Re: Perfect interfacing(Trackballs & Spinners)


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Posted by EmuMannen on 28, 2000 at 8:23 PM:

In Reply to: Re: Perfect interfacing(Trackballs & Spinners) posted by Cupcakus on 28, 2000 at 9:42 AM:

I have a SUZO 2 1/4" Mini Trackball (same size as in Centipede/Millipede). The performance was horrible when I first used it with the "Cute Mouse" freeware mouse driver. I later changed to an old MS Mouse driver and it now perfect! Just the way I remember Centipede/Millipede. Marble Madness in another story. I still have to tweak it some in MAME to get the right feel. I don't know if it is because the Marble Madness game I used to play used a 3" Treckballs...

/ EmuMannen

: : When a mouse hack or encoder is used for a MAME control panel, how does one know if the responsiveness of the resulting game(controls) in MAME is exactly the same as on the original game? In other words, how would one make sure that the variables regarding the diameter of the shaft, the number of vanes/spaces, and their rotation speed, as well as the interpretation of the interfacing software are all in the right proportion in order to get the exact same results as one would get on the original arcade game? I assume that all of this can be adjusted in MAME, but how does one know exactly what the "arcade" responsiveness parameters are?
: :
: : The reason I ask is because I'm a competitve gamer(who has gone through the trouble of getting actual arcade control panels), and I need for the responsiveness/speed to carry over perfectly from the arcade game to MAME and back. So for instance, if I spin my trackball 360 degrees and the resulting no/off signals cause my shooter to move 8 1/4 inches across the screen in the actual arcade game, then I need it to cover the exact same distance when I do the same thing in the MAME version. Or if my spinner is rotated 180 degrees on the arcade game, and as a result my ship turns 180 degrees, then this is exactly what should happen in MAME.
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: : Any observations/recommendations/ideas would be greatly appreciated.
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: : Thanks a lot.
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: : Darren Harris
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: : Searcher7@mail.con2.com

: A great question Darren... MAME seems to contol how fast you can press a button, meaning it won't let you press it faster than the original game software allowed. So as for button presses, they will remain the same.

: However trackballs are another story. I use the Happ 3" track ball, and it's veins are HUGE!, which of course is not consistant with most trackball games.

: Centipede, which is a very popular trackball game, works poorly with any trackball hack I have seen, except hacks using it's original ball. With my trackball I have to tweak the settings in MAME something awefull to make it work close to correctly, and due to its large viens small movements are almost imposible.

: To answer your question, you can't, you'll need to find the original game, get a feel for it, and tweak MAME to get close to it.




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