Mario Kart in Maximum Tune Cab

[winteriscoming]

I don't think I've ever read first-hand experience with this, but I can confirm definitively that Mario Kart Arcade GP 1-2 will work in a stock Maximum Tune cab with working force feedback.

There is a bank of 4 dip switches on the force feedback board and switch 4 needs to be changed to OFF for Mario Kart. All 4 are OFF for Mario Kart, then for Maximum Tune the first 3 are OFF and 4th is ON.

The analog controls all align perfectly. The item button ends up being on the shifter, but the cabinet's View Change button aligns with Mario Kart's Mode Change button and doubles as an item button. It even lights up when you get an item.

The cabinet's Mode Change button does not align with anything in Mario Kart.

The card reader from MT works with MK, too. I don't think cards are readily available, but you can get away with using MT cards, it's just that the printed images/text will likely not align with what's on the card.

Anyway, MK is 100% playable in this cab without any wiring changes. The only thing you lose is the camera.

Maximum Tune ends up going for a lot less than Mario Kart. Maximum Tune is a fantastic game, too, with a 6-position shifter, so I highly recommend this cab as it ends up being more versatile than Mario Kart. Maximum Tune played in a Mario Kart cab would be an inferior experience with the lack of a shifter.

I'm going to work on a wiring adapter so that I can use my custom I/O in place of the Namco one. I'm also working on a force feedback translator and will make it so that other games like Outrun 2 can work in this cab with FFB.

 

[RealMFnG]

I have a MT2 cab with MT3 in it. Will it work in that cab as well?

 

[Darksoft]

@winteriscoming very useful post. Thanks a lot for info and your contribution.

 

[winteriscoming]

I have a MT2 cab with MT3 in it. Will it work in that cab as well?

I expect it would work just the same. Wiring diagrams between MT1 and 2 look identical, and it's all the same hardware. MT3 seems mostly drop-in compatible, but not sure what all comes along with it in terms of any wiring changes, I/O, and power supply. You'd need a JVS power supply and I/O for MK.

 

[freddiefiasco]

I have a MT2 cab with MT3 in it. Will it work in that cab as well?

I expect it would work just the same. Wiring diagrams between MT1 and 2 look identical, and it's all the same hardware. MT3 seems mostly drop-in compatible, but not sure what all comes along with it in terms of any wiring changes, I/O, and power supply. You'd need a JVS power supply and I/O for MK.

As @winteriscoming mentioned, all wiring is identical between MT1/2 and MKGP1/2. The shifter triggers the item in MKGP1/2. DIPSW 4 is the only difference when running either game on the same hardware.

The card reader for MT3/3D3DX+ is completely different from the MT1/2 Card Reader. The MT3/3D3DX+ card reader has an additional set of DIP settings on it.



The MT1/2 Card Reader will work with MKGP1/2.

Middle: MT3/3D3DX+ Card Reader
Right: MT1/2 Card Reader (works with MKGP1/2)


There are 3 sets of DIP Switches on the MT1/2 Card Reader that need to be set to work with MKGP1/2.


I can't find the post I made a while back that has the MK2GP switches documented. If anyone needs the settings I will try to post them.


Maximum Tune 3 card reader

 

[winteriscoming]

The card reader I have works in both MT 1-2 and MK 1-2 with no changes. Admittedly I only tested MK through a couple races, but it wrote data to a card without issue. I used a DOC card, which lacks the ability for the thermal printing to be erased, so the face ends up being a mess. MT and MK both utilize cards where the face can be erased and printed info rewritten.

 

[freddiefiasco]

Converting from MT3DX+ to MKGP, I wonder where is the camera placement on the cab?