socrates63 Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) I've been working with @RetroGameBoyz the past few weeks on a custom controller. I've always wanted an arcade Asteroids style controller and it arrived today. The case is compact and the buttons are a little smaller than standard arcade buttons to accommodate the case, but everything felt good and comfortable. Mike is great to work with. This is my fourth custom Atari controller from him (and soon a fifth -- a 4-way joystick). Unfortunately, I couldn't get Asteroids to work on my 7800 -- not sure why. I tried the bin with the Harmony cart and also an actual Asteroids cart but with both, the screen flickered on and off. I also had trouble with a few other games (e.g., Space Rocks, Phoenix)... maybe it's my setup with s-video from 7800 to RetroTINK 2X to HDMI and TV. I found that the RetroTINK can be finicky with certain signals. I actually have on hand an s-video to HDMI converter box that I ordered a month ago. I'll try that in the morning -- fingers crossed. In any case, I haven't had a chance to try the controller with the game that I most wanted to use it for, but it worked great with Star Castle, Gravitar, and Galaxian. Some games just feel more natural with only buttons. Edited June 16, 2020 by socrates63 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 That's rad, just needs some graphics on it now 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Kaboomer Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 How does it feel with Space Invaders or Champ Games' Galagon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroGameBoyz Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 Thanks guys!!! - Yes I agree about the graphics - we discussed it - but opted no graphics at this time - let's consider this a prototype - if you even need to reach me - I am active on Twitter mostly here: https://twitter.com/retrogameboyz Stay well and safe all Regards, Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socrates63 Posted June 17, 2020 Author Share Posted June 17, 2020 21 hours ago, Kaboomer said: How does it feel with Space Invaders or Champ Games' Galagon? Feels great! If I remember correctly, the arcade Space Invaders only had button controls. Games with only left and right joystick movement also feel good. I tried Galaxian earlier and Galagon also felt very natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 This would be very useful as the second controller for Defender II. I really dislike how that game requires a player to drop the first controller to access certain functions (e.g. Hyperspace) using the second. It makes an already challenging game close to impossible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virtvic Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 I make controllers similar to this for 9 pin (Atari) consoles & computers and Vectrex 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 IMHO five button joysticks work for pretty much every game except for Q*Bert and others strictly using diagonal movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledown Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 Q*bert doesn't use diagonal joystick inputs on the 2600: While your character Q*bert may move diagonally on the screen, the inputs are simply made with the 4 cardinal directions, wherein the joystick is rotated 45 degrees clockwise. This is the same way it was done in the arcade cabinets. With that said, I don't think my brain could handle attempting the use of a 5 button "Asteroids" controller for Q*bert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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