EMU7800 Robotron controls?

[1500points]

Does Atari 7800 robotron have independent firing with the second joystick?

I'm trying to setup EMU7800 with a 2 joystick USB connector.
It appears the firing is kind of like berzerk where you hold the Z key down to fire then it fires in the direction the player moves.

is that how it was designed on the real game?  I have a 7800 but not robotron so I'm not familiar.

If it is supposed to work with 2 joysticks could someone clarify how to setup firing on the second joystick with EMU7800.
Thanks

[SavannahLion]

I have to struggle to remember this. I have a copy of the game, not sure which Atari console it's for though.

The Atari console versions let you play with either one or two joysticks in either one or two player mode. With one joystick/one player, you run with the stick and fire with the button in the direction you're facing. With two joysticks/one player the left player controls running direction, the right player controls fire direction. With two players, it will play in either mode depending on player preference.

So the short answer is, yes.

Unfortunately, I can't help you to set up EMU7800 though. I don't really play the 7800 very much.

[SavannahLion]

Just took a peek at EMU7800. Yeah, I see what you mean. That's pretty ugly. .NET? OK...

The keyboard mapping has some strange limitations. 

However, according to the readme:

Up to two game controllers (e.g. joysticks) can be used, where the first two found in the device list will be selected for use. Joystick controllers are supported only in the DirectX modes.

So it does look like that if you do get Windows to recognize the controllers, then EMU7800 should be quite happy with it. It doesn't look like the same restrictions apply to the joystick/paddle input as they do to the keyboard/mouse. But I don't have any adapters handy that I could test this out on, so just give it a shot and see.

[1500points]

Thank you.
I'm using a usb interface that recognizes 2 joysticks.
i'll have to look at the device list.
maybe there is a 2 player vs 1 player setting in the emulator that needs to be found.

[1500points]

I couldn't find any menu items for 1 player vs 2 player.
but i discovered if I used W to swap controllers it would let me use the joystick 1 for firing in all directions.
and i had to use the up/down/left/right keys on keyboard to move.

really odd.

[SavannahLion]

If you have to set 2 player mode or 1 player mode in the emulator itself, then it's a piss poor emulator. It should always be the game (eg the ROM) that defines 1 or 2 player mode, never the emulator. The emulators job is to transparently emulate the hardware for the game to leverage. Some emulators will take it a step further and emulate any expansion hardware, such as NES's multi-tap. But to restrict or deny the player 2 port? Never, outside the obvious of not actually having a controller plugged in. That's why I think it's a little strange that player 2 isn't mapped to the keyboard as well. It's an unnecessary restriction.

Just a thought, (I'm on a different computer otherwise I'd check myself), you might have to remap the compass controls to the left joystick. That's probably why it sort of works when you swap the controllers via W.

Otherwise, if you're boning for P2 to be mapped to the keyboard, you could go into the source code and modify it to suit. But if you knew how to do that, you wouldn't be here I guess. 

[1500points]

Whatever it is, is beyond my abilities.
My 2 joystick USB works for regular mame 0145 and it shows 2 usb devices in the list. one for each joystick.

Picked up a robotron cartidge from a friend for $1.  found 2 old junk atari joysticks in a box of misc. parts.
gonna wire them to a couple 8 way joysticks on a little control panel and call it a day.

thanks for your help.  it must be a goofy emulator or they didn't think about the robotron aspect when making it?

not much at all on google search. infact this thread is about the main item that comes up other than download sites for emu7800. 

[SavannahLion]

thanks for your help.  it must be a goofy emulator or they didn't think about the robotron aspect when making it?

I'm not sure. I took a peek at the source code (without using MSVS) and I kind of lost interest. The 7800 isn't in my current rotation for another three or four projects, so while I appreciate the numerous tech docs included with the source, I just don't want to devote time to figuring it out right now.

I think it's more attributable to the fact that it never occurred to the developer that there would be a game that justifies the use of both joysticks. I can't recall very many older Atari games that even required two joysticks for one player (Indiana Jones was another title IIRC) They also might have never experienced the joy of having to sitting elbow to elbow around a keyboard playing two player games. Yeah, I think it's a bit of a strange oversight. I'm working on a 2600 project and the Right player port kind of stares at you in the face so....

not much at all on google search. infact this thread is about the main item that comes up other than download sites for emu7800. 

I can imagine, I never even heard of the emu7800 until this thread.