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7800 is an odd machine... (controller issues.)


leech

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So, I got my concerto setup today!  Was all happy, had to dig through a bunch of cables for the RCA one to hook up to the TV... but finally got everything set up and ready to rock and... my 7800 controller wouldn't go up.  Buttons seem to work fine, but I couldn't go up!  So I open the controller up, and manually pressed the little metal bubble and it went up just fine...  put it back together... nope.  Guessing maybe that little plastic sheath that is screwed up on mine between the handle and the base is causing it to not sit correctly inside the joystick... (only thing I can think of...)

 

So I try out my Sega Master System joystick that I have.  It seemed to work in the menu system, and on some games (I think I tested Mario Bros.)  But then as I try out Commando, the movement works, but the buttons don't!  So I plug in this other controller I have (some weird random controller that says it works with the 2600, Commodore, Spectrum, etc.  It has two buttons, I think it's called 'The Ultimate Joystick' (will find a link later).  No such luck... buttons also do not work in Commando.  Buttons are fine in the Concerto menu though...

 

So then I plug in this 78800 gamepad 'clone' that I have.  It seems to be basically a copy of a NES controller (even has the extra select / start buttons as well as 1/2 or a/b buttons) but it works perfectly fine! 

 

Is this just a choice of the coder, initializing the joystick in a particular way? 

 

As a side note, and I'm sure others have said this back when it came out, and now today.  But it's a crying shame the 7800 got such a significant update to the graphics area, but was saddled with the 2600's sound.  The difference between the sound on say Mario Bros to the music and sound coming from Ballblazer and Commando sounds like a 10 year gap in technology (even though it was only 2 years, and by the time the 7800 came out, Pokey was old!  But still sounds amazing).  Sad that the 7800 didn't just come with a Pokey, would have given more of a run up against the NES.  (well, and of course more developers, and Atari actually believing in it and releasing it fully to retail in '84 when it was ready, etc.)

 

Anyhow, fun machine.  I'm hopeful that I'll soon get to spend more time with it and my 5200, as I've been neglecting them lately!

Edited by leech
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