an IPAC.

<snip>

Keyboard hacks are so much simpler...

Not hardly...

[spystyle]

You should add an IPAC to the list.  As most people on here use an IPAC.

<snip>

Keyboard hacks are so much simpler...

Not hardly...

OK, I can dig it.

Then explain the KeyWiz to me...

Here's what I can tell so far:

The KeyWiz supports 2 sticks with 4 buttons each right out of the box, simply plug-and-MAME.

If you have a control panel with a different layout (let's use Gauntlet and it's 4 sticks 2 buttons each as an example) you have to program the KeyWiz, this is done by connecting it to your computer and running the software it ships with.

All that makes sense to me, then there's confusion :

1. If you program the KeyWiz does it load what you've programmed upon power up every time, until you re-program it, or do you have to use the Shazaaam button?

2. What is Shazaaam button all about? Are you telling me that people want to change their control panel layout in-between games? I don't get it.

How could it be simpler than the 2 wires of a keyboard hack?

[saint]

Hagstrom Electronics, who has been in the business of making keyboard encoders for years, verified that diodes could be used to prevent ghosting. I'll see if I can dig up some of the details when I get home.

Back on the topic of keybaord hacks, has anyone ever proved or disproved the diode theory?

I think I've read that the problem it solved had more to do with the older style (AT) keyboards and not PS/2 keyboards.

[spystyle]

Saint,
While tracing the history of the keyboard hack I sent an e-mail to Decosa (as it was written in his joy-of-joys doc) and it was undeliverable.

Does he still live?

[saint]

Haven't heard from him in a long time, don't know unfortunately ....

[danny_galaga]

OK,
I've finished the 1st draft of my new chapter "Building the keyboard hack"

any old-schoolers care to comment on it?

http://spystyle.arcadecontrols.com/index79.htm

man, that is one tidy hack!! rather a contrast to your wiring to the actual control panel though 

[mattv]

The keyboard hack is an 'old school' device, conceived back when keyboard encoders were $150.

I seem to remember way back when that there were no keyboard encoders available at any price, it was pretty much a keyboard hack or nothing back then (some people did joystick hacks too). Unfortunately I can't quite remember when that was. either 1998 or 1997, I've tried to find my old posts on the subject in the archives, but since the search function is offline that might take a while.

Oooh! And then we can have an argument about ghosting and masking and why the diode trick can't possibly work and my grandmother who got it working perfectly. And then we can reach a compromise and say that diodes can prevent ghosting but not masking. Then we can all post excel spreadsheets of our keyboard matrix (except you couldn

[Tailgunner]

Probably outside the scope of your article, but I'm sorta curious if the first keyboard hacks were for arcade cabs or flight sim cockpits. Simmers have long needed the ability to have lots of buttons and switches attached to a computer, and they're at least as obsessive about their hobby as the arcade people.

The first keyboard "hack" I remember was someone who'd mounted a keyboard under a cluster of electrical selenoids. The selenoids were wired to switches or buttons in a sim cockpit, and when they pushed one the connected selenoid would physically push the corresponding button on the keyboard. Crude, but then it didn't have any ghosting issues either.


I'd tend to think Hagstrom developed their encoder to compete with the EPIC card and the cockpit stuff Thrustmaster was doing back in the day for the hard core flight sim crowd.

[RandyT]

OK, I can dig it.

Then explain the KeyWiz to me!

Ok, I'll give it a shot

Here's what I can tell so far:

The KeyWiz supports 2 sticks with 4 buttons each right out of the box, simply plug-and-MAME.

Well, a lot more than that, but without touching a single config file and ignoring the rest, this is true.

If you have a control panel with a different layout (let's use Gauntlet and it's 4 sticks 2 buttons each as an example) you have to program the KeyWiz, this is done by connecting it to your computer and running the software it ships with.

You can, but this is not the only way to approach that situation.  You can also just configure the app to be compatible with the default key assignments on the KeyWiz.  The only difference between this method and the one you will need to use with a keyboard hack is that it is an option with a Keywiz, and a requirement for the keyboard hack.

All that makes sense to me, then there's confusion :

1. If you program the KeyWiz does it load what you've programmed upon power up every time, until you re-program it, or do you have to use the Shazaaam button?

If you elect not to use the defaults of the KeyWiz, you can set up your system to automatically refresh the programming of the KeyWiz with the last uploaded set at boot time.  No user interaction is required for this to happen and the instructions for the software tell you how to set it up.

2. WTF is Shazaaam! button all about? Are you telling me that people want to change their control panel layout in-between games? I don't get it.

The Shazaaam! button scares me...

Hehe, don't be skeered.  It's just like a SHIFT button on the keyboard, but instead of uselessly turning little letters into big ones, the Shazaaam! button makes the same button on your panel into a whole different button you can use when you need to.  Things like ESC, Enter, TAB, 5, 6, whatever, can be accessed through the same buttons you play your games on.  Think of it as making your buttons perform "dual-duty".

The other thing you might be thinking of is the "on-the-fly switching" feature that is accessed with the Shazaaam! button.  This just lets you "toggle" between your custom code set and the default "power-on" code set.  This is useful if you primarily use the default set, but you have an odd application that won't let you re-program the controls keys.  If you load this set into the unit at boot time, you can instantly change between the sets when you need to.

How could it be simpler than the 2 wires of a keyboard hack?

One thing that seems to be eluding you slightly is that you don't need to use a devices complex capabilities just because they are available to you.  A dedicated encoder is no more complex than a keyboard hack, in fact, it's far less.  There are no matrices to decipher, you can daisy-chain a single ground wire instead of running 2 lines to the box for every switch, and no worries about ghosting/blocking.  And if you want it to behave like a basic keyboard hack , albeit with none of the shortcomings, it can do that too.

From your write up:

Ease of use - the keyboard hack never needs to be programmed, it is as simple as connecting 2 wires.

As one who has gone through the ordeal of hacking a keyboard, there is nothing easy about doing it or using it.

If you are chronically unemployed, need to practice up on your soldering skills and have no desire to go to the beach instead, then have at at it.  However, after all that effort, don't expect the performance to be the same as a dedicated encoder.  What makes a good keyboard can often be, and often is, a far cry from what makes a good game controller.

Another thing to keep in mind is that before MAME, there wasn't much reason to hack keyboards for arcade controls.  Early computers with a gaming emphasis almost always had a joystick port of some kind, and therefore almost always used it.  Games requiring keyboard input were mostly simulations.

BTW, the first keypad I ever hacked was on my Colecovision in the 80's and I even did a complete arcade control panel based on the same for a local Pizza parlor  that set up a projection TV in the back room.  Big Screen Arcade.   Hehe.

RandyT

[Tiger-Heli]

Just came across this thread while hunting for something else.

The first page I remember on keyboard hacks was Stephan hans page here (although Saint's references quite likely are older than this one.

Based on that page I wrote my own guide at http://www.mameworld.net/emuadvice/keyhack2.html

The biggest problem I see with your guide is it completely ignores the problems of ghosting and blocking and the steps of choosing keys based on the mapped matrix, so while it may work when a single key is pressed, it may not work if you try to press three or more keys at the same time.  (and a two player panel with both sticks on diagonals and two buttons per player pressed generates 8 simultaneous keypresses).

[spystyle]

Tiger-Heli,

I hear you, one would think that a keyboard hack like that which does not map the matrix would have ghosting and blocking, but the 2-player panel pictured has no problems at all. It is played regularly (my brother-in-law is a Metal Slug maniac) and when we played 2-player simultanious all was well. The controls were tight and responsive.

Try building a keyboard hack out of a new keyboard (manufactured in the past year or two) and you'll see they perform well. I think the problems of ghosting and blocking were worse "back in the day".

While I am not an electronics certified guy and can not hit it with meters and such to prove or disprove that it is good - I can tell you the one pictured works a treat and is used daily without any issues.

Does it compete with keyboard encoders? No, but if cost is more of a consideration than anything else when putting together a cab, a keyboard hack is a viable option. Especially if you have most or all of the parts already in your workshop.

In closing - the keyboard hack tutorial was written to illustrate an old school method and should not be taken too seriously. It would be more reasonable to order a KeyWiz.

I wrote a tutorial on that too, and it appears before the keyboard hack tutorial.

Dig it?
Craig

[Tiger-Heli]

Tiger-Heli,
I hear you, one would think that a keyboard hack like that which does not map the matrix would have ghosting and blocking, but the 2-player panel pictured has no problems at all. It is played regularly (my brother-in-law is a Metal Slug maniac) and when we played 2-player simultanious all was well. The controls were tight and responsive.

Yep, I find that hard to believe.  But remember ghosting and blocking are only issues when a certain combination of three keys are pressed at the same time.  You may be rarely hitting the right combination or hitting it so briefly that you don't notice.

Try building a keyboard hack out of a new keyboard (manufactured in the past year or two) and you'll see they perform well. I think the problems of ghosting and blocking were worse "back in the day" and manufacturer's eventually responded and corrected the problem.

I don't have access to a new keyboard and I'm not going to buy one just to prove a point.  I did test on my 3-year-old work computer.  The first time I was able to press 8 keys simultaneously, but no more.  The second I was able to press 6, but no more.  I randomly pressed keys, so I'm sure I must have hit different combinations each time.

And I don't think manufacturer's responded and corrected the problem.  Keyboards are made for typing.  I don't think manufacturers care or would go to the trouble of making sure their products worked correctly when multiple keys were pressed for an arcade hack.

While I am not an electronics certified guy and can not hit it with meters and such to prove or disprove that it is good - I can tell you the one pictured works a treat and is used daily without any issues.

You don't need to be electronics certified, or have access to meters.  Do me a favor and humor me.  Download and fire up GhostKey or KeyJammin from http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade_downloads.shtml#Utilities

Hold down the four P1 buttons and have your Brother-in-law hold down the four P2 buttons.  You will either see 8 keys on the screen or it will beep at you, indicating blocking.

Now press both joysticks to the upper right.  You should see 12 keys on screen (or it will beep).  Rotate the P1 stick through the diagonals.  Should still have 12 keys on screen, but they will be different.  Now move the P2 stick to a different diagonal and repeat.  Try with the other diagonals.  If all this works, get a third person to press the 6 admin buttons at the top of the screen and repeat.

18 buttons and no beeping will convince me, b/c most keyboards use an 18x6 matrix and the odds that none of your buttons were in the same row is pretty slim, but I think you'll be surprised.

Post your results back here.

Does it compete with keyboard encoders? No, but if cost is more of a consideration than anything else when putting together a cab, a keyboard hack is a viable option. Especially if you have most or all of the parts already in your shop.

I never argued that it wasn't a viable option (although I think it's kinda pointless given the cost of the KeyWiz Eco) - but I do think you need to map out the matrix for it to work effectively.

In closing - the keyboard hack tutorial was written to illustrate an old school method and should not be taken too seriously. It would be more reasonable to order a KeyWiz.

No reason not to take it seriously, I did on my page.  I just don't want people to try it out and then find it doesn't work well for them (and have no idea why).

Let me know if you prove me wrong on this (or if you prove me right).

[saint]

Keyboard manufacturers upgraded their technology by introducing blocking to counter-act ghosting, as far as I know. Older keyboards are likely to suffer from ghosting, newer keyboards are likely to suffer from blocking. (IANAK)

[nostrebor]

Ghosting and blocking aside... this is the simplest description of the mechanics of performing a keyboard hack that I have ever read.

I will still just buy an encoder though. I'd rather keep my 3 hours

[screaming]

(IANAK)

  I Am Not A Keyboard?

[spystyle]

I can dig it,

Next time I go out to his neck of the woods I'll bring that prog on CD and see what it has to say.

But the bottom line is it works well, cost about $5, and was simple to make.

Groovy?
Craig

[Tiger-Heli]

I can dig it,
Next time I go out to his neck of the woods I'll bring that prog on CD and see what it has to say.

Thanks!  BTW, a thumbdrive or a floppy will fit both of them with room to spare.

But the bottom line is it works well, cost about $5, and was simple to make.

I suspect the bottom line is it works okay but could have worked better, would have required more time, but no more money or complexity to make.  But I'll wait on the program test results.

[saint]

Yep

(IANAK)

  I Am Not A Keyboard?

[RandyT]

But the bottom line is it works well, cost about $5, and was simple to make.

Craig,

The point of all of this negativity toward the keyboard hack is that you really can't just haphazardly select which keys you connect to your buttons, as the possibility of gameplay crippling problems is not only probable, but perhaps even guranteed.

The biggest issues will be seen with a 2-player fighting game, which is a pretty common thing to use with the panels built by a good percentage of this group.  You might not know that the keyboard hack blocked that punch on you  and chalk it up to a screwup on your part, but you just won't know for sure.  Sooner or later, you are going see how the hack is affecting the gameplay and get frustrated and remove it.  If you stick to single player games with 3 or less buttons that are likely to be pressed at once, you'll probably never notice. 

The point that myself and others here are trying to make is that the expectations placed on the encoder by a large group of others that frequent this site are far more demanding than perhaps yours is, and encouraging the use of a keyboard hack to these folks would do them a great disservice.

Like Tiger-Heli said, all you need is to run GhostKey and start mashing buttons to see what kind of problems you will run into.  No degree required

RandyT

[Tiger-Heli]

The point of all of this negativity toward the keyboard hack is that you really can't just haphazardly select which keys you connect to your buttons, as the possibility of gameplay crippling problems is not only probable, but perhaps even guranteed.

The biggest issues will be seen with a 2-player fighting game, which is a pretty common thing to use with the panels built by a good percentage of this group.  You might not know that the keyboard hack blocked that punch on you  and chalk it up to a screwup on your part, but you just won't know for sure.  Sooner or later, you are going see how the hack is affecting the gameplay and get frustrated and remove it.  If you stick to single player games with 3 or less buttons that are likely to be pressed at once, you'll probably never notice. 

For that matter, I'm not THAT negative on the keyboard hack.  I show on my page how you can make it work for two-player fighting games with no problems, but you have to choose keys very carefully.

You probably can't say "I want P1's joystick to use the arrow keys, and most of the other buttons to follow the MAME defaults".  And once you figure out the keys that work, you can't change them if you want to play a PC game that can't re-assign keys.

And when you can do all of the above and more with a KeyWiz Eco2 for less than $20 or without soldering with an Eco2 for less than $25, it really doesn't make a lot of sense for most people.

[spystyle]

Thank you all for the replies, although I write I am still a student.

That chapter, like all the chapters in my tutorial, are still very much a "work in progress". As stated on the first page I appreciate suggestions and carefully consider them for future revisions.

I will run GhostKey on that cabinet and update this thread with my findings, then probably revise the tutorial.

Dig it?
Craig
 

[Tiger-Heli]

I will run GhsotKey on that cabinet and update this thread with my findings, then probably revise the tutorial.

Dig it?

I Dig!

Thanks.

[Hoagie_one]

dont forget the LPT switch setup

[RandyT]

For that matter, I'm not THAT negative on the keyboard hack.  I show on my page how you can make it work for two-player fighting games with no problems, but you have to choose keys very carefully.

Not to mention choosing the keyboard very carefully.  As I have said before, I have a number of keyboards that have a very specific limit regardless of the size of the matrix.  I can't remember if it was 6 or 8 at the moment, but regardless, it's not enough to guarantee no problems with 2 player fighting games.

RandyT

[Tiger-Heli]

As I have said before, I have a number of keyboards that have a very specific limit regardless of the size of the matrix.  I can't remember if ot was 6 or 8 at the moment, but regardless, it's not enough to guarantee no problems with 2 player fighting games.

I think you said 8 before.  Point taken.