X-Arcade on Amiga?

[HenryCase]

@All
You're overcomplicating this issue way too much. All you need is an adapter that allows a PC keyboard to be used on an Amiga. The X-Arcade has programmable buttons so you can resolve any control issues once you've got the device connected.

Here's a suitable adapter project:
http://aminet.net/search?query=Epic1_2
Here's a picture of a completed board based on this project:
http://www.amiga.org/gallery/index.php?n=1551=38
Cost is around £6.

Now that an easy solution has been found, I wonder how many people will actually buy an X-Arcade for Amiga use...

[HenryCase]

@mahen
Please name me a handful of OCS/ECS/AGA games you want to play that can't be played using a keyboard. Thanks.

[HenryCase]

@orange
Almost all of them?

Ok, this is some useful information for building a X-Arcade adapter from scratch:
http://pinouts.ru/Inputs/KeyboardPC6_pinout.shtml
http://pinouts.ru/Inputs/AmigaMouseJoy_pinout.shtml
http://www.computer-engineering.org/ps2keyboard/scancodes2.html
http://www.aminet.net/docs/misc/cd32joy.lha
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/joystick/intro.html

What you'd need to do is use a programmable chip, a PIC for example, that read the PS/2 codes and triggered a signal which the Amiga could understand as joystick input. Shouldn't be too hard.

[HenryCase]

@All
I think I've found another ready made solution, but first I need someone to answer this question: Do joysticks designed for the C64 work with Amigas? I'm pretty sure the answer is yes, but I'd like some confirmation before I post my idea.

[HenryCase]

Ok, so nobody bothered to answer my question about C64 joysticks, but I thought I'd post the idea anyway. Actually, I realised after my post that Pertinax had found the same solution earlier, to use the Shredz64 control adapter.

This is the main summary of the Shredz64 project from its homepage:
"The Shredz64 project is an attempt to build an interface to connect the Playstation Guitar Hero controller (and any other PS controller) to the Commodore 64 computer, then create a Guitar Hero like game on the C64 utilizing the guitar controller."

So if we use the PSX control converter for X-Arcade, and plug it in to the Shredz64 PSX to C64 joystick converter  (known as the PSX64) we'll have a way of using an X-Arcade stick on an Amiga. This way all games will work without modification (WHDLoad, etc...).

I've just e-mailed Toni Westbrook (creator of the Shredz64 project), let's see if we can get this solution off the ground.

[HenryCase]

@Tiffers
You can make your own X-Arcade stick, but this doesn't help with compatibility because if you build one purely for Amiga use you lose the ability to use the stick with other platforms, which is why an Amiga adapter is the best solution. Also, whilst its possible to build a nice joystick from scratch this topic is about the X-Arcade in particular as I gather a number of people already own the device. However, your ideas are worth discussing, especially if someone is looking for the ultimate Amiga arcade stick, as this is much more likely to be achieved by building your own arcade stick (with quality parts, Hori and Happ being the market leaders AFAIK).

As for X-Arcade owners, I have good news, the PSX64 (part of the Shredz64 project by Toni Westbrook) will definitely let you use an X-Arcade stick on an Amiga. Here are two 'exclusive' pictures sent to me by Toni himself (playing Shadow of the Beast on an A1200):




Schematics for the PSX64 are due out in the next couple of months, and Toni also told me he would be selling fully assembled PSX64 adapters soon after. Things are looking good!

[HenryCase]

@mahen
Yep, certainly sounds great. :-)

Toni did mention that he only had one button working when he tried it out on an Amiga, mentioned the DB9 port being a limiting factor. However, IIRC I had joysticks for my Amiga that plugged into the same type of port and had two action buttons, so I don't think there is anything limiting in the design for one button only.