Atari VCS paddle alternative

[killersquirel]

I enjoy playing the paddle games with the classic joystick, but I would love to have an alternative paddle controller that is a standard paddle (spinner). Does anyone know if there is an alternative that one could either buy or build?

[E. King]

for which games would you be planning on using it on the VCS?

 

There are spinner kits out there but the only one I could find that is pre-built is actually an Atari branded Arcade Stick.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/639630/atari-single-player-usb-fightstick-plug-and-play

 

There are people that build their own on youtube.

Sometimes they look like this one and sometimes they are full arcade sticks with spinner/trackball.

 

 

Edited June 20, 2022 by E. King

[killersquirel]

43 minutes ago, E. King said:

for which games would you be planning on using it on the VCS?

 

There are spinner kits out there but the only one I could find that is pre-built is actually an Atari branded Arcade Stick.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/639630/atari-single-player-usb-fightstick-plug-and-play

 

There are people that build their own on youtube.

Sometimes they look like this one and sometimes they are full arcade sticks with spinner/trackball.

 

 

Would this work on Breakout Recharged, Gravitar Recharded, and the Atari Vault?

[E. King]

1 minute ago, killersquirel said:

Would this work on Breakout Recharged, Gravitar Recharded, and the Atari Vault?

For Gravitar Recharged, no because the way ship moves and spins that spinner function in that game can only be done with the Classic Joystick as far as I know.

 

For Breakout Recharged, no because the VCS version does not support mouse/spinner/trackball, the game will freeze up if you move the spinner too fast. (The Steam version Yes it does support mouse/spinner/trackball quite well)

 

For the Atari Vault yes it should work if it is built properly and if the VCS recognizes it which you will not know until you plug it in and try it.

Since that build only has 1 button, you would still need to use a VCS controller to make the menu selections.

(I think I prefer the Steam version of the Vault though when I use the Atari branded arcade stick that I linked above but it does also work on the VCS Vault)

[Mockduck]

If there has been a standard commercially-released paddle for PC prior to the Classic Controller I hadn't seen it outside of a few rando one-offs like the thing for the DS Arkanoid that could be hacked, or people making their own and selling them to others hobby-style. The twist for the Classic FINALLY was kind of a big selling point to me.

[E. King]

17 minutes ago, Mockduck said:

If there has been a standard commercially-released paddle for PC prior to the Classic Controller I hadn't seen it outside of a few rando one-offs like the thing for the DS Arkanoid that could be hacked, or people making their own and selling them to others hobby-style. The twist for the Classic FINALLY was kind of a big selling point to me.

Yes it has been Awesome to finally have a controller that has a spinner style function like the Classic Joystick twist rotation.

 

I do hope Atari and other companies see the potential in these types of controllers and games moving forward since the possibilities really are amazing for new games and controllers that utilize the spin.

Edited June 20, 2022 by E. King

[E. King]

I have had plenty of success using the Atari branded arcade stick from Microcenter with built in trackball & spinner but I would love Atari to release a more basic VCS branded controller similar to this one with a trackball and spinner that worked with all relevant Atari VCS games.

 

 

 

 

[killersquirel]

12 minutes ago, E. King said:

I have had plenty of success using the Atari branded arcade stick from Microcenter with built in trackball & spinner but I would love Atari to release a more basic VCS branded controller similar to this one with a trackball and spinner that worked with all relevant Atari VCS games.

 

 

 

 

I have that controller. I had heard that there was some talk about adding support for this for the VCS, but not sure what ever happened with that.