2 button games, Do they exist?

Was there ever any support on a hardware or software level for 2 button games for the ZX Spectrum?

Comments

  • I'm assuming you mean two button JOYSTICK games. In that case, don't think so, I think you had to use a keyboard button. There were plenty of games that had more than one fire/function button on the keyboard, however..
  • ZupZup
    edited September 2016
    It would be easy to extend Kempston type interfaces to support 2 buttons and maintain compatibility (also Sinclair, but note that second button wouldn't be mapped into a key). I wonder if somebody did that (and if any game supported it).

    Also, any programmable joystick (those that converted joystick into keys) could have two buttons and do the trick.
    Post edited by Zup on
    I was there, too
    An' you know what they said?
    Well, some of it was true!
  • How many buttons could be programmed in total for a 9-Pin Kempston device?
  • retrogod wrote: »
    How many buttons could be programmed in total for a 9-Pin Kempston device?
    Up to 3 fire buttons

  • So why hasnt any skillful techie ever made a 3 button joypad for the spec or at least a game that takes advantage of the megadrive pad? This ability has obviously been sorely overlooked over the years then
  • The concom programmable interface supported two inputs (other than the usual up/down/left/right...so you could get a 2 button joystick and program them to work with any game that allowed user definable controls.
  • retrogod wrote: »
    So why hasnt any skillful techie ever made a 3 button joypad for the spec or at least a game that takes advantage of the megadrive pad? This ability has obviously been sorely overlooked over the years then

    I have archive of ZX games which support 2 or three fire buttons. Ideal is use SEGA GENESIS gamepad - work as joystick with two fire buttons.
  • Do you have a link to your archive?
  • I plan release new webpage about K-MOUSE 2016-LP. This interface support 2 or 8 fire buttons. I have too much zx games modified for 2 fire buttons, but need testing on real ZX... Please wait, or you can be betatester...
  • Didn't the Cambridge redefinable have 2?
  • There's "Daley Thompson's Decathlon". After you played it a few times. You will only have 2 buttons left on your keyboard.
  • beanz wrote: »
    The concom programmable interface supported two inputs (other than the usual up/down/left/right...so you could get a 2 button joystick and program them to work with any game that allowed user definable controls.
    My all-time favourite Speccy add-on - still got it somewhere, but I think a couple of the contacts went after several years of heavy plugging/unplugging :)
  • edited September 2016
    Yep, I have a couple of COMCONs. Still not braved connecting two at once to see what happens though...

    In the first one I had, two of the spare pins are wired in together to FIRE-2. I had to wire in the third spare pin as well to make it compatible with a SEGA Master System controller, all of which have two buttons.

    COMCON used to hand-modify Quickshot 2 joysticks and re-sell them. Presumably splitting the trigger and top button actions and re-purposing the 5V wire in the joystick lead as a second fire control (and disabling the auto-fire circuit), as that's how the interface was wired. MSX 2-button sticks would work too.

    If you completely isolate one button of a two-button controller you can wire that button to operate FIRE on a second joystick port. I say isolate because I tried this with a DK'Tronics Kempston/Sinclair interface. That actually uses 0V as common on one port and +5V as common on the other, so you must make sure you don't end up connecting the common line of two ports together. Anyway, it meant the second button operated key '0' so could be used anywhere you could use a Kempston joystick and re-define the other keys.

    I've recently adapted a fighting stick to connect to both Sinclair ports, so the joystick and first button operates keys 6..0 and the remaining buttons operate keys 1..5 in order.
    Post edited by joefish on
    Joefish
    - IONIAN-GAMES.com -
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