Posted 15 May 2008 - 12:22 AM
roly_au: There are programs which can rip things like that - I have an ancient DOS program which does just that, called MultiRipper. It must be initiated in the command prompt, in full screen though as it has its own video mode, and gets cut off when windowed. Copy mk6.avl to the mrip directory, then run cmd, alt+enter, cd pathtomrip, mrip mk6.avl.
Bear in mind that some items in the AVL file aren't PC friendly (example: custom uncompressed images called PICT, but not the Mac format); the sound is however.
For anyone who is getting choppy gameplay and/or stuttery sound:
If it's enabled on your system, right click the shortcut and select 'Run in high priority' or similar. If not, bring up Task Manager, go to Processes and right click mainsys.exe - Set Priority - High. If it still stutters, close it, restart the game and rerun Task Manager in the same way, since they will both be loaded in RAM rather than hard disk.
Kill off the taskbar:
Right click the taskbar, go to Properties, remove the third checkbox (Keep taskbar on top...). Click on the game's screen output, press alt+enter to put it in its native 640x480 mode, press alt+tab once and start playing away using the keyboard controls. Do not use the space bar to spin; it is actually set to the 'max lines' button which is annoying if you usually play less than the maximum lines or reels. Get used to tapping the Y key (or I if it's enabled; it does work on all games but it must be set sometimes; 50 Lions requires it to be in 16 button (Xcite cabinet) mode).
If you have a Nintendo 64 pad lying around and a converter (e.g. you're a Project64'er), you could try this:
On the N64 pads, you have just enough buttons to do this, 14:
D-pad U/D/L/R
A, B
C buttons U/D/L/R
L, R
Start, Z
To get it to work with the Aristocrat emulators, download joy2key. The interface is simple and you should be able to map any button to any keyboard key.
This doesn't include the coin input though. You can disable the 'take win' button if you want or remap it in joy2key if needed. The game takes a win if you hit a bet button or play on anyway.
Remember to close j2k after, as running MAME or playing Vice City or something else with a controller can cause some hazards (like ghost button presses).
Control panel using old N64 controller PCB:
I went one step further and made a control panel from an old broken N64 pad I found in the hard rubbish (which was missing most of its shell (M shape handles) and had no analog stick), and hooked it up to the USB converter. I just used standard rounded arcade buttons as there's no other item which is identical to the square clear/lit buttons of the real ones. It's arranged in a simple 6x2 box with 2 buttons added to the right, like the real thing. The box it's in is actually from an old speaker and it fits perfectly. If you like woodgrain. It's about the same height and width as the front of a PC. I never thought of it before, but you could even put a small speaker in your button panel to simulate the speaker of the real thing. The internal PC speakers from old 486es are perfect for this, with the help of an amplifier. Or, just use some disused desktop speakers and throw them in. Once the volume is set (make sure it's loud enough when the thing is put together), you don't need to touch them again.
Gbl, Bet1, Bet2, Bet3, Bet4, Bet5
TW, Line1, Line2, Line3, Line4, Line5, Coin, Spin/Ft
The actual buttons were wired up randomly, it doesn't matter how you wire them to the PCB for these games, as long as you map them to fit properly.
I don't actually map the rules button, as it's not needed for gameplay. I created slightly different button mappings in joy2key so they all match, as the games are slightly different in layout (e.g. Indian Dreaming doesn't use a separate Start Feature button like the others). If you want, you can swap the coin with the feature button, but you will have to walk across to your PC to add credits. I cheated a bit by making the coin input button double for the feature button in j2k. If pressed fast enough, it doesn't insert coins but the feature still starts.