Posted By
Luca
on 2018-10-09
19:49:55
 |  Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
In the game 2048, a tiny smart code enters in action when you keep space or fire in port 1, in order to randomize the two initial tiles; the game starts when you release space or button.
I tried it on the real iron: that code works for space but doesn't work for the joystick, 'coz the game begins since the first pressure of the fire key.
I thought it was something hardware related, due to the weird nature of it, but nothing has changed: on the real iron, the joystick doesn't work as expected.
Could you outside here be so kind to test it out too on his own real Plus/4 and report the results? Thank you in advance.
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Posted By
Luca
on 2018-11-01
12:24:26
| Re: Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
I received some feedbacks about this weirdness (evidently not from my request here...  ), and I have to sum up the results as follows: the randomising code at the beginning of a game doesn't work with joysticks using a converting to-round cable. Must try that myself buying a 1341 joystcik somewhere, but please, feel free to send me feedbacks from real machine quick tests if you can
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Posted By
crock
on 2018-11-01
19:16:19
 | Re: Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
Check the wiring of your adapter cable. Some were wired wrongly, and connected the ground signal instead of "select" to the common pin of the joystick.
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Posted By
Luca
on 2018-11-02
03:05:34
| Re: Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
crock: I've thought exactly that one. I ever thought my adapters were working very well, and now this make my sureness about'em to falter :/ i should buy somewhere a 1341 or a surely faithful adapter to test it again. Oh, and 2048 magically becomes a perfect testing tool for that too :)
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Posted By
MMS
on 2018-11-02
06:08:32
 | Re: Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
I suppose that connection method ("connected the ground signal instead of "select" to the common pin of the joystick") caused the most defective TED in history.
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Posted By
Luca
on 2018-11-02
06:49:01
| Re: Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
OMG MMS are you saying that actually the currently mounted Plus/4 I keep out for daily usage is running dangerously due to that? 
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Posted By
Stinaris
on 2018-11-04
04:29:06
 | Re: Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
That's bad news. Any way to identify the bad ones other than opening them up?
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Posted By
siz
on 2018-11-04
05:42:27
| Re: Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
IMHO in the adapter you should connect the GND of the DB9 to the SELECT of the mini-DIN. If you don't then your joystick will always be able to pull down the appropriate direction lines and you can't differentiate between the two joystick ports preventing two player games to work.
The only problem if the joystick has any electronics inside (like autofire) that requires a steady GND. Those joysticks can cause damage to the TED.
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Posted By
MIK
on 2018-11-04
10:52:06
 | Re: Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
The way to test for bad joysticks, connections and a faulty TED that has a joyport issue is to simply press UP,DOWN,LEFT,RIGHT and FIRE on the BASIC screen. If you see anything other than what you know it should display then there is an issue.
If your unsure what each direction of the joystick should display then use an emulator to verify.
A faulty TED will print random characters as you press in a direction on the BASIC screen, (instead of the same single character on repeat)...
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Posted By
Luca
on 2018-11-04
09:32:39
| Re: Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
Eh MIK, that's the question I've raised here: those tests aren't actually enough You can be using a "faulty" joystick even if all the tests you've named here works perfectly and no actual problem raises. Checking that piece of code in 2048 has just revealed this: you have a perfect working cable adapted joystick for years, and then this episode lets you think that probably it's not the best adapter in the world
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Posted By
MIK
on 2018-11-04
10:51:21
| Re: Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
It was aimed at Stinaris as a basic test because he asked for pointers today...
Thinking about it, this issue your looking into might also be related to the cheetah 125+ joystick which can skip the odd repeated and held direction every once in a while. Not an obvious fault as it is intermittent and for the most part many users might not know it's there or ignore it. I had to remove a wire connected to the left or right direction, (I forget which) to make it stop doing this... I don't know for sure but I guessed it was something linked to the amstrad connection they have as the standard C64 Cheetah 125 is fine, only the 125+ has this issue.
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Posted By
crock
on 2018-11-06
18:39:43
| Re: Weird discrepancy between emulators and real iron
siz is exactly right. Luca, just use a multimeter and test the connections by hand. Don't waste cycles on software tests.
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