orion1052003

I always plug in the sticks before opening Stella, as I read you should plug in the joystick before running the program. So that part of the testing should be ok. I tried both sticks in Windows, to further test. The black revision 2 worked, the clear blue did not. The weird deal is that things that are supposed to work right away often don't work for me. I've been trying to get MAME and MACMAME to work right for years, I embarrassingly admit. Here are some screenshots of the Windows version and the Stella version for this PC test. I wanted to use Stella 4.0, but norton wouldn't allow it to be downloaded. The 'BlackJoystickLog' picture is Stella 4.0 on a mac with the Black joystick, the rest are Windows. Why is one seen but not the other?

I always get these 'switch to windows' responses, but I'm looking for help on how to get things running with what I've got here. Mac runs emulators fine, and emulators are always confusing, glitching, technical, and complicated when you try to set up a bunch of stuff with them.

Good to know.

These are things I knew nothing about. It says 'no joystick present'. This is the clear blue one now, have it with me at the moment. How do you re-map a device within Stella? Although last time I could use the stick in Atari800MacX, it no longer does anything. Strange. I have to get STELLA and probably the Mac OS to recognize the joystick before I can remap it, but I would still like to know how, in case I get there.

Ok, sending information about my system. This post is trying to use the second revision black CX-40. The next will be about the clear blue CX-40 which is an earlier model. I learned something today, I think that the black one is not being recognized by the OS at all, while the older blue one is. I just assumed both worked in other emulators after the blue one did nothing in stella but worked in Atari800Macx just by plugging it in. Also, the blue one showed up on the USB bus, and it appears the black one did not. The black one did nothing in all the emulators I tried today. Last time I tried the blue one, it worked in everything but Stella. I received both controllers at the same time in the mail from Syzygy. I assume the blue one has an eralier firmware than the black one. Most unusual of all, the blue one I had before worked in Stella before I sent it back for repair. It had the same firmware as the one that does not work! That leads me to believe it is a STELLA issue, maybe some new undiscovered bug or unknown technicality in the latest release. But that is speculation.

I'll have to read it again to see if that (console switches control) is in there. That autorom.bin trick should be listed in any new versions of the manual, as it is pretty cool and helpful. I didn't see that in there when I read the manual, anyway. Sentinel is tough, but fun.

I have a Slikstik Arcade Cabinet (new materials, put it together yourself like a bookshelf) with a fairly large control panel. I've had it for a long time, but never managed to get the controls to work properly. I was wondering if anybody had good suggestions on how to get the controls to work. Such things as trackballs, spinners, even joysticks. The problem with the trackball is that it seems to make a huge, squarish shape when you try to use it. The spinner seems too fast, like you can't increment one move at a time in Tempest, or seem to "fine tune" your movement. The joysticks seem very stiff, and you feel like you can't play like you would on a "normal" arcade machine. It seems hard to map the keyboard, and some buttons won't map so far. I have side pinball buttons that don't show up or change. Some solutions were to mess with settings. MacMame settings such as analog controls, general settings, and settings for the individual game. The OS mouse speed settings, (trackball), keyboard settings, etc. Another was to get a powered USB hub instead of one that just powers from USB, in case the cheap hub can't handle all those devices. I bought a powered USB hub, and messed with OS and MacMAME settings. The trackball moves the cursor a little faster now, and that is good, but you still can't make small circles, and the spinners seem worse. Does anybody know the default MAME analog control settings? I am using an old Intel MacMini with MacMame and I believe OSX 10.4. I tried updating to latest OS and couldn't get panel to work with new arcade emulators, so I actually switched back down to 10.4. I have a mac keyboard plugged in on one USB port, and a USB hub plugged into another port. All 4 ports in the hub are taken up by the arcade controls. I believe it is 1 wire for the trackball, 2 for 2 spinners, and the last one for an I-PAC. The OS says it doesn't recognize the mouse, and none is installed. However, the trackball still moves the cursor and the ball still lights up. ( I only use the trackball for a mouse, no actual mouse is connected ) Maybe there is some kind of keyboard mapping/mouse/cursor/controller conflict going on here. Maybe the computer is confused with what is doing what.

Thanks for all the responses. I found an old, extra 1 GB SD card in a broken camera at home, and copied Sentinel to the mac desktop, renaming it to autorom.bin. I copied that file over the empty SD card, put it into the harmony cart, and voila! The "autoboot" method worked!! When I tried to select Sentinel, the light gun just kept switching from sentinel and the root directory that comes with the Harmony Cart, the one that shows the credits and stuff. I thought it would just automatically play as the only file on there for some reason. So, I thought I couldn't start the game, just move between the 2 selections. However, I pressed reset when selecting 'Sentinel', and it worked! I think I had to press reset again after that, and the game started. Being able to leave the gun in and still get the game going will save a lot of wear and tear on a port. Thanks a lot!

Oh, I also tried letting the time run out and starting again but nothing happened. I don't know if I did it for all 3 men, as it was tedious. Not sure if I actually continued, from there or just lost 2 men or something. I was testing my trackball last night, and actually forgot to try this out again! So, next post, I hope to have some good results.

Al Alcorn Atari Party 2014

I am running MAC OS 10.7.5 and Stella 4.0. I have a clear USB Syzygy blue-light up joystick and the second revision black and orange USB CX-40 joystick. When I run Stella, the joysticks do absolutely nothing. No button or stick control. However, the clear one has the same firmware as before, and it used to work fine! I sent it back for another after the stick snapped off. When I got another clear blue and a second rev. black controller, neither of them worked in Stella. But they work in other emulators! Has anyone else had this same problem? Anybody have a thought on what would cause this issue to occur? Orion

I pressed up, down, left, right, shoot, and jump in every spot in a straight line starting from the left to right before I made this post. From the left of the screen all the way to the right edge. If pressing up on the stair works after all that, I will feel stupid, for sure, but shouldn't it have worked before? I did this multiple times actually, and nothing happened. But I will try again and let you know.

Oh, good lookin out, nice idea. Also, extension cable good idea, too, where do u get that?

Is there a way to navigate the menu with the lightgun? If so, is this an add-on to future firmware updates? I have a BEST electronics lightgun playing Sentinel. I have to switch ports so often, joystick to navigate the menu to Sentinel, then unplug and plug in light gun...Will eventually mess up the ports. One solution is to get the real cartridge. Another would be to navigate with the lightgun, if that is possible. When I click the button, it moves through items, but does not have a way to select one. Orion

Can you confirm I'm already on the list for a regular 7800 version? You don't need the 7800 syzygy expansion to run it, correct? Saw the video on youtube today, looks real cool. Approximately when will people that ordered start to pay?

When's the deadline? I've tried to make a text adventure before and failed. That shows you the extet of my programming skills. I made three half finished TI-99 games, too, but did not know how to finish them. Citybomber, MoonMan, and Knight Moves, which is simply a horse moving around on a chessboard.

Has anyone else found themselves stuck at this screen with no way to advance to the next sscreen or get to the next stage?

Ha, Ha, this is awesome!! Vecaves was probably the first, but I think there are others, and much later, the "Helicopter Game".

Are there any screenshots of the 2 games running on a Colecovision? It would be interesting to see if Computer Space and Pong look like the originals. Especially before buying. Orion

I have a Stelladaptor and am running MAC OSX 10.7.5. I am running STELLA 3.9. How do you get paddles to work? Will driving controllers work? It seems that I had driving controllers working on Stella in an older release. I doubt keyboard and other controllers such as the booster grip would work, has anybody tried it or know about this particular kind of input? Orion

Oh, I see, interesting. I heard the Ted Dabney interview on Retrogaming Roundup podcast and that was very informative. I hadn't known much about Ted Dabney, and he told his story in the interview. Nice. I don't have an Ipad, but if I get one, I will have to learn how to compile and install that 2600.emu if I can find it. Lemme know if you here anything more on it, and I'lll do the same.

How'd you think of a name like that for your company? Kidding. When Nolan Bushnell couldn't get it back in the day (Wasn't it taken by a beekeeping company or something already?) how come you guys have the name? Great joysticks, got the clear one as a gift, saw it on the retrothing website. I believe I saw your site once before when the 7800 add-on came out. While this looks amazing, it seems as if there is no software for it. The idea of making repro controllers with modern connections is great. A lot of people have ruined old hardware like atari cartridges to make weird designs, lamps, and other stupid things, which wouldn't be bad if it didn't destroy original vintage stuff in limited supply. But to make new stuff that doesn't destroy the old is great in itself. To make these kinds of products are retro gamer's dreams and have a potential in the mainstream market if they are cheap and convenient (USB sure is). This could be the beginning of a killer product line! That would be awesome to have paddles and especially a driving controller. I will be doing an article about retro products fans would like to see and products that exist only in the imagination. I will definitely mention your site, as these are the types of products I would have mentioned. When I used the joystick, the only negative feedback I can think of is the controls seemed a little jumpy, and I have not determined if that is even the stick or if Stella is running a little too fast. I notice it is different playing on the real console and on a laptop with this product. I would have to say overall this is one of the best retro products to come out! I think that the SEGA ultimate portable and this joystick are the 2 best retro products of the year. The SEGA allows ROMS to be used with an SD card and that is the appeal. It would be awesome to see a portable 7800/2600 with SD card port similar to this Genesis product. @ LS 650--I know you can read pdf and epub on iPads, but do you know if you can read .txt. and .doc? Like you said, they don't allow or want 3rd party (oops, I mean un-authorized) software on their system. @ iesposta, about your post cloaked in invisibility, is 2600.emu found somewhere to download in old versions?

I read post #3 about the 2600.emu but you mentioned it was not available any more. Sometimes I'm only on the net for a minute and such, so I have to write back later. As for the arcade hits, thanks, I did not know there was 2600 games on there. But what I am seeking is something where you load your own games, rather than a compilation where you use what is offered. Something like Stella that is still available or in development for i-os. I was just wondering if there is a way you could play any ROM you want, and connect an original controller or a new retro one to emulate the 2600, like you can on a laptop or typical computer. It just seems neat to be able to play 2600 games on an ipad with an atari controller, or even a USB "bohus blahut" one. And not to mention it would look sick with the clear joystick, blue light, and white iPad. Playing Air Raid, no doubt, ha. Maybe it's early for emulation on the iPad?

Rich, what page in the E/A were you referring to? I'm just a novice less than a beginner in Assembly. What is a simplified explanation of what I must do to make the program work? Do I just need to change the CALL INIT statement? Where are the values in the program that should be changed to make it an XB INIT instead of a TI BASIC E/A INIT?