MAMEWorld Forums - EmuChat - Re: Rolling Thunder, can't crouch and turn

> > Hi all,
> > I'm a gamer in his late 40s and i remember the golden age of arcades with much
> > fondness.
> > But I have a big problem that is annoying me so much!
> > Rolling Thunder was my favourite game but it is unplayable under all the mame
> > versions I've tried it on.
> > In the arcade when you crouch you can pull the stick left and right to switch
> > direction while still crouching
> > However this is not possible under emulation.
>
> MAME lists the game as having a 4-way joystick, so diagonals are not possible, that
> likely explains why you can't do it.
>
> It's possible the service manual for official cabinets suggests 4 way sticks (meaning
> you were never meant to be able to do it) or it's possibly an oversight in MAME.

actually no, even disabling the 4-way stuff in MAME, the game simply doesn't read directional changes in that case, infact it makes it worse.

your memory must be faulty, the manual claims it to be a 4-way game, and it really only responds as a 4-way game

the rip-off 'Rough Ranger' and the sequel (Rolling Thunder 2) respond to direction presses when crouched (with a standing frame in the middle for Rough Ranger) but the original does not, the game expects you to release down before hitting left.

actually, since I've just noticed you've made the terrible choice of using a Raspberry Pi, that might be your problem, as the versions on it are so old.

The joystick input isn't flagged as 4-way in old versions, so will send a diagonal input, which the game doesn't like, it requires you to release crouch for a single frame before hitting left/right, which on a stick which can't hit diagonals would happen naturally.

you *can* turn and fire while couched in the game, as long as you release crouch and keep firing (and don't hit any diagonals) which again fits with the design of it being a 4-way game, even if it's a really bad design.

but yeah, basically the entire game control scheme is programmed around the limits of a 4-way stick, which can't do diagonals and requires directions to be released before pressing other directions, that's how the game was, MAME can't change that.