could pause button be added to in game menu combo for use with pause button cont

[butfluffy]

i'm going to get both my master system pads modded with pause buttons along with 50/60hz internal mod.
 i'm not sure exactly how the pause button mod works and maybe some work has to be done inside the console itself to allow a pause button from controller to work but would it be possible to add the pause button to the in game button combo for people who have this mod.
 it would be nice to be able to have pause+A+B has in game menu combo for example. this would get around the triggering the in game menu by accident with games like double dragon which uses both buttons and the pad together a lot.

[nuu]

Probably not, the pause button isn't a readable input button like the buttons on the joypad are. It fires an interrupt (NMI) when pressed, which jumps the code execution to a part of the rom where the game has its pause-related code. It's also impossible to detect the holding or the release of the pause button because of this, only the initial triggering.

Is it the following mod you are planning to use?
https://www.smspower.org/Development/JoypadPauseButton
It seems to wire a pushbutton on the joypad to an impossible button combination (up+down or left+right) and by also adding a small circuit to the joystick port in the console so that it fires an NMI when that combination is made, it will act just like the pause button. So yes, both joypad and console must be modded with this method. You could also just add a separate wire for the pushbutton wired directly to the NMI line, but in that case you would also need to add a separate connector on the console for the pushbutton's wire.
On the bottom of the page they warns that heavily used joypads may allow you to push in opposite directions and accidentally trigger a pause that way.

[butfluffy]

that kinda looks like the mod with the small pasuse button added to the controller.
 i'm going to get my console 50/60hz modded with consolesunleashed, the guy did a great job installed switch mod for my psio and also the ps1 in game reset mod he installed is great so far.
 when visiting the site i noticed he is doing the sms controller pause mod and i thought i will have some of that. triggering the pause by accident sounds off putting though.
 another issue is that i use extension cables for my sms pads and maybe the extension lead between the pad and console would disrupt the mod?
 i know this has been requested a few times already but being able to map the in game menu to sms controller 2 seems like it would be the best solution for sms. it's just too easy to trigger the in game menu with some games with only 3 button combo.
 while playing double dgragon for example and you perform a jump kick where you press both buttons A + B and use the pad for direction it is way too easy to trigger in game menu.
 for me the best combo so far is A+B+down but with some games like double dragon it is easy to trigger the menu while in the heat of gameplay.

[nuu]

Accidental triggering would only happen if the joypad is so worn and soft that it can be bent to push two opposite directions at once. If you mod a joypad you will hopefully use one that is in good shape, and replace the directional cross if it's too worn out. On that SMS power site they have another solution: "Adding a small adhesive pad to the center back of the directional cross to raise the pivot point can often fix this issue."


I think any solution for in-game menus, save states and such, that involves using buttons on the controller that are useable by games, is a really dirty solution that's just asking for problems.

[butfluffy]

thanks for the info. i will get the pause button mod done for sure on both my pads.
 it's a shame that sega decided to place the pause button on the system itself. in the words of AVGN "What Were They Thinking" lol

[nuu]

Well it was quite common at that time. I think Atari 2600 also has a pause button among several other buttons on the console?
Speaking of which, the pause button on the SG-1000 and Mark III / Master System are actually the same thing as the reset button on the SC-3000. It triggers the same NMI and would have the same effect in games.

another issue is that i use extension cables for my sms pads and maybe the extension lead between the pad and console would disrupt the mod?

This question is best asked to the one doing the mod for you.

[butfluffy]

yeah i will ask him about the extension cables.
 you are right atari 2600 had pause on the console. that was a pain also, but back in the old days we were not spoiled with pause on pad buttons.
 showing my age now lol.