Do I really need a Stella adapter?

[Luc]

Hello,

 

Today I saw one of those new Speedlink Competition Pro Joysticks in a store, which looked a lot like some of my old joysticks for the Atari. It had two buttons and could move in eight directions (producing that typical "click" sound) and could be plugged into an USB port.

 

Some of the reviews I've read state that it can be used with emulators, but can anyone confirm this? Will Stella recognize this type of joystick or does it really need a Stella adapter? What about Z26? Mame? Vice?

 

Thanks for any info,

[+uosipa llamxew]

I've found Stelladapter to be worth every penny that I paid for it. Most of the emulators I use recognized the joystick and responded to input immediately. After tinkering a bit with some configuration options in MAME, I was able to get my Atari paddles working with Arkanoid and other games that use a knob. I bought the Atari - 80 Classic Games and downloaded the Stelladapter patch so that I can use the driving controller to play Tempest.

 

I would assume that the joystick you linked to would work with all of the emulators you mentioned.

 

I bought a couple of USB Atari Joystick look-alikes a while back and found them to be pretty shoddy. The sheath was more of a plastic than rubber; after playing Gridrunner a few minutes, one came unattached and was nearly impossible to replace. Also, for some reason, the button was mapped to button 2 which made extra configuration necessary for some emulators.

[Paranoid]

I've found Stelladapter to be worth every penny that I paid for it.  Most of the emulators I use recognized the joystick and responded to input immediately.  After tinkering a bit with some configuration options in MAME, I was able to get my Atari paddles working with Arkanoid and other games that use a knob.  I bought the Atari - 80 Classic Games and downloaded the Stelladapter patch so that I can use the driving controller to play Tempest. 

 

I would assume that the joystick you linked to would work with all of the emulators you  mentioned. 

 

I bought a couple of USB Atari Joystick look-alikes a while back and found them to be pretty shoddy.  The sheath was more of a plastic than rubber;  after playing Gridrunner a few minutes, one came unattached and was nearly impossible to replace.    Also, for some reason, the button was mapped to button 2 which made extra configuration necessary for some emulators. 

1014652[/snapback]

 

Could you link to these cheap USB joysticks? All I can ever find when I search is "Flightstick" type sticks for the PC... or pads... nothing inbetween.

[Jess Ragan]

If that joystick has a USB cable, it ought to work just fine without an adapter. Any USB-compatible joysticks should work in any game or emulator designed for Windows. If you're running a DOS-based emulator, you could have some trouble, but nobody uses (much less codes) those anymore.

 

The Stella adapters are just designed to let you plug a 2600 joystick directly into your computer. You plug the joystick into the adapter, then the adapter into your computer, and the PC recognizes your favorite 2600 controller as a USB device. It's that simple!

 

I've got a similar product called a 3 in 1 JoyBox that lets me connect three different kinds of controllers (Playstation, Saturn, and Dreamcast) to my PC. I swear by this peripheral... it's the best accessory I've ever purchased for my computer. Let me tell 'ya, for old-school video games, a model 2 Saturn joypad kicks the crap out of any controller ever designed exclusively for PCs.

 

JR

[+uosipa llamxew]

Could you link to these cheap USB joysticks? All I can ever find when I search is "Flightstick" type sticks for the PC... or pads... nothing inbetween.

1015003[/snapback]

 

http://www.redoctane.com/atarigamejoystick.html

 

It looks like the price has gone back up on them and they are out of stock. When I bought my set, they were 5 bucks a piece.

[Luc]

I've found Stelladapter to be worth every penny that I paid for it.  Most of the emulators I use recognized the joystick and responded to input immediately.  After tinkering a bit with some configuration options in MAME, I was able to get my Atari paddles working with Arkanoid and other games that use a knob.  I bought the Atari - 80 Classic Games and downloaded the Stelladapter patch so that I can use the driving controller to play Tempest. 

 

I would assume that the joystick you linked to would work with all of the emulators you  mentioned. 

 

I bought a couple of USB Atari Joystick look-alikes a while back and found them to be pretty shoddy.  The sheath was more of a plastic than rubber;  after playing Gridrunner a few minutes, one came unattached and was nearly impossible to replace.    Also, for some reason, the button was mapped to button 2 which made extra configuration necessary for some emulators. 

1014652[/snapback]

 

I'm sure the Stelladapter is a very good piece of hardware, but for me it is a bit of a hassle to order one since I'm in Belgium. Buying a suitable joystick over here is less trouble - and a lot cheaper.

 

Thank you all for your responses, I now know I can safely buy one of those joysticks.

[grimbasement]

Those red octane joysticks were complete crap. I bought 2 at $5 a piece and I gave them to my 2 year old to play with.

[Paranoid]

Those red octane joysticks were complete crap. I bought 2 at $5 a piece and I gave them to my 2 year old to play with.

1019695[/snapback]

 

I suppose I'll never know. I tracked down Red Octane myself, sent them an e-mail asking if they were in fact out of stock, and if they would be re-issuing me, and they sent me a form letter, "Thank you for your order, but this item is out of stock. Please check back"...

 

Thank you for your ORDER?!?

 

Heh.

 

Why were they complete crap? At the least, couldn't you use it as an interface to hook up a REAL CX40 type joystick?

[PacManPlus]

BTW, with those Red Octane Joysticks... I used the insides of one to put in the Radica Space Invaders stick... I was able to get 4 buttons out of the thing.

 

For those of you that found out the the button actually maps to button '2' on the PC... It is because the PCB is labeled wrong! 'Left' is actually 'Right' and vice-versa. It's just a different type of ground going to the same 4 directionals to get the button, so you can get 4 buttons out of the thing. (I only used three for the Radica; 'A', 'B', and the small 'menu' button.)

 

So it ends up being pretty useful... I now have a 7800 Radica SI joystick and a USB PC one!

 

Bob

[hepcat]

I've found Stelladapter to be worth every penny that I paid for it.  Most of the emulators I use recognized the joystick and responded to input immediately.  After tinkering a bit with some configuration options in MAME, I was able to get my Atari paddles working with Arkanoid and other games that use a knob.  I bought the Atari - 80 Classic Games and downloaded the Stelladapter patch so that I can use the driving controller to play Tempest.

 

WHAT

 

I spent hours trying to play Arkanoid using the Stelladaptor and paddles and could never get it to work.

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...hl=stelladaptor

 

Of course, my last effort was with Mame32 .80. Maybe it's easier to set up now.

 

Can you please tell me which version of Mame you used and EXACTLY how you did it?

 

To answer the original question, even if you're dumb like me and can't figure out how to use paddles, the Stelladaptor is worth every penny.

 

--Jason

[+uosipa llamxew]

My apologies... I only just now saw Hepcat's response. I would send the message via PM, but I think that others might be able to benefit from the information in the future.

 

I am using Mame32 0.103

 

1) Open up Mame and find the game that you want to use your Atari paddles/Stelladapter with.

2) Right-click on the title and pick Properties

 

 

 

3) Click on the Controllers tab and make sure that "Enable joystick input" is checked. Down towards the bottom, make sure that the "Stelladaptor" stereo buttons are checked for both X & Y Axis.

 

 

 

4) Click the Controller Mapping tab and choose the "Joystick" setting for both paddle device and dial device.

 

 

 

5) Run the game. Push Tab to bring up options. Scroll down to "Input (this Game)".

 

 

 

6) Scroll down to P1 Button 1 and press "enter" to change the setting. Then push the red button on your atari paddle. Mame32 will then display the new button setting. Repeat this for "P2 Button 1".

7) Scroll to Dial Analog, press "enter" and then rotate the spinner on your Atari paddle. Mame32 will display the new analog setting. Repeat for Dial 2 Analog.

 

 

 

You should be set to go. If the movement is too jerky, fast, or slow, you may need to adjust the "analog deadzone" in "Properties"

[hepcat]

Stelladaptor for Dummies

 

You are my new hero. I'll try it this weekend.

 

--Jason