Please explain Mame Tab Analog menu settings?

[LeedsFan]

I'm really struggling to set up some Analog Spinner / Trackball games set up in Mame. I had no problem doing this on my old cab but now with my new panel (2x U360s) I seem to be having problems.

I managed to get Tempest and Centipede working fine. Once I put  "Joystick 0" in the .ini file for those respective games then they work flawlessly. It seemed that the joystick was still active for those games and this was causing mayhem.

However I just cannot get Marble Madness to function. I've messed with the Tab Menu setting for the game, but nothing seems to make any difference. Is there a way to change that Tab Menu setting back to it's default state? Because for the life of me I can't remember what I changed or didn't change.


I'm also having some difficulty with analog games like Star Wars. I've managed to get the game somewhat playable with the U360 but the crosshair still moves a little too fast for my liking. Changing settings in the mame Tab menu for analog settings seems to make no difference on screen at all.

I suppose I'm looking for a full explanation of these settings within the Tab Menu. I've done Google searches but to no avail. 

[LeedsFan]

UPDATE:

I realised I was editing the wrong .ini file for some games. For Marble Madness I was editing "Marble4" instead of just "marble". Once I edited the correct file I had it working fine. I was doing the same for Super Sprint too... kept editing "csprint" instead.   

I still can't get Star Wars to be a little more playable though. I have the sensitivity down to 1% with the re-centreing speed set to zero. I still feel it's a little too finicky to play like that. But it may be due to me using U360 with restrictor plate fitted. Without the restrictor I suppose I would have more "spread" of the analog values. Is this correct? Or can it still be adjusted more within Mame?

[Minwah]

I still can't get Star Wars to be a little more playable though. I have the sensitivity down to 1% with the re-centreing speed set to zero. I still feel it's a little too finicky to play like that. But it may be due to me using U360 with restrictor plate fitted. Without the restrictor I suppose I would have more "spread" of the analog values. Is this correct? Or can it still be adjusted more within Mame?

The key and centering speed settings are for digital inputs only. Therefore the only setting that really applies (with the U360) is sensitivity (and reverse).

You could also play with the joystick_deadzone setting in mame.ini, but with use of a suitable map for the joustick, this is probably not neccessary.

I think removing the restrictor plate probably would help if it is too 'sensitive'. I haven't got this game setup yet so I'm afraid I can't say how mine plays.

[u_rebelscum]

In addition to what minwah said,...

Is there a way to change that Tab Menu setting back to it's default state?

Yes, like other remapping tab blah blah... but instead of pressing a button or joystick, press esc (or whatever you have mapped to "UI Cancel").  IOW: enter, esc, wait (will show "none"), enter, esc for each one you want to reset to default.  Or just delete the game's cfg file ing the "cfg" folder to reset everything.

I'm also having some difficulty with analog games like Star Wars. I've managed to get the game somewhat playable with the U360 but the crosshair still moves a little too fast...

Sounds like either you mapped wrong, or the u360 is not in analog mode, or you're expecting the control to be different than the original.

The original analog control was "absolute": the postion of the crosshairs on the screen dirrectly matched the position of the "stick" (in the shape of a yoke).  The movement was "instant", so the speed can't be too fast unless it's telling the future.   What you describe is more like relative analog (the farther the stick is from center the faster the movement), or digital control (like relative analog, but at only one speed).

So make sure the u360 is in analog mode for StarWars (and whatever other games need it).  Next make sure the u360 is mapped to "xxx... analog", and NOT "xxx... inc" NOR "xxx... dec".  The latter two are for digital (ie: 8-ways) inputs, and if an analog stick is mapped to them, mame treats it like a digital stick.

And as minwah said, set the -joystick_deadzone to near zero (otherwise there will be an area around the center you couldn't put the crosshairs).  Also maybe increase the -joystick_saturation to closer to 100% (100% = 1.0 in mame.ini), but if set too high the corners won't be hit.  And as the joystick position dirrectly relates to crosshair screen position, not using the restrictor might help.

[Loafmeister]

Hey everyone,

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I’m also having a problem with Star Wars. I was thinking, I have a restrictor (circular) set up, which is enabled in the ultimap (?) software.  Since Mame does it’s own mapping, is it possible Mame isn’t taking into account the restrictor and thus why I don’t have a good range of movement for this analog game?  I briefly tried Q-bert and I was having a bit of an issue with that game too (though it was 2:00am, so take that for what its worth ).  I’m presently testing this with MameUI/32 0.118 which I believe supported the mame mapping option.

U_rebelscum: I’ll double check the digital settings; that might be an issue.

[u_rebelscum]

Hey everyone,

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I’m also having a problem with Star Wars. I was thinking, I have a restrictor (circular) set up, which is enabled in the ultimap (?) software.  Since Mame does it’s own mapping, is it possible Mame isn’t taking into account the restrictor and thus why I don’t have a good range of movement for this analog game?

No.  UltraMap calibrates the joystick on the restrictor vs no restrictor setting on the driver level.  Mame uses that post driver data.  No conflict here.  Did you remap like you need to do?  (What exactly is the problem?)

  I briefly tried Q-bert and I was having a bit of an issue with that game too (though it was 2:00am, so take that for what its worth ).

Try again and post the problems.

  I’m presently testing this with MameUI/32 0.118 which I believe supported the mame mapping option.

Err, star wars is an analog game, and you have an analog joystick, hopefully in analog mode, and have the analog stick mapped only to the true analog port, and not the digital2analog ports (inc/dec), then mame shouldn't be using its -joystick_map.  But yes, 0.118 did have -joystick_map setting.

U_rebelscum: I’ll double check the digital settings; that might be an issue.

Yes, make sure the u360 is mapped only to mame's "...stick X analog".  Which means not "...stick X dec" nor "...stick X inc"; repeat: not, not not inc or dec.