Games like Oddworld and Heart of Darkness make quick access to savestates a matter of life or death.
- Heart of Darkness Deaths.jpg (567.8 KiB) Viewed 1781 times
Wireless RF 2.4Ghz numpads are awesome for that
- MACALLY RF NumPad.jpg (24.33 KiB) Viewed 1781 times
How to map the keypad
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In the main MiSTer menu, use the keyboard remap feature
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Have available a real keyboard as well as the numpad
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Press a key on the numpad to map
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Press the key to map it to on the real keyboard
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Repeat for more mappings
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When done with mappings, press <ENTER> on the real keyboard
Savestate mapping
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Map numpad numbers 1-4 to F1-F4 on the real keyboard
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Map another numpad key such as 0 to ALT on the full keyboard.
Can also map a key to F12 for quick access to OSD.
Savestate usage
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Create a new save state #3 : press 0 and 3 together
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Load save state #3: press 3.
I also mapped . (dot) to <SPACE> and hoped to use this along with the <ENTER> key in the OSD menus for controller definition in each core, but the numpad keys do not work in these menus, for some reason.
Numpads are considered a dead category - big names have mostly exited (Logitech), and what remains are mainly anonymous UPPERCASE brands.
Some numpad options
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MACALLY 2.4 Ghz RF wireless. Tested, works fine. Cheap build quality. Have seen some occasional lack of key response. RF dongle included, hidden in one of the corner compartments. Built-in rechargeable battery (microUSB), duration unknown. Pretty easily available (J. Bezos etc).
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Adesso WKB-6010UB. Tested, works fine. Pretty good build quality, tall keys. RF dongle included (no compartment to stow it on the keypad, don't lose it). Uses 1x AAA battery, included. No power switch to have to turn on/off. NUMLOCK key seems irrelevant when using with MiSTer - keys work the same regardless of how it's set. Available on J. Bezos etc.
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Targus AKP11US. Not tested but expected to work as it includes an RF dongle. Available on Targus, etc.
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Logitech N305 RF wireless. Not tested but expected to work as it includes an RF dongle. Discontinued & priced as a precious ancient relic on Ribay ($100 - $1000 USD
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Avoid bluetooth numpads since pairing is problematic or impossible. Pairing these on Windows/Mac often requires typing a code displayed by the computer on the numpad, and the MiSTer has no such mechanism. For ex. the Microsoft BT numpad (great build quality, great device, still available new) was recognized but failed to pair with an "auth" error during BT pairing. This MS numpad didn't even properly work on Mac, despite doing the pairing process - worked for a couple of keypresses then stopped.
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