MiSTer FPGA Forum

nice it got into official repo!!

looks like the IntelliVision has lot of homebrew:
http://www.indieretronews.com/search/la ... ELLIVISION

Lightwave wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 2:08 am Ok, I had this working properly with 16 directions while testing in handdemo2.

Then somehow after doing a few other things, it has reverted to 8 directions and I cannot find a way to enable 16 directions again.

I've deleted all mapping configs for the controller and tried remapping from scratch, tried powering on MiSTer with and without controller plugged in, but no luck. It's quite maddening!

Again, this is with a 2600daptor D9 and original Intellivision controller (I've made sure to press 0 at power on to enable Intellivision controller mode on the D9).

My 2600daptor is flakey. Periodically keys 4,5,6 and the right half of the disc will all stop working. No amount of reboots/reconnects helps. Even moving it to a Windows PC the problem is there. After a while it starts working again, until it flakes out again. I have two of them, they both do the same thing. I just got a Retronic Design adapter, and it works fine. Will see if it's stable.

Ashfall wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 1:32 pm

Lightwave wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 2:08 am Ok, I had this working properly with 16 directions while testing in handdemo2.

Then somehow after doing a few other things, it has reverted to 8 directions and I cannot find a way to enable 16 directions again.

I've deleted all mapping configs for the controller and tried remapping from scratch, tried powering on MiSTer with and without controller plugged in, but no luck. It's quite maddening!

Again, this is with a 2600daptor D9 and original Intellivision controller (I've made sure to press 0 at power on to enable Intellivision controller mode on the D9).

My 2600daptor is flakey. Periodically keys 4,5,6 and the right half of the disc will all stop working. No amount of reboots/reconnects helps. Even moving it to a Windows PC the problem is there. After a while it starts working again, until it flakes out again. I have two of them, they both do the same thing. I just got a Retronic Design adapter, and it works fine. Will see if it's stable.

Hmmm, very weird. I can't say I've had that issue (or any other problems) with the D9, it seems to work consistently for me with 2600 and Mega Drive controllers at least.

I should try my other adaptor now that you mentioned it and see if it behaves the same. And maybe updating the firmware as well, not sure if I'm on the latest.

This core is awesome, I'm really enjoying it.

I didn't know if anyone else noticed that in Dreadnaught Factor that the explosion effect when you destroy a ship doesn't correctly display as it does on real hardware? I know this is a known issue in emulation, but assumed that FPGA would properly emulate this, but it has the same issue of just the border flashing whereas the whole screen flashes on real hardware. I remember from the interview with Tom Loughry on the Intellivisionaries podcast that he mentioned this issue with emulators. If this is an inappropriate place/question to ask here, let me know and I'll delete it, but I was just curious about this, or even wondering if anyone was aware.

Thanks.

Might want to bring it up as an issue in the repository.

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Intv_MiSTer/issues

I'm going to take a look at this core for sure. It's the one system that I haven't reobtained from my childhood yet, and I probably should.

Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

Lightwave wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 10:50 pm Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

That is strange. You have original controllers and I have Flashback controllers, so maybe that has something to do with it?

Ashfall wrote: ↑Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:35 am

Lightwave wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 10:50 pm Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

That is strange. You have original controllers and I have Flashback controllers, so maybe that has something to do with it?

I find I have to frequently "reprogram" my daptor to enable intellivision mode .. I think if you dont it just goes into a 4 way joystick mode .. make sure when you power up you are setting the right mode on the dapter .. .

Ashfall wrote: ↑Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:35 am

Lightwave wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 10:50 pm Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

That is strange. You have original controllers and I have Flashback controllers, so maybe that has something to do with it?

Yes, could very well be... I actually have a flashback on the way so I'll see if it makes a difference with those controllers.

ericgus09 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 13, 2021 4:48 am

Ashfall wrote: ↑Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:35 am

Lightwave wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 10:50 pm Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

That is strange. You have original controllers and I have Flashback controllers, so maybe that has something to do with it?

I find I have to frequently "reprogram" my daptor to enable intellivision mode .. I think if you dont it just goes into a 4 way joystick mode .. make sure when you power up you are setting the right mode on the dapter .. .

Yes, I'm definitely setting it to Intellivision mode after each power on by pressing keypad 0.

(The adapter supposedly defaults to last controller selected after 3 seconds, so even if I miss the timing window it should still be fine)

The thing is the controller works perfectly to play games, it's just that the directional pad is 8-way (at least in the test ROM). I'm not even sure how many games there are where 16 direction control is actually necessary.

I''m pretty sure that the problem here isn't the controller/interface.

I have a couple of the newer multi-system 2600-daptors, as well as several of the Vision-daptors, which are hard-set to Intellivision mode with hardware switches. I use them with the controllers from my Sears-branded Intellivisions (these have nine-pin plugs that plug directly into the 2600/Vision-daptors directly).

I've also been using the pre-release version of this Intellivision core for a long time. It has always had this problem. The core itself has gotten really good lately, but this issue is bad enough that I've pretty much quit using the MiSTer core for this and have dropped back to using my RetroPi/JZInTV setups (or my real Intellivisions) for Intellivisiion.

With RetroPie/JZInTV, and Nostalgia (a really great emulator that runs under DOD/Windows) these control adapters work perfectly and consistently. I literally play them for hours on end with Retropie and they have full control articulation and have never exhibited this problem.

It makes a HUGE difference to me, especially in TRON:Deadly Disks and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons:Cloudy Mountain, both games that I play a lot and have been playing for over 30 years. I can immediately tell the difference. When opponents in Tron:DD are making well articulated turns all around you, and all you can do to try and follow/counter them is jerk between averaged 8 direction diagonals, you tend to get your ass kicked at higher levels.

In Advanced D&D, it manifests as making wrong turns a lot when you're trying to round corners in the maze. It's completely frustrating if you're used to being able to use all 16 directions.

The core has really come a long way, but the controls aren't there yet.

Paradroyd wrote: ↑Sat Aug 14, 2021 11:42 pm In Advanced D&D, it manifests as making wrong turns a lot when you're trying to round corners in the maze. It's completely frustrating if you're used to being able to use all 16 directions.

Funny, I was testing Cloudy Mountain just last night and noticed this exact issue.

It's frustrating that I actually had 16 directions working with the MiSTer at one point, so I know it's possible... just not sure how to re-enable it

I've never seen it work. I have no idea how it could, given the way the input mapping works.

Paradroyd wrote: ↑Sat Aug 14, 2021 11:42 pm the Vision-daptors, which are hard-set to Intellivision mode with hardware switches

I love my daptor2600 but I really should get one of those just for intellivision use.

I hope the 16 dir thing gets sorted. We don't want emulators to do a better job with this.

CartoonDonkey wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 3:27 am I hope the 16 dir thing gets sorted. We don't want emulators to do a better job with this.

Currently, I'm leaning on RetroPi and real hardware for Intellivision and PSX, MiSTer (and real hardware) for just about everything else.

I am having problems playing dracula, I cant map the bottom right button to turn victims into zombies. I am using a snes ntt controller. When I map my buttons I dont get an option for a 4th action button. Thank you

Pepeart wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 4:04 pm I am having problems playing dracula, I cant map the bottom right button to turn victims into zombies. I am using a snes ntt controller. When I map my buttons I dont get an option for a 4th action button. Thank you

The Intellivision controller effectively only has 3 side action buttons: bottom left, bottom right, and top (the top left/right buttons are shared)

Lightwave wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 5:08 pm

Pepeart wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 4:04 pm I am having problems playing dracula, I cant map the bottom right button to turn victims into zombies. I am using a snes ntt controller. When I map my buttons I dont get an option for a 4th action button. Thank you

The Intellivision controller effectively only has 3 side action buttons: bottom left, bottom right, and top (the top left/right buttons are shared)

I will map my buttons again, Thank you

Ashfall wrote: ↑Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:35 am

Lightwave wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 10:50 pm Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

That is strange. You have original controllers and I have Flashback controllers, so maybe that has something to do with it?

Just received and tested the Flashback controllers, unfortunately still only registering 8 directions in the MiSTer core. Haven't tried updating the D9 firmware yet, so that's the next step.

Paradroyd wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 2:01 am I've never seen it work. I have no idea how it could, given the way the input mapping works.

You can see 16 directions working properly with 2 different adapters in the video Ashfall posted on the previous page. I had it working like this as well, briefly.

Lightwave wrote: ↑Tue Aug 17, 2021 5:11 pm You can see 16 directions working properly with 2 different adapters in the video Ashfall posted on the previous page. I had it working like this as well, briefly.

Interesting. I'll try to do some more testing tonight.

Looking at the core source:

digital inputs (up/down/left/right in Mister key binding) are mapped to 8 directions (N,NE,E,SE,S,SW,W,NW) on the intellivision controller.
ANALOG input is mapped to all 16 intellivision directions.

I'm not familiar with whatever adapters/controllers you are all using, but the key to getting 16 directions in this core is to have the directional input on your controller show up as an analog controller on MiSTer.

YES! I got 16 directions working!

You need to make sure that you set the last 2 analog control directions (down/right) at the very end of the MiSTer menu joystick button mapping sequence (NOT in the Intellivision core itself)

I'm guessing that I skipped mapping these previously, as I had already mapped the directional pad as a dpad (and also due to the fact that the direction pad doesn't register as analog during the initial detection test, making it seem like it isn't detected as an analog controller).

Tested in Cloudy Mountain and Discs of Tron, working exactly as it should now

@zakk4223 I wish I had seen your post as it would have saved me a lot of trouble, but I only noticed it when I came back to post my success here

Lightwave wrote: ↑Tue Aug 17, 2021 8:02 pm YES! I got 16 directions working!

You need to make sure that you set the last 2 analog control directions (down/right) at the very end of the MiSTer menu joystick button mapping sequence (NOT in the Intellivision core itself)

I'm guessing that I skipped mapping these previously, as I had already mapped the directional pad as a dpad (and also due to the fact that the direction pad doesn't register as analog during the initial detection test, making it seem like it isn't detected as an analog controller).

Tested in Cloudy Mountain and Discs of Tron, working exactly as it should now

@zakk4223 I wish I had seen your post as it would have saved me a lot of trouble, but I only noticed it when I came back to post my success here

Confirmed! It's working with my original Sears Intellivision controller and one of the Vision-daptors. It's not a subtle difference either, I can immediately tell that it's true 16 directions. Just to be sure I loaded that diagnostic demo and it's working.

It took me a couple of tries to figure out which part of the mapping you were talking about, but once I got it it's working great!

Thanks to everyone that's been working to figure this out over the past few days! Now I can quite having to resort to RetroPie for Intellivision.

I'll try it on my other MiSTer with my newer 2600-daptors with more Sears Intellivision controllers tomorrow and report back, but I'll bet it works fine taking the analog approach.

Ditto - works well with the 2600-daptor D9 as well. Thank you!

Love the core so far. So many games to relive! Thank you!

I have noticed there are quite a few (more notably amongst the Intellicart group) that just simply won't load. They produce either a screen full of character garbage similar to when the core initially loads before I select a game or a blank screen with no content. Are these different enough from the original cart set that they would be harder to support or could I make an adjustment to the core configuration that would allow these games to play as well?

Some examples of games that won't load are:

• Flintstones Keyboard Fun (FLINTSTONES KEYBOARD FUN.bin)
• ZZZZ! - Spina the Bee (SPINABEE.ROM)
• Choplifter (CHOPLFT2.ROM)
• 2012 King of the Mountain (KINGMOUN.ROM)
• Super Chef BT (BURGRTM2.ROM)

I'd love to find a way to get these working, so I certainly welcome any suggestions or can wait patiently as the core is further developed.

UPDATE (a few hours later): Of course, I found my own solution by loading the ROM/BIN and trying different maps. At least for the first few I've tested, that solved my problem and gaming is afoot anew! Thanks again, for making such a wonderful core!!

Thanks! Working now with Ultimate PC Interface as well!

I need to buy a controller, is there any suggested solution? not only the famicon one?

It's pricey, but (in my experience) the 2600-daptor D9 in combination with the controllers from the Intellivision Flashback make a good (and authentic) pairing.

rhester72 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 22, 2021 12:38 am It's pricey, but (in my experience) the 2600-daptor D9 in combination with the controllers from the Intellivision Flashback make a good (and authentic) pairing.

thanks for the reply i thought no one was going to answer; yes its pricey, i'm wondering what to do, :/