problems with ctrlr files...pulling my hair out!!

[hulkster]

okay.  ive read the easyemu and ive searched the forum first like a good little BYOACer.     but now im getting pissed cuz nothing is working.

i think im doing what im supposed to do, but anyway, here goes:

**im using mame .101 with mamewah .161**

ive created a folder called "mame" within the "ctrlr" folder in the mame directory like it says in the easyemu thing.  ive put my default.ini file with all my controller settings inside this mame folder.  so basically i have C:\...mame\ctrlr\mame\default.ini

there is a default.cfg file in the "cfg" folder that i think mame keeps pointing to instead of my ctrlr.  i was under the impression that the ctrlr files got looked at first by mame before the cfg files but whatever.  so im obviously doing something wrong. 

my first guess is that i need to point mame in the right direction...meaning i need to configure it in the mame.ini file or something to look at the mame\default.ini folder and stuff for its default ctrlr file.  what am i overlooking?   

[hulkster]

bump

[Minwah]

In mame.in, set 'crtrlr hulk' (or something like that).  Then in \mame\ctrlr you need a file called 'hulk.cfg' (xml files with .cfg extension are now used instead of the 'old' ini files).

You can copy parts from the \mame\cfg\default.cfg file to place inside your hulk.cfg file...I'm guessing you have the actual ctrlr file done tho.

[hulkster]

In mame.in, set 'crtrlr hulk' (or something like that).  Then in \mame\ctrlr you need a file called 'hulk.cfg' (xml files with .cfg extension are now used instead of the 'old' ini files).

You can copy parts from the \mame\cfg\default.cfg file to place inside your hulk.cfg file...I'm guessing you have the actual ctrlr file done tho.

man, all this changing around with xml and stuff has confused me.  its especially hard when i read older posts telling me to do something different!

anyway, my ctrlr file is called "mame".  in my mame\ctrlr folder, i have another folder called "mame".  in that folder (as of right now) i have a file called "default.ini" with all my ctrlr info in it.   you are saying that i need to change to that to say mame.cfg?  what about the "<system>" tag...whats the value supposed to be in that?  would that value be "mame" as well? 

i have my mame.ini configed properly i think.  the ctrlr_directory is set to ctrlr and the other ctrlr thing is set to "mame". 

so basically....

what do i put in the system value field?

and

i need to change my default.ini to mame.cfg?

[Minwah]

you are saying that i need to change to that to say mame.cfg?  what about the "<system>" tag...whats the value supposed to be in that?  would that value be "mame" as well? 

Yes, rename default.ini to mame.cfg.  You should be able to use a .cfg file supplied with MAME for reference (for example hotrodse.cfg) - I think they are about to stop destributing these with MAME tho.

For the most part, you should use '<system name="default">'...but you can change 'default' for a driver or romname for more specific mappings.

i have my mame.ini configed properly i think.  the ctrlr_directory is set to ctrlr and the other ctrlr thing is set to "mame". 

Good, that's right.

[hulkster]

you are saying that i need to change to that to say mame.cfg?  what about the "<system>" tag...whats the value supposed to be in that?  would that value be "mame" as well? 

Yes, rename default.ini to mame.cfg.  You should be able to use a .cfg file supplied with MAME for reference (for example hotrodse.cfg) - I think they are about to stop destributing these with MAME tho.

For the most part, you should use '<system name="default">'...but you can change 'default' for a driver or romname for more specific mappings.

i have my mame.ini configed properly i think.  the ctrlr_directory is set to ctrlr and the other ctrlr thing is set to "mame". 

Good, that's right.

okay, i'm at work right now, but i'll try when i get home.  thanks for the help though...i'll update and let you know tonight.

[hulkster]

okay i did everything you said, but now my games wont start.  this happened before....and only happens when i change the ctrlr value in the mame.ini to "mame".  i try to start a game in mamewah and the screen goes black for like 2 seconds, and then comes back to mamewah.  its like its trying to load it, but then gets caught up or something. 

just in case i put the mame.cfg file in the wrong place, i put it both in the ...\mame\ctrlr\mame folder AND in the ...\mame\ctrlr folder.  what else am i needing?

[screaming]

Are you sure you're not confusing MAME's ctrlr files and MAMEWAH's ctrlr files?  They're two separate entities and belong in two separate places.

-Steve.

[hulkster]

Are you sure you're not confusing MAME's ctrlr files and MAMEWAH's ctrlr files?  They're two separate entities and belong in two separate places.

-Steve.

yeah, ive got mamewah's ctrlr files in it's own folder and stuff and havent touched it.  im editing the mame ctrlr file...im sure of it.

[sc1103]

Clear out your cfg folder.  I had an issue where it would have an error parsing (not sure why but it went away when I switched to gameex, nothin against mamewah but i liked a couple of the gameex skins).  And yes you should get the black screen or at least it did for me.

[screaming]

Try what sc1103 said, then if you're still confused attach your mame.cfg file so we can take a look.

-Steve.

[hulkster]

okay found the problem.  for some reason i had an extra </input> tag in my mame.cfg file.  retarded.  took that out, everything is working fine.  now i just have to go through and config it all.  and man it sucks having to config mortal kombat!!  that freakin game is so backwards on controls its ridiculous.

[Minwah]

When ever problems like this occur just run a game from a command prompt - that way MAME will report exactly what the problem is.

[hulkster]

When ever problems like this occur just run a game from a command prompt - that way MAME will report exactly what the problem is.

yeah i did that a couple of days ago and it said it couldnt find the game i was trying to run.  it was the right file name and everything so that wasnt it.  i figured it would return some error and i would know right away what the problem was but...

when it says that it cant find the game, when the whole time its because the ctrlr file is messed up...that doesnt help much.

anyway, thanks for your help minwah...as always :-)

[Minwah]

when it says that it cant find the game, when the whole time its because the ctrlr file is messed up...that doesnt help much.

For sure, that's wierd...

Anyway glad you figured it out

[hulkster]

okay ive got a minor problem.  im not sure why its happening, but its annoying nonetheless.  i have my ctrlr file setup the way i want and everything looks correct, but when i go into teenage mutant ninja turtles and point the 3rd player joystick down...it registers a credit!  i check the config in the ingame menu, and it shows that credit for player 3 is "7" and the down direction for player 3 is "9".  why then is it registering a credit?  i dont get it.  i havent touched my wiring or anything so i dont think its that.  any suggestions?

also, do most people go into their IPAC software and change the keys to what they want or leave it as the default?  i go into mine and change it to letters A-Z and use all the puncuation stuff.  i stay away from using CTRL and Shift and stuff because of what can happen with certain button combos.  is this wise?

[Minwah]

but when i go into teenage mutant ninja turtles and point the 3rd player joystick down...it registers a credit!  i check the config in the ingame menu, and it shows that credit for player 3 is "7" and the down direction for player 3 is "9".  why then is it registering a credit?  i dont get it.  i havent touched my wiring or anything so i dont think its that.  any suggestions?

Try hitting '9' on your keyboard and see if it registers a credit.  If it doesn't then it suggests something may be wrong with the joystick wiring or something.  Also go into Notepad and hit P3 down - see what characters are put on screen - anything other than '9' suggests again something is wrong.

also, do most people go into their IPAC software and change the keys to what they want or leave it as the default?  i go into mine and change it to letters A-Z and use all the puncuation stuff.  i stay away from using CTRL and Shift and stuff because of what can happen with certain button combos.  is this wise?

I use slightly different key mappings, but basically use the same keys (if that makes sense).  I even use Ctrl & Alt etc. and don't think I have any problems, but it's certainly not a bad idea to avoid these keys if possible.

[hulkster]

okay, weird stuff going on here.  ive made a new ctrlr file on another pc, and downloaded mame and ninja turltes just so i could test this out. 

i have the same key mappings as my cab.  for the 3rd player down direction i have it mapped to "9".  now, every time i press 9 on the keyboard, it moves 3rd player down AND registers a credit for player 1!!!  what the heck??  i have player 1 credit set to "5" so how in the world is this happening?  its not a wiring issue, because im on the keyboard doing it.  is this a tmnt issue itself?  help!

[hulkster]

okay problem solved.  thanks to Howard!  in the mame menu in the "other controls" section, i had several of those keys mapped to the same things i had remapped my ipac stuff to.  anyway, i set all those to "none" in the mame menu, then copied the cfg to my ctrlr files and now all is well.

i swear, if i heard "Cowabunga!" after moving down with Donatello one more time, i would have thrown up. 

THANKS HOWARD!!!!