View Full Version : Genesis Ms. Pac-Man
chadtower
03-19-2004, 10:52 PM
Okay, I set up a Genesis 3 so my wife could play Ms. Pac-Man but this version seems dumb. I tried playing it and couldn't control Ms. Pac-Man well at all... and I'm usually really good at this game. I couldn't put my finger on what the problem was until I remembered that when using arcade controls and MAME you have to be sure you're using a 4way stick with the pacman games or else the diagonals send signals to the game that the game doesn't handle well and you lose control (though only for a half second or so but that's enough to die).
Now, the big question here... could Tengen really have not bothered to recode the controls so you could properly control Ms. Pac-Man with a regular (8way) Genesis pad? Could they really have been that lazy and put out an inferior port?
video_game_addict
03-19-2004, 11:30 PM
You have to make sure you're using a 3 button stick, the 6 button sticks will make it do funny things. There shouldn't be a problem with 4/8 way directionals. AFAIK there were no options on directionals with the Genesis. BUt I use to have it and had a similar problem when I had 6 button pads hooked up.
Ze_ro
03-20-2004, 12:54 AM
The port seems perfectly fine to me.
From a programming standpoint, there's really not a lot you can do to solve the "diagonals" problem. If you come to a junction, and you're holding up-right (whether on purpose or otherwise), and both up and right are valid directions, which one should the game choose?
--Zero
Holding down the 6-button pad's "mode" button before turning on the console's power may resolve any input issues that are hardware-related.
I don't recall if this is one of the affected games, though. I know Forgotten Worlds is.
davidbrit2
03-20-2004, 02:10 AM
From a programming standpoint, there's really not a lot you can do to solve the "diagonals" problem. If you come to a junction, and you're holding up-right (whether on purpose or otherwise), and both up and right are valid directions, which one should the game choose?
Nah, wouldn't be hard at all. Have the game ignore the direction the player is already traveling. If you're going right, and holding down+right, chances are your intentions are to veer downward at a turn. If you're trying to pull a 180º, well you'll just have to make sure you've got accurate thumbs, but that's nothing new. ;-) I've seen certain versions of Donkey Kong that handle it like this, and it makes ladder navigation so much nicer.
chadtower
03-20-2004, 12:02 PM
You have to make sure you're using a 3 button stick, the 6 button sticks will make it do funny things. There shouldn't be a problem with 4/8 way directionals. AFAIK there were no options on directionals with the Genesis. BUt I use to have it and had a similar problem when I had 6 button pads hooked up.
We have been using standard 3 button Genesis pads and are definitely having the problem. It's the exact same cornering control issue you get with mame when using an 8 way arcade stick. I don't think the type of pad has anything to do with it at all since the D pad would be functionally identical on either pad.
On another note, the TwinGalaxies record for this game is over a million... how the HELL do you do that with this controller conflict?
Bratwurst
03-20-2004, 12:38 PM
On another note, the TwinGalaxies record for this game is over a million... how the HELL do you do that with this controller conflict?
My guess? Somebody found a 4-way joystick with a 9-pin connector compatible with the Genesis. That, or:
How old is the 3 button gamepad? I've found the really early controllers with the slick, shiney buttons and red lettering SUCK. Just not as precise as the later ones with the textured D-pad. It's not always noticable but on some games it's more apparent that the directionals get mixed up sometimes.
Ze_ro
03-20-2004, 01:19 PM
Have the game ignore the direction the player is already traveling. If you're going right, and holding down+right, chances are your intentions are to veer downward at a turn.
That's not always the case though. If you have a bad gamepad, sometimes you'll intermittently be touching diagonals even when you don't mean to. My PC gamepad does this, and it was actually a fairly expensive one.
--Zero
davidbrit2
03-20-2004, 01:33 PM
Have the game ignore the direction the player is already traveling. If you're going right, and holding down+right, chances are your intentions are to veer downward at a turn.
That's not always the case though. If you have a bad gamepad, sometimes you'll intermittently be touching diagonals even when you don't mean to. My PC gamepad does this, and it was actually a fairly expensive one.
--Zero
Well, if you've got a shitty gamepad, then you need to work on that issue first. He he. Let me guess, yours was a Gravis? Their d-pads are the worst ever. It's like they sink into diagonals, and you have to balance the plastic cross on some kind of hump inside the thing to make it do just one direction. I don't know why people keep buying their stuff, because it's absolute junk.
Ze_ro
03-20-2004, 01:52 PM
I used to have a Gravis Gamepad Pro (the one that looks like a PSX controller), but it was completely unusable (As if that screw-in stick was ever any good), so I ended up buying a Logitech Wingman Rumblepad. It's actually a good controller, but the D-pad still does the same "fall into the diagonals" crap that I've seen in so many other PC gamepads. Why on earth can't these companies seem to do what console manufacturers have been doing since the NES?? It's a lot better than that Gravis garbage though.
--Zero
omnedon
03-20-2004, 06:05 PM
I've seen weirdness with the genesis 3, and games that require 3 button controllers. Weirdness that does not go away, if you use a 3 buttoner. I think it's something to do with the games that don't 'play nice' with the 6 button controller, and the input output chip in the Genny 3.
Try it with the same controller in a genny one or two. Then we shall know for sure... :)
chadtower
03-20-2004, 08:39 PM
I'll give it a shot, but I fail to see how the 3 button or 6 button controllers differ in any way when it comes to the 8way/4way D pad issue... who knows, maybe I'm wrong.
omnedon
03-20-2004, 10:18 PM
If I'm right it's a cart programming issue, and that the 6 button controllers broke compatibility with some early games, hence the 'mode' button. I think the Genny 3 may have cut some sort of corner in this department.
I remeber Genny 3 weirdness with Golden Axe, and Decap Attack.
I remeber Genny 3 weirdness with Golden Axe, and Decap Attack.
I have Golden Axe and a Genesis 3. I've never noticed anything weird with the controls.
Ed Oscuro
03-20-2004, 11:58 PM
I remeber Genny 3 weirdness with Golden Axe, and Decap Attack.
I have Golden Axe and a Genesis 3. I've never noticed anything weird with the controls.
That's cuz that game was programmed with diagonals in mind, Chief. This topic is about a game without diagonals -- Ms. Pac Man!
As an afterthought, I'm going to see about going off to play the original Pac-Man on my newly found Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures cart, and see if this problem shows up. Mmm, fun.
omnedon
03-21-2004, 12:18 AM
Maybe Golden Axe II? I'm not 100% sure...
Ed Oscuro
03-21-2004, 12:20 AM
Maybe Golden Axe II? I'm not 100% sure...
That one also has diagonals. (Why wouldn't it? It's a Golden Axe game, after all.)
chadtower
03-21-2004, 04:17 PM
Initial testing shows Omnedon may be right. It's hard to tell if I'm just used to the issue and work around it unconsciously now or if the control is sharper, but my wife seems to think it actually is sharper. I suspect further play will prove him right.
Good call, Omnedon.
Now, WHY DO I UNCOVER ALL OF THESE ISSUES? Last year I ran into the hopelessly obscure Genesis/Zenith incompatibility when setting up my basement setup... how do I manage to find all of the issues that a million users never find?
omnedon
03-21-2004, 04:23 PM
LOL
I find Genesis Ms. Pac man is wonky on the Nomad too, but holding the mode button down solves the trouble.
chadtower
03-21-2004, 09:19 PM
What exactly does the mode button do for this situation?
omnedon
03-21-2004, 10:51 PM
With the Nomad, it tricks the Ms Pacman cart into thinking the Nomad is a 3 button controller, while in relaity it has six.
I still find the Nomad D-pad a bit muddy for Ms Pac Man unfortunately.
I own the Genesis Ms. Pacman and played it both on a Genesis 3 button and a Nomad. I've also played the SNES version via emulation. Both seem to have awful control, though the problems I had with the SNES one may be due to the ROM more than anything.