What are the options for connecting a mouse to a TI 99/4A ?

[Fredrik Öhrström]

What are the options for connecting a mouse to a TI 99/4A ?

 

Any method that is more common than the others?

 

Thanks!

[pixelpedant]

Most common overall/historically: WICO Trackball (via joystick port)

 

 

Most commonly used today: Probably TIPI mouse

 

Of historical note: Mechatronic Mouse and NanoPEB Serial Mouse

 

However, no mouse has ever been a "must have" TI item.  They're all pretty niche. 

[GDMike]

It can be for geneve 9640

[+9640News]

4 hours ago, Fredrik Öhrström said:

What are the options for connecting a mouse to a TI 99/4A ?

 

Any method that is more common than the others?

 

Thanks!

If you pursue it, you can use a mouse with a TIPI.  Very few applications on the TI-99/4A exist on the TI-99/4A if using it for mouse support.

[+jedimatt42]

If you are authoring new software to use a mouse, in TI Extended BASIC, you might consider the Mechatronics driver approach, for which there is a compatible TIPI driver. 

 

MAME emulation, I believe includes the mechatronics. MAME also supports all the TIPI with a real PI setup. Js99er and I think classic99 support the TIPI mouse. 

 

If you are working in assembly code, implementing an overlay / driver approach to the mouse read routine such as Ti Artist Plus, or maybe just accommodating the interface from TI Artrist Plus so you can reuse the existing drivers available for joystick, Mechatronics mouse, or TIPI mouse is certainly possible.

[airernie]

Serial Mouse via serial port.  To use it something, like the Horizon Mouse software package which Mike Maksimik created.  I think the later version of TI-Artist also had mouse support.

 

The problem is that there is almost no TI-99/4A programs that have mouse support, so you would have to create your own. 

Edited October 17, 2022 by airernie

[+arcadeshopper]

mouse via TIPI is the easiest..  and works well!  and there's 2 games that use it

 

 

[+jedimatt42]

So the answers have all been about software, but they imply the hardware:

 

Mechatronics: joystick port with a little chip in the adapter that allows polling data in stages 

 

TIPI mouse: uses TIPI board and USB mice connected to TI through a raspberry PI

 

Serial mouse: requires RS232, and standards based serial port adapters.

 

I dismiss (maybe incorrectly) the wico trackball, as it is as mouse like as a d-pad. Software just gets on/off joystick up, down, left, right readings.

 

TIPI mouse is supported in applications:

Platoterm

Web99

Virgil99

FcMenu

Ti-Artist plus

 

And a couple more that used the mechatronics compatible XB driver.

[+arcadeshopper]

https://ftp.whtech.com/Users/Gregory McGill/MOUSE/

 

[+Ksarul]

There was the Asgard serial mouse as well as an associated Mouse Development Package, so yet another option is out there.

 

None of the various flavors of TI mice ever really took off software-wise, although the TIPI interface does seem to be gaining more traction than any of the others did.

 

 

[Fredrik Öhrström]

Many thanks! Is there some example assembler somewhere on how to read the tipi mouse?

[+9640News]

1 hour ago, Fredrik Öhrström said:

Many thanks! Is there some example assembler somewhere on how to read the tipi mouse?

@jedimatt42 has code at tipi/tipim.a99 at main · jedimatt42/tipi · GitHub written in assembly that should assist you that works for TI-Artist.

 

Not that it directly pertains to you, but I do have code for the Geneve that uses the mouse driver in MDOS mode.  This driver keeps the expected responses consistent whether one is using a RS232 based mouse driver, a 9938 mouse, or the TIPI mouse.   The reason I mention this, is if you are going to use/write something to use a mouse, I would try to keep things as consistent across the other mouse packages as far as response reporting should you desire to support more than one or more different mouse setups.

 

I haven't used a mouse on a TI-99/4A, so I do not know if there is even much consistency now, but if there is, I would suggest keeping as many things "standard" as possible..... if it is even possible.

 

Beery