Arcade games

Indigno · Post by **Indigno** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 7:55 am

madc0w wrote:
SpongeBuell wrote:I would not recommend using a keyboard, it's way too hard to solder to, since it's only some thin plastic, not too much unlike overhead transparencies, with the tracings. Instead, use some game pads, USB is nice as possible, and solder to that instead. Then, use JoyToKey, a program which converts joypad signals to keyboard ones (and even lets you use key combinations, like Alt+F4

Also, look around... you'd be surprised at the monitors you can find for free or very cheap... I got one from work for my cab, ~21", for free. It it a bit blurry with small text, but it is perfect for games and even frontends, I would have no clue looking at it
I was just about to say that. ALso, keyboards can cause ghosting. A good alternative is to hack an xbox or USB controller.

I thought that since keyboards made the switch to USB that the ghosting problem has been greatly reduced...

madc0w · Post by **madc0w** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 8:47 am

IDK, read it on an arcade site, don't really know anymore. It's still easier to just use a USB controller.

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 9:04 am

this is an arcade topic. not mame. They are completely different universes. and you can guess which one has the 'coolness factor.'

sending your arcade controls through an often inferior USB or PS/2 port *and then* an overworked emulator cannot really replicate the arcade experience--except maybe on the newer pc-based arcade systems with their vague control schemes based on the same technology.

emulation has come a long way, but as far as control, it is nowhere near as direct. But then again I always complain about controller lag on most of the modern game systems, even the ones that I like very much. Of all sites, I'd think this one would respect the differences between emulation and actual hardware, or else everybody here would be a PDA user.

Harshboy · Post by **Harshboy** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 9:12 am

Controller lag? Never heard of such a thing. I use a lot of emualtors a long with my Xbox Controller (Via Xbox to USB Cable which i made) and never noticed a single thing wrong with it. No lag or nothin.

So. what are you talking about?

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 9:19 am

Controller lag? Never heard of such a thing. I use a lot of emualtors a long with my Xbox Controller (Via Xbox to USB Cable which i made) and never noticed a single thing wrong with it. No lag or nothin.

So. what are you talking about?

you would notice the lag if you compared your usb controller to an actual, direct arcade control. There are quite a few layers usb has to crawl through to even get to the emulator. What exactly are you comparing your usb controller to?

I tend to notice the lag that the (usb) xbox controller has in its own xbox games. It's pretty low, and not as obvious as the lag sony has built into their playstation systems, or 3do which was the worst in history. Granted a good portion of lag is due to coding, but there are definitely differences between systems as far as control lag goes.

Neo geo home systems are a good example of controllers done right. it has *nothing* between the buttons and reaction on the screen. there's not even one chip in that controller, and once you get to the board there's the shortest path possible between the controller and the main chip. Controls are a priority at the hardware level. How is a PC possibly going to be able to keep up with that? it doesn't matter how fast of a PC you use, it can't do it because it was never designed for that kind of gaming. you'll find that most arcade boards have the same, extremely direct, input system. the control pins short to ground when the switch closes and something nearly immediately changes on the screen. you don't find (until recently) arcade controls stuck out on usb.

Is the difference noticable? I say it is, though the specs on usb say it shouldn't really be a huge deal. but try playing a neo geo, and then go back to an emulator. The controller slowdown adds to all the slowdowns in MAME's looping and creates an experience that is not the same. An arcade system is not supposed to feel like a PC or a console.

ganonbanned · Post by **ganonbanned** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 12:00 pm

damn, I was thinking: why buy a game, or make a mame cabinet, when I could make a nintendo cabinet! I could have the systems NES, SNES, and N64. 4 players (was there a SNES team tap?) and have 2 lightguns: one gray, and one orange (were there any 2 player light gun games? does the SNES gun work the same way as the NES?) and think of how cool it would be! 4 player melee! sports games would be turned from crap to fun! after thinking about it, I noticed 2 obstacles: money which, I am getting a job soon, so that would be out of the way, and there are no good N64 emulators

. damn, this is a cooler idea than (no offense iam7805) the blackbox!

Ness · Post by **Ness** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 12:56 pm

Reaperman@home wrote: I tend to notice the lag that the (usb) xbox controller has in its own xbox games. It's pretty low, and not as obvious as the lag sony has built into their playstation systems, or 3do which was the worst in history. Granted a good portion of lag is due to coding, but there are definitely differences between systems as far as control lag goes.

Don't know what you are talking about here, my PSOne and PS2 are fine when it comes to the controllers. No lags, no discrepancies...everything works perfectly fine. I keep it clean, and I don't throw my controllers across the room when I mess up.

Besides, the purpose of an emulator is to preserve past titles. Also, it helps those who want to relive the past and play an old game they used to love as a child. I never hear them complain about the controllers at all.

Although I can give you some credit for the NeoGeo system and it's control system, I have seen more lag in that system (especially with the King of Fighter Series) than any other system out there. I have been turned off from that game so badly due to its controls.

I love the PC and emulators...I'll agree with you on SOME emulators that the USB controller has lag issues (due to coding) but other emulators work like a charm.

wallydawg · Post by **wallydawg** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 3:42 pm

I loved the game Double Cheese. It was a Ticket Redemption game though so owning it I prolly wouldn't have as much fun as I used to playing it at the Arcade.

Indigno · Post by **Indigno** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 6:22 pm

I don't know what you're talking about. I have played an arcade version and an emulated version of a ton of my favorite arcade games, and I don't get any lag in the controlls at all. The only noticable difference I detect is the fact that you're not standing up and using arcade controlls...