Games that would benefit from analog joystick support and a gx4000 remake.

[CraigsBar]

OK, this could be an interesting topic. Games that would be great if only they supported analog joysticks...

Edgegrinder
R-type remake
Arkanoid
Any 3d racer.
Ping pong


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[tjohnson]

Do you think rtype would benefit from analog?   Was the original analog?   out of interest is the rtype remake a plus game or original cpc?

Chuck yagear flight thing would benefit, i recall having a gravis joystick . The beer puller we called it, might have been for a pc though but I'm convinced we had it for the cpc.  Chuck y may have supported analog i don't recall though.

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[CraigsBar]

The r-type remake is 128k but standard cpc.

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[Carnivius]

OK, this could be an interesting topic. Games that would be great if only they supported analog joysticks...

Edgegrinder
R-type remake
Arkanoid

You saying these aren't already great games?  Not sure why you'd need analog in the first two, especially R-Type.  It's always been designed around digital input.  Can't think of any horizontal shooter I'd prefer with analog control and the ones I have played with it (usually modern) haven't felt quite right to me.
Arkanoid I'm not sure about.  I had it on both Amiga and CPC but found it more enjoyable on CPC with the joystick than I found it on Amiga with the mouse.  I know the original arcade game is analog via a trackerball so mouse makes more sense but I just never got on well with it.

I often find myself far preferring digital control in 2D games even on my PS4 and just use analog for 3D stuff (though sometimes a 2D game forces to use analog and again it never feels right to me and puts me off playing the game for much longer).

And as for GX4000 remakes.  Nah.  Not interested.  If I want the extra colours I'd go full Amiga.  I love the original CPC's 27 colour palette and am often annoyed when it's not used well in games when it's capable of so much better things than much of what we saw back then.   Only real advantage I can see in GX4000 (seeing as it only has 64k so doesn't benefit from extra memory like 6128 does) is the fast loading of the cartridge format.

[ivarf]

Only real advantage I can see in GX4000 (seeing as it only has 64k so doesn't benefit from extra memory like 6128 does) is the fast loading of the cartridge format.

I am no coder, but isn't 64kB plenty on a console when you can have most of your code and data in a ROM that can be up to 512 KB

[andycadley]

I am no coder, but isn't 64kB plenty on a console when you can have most of your code and data in a ROM that can be up to 512 KB

Definitely. You have more usable memory, if effect, than a 128K machine. Although the sprites + scrolling are probably more key features than anything else. I'm not sure many games, except maybe Arkanoid, would benefit from analogue joystick support though - it always seemed a bit niche until 3D came along.

[Sykobee (Briggsy)]

Indeed, you have to remember the cartridge isn't a storage mechanism you load into RAM from, but actual memory mapped data.

Most games have very little mutable information, the 64KB the GX4000 provides is a veritable expanse for these games, even if you double buffer the display. Sure, you have to map the ROM pages in cleverly and there are a lot of restrictions where it can be mapped in, but we really are looking at 512KB of graphics, audio, maps, code available at any time. The wasteful plus sprite encoding is far less of a worry here.

(and with hardware scrolling and sprites, the need to double-buffer the display is massively reduced, freeing up even more memory).


I agree that it can be a lot more fun to work with the more limited palette of the original CPC though.


As for games that could benefit from analogue controls, beyond bat/ball type games. Racing games are an obvious choice - digital steering is rubbish, even a couple of intermediary steps would allow much finer control. I guess flight games too (not that these occurred on the Plus).


Interesting to see the plus ASIC has 8 6-bit ADCs, 4 unused (but possibly exposed on the pin out). Anyone tried wiring anything analogue onto those pins?

[Sacrosanct]

Practically every CPC game out there would benefit from a GX4000 remake.

[khaz]

Edgegrinder
R-type remake

Every shoot-them up under the sun has digital control. I'm not sure why you'd think those two would be better off with analogue controls?

Arkanoid
Ping pong

Paddle games need a paddle controller, not analogue.
I suppose one could patch the game to support Atari paddle controllers, maybe?

Any 3d racer.

I'm assuming you're talking about super-scaler style racing games? Eh. Maybe. The gameplay isn't thrown out the window when adapted to digital though.

[GOB]

I think Simulation games are the best to adapt to analogique joy.

[blackdalek]

Analogue pad controllers maybe. I never really liked analogue sticks. My first computer was a TRS-80 Color Computer 2 (Coco2). Its default controller was an analogue stick. It was awful.

CPC games which would benefit from analogue stick? Pretty much any flight or driving sim. Maybe some sports games like Ping Pong as previously suggested.
Can't see any benefit of an analogue stick if used in any arcade shoot-em-up or platformer style game. Analogue control pads however could be an advantage, having pressure sensitive jump button for example.

[dthrone]

Can't see any benefit of an analogue stick if used in any arcade shoot-em-up or platformer style game. Analogue control pads however could be an advantage, having pressure sensitive jump button for example.

I've included analogue support in the shoot em up I'm working on.  It works quite well keeping it simple and having only two "speeds" and 8-way.  One speed band so the target can cover screen ground quickly and the other for finer adjustment.  Also only having two speed bands means the natural speed advantage that diagonals have because of pythagoras can be compensated for easily in the frame rate, so they're within about 10% of the axis speeds.

Yeh, I really don't like using the old-style PC big sticks, thumb sticks are much nicer!

The GX4000 could of course handle its own custom dual analogue controller with its 4 analogue inputs - Halo remake? 

[ukmarkh]

Altered Beast, Outrun, Overlander, Green Beret and many more all need GX4000 remakes :-)


I'd be happy with analogue for flight sims and racing games, but definitely digital for shoot-em-ups.