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Neophyte guide to DOS/Windows 98 joystick use.

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First post, by ruthan

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Hello,
i finally got some joystick (Saitek Cyborg 2000 - gameport version), i never used joystick with PC, i know that they were essential for Amiga games, but i never was too much interested in simulators.. and only place where i used joystick was old Atari. I used gamepads for emulators and some games like Nhl back in time, but no joystick.

So i need some push towards it. I have some questions about it:

  1. Are there any recommendation for setup joystick for game, i mean best default port address in soundcard setting etc?
  2. Are there some testing utilities? Or button remapping tools for DOS / Win98? Can i map keyboard keys to joystick buttons?
  3. Im right handed, but joystick arrived for prepared for left hand - i can probably change it. But how joysticks are usually used for games only alone, or together with keyboard as mouse and keyboard combo for some more advanced games where is not enough buttons?
  4. Is gameport general midi + joystick combo supported in DOS / Win98 on soundcard driver level, or it need some support for particular games? Are there some issues with it?
  5. Some recommended games for start to play with joystick in Dos? Something good and arcade, where is joystick better than keyboard? I mean, i will not play Dungeon Master with joystick i tried it with some Atari emulators and it sucks.. but for games like Golden Axe, Mortal combat, Dos NHLs, Raptor i can be nice is joystick is supported. I even saw some joystick option in Quake III, it would be probably awkward but maybe funny to try. Im not sure if good start to try to play advanced game like Wing Commander etc?

Im old goal oriented goatman, i care about facts and freedom, not about egos+prejudices. Hoarding=sickness. If you want respect, gain it by your behavior. I hate stupid SW limits, SW=virtual world, everything should be possible if you have enough raw HW.

Reply 1 of 6, by TheMLGladiator

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2. Win98 has a built in testing utility when you set up you joystick. Many joystick manufacturers, like Gravis, also created their own utilities, which can probably be found on vogonsdrivers.com
3.

ruthan wrote:

But how joysticks are usually used for games only alone, or together with keyboard as mouse and keyboard combo for some more advanced games where is not enough buttons?

I believe that really is game dependent, as many games I have do have that sort of option.
5. Flight sims like X wing or racing games are usually better with a joystick. Wouldn't recommend one for FPS, as a mouse/keyboard combo is usually better.

Reply 2 of 6, by dr_st

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Only games that can utilize analog precision benefit from analog joysticks. DOS arcade games are not among them.

https://cloakedthargoid.wordpress.com/ - Random content on hardware, software, games and toys

Reply 3 of 6, by retardware

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dr_st wrote:

Only games that can utilize analog precision benefit from analog joysticks. DOS arcade games are not among them.

I am in the same situation as the OP... considering getting a joystick first time since I used joystick on Apple II.
So I am totally clueless... could I get some force feedback sidewinder and use it also in DOS games, or do I need to get a digital (atari type) joystick for DOS games?

Reply 4 of 6, by AvalonH

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IBM original gameport address was 201h.. but Nerdy pleasures mentions that some gameport cards do not completely decode properly around that address??)
http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2012/02/p … -joysticks.html

Personally I have used addresses 200 - 204h in games and not found any issues.

In Dos you can try
http://www.oldskool.org/pc/joycalib
to test and calibrate a Joystick before running games.

I have also found a few problems (using a SB16's gameport) when using fast pentiums in real mode DOS with analogue Joysticks. Most older games load and work fine, you calibrate the joystick and think there is no problem. Then when playing the game the joystick doesn't move in one direction or moves stuck in a direction etc.
Fast CPUs breaks a lot of old games built-in joystick calibration routines. After disabling L1 Cpu cache on a PIII-750mhz all the games worked fine with the same joysticks (lots of games did this but some examples are Exterminator, Joe n Mac Caveman Ninja, Rambo III).

For mapping keyboard keys to Joystick buttons and directions I use Joykeys from http://bretjohnson.us. It also lets you use your Joysticks with any program i.e games that don't natively support joysticks in DOS. It can also be used to test Joysticks, and fix your Joystick BIOS so that it will work with other programs.
Anther useful program on that same website for Dos is Mousekeys. It allows you to use a mouse with dos games/programs that don't support a mouse and also assign any keyboard keys to the mouse buttons and movement directions.

In win98 I just use usb.

Reply 5 of 6, by dr_st

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retardware wrote:

do I need to get a digital (atari type) joystick for DOS games?

No, that has even fewer advantages (read: none). Just play with the keyboard.

https://cloakedthargoid.wordpress.com/ - Random content on hardware, software, games and toys

Reply 6 of 6, by ruthan

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Few more questions.

  1. Is there any guide how to setup my Saitek Cyborg 2000 in Win98? I was always confused what means number of axis etc..
  2. Is there some generic gameport drivers for WinXP/7 too?
  3. Does someone use this Rockfire Gameport to USB adapter? Is there some better alternative?
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rockfire-New-USB-to- … j0AAOSw8VtcMu89

Im old goal oriented goatman, i care about facts and freedom, not about egos+prejudices. Hoarding=sickness. If you want respect, gain it by your behavior. I hate stupid SW limits, SW=virtual world, everything should be possible if you have enough raw HW.

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