question about multitap, USB converters and more

[genericuser]

I had this idea to set up my laptop (which lacks a parallel port) using USB converters hooked to SNES controllers. One of my favorite games is Super Bomberman, so I wanted to be able to hook up the multitap. However, most of the product descriptions of the USB adapters I've seen say that they doesn't work with the multitap. So I have a few questions.

Does anyone know of a SNES-USB adapter that does work with the multitap?

Is there any way to play multitap games using the emulator without actually having a multitap (in other words, does the emulator have any kind of software multitap)?

Is there some other way for me to play Super Bomberman with four players on a machine that only has USB ports?

Thanks!

[odditude]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The following special input devices are emulated:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- MultiTap (5-player support)
- Super NES Mouse (missing some features, such as speed settings)
- Super NES Super Scope
- Konami Lethal Enforcer Gun
- Automatic configuration via NSRT headers
(See APIs and Utilities section [Readme.txt])

In the future, please read the docs first - you might find the answer to your questions more quickly (and be less likely to get flamed).

[StevenRoy]

In other words, yes, the multitap is emulated. As long as your PC and ZSNES have enough input devices configured (keyboard, joystick, joystick etc.), you can run games using the emulated multitap.

Is there some other way for me to play Super Bomberman with four players on a machine that only has USB ports?

If your laptop doesn't have enough USB ports, you can simply connect a USB hub (like one of these) to add more ports. Then, if you have enough USB joysticks (or SNES joysticks with USB adapters), you just need to plug them all in and configure them.

Theoretically, it's even possible (although I'm sure it's painful) to have four players using a keyboard simultaneously. The hardware limitations of most keyboards (and most hands) will make this extremely problematic, of course.

Hmm... For a USB adapter to support multitap, I think it'd have to pretend to be either multiple joysticks, or a huge joystick with four times as many buttons and directions. Both methods should (in theory) be possible, but I'm not sure anyone's ever tried it.

[bungiefan]

Why not just get a 4-port USB controller adapter...? My Super Joybox 5 Pro has 4 PS2 controller ports, so you can map each controller to one in the emulator. I actually bought four of them when I ordered them (since several friends wanted them), and Windows could recognize all 16 controllers at once if all were attached.