Tron Deadly Discs - Combined Controllers

[Oscar G.]

I checked the prices for multiconductor wire and Option A is off the table, unless people are happy with 15 conductor cable and one extra conductor heat shrunk to the outside of the 15 conductor cable.

 

Oscar I think you have the current controller, is the keypad in a good spot for the Tron game?

 

 

edit:

Newark p/n 99K0897 850006 25M might work

I will try to check it out over the weekend.

 

Thanks for looking into this!

[Oscar G.]

Hello grips et al,

 

I have not been able to check the keypad out this weekend due to unexpected family visits.

 

I will try to check it out next weekend as I have plenty of work commitments this week.

 

Cheers,

 

O

[Oscar G.]

Hello guys,

Sorry for the delay in posting back. Last weekend, I tried to play the games that may benefit from a “Super Controller” configuration as described above. These games are: Tron Deadly Discs, Nightstalker and ADD Cloudy Mountain. I played these games using the excellent INTV 2 Arcade Controller by Grips. Below, I will write my views on each game. By no means these impressions are definitive as with anything new, time for adaptation to a new controller configuration is required.

General Impressions (using Grips Arcade controller alone)

Tron Deadly Discs. Tron DD is the first game that springs to mind when thinking about the Super Controller. The “glitch” that permits to move and shoot at the same time by playing simultaneously with controller 1 and 2 has been recorded in numerous interviews with the early mattel programmers (I think I first read about this on Keith’s website). As it stands now, Grips' controller plays like a single controller so it is impossible to move and shoot simultaneously using the controller alone. Nevertheless, playing with Grips controller is a real pleasure. The controller rests comfortably on my lap. The keypad is easily reachable and the mapping of the shooting buttons is easier as Grips' keypad is bumpy and easy to recognise with tact. One inconvenience though is the lack of 16 directional movement (Grips arcade controller only allows for movement in 8 directions) as Tron DD is one of the games might be one of the games that benefits from the 16 direction precision (e.g. when aligning the character with the eye of the mechanical monster during the boss fight).

My impressions on Night Stalker and ADD are very similar as Grips Arcade joystick suits perfectly the gameplay of these two classics. The controls are responsive, in these case there is no loss of freedom of movement as the games are 4 and 8 direction movement only. The keypad works well as the shooting buttons are easily recognisable with tactile memory (after a small period of adaptation). The running option of ADD works very well as the fire buttons of Grips controller are big and extremely responsive. I even managed to push the running button use my left hand (joystick hand) while simultaneously handling the joystick.

Super Controller Impressions (using Grips Arcade controller AND a normal controller)

This is the really interesting thing: I tried these games using Grips Arcade Controller AND a second INTV controller installed in port 2 (I used a Sears Controller as I prefer the Bumpy Keypad for tactile memory). I am extremely surprised and pleased with the experience as it was quite easy to play with the two controllers simultaneously. Grips controller was resting on my lap and with my right hand I used the keypad of controller 2 to shoot while moving. For me this is way more comfortable than trying to hold two normal controllers (having one normal controller on each hand ends up being a balancing act). This is where Grips arcade controller shines as the base of the controller holds the controller and not the hand. In fact, Night Stalker and TronDD really benefit from a two controller configuration: using Grips controller for movement and a normal controller on the right hand for firing.

I am very happy to discover this form of play. Thanks Grips!

[doctorclu]

Thanks Oscar G for confirming all that. Basically the controller we are looking for in the TRON Deadly Disc and Night Stalker scenario will need to be a controller that is both controllers playing at the same time. One controller operating the disc, the other operating the number pad.

 

If you have them on a single controller they will conflict. And on a nice arcade quality stick they will still conflict, but they will conflict with elegance.

[+nurmix]

Just bumping this old thread to point out that I've made this idea work using Flashback controllers. For those of you who haven't seen the thread yet, you'll find it here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/241707-intellivision-dual-action-controller/

 

There's a full breakdown of what I did to make it work (with lot's of pictures).

 

And here's one picture of the completed controller...

 

 

 

[doctorclu]

That looks beautiful. I mean just going with the brown and gold verses the white is a step above right there.

[doctorclu]

A review of the dual action controllers, again good to see the proof of concept started in this thread in play.