Astrocade MESS Emulation Keyboard Mapping FAQ Version 1.2 - Last updated - February 12, 2002 This FAQ was created and is maintained by Adam Trionfo Important Note: This version of the FAQ is for use with MESS 0.37b13 (the latest beta). This FAQ is not usable with earlier versions of the MESS emulator because the keyboard mapping is different. Version 1.21 - February 18, 2011 (still valid for the latest MESS keymaps) - Small updates made by Richard Degler - The "Keypad (with overlay):" box was fragged since it was 80 characters wide. - Six instances of "represent" were used in two paragraphs, so I changed the two of them that needed it. - Changed 'down-arrow' from 'V' (already in use) to 'V' Table of Contents: I. - Introduction II. - An Actual Astrocade Keypad III. - MESS Keyboard Mapping IV. - BASIC Overlay V. - Keyboard Mapping Ideas for the Next MESS upgrade VI. - Thanks VII. - Disclaimer I. - Introduction On the front of the Bally Astrocade console is a 24-key calculator-style keypad for use with the built in games, cartridges, and most importantly, BASIC. Emulation of this keypad works correctly with the MESS Bally Astrocade emulator, but it isn't easy to use, and must be figured out through trial and error (since MESS comes with no Astrocade documentation). This FAQ presumes that you have a Windows machine and are using the most current beta of MESS (0.37b13). Though aimed at other Windows users, this FAQ will no doubt be of use to other MESS users on different platforms (and even a real Astrocade user without an overlay). II. - An Actual Astrocade Keypad The thirty keys on an Astrocade Keypad (without overlay) looks like this: C UP Down % MR MS CH / Note: Up = UP-ARROW 7 8 9 x DOWN = DOWN-ARROW 4 5 6 - 1 2 3 + CE 0 . = III. - MESS Keyboard Mapping The keypad equivalents on the MESS emulator is: C PGUP PGDN O R S H / 7 8 9 * 4 5 6 - 1 2 3 + E ZERO . ENTER Note that *, -, + and ENTER are used on the numeric key-pad (the regular keyboard keys will not work in this situation.) For clarity (while using BASIC): pressing ENTER will print an "=" to the screen. IV. - BASIC Overlay The BASIC overlay used with all versions of the BASIC cartridges are much more complicated. Twenty of the keypad keys can generate up to five different keys (through the use of four keys). This is a text format representation (the underscore means the shifted-key does nothing). +------------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+ | GO,_,_,_,+10 | PAUSE,_,/,\,_ | HALT,_,_,_,RUN | DIVIDE,_,[,],LIST | +------------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+ | 7,A,B,C,FOR | 8,D,E,F,TO | 9,G,H,I,STEP | x,J,K,L,NEXT | +------------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+ | 4,M,N,O,GOSB | 5,P,Q,R,RETN | 6,S,T,U,RND | -,V,W,X,IF | +------------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+ | 1,Y,Z,!,CLEAR | 2,<-,',->,LINE | 3,^,.,v,BOX | +,&,@,*,GOTO | +------------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+ | SPACE,$,",",?,_ | 0,<,",>,INPUT | ERASE,(,;,),_ | =,#,%,:,PRINT | +------------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+ | | | | | +------------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+ Important Notes on the BASIC overlay: The first character or word in the above table is what appears on-screen (or occurs) when the keypad is pressed with NO shift key. The shift keys, in order of appearance (Green, Red, Blue, Word), will produce the second, third, fourth or fifth character or word in the above text representation. For instance: RED-SHIFT + 1 is a comma (notice only the comma is quoted above). Also, since there is no ASCII equivalent of an UP-ARROW or DOWN-ARROW I use a "^" and "v" characters to represent them. The LEFT-ARROW and RIGHT_ARROW are represented with the "<-" and "->". V. Keyboard Mapping ideas for Next MESS upgrade After using this method, I have a better idea that will put all of the Astrocade keypad in a logical order on a sideways PC keyboard. If the the keys are mapped like this: Z A Q 1 X S W 2 C D E 3 V F R 4 B G T 5 N H Y 6 When you look at this setup sideways, it is the exact same layout as the Astrocade's 4x6 keypad. One might even go so far as buying a keyboard- switchbox that has the keypad identification keys pasted on each key of a second keyboard. If this order doesn't interfere with MESS keys, then it is a good choice for keyboard mapping in the next version of MESS. VI. - Thanks Thank you to Frank Palazzolo for working on the MESS version of the Astrocade emulator, and fixing the keyboard mapping and screen concerns that were brought up on the Astrocade Message board. VII. Disclaimer I have gained knowledge of the MESS emulator's use of keyboard mapping through trial and error. The information in this FAQ is meant to be of help to others using the Astrocade emulator. It is accurate to the best of my knowledge.