Did Spy Hunter come with some weird "Controller holder" thing?

[BassGuitari]

I was just about to say, it seems this device is practically begging to be reproed. Not even this specific one, necessarily (looks like one stick fits in sideways?), but some kind of generic joystick coupler. It could be used with quite a few games for the 2600, 7800, C64, and probably Atari 800.

[Supergun]

This specific joystick coupler was designed & intended for use with Spy Hunter. Period. That's why one joystick is perpindicular to the other. Yes, you could use it to play Raiders of the Lost Arc, but it would cause frustration & mistakes to be made while playing; at least until one was to force themselves to get used to it. But why?

 

I guess what I'm saying here is: by all means, make a reproduction (with a 3-D printer) of this device, but don't "guess" at this dimension or that thickness. Get it right the first time. Have whoever is spearheading this get their hands on an original (borrowed from some other member here) so that the reproductions are done properly. Half ass guessing & close enough assumptions is WORTHLESS man!

 

Secondly, again, by all means, design another similar device that allows dual joysticks to be coupled side by side for whatever application (Raiders of the Lost Arc, any others?) as intended. But keep that a separate and different project from the initial one.

[EdwardK]

This specific joystick coupler was designed & intended for use with Spy Hunter. Period. That's why one joystick is perpindicular to the other. Yes, you could use it to play Raiders of the Lost Arc, but it would cause frustration & mistakes to be made while playing; at least until one was to force themselves to get used to it. But why?

 

I guess what I'm saying here is: by all means, make a reproduction (with a 3-D printer) of this device, but don't "guess" at this dimension or that thickness. Get it right the first time. Have whoever is spearheading this get their hands on an original (borrowed from some other member here) so that the reproductions are done properly. Half ass guessing & close enough assumptions is WORTHLESS man!

 

Secondly, again, by all means, design another similar device that allows dual joysticks to be coupled side by side for whatever application (Raiders of the Lost Arc, any others?) as intended. But keep that a separate and different project from the initial one.

 

Agreed for the printing, mistakes get expensive with a 3d printer, but for my vacuuforming plan I'll have somewhat of an easier go with the measurements. Planning on using 2 controller cases to make the form to draw the plastic over, so those measurements should be an exact fit thanks to the nature of the process used. The only variable I'm going to run in to is going to be the thickness of the plastic itself, and I plan on going as thick as I can for durability. More thank likely it won't be exact, but i'll be functional. As for other configurations of the tray, all I'd have to do is rotate one of the controller bases from the spy hunter configuration, so that'll be easy enough. Biggest thing for my efforts will be finding a thick enough plastic and the right amount of vacuum pressure, but mistakes are cheap enough in the process that it won't really matter if it takes a few tries to get the right balance.

 

Honestly, judging by the pictures and the low production cost associated with vacuuforming, I wouldn't be surprised if that's how the originals were produced in the first place.

[Osgeld]

Dimensions and thickness should be easy, everyone has Atari joysticks, plop 2 next to each other boom dimensions

 

Not like you are reverse engineering a damn one off classified space missile from the USSR here supergun

Edited September 14, 2016 by Osgeld

[Schizophretard]

I was just about to say, it seems this device is practically begging to be reproed. Not even this specific one, necessarily (looks like one stick fits in sideways?), but some kind of generic joystick coupler. It could be used with quite a few games for the 2600, 7800, C64, and probably Atari 800.

 

 

ASSEMBLING SPY HUNTER'S DUAL CONTROL MODULE

To play Spy Hunter on your game system, you must use the Dual Control Module

which enables you to join your two joysticks together in one unit.

This is necessary because Fire Buttons on both joysticks are needed to

play Spy Hunter.

 

1. Holding the Dual Control Module with the cable openings in the position

shown in diagram #1, guide joystick cable A through the opening closest

to you. (Bottom right)

2. Peel back the paper covering on the Velcro attachment and as you pull

up the cable slack, press the #1 joystick firmly into place with the

joy stick's Fire Button in the upper left hand corner as shown in

the diagram.

3. Now guide cable (B), the second joystick, through the cable opening

at the upper left hand corner of the Dual Control Module. Make sure

Fire Button is in the lower left position. Peel the paper covering

the Velcro attachment. Again, as you guide the cable all the way

through the opening, press the #2 joystick firmly into place inside

the Dual Control Module. Make sure that the Fire Buttons on the

joysticks are side-by-side toward the front, according to the diagram.

4. Plug the cable for joystick #1 into joyport #1. (Left)

Plug the cable for joystick #2 into joyport #2. (Right)

5. When playing Spy Hunter, you use only joystick #1 to maneuver your

Spy Car. Both Fire Buttons are used for activating your Spy Weapons.

 

5. Spy Hunter's special Dual Control Module enables the player to activate

both Fire Buttons easily. Only the left joystick effects the maneuver

of your Spy Car. However, both the bottom and top Fire Buttons are

used to activate weapons. (See Weapons Section.) The bottom Fire Button

activates forward firing weapons. The top Fire Button activates rear

firing weapons. (See Weapons Section.)

 

 

Full manual

 

Old related thread

[BassGuitari]

Hmm. What about a new design for a single joystick holder that has interlocking tongue-and-grooved sides so that two can be connected to form a either Spy Hunter configuration or a standard side-by-side dual-joystick unit?

Edited September 14, 2016 by BassGuitari

[Tempest]

Or why not just make a fire button that plugs into the second joystick port and can be attached to the main joystick with a piece of sticky tape? That's close to what the Masterplay interface did.

[BassGuitari]

Or why not just make a fire button that plugs into the second joystick port and can be attached to the main joystick with a piece of sticky tape? That's close to what the Masterplay interface did.

Isn't that essentially what the CBS Booster Grip is?

[Tempest]

Isn't that essentially what the CBS Booster Grip is?

Actually, yes. I forgot about that. I wonder if you could use the Booster Grip with Spy Hunter?

[BassGuitari]

Actually, yes. I forgot about that. I wonder if you could use the Booster Grip with Spy Hunter?

If Spy Hunter required two standard joysticks, it would have then also required the use of both joystick jacks, right? IIRC the Booster Grip connector was a pass-through that the Atari joystick piggy-backed onto in the same port, wasn't it? So it would only use the one controller jack, and that extra button shouldn't do anything for Spy Hunter.

[+Propane13]

If Spy Hunter required two standard joysticks, it would have then also required the use of both joystick jacks, right? IIRC the Booster Grip connector was a pass-through that the Atari joystick piggy-backed onto in the same port, wasn't it? So it would only use the one controller jack, and that extra button shouldn't do anything for Spy Hunter.

 

Correct. Somebody could probably hack Spy Hunter to have it work with a Booster Grip or with a Sega Controller (although, someone may have already done either, or both of those things).

[+Psionic]

I've got one for the C64 release of the game. I've never been 100% convinced though it came with it heh.

The Atari and Commodore computer versions published by Sega both came packaged with the module originally, although there may have been later disk copies without it. And of course, the European releases on disk and tape by U.S. Gold also lacked it.

 

Correct. Somebody could probably hack Spy Hunter to have it work with a Booster Grip or with a Sega Controller (although, someone may have already done either, or both of those things).

Several years back, CPUWIZ hacked a WICO bat joystick to make the two fire buttons operate both the gun and special weapons. He sold a few here on the forums. I'm sure the same could be done with a 7800 ProLine or joypad controller. I wouldn't mind having a hacked joypad myself.

[CPUWIZ]

Several years back, CPUWIZ hacked a WICO bat joystick to make the two fire buttons operate both the gun and special weapons. He sold a few here on the forums. I'm sure the same could be done with a 7800 ProLine or joypad controller. I wouldn't mind having a hacked joypad myself.

 

Holy crap, that was 14 years ago. LOL

[+Psionic]

Holy crap, that was 14 years ago. LOL

Amazing how time flies, isn't it? The first CGE (World of Atari '98) was almost 20 years ago! Needless to say, a lot has changed in the hobby since then...although some things haven't.

[Pioneer4x4]

I had one of those, I bought it new for a ton of money. I was a big fan of spy hunter in the arcade and was so appalled at how horrible it was, I returned it to the store. I think I still have the velcro on the bottom of one of my sticks from it. I really wish I still had it, but I still remember the feeling that I wasted so much money on a crap game.

I have always planned on making another holder for kicks, and also for the R.O.B. cart I made uses both sticks, not that it is needed at all, just for kicks to make one.

I think the original was vacu-formed, but I'm sure a 3D printed one would work better. I know a guy with one, I'll look into it.

Edited February 13, 2017 by Pioneer4x4

[+save2600]

^ you thought Spy Hunter is a crap game? I think it's plays extremely well with fast/smooth animation, maybe a little too fast actually. But most of the fun and strategy has been retained, especially considering the conversion.

 

What didn't you like about it?

[Pioneer4x4]

^ you thought Spy Hunter is a crap game? I think it's plays extremely well with fast/smooth animation, maybe a little too fast actually. But most of the fun and strategy has been retained, especially considering the conversion.

 

What didn't you like about it?

 

I really liked the arcade one, could play it for a long time. I guess I was actually expecting it to look and play a lot better, and include a lot more of what the arcade did. Back in the early 1980s I never realized how limited the 2600 was, it is amazing that they got it that good looking back, but it was not worth the money at the time. I would love to have a complete one now, just because I used to once, if only for a day. For a 2600 game it is good, for "Spy Hunter" as in the arcade it is not.