Looking for a specific Amiga joystick..

[ikaruga]

Hi,

I'm willing to buy an Amiga joystick much like Competition Pro or Zipstick. I use at the moment a Sega Megadrive/Genesis joyspad but it's weared out and dying.

The problem is that the joystick must has:
- Autofire... for the likes of Xenon 2 Megablast

- Two Buttons... so you don't need to stretch out to punch the spacebar in Turrican II, for example

- Be a joystick, not a joypad.. so you can perform the circle move to launch the bombs in Battlesquadron - it's very tricky to do in my Megadrive joypad

Any model fits these specs?

[save2600]

One joystick that comes to mind is the Epyx 500XJ. It has everything you're looking for and is comfortable during extended use. I've got a mint one myself, but will be keeping it. 2-button joys are not common  :-(  

 ePay's got a similar one here.

He lists it as an Atari joystick, but mine (same model number) has TWO firing buttons (different and discrete I might add) on the right hand side. His joystick is also missing the rapid-fire switch, so I'm guessing they made at least a couple different versions of this joystick. Just wanted to give you the basic idea of what it looks like, etc.  

And it looks like Amigakit has a 4-button USB Joy bundled with Amiga games. Anyone here have this and know if the software included on that disk are for REAL Amiga computers (.adf's, etc.)? Is it robust enough or feel cheaply made?

[McVenco]

My absolute favourite joystick is the Quickshot Python. It has an autofire switch and 2 buttons, although both buttons have the same function. I guess it should be possible with some hacking to have a different function for each button.
Come to think of it: I've got 6 of these babies at home, might as well try to do this hack to one of 'em :-)

It doesn't look like a zipstick/ComPro though, so it's probably not the type of joystick that you're looking for.

[ikaruga]

Thanks for the answers!

I wonder what joystick type the Amiga games were written for - I mean, there should be some joystick model that is probably the standard type...

I always tought of something like the Competition Pro, perhaps because it's the more or less like the one that appears in one of the Battle Squadron screens.

All my mates (who naturally are either console players or Windows/PC players) complain about the fact that pratically all sidescrolling Amiga games use 'stick Forward to jump, instead of a button for it (like in any console game). This ruins completely the gameplay for them.

I am more or less used to it because I had an Atari 2600 joystick in the A500 days...

[beller]

save2600 wrote:
One joystick that comes to mind is the Epyx 500XJ. It has everything you're looking for and is comfortable during extended use. I've got a mint one myself, but will be keeping it. 2-button joys are not common  :-(  

(stuff deleted)

And it looks like Amigakit has a 4-button USB Joy bundled with Amiga games. Anyone here have this and know if the software included on that disk are for REAL Amiga computers (.adf's, etc.)? Is it robust enough or feel cheaply made?

I'm wondering where YOUR Epyx came from.  I've had several Epyx joysticks but have never seen one with 2 buttons!

I've not tried it, but the reports on the USB version of the Competition pro haven't been good.  Since it's for a REAL Amiga I'd recommend the version with the Atari style plug.  As for the game CD,  I've got one of those CDs and, as I recall, you can find the ADF files and use them with a real Amiga.  I just didn't see anything that wonderful on the CD I have.

Bob

[save2600]

Atari 2600 type joysticks are the best to use IMHO on the Amiga. Yeah, they usually only have one button, but they're the best when it comes to that annoying_as_hell diagonal 'UP' jump on Miggy platformers. I agree with your console playing mates: many Amiga platform games suck because of the LACK of a joystick standard. Commodore and these other 3rd party joystick/hardware producers should have instituted more of a standard that way.

OTOH, since platform gaming kinda blows on the Amiga because of this, I've found that the Sega 6-Button gamepads perform best. Their directional pads allow for much easier diagonal 'UP' movement and you can use them with the (very) few games that took advantage of 2+ button configs.

And yeah, one of my favourite games that could/should have easily utilised a second button scenario would be the awesome R-Type. :madashell:

 Linky to Sega control pad driver software

[save2600]

@beller:

My EPYX joystick came with a bunch of other Amiga stuff I got in a deal. I typically do not like it for platformers because of its loose feel and orientation. It's also a microswitch joystick, which I HATE. If it had been designed with leaf switches, you'd have the feedback necessary to handle the diagonal movements much better. And come to think of it, my memory has just been jogged... I DO remember these in stores that sold Amiga gear back in the day. I can envision the box looking like all the other 500XJ boxes, 'cept w/ an Amiga/AtariST sticker slapped on it.

Thanks for the info on the Amigakit joy and the software. I may have to place an order here soon and give it a try.

[zipper]

Original Tac 2 was the only one that could stand the stress of vigorous gaming - and it had short movements.

[pVC]

save2600 wrote:
One joystick that comes to mind is the Epyx 500XJ. It has everything you're looking for and is comfortable during extended use. I've got a mint one myself, but will be keeping it. 2-button joys are not common  :-(

Hmmmdi.. that Epyx joystick looks pretty much like Speedkings from Konix I have one Speedking for Amiga/Atari, which has one button and no autofire. BUT then I also have Speedking for Sega and it has two buttons, autofire and it WORKS on Amiga too

I've always been TAC-2 man myself, but nowadays I've learned to like Speedkings... actually pretty much They're ergonomic for thumb and accurate to control.

Here is a picture of my Speedking as well as joypad I bought cheaply from Vesalia. I hate joypads, that's only for kids visiting.

And it looks like Amigakit has a 4-button USB Joy bundled with Amiga games. Anyone here have this and know if the software included on that disk are for REAL Amiga computers (.adf's, etc.)? Is it robust enough or feel cheaply made?

You probably mean USB version of Competition Pro. I have one for my Pegasos. It's not that well made.. worse than original were. But better than nothing. Some hate it, some say it's OK, but nobody thinks it's very good. I think there are those newly made models with classic Amiga/Atari connector too..

[ikaruga]

Indeed, many Amiga games were ruined by lack of a joystick standard.

Anyone who played Battle Squadron on the Sega Genesis (Megadrive) could tell how handy was the second fire button to release the fire bombs, instead of the hand-stunt you have to do in the Amiga version.

I am not sure, but I thought the Amiga CD32 had 2-buttons in its controller. It's amazing to see that Project-X CD32, a brilliant game IMHO, was also jeopardized by the fact the "shake the 'stick to select weapon" was left there (second button works too, but many times by accident the player ends selecting wrong weapon by shaking the 'stick, swapping a plasma weapon expanded 6 times, by a basic unexpanded gun in the middle of a heavy attack wave)...

Anyway, I think I found the right joystick:
http://www.gamersgraveyard.com/repository/nes/peripherals/controllers.html

Well, there's a couple suitable models there. NES Advantage for instance. I hope they work on the Amiga (probably yes, the conector is the same).

[save2600]

@pVC:

 Yep - the EPYX joystick I am talking about looks exactly like yours, except mine does not say 'Speedkings'. And where your date and numbers are stamped toward the front, mine does state 'by Konix' under the 500XJ & EPYX designations. And oh, I've got a pair of those new 2600 Taiwanese rip-offs. They're junk to be sure. I'm not worried about joysticks actually. Have rubbermaid bins full of Wico, Tac's, Competition Pro(my least favourite) and the like from back in the day. I've also got this heavy duty tank of a joystick with paddle controllers built in as well. This used to be advertised in the TI-994/A catalogues back in the day. That's the joystick I use on my A2500. I should post a picture of this sexy thing sometime soon. So with this and all the other joys I've got, should last me the rest of my life I would think  :-)  

[adolescent]

You can get the 2 button 500XJ here.  Not sure how the second button was mapped.  I had planned to get one for my 7800.

Used:
https://www.atari2600.com/item--500XJ-w-AutoFire--ATA26CON0166.html

New:
http://www.aracnet.com/~atari/8bt_hard.htm

[brianb]

adolescent wrote:
You can get the 2 button 500XJ here.  Not sure how the second button was mapped.  I had planned to get one for my 7800.

That's a nice joystick...   Does anyone know if you have a two button joystick do games utilize it?  I know the Amiga port supports it, but do game makers develop for the possibility? There are so many games that are frustrating because of the single button.  Double tapping, spacebar, etc. are a pain.

[Ruud]

It's large but I still love the Quickshot Maverick.  It has autofire features and two/three buttons.  There are a few different versions, some with micro switches and some without.  Better with IMHO.  AmigaKit sell three button non-micro switched ones new.  If I didn't already have a couple of two button micro-switched models I would certainly order some.

[hektic]

Cheetah Mach 1

I've got a few of these, great for kick off 2 etc .. metal shaft and autofire.