A new intellivision controller possibility?

[killersquirel]

Hey all,

 

I recently got back into playing my intellivision recently and the new homebrews are amazing. I was wondering what the possibility of a new controller would be? Perhaps a joystick and arcade buttons for the side buttons and a nice keypad or maybe even have a trackball in place of the disc. Is this even feasible?

 

-mike

[vprette]

yes it is but expensive.... I explored this possibility, see here

[jaybird3rd]

Given the expense of designing a new controller, and the limited market for it, I think it would be a better idea to find a suitable controller that is already in existence, and design an interface which would allow it to be used with the Intellivision. This isn't quite as easy as it is with other systems because you'd need some "glue logic" to convert the controller's native signals to the Gray codes of the Intellivision hand controller, but it can be done. Beyond that, you'd also need to figure out a convenient way to provide power for the controller/interface, since the Intellivision's controller ports do not provide power, and to interface it with the original Intellivision, which doesn't even provide controller ports.

[+Rick Reynolds]

This is close to something I've been wondering about. I'd like to see a product that would interface generic switches (i.e. arcade machine controls) to Intellivision controller inputs (either the straight-line 9 pins or the D-9 pin input on the later models).

[Purdy]

This thread gives me the chance to ask a question..........

Is it only me that actually *likes* the Intellivision controllers?

I can see it would be an interesting exercise to interface wth a different controller, but the Inty handset is part of the appeal IMHO.

Back in the day when the Intellivision was introduced they seemed so innovative. Plus, they were different...they controlled sixteen directions and had keypads too!

OK, not everyone is going to prefer them, but I remember being disappointed back then reading reviews where the reviewer would slag off the controllers.

Personally I wouldn't dream of using anything other than the real thing.

Having said all that, I don't have any experience of the newer Homebrew games, so would you say that some of those are more suited to, say, a joystick?

[Games For Your Intellivision]

Everyone talks about a new controller....but no one says what they really want.....i personally would like a controller that is similar to the existing Intellivision controller....but the side buttons would 'click' like a Texas instruments calculator....and it would have a 'joystick' with all 16 directions.....that was similar in feel to an arcade stick but be minature.

[+cmart604]

I honestly like the controllers too, and rarely find them frustrating. I guess I'm just used to them as I had an Intellivision as a kid.

[+Rick Reynolds]

Personally I wouldn't dream of using anything other than the real thing.

Having said all that, I don't have any experience of the newer Homebrew games, so would you say that some of those are more suited to, say, a joystick?

 

I definitely prefer the original controllers for the games that I grew up playing. I got used to experiencing the game that way. I think the sports games in particular work very well with it. But to your question, yes I think most of the new homebrew games are better with a joystick. By those I mean mainly D1K/D2K, Space Patrol, and Carol.

[IntellivisionDude]

I would not want a joystick, i can't stand joysticks. If i wanted an alternative i'd want something similar to a d-pad.

 

Just for the game burgertime and for burgertime only i'd like to have a Nes controller modified to work with it. I have a nes controller modified to work with a Atari 7800 and while it won't work with the Intellivision II, it did show response when plugged into the Intellivision II. Just all the directions were off. I'm not 100% sure but i bet all you'd need for Burgertime is up, down, left, right, and A or B for the pepper.

 

The thing with d-pads is some work better than others for certain games. In my experience the Nes d-pad worked better for Burgertime on the Colecovision, while the Genesis 6 button d-pad is better for games like Centipede on the 2600. And then again the Genesis d-pad i feel is not the best at straight up, down, left, right games like Burgertime.

[+Gemintronic]

Maybe a convertor based off of an Arduino would work. It should have enough buttons, right?

[killersquirel]

I have to say that I don't mind the original controllers, but sometimes your fingers can start to hurt from clicking the side buttons. That being said, I would definitely enjoy an alternative controller. I would gladly pay $150 to $200 for a joystick that would allow me to play some of games more comfortably and for an extended period of time.

[jaybird3rd]

Is it only me that actually *likes* the Intellivision controllers?

Personally, I don't mind the Intellivision hand controllers at all. They took some getting used to when I first started, since I grew up mostly with Atari systems, but they're an integral part of the Intellivision experience, which is why I haven't been motivated to build a controller interface myself. With rare exceptions, I tend to stick with the first-party stock controllers for any console or computer anyway, just as a general rule.

 

The biggest problem with adapting a pre-existing controller is that the Intellivision hand controllers offer so many unique features: different side buttons, the sixteen-direction disc, and the keypad. To replace a controller like that with something else, you either have to find another controller which already offers all of those features (there really aren't any), or you have to make the interface versatile enough to allow a more limited controller to be used in different ways to suit different games.

 

To me, the ideal solution would be an "intelligent" interface which has several user-selectable "input profiles" built in. Let's assume that the interface is for a multi-purpose joystick like the X-Arcade Dual. For games like Night Stalker or TRON Deadly Discs, you could have a profile which uses both of the joysticks, with one joystick mapped to the left controller's disc and the other mapped to the right controller's U/D/L/R keypad keys. For other games, you could have one joystick per player, with the action buttons mapped to some combination of the keypad keys and/or side buttons. It should be possible to come up with a small number of profiles which would work for many different games. Ideally, there would also be a pass-through option, so you can switch back to the original hand controller when needed without interrupting your game.

[Purdy]

I have to say that I don't mind the original controllers, but sometimes your fingers can start to hurt from clicking the side buttons.

Yep and after a few hours of frantic Lock 'n' Chase you found you became eligible for 'The Numb Thumb Club'.

[killersquirel]

I have to say that I don't mind the original controllers, but sometimes your fingers can start to hurt from clicking the side buttons.

Yep and after a few hours of frantic Lock 'n' Chase you found you became eligible for 'The Numb Thumb Club'.

 

Absolutely! On a side note, with the way video games are today and the fact that they are far easier and the kids are being coddled when they play them I wouldn't be surprised to see a youngster breaking down into tears after even a 15 minute play session of lock 'n chase

[Purdy]

Absolutely! On a side note, with the way video games are today and the fact that they are far easier and the kids are being coddled when they play them I wouldn't be surprised to see a youngster breaking down into tears after even a 15 minute play session of lock 'n chase

 

Lol! :-D

 

The poor little dears! RSI? They don't know they're born.

[+DZ-Jay]

Everyone talks about a new controller....but no one says what they really want.....i personally would like a controller that is similar to the existing Intellivision controller....but the side buttons would 'click' like a Texas instruments calculator....and it would have a 'joystick' with all 16 directions.....that was similar in feel to an arcade stick but be minature.

 

What about a "D-Pad," like the analog stick in PS2 and SNES controllers, but an actual upgrade to the 16-direction disc? I don't think the disc was ever much of a problem. I think the ergonomics of the hand-controller as a whole is rather bad, and the action buttons are ruthless!

 

So, a "D-Pad" style directional control, with proper buttons like you suggested, in a more ergonomic form-factor, would go a long way to solving the problems with the Intellivision controllers.

[pimpmaul69]

I would not want a joystick, i can't stand joysticks. If i wanted an alternative i'd want something similar to a d-pad.

 

Just for the game burgertime and for burgertime only i'd like to have a Nes controller modified to work with it. I have a nes controller modified to work with a Atari 7800 and while it won't work with the Intellivision II, it did show response when plugged into the Intellivision II. Just all the directions were off. I'm not 100% sure but i bet all you'd need for Burgertime is up, down, left, right, and A or B for the pepper.

 

The thing with d-pads is some work better than others for certain games. In my experience the Nes d-pad worked better for Burgertime on the Colecovision, while the Genesis 6 button d-pad is better for games like Centipede on the 2600. And then again the Genesis d-pad i feel is not the best at straight up, down, left, right games like Burgertime.

if i had an intv ii controller i could make an nes intv controller for bt,pac-man, thin ice and those kind. but i would have to borrow the intv ii for testing too

[+JasonlikesINTV]

I vote touchscreen :-)

[+cmart604]

I would not want a joystick, i can't stand joysticks. If i wanted an alternative i'd want something similar to a d-pad.

 

Just for the game burgertime and for burgertime only i'd like to have a Nes controller modified to work with it. I have a nes controller modified to work with a Atari 7800 and while it won't work with the Intellivision II, it did show response when plugged into the Intellivision II. Just all the directions were off. I'm not 100% sure but i bet all you'd need for Burgertime is up, down, left, right, and A or B for the pepper.

 

The thing with d-pads is some work better than others for certain games. In my experience the Nes d-pad worked better for Burgertime on the Colecovision, while the Genesis 6 button d-pad is better for games like Centipede on the 2600. And then again the Genesis d-pad i feel is not the best at straight up, down, left, right games like Burgertime.

if i had an intv ii controller i could make an nes intv controller for bt,pac-man, thin ice and those kind. but i would have to borrow the intv ii for testing too

 

In that case, I could send you a working INTV2 instead of a non-working one, then you could use it to make the controller, then break it for whatever it was you were going to do with it in the first place.

[pimpmaul69]

I would not want a joystick, i can't stand joysticks. If i wanted an alternative i'd want something similar to a d-pad.

 

Just for the game burgertime and for burgertime only i'd like to have a Nes controller modified to work with it. I have a nes controller modified to work with a Atari 7800 and while it won't work with the Intellivision II, it did show response when plugged into the Intellivision II. Just all the directions were off. I'm not 100% sure but i bet all you'd need for Burgertime is up, down, left, right, and A or B for the pepper.

 

The thing with d-pads is some work better than others for certain games. In my experience the Nes d-pad worked better for Burgertime on the Colecovision, while the Genesis 6 button d-pad is better for games like Centipede on the 2600. And then again the Genesis d-pad i feel is not the best at straight up, down, left, right games like Burgertime.

if i had an intv ii controller i could make an nes intv controller for bt,pac-man, thin ice and those kind. but i would have to borrow the intv ii for testing too

 

In that case, I could send you a working INTV2 instead of a non-working one, then you could use it to make the controller, then break it for whatever it was you were going to do with it in the first place.

works for me. still need a broken ecs too but with working keyboard

[voltron]

Everyone talks about a new controller....but no one says what they really want.....i personally would like a controller that is similar to the existing Intellivision controller....but the side buttons would 'click' like a Texas instruments calculator....and it would have a 'joystick' with all 16 directions.....that was similar in feel to an arcade stick but be minature.

 

I agree, i dont like intv two and system 3 controller bc of lack of tactile feedback, intv one is better but i would have liked the click too.

Edited August 25, 2012 by voltron

[+evg2000]

So I'm not an EE, but one of the issue people had mentioned regarding a new JS is that the INTV is 16 position, and JS are usually 4 contact giving you 8 direction up, down, left, right and half way in between. Was wondering if you could either use an existing analog joystick that uses Pots for the js and build a circuit that would be able to create 16 digital signals based on the XY positions of the Pots? Or build a new js using Pots and a circuit to generate the 16 digital signals? Just a thought.

[pimpmaul69]

So I'm not an EE, but one of the issue people had mentioned regarding a new JS is that the INTV is 16 position, and JS are usually 4 contact giving you 8 direction up, down, left, right and half way in between. Was wondering if you could either use an existing analog joystick that uses Pots for the js and build a circuit that would be able to create 16 digital signals based on the XY positions of the Pots? Or build a new js using Pots and a circuit to generate the 16 digital signals? Just a thought.

yes. jzintvwii has 16 position using analog. the problem is programming a chip to allow it to happen on intv console. not to mention costly for parts. i would modify nes controller to only work on 4 way games. also forgot, will work on dk as well

[TrekMD]

Well, since I just recently got an Intellivision I'm finding the controller isn't quite as bad as I had heard but it does take some getting used to. I was playing Lock'N'Chase and was hoping for a joystick but after I while I figured how to move the disc to get control how I wanted it. So, there is some adjustment to these controllers but it is doable.

[Rik]

The only thing that bothers me about the INTV controllers is the side buttons barely move, they work, but still awkward.I would like a controller that has buttons that have more travel for a better feel.