Anybody own the C64 Mini? Impressions?

[Shannon]

Apparently it is possible to modify this so that games can be added to the carousel via an EXT partition on a USB stick.  When the stick is removed it will simply mount the internal NAND that contains the built in games.  So I might give that route a go.

[BettyHordeClinic]

The Manufactures did a software upgrade so all you do now is plug in a USB drive with all your ROMS on it and away you go. Not all work and a few games unless you got a keyboard plugged in its a pain but I am more than happy with it

 

Will want the full version when they do release it 

[pimpmaul69]

10 hours ago, BettyHordeClinic said:

The Manufactures did a software upgrade so all you do now is plug in a USB drive with all your ROMS on it and away you go. Not all work and a few games unless you got a keyboard plugged in its a pain but I am more than happy with it

 

Will want the full version when they do release it 

Full version comes out in december. And yes if you upgrade the firmware you get another game, galencia and yeah you can run everything off of the usb drive 

[pimpmaul69]

 

 

@digdugnate

@CS1

@Shannon

please do not use the old gamecontrollerdb.txt i posted. has huge issue. please use this one

gamecontrollerdb.txt

Edited June 26, 2019 by pimpmaul69

[pimpmaul69]

@Albert can you please delete the gamecontrollerdb.txt file i posted on page 6? It has a huge problem and i dont want anyone else downloading it. 

[digdugnate]

5 hours ago, pimpmaul69 said:

 

 

@digdugnate

@CS1

@Shannon

please do not use the old gamecontrollerdb.txt i posted. has huge issue. please use this one

gamecontrollerdb.txt 54.62 kB · 1 download

will do, thanks!

[Shannon]

@pimpmaul69  I'm just curious were there any changes to the gamecontrollerdb.txt file you provided for PS3 controllers?  I tried my PS3 controller and the button setup was pretty crappy.  When I compared yours to the one already on my C64 mini the PS3 entries appeared to be the same ( no changes ).

 

If not is there a way to change them to settings that make more sense?  Also in addition how hard would it be to add support for the playstation classic mini controllers?

 

Edit:

 

I tried some other controllers I had laying around ( PS4, PS2 with adapter for PS3 ) and it recognized them but the button selection was nonsensical.  Is there a recommended gamepad for this thing that does not have weird button assignments?  Or at the very least can I modify the existing ones for my controllers to actually make sense?  Thanks

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by Shannon

[pimpmaul69]

7 hours ago, Shannon said:

@pimpmaul69  I'm just curious were there any changes to the gamecontrollerdb.txt file you provided for PS3 controllers?  I tried my PS3 controller and the button setup was pretty crappy.  When I compared yours to the one already on my C64 mini the PS3 entries appeared to be the same ( no changes ).

 

If not is there a way to change them to settings that make more sense?  Also in addition how hard would it be to add support for the playstation classic mini controllers?

 

Edit:

 

I tried some other controllers I had laying around ( PS4, PS2 with adapter for PS3 ) and it recognized them but the button selection was nonsensical.  Is there a recommended gamepad for this thing that does not have weird button assignments?  Or at the very least can I modify the existing ones for my controllers to actually make sense?  Thanks

 

Yes i fixed all of the ps3 controllers in the gamecontrollerdb.txt i have 2 official ps3 controllers with different guid numbers so i could verify it was problematic with all of them. The analogs no longer work but that had to be done to make them work properly. 

Edit: also ps2 and ps1 should be fine as long as you leave the analogs turned off. 

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by pimpmaul69

[pimpmaul69]

7 hours ago, Shannon said:

@pimpmaul69  I'm just curious were there any changes to the gamecontrollerdb.txt file you provided for PS3 controllers?  I tried my PS3 controller and the button setup was pretty crappy.  When I compared yours to the one already on my C64 mini the PS3 entries appeared to be the same ( no changes ).

 

If not is there a way to change them to settings that make more sense?  Also in addition how hard would it be to add support for the playstation classic mini controllers?

 

Edit:

 

I tried some other controllers I had laying around ( PS4, PS2 with adapter for PS3 ) and it recognized them but the button selection was nonsensical.  Is there a recommended gamepad for this thing that does not have weird button assignments?  Or at the very least can I modify the existing ones for my controllers to actually make sense?  Thanks

 

Also, the button layout is setup like an xbox controller. Right bumper and x are your normal standard joystick fire button. You can create separate.cjm files to configure the controls per game. You can also create a universal one that sits on the root of your usb that is used on any game without their own .cjm file. If you want me to create a universal one for you, tell me how you want the controls setup. I like to add escape, spacebar and f1 to the controller. Start is always the menu button and right bumper is alway a joystick fire/menu accept button. 

Edited June 27, 2019 by pimpmaul69

[Shannon]

Well I finally managed to hack into my C64 mini with the FEL mode..  I now have it set up with an second ext4 partition on the USB stick so I can have games added to the carousel without having to modify the NAND.  I can just put them on the mem stick and they will show up on the carousel.  This one was a little tricky to figure out because I didn't quite have the 2nd parition setup correctly.  It took me a while to figure out that the C64 mini could not see it ( although my PC could ).  But once I got that problem solved everything was easy peasy.  

 

Hacking the C64 mini took some finagling with the commands used because the instructions are based on being able to telnet/ttyl into the C64 either through the UART or through a USB Wifi Adapter which I don't have at the time..  So I was doing everything through the FEL mode.  The only other hangup was my one TV does not like the video signal when in FEL mode so I had to use another one.  On that TV the video would blink in and out and I had to adjust the screen to be able see what I was doing. 

 

Thanks for the offer to help make a config.  For some reason my PS2, PS3 & PS4 controllers do not seem to map like that.  When you say leave the analog turned off.  What do you mean.  How do I do that?  Also how can I find out what my guid number is as well as what the button numbers are for my controllers?

 

Thanks
 

 

[pimpmaul69]

9 hours ago, Shannon said:

Well I finally managed to hack into my C64 mini with the FEL mode..  I now have it set up with an second ext4 partition on the USB stick so I can have games added to the carousel without having to modify the NAND.  I can just put them on the mem stick and they will show up on the carousel.  This one was a little tricky to figure out because I didn't quite have the 2nd parition setup correctly.  It took me a while to figure out that the C64 mini could not see it ( although my PC could ).  But once I got that problem solved everything was easy peasy.  

 

Hacking the C64 mini took some finagling with the commands used because the instructions are based on being able to telnet/ttyl into the C64 either through the UART or through a USB Wifi Adapter which I don't have at the time..  So I was doing everything through the FEL mode.  The only other hangup was my one TV does not like the video signal when in FEL mode so I had to use another one.  On that TV the video would blink in and out and I had to adjust the screen to be able see what I was doing. 

 

Thanks for the offer to help make a config.  For some reason my PS2, PS3 & PS4 controllers do not seem to map like that.  When you say leave the analog turned off.  What do you mean.  How do I do that?  Also how can I find out what my guid number is as well as what the button numbers are for my controllers?

 

Thanks
 

 

The analog stick is an issue on ps1/2 controllers. If you turn on the analogs, the dpad no longer works and the analog stick has a huge deadzone. Ps3 controllers after a short while the analog stick and dpad get all screwed up. Removing the analog settings for ps3 controllers in the gamecontrollerdb.txt fixes the issue. You will need to furthe elaborate your issue with your controllers. 

[pimpmaul69]

9 hours ago, Shannon said:

 

Ps1 and ps2 controllers have an analog button on them. Dont press it on when using on thec64. 

Edited June 27, 2019 by pimpmaul69

[pimpmaul69]

Please stop downloading the file on page 6. It is no good. Please download the one on page 7. 

Edited June 28, 2019 by pimpmaul69

[Shannon]

I'll report more later as I can.  Right now I'm currently going through an 84 game set addition to the carousel that was made by a kind person.  I bet that took some work putting it all together.  After that I would like to learn how to find the GUID number of my controllers as well as what button "numbers" are assigned to each.  Is there some program I can run on my PC ( windows ) or the C64 mini that will show this information?  It may be a while before I can get around to tinkering with this.  But after trying the Track -n- Field rip off Combat School it was pretty clear the included controller was not designed to handle certain "types" of games. 

 

One thing I will say... setting up and writing to an ext4 partition on a windows based PC is a real PITA.  I spent a good part of my time trying to find a tool that could create the partition and then one that allowed me to write to it from the PC.  The other hangup I ran into is my Windows 7 PC is 32 bit windows and the included executable for sending commands to the C64 in FEL mode would not run.  Luckily I was able to connect my C64 to a windows 10 laptop that I have.

 

Those were the only other issues I ran into during the process.  But overall I think it was worth it.  Just took more work than I was initially expecting due to the aforementioned headaches and instructions that were designed for a scenario I was not using.

 

[pimpmaul69]

52 minutes ago, Shannon said:

I'll report more later as I can.  Right now I'm currently going through an 84 game set addition to the carousel that was made by a kind person.  I bet that took some work putting it all together.  After that I would like to learn how to find the GUID number of my controllers as well as what button "numbers" are assigned to each.  Is there some program I can run on my PC ( windows ) or the C64 mini that will show this information?  It may be a while before I can get around to tinkering with this.  But after trying the Track -n- Field rip off Combat School it was pretty clear the included controller was not designed to handle certain "types" of games. 

 

One thing I will say... setting up and writing to an ext4 partition on a windows based PC is a real PITA.  I spent a good part of my time trying to find a tool that could create the partition and then one that allowed me to write to it from the PC.  The other hangup I ran into is my Windows 7 PC is 32 bit windows and the included executable for sending commands to the C64 in FEL mode would not run.  Luckily I was able to connect my C64 to a windows 10 laptop that I have.

 

Those were the only other issues I ran into during the process.  But overall I think it was worth it.  Just took more work than I was initially expecting due to the aforementioned headaches and instructions that were designed for a scenario I was not using.

 

You cant use windows to get the guid. Windows has their own guid’s. So does os x and android. You need linux ones. I can instruct you how to do it if you have a linux system. I use a raspberry pi with retropie on it. 

[Shannon]

Urgghh.. I was hoping you wouldn't say that.    I don't have a raspberry pi.  How about an Playstation Classic that I can Putty into?  Can I use that?

 

 

[pimpmaul69]

45 minutes ago, Shannon said:

Urgghh.. I was hoping you wouldn't say that.    I don't have a raspberry pi.  How about an Playstation Classic that I can Putty into?  Can I use that?

 

 

No you cannot. Just like the c64 they have had so much removed from linux and no internet access at all makes it impossible. 

[Sinphaltimus]

Aaaaannnnnnd the joystick snapped in half. Last night. Tried several fixes. None worked. I guess its time for a new modding project. I have an arcade joystick from an Old Mr. Do's castle cabinet. I'm going to see if I can solder the contacts to the controller board and make a wooden box for the contraption. Perhaps this coming weekend (tomorrow or Sunday).

[+save2600]

Not sure if/when I'll take my C64 mini out of the box to actually use, but if I did, this joystick mod seems to be the thing to do:

 

 

[Sinphaltimus]

If only I saw this first. My give it a try anyway. I little glu than this mod will be less drastic than what I had in mind. My save me some work. Thanks.

[digdugnate]

that's cool!  i'll probably have to get one of my friends to help, as likely if i held the joystick the way he did in the video i'd end up with the screw in my palm, like on Beavis and Butthead. lol

 

 

[+wongojack]

On 7/5/2019 at 10:23 AM, save2600 said:

Not sure if/when I'll take my C64 mini out of the box to actually use, but if I did, this joystick mod seems to be the thing to do:

 

 

Do you need a special bit for this or is he just making a big enough hole to get that larger screw in there?

[+fdr4prez]

10 minutes ago, wongojack said:

Do you need a special bit for this or is he just making a big enough hole to get that larger screw in there?

No special bit should be needed.

 

Just that it is the proper diameter, sharp (new?) and the drill is spinning fast enough.

 

You also need to be sure that your drill bit isn't too small of a diameter because as you screw in the new screw you don't want the shaft to split.... But you also don't want to drill it too large otherwise the new screw doesn't have anything to bite into.

 

Although if the hole is slightly too large, then you can probably coat the screw with some 5-minute epoxy right before you screw it, so the epoxy would dry and hold the screw in place.

[+save2600]

N/M, FDR has it.     

[pimpmaul69]

3 hours ago, fdr4prez said:

No special bit should be needed.

 

Just that it is the proper diameter, sharp (new?) and the drill is spinning fast enough.

 

You also need to be sure that your drill bit isn't too small of a diameter because as you screw in the new screw you don't want the shaft to split.... But you also don't want to drill it too large otherwise the new screw doesn't have anything to bite into.

 

Although if the hole is slightly too large, then you can probably coat the screw with some 5-minute epoxy right before you screw it, so the epoxy would dry and hold the screw in place.

What is up my friend? Nice to see you wander on over here.