Do someone use trackballs?

thelostsoul

I am thinking of getting one of those trackballs for some games, which are designed for trackballs, like Arkanoid / Breakout on MAME. Also, this would be huge plus for every mouse driven game (or software in general) like Mario Paint and every system requiring a mouse. I am thinking about point and click adventures with ScummVM. I am reluctant to using a real mouse on Retropie. If I do, I'll get the "LOGITECH M570 wireless Trackball- EWR2" probably, as I expect a good quality product and its very cheap currently (€ 34,50 instead of € 89,99, Amazon Germany).

What do you think guys? Do someone use trackballs and did you have any problems with it? What games would you recommend to play with a trackball most? Is it also a mouse replacement for point and click adventures and what experience do you have? Just curious.

Edit: Also Quantum on MAME and maybe a replacement for gun shooter comes to my mind, because I will not get any gun. Too much devices. I wish, I had this device, such a big trackball:

edmaul69

@thelostsoul yes a trackball and a spinner is just a mouse so anything you can do with a mouse you can do with them. I use one for the golden tee games and world class bowling on mame2010. (better than they are on mame2003) I use it on atari 2600 too. I have a mouse on my pi too so i dont use it in dosbox/windows 3.11, macintosh, apple ii, commodore64, or nintendo ds.

caver01

@thelostsoul I have a trackball and two spinners installed in my arcade cabinet. It is the best way to play games that used them. Missile Command, Centipede, Milipede, Attax, Rampart, Crystal Castle, Marble Madness, etc. all work great once properly configured. I use m6 spinners for games like Tempest and Blasteroids. All good. And you are right, since these are essentially mouse devices they can be used to control the cursor for games that support that, including launching into the Pixel desktop.

thelostsoul

Thanks for the feedback guys.
Is it like plug and play or is any configuration expected? What about compatibility, can I just get this Logitech? And what about the feeling; should I get a big trackball specifically designed for arcade games or can I get such a "regular" mouse-trackball designed for Windows? I don't mean the driver, but in example because that Logitech trackball is used by one finger and there is no way using it with whole hand like on a big trackball.

And how would you rate such a device for playing mouse driven games? Does it work good or does it feel just wrong or have any problems? Like Counter Strike on PC would be so bad playing with a trackball, as mouse is perfect for aiming. As I expect a trackball to be not that precise and only useful for arcade games like say Breakout.

Sorry, I just ask too many questions. Retropie is so great. :-)

caver01

@thelostsoul First of all, READ THIS which will give you all of the configuration details for Retroarch (lr-mame2003) as well as AdvanceMAME.

In general, however, a trackball presents as a mouse device, so any emulator/application that supports mouse input generically will support your trackball, assuming the drivers allow it to work as such.

That said, the specific hardware choice comes down to personal preference. I have an arcade trackball (Ultimarc U-Trak) and I have to say that the experience is authentic, arcade-like 3-inch trackball style.

I also have arcade quality spinners (two TurboTwist 2 spinners). These are also authentic. I say this because I don't use my trackball for games that use spinners (or steering wheels)--I use my spinners. It will all depend on what you like or can live with. For example, you can load Quake 3 Arena into PORTS, but playing it without a keyboard and mouse kinda sucks, even with a trackball. I would not recommend playing FPS games without a mouse.

caver01

@thelostsoul I added the link above, forgot to add the first time.

thelostsoul

@caver01 Yeah, I thought you just forgot to link it. ;-) I think after all, there is no way out than trying it myself out. I am a bit under budget currently. And I already saw that page. However, thanks for the link. In the next weeks, I will get such a device and see how it will going and probably report here (or ask for help).

UDb23

@thelostsoul said in Do someone use trackballs?:

LOGITECH M570 wireless Trackball- EWR2

That model requires you to use your thumb to move the trackball; that's not the way you used to operate a trackball on an arcade machine. I would suggest a different model where the ball is bigger and centered.
I bought a quite affordable kensington trackball and it works great with retropie.
Only downside it has only two buttons; meaning for Missile command (3 launch sites = 3 buttons) you still have to use buttons on another pad or keyboard.

thelostsoul

@udb23 Oh damn, didn't thought about the buttons. Ok, good point. And about the kensington, I saw it too on Amazon, but I am not sure if I should get wireless or wired one. I tend to wireless, because my arcade stick and 2 gamepads are wired.