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Need Joystick for Battlezone on PC


CoyoteChris

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Hi,

I loved Battlezone when it came out in the 1980s. I just discovered yesterday I could play it online via my PC. I have to use the arrow keys and space bar to aim and fire. I'm looking for a joystick with a usb that I could use. Any suggestions on joystick/controller that will work, and where to buy it?

 

Thanks,

 

Chris

 

P.S. I can't wait to get higher scores using a joystick.

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If you like Competition Pro joysticks, the USB Competition Pro (from Speedlink) recently gets an update and now is available in the third and reviewed edition. Now it also reacts much faster (cause this always was a problem with the old models of this sticks) and has a higher signal-rate. This means overall, that it's good to use now and a real alternative to the use of a 9Pin-Competition Pro with a fast 9Pin-to-USB adapter. If you interested, you can buy it on different places, here is one for example:

https://www.speedlink.com/en/Gaming/COMPETITION-PRO-EXTRA-USB-JOYSTICK-ANNIVERSARY-BLACK-RED.html

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Hi,

I loved Battlezone when it came out in the 1980s. I just discovered yesterday I could play it online via my PC. I have to use the arrow keys and space bar to aim and fire. I'm looking for a joystick with a usb that I could use. Any suggestions on joystick/controller that will work, and where to buy it?

 

Thanks,

 

Chris

 

P.S. I can't wait to get higher scores using a joystick.

Welcome to AtariAge!

 

When you say "play it online," I am assuming that you are using some sort of browser-based emulator. To the best of my knowledge, emulators which run in the browser do not support joystick or controller input.

 

I don't know how much you've looked into other emulation options, but these days it is very easy to play Battlezone (and just about every other classic game) via emulation under any modern desktop operating system. If you prefer the arcade version of Battlezone, look into MAME; if you prefer the 2600 version, look into the Stella emulator. If you'd prefer not to procure the ROMs and configure the emulators yourself, there are also commercial emulation options which offer more of a turnkey solution, such as the Atari 80-in-1 Pack for Windows (which includes both versions of Battlezone).

 

Once you get one of these emulators working, you'll have the freedom to use the controller of your choice. Any controller supported by your operating system should be usable by these emulators.

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I agree with jaybird3rd that there are probably better options available for playing Battezone, but if you do want to stick with your original idea, try AutoHotKey(AHK) if on Windows, or joytokey(available for Win, Linux, and Mac.) AHK will allow you to use any control method with virtually any program, and IME works well. It does take a bit of 'programming' though.

 

-edit- stupid simple editor <sigh>

Edited by jaybird3rd
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Welcome to AtariAge!

 

When you say "play it online," I am assuming that you are using some sort of browser-based emulator. To the best of my knowledge, emulators which run in the browser do not support joystick or controller input.

 

I don't know how much you've looked into other emulation options, but these days it is very easy to play Battlezone (and just about every other classic game) via emulation under any modern desktop operating system. If you prefer the arcade version of Battlezone, look into MAME; if you prefer the 2600 version, look into the Stella emulator. If you'd prefer not to procure the ROMs and configure the emulators yourself, there are also commercial emulationBaoptions which offer more of a turnkey solution, such as the Atari 80-in-1 Pack for Windows (which includes both versions of Battlezone).

 

Once you get one of these emulators working, you'll have the freedom to use the controller of your choice. Any controller supported by your operating system should be usable by these emulators.

Hi Jaybird3rd,

 

This is where I'm playing it online. https://my.ign.com/atari/battlezone. I have Windows 10 on my laptop. I don't know anything about programming or emulations. If I did the MAME emulator myself, I would have to learn how to set things up, and where to get battlezone? But, you're saying I could use a controller this way?

 

If there are any Battlezone Fans, what type of controller works best for that game?

 

I like your suggestion of the Atari 80 in 1 Pack for Windows. It's only $10 on Amazon. I really like the look of the Arcade version of Battlezone. However, an Amazon customer says it won't work with Windows 10.

 

Thanks,

 

Chris

Edited by CoyoteChris
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