08432: wow: Joystick not properly supported

ID	Category [?]	Severity [?]	Reproducibility	Date Submitted	Last Update
08432	DIP/Input	Minor	Always	Oct 14, 2022, 03:48	Oct 20, 2022, 14:53

Tester	btribble	View Status	Public	Platform	MAME (Official Binary)
Assigned To		Resolution	Open	OS	Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
Status [?]	Confirmed			Driver	midway/astrocde.cpp
Version	0.248	Fixed in Version		Build	64-bit
		Fixed in Git Commit		Github Pull Request #

Summary	08432: wow: Joystick not properly supported
Description	This is a strange issue to report, since it's an obscure feature of the game that most people don't even know about. Regardless, it's always kind of bugged me that the Wizard of Wor joystick isn't represented accurately in MAME. Wizard of Wor has a unique multi-leaf joystick. It allows for a "light press" in any direction to look (but not move) in that direction. Pressing the joystick further actually moves the character. There appears to be a backwards implementation of this using the "button 2" input - Please see "Steps To Reproduce" regarding Service Mode which demonstrates this. Whoever is fielding this may have a better idea, but a possible "fix" for MAME controls could be for up/down/left/right stay the same. Button 2, however, could be could be changed to something like "move character (full joystick press)", and have the MAME default key be "up OR down OR left OR right" to keep the game functionally playable with your average controller. Alternately, each of the actual 8 leaf switches in the joystick could have a separate MAME control input. Or, maybe there is a more elegant way to implement this, I dunno.
Steps To Reproduce	The service mode demonstrates what's going on. I believe a "light press" of the joystick determines the direction. The "full press" of the joystick, even though it can be one of four directions, seems to be a single on/off that determines that the character shall move. Currently if you go to the service mode in MAME, "MOVE" is constantly "YES", as if the one of the joystick's outer leaf switches (but not inner leaf switches) is activated. Pressing button 2 changes "MOVE" to "NO" meaning pressing button 2 essentially turns off the joystick outer leaf switches.
Additional Information	I am including images of the special joystick with the extra leaf switches. When the first two leaf switches connect, it's considered "light press" of the joystick. When the joystick is moved further and the third leaf switch also connects, it's considered a "full press" of the joystick (aka "MOVE"). Here also are some links to people talking about the controls. It's mentioned that the current MAME implementation actually causes some inappropriate behavior in that the machine always has the voices going off during attract mode "Hey! Insert coin!" - and why there is sound when the dipswitch is set to "only when controls are touched". https://forums.arcade-museum.com/threads/wizard-of-wor-joystick-movement.503892/ http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=62327.0
Github Commit

Flags
Regression Version
Affected Sets / Systems	wow

Attached Files	wizard of wor cocktail controls - bottom.jpg (41,712 bytes) Oct 14, 2022, 03:48 Uploaded by btribble From an ebay auction - bottom of cocktail controls

No.20645 Tafoid Administrator Oct 20, 2022, 14:53	I would be nice to see an actual machine service mode to be 100% sure of behavior, but your reasoning is sound.