Posted by Marshall on 14, 2000 at 11:25 AM:
In Reply to: Re: Clarification posted by Andy Warne on 11, 2000 at 8:49 AM:
: It will have inputs for 2 trackballs and 4 spinners.
AND, I was thinking 2 trackballs OR 4 spinners. You never cease to amaze me. Is it 1 t/ball and 2 spinners per serial port or can you use any 4-axis combination per COM port?
: There does not seem any point in implementing USB at the moment as the 2-player trackball/spinner version of MAME does not support USB, being a DOS program. This may be a future option though.
I thought USB would be supported under a DOS box in Windows. I use DOS MAME under Win 98, but I am not using USB. Also, keep in mind that not everyone who uses this device is going to need the 2-player capability. My first project will use it for a single steering wheel controller.
: One thing I am still thinking about is whether to make one half of the board compatible with both PS/2 mouse as well as serial. This might add to the cost because it would mean a special cable (although I'm still searching). I am not sure there is a need for this because it's a good idea anyway to keep the ps/2 mouse port for a normal mouse.
I'm personally not fond of PS/2 for game controls. However, there are many PS/2 mice and trackballs in the stores here running a PS/2 cable with an adapter to serial port or a PS/2 cable with an adapter to USB. Don't know if this helps with the opti-pac, but it might.
I assume you are more familiar with these adapters than I am, but if not, let me know and I will try to E-mail you more specifics.
Regards,
Marshall
: Cheers
: Andy