Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Gaming => Topic started by: motrucker on March 05, 2011, 11:41:03 PM
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I know this has done before, but I can't find a definitive thread, and I don't feel like blowing a CIA chip - Will 6 button Genesis gamepads work without any mods on an Amiga?
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I know this has done before, but I can't find a definitive thread, and I don't feel like blowing a CIA chip - Will 6 button Genesis gamepads work without any mods on an Amiga?
Yeah, it works!:afro:
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Will 6 button Genesis gamepads work without any mods on an Amiga?
Yes. But only 2 of the buttons will do anything.
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I was under the assumption that they could damage your 9-pin port if not modified correctly. Also I have heard that you had to mod it in the first place to get the 2nd button support, though I could be wrong. I've also heard that you can mod them to make 3 of the buttons work, but again I am not sure.
I'm one of those lucky people who happened to get one of those Playstation to Amiga adaptor while they were being built, thus I have the best CD32 controller a person could ask for...
...next to the XBOX 360 controller that is. ;)
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I got one from deal extreme (3 dollars INCLUDING shipping from hong kong) which worked as a 2 button controller just fine...both weeks before it stopped working.
Got another pair of equally cheap reproductions from ebay later which worked but only with 1 button. Could be the shoddy reproductions though.
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I know this has done before, but I can't find a definitive thread, and I don't feel like blowing a CIA chip - Will 6 button Genesis gamepads work without any mods on an Amiga?
You should swap pins 5 & 7. If you don't and anything goes wrong then you'll kick yourself. Plus you can't get more than 2 buttons + the dpad working if you don't do this.
An adapter is easy to make, just pop to maplin and buy a male & female 9 pin connector, 2 x hoods + a wire. You can get them cheaper online though.
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I bought 2 Sega Pads from Toys R Us circa 1992 for $10.00 each. They have worked great ever since! AFAIK I have played every 2-button Amiga game with them.
I used my Sega pads on my A500s, A2000s, A3000s, A4000 and A1200.
Sega pads work perfectly for many years for Cammy and I. They can work for you too. :)
2-button controllers FTW!
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I was under the assumption that they could damage your 9-pin port if not modified correctly. Also I have heard that you had to mod it in the first place to get the 2nd button support, though I could be wrong. I've also heard that you can mod them to make 3 of the buttons work, but again I am not sure.
I'm one of those lucky people who happened to get one of those Playstation to Amiga adaptor while they were being built, thus I have the best CD32 controller a person could ask for...
...next to the XBOX 360 controller that is. ;)
I use an X-Box controller on my Windows machine, but since that is USB it will never work on my A1000.
I found two of the Sega, 6 button controllers (in almost new condition!) for $.50 each at a local Flea Market.
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You should swap pins 5 & 7. If you don't and anything goes wrong then you'll kick yourself. Plus you can't get more than 2 buttons + the dpad working if you don't do this.
An adapter is easy to make, just pop to maplin and buy a male & female 9 pin connector, 2 x hoods + a wire. You can get them cheaper online though.
This is just what I was worried about. Pin #7 is the 5Vdc, pin #5 is listed as potX (or not used?). If one pot line needs to be changed, why not both pot lines?
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This is just what I was worried about. Pin #7 is the 5Vdc, pin #5 is listed as potX (or not used?). If one pot line needs to be changed, why not both pot lines?
This mod has been around a long time. I found details in the ADoom docs, IIRC. It seems there was something about adding 2 resistors as well. I modified the controller itself rather than making an adapter for the connector end. It was easier.
If you think about it, Amigas and Segas only have 9-pin game ports and there is only one Fire input in that. To get more fire buttons, some kind of multiplexing must be done in the controller (there is a chip inside for this). When you do the mod (swap pins 5 &7), you power the chip enabling more buttons. Without the mod, I think only left, right, up, down, and fire (hard contacts switching to ground?) work. I don't recall more than one fire button (B?) working on an unmodified Sega controller.
IIRC, the Amiga game software (like ADoom) needs to be expecting the multiplexed signal. Unfortunately, I never investigated too far, I'm not really a gamer. I don't know for example, if the mod makes a Sega controller look like a CD32 controller to the Amiga. Maybe it does.
This was years ago and the best I remember it.
How many Amiga games utilize all the buttons on a CD32 controller? Do you have any?
Does anyone have list of Amiga games that make use of 2 fire buttons? Cammy?
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What Tenacious explains is true about switching the power to the multiplexing chip in the Sega controller, you cannot access any of the buttons other than B and C (Fire 1 and Fire 2 respectively) without doing that mod. Usually there is a resistor involved too. Once modified, the pad is functional as a full seven button controller in ADOOM, and can also be used in Flashback and Hired Guns with the Start button and A,B and C. As far as I know, only ADOOM supports buttons X, Y & Z.
A modified Sega control pad doesn't send the same signals as a CD32 pad, so it can't be used as a replacement for these. It can still only be used in games that support 1 and 2 button controllers and specially modified Sega controllers.
You can add support to a game or maybe even a WHDLoad slave if you can program, the instructions are in the ADOOM documentation:http://aminet.net/package/game/shoot/ADoom-1.4
Six button Sega pads should all still work as 2-button pads on Amigas without any modifications. There are some things that stop the second button from working though, such as WHDLoad on an A600. If you play a game from floppy the second button will work, but when using it in the WHDLoad-installed version of the same game the button may wok the first time you press it but never again after that. I don't know what causes this but it's annoying.
As for a list of games supporting two buttons, it would be so long. Someone needs to start a thread with a list in the first post that they can modify and add games to the list each time someone suggests one. Only then will we finally work out a definitive list of 2-button compatible games.
More info can be found in this thread: http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=50705
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MoTrucker. Yes I use my XBOX controller on the PC to. Works great with Joy2Key and other related programs. One of my favorite things is to play through those old FPS classics such as Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight with a dual analog controller. It makes it somewhat hard again. :)
And yes, what Cammy and Tenacious are talking about is what I'd heard about. As for three button support you can map one of your buttons to UP on the controller, thus allowing you to also use a button to jump in games like Giana Sisters.
Tenacious: There are a TON of games that support CD32 Games. I've been playing through them as of late. First off you have just about Every CD32 title out there. They all pretty much require that you use more than one button, though for what ever reason Myth seems to require that I still use the freaking arrow keys and space bar to change weapons. What a crock of shit, I must say!
Also Nemac IV, Fears, I think Breathless, and maybe Gloom support it. ADOOM can support all CD32 buttons I think, though you'll want to have a 50Mhz 060 or faster to enjoy that at full screen as turning on Joypad support slows it down a tad.
There are many. And it is only a shame that the PSX adaptor I got wasn't mass produced. It is really one of those pieces of hardware that no Amiga game should live without. Ironically the guy who made it for me has made his Youtube account Private, so I can't even link you to the videos showing it in action.
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Add either Fightin' spirit or Shadow fighter to that list (I forget which)
Hired Guns has a gamepad option in the menu's.
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This is just what I was worried about. Pin #7 is the 5Vdc, pin #5 is listed as potX (or not used?). If one pot line needs to be changed, why not both pot lines?
pin#7 for the megadrive is the multiplexor input
pin#5 for the megadrive is 5v.
So if you just plug it in, it will be drawing 5v from potx and the multiplexor input can't be changed. By swapping the pins and configuring potx as an output you can access all the buttons, as long as the game was designed to do so.
the poty line is used for an input (IIRC it's the right mouse button line). I think this is what causes problems on the c64 with blown CIA's, however I haven't had any problems on the Amiga.
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I still can't make sense out of the pin assignments on the amiga joystick port. The pin I use for the second fire button is labeled MOUSE BUTTON 3, but mouse button 2 on the actual mouse seems to work as the second fire button if I use my mouse instead of a joystick. If my fire button is connected to the MOUSE BUTTON 2 pin, it does nothing.
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@cammy
Thanks much. The links you added help too. You and tenacious helped a lot. I finally understand what's going on.
Actually I should say thanks to everyone. I got a lot of help on this one.
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Without thinking the other day, I inserted a Majesco made Genesis 6-button controller into my A3000. Those were the ones with the switch for rapid-fire/slow motion and came rather late in the Genny's life. Late 90's IIRC. Anywho, must have blown something in the CIA chip responsible for recognizing a 2-button controller in Port 1. Nothing wrong with mouse at all though. Glad I have a few CIA's laying around :)