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Do you know any good gamepads?
Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 5:06 pm
by thamarok
Hello!
Please read my post before suggesting any gamepad, thank you

.
Yesterday, when I was playing Super Mario Bros. 3 on an emulator (don't worry, I own the original cartridge

), I was so mad after the 3rd game over that I smashed my old SideWinder gamepad and then it broke

.
I now have an empty MIDI/GAME port and would like to make use of it. Does anybody know any good gamepad that connects through a 15-pin MIDI slot?
I'm not talking about a Gravis Gamepad, I'm talking about some newer gamepads.
Thank you!
Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 6:19 pm
by Fluid Byte
I now have an empty MIDI/GAME port and would like to make use of it. Does anybody know any good gamepad that connects through a 15-pin MIDI slot?
One pad for everything or for emulation in particular?
Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:22 pm
by Tipperton
The problem you are going to have is that with the advent of USB, few if any manufacturers are even making gamepads for MIDI/Game ports, especially since most people use the sound card that comes built-in to today's motherboards and they typically don't have MIDI/Game ports so there's very little demand for such devices anymore.
One good one I have is Microsoft's SideWinder FreeStyle Pro. Unfortunately I can't use mine right now because I can't find a PCI card that has just a MIDI/Game port to plug it in to.
It's not that new though because Microsoft no longer makes it. You can no doubt find it on eBay or Amazon.com
Back when I could use it I really liked it becuase of it's motion sensitivity, it really added an interesting element to games by allowing me to control just by moving the game pad.
Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:24 pm
by GeoTrail
I have the SideWinder Pro. It has a built-in censor so when I move the gamepad it is like I press the directional buttons

Very cool, bought a few years ago, also USB though.
Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:54 pm
by thamarok
Fluid Byte wrote:I now have an empty MIDI/GAME port and would like to make use of it. Does anybody know any good gamepad that connects through a 15-pin MIDI slot?
One pad for everything or for emulation in particular?
For emulation to be accurate.
I have found some very cool looking ones, but unfortunately I can't find any place where to buy them

Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:54 pm
by Fluid Byte
For emulation to be accurate.
I tought so but let me tell you that this is a very complicated issue you getting into. I mean emulation and the proper gamepad is like looking for the holy grail.
First off, the MS SideWinder gamepad is a piece of shit and I'm glad you smashed it!
Futhermore, there is NO gamepad that will suite
all your needs. I tried to find the "magic" pad for 2D beat 'em ups like "Street Fighter Alpha 3" so I know what I'm talking about.
It really depends on your needs. If you need a pad for classic consoles like NES or SuperNES you are very good to go with original PSX pad in combination with a proper adapter. This pad is excellent for any non-special genres like shooters or jump'n'run games. Actually the PSX pad is just like the SNES pad with 2 more shoulder triggers and like the NES pad with far more buttons.

Speaking of button layout and digipad feeling.
For fighting games on the other hand you need a 6 button gamepad and a round digipad for smooth motions. The default Sega Saturn pad is the best pad in existence for this.
When you mainly into arcade gaming (no matter what genre) than you may want to invest some cash and get the real deal. A true arcade stick! The best stick would be the X-Arcade wich is available at
www.xgaming.com.
Well, you might be a bit confused now because of the "in depth" information posted. So for any special fancy needs or just a huge collection of quality controllers and adapters you should check out
www.lik-sang.com. They are professinals for gaming software and devices.
Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 10:51 pm
by Tipperton
GeoTrail wrote:I have the SideWinder Pro. It has a built-in censor so when I move the gamepad it is like I press the directional buttons

Very cool, bought a few years ago, also USB though.
Sounds like a USB version of the FreeStyle Pro.... Might have to see if I can find one of those if I can't find a MIDI/Game port for my FreeStyle Pro.
Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:12 am
by GeoTrail
Sorry, my bad. It is called SideWinder Freestyle Pro.
http://shopping.msn.com/Specs/shp/?itemId=24257809
Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 1:26 am
by Tipperton
GeoTrail wrote:Sorry, my bad.
No problem!
GeoTrail wrote:It is called SideWinder Freestyle Pro.
Hmm.... I'll have to check my box, maybe there's a game port to USB adaptor in there.... that would work!

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 3:27 am
by Intrigued
I used their n50 version and it worked very good!
Here is the n52 version:
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductP ... _Id=157024
Re: Do you know any good gamepads?
Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:52 am
by PB
> I was so mad after the 3rd game over that I smashed my old SideWinder
> gamepad and then it broke
Hehehe, I did that to an old TAC2 joystick when my younger brother was
beating me in Archon, on the Commodore 64.

I also used to punch my
C64's keyboard when I was losing a game. Ah, the good old days.

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:29 pm
by thamarok
Fluid Byte wrote:For emulation to be accurate.
I tought so but let me tell you that this is a very complicated issue you getting into. I mean emulation and the proper gamepad is like looking for the holy grail.
First off, the MS SideWinder gamepad is a piece of shit and I'm glad you smashed it!
Futhermore, there is NO gamepad that will suite
all your needs. I tried to find the "magic" pad for 2D beat 'em ups like "Street Fighter Alpha 3" so I know what I'm talking about.
It really depends on your needs. If you need a pad for classic consoles like NES or SuperNES you are very good to go with original PSX pad in combination with a proper adapter. This pad is excellent for any non-special genres like shooters or jump'n'run games. Actually the PSX pad is just like the SNES pad with 2 more shoulder triggers and like the NES pad with far more buttons.

Speaking of button layout and digipad feeling.
For fighting games on the other hand you need a 6 button gamepad and a round digipad for smooth motions. The default Sega Saturn pad is the best pad in existence for this.
When you mainly into arcade gaming (no matter what genre) than you may want to invest some cash and get the real deal. A true arcade stick! The best stick would be the X-Arcade wich is available at
www.xgaming.com.
Well, you might be a bit confused now because of the "in depth" information posted. So for any special fancy needs or just a huge collection of quality controllers and adapters you should check out
www.lik-sang.com. They are professinals for gaming software and devices.
Thank you for the reply! I have been thinking of getting a USB pad instead and looked for some pads that look like the PlayStation one.
I found a pad called "Dual Action Gamepad" that looks exactly the same as a PlayStation pad, and the price is very cheap (only 25 € here!)
Would you recommend it?
Oh, and on the other hand, I found a gamepad called "Soyntec Gamepad Apollo GP-100" this connects through the MIDI port and looks very nice and it costs only 15 €!
I am now not very sure about what I should take. The Dual Action Gamepad looks like a PlayStation gamepad and the Soyntec Apollo looks like a Sega gamepad with a different design, and it looks better for emulation

.
Thanks!
Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:12 pm
by Fluid Byte
I found a pad called "Dual Action Gamepad" that looks exactly the same as a PlayStation pad, and the price is very cheap (only 25 € here!)
Would you recommend it?
well, I actually would prefer a real PSX pad with adapter.
Anyway, wich brand is it and what exactly the name of the model. Because there are thousands of pads by different brands that have a pad named like "Dual Action Gamepad".
Oh, and on the other hand, I found a gamepad called "Soyntec Gamepad Apollo GP-100" this connects through the MIDI port and looks very nice and it costs only 15 €!
Do You mean this pile of poo?

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:14 pm
by GeoTrail
Tinky winky, Lala, Dipsy and Poo? hehehehehehe
Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:17 pm
by Fluid Byte
Tinky winky, Lala, Dipsy and Poo?
LMFAO! Couldn't have said it better!
