blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) (06/29/88)
There was some discussion on joysticks a month or so ago. Here's one to
avoid like the plague: Magnum from Mastertronic. It's a pistol-grip
joystick with the fire button at the back for your thumb, and the stick on
top.
It looks pretty good, but it is IMPOSSIBLE to get diagonal motion with
this stick. This might be a feature for Pac-Man, but it renders most
games unplayable. Even worse, the Magnum is unreliable. A friend and I
each bought one, and they broke within a week of each other. They were
about 2 months old when they gave out. One of the microswitches (that the
package brags about) collapsed on each stick. There is a warranty on the
Magnum, but it costs you $3-4 (plus the shipping to Mastertronics). This
is absurd on a $9.95 joystick.
Enough bad news. Buy a Wico if you want a good joystick. The red and
black bat-handle is about $20, and is indestructable, you just can't
damage it. And it's got a good feel to it too. There is a switch on the
base, and one on the handle. Only one can be active, the selector switch
is on the base.
Not quite as nice as the bat-handle is "The Boss". It's black and gray,
and is built a bit cheaper, but it's still better than most. Mine cost
about $15.
On the "must have if you can find them at a garage sale" list are the
Amiga Joyboard, and the tiny Amiga joysticks. :-)
--
Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland 540 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108
UUCP Addresses: {ihnp4,ucbvax,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne
ihnp4!utah-cs!esunix!blgardne usna!esunix!blgardne
"Nobody will ever need more than 64K." "Nobody needs multitasking on a PC."sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey) (06/30/88)
In article <890@esunix.UUCP> blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) writes: >Enough bad news. Buy a Wico if you want a good joystick. The red and >black bat-handle is about $20, and is indestructable, you just can't >damage it. And it's got a good feel to it too. There is a switch on the >base, and one on the handle. Only one can be active, the selector switch >is on the base. I have to second this. I bought a pair of these (Command Control is the model name) about 16 months ago. I swear, the thing is a tank. I've had berzerk college students playing Firepower bend the things to where I thought the metal was going to break, but they simply refuse to die. They have a good feel to them. They don't have tactile feedback, but I don't like that anyway. My friends like the button on the stick. I like the base. Highly Recommended. My idea of an ideal joystick is one made of ribbed anodized aluminum, molded to fit the hand. The base would be weighted to stay put, and would have a place to use clamps to clamp it to the table. It would have a two thumb buttons and a finger trigger, each sending separate inputs. It would be be pneumatic for smoothness instead of spring loaded. It would be true proportional, with selectable autocenter, adjustable travel and output range, and a logarithmic output option. Sounds expensive, doesn't it? :-) Sean -- *** Sean Casey sean@ms.uky.edu, sean@ukma.bitnet *** The IPCF Roto-Rooter man. {backbone|rutgers|uunet}!ukma!sean *** U of K, Lexington Kentucky, USA Internet site? "talk sean@g.ms.uky.edu" *** ``I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way.''
smaug@eneevax.UUCP (Kurt J. Lidl) (06/30/88)
In article <890@esunix.UUCP> blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) writes:
:There was some discussion on joysticks a month or so ago. Here's one to
:avoid like the plague: Magnum from Mastertronic.
:Enough bad news. Buy a Wico if you want a good joystick. The red and
:black bat-handle is about $20, and is indestructable, you just can't
:damage it. And it's got a good feel to it too. There is a switch on the
:base, and one on the handle. Only one can be active, the selector switch
:is on the base.
If you are into soldering - just unscrew the bottom of that baby,
locate the switch selector and solder a 1 inch pice of wire across the
two outer terminals. Then regardless of which position the switch is
in, both buttons will respond. This "fix" occured to me after losing a
pitched battle to my friend, who had switched the button to accomodate his
playing style. Best of all, the total cost is probably under $.02 (for
the electricity for the soldering iron).
:On the "must have if you can find them at a garage sale" list are the
:Amiga Joyboard, and the tiny Amiga joysticks. :-)
If only I could find one :-)
:Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland 540 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108
--
==================================================================
== Kurt J. Lidl (smaug@eneevax.umd.edu) (301)454-6849 ==
== UUCP: [seismo,allegra]!umcp-cs!eneevax!smaug ==
========"It's after 3am, no point in going to sleep now..."=======steve@dcdwest.UUCP (07/01/88)
The best joystick I ever had I got in a local electronic surplus place. It is
from a ZAXXON II arcade game and came with the front panel, which I mounted in a
wooden framework. My kids like to *stand* on it, but I don't worry, because it
is indestructible. It is strong, durable, and has good action to it, and cost
me not much more than any of the many broken joysticks that are stuffed into
the back of my computer desk here. DEFINITELY a good investment - check your
local Industrial Liquidator store today!
========================== Steven Meloche ==================================
_____ _____ _____
| ` | ' ` | ' ITT Defense Communications Division
| | | San Diego, CA
__|__ | | steve!dcdwest!ucsdhub!...NETOPRHM@NCSUVM.BITNET (Hal Meeks) (07/01/88)
I am currently using an Icontroller that has been attached to my 2000's
keyboard. It almost looks integrated :-)
Response time and tactile feedback is just about the best I have run
across. It has a nice little passthru connector for hanging another
joystick off of it if you prefer something else.
My only concern in durability. The instructions say that it isn't
designed to take abrupt twists and turns that games require. However,
I haven't had any problems at all in the 6 months that I have owned it.
But I can see that a hamfisted individual could destroy it, because of
its stubby little joystick.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hal Meeks
netoprhm@ncsuvm.bitnet "Well, I believe hahahahaaaaheehaaa,
hgm@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu and also believe hahahahehaheha."
--John Trubeeeachus@mitre-bedford.ARPA (Robert Eachus) (07/02/88)
In article <890@esunix.UUCP> blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) writes: > >On the "must have if you can find them at a garage sale" list are the >Amiga Joyboard, and the tiny Amiga joysticks. :-) I have two of these, every couple of months I disassemble clean and reassemble them so that they are once again reliable. (I have two kids, six and nine, and if these are working reliably they get lots of hard use...) There are some games that get used constantly when these are in working order, but forgotten about otherwise. (Attack and Q-Bert on the TI99A, for example) I agree with everything said about the Wico joysticks, but they are not in the same league when the action gets fast and furious. Please, please Commodore (or Amiga, or whoever has the rights) make some more of these joysticks. I think I paid around $9 originally and would gladly pay $20 now. Robert I. Eachus with STANDARD_DISCLAIMER; use STANDARD_DISCLAIMER; function MESSAGE (TEXT: in CLEVER_IDEAS) return BETTER_IDEAS is...
jason@ziebmef.uucp (Jason Gould) (07/02/88)
Actually, I personally think that the Epyx 500XJ is better than the Wico
Joysticks. It feels much more comfortable, especially when you're playing a
game which requires a lot of quick joystick movements. I found that on The
Boss, my hand would cramp up pretty fast, but on the Epyx, I found that my
hand would cramp up much less often than on the Wico.
Also, in my case, the Epyx has lasted longer than the Wico Boss. On the Boss,
there are these little plastic things that pop off and jiggle around inside the
joystick after a lot of joystick use. Eventually, these things get caught in
the switches, so you have to open the thing to get the plastic things out. I've
had absolutely no problems with the Epyx, but if I do, it has a FIVE YEAR
warranty.
--
Jason Gould Toronto, Ont. Canada
jason@ziebmef.UUCP {uunet!mnetor!lsuc,utgpu}!ncrcan!ziebmef!jasonerict@flatline.UUCP (j eric townsend) (07/02/88)
In article <9808@g.ms.uky.edu>, sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey) writes: > In article <890@esunix.UUCP> blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) writes: > >Enough bad news. Buy a Wico if you want a good joystick. The red and > >black bat-handle is about $20, and is indestructable, you just can't > I have to second this. I bought a pair of these (Command Control is the model > name) about 16 months ago. I swear, the thing is a tank. I've had berzerk I got my Wico 5, count 'em, 5 *years* ago while running a computer/wargame store. The only thing I've had to do is clean the contacts once or twice. Our store joystick was used for short games of tug of war, slingshot demonstrations ("Look, I hit the Darth Vader poster at the back of the shop.") and roach killing along with being a normal joystick. -- Skate UNIX or go home, boogie boy... J. Eric Townsend ->uunet!nuchat!flatline!erict smail:511Parker#2,Hstn,Tx,77007 ..!bellcore!tness1!/
cheung@vu-vlsi.Villanova.EDU (Wilson Cheung) (07/03/88)
Ever since the days of games on the C-64, I've always been searching for a digital joystick that could yield the same amount of control as an analog joystick. Well I've sort of given up on that. However, amongst all the joysticks that I've used, that includes the all those super suped-up pistol grips, the analog looking digital joysticks, the supposedly high competition Epyx joystick and even the expensive Gravis MkVI controller is the one and only original Atari 2600 joystick--- WITH a slight modification. I recall one time when I was playing One-on-One on my Amiga using a pistol grip joystick, I think it was called the BOSS. I found that the joysticks "analog-like" freeplay instead of enhancing control only made hand to eye coordination out of phase. The fact was that when it comes to playing a game the bottom line to good control is that your joystick respond to every movement. The majority of digital joysticks on the market build in some amount of freeplay attempting somehow create that analog control feel. The Gravis MKVI controller does a super job of doing this. Unfortunately the analog feel only gives you false feedback. The typical shoot-em-up scenario is that you have your target in sight. Suddenly your target moves to the left. So you try to edget your target sight slightly to the left by moveing your joystick slightly to the left--nothing. You move it a little more-- nothing. Now your target is getting away from you! So in with greater ugency you slam the joystick to the left--motion! But then you end up overshooting too much to the left. So you start moving slightly to the right-- and the whole cycle continues until master just the right amount of quick hand twitches to the right and left to get your target centered. The plain and simple Atari 2600 joystick on the other hand has absolutely no freeplay. It uses metallic bubble switches so button longevity is out of the question. It has no pistol grip, a base that could be widened and requires somewhat brutish force to control. So why has it become the best joystick I've ever used. Well one time when I has playing a nasty game of one-on-one with my friend on a Spectra Video joystick, I made a very hard spin move to the basket-- so hard I ripped the handle clean off! I week later with the severed handle in my hand I notice that the opening on the bottom was just the right size to fit over that dreaded Atarti 2600 joystick. Well, it turned out that I had to shave off some of the rubber coating on the 2600 joystick and drill a through the middle of its shaft. It turned out all that effort was well worth it. Now that super tight 2600 tension was eased up just right with the extra torque provided by the fat Spectra Video joystick pistol grip. I also had a handle mounted fire button. Among all varieties of games, Archon, Flight Simulator II, Jet ect. the 2600 with Spectra Video gave me better response than any other joystick on the market. In that same shoot-em-up scenario when I move my hande slight to the left, I actually move slightly to the left. And when I let go the tight tension of the 2600 stops my movement instantly. And when I start playing physical, 20 lb+ force the handle flexes sufficiently to give me the sensation that I'm actually turning harder. Try this excercise with your joystick. Bring up Jet and go into practive mode. Destroy all enemy fighters except for a Mig-23. Now lock your sights on to him and keep him in your sights until you actually go right through him. With my 2600, all the evasive maneuvers of the Mig-23 fighter were futile, I had might sights flashing red for long 5-10 second intervals. A joystick almost as good as this is the Gravis MKVI with a bunch of rubber bands wrapped around the base to boost up the tension. Wilson Cheung same
lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Fish-Guts) (07/03/88)
Regarding joysticks:
I have used a fair number. My experiences are:
1) First joystick was an Atari 2600 joystick. It lasted maybe four
months after being used for many tense sessions with my brother and
father. I am sorry to have seen it die...it just wasn't built strong
enough.
2) Second joystick was called something like a Specta Video bugger.
It had suction cups on the bottom, and a very comfortable hand grip.
Lasted less than a month. Too bad, but it was built worse than the Atari.
3) I've used Amiga joysticks, but I can *never* get the darned things
into the diagonal, and the buttons have a less-than-adequate response
for me. The computers are much better than the joysticks, IMHO ;-)
4) The third joystick I bought was a Wico, and I payed $30 on sale for
it. It has lasted 4 or 5 years (I don't remember how long its been),
and is still in excellent condition. It is a bit hard to get in the
diagonals, but whenever I get disgusted with it, I just go inside the
bugger and re-bend the leaf switches. I've seen a personal computer
joystick stand up to so much punishment, either. A great value.
5) I've used my brother's Wico Boss joystick, which doesn't have as
much metal in it as the red Wico's, but is still built like a truck.
It does have a nice feel, and a good grip, though.
Basically, I've found that it looks like it is built solidly, it
is. All of the cheasy plastic joysticks always seem to break
(including those my friends have owned), whereas the impact-resistant
plastic and metal joysticks will probably survive the next World War.
A little trivia: there was once a joystick on the market that
used mercury switches instead of mechanical ones. I never did get
one, and I bet they were not that responsive, but I also would bet
they *never* wore out. Did anyone here ever own one of these?
-Chris
--
Christopher Lishka | lishka@uwslh.uucp
Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene | lishka%uwslh.uucp@cs.wisc.edu
Immunology Section (608)262-1617 | ...!{rutgers|ucbvax|...}!uwvax!uwslh!lishka
"...Just because someone is shy and gets straight A's does not mean they won't
put wads of gum in your arm pits."
- Lynda Barry, "Ernie Pook's Commeek: Gum of Mystery"melnik@topaz.rutgers.edu (Ofer Melnik) (07/04/88)
In article <1988Jul2.105721.11385@ziebmef.uucp> jason@ziebmef.UUCP (Jason Gould) writes: | | Actually, I personally think that the Epyx 500XJ is better than the Wico |Joysticks. It feels much more comfortable, especially when you're playing a |game which requires a lot of quick joystick movements. I found that on The |Boss, my hand would cramp up pretty fast, but on the Epyx, I found that my |hand would cramp up much less often than on the Wico. I'll second that motion! I've had 3 now for a while & I just love them! |-- |Jason Gould Toronto, Ont. Canada |jason@ziebmef.UUCP {uunet!mnetor!lsuc,utgpu}!ncrcan!ziebmef!jason -- Ofer Melnik Rutgers University melnik@topaz.rutgers.edu
peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) (07/04/88)
In article <347@uwslh.UUCP>, lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Fish-Guts) writes: > 1) First joystick was an Atari 2600 joystick. It lasted maybe four > months after being used for many tense sessions with my brother and > father. I am sorry to have seen it die...it just wasn't built strong > enough. I buy Atari 2600 joysticks about every 6 months. They're agony to use, and don't last long, but they're responsive. > 2) Second joystick was called something like a Specta Video bugger. > It had suction cups on the bottom, and a very comfortable hand grip. > Lasted less than a month. Too bad, but it was built worse than the Atari. My Spectravideo joystick has lasted a couple of years now. It's very comfortable, as you say, and great for shootemups. For games where some degree of precision is required (Say, Tracers (plug) or Rockford) it's got a little too much play. For them, you're better off with the Ataris. > A little trivia: there was once a joystick on the market that > used mercury switches instead of mechanical ones. I never did get > one, and I bet they were not that responsive, but I also would bet > they *never* wore out. Did anyone here ever own one of these? Le Shtick: I didn't own one, but I had an opportunity to play with one for a while. It didn't have a base at all, just mercury tilt switches. It was pretty responsive until you got excited, then you suddenly notice that you're holding it horizontally... back to the problem of too much play (like, 360 degrees). It was a lot of fun for Star Raiders. -- -- `-_-' Peter (have you hugged your wolf today?) da Silva. -- U Mail to ...!uunet!sugar!peter, flames to /dev/null. -- "Running DOS on a '386 is like driving an Indy car to the Stop-N-Go"
melnik@topaz.rutgers.edu (Ofer Melnik) (07/04/88)
In article <347@uwslh.UUCP> lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Fish-Guts) writes: > A little trivia: there was once a joystick on the market that >used mercury switches instead of mechanical ones. I never did get >one, and I bet they were not that responsive, but I also would bet >they *never* wore out. Did anyone here ever own one of these? I know which ones your talking about, and while I never bought one, I did *BUILD* one... It worked really well, but there was one major flaw. It gave no feedback. I *ALWAYS* over-shot everything... Oh well... -Ofer -- Ofer Melnik Rutgers University melnik@topaz.rutgers.edu > -Chris
brianr@tekig4.TEK.COM (Brian Rhodefer) (07/06/88)
It amazes me how badly the human inputs for computer games are implemented.
The remarks of one recent poster notwithstanding, this is true for commercial
arcade games as much as (or more than) for home games. The better the game,
at least for the skill&action variety, the more exuberantly its operator(s)
slam its controls around; yet, the controls seem always to involve the human's
frenzied muscles pushing two bits of metal together. "Pushing"? Say, rather,
"*Mashing*". Go to any arcade, and you'll see at least one or two
machines down because their controls have been beaten into junk.
Though the Wico joysticks seem more rugged in construction, if you open one,
you'll see that its handle is essentially one end of a lever whose
other end presses some leaf-spring contacts together. The only saving
grace is that after the switches close, BOTH leaves flex, and that the
massive plastic chassis limits control motion before the switch leaves
are permanently damaged. Oveall, I wouldn't expect a Wico controller
to be any less reliable than, say, an open-frame telephone relay.
A company I worked for as a summer student sold a `joyswitch' used as
the controller for the cargo-loading system of 747s, that I consider to
be the ultimate mechanical joystick design. With 4 independent axes of
motion (right/left, up/down, in/out, and clockwise/counterclockwise),
it's overkill for a game, but its implementation of the basic up/down,
right/left function was brilliant: the force that actuated the switching
element was decoupled from the force that moved the control handle.
Here's a cutaway view drawing showing one axis of this control
(The sliding yoke is actually cross-shaped).
The key point is that the switching is done by cam action where the
direction of travel of the microswitch feeler is rotated 90 degrees
away from the direction of human-applied force. The travel of the microswitch
is rigidly defined by the slope & size of the sliding yoke cam surface.
It may have been a bit bulky, but I've never seen its equal (passive
switches only here; no fair using optosensors) for ruggedness.
______
/ \
\ knob /
| |
~ ~
~ ~
------------ _______ | | ______ -----------
| | |.......| | | |......| | |
| Micro | |.......| | | |......| | Micro |
| Switch | |.......| | | |......| | Switch |
| | |_______| | | |______| | |
---------#-- ____________ | | ___________ --#--------
U / Sliding | | | | \ U
------/ Yoke | | | | \--------
WMWM| <-> | | | | |WMWM <- springs
-------------------- | | ---------------------
--------- | | --------
|.......| | | |......|
|.......| \ / |......|
|.......| \ / |......|
|.......| \/ |......
....... \ ** /.... . ** Ball joint
..... --------- .......
If this design isn't patented, it sure ought to be used in commercial games.
Divulgingly,
Brian Rhodefer ...!tektronix!tekig4!brianrkodiak@amiga.UUCP (Robert R. Burns) (07/13/88)
In article <35680@linus.UUCP> eachus@mbunix (Eachus) writes: )In article <890@esunix.UUCP> blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) writes: )> )>On the "must have if you can find them at a garage sale" list are the )>Amiga Joyboard, and the tiny Amiga joysticks. :-) ) ) Please, please Commodore (or Amiga, or whoever has the rights) )make some more of these joysticks. Sorry, the rights to the joysticks (to my recollection) went to the manufacturer of them, with an agreement that the existing inventory could be sold with the Amiga name, but that subsequently produced sticks would have to be sold under another name. I don't think more were ever produced. ) ...I think I paid around $9 )originally and would gladly pay $20 now. Kinda makes me wish I had lots more than one of these "collector's items" :-). -- | / _ _|' _ |/ Bob Burns . . . . .---. . |/ (_)(_)|(_\|\ USENET: amiga!kodiak / \ |\ /| | | __ / \ |\ Kodiak \ _______/ A \| \/ |_|_|___|/ A \ | \ Software "Dedicated to the Science of Fun"\_________
cs161agc@sdcc10.ucsd.EDU (John Schultz) (11/01/88)
In article <941@hub.ucsb.edu> dougp@sbphy.ucsb.edu writes: >Is there any software support in 1.3 for analogue joysticks? > > Douglas Peale SpaceSpuds (3D) supports Standard IBM Joysticks in the second mouse port. The RKM suggests approx. 470K ohm pots for analog joysticks, but using pots with this value will yield readings from about 0..49. The range should be from 0..255. We did some testing and found 1 Mega ohm pots will generate the necessary range (approx. 470x2 = 940). Perhaps Dale or Bob can tell us why this is so... Anyway, before analog joysticks are to become popular on the Amiga, custom joysticks with 1M pots will have to be produced. I have a Gravis IBM analog joystick working with SpaceSpuds, but with a range of only -24..+24. The circuitry in the 500s generate spurious readings with even less range; with 2000s, a more stable range abliet less than a 1000. Hopefully these problems will be remedied and a major joystick manufacturer will build special joysticks for the Amiga. John
dbk@fbog.UUCP (Dave B. Kinzer @ Price Rd. GEG) (11/02/88)
In article <4@sdcc10.ucsd.EDU> cs161agc@sdcc10.ucsd.edu.UUCP (John Schultz) writes: >In article <941@hub.ucsb.edu> dougp@sbphy.ucsb.edu writes: >>Is there any software support in 1.3 for analogue joysticks? >> >> Douglas Peale > [ much trimmed about Space spuds and Pot values] > > John > As a response to a challenge issued to me over the net in a previous flame war ( you remember, don't you :-)), I decided to write an article about adapting IBM or Apple analog joysticks to be used on the Amiga. I designed an extremely low parts count adapter board last Sunday, bought a joystick on Monday, and will be building the board Wednesday night. It will adapt the controller to work exactly like a 490K pot joystick, but without modifying the controller (in case you would like to plug it into one of those "other" machines). I will also be writing some example code to include in the article to demonstrate proper interfacing to the joyport. Look for this to be published in some magazine, but I'm not sure how to go about this part of it (perhaps someone who has done this would like to email me some advice). DBK -- | // You've heard of CATS and DOGS, I'm from GOATS, Dave Kinzer | | // Gladly Offering All Their Support! noao!nud!fbog!dbk | | \X/ "My employer's machine, my opinion." (602) 897-3085 |
dca@kesmai.COM (David C. Albrecht) (11/04/88)
In article <4@sdcc10.ucsd.EDU>, cs161agc@sdcc10.ucsd.EDU (John Schultz) writes: > > SpaceSpuds (3D) supports Standard IBM Joysticks in the second mouse > port. The RKM suggests approx. 470K ohm pots for analog joysticks, > but using pots with this value will yield readings from about 0..49. > The range should be from 0..255. We did some testing and found 1 > Mega ohm pots will generate the necessary range (approx. 470x2 = > 940). Perhaps Dale or Bob can tell us why this is so... Anyway, > before analog joysticks are to become popular on the Amiga, custom > joysticks with 1M pots will have to be produced. I have a Gravis > IBM analog joystick working with SpaceSpuds, but with a range of > only -24..+24. The circuitry in the 500s generate spurious readings > with even less range; with 2000s, a more stable range abliet less > than a 1000. Hopefully these problems will be remedied and a major > joystick manufacturer will build special joysticks for the Amiga. I just recently added joystick support to Air Warrior. As noted, the values tend to jitter and produce spurious values so I still need to add a dead band and a low pass filter to make it useful. I noted that the resolution of an IBM analog joystick is pretty crappy on the Amiga. One of the players came back with that all you had to do was add a .1 uf cap from the pot wiper to ground. The value he is currently using is .022. I haven't tried this but at some point I no doubt will. You might try it and see how it works for you. David Albrecht
mathers@titan.trl.oz.au (Steven Mathers) (05/09/90)
> So you want more buttons, eh? How about analog x-y, two fire buttons > and an analog throttle control? These features come with the CH Products > Flight Stick, which is currently the only joystick my current project > will support. You can actually have 5 fire buttons with an analog > joystick, if you so desire. IBM analog joysticks are easily adapted to > the Amiga and they cost $19 and up ($50 for the Flight Stick). The trouble is that unless either Commodore or a few of the larger companies that make joysticks get into the act, the software developers wont support more than one button. If there are any software developers out there, I think they should add the code to recognize the extra buttons for pragmatic reasons. 1) The games will be easier to play, and more enjoyable, hence more copies will be sold. Its a very economical way to improve gameplay by a large degree vs. programming effort. 2) The joystick manufacturers will follow the trend. ...and for the joystick manufacturers... 1) If you get in first with a decent multi-button joystick (ie: not those stupid fighter pilot ones with the enormous handles and the flanged niblicks etc..) then you will have a marketing edge. 2) You could probably increase your profit margin as the cost to change the design to include one or TWO PLEASE extra buttons would be less than the markup you could get away with for the better product. So get with it guys... Stefo.
bscott@isis.cs.du.edu (Ben Scott) (11/25/90)
In article <36959@nigel.ee.udel.edu> fhwri%CONNCOLL.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu writes: >I still have my AMIGA PowerStick from '83 (back when they made joysticks (as >well as the Legendary Power Board, the TRUE source of the GURU) and it >still works! Great little stick; wish that SOMEONE would bring them back out. Yes, I agree - my Amiga Powerstick (which is a little too worn out to use after 7 years!) is unquestionably the best joystick I've ever seen. Small enough to use with one hand if necessary, yet strong. Sensitive, but durable. Comfortable to use, and inexpensive. They don't make 'em like that any more. It was the only stick which held up to my style of playing Space Taxi and Raid on Bungling Bay on the 64... Of course, when I first heard that Amiga was coming out with a computer, I thought "Wait a minute, Amiga makes JOYSTICKS - isn't this a bit like Schwinn building a car here?". I'm glad I was proven so wrong... I've seen Joyboards for sale at used equipment stores but never have I found another Powerstick. What are the chances of some company finding out who (if anyone) has the rights to this design and re-releasing it? Probably zero, but one can always hope. Please note the Followup-to line, also. . <<<<Infinite K>>>> -- |Ben Scott, professional goof-off and consultant at The Raster Image, Denver| |FIDO point address 1:104/421.2, bscott@isis.cs.du.edu, or BBS (303)424-9831| |"Spent 4 hours burying the cat!" "Four || The Raster Image IS responsible | | hours?!?" "It wouldn't keep still..." || for everything I say! | *Amiga* |