new paddle design? (Flashback 2 & 2600)

[supercat]

Nobody in this thread seems to be understanding my discussion about how inefficient the 2600 is in reading paddle signals.

 

I understand perfectly well how much of a pain the paddles are on the 2600. But the question remains whether people would rather have:

 

-1- Jitter-free paddles that work with EXISTING paddle software, wich software having the limitations associated with reading paddles.

 

-2- Jitter-free paddles that will only work with new software, but which would allow such software to read the paddles easily at the end of a frame, rather than having to read them continuously during it.

 

-3- Jitter-free paddles that could auto-detect between -1- and -2-.

 

IMHO, #2 is basically worthless. Few people will want to buy a specialized controller for one game, and few programmers will want to design games around controllers few people have.

 

So the question is how much value #3 adds over #1. And that I don't really know, but if the controllers are cheap and effective enough that people buy them for enhanced performance on existing games, then there may get to be enough out there to be worth coding for.

[mos6507]

IMHO, #2 is basically worthless.  Few people will want to buy a specialized controller for one game, and few programmers will want to design games around controllers few people have.

 

I'm not sure you can make that kind of generalization. Remember that paddle games require compromises in the kernel. Homebrewers would probably love to break out of that limitation. As for gamers, it really depends on whether a "killer app" comes out or not.

 

You have to start from somewhere. Look at the AtariVox, for instance.

 

I'm not actually advocating that this be done, though, because I think greater gains could be made by interfacing through the cart itself, which Delicon and I will be experimenting on.

[mvigor]

I think that it the new Atari would produce a new set of paddles that would automatically insert the correct sequence of up-down-down-down-up upon powerup of the Flashback 2, they would have a big winner.