Re: Dials, paddles, sticks - spinners, trackballs etc...


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Build Your Own Arcade Controls message board ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by EmuMannen on 14, 2001 at 7:44 AM:

In Reply to: Dials, paddles, sticks - spinners, trackballs etc... posted by Joseph on 14, 2001 at 3:03 AM:

You have to separate the facts about the games original controls configuration from the available abstract controls provided by MAME.

MAME uses Allegro as a cross platform general library for input among other things. Allegro has a set of PC related input sources like the keyboard and mouse. These sources are virtually mapped as buttons, dials, paddles, joystick axes etc. in MAME.

This is all about systems development and software architecture. Some find solutions like using general libraries like Allegro not to efficient when it comes to performance of the final emulator. The input interfaces might also be to general for some games. The benefits are abstractions for rapid development, cross platform support, generalization making it easy to add new games etc.

I think that MAME and its core design speaks for it self - support for more than 2000 games on a wide verity of platforms done by free time developers for free!

Oh, back to your original question:

Dial = general abstraction for 360 free spinning devices - like the wheel in Atari Sprint
Paddle = general abstraction for 360 twisting devices - like the twisting joystick in Ikari Warriors
Stick = general abstraction for analog axis devices - like the wheel in Outrun

/ EmuMannen

: Hi there

: I've noticed that MAME assigns the following controller types to the following games:

: Paddle: Ikari Warriors, Forgotten worlds
: Stick: Outrun, Operation Thunderbolt, Sinister
: Dial: Arkanoid, Super Sprint

: Some of the designations seem hard to understand, eg Ikari Warrriors - paddle, and Outrun using a stick. Can someone please clarify?

: Also, I would like to hear about anyone's experiences with substituting any of the above controllers with spinners or trackballs.

: Thanks all.




Follow Ups:



Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Build Your Own Arcade Controls message board ] [ FAQ ]