Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Discussion of keyboards, gamepads, joysticks and other input related peripherals.
holaplaneta
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by holaplaneta »

funkycochise wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 4:52 am

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

Thank you so much for this. I am really enjoying this neat spinner/trackball controller but as others mentioned, Centipede is too slow. I downloaded this fixed core "Arcade-Centipede.rbf" and the .mras and placed them in their correct folders. However, even after running Updating All, I must confess that I can't find this version of the game on my OSD.

I know, it is a very simple and beginner-like question. I looked online and could not find an answer.
What else do I need to do for the MiSTer to list this patched core?

Thank you for your guidance.

AmintaMister
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by AmintaMister »

Hi there, my Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller just arrived today. What about the wonderful Crystal Castles? Even at 200% is a bit slow to play with trackball, it would be possible to change globally the value or to make a special Crystal Castles .rbf?

And what about Breakout and Missile Command?

Thanks in advance,

Davide

jaffa225man
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by jaffa225man »

holaplaneta wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 10:43 am
funkycochise wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 4:52 am

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

Thank you so much for this. I am really enjoying this neat spinner/trackball controller but as others mentioned, Centipede is too slow. I downloaded this fixed core "Arcade-Centipede.rbf" and the .mras and placed them in their correct folders. However, even after running Updating All, I must confess that I can't find this version of the game on my OSD.

I know, it is a very simple and beginner-like question. I looked online and could not find an answer.
What else do I need to do for the MiSTer to list this patched core?

Thank you for your guidance.

I was having the same problem, until I looked in the _Arcade\cores\ directory and saw the Arcade-Centipede.rbf that I'd copied from the modified version didn't match the other files for the naming. After renaming my original Centipede_$DATE.rbf to Centipede_$DATE.rbf.bak (replace "$DATE" with yours) and renaming the modified Arcade-Centipede.rbf to the old file's original name (before the ".bak" was added) it works! Then I was able to skip right from 400% to 800% in the OSD for the Centipede cores by moving to that setting and pressing the "Ok" button setup on any controller.

I didn't try running "Update All", thinking that it could replace the modified version with the latest official/unmodified version.

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froggy
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by froggy »

I got the Taito Egret II Mini standalone arcade stick while it became somewhat reasonably priced. It's the closest in design to what I'd consider my ideal arcade stick, hardware wise. I am really into the switchable square gate / + gate.

Found this thread while searching for info on it. I may resolder all the hardware with a universal brooks board-- I had no idea it works with absolutely no device other than the egret II mini.

I imagine there's a likelihood that drivers for windows, mister support, and brook adapter support could be added for the stick as well as the rotary/trackball controller, but it could take quite some time-- the install base is still growing.

Even if it's functionally a potato until I swap in a universal board, it's got great arcade hardware inside a beautiful chassis, and I don't see the price going any way but up, so it's worth holding on to for modding.

Does anyone here have the Taito EGRET Ⅱ Mini - Control Panel as well? Any experience using it for anything besides the Mini console itself?

[this is my first post on the forum, hello! I've been around the block, just haven't had the need to discuss on this specific forum yet hehe. Mostly when it comes to mister I am discussing it elsewhere, on IC forums, and smokemonster's discord which no longer exists.] :P

PikWik
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by PikWik »

froggy wrote: Sun Oct 08, 2023 6:21 pm

I got the Taito Egret II Mini standalone arcade stick while it became somewhat reasonably priced. It's the closest in design to what I'd consider my ideal arcade stick, hardware wise. I am really into the switchable square gate / + gate.

Found this thread while searching for info on it. I may resolder all the hardware with a universal brooks board-- I had no idea it works with absolutely no device other than the egret II mini.

I imagine there's a likelihood that drivers for windows, mister support, and brook adapter support could be added for the stick as well as the rotary/trackball controller, but it could take quite some time-- the install base is still growing.

Even if it's functionally a potato until I swap in a universal board, it's got great arcade hardware inside a beautiful chassis, and I don't see the price going any way but up, so it's worth holding on to for modding.

Does anyone here have the Taito EGRET Ⅱ Mini - Control Panel as well? Any experience using it for anything besides the Mini console itself?

[this is my first post on the forum, hello! I've been around the block, just haven't had the need to discuss on this specific forum yet hehe. Mostly when it comes to mister I am discussing it elsewhere, on IC forums, and smokemonster's discord which no longer exists.] :P

hey there!

if you were thinking about swapping the internals with a UFB, id also consider swapping it with a much cheaper option of a daemonbite or a GP2040. both are ~$5 and will cover so much for the exact same input latency as the UFB (i have a couple UFBs and a couple daemonbite adapters)

https://github.com/MickGyver/DaemonBite-Arcade-Encoder
https://github.com/OpenStickCommunity/GP2040-CE

Lightwave
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by Lightwave »

froggy wrote: Sun Oct 08, 2023 6:21 pm

I got the Taito Egret II Mini standalone arcade stick-- I had no idea it works with absolutely no device other than the egret II mini.

This isn’t true, the stick works just fine with MiSTer; there are several people in the MiSTer discord using it.

Make sure you map it in the MiSTer main menu before using it with any of the cores.

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froggy
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by froggy »

Apparently the arcade stick works on PC as well, but it doesn't seem to work straight out of the box for me, and I'm not sure what else needs to be done for it to work.

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KnuckleheadFlow
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by KnuckleheadFlow »

That’s weird, the egret II stick worked right away for me too, just have to map it like all other controllers. Pretty sure PC too but it’s been more than a year since I tried.

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offset
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by offset »

thought about the Egret II trackball and spinner for the holidays, but not sure if it works with mister or not. Can anyone confirm its functionality with mister (or mame). Thanks!

Lightwave
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by Lightwave »

offset wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2023 5:53 pm

thought about the Egret II trackball and spinner for the holidays, but not sure if it works with mister or not. Can anyone confirm its functionality with mister (or mame). Thanks!

I can confirm the controller works with MiSTer (after a settings change in mister.ini).

One thing to note is that the track ball is slow by default, though there are settings for certain cores that can mitigate this to a degree. The spinner works fine and its sensitivity is easily tweakable.

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offset
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by offset »

Lightwave wrote: Wed Nov 08, 2023 12:10 am
offset wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2023 5:53 pm

thought about the Egret II trackball and spinner for the holidays, but not sure if it works with mister or not. Can anyone confirm its functionality with mister (or mame). Thanks!

I can confirm the controller works with MiSTer (after a settings change in mister.ini).

One thing to note is that the track ball is slow by default, though there are settings for certain cores that can mitigate this to a degree. The spinner works fine and its sensitivity is easily tweakable.

Thanks for the info.

I have a full size Centipede arcade (and hoping Millipede will make it to Mister one day). Using my x-arcade tankstick with my mister and centipede trackball at 400% it seems pretty close. Not sure how the egret trackball speed will feel, just looking for a smaller trackball for my desk setup with Mister.

Lightwave
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by Lightwave »

offset wrote: Wed Nov 08, 2023 3:55 am

centipede trackball at 400% it seems pretty close.

There is an unofficial Centipede core build with an 800% option, which is pretty much required (along with mousethrottle=0) to get Centipede playable with this controller.

I'm hoping that mouse acceleration (negative throttle) gets added to MiSTer at some point, which would resolve the issue.

The spinner does work well for Arkanoid, which is my primary use for the controller. (Puzz Loop 2 is great as well)

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Bristles
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by Bristles »

We need mouse support for the Tron games, as it is at the moment only working with actual spinners, not spinners seen as mice. I have a lot of affection for the Tron games, and it saddens me that it gets no love.
Also, can mousethrottle be set top 0 ? I thought it had to be from 1 - 100 ?

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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by Lightwave »

Bristles wrote: Wed Nov 08, 2023 6:44 pm

Also, can mousethrottle be set top 0 ? I thought it had to be from 1 - 100 ?

I was going from memory but you are correct, 1 is actually the minimum value (according to mister.ini)

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Newsdee
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by Newsdee »

offset wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2023 5:53 pm

Can anyone confirm its functionality with mister (or mame). Thanks!

Yes it works after a few tweaks.

The controller is recognized by default by MiSTer only with the trackball.
You will need to change some INI settings to get the spinner to work as well.

So far I tried it successfully with:

  • Apple II core (set "Paddle as Analog" to "X")

  • NES core (set controller type to "Vaus")

  • arkanoid core (set "Pad Control" to Spinner)

The spinner is activated by editing the INI.
I've done it per core, but you could it centrally:

[arkanoid]
spinner_axis=2
spinner_vid=0x0ae4
spinner_pid=0x0701
spinner_throttle=100

[NES]
spinner_axis=2
spinner_vid=0x0ae4
spinner_pid=0x0701
spinner_throttle=100

[Apple-II]
spinner_axis=2
spinner_vid=0x0ae4
spinner_pid=0x0701
spinner_throttle=100

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offset
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by offset »

Thanks for the information, got this today and have been playing arkanoid with the spinner :)

Going to download the 800% centipede rbf and see how I like it. 400% on this smaller trackball does seem a tad slower than it should be. The trackball is definitely smaller and lighter than my x-arcade game trackball. Took me a bit to get used to not being able to use the trackball weight for momentum. This trackball basically stops spinning as soon as your hand leaves the trackball due to being much lighter.

I figured out that for each Config I need to add the extra per game ini settings listed earlier. Forgot to populate the .ini settings to each of my profiles that I'll be using (ie. television, ipad screen, pc monitor).

Curious if there is a way to include the .ini settings in the mra file so that it works independent of screen output.

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offset
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by offset »

The 800% Centipede rbf works great with this controller. Where is the github link to the modified Centipede? Has anyone requested a PR to get it merged with the mainline Centipede core?

jaffa225man
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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by jaffa225man »

offset wrote: Fri Nov 24, 2023 5:42 am

The 800% Centipede rbf works great with this controller. Where is the github link to the modified Centipede? Has anyone requested a PR to get it merged with the mainline Centipede core?

I relinked to it before, although it's funkycochise's work: https://github.com/funkycochise/Insert- ... ntipede.7z

You can find the original post here: viewtopic.php?p=69652#p69652

I don't know if there was an effort to get it merged.

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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by ptiphl »

funkycochise wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 4:52 am

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

@funkycochise, Any hints on how you managed this mod? The 800% Centipede works great with the GRS Trackball. Missile Command and Crystal Castles need the same treatment.

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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by Stinky »

It would be better to have a global accelerator setting, like mouse_throttle but the other way.

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Re: Taito Egret II Mini Rollerball/Spinner Controller

Unread post by Krathoon »

Yeah. I am going to have to get this controller. Can't pass up the dragon game.

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