Follow the instructions that came with the InputSprocket download. They basically amount to dragging the files into the Extensions folder of your System Folder for the change to take effect. You do not need to restart your Mac.
II. Configuring InputSprocket
If all of this confuses you and you want control to remain as before the InputSprocket code was added, ignore all of the following explanation and set the joystick up for "Player 1 Digital Joystick" and leave it that way.
Otherwise, if you'd like to try to improve the controlling, read on.
Start up MacMAME and go to the "Misc" tab. Towards the bottom, you will see a button marked "Configure Joystick" - press it. In the resulting dialog, you will see any joysticks that InputSprocket found listed to the left, along with the setup listed to the right. Here's where it gets interesting.
Basically, for the best possible fit, you want to configure your joystick to be the same type as the game you are going to play. How do you know what that is? In the front-end, choose "Hardware Info" from the pop-up menu in the info tab. It will tell you if any analog devices are present, and what type they are.
A. Digital joysticks
Some games in MacMAME require simple joystick motion controls - up, down, left, right. They don't need to know how far up or how far down you've moved the joystick. An example of this type of game is Pac-Man. These use what we call "digital" joysticks. If you want to set up your joystick for this type of game, you would choose "Player 1 Digital Joystick" from the menu in the InputSprocket dialog. This menu appears when you click on the buttons representing the directions on the joystick.
B. Analog joysticks
Other games measure the precise position of the joystick. These are called "analog" games. Examples include Food Fight, Return of the Jedi, and Star Wars. If you wanted to use your joystick for these types of games, you would choose "Player 1 Analog X-Axis" and "Player 1 Analog Y-Axis" from the menu in the InputSprocket dialog. Note that if you do this, the mouse becomes inactive and you cannot use it to control an analog device.
However, not every joystick supports analog values in the x or y direction. In these cases, choosing "Player 1 Analog X-Axis" will result in terrible control. The Gravis Mac GamePad is a digital joystick and as such does a poor job when you set it to analog controls.
Here is a brief explanation of the 4 types of analog controls:
Paddle. This is a fixed-range device with definite start and end points. Ideally, you'd want games with a paddle to map to either the mouse or an analog joystick. An example of such a game would be Warlords.
Dial. This is a non-fixed range device which basically spins freely in both directions. An example of such a game would be Tempest.
Trackball. This is a non-fixed range device which moves freely in the x and y directions. Centipede and Crystal Castles use this.
Analog Joystick. This is a fixed range device which moves in the x and y directions. It has an established start and stop point. Star Wars and Food Fight are examples of games which use this.
C. Mice and trackballs
If you specify that the joystick will control an analog device, i.e. in Star Wars or Food Fight, the mouse becomes inactive. Separate from this issue, if you want to use mice or trackballs with InputSprocket, you must check the "Use InputSprocket for mouse" box in the Misc tab in the front-end. If this is unchecked, you can still use the mouse, however this is not guaranteed to be compatible with future versions of the MacOS.
D. Misc issues
There are probably some issues to be worked through still since this support is relatively new. Please feel free to submit your questions to the MacMAME Message board at http://www.InsideTheWeb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi/mb117820 to see if we are aware of your problem or not.
As of the current release, MacMAME only saves your InputSprocket settings on a global basis, not game-by-game. There is an ongoing effort to work around this limitation, so a future release will probably allow for this.
E. Examples
Let me give some examples of my setup and how I use it. I've got a Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro USB joystick connected to a USB card in my PowerBase. It is an analog stick, so I have the option to choose "Player 1 Analog X-Axis" and "Player 1 Analog Y-Axis" in the InputSprocket dialog. My mouse is a Kensington TurboMouse trackball (which is the perfect input device, IMHO).
As a general rule, games which use a dial or a trackball are best suited for the mouse because it has no fixed limits, whereas games which use a paddle or analog joystick are suited for an analog joystick. However, it really all depends on your preference. I prefer to use the mouse for paddle games like Warlords.
For Star Wars, I set it up to use the x and y axes for directional control. The mouse is thus inactive. If you wanted to use the mouse instead of the joystick, you would set the joystick up for "Player 1 Digital Joystick" instead of the x and y axes by hitting "Configure Joystick" in the "Misc" tab of the front end and choosing that option in the resulting dialog.
For Centipede, I set my joystick up for "Player 1 Digital Joystick" so I can use the mouse, which in my case is really a Kensington trackball. When the joystick is in this mode, it also controls the device, but it effectively acts like the arrow keys on the keyboard, so it is much clumsier.
Robotron presents a unique challenge. It uses two digital joysticks - one to move, one to fire. I set up the joystick for digital motion and I configure the hat switch for the firing direction. It's funky, but once you get used to it, it works pretty good.
For games with no analog controls, like Pac-Man or Swimmer, I set up the joystick to use digital controls. I find that Swimmer is infinitely easier to play with a joystick compared to the keyboard.
III. Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why not make MacMAME smart enough so that it automatically sets up the joystick based on the game's needs?
A: This leads to some tough judgement calls. Some people might prefer to play Star Wars or Warlords with their mouse, some might not. A better solution would be to try and save the preferences on a game-by-game basis, but I don't believe InputSprockets allows for this. You can however, save the settings in the InputSprocket dialog in the menu at the bottom for easy recall.
Q: Is there a way to calibrate my joystick?
A: No, most modern joysticks are self-calibrating and do not need alignment. However, the games themselves are not smart enough to know this. See the following question for details.
Q: In Star Wars, if I let go of the joystick during gameplay, the cross-hairs do not move back to the center. How do I fix this?
A: Most arcade games are self-calibrating. For the game to know what the true center is, you must move the joystick as far as possible in all four directions. Once you do this, the game will center itself properly. This holds true for most analog joystick games, like Star Wars, Food Fight or Return of the Jedi.
Q: I want to make my joystick buttons do all kinds of weird things. How do I do this?
A: While the game is running, hit TAB. This brings up a new menu, from which you should pick "Joystick Setup". You can then configure your extra buttons to insert coins, etc. These settings are saved on a game-by-game basis, unlike the InputSprocket settings. If your joystick has an ungodly number of buttons, go to town baby!
Q: Is there a way to change the default in-game settings like the coin buttons?
A: Yes, hit TAB during gameplay and choose "Default Keys" and you will be able to change the defaults for every game. Note however that if you go into an individual game and change a setting, it will override the defaults.
Q: Is there a way to make all this easier?
A: If you are a programmer, by all means download the source code and have a go at unifying it all. It would be much appreciated! I'm happy enough with the current setup that I'm not heavily motivated to make such a large-scale change, but I can also see that the existing implementation could be made more clear.
