bikeguychicago Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 With the talk of the recent 8-bit Missile Command 3-button mod, was there a reason why there wasn't a 3-button mode in the original 5200 cart for use with the trackball (or why one doesn't exist presently)? It would seem like a no-brainer that such an implementation could use the 1/2/3 keys on the keypad for controlling the bases vs. using the stock buttons. Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aking Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 you can use the buttons to fire automatically or the keypad ! mc+.bin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Let's be clear… the talk about the in-house Atari Inc 3-Base Missile Command for the 8-bit computers was for Atari employees and the custom Trak-Ball controllers they made for it. Like the arcade version, those custom controllers had 3 fire buttons. None of Atari's consumer Trak-Balls [the CX-22, the CX-80, and the CX-53] feature 3 fire buttons. One might think it would've been easy for Atari to have done 3 fire buttons on the CX-53 but Dan Kramer had enough trouble getting them to make it standard for use with left and right handed players, not to mention making sure all of the buttons didn't use the same hardware as the 5200 joysticks so they'd be reliable. I don't have any official info but I know Dan Kramer desires to have 3-Base Missile Command released. There's only 1 copy still in existence and it'll most likely have to be modded for A8 for those who don't want to customize their Trak-Balls to have additional fire buttons. From there, it would have to be transported over to the 5200 so it could be enjoyed with his favorite CX-53 controller. Let's not forget there's also Missile Command+ over on A8 that to my knowledge hasn't been ported to the 5200 yet. It would have to remap the J,K, and L keys to either the keypad or an extra fire button…or hell, to a Jaguar JagPad for those few people with adapters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aking Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 (edited) Let's be clear… the talk about the in-house Atari Inc 3-Base Missile Command for the 8-bit computers was for Atari employees and the custom Trak-Ball controllers they made for it. Like the arcade version, those custom controllers had 3 fire buttons. None of Atari's consumer Trak-Balls [the CX-22, the CX-80, and the CX-53] feature 3 fire buttons. One might think it would've been easy for Atari to have done 3 fire buttons on the CX-53 but Dan Kramer had enough trouble getting them to make it standard for use with left and right handed players, not to mention making sure all of the buttons didn't use the same hardware as the 5200 joysticks so they'd be reliable. I don't have any official info but I know Dan Kramer desires to have 3-Base Missile Command released. There's only 1 copy still in existence and it'll most likely have to be modded for A8 for those who don't want to customize their Trak-Balls to have additional fire buttons. From there, it would have to be transported over to the 5200 so it could be enjoyed with his favorite CX-53 controller. Let's not forget there's also Missile Command+ over on A8 that to my knowledge hasn't been ported to the 5200 yet. It would have to remap the J,K, and L keys to either the keypad or an extra fire button…or hell, to a Jaguar JagPad for those few people with adapters. Missile Command+ A8 with keypad support ported to 5200 attached in this post Edited July 6, 2015 by Aking 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Missile Command+ A8 with keypad support ported to 5200 attached in this post That was fast. Now if I only had an AtariMax SD Cart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Mo Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I always thought someone should have tried two make it so the left button fires from the left base, the right from the right, and BOTH from the center. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aking Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I always thought someone should have tried two make it so the left button fires from the left base, the right from the right, and BOTH from the center. buttons for automatic fire, 1 2 3 on keypad for each base 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Mo Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Yes, but those are a little harder to reliably press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82atari5200 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Electrically there's only one top button and one bottom button. It's absolutely impossible to tell whether it's left or right. I always thought someone should have tried two make it so the left button fires from the left base, the right from the right, and BOTH from the center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Mo Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Electrically there's only one top button and one bottom button. It's absolutely impossible to tell whether it's left or right. On the trakball the fire buttons are side by side. That's what I was referring to, not the left and right button banks on either side of the ball. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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