Posted by jeoff krontz on 29, 2001 at 2:55 AM:
This message pertains to making 8-way joysticks behave more like 4-way joysticks. Many discussions have occurred over the last week on this topic
I looked for a long time at the MAME source tonight. Although I don't claim to know exactly how the input_port stuff fully works, I was able to implement "sticky mode" on my first attempt. Note that this is different than the "fast-sticky" mode that MAME already has implemented for 4-way games.
Go to the link I've provided to download an updated INPTPORT.C file for MAME37B13. All changes are documented/commented using my initials (JMK).
I've tested it and it works exactly as expected. For example, if Pac-Man is proceeding right and you acidentally move to an UP-RIGHT diagonal, Pac-Man will continue right. Once you move the joystick fully UP, Pac-Man will then go up.
The current MAME implementation would have Pac-Man go UP as soon as you enter the UP-RIGHT diagonal. I think the new version is much better and makes the 8-way joystick seem more like an 8-way
The only thing left would be to add command line switches so that you could select which mode you like. This is a piece of cake if anyone is interested
(For more details, see previous postings during the past week on this topic. Search for 8-way)
Here's a link to a great discussion of the 8-way joystick modes that emulate 4-way joysticks:
http://www.rentrondesign.homestead.com/JoyPrimer.html