Reply with the number of the image you want dumped. To see if it's aready been dumped please search the thread for the corresponding number in advance. Like this: _XXX_
Feel free to contribute with any infographic, recommendation list, beginner's guide of your own.
_001_ The text is a two parter for this one so make sure to get both - it's actually by me.
Get you a stable remap going! "What's the matter, boy? MAME forgot your buttons again? That sucks!" -"Tired of having to reconfigure your inputs all the time? You're about to lose it and ready to give up? Wait! There's yet hope."
Introducing: By default MAME instantly resets any button configuration that is being loaded or currently in use if the specified controller is not connected or drops connection while the program is still being executed. Scenarios like this include a wireless controller going into sleep mode, a weak battery giving out during gameplay or a cable pulled too early. But there's a solution: Write your own remap file using a stable controller ID and MAME's devicemap feature today - MAME won't forget your buttons ever again!
How to: 1. Connect your controller of choice. 2. Go to Control Panel > Device Manager > Human Interface Devices > HID Conform Game Controller > Your Controller > Properties > Details > pick Hardware IDs from the drop down menu and note it down. 3. Write a text document like pic related to permanently map your buttons to player 1 using your controller's hardware ID*** (see 2nd post). Save as a cfg-file and name it however your like. 4. Put the new cfg-file into a directory called 'ctrlr' inside your MAME program directory. Create it if it doesn't exist already. 5. Open mame.ini > Under section '# CORE SEARCH PATH OPTIONS' set 'ctrlrpath' to 'ctrlr'. Under section '# CORE INPUT OPTIONS' set 'ctrlr' to the name of your remap cfg-file. Leave out the file extension. 6. Delete 'default.cfg' in the 'cfg' directory of your MAME installation. Your remap is the new default now! This step might not be 100% necessary but it autogenerates a new one anyway if needed. 7. Done
Result: MAME won't ever forget your buttons again. Doesn't matter if your controller loses connection, goes into sleep mode, the battery dies or you pull the cable too early. It's Plug-and-Play now and will be recognized 100% reliably by its hardware ID.
Advice: If you are using an 8-button arcade stick the layout illustrated below is highly recommended as it is the most suited default across all machines, offergin you the NeoGeo 4-button top row and 6-button layout a la Street Fighter at the same time.
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Note that none of this prevents you from making further adjustments to input settings on a per game basis from inside the MAME GUI if necessary. Those have precedence over the default which we have redefined here.
***DISCLAIMER (see 1st post) Controller button names and enumeration as well as hardware ID will vary. Figuring them out is up to the user. It is recommended to create a machine specific remap including all buttons first and using that as reference.