Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

[dcubed]

I hope that support gets added into MiSTer main at some point. It's by far the best solution available for Paddle & Spinner arcade games that's currently available to buy.

[CAFC101]

Is this still being worked on? I'd happily help in any way I can.

[PikWik]

i agree, im not sure about the input lag, but this is the sleekest setup for roller/paddle games

would really like a proper way to play the games that could use this

[Wave]

Also rooting for this. I agree it'd be the best, most convenient way to play games that use these inputs.

[lamarax]

Hopefully, the time has come, courtesy of sonic-br!

No unstable build available on discord as of yet though to test

[lamarax]

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It's working with the new MiSTer binary!!! To test it in Arkanoid for example, set your pad control to Kbd/Joy/Mouse in the OSD, then edit your MiSTer.ini as follows:

Code: Select all

; use specific (VID/PID) mouse X movement as a spinner and paddle. Use VID=0xFFFF/PID=0xFFFF to use all mice as spinners.
spinner_vid=0x0ae4
spinner_pid=0x0701

; spinner_throttle with base value 100 gives one spinner step per one tick. Higher value makes spinner slower.
; Lower than 100 makes spinner faster. Negative value gives opposite direction.
spinner_throttle=100

; 0 - X axis, 1 - Y axis, 2 - wheel.
spinner_axis=2

Reboot and enjoy!

[edited to specify VID:PID of the particular controller]

[Edit] Hmm, I've found out that you can't use the trackball in parallel with the spinner enabled. So to play e.g. Centipede, you'll have to comment those .ini lines back out again to switch

Oh well

[wark91]

You could applied it just for Arkanoid like that on mister.ini
[arkanoid]
spinner_axis=2
spinner_vid=0x0ae4
spinner_pid=0x0701
spinner_throttle=100

Also could you please test it on the SMS core to see if Galactic Protector works with the spinner of Egret 2 mini ?
[SMS]
spinner_axis=2
spinner_vid=0x0ae4
spinner_pid=0x0701
spinner_throttle=100

[funkycochise]

it's fine for arkanoid (and centipede is still working with trackball)
SMS games doesn't seem to recognize spinner though

edit : after switching on paddle option, it's ok with sms

thank you wark91

[sonik]

It should also work as paddle on cores (mister can emulate a paddle from a spinner input).
Can you also try it on NES Arkanoid? Remember to set input as paddle (or VAUS in NES)
I can't try as I don't have a egret mini spinner.

[wark91]

I have a question regarding Arkanoid why we don't set option spinner but keeping Kbd/Joy/Mouse ?
What is the differences of those options ?
Thank you.

[FDA]

yeha it's working!
do you know how to set insert coin/start/fire buttons?

[funkycochise]

It should also work as paddle on cores (mister can emulate a paddle from a spinner input).
Can you also try it on NES Arkanoid? Remember to set input as paddle (or VAUS in NES)
I can't try as I don't have a egret mini spinner.

it's working with NES, I tested arkanoid. Selected Vaus in control menu.
same ini addition as listed above

Couldn't make it work with SNES or JT cores though

[Lightwave]

yeha it's working!
do you know how to set insert coin/start/fire buttons?

You need to map the buttons in the main mister menu core first, just assign the buttons and skip everything else (don't need to map the spinner).

After that, the buttons can be mapped and used in any other core.

[DenizB]

yeha it's working!
do you know how to set insert coin/start/fire buttons?

What worked for me:

• Add the core INI settings from above
• Set Key/Mouse/Wheel in the OSD menu
• Go to the "Define $Core input" MiSTer OSD menu item
• Push any button for the first ("right"?) direction
• Then skip all the other directions (left/up/down)
• Define coin, start, fast and fire using the other buttons

Then I was finally playing Arkanoid using the Egret Mini II spinner! <3
Thanks for all involved in getting it working.

[12characters]

A common mistake when initializing the controller setup in the menu, is using a different controller or the keyboard to define buttons. Once you go in the setup screen, just push one of the Taito mini buttons to let MiSTer know of the vid:pid id of the particular controller; then erase it and skip functions according with what's available.

• Push any button for the first ("right"?) direction

Does one need to keep one of the 5 buttons mapped to "Right" or could one erase the mapping as lamarax seems to suggest?

[Wave]

so glad this accessory is finally supported.

may i ask how good the experience is qualitatively? are the ball and spinner exactly as responsive in each game as you could hope? (i wonder if this being tied to mouse input behind the scenes affects anything for the worse.)

[Paul2018]

It should also work as paddle on cores (mister can emulate a paddle from a spinner input).
Can you also try it on NES Arkanoid? Remember to set input as paddle (or VAUS in NES)
I can't try as I don't have a egret mini spinner.

Thank you very much Sonik for your work.

I tried different games on the C64 core that use paddles (Don't break the balls, Puzzle Bobble, Arkanoid) and it works like a charm !

[dcubed]

Just tried it out with Arkanoid Arcade and... IT WORKS!

Had to include the code in the MiSTER Ini as mentioned in the thread and then define the buttons using the MiSTER main menu OSD before the core was able to recognise the buttons on the Egret 2 Spinner/Rollerball controller. Afterwards? Yup! It works exactly as you'd expect!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who made this work and implemented it in MiSTer Main. Finally! A way to use the best currently available Spinner/Rollerball controller on the market in an easy, painless way with all of the rollerball/spinner games supported on MiSTer!

[Edit] Hmm, I've found out that you can't use the trackball in parallel with the spinner enabled. So to play e.g. Centipede, you'll have to comment those .ini lines back out again to switch

Oh well

There is a way around this though. Switching out to one of your Mister Config Alt files also does the trick. Not a flawless solution, but one that's much more convenient than having to edit the Ini file every time you want to use the Egret 2 controller's Spinner.

so glad this accessory is finally supported.

may i ask how good the experience is qualitatively? are the ball and spinner exactly as responsive in each game as you could hope? (i wonder if this being tied to mouse input behind the scenes affects anything for the worse.)

It's super responsive, exactly what you'd hope for. It's actually much more responsive and less laggy than using it on the Egret 2 Mini cabinet in fact! (I have one myself).

[Lightwave]

There is a way around this though. Switching out to one of your Mister Config Alt files also does the trick. Not a flawless solution, but one that's much more convenient than having to edit the Ini file every time you want to use the Egret 2 controller's Spinner.

I find it's better to just add a section in the ini for the few games that use the spinner as wark91 suggests above; then the switch happens automatically without having to edit or switch to an alt ini.

[Lightwave]

The spinner works perfectly for Arkanoid, very responsive.

I recommend fine tuning the throttle level in mister.ini until it feels comfortable, you can adjust it per game/core by adding the appropriate section in the ini as mentioned above.

The only issue I have now with the controller is that the trackball is too slow; in Centipede for example even with the mouse throttle value at minimum (1) in the ini and the speed set to the max in the core (400%) it requires too much rolling to move.

[dcubed]

Hmm... Seems that none of the Jotego cores seem to be able to pick up the Egret 2 controller as a spinner currently... Puzzloop 2, Forgotten Worlds and Eco Fighters yield no joy sadly. Guessing that they're looking for a specific paddle controller rather than a mouse?

I find it's better to just add a section in the ini for the few games that use the spinner as wark91 suggests above; then the switch happens automatically without having to edit or switch to an alt ini.

Yeah, that seems to work just fine. Though it seems you need to highlight each individual Mame ROM version in order for the core to pick up the controller (Inserting the argument in the MiSTER ini for "Arkanoid" grants compatibility with the Arkanoid World version of the ROM, but not the Japanese version, which you have to specify "Arkanoidj" in order to get it to work with that individual version).

[funkycochise]

The spinner works perfectly for Arkanoid, very responsive.

I recommend fine tuning the throttle level in mister.ini until it feels comfortable, you can adjust it per game/core by adding the appropriate section in the ini as mentioned above.

The only issue I have now with the controller is that the trackball is too slow; in Centipede for example even with the mouse throttle value at minimum (1) in the ini and the speed set to the max in the core (400%) it requires too much rolling to move.

Hi, with the help of Jimmy Stones 400% mod on centipede core, I did a 800% version core:
https://github.com/funkycochise/Insert- ... ntipede.7z

with CPS1 and CPS2 cores of yesterday evening, it's working with these games. Tested OK puzzloop 2, forgotten worlds, eco fighter

[wark91]

For Puzzloop 2 we need to set paddle on the service mode to be able to use the paddle in game.

F2 to go the service mode (or service mode from the OSD)

1. Configuration
2. system
3. operation --> Paddle

To verify it, on the top right screen mode game menu before entering the game you will see a paddle in place of the joystick.

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[12characters]

Does one need to keep one of the 5 buttons mapped to "Right" or could one erase the mapping as lamarax seems to suggest?

After identifying the device by assigning Right, you press F12 instead of assigning Left. Then you get back to start and can undefine Right. Obviously

[flynnsbit]

Just tried it out with Arkanoid Arcade and... IT WORKS!

Had to include the code in the MiSTER Ini as mentioned in the thread and then define the buttons using the MiSTER main menu OSD before the core was able to recognise the buttons on the Egret 2 Spinner/Rollerball controller. Afterwards? Yup! It works exactly as you'd expect!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who made this work and implemented it in MiSTer Main. Finally! A way to use the best currently available Spinner/Rollerball controller on the market in an easy, painless way with all of the rollerball/spinner games supported on MiSTer!

[Edit] Hmm, I've found out that you can't use the trackball in parallel with the spinner enabled. So to play e.g. Centipede, you'll have to comment those .ini lines back out again to switch

Oh well

There is a way around this though. Switching out to one of your Mister Config Alt files also does the trick. Not a flawless solution, but one that's much more convenient than having to edit the Ini file every time you want to use the Egret 2 controller's Spinner.

so glad this accessory is finally supported.

may i ask how good the experience is qualitatively? are the ball and spinner exactly as responsive in each game as you could hope? (i wonder if this being tied to mouse input behind the scenes affects anything for the worse.)

It's super responsive, exactly what you'd hope for. It's actually much more responsive and less laggy than using it on the Egret 2 Mini cabinet in fact! (I have one myself).

I guess you could also create MGL files with custom names and in the names put (Trackball) and (Spinner). Then set those configs in mister.ini for each game setup you wanted. That would at least get you back down to a single mister.ini file right?

[12characters]

I wanted to use the rollerball as a mouse in the SNES core. The rollerball itself works out of the box if mouse input is enabled in the core menu. The issue is mapping the mouse buttons. I found a workaround by using the mouse emulation feature:

• In the main menu, go to define joystick buttons

  • Press one of the small buttons as Right in the DPAD test

  • When reaching Mouse Move Right, press again one of the small buttons

  • Skip the other mouse directions

  • Map Mouse Btn Left and Mouse Btn Right to the two big buttons

  • Map Mouse Emu and MENU to the two remaining small buttons

• In the SNES core, hold Mouse Emu and press MENU to enable mouse emulation

The buttons mapped as Mouse Btn Left and Mouse Btn Right will now work together with the rollerball. One just need to avoid pressing the button mapped to Mouse Move Right.

If anyone has a better solution, please share.

[Mr.Pacman]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but is there a possibility to use the Taito Egret spinner in combination with an arcade stick to play something like "Forgotten Worlds"?

The problem I have at the moment is that the arcade stick and the Taito spinner have a different Joystick ID, so the arcade stick is detected as player 1 and the Taito Egret spinner as player 2. I'd like to have them both detected as player 1 at the same time.

Thanks!

[wark91]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but is there a possibility to use the Taito Egret spinner in combination with an arcade stick to play something like "Forgotten Worlds"?

The problem I have at the moment is that the arcade stick and the Taito spinner have a different Joystick ID, so the arcade stick is detected as player 1 and the Taito Egret spinner as player 2. I'd like to have them both detected as player 1 at the same time.

Thanks!

For "Forgotten Worlds" and "Eco Fighter", Taito Egret spinner is not good because of the lack of a joystick and it is not possible to combine two controllers for player 1.

[Lightwave]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but is there a possibility to use the Taito Egret spinner in combination with an arcade stick to play something like "Forgotten Worlds"?

The problem I have at the moment is that the arcade stick and the Taito spinner have a different Joystick ID, so the arcade stick is detected as player 1 and the Taito Egret spinner as player 2. I'd like to have them both detected as player 1 at the same time.

Thanks!

For "Forgotten Worlds" and "Eco Fighter", Taito Egret spinner is not good because of the lack of a joystick and it is not possible to combine two controllers for player 1.

Actually it is possible to combine the spinner itself with another controller, as the MiSTer spinner code allows this (I'm using the Egret II mini spinner with a separate joystick in eco fighters for example).

What can't be combined are the buttons on the Egret II spinner, so you need to use the buttons on the main controller instead.

[wark91]

yeah sorry ...