Interest check.... 3D printed add ons for Intellivision controller....

[scotty]

Title says it all....

 

Would you change anything?

 

Comments?? Suggestions???

 

 

[HunterZero]

The cross configuration one wouldn't work since the disk can spin in the housing. The whole disk itself would need to be printed and the housing modified with a keyed 'up'.

[+KylJoy]

Am I the only person in the galaxy that likes the discs as designed?

 

Not to knock what you are doing here. Might be great for disc-hater-type-people-persons.

 

Love your avatar. AMIGA!!!

[+save2600]

Don't screw with perfection. "Perfection"...

 

Seriously, the disc pad is damned good for what it is. And the games have been written with it in mind.

[Rev]

For nostalgic reasons....how about a joystick style one that is a 'running man'? :-)

[+DZ-Jay]

Am I the only person in the galaxy that likes the discs as designed?

 

 

No. I think the disc is very effective. The problem with most old Intellivision games is not the disc, it's that it's scanned 3 times a second (at 20Hz), which makes it a bit sluggish. Oh, and the stupid action buttons!

 

I love the disc. Indeed, as video game consoles evolved, which controller type did you think survived? The Intellivision disc is the grand-daddy of the D-Pad and its kin. You don't see many joysticks any more.

 

-dZ.

[mr_me]

If someone could improve the rubber side buttons with a replacement part, That would be good.

[First Spear]

A cool replacement controller (3d printed) housing with some kind of stylized "Running Man" embossing would look nice at classic game expos and competitions. Maybe something to merge with http://atariage.com/forums/topic/241707-intellivision-dual-action-controller/ ?

 

For nostalgic reasons....how about a joystick style one that is a 'running man'? :-)

[IntellivisionDude]

I glued a Dpad to a disc and it works great.

 

[pimpmaul69]

I would be interested in the d-pad if it was designed to work in an intv flashback controller.

[scotty]

Best I can tell, Flashback controllers are identical to the original in size, I have both, and while I do not have a pair of calipers to get a precise measurement, I am almost positive they are identical in size. I will see what I can find out and post back.

[wolfy62]

Always cool to get something new for the Intellivision!

[+BBWW]

A simple stopper with a notch could prevent it from spinning. A ^ that sticks to the controller and a | extending from the top of the 4 way disk would work fine.

[+KylJoy]

Hmmm...

 

I need a 3d-printed dual Intellivision controller holder so that both controllers can be held as one for that crazy Intellivision-only dual-controller-wielding action in games like TRON Deadly Discs, Microsurgeon, etc. It's cooler than "Kung-Fu Grip" boys!!! Well, OK... "Kung-Fu Grip" was pretty cool, I have to say. But this will ALSO be cool!!!

[+fdr4prez]

Hmmm...

 

I need a 3d-printed dual Intellivision controller holder so that both controllers can be held as one for that crazy Intellivision-only dual-controller-wielding action in games like TRON Deadly Discs, Microsurgeon, etc. It's cooler than "Kung-Fu Grip" boys!!! Well, OK... "Kung-Fu Grip" was pretty cool, I have to say. But this will ALSO be cool!!!

 

Isn't it easier to just get a Dual Action Controller made up by nurmix? That way you are holding one controller naturally and not two controllers a bit less ergonomically?

 

But my dream would be to have something like this from the controller mock up thread:

[+KylJoy]

Isn't it easier to just get a Dual Action Controller made up by nurmix? That way you are holding one controller naturally and not two controllers a bit less ergonomically?

 

But my dream would be to have something like this from the controller mock up thread:

Those would be great. But I'd still love a plastic, snap-in thingy for my original controllers.

[mr_me]

 

Isn't it easier to just get a Dual Action Controller made up by nurmix? That way you are holding one controller naturally and not two controllers a bit less ergonomically?

....

 

Microsurgeon would make use of dual discs. Wouldn't mind seeing an updated/hacked Tron Deadly Discs that makes use of the second disc to throw in 16 directions.

[Bill Loguidice]

Although I really never liked the disc, I've found any attempts at add-ons lacking. To me, the ideal would be to have a modern analog joystick replicate the 16 directions and be done with it. I'm sure there's a technical reason why we haven't had that yet, but instead have had standard 4- and 8-way joysticks made.

[+DZ-Jay]

Although I really never liked the disc, I've found any attempts at add-ons lacking. To me, the ideal would be to have a modern analog joystick replicate the 16 directions and be done with it. I'm sure there's a technical reason why we haven't had that yet, but instead have had standard 4- and 8-way joysticks made.

Why not dispense with sticks and improve in the disc, say, with a more ergonomic thumb-nub, like the PS-2 controller?

[Bill Loguidice]

Why not dispense with sticks and improve in the disc, say, with a more ergonomic thumb-nub, like the PS-2 controller?

 

Yes, that's what I'm saying. Let's replace the whole controller with an analog stick-based design. There must be a reason why that's not possible, though, because people who have made replacement controllers usually only do a maximum of 8 directions.

[mr_me]

 

Yes, that's what I'm saying. Let's replace the whole controller with an analog stick-based design. There must be a reason why that's not possible, though, because people who have made replacement controllers usually only do a maximum of 8 directions.

 

You can try a modern analog controller with any Intellivision game in emulation. Its not bad, but I find the disc to be more precise, the improvement would be with the action buttons. I definitely prefer the disk to any d-pad. I imagine those who aren't use to the disc controller might prefer a modern analog controller; and those who aren't familiar with Intellivision games that use 16 directions may not notice the difference using a d-pad.

 

Now actual analog controlled Intellivision games would be interesting. Maybe one of the programmers can comment if that is possible.

[+intvsteve]

The controller ports are just two sets of 8 digital input lines. I've only toyed with the idea as a thought experiment of what "analog" inputs would be like. With those 8 bits and an 8-bit A/D converter, you could get 256 distinct values on each port. If you wanted a fire button and a truly analog stick, you'd need to change things up and, for example, sacrifice one bit for a fire button. You'd need an external power source, too - you'd probably want some kind of simple signal conditioning and since you'd already need some power, why not do it externally.

 

Getting a cheap processor to sample analog data from a microphone, run an FFT or other frequency analysis, for example, could give you a crude way to get partway to something like Rock Band on the ECS. (Another one of those crazy ideas...) In fact, I wonder if a Pi / Arduino project would work out as an experimentation bed.

 

If what you wanted to do was use an analog stick with an A/D converter, I'm sure you could build the logic to encode that into the existing system. You only need 4 bits for 16 directions.

 

Now, if you go full-on custom control with those 8 or 16 bits (if you use both ports), and write your own code to parse those bits, you could do pretty much whatever you wanted, in principle.

 

Never had enough time or bravery to actually try any of this out, though I have bought parts. As usual, I can't finish starting a project.

[+KylJoy]

Like the discussion... But as far as a 3D printed item I'm still interested in a controller-link-thingy for dual-controller action.

[mr_me]

Like the discussion... But as far as a 3D printed item I'm still interested in a controller-link-thingy for dual-controller action.

How about a flat plastic base with velcro underneath the controllers. That should be easy to do. You can maybe put cut outs on the sides where you might be use to placing your fingers in the recesses underneath.

[mr_me]

The controller ports are just two sets of 8 digital input lines. I've only toyed with the idea as a thought experiment of what "analog" inputs would be like. With those 8 bits and an 8-bit A/D converter, you could get 256 distinct values on each port. If you wanted a fire button and a truly analog stick, you'd need to change things up and, for example, sacrifice one bit for a fire button. You'd need an external power source, too - you'd probably want some kind of simple signal conditioning and since you'd already need some power, why not do it externally.

 

Getting a cheap processor to sample analog data from a microphone, run an FFT or other frequency analysis, for example, could give you a crude way to get partway to something like Rock Band on the ECS. (Another one of those crazy ideas...) In fact, I wonder if a Pi / Arduino project would work out as an experimentation bed.

 

If what you wanted to do was use an analog stick with an A/D converter, I'm sure you could build the logic to encode that into the existing system. You only need 4 bits for 16 directions.

 

Now, if you go full-on custom control with those 8 or 16 bits (if you use both ports), and write your own code to parse those bits, you could do pretty much whatever you wanted, in principle.

 

Never had enough time or bravery to actually try any of this out, though I have bought parts. As usual, I can't finish starting a project.

 

Thanks for that. So I guess you can't get the Intellivision to recognise a variable signal like the old PC analog joysticks without an extra processor. How about a spinner controller or a trackball that use quadrature? It's only two pins per axis. Maybe the Intellivision processor is too slow to calculate velocity.