SpiceWare's Blog - Stelladaptor

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Stelladaptor, by Pixels Past

5/5

 

Emulation is great in that it allows you to play games from classic systems on your computer system. The only downfall is modern computers do not support the original controllers, and sometimes something is lost because of this. This can be readily seen with paddle based games - playing Kaboom! with a mouse is an exercise in frustration.

 

Pixels Past addressed this problem for Atari VCS emulators when they created the Stelladaptor. The Stelladaptor basically turns Atari joysticks, paddles and driving controllers into standard USB gaming controllers which are recognized as a standard HID(human input device). It works under Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, though I myself have only used it on a Mac.

 

While designed for Atari emulators, it also works with others. I've used it with MAME OS X with both joystick and paddle based games. Driving controllers require an update to the emulator - the popular Atari VCS emulators Stella and z26 have been updated, MAME has not.

 

The only downfall to this great production is it does not support Atari keypads or non-standard controllers for the VCS such as the CBS Booster Grip or controllers for other systems. I've tried the Booster Grip as well as Sega and Amiga CD32 gamepads - all work on a real Atari but not with the Stelladaptor. I suspect the additional buttons are wired in such a way as to trick the Stelladaptor into believing that paddle controllers are plugged in. This is more of an FYI as no claims were made to support these controllers, so lack of support will not impact the review score.

 

Also - please note that while some reviews mention a problem with Mac OS X, this problem was fixed and is no longer an issue.

 

Next up, Cabana EP+

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?a...;showentry=3897