Posted by Fultra on 4, 2001 at 11:08 AM:
In Reply to: Re: ride that painted pony... etc. posted by Nathan Strum on 4, 2001 at 2:30 AM:
The problem that you guys are describing seems to be a combo of several things...all of which have some contributing factor. However, while the spacing on the encoder disc can have some affect on this problem - most of the problem is due to the mouse port (PS2 or Serial) and the driver.
(From memory) What happens when you spin the mouse is that the information (3 bytes worth) is stored in the buffer and then sent at 1200 baud to the serial/ps2 port. If you spin quicker than the interface or mouse guts can store and send the data, you end up in the stalled situation. Not every piece of 'movement' info gets sent and the result is a small period of time where the mouse stalls and/or jumps left and right.
I have not found a way to completely eliminate this. However I found that when you have properly setup the games for sensitivity you can keep it from happening. If I remember correctly - the worst case is when you have mame or the mouse driver setup for very low sensitivity.
: : I believe this is effect is related mostly to the software and interface rather than the spinner hardware itself...
: Yes and no. The software can affect it (usually negatively), but the encoder hardware is the primary factor. The distance between encoder wheel spokes affects sensitivity. The thicker the spokes, and the farther apart they are, the less responsive the spinner (simply because you have to turn the knob further to register any movement - this is regardless of software, since it's a physical property of the hardware). Thinner and closer together spokes are more responsive, but can cause the "freaking out" problem. At high speeds, if the spokes are too thin, then the optical sensors have a really difficult time determining what order the sensors are being tripped, and therefore can't determine the direction the wheel is turning.
: Software can compensate for this (or make it worse, even with a good spinner), but if the optical "guts" used aren't matched for the speed that's expected, then there's little that can be done to improve it. Using Happ parts shouldn't be a problem, since they're pretty much designed for that sort of use. Mouse hacks are more prone to it, depending on the mouse used, since they're designed to be moved short, precise distances at slow speeds.
: So my question should have been more along the lines of - can the software in various games can be adjusted so that you can spin the daylights out of the spinner without running into this problem, or are there some instances where you can't get around it?