VOGONS


First post, by C0deHunter

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Hello all,
The other day, I purchased a QuickShot Starfighter 5 (QS-191) gamepad (new in box, shrink-wrapped), and it arrived today.

s-l1600.jpg

I immediately tried to test it in DOS (DOS 7.1, I am using Win98SE), and in the game GODS, the axis (UP/DOWN) seem off (only up works)

Then I tried DOOM and although all the fire buttons work, on access seem *stuck* as the character tends to automatically run forward. (after I define the Joystick control in SETUP, the game runs a calibration test and then the game begins.

My Setup:

* I am connecting this gamepad via a MIDI-Joystick pass-through cable (one end goes into my AWE64 GOLD, which connects to Roland SC-55 MKII)

* CPU is a PIII-800E, on Abit BH-6 Mobo

Questions:

* Is there a DOS utility (TSR type that you configure, and then it stays resident) that allows me to calibrate this gamepad before running any games?

* In Windows 98SE, this gamepad is not even detected.

* Could it be that it is defective? I mean all the axis and the two buttons seem to work, it seems that it needs a bit of adjustment?

Thanks for your kind help!

PIII-800E | Abit BH-6 | GeForce FX 5200 | 64MB SD-RAM PC100 | AWE64 Gold | Sound Canvas 55 MKII | SoftMPU | 16GBGB Transcend CF as C:\ and 64GB Transcend CF D:\ (Games) | OS: MS-DOS 7.1-Win98SE-WinME-Win2K Pro (multi-OS menu Using System Commander 2K)

Reply 1 of 8, by root42

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As it says on the package, this seems to be 'digital'. So probably instead of potentiometers, they use switches on the dpad. So there shouldn't be anything to calibrate. The switches might be corroded or dirty. Maybe it's simply carbon pads that touch the PCB. Only opening the thing will reveal it...

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Reply 2 of 8, by C0deHunter

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I see, when I open it up, what should I look for? I has been sealed for the past 26 years!

Update
*****************
I just tested it with the game RAPTOR (Call of the Shadows) and it works flawlessly. I wish GODS had a calibration mode. 😐

PIII-800E | Abit BH-6 | GeForce FX 5200 | 64MB SD-RAM PC100 | AWE64 Gold | Sound Canvas 55 MKII | SoftMPU | 16GBGB Transcend CF as C:\ and 64GB Transcend CF D:\ (Games) | OS: MS-DOS 7.1-Win98SE-WinME-Win2K Pro (multi-OS menu Using System Commander 2K)

Reply 3 of 8, by dr_st

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That's why gamepads suck for DOS gaming. There probably isn't a single DOS game where a pad is better than a keyboard, plus you have to deal with crap like this.

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Reply 4 of 8, by 0kool

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dr_st wrote:

That's why gamepads suck for DOS gaming. There probably isn't a single DOS game where a pad is better than a keyboard, plus you have to deal with crap like this.

Disagree, I struggled with Jill of the Jungle and Duke Nukem without my Logitech Wingman gamepad (and it's definitely not the best controller out there). BTW I'm not a gamepad person.

Your experience may differ with a better (than a cheap early 2000s rubber dome BTC) keyboard, though.

Reply 5 of 8, by dr_st

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0kool wrote:

Disagree, I struggled with Jill of the Jungle and Duke Nukem without my Logitech Wingman gamepad (and it's definitely not the best controller out there). BTW I'm not a gamepad person.

Your experience may differ with a better (than a cheap early 2000s rubber dome BTC) keyboard, though.

While a good vs crap keyboard can certainly make a world of difference, mostly it's just a matter of figuring out how to use it.

Most games don't require more than 3-4 simultaneous keypresses, and there are plenty of good (or even average+) rubber domes that handle that with ease. A digital gamepad gives nothing that cannot be achieved with a keyboard; it's only a matter of shape, and relative positioning of buttons.

BTW, I've beat the Jill of the Jungle trilogy, as well as Duke Nukem II, and did not find them particularly difficult at all.

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

Reply 6 of 8, by 0kool

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Yeah, I suck at games and platformers in particular. Still messing with Duke 1. I'd imagine you could get used to anything, but in this particular case I've found an average gamepad to be superior to learning the KB kung fu.

Reply 7 of 8, by C0deHunter

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I am thinking about buying a Gravis PC Gamepad for DOS for the games the don't work with this QuickShot pad. (Gods, etc.)

PIII-800E | Abit BH-6 | GeForce FX 5200 | 64MB SD-RAM PC100 | AWE64 Gold | Sound Canvas 55 MKII | SoftMPU | 16GBGB Transcend CF as C:\ and 64GB Transcend CF D:\ (Games) | OS: MS-DOS 7.1-Win98SE-WinME-Win2K Pro (multi-OS menu Using System Commander 2K)

Reply 8 of 8, by ahyeadude

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You might look into getting a Microsoft Sidewinder Gamepad. It is digital, but there are some great drivers for DOS written by Bret Johnson.

http://bretjohnson.us/

SDWRGMPD makes it look like a normal analog joystick/gamepad. I haven't had a lot of success in making this work in games. Only Tyrion seems to work well with just this driver. However, you need to load this to use the following...

JOYKEYS allows you to map gamepad buttons to keyboard keys. This works so awesomely well and precise that I imagine it is even better than using a Gravis Gamepad or other DOS analog pad. I've got setups for Keen, Jazz Jackrabbit, Duke Nukem, etc. Any game that uses the keyboard, you can now use with the gamepad. Also you can control the repeat rate and other functions above and beyond what you can do with a normal analog pad.