99 replies to this topic

[Albert]

AtariAge and Pixels Past are proud to announce the Stelladaptor 2600 to USB Interface! This new hardware product allows you to connect standard Atari 2600 joysticks, paddles, and driving controllers to modern Windows, Macintosh and Linux computers. We have worked closely with the authors of the excellent z26 Atari 2600 Emulator and an updated version of z26 for Windows will be released that automatically recognizes when the Stelladaptor is plugged in and allows you to play joystick, paddle, and driving controller games without any additional configuration. You can also use your Atari 2600 joystick and paddle controllers with the popular MAME arcade emulator, and standard Atari 2600 joysticks will work with any emulators that support standard USB controllers.

The Stelladaptor 2600 to USB Interface will makes its debut at the upcoming PhillyClassic 5 gaming expo later this month. If you're unable to attend the show, you can pre-order the Stelladaptor from the AtariAge Store and it'll be shipped to you after PhillyClassic.

[xredmenacex]

Wow! This is awesome! I will order one soon!!

[ApolloBoy]

$30? I dunno...

[liquid_sky]

make one on your own then.

[oesii]

I preordered one, looks like it will be fun to tinker with in Z26 and whatever other emus you can get it working with. Should be interesting if future 8bit and 7800 emus also add direct support for it. All-around good time

[Albert]

oesii said:

I preordered one, looks like it will be fun to tinker with in Z26 and whatever other emus you can get it working with.  Should be interesting if future 8bit and 7800 emus also add direct support for it.  All-around good time

Joystick controllers should work in most emulators that support USB controllers without any problems. I was just playing some 8-bit games in Atari800MacX, and I have played several games in MacMAME, including Arkanoid with the paddle controllers. Ultimately we will post a list of what emulators work without problems (although I doubt it will ever be complete--there are so many emulators out there!), and which emulators have been updated with specific Stelladaptor support.

..Al

[SteveW]

I hope the Mac version of Stella will be supported.

[Albert]

SteveW said:

I hope the Mac version of Stella will be supported.

The current version of MacStella does not support USB devices, so the answer there is no. However, it will probably work under OS 9, but we have not tried that just yet (this machine will not boot into OS 9, I need to try it on another one downstairs). MacStella really needs to be updated, the current version is a Carbon app and does not support the HID Manager. It's also based on an older version of the Stella source and could really use an update there also.

..Al

[raindog]

Man, I can't believe it's taken so long for one of these to become available commercially. Great work guys, looking forward to getting one.

[Nathan Strum]

Great looking product! I bought an adapter by Kernel (now out-of-business) for Atari controllers, but it only supported joysticks. Nothing else.

Any word on if this can (or might be able to) support trackballs and keypads? Can you use two Stelladapters for four-player paddle games?

(And yes... MacStella is woefully behind. I think we have about as good of a chance of seeing that updated as z26 getting ported over - zero.)

[Albert]

Nathan Strum said:

Great looking product! I bought an adapter by Kernel (now out-of-business) for Atari controllers, but it only supported joysticks. Nothing else.

We spent a lot of time working on the paddle support, and have to thank Eckhard Stolberg for all the time he spent working on z26 and adding support for Stelladaptor. It's great fun playing Indy 500 in an emulator with real driving controllers, something I've been doing quite a bit of thanks to the Indy 500 XE Track Design Contest.

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Any word on if this can (or might be able to) support trackballs and keypads? Can you use two Stelladapters for four-player paddle games?

I haven't tried trackballs (maybe Joe can try that), but the keypads do not work. I think Joe did test Warlords with four players, but I'll need to ask him. I know both paddles are supported when you plug one into a Stelladaptor, and plugging in multiple Stelladaptors is not a problem (they just show up as multiple USB controllers). As long as emulators support multiple controllers, it should all work fine.

Quote

(And yes... MacStella is woefully behind. I think we have about as good of a chance of seeing that updated as z26 getting ported over - zero.)

I hope it does get updated soon, OS X really needs a solid, up-to-date 2600 emulator!

..Al

[cimerians]

Quote

$30? I dunno...

Are you kidding????

I've been waiting for something like this for years, especially for the PC.

Thank You and praise you Atari Age!

I will be ordering one (maybe two)

[StanJr]

woah. We have been waiting for this for YEARS. This is HUGE, frickin' huge!

Big props to Joe and Albert and anyone else who made this a reality! Emulation will NEVER be the same!
Shibby!

[joesmooth]

Yes, Warlords works with 4 players. With paddles, both paddles are supported per Stelladaptor, so if you use two, you can have four people. Good for parties

Trakballs are not supported, basically because the resolution required is very fine compared to the relative "slowness" of USB.

Keypads are not supported because they can be easily emulated using a keyboard. We wanted to concentrate on actual controllers that can't be properly emulated on a keyboard or mouse.

The Track & Field controller (along with a few other not-so-common ones) is supported in hardware and should be worked into z26 at some point, but probably not the first version with Stelladaptor support.

Hope that helps,

Joe

[ATARI TROLL]

@ ALbert..Is there anyway we could get a progress report on the macstella if someone were chosen to test drive it?? Or can we get an update weather it works with OS9.x or OSX?

@ Liquid Sky-I agree...make your own-LOL

Cheers.....want to see more with this one!

[mojofltr]

I can't believe that something like this wasn't available before now... I can't wait to get mine! :-) Besides the Atari games, I cannot wait to give it a shot with Tempest or Arkanoid on MAME! WOW@!

[pmpddytim]

You guys are coming out with so much cool (expletive deleted) I'm going to go broke.

-Tim

[ApolloBoy]

cvo said:

ApolloBoy said:

$30? I dunno...

Get a clue before you make a goofy comment like this.

That was uncalled for. I know AA sells quality stuff, but I wish it was cheaper for low-budget gamers...

[gamerz]

ApolloBoy said:

cvo said:

ApolloBoy said:

$30? I dunno...

Get a clue before you make a goofy comment like this.

That was uncalled for. I know AA sells quality stuff, but I wish it was cheaper for low-budget gamers...

[CPUWIZ]

ApolloBoy said:

cvo said:

ApolloBoy said:

$30? I dunno...

Get a clue before you make a goofy comment like this.

That was uncalled for. I know AA sells quality stuff, but I wish it was cheaper for low-budget gamers...

No, it wasn't, you don't have a clue what is involved in making a run of professional looking hardware devices. It is obvious.

[StanJr]

she DID say "goofy."

take it easy, I can understand the broke man's perspective, but this is a pretty BIG deal for emu fans and well worth the ticket price.

[ApolloBoy]

CPUWIZ said:

ApolloBoy said:

cvo said:

ApolloBoy said:

$30? I dunno...

Get a clue before you make a goofy comment like this.

That was uncalled for. I know AA sells quality stuff, but I wish it was cheaper for low-budget gamers...

No, it wasn't, you don't have a clue what is involved in making a run of professional looking hardware devices. It is obvious.

Well, you don't have to insult me. I swear, some people...

[CPUWIZ]

I didn't call you a dope.

Joe, please explain it to him.

[ApolloBoy]

CPUWIZ said:

I didn't call you a dope.

I actually should have reworded that. I think AA and Pixels Past make awesome, high-quality stuff, but I just wish it was cheaper.

Back on topic, I think this is awesome! Now I can play ROMs with the real controls!