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Exidy Multi shooter

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Neverending Project:

--- Quote from: SavannahLion on April 02, 2009, 06:35:29 pm ---I agree that analog pots might work better. I was just offering a different solution given what I perceive as the limitations of MAME.

One thing I was considering is how MAME would handle the input for these specific games. I don't know since I don't have them in my library (no gun, no point) nor am I able to look at the source code right now. I've never tried an analog controller on MAME but it strikes me that if the pots are seen as a joystick, then no matter what position you place the pot, the reticle would continue in that direction thus breaking the relation between gun and reticle. If it's treated as a mouse input, same thing, a mouse is seen as a series of pulses, not a continous fixed value.

--- End quote ---

This isn't really true. If you open a light gun game in MAME and enable your mouse as the input, the reticle tracks exactly as the mouse cursor would track on the desktop. If you switch the input to an analog joystick (as an example) the reticle tracks with the position of the joystick. When you push the joystick left, the reticle moves left, and when you let go the reticle snaps back to the center (if it is a self-centering joystick). If you push the joystick part-way to the left and hold it, the reticle stays at that point on the screen.

Pots would work fine - much the same way that a SW controller or steering wheel work fine in their respective games. The will report absolute position to MAME, which will in turn put the reticle in the correct position.

TheShanMan:

--- Quote from: CheffoJeffo on April 01, 2009, 09:13:39 pm ---For those who don't know who richieknucklez is -- his arcade (yes, I mean arcade in the proper sense  :police:) was featured in the March issue of GameRoom Magazine. (So don't be telling him do "Do a search noob" !)

--- End quote ---

I knew I knew his name from somewhere! I enjoyed that article! Welcome Richie, and good luck with this project.

CheffoJeffo:
What NEP is saying has been my assumption as to what the difference would be between "Analog Joystick" and "Mouse" controls would be like, but I have nothing to base that on. The distinction, however, is what caught my eye in the description of how the Nanotech board works -- joystick as opposed to mouse.

NOTE: Before anybody accuses me of shilling for Nanotech, be sure to go back to my posts this summer where I called David Foley some bad names and said that I wouldn't buy anything that he was behind. I may well end up preparing some nice Crow-Kababs if this board pans out.

But, I am out of my comfort zone wrt light guns and non-digital MAME interfaces.  :dunno

NoOne=NBA=:
The guns on the Exidy cabs are functionally the same as an analog joystick.
The gun tilts up and down, which turns the y-axis pot.
It also rotates side to side, which turns the x-axis pot.

You might want to get in touch with Andy at Ultimarc, and find out if he knows of anyone that has interfaced one to an A-pac.
The A-pac allows you to adjust for different pot values, so you may not have to physically alter anything on the gun to interface it with a computer.

The calibration in the game itself will possibly compensate for the mirrored display.
I don't remember exactly how you calibrate the gun in Exidy games.
If it's a "shoot here, shoot here" affair, it should work great because it will read the pots as you shoot.
If it's a "move the gun around, then hit the button" type, it may require some tweaking, or axis reversal, to work properly.

SavannahLion:

--- Quote from: Neverending Project on April 02, 2009, 06:46:59 pm ---
--- Quote from: SavannahLion on April 02, 2009, 06:35:29 pm ---I agree that analog pots might work better. I was just offering a different solution given what I perceive as the limitations of MAME.

One thing I was considering is how MAME would handle the input for these specific games. I don't know since I don't have them in my library (no gun, no point) nor am I able to look at the source code right now. I've never tried an analog controller on MAME but it strikes me that if the pots are seen as a joystick, then no matter what position you place the pot, the reticle would continue in that direction thus breaking the relation between gun and reticle. If it's treated as a mouse input, same thing, a mouse is seen as a series of pulses, not a continous fixed value.

--- End quote ---

This isn't really true. If you open a light gun game in MAME and enable your mouse as the input, the reticle tracks exactly as the mouse cursor would track on the desktop. If you switch the input to an analog joystick (as an example) the reticle tracks with the position of the joystick. When you push the joystick left, the reticle moves left, and when you let go the reticle snaps back to the center (if it is a self-centering joystick). If you push the joystick part-way to the left and hold it, the reticle stays at that point on the screen.

Pots would work fine - much the same way that a SW controller or steering wheel work fine in their respective games. The will report absolute position to MAME, which will in turn put the reticle in the correct position.

--- End quote ---

I believe you and I'll defer to your better knowledge.

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