RetroBreakout Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Hi, Just recently my daughter's been educating me on Fortnite so i decided to return the favour and show her a thing or two about what 'proper' gaming was back in my day ? So i started with breakout on the 2600 and to my genuine surprise, we both had a blast! She actually developed "one more go" syndrome which must be a good sign right! Anyway i'll get to the point. We were using the Stella emulator, which I've recently discovered and absolutely love, and was using a mouse as a paddle but was obviously restricted to single player mode. So is there a way to have 2 mice detected as paddles 1+2 so we could battle it out on multiplayer. Thanks in advanced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 I don't know how feasible this is. Basically it depends on what the operating system allows. For example, can you plug in two mice (in Windows, Linux, or whatever you're using) and have the OS recognize them as two separate devices? If not, then there's no chance for Stella to do it, since Stella can only use what the OS provides. And I think most (all?) OS's don't allow that. To be honest, I would recommend skipping the mice entirely, and look into getting a 2600-daptor (http://www.2600-daptor.com) and a set of real paddles. Stella can use this without issue, and the paddle emulation is much more realistic compared to a mouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroBreakout Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 Thanks for your reply, much appreciated. yeah i came across those adapters but couldn't find any on a uk based website but i did find this (https://monsterjoysticks.com/9-pin-joystick-to-usb-adapter). Do you think this would be compatible with stella? I do like the idea of using my original paddles (if they still work after all this time). My pc shows both mice as different devices. But i can't find anywhere in stella that lets me assign a mouse axis movement to paddle 2. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 27 minutes ago, RetroBreakout said: yeah i came across those adapters but couldn't find any on a uk based website but i did find this (https://monsterjoysticks.com/9-pin-joystick-to-usb-adapter). Do you think this would be compatible with stella? I do like the idea of using my original paddles (if they still work after all this time). I can't guarantee that those will work with Stella, as I've never tested them. But I would guess that they'd be fine. 27 minutes ago, RetroBreakout said: My pc shows both mice as different devices. But i can't find anywhere in stella that lets me assign a mouse axis movement to paddle 2. I should have been clearer. It's not just two different devices you'd need, but two separate cursors. If both mice move the same cursor onscreen, then they're in effect only one mouse. That's why I don't think it's possible with current OS's; there is only ever one cursor shown, and hence only one pointing device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroBreakout Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 Thanks for that, i've ordered an adapter from monsterjoysticks in the uk and if that doesnt work then i will import a 2600 adapter. Yeah at first both mice were linked to one cursor but i then used a 3rd party windows program that allowed me to have a seperate cursor so now i can have 2 mice and 2 cursors. I couldn't get the second one to show up in stella though. Nevemind though, i'm really looking forward to using my original paddles. So hopefully this adapter will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+fdr4prez Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 3 hours ago, RetroBreakout said: i've ordered an adapter from monsterjoysticks in the uk You may want to email them directly and ask. There is no mention of paddle support. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 (edited) Windows supports multiple usb mice even though it has one cursor. It's up to each application program to make use of them. There are windows programs that have multiple cursors controlled by multiple mice. This could be an SDL limitation for Stella. The 2600-dapter turns an atari paddle into a usb game adapter analog stick axis. Any usb adapter that does something similar should work in Stella. Unless the usb adapter specifically supports a controller it probably isn't supported. But like fdr4prez suggests, you can ask and it might be added. Edited June 24, 2020 by mr_me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroBreakout Posted June 25, 2020 Author Share Posted June 25, 2020 I received the adapter today (from monsterjoysticks) and it doesn't seem to work. In windows and stella , they recognise the paddle buttons as being left and right and doesn't recognise either paddle being turned. Disappointing but not surprising considering the website doesn't actually mention paddles. I thought it was worth a punt for a tenner. Nevermind. It works perfectly with the joystick though, so i will definately have a use for it. I presume that's just the way that the adapter is designed and no tweaking or calibrating will help? I will order the recommended 2600-dapter from usa and hopefully it won't take too long to arrive ( i'm soooo impatient!! ? ) Thanks for you help and replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+fdr4prez Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 Reach out to the makers of the adapter you purchased and see if the paddle support could be added Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroBreakout Posted June 26, 2020 Author Share Posted June 26, 2020 Just an update... I got in touch with monsterjoysticks.com and they said it currently doesn't support paddles but they do intend on adding it sometime in the future (he didn't say when though). He did say t that the firmware is open source so i could contribute to the code myself if i had experience with C and AVR microcontrollers...... which i don't unfortunately. At least i live in hope that it may be added in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 (edited) The retronic usb adapter also uses an AVR microcontroller, supports Atari 2600 paddles, and it's firmware is also open source. That should make it easy for somebody. Edited June 26, 2020 by mr_me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroBreakout Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 I ordered a 2600-dapter - D9 version a few days ago which should arrive within 2-3 weeks (from usa to uk). I'm really looking forward to trying out my paddles that i've not used since i was a kid. Hopefully i've purchased the correct adaptor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+fdr4prez Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 6 hours ago, RetroBreakout said: I ordered a 2600-dapter - D9 version a few days ago which should arrive within 2-3 weeks (from usa to uk). I'm really looking forward to trying out my paddles that i've not used since i was a kid. Hopefully i've purchased the correct adaptor. Yes, that is good good adapter. You should be quite happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroBreakout Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 38 minutes ago, fdr4prez said: Yes, that is good good adapter. You should be quite happy with it. Brilliant, looking forward to receiving it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 I like the Bliss Box. Works with ANY DB9 controller, as well as almost anything else out there (NES, SNES, Sega, PSX, N64 etc....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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