Table of Contents for
Gaming Hacks

Version ebook / Retour

Cover image for bash Cookbook, 2nd Edition Gaming Hacks by Simon Carless Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2004
  1. Cover
  2. Gaming Hacks
  3. Credits
  4. Contributors
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Foreword
  7. Preface
  8. How to Use This Book
  9. How This Book Is Organized
  10. Conventions Used in This Book
  11. Using Code Examples
  12. Comments and Questions
  13. Got a Hack?
  14. 1. Playing Classic Games
  15. Legal Emulation
  16. Play Commodore 64 Games Without the C-64
  17. Play Atari ROMs Without the Atari
  18. Use Atari Paddles with Your PC
  19. Run Homebrew Games on the Atari 2600
  20. Create Your Own Atari 2600 Homebrew Games
  21. Play Classic PC Graphic Adventures
  22. Play Old Games Through DOSBox
  23. Play Reissued All-in-One Joystick Games
  24. Play Arcade Games Without the Arcade
  25. Add and Manipulate a MAME Frontend
  26. Keep Your ROMs Tidy and Organized
  27. Learn Game-Specific MAME Controls
  28. Filter Inappropriate MAME ROMs
  29. Autoboot into MAME Heaven
  30. Play Emulated Arcade Games Online
  31. Play Classic Pinball Without the Table
  32. Emulate the SNES on the Dreamcast
  33. 2. Playing Portably
  34. Play Games on Your iPod
  35. Mod Your Game Boy
  36. Take and Print Photos with Your Game Boy
  37. Compose Music on Your Game Boy
  38. Explore the GP32 Handheld Gaming System
  39. Take Your Console with You
  40. Explore the Bandai WonderSwan
  41. Play Real Games on Your PDA
  42. Install a PlayStation 2 in Your Car
  43. 3. Playing Well with Others
  44. Practice Proper MMORPG Etiquette
  45. Understand MMORPG Lingo
  46. Grind Without Going Crazy
  47. Make a Profit in Vana’diel
  48. Write MMORPG Macros
  49. Build an Effective Group
  50. Catch Half-Life FPS Cheaters Redhanded
  51. 4. Playing with Hardware
  52. Build a Quiet, Killer Gaming Rig
  53. Find and Configure the Best FPS Peripherals
  54. Adapt Old Video Game Controllers to the PC
  55. Choose the Right Audio/Video Receiver
  56. Place Your Speakers Properly
  57. Connect Your Console to Your Home Theater
  58. Tune Console Video Output
  59. Tune Your TV for Console Video
  60. PC Audio Hacking
  61. Optimize PC Video Performance
  62. Build a Dedicated Multimedia PC
  63. Use a Multimedia Projector for Gaming
  64. 5. Playing with Console and Arcade Hardware
  65. Play LAN-Only Console Games Online
  66. Hack the Nuon DVD Player/Gaming System
  67. Play Import Games on American Consoles
  68. Find a Hackable Dreamcast
  69. Play Movies and Music on Your Dreamcast
  70. Hack the Dreamcast Visual Memory Unit
  71. Unblur Your Dreamcast Video
  72. Use Your Dreamcast Online
  73. Host Dreamcast Games Online
  74. Burn Dreamcast-Compatible Discs on Your PC
  75. Burn Dreamcast Homebrew Discs
  76. Buy Your Own Arcade Hardware
  77. Configure Your Arcade Controls, Connectors, and Cartridges
  78. Reorient and Align Your Arcade Monitor
  79. Buy Cart-Based JAMMA Boards
  80. Programming Music for the Nintendo Entertainment System
  81. 6. Playing Around the Game Engine
  82. Explore Machinima
  83. Choose a Machinima Engine
  84. Film Your First Machinima Movie
  85. Improve Your Camera Control
  86. Record Game Footage to Video
  87. Speedrun Your Way Through Metroid Prime
  88. Sequence-Break Quake
  89. Run Classic Game ROM Translations
  90. Change Games with ROM Hacks
  91. Apply ROM Hacks and Patches
  92. Create PS2 Cheat Codes
  93. Hack Xbox Game Saves
  94. Cheat on Other Consoles
  95. Modify PC Game Saves and Settings
  96. Buff Your Saved Characters
  97. Create Console Game Levels
  98. 7. Playing Your Own Games
  99. Adventure Game Studio Editing Tips
  100. Create and Play Pinball Tables
  101. Put Your Face in DOOM
  102. Create a Vehicle Model for Unreal Tournament 2004
  103. Add a Vehicle to Unreal Tournament 2004
  104. Modify the Behavior of a UT2004 Model
  105. Download, Compile, and Create an Inform Adventure
  106. Decorate Your IF Rooms
  107. Add Puzzles to Your IF Games
  108. Add Nonplayer Characters to IF Adventures
  109. Make Your IF NPCs Move
  110. Make Your IF NPCs Talk
  111. Create Your Own Animations
  112. Add Interactivity to Your Animations
  113. Write a Game in an Afternoon
  114. 8. Playing Everything Else
  115. Tweak Your Tactics for FPS Glory
  116. Beat Any Shoot-Em-Up
  117. Drive a Physics-Crazed Motorcycle
  118. Play Japanese Games Without Speaking Japanese
  119. Back Up, Modify, and Restore PlayStation Saved Games
  120. Access Your Console’s Memory Card Offline
  121. Overclock Your Console
  122. Index
  123. Colophon

Use Atari Paddles with Your PC

Use a proper controller for the right games.

If you remember the original Atari 2600 hardware, you likely have fond (or not so fond) memories of the paddle input device. Instead of using a joystick for Breakout-like games, you turned a paddle left or right. Some games play much better this way.

Fortunately, enterprising hackers have sorted out hardware, drivers, and relevant emulator software to make Atari paddle controllers work on the PC, so you can play classic reissues of Atari 2600 games on modern hardware with the original controls. Some emulators even recognize and take advantage of the special analog properties of the paddle controller.

Finding a 2600 Paddle Controller

How do you find original paddle controllers? You might try your local thrift store—classic consoles and computers appear with alacrity. Otherwise, eBay comes to the rescue again; there are several auctions at any given time that offer a pair of paddles for $5 to $10 plus shipping.

De-Jitter Your Paddles

Try to pick an auction that clearly says that the paddles are jitter-free. Atari 2600 paddles suffer from an infamous jitter effect after constant hardware use. Unfortunately, the use of WD-40 or similar lubricants will fix your paddle in the short term, but will also end up making it gunkier (in a scientific sense) in the long term.

Of course, if you don’t play often or you think you can beat the odds, constant WD-40 squirtage may do the trick. Some sites are vehemently against it, however, so the proper way to fix a jitter-tastic Atari 2600 paddle is to follow the Atari Guide site’s guide to taking it apart and soaking all the goop out (http://www.atariguide.com/help/care.htm). You need to follow the somewhat complex web site instructions to complete disassembly, but there are some particularly important points to note:

Remove the knob carefully

Pull the paddle knob straight up; don’t pry it up with a screwdriver or lever. If the knob comes off at an angle, it’ll break the potentiometer.

Handle the potentiometer with care

When it comes time to disassemble the potentiometer itself, don’t bend the tabs holding it in place too much. If they break off, you’re in real trouble.

Swab gently

Use a lint-free cloth you don’t mind ruining to soak up all the liquid you can from inside the potentiometer. Try not to snag the cloth on the sharp bits inside lest you ruin its delicate mechanics.

There are three ways to use an Atari 2600 paddle on a PC: the hard way, the easier way, and the easiest way.

Atari 2600 Paddle to Joystick Port Adapter

If you play 2600 games on your PC, you might use the excellent Atari 2600 emulator Stella ( [Hack #3] ). The Stella user’s guide explains how to build your own 2600 paddle to PC adapter (http://stella.sourceforge.net/docs/stella.html#Adaptor) using common electronics components found at Radio Shack. The site says it’ll work with the DOS and Linux versions of Stella automatically. You’ll need to be handy reading schematics and soldering—and beware of the disclaimer that you may short out your hardware—but several people have reported success in using classic controllers with emulators.

Before you start, you’ll need a 15-pin joystick/MIDI connector on the PC end. Many sound cards such as the SoundBlaster Live (http://www.soundblaster.com/products/sblive/specs.asp) include them. Other hardware includes two DB9 male connector ports for the paddles to plug into on one end and a DB15 male connector to plug into your PC on the other. You’ll also need four 115k resistors and plenty of wire to wire everything up. See Figure 1-5 for the schematic.

The Atari paddle schematic

Figure 1-5. The Atari paddle schematic

On the left controller connector, connect port 3 to port 2 on the PC game connector, port 4 to port 7, port 5 to port 6, port 7 to port 1, port 8 to port 4, and port 9 to port 3.

On the right controller connector, connect port 3 to port 10 on the PC game connector, port 4 to port 14, port 5 to port 13, port 7 to port 9, port 8 to port 5, and port 9 to port 11.

You should end up with six wires from each controller connecting to the game connector. Be very careful that you don’t short out the +5V and GND connections with sloppy soldering, because you’re liable to blow your PC game port, the paddle controllers, or if you’re very unlucky, your whole PC.

For each controller, solder one 115k resistor between the wires coming from controller ports 5 and 7 and another between the wires coming from controller ports 7 and 9.

You can cut up a joystick extension cable for the PC instead of using a standalone DB15 connector, much like the Xbox extension cable in [Hack #37] . This may be even easier, if you can find one cheap on eBay or at an online computer retailer.

Atari 2600 to USB Stelladaptor with z26 Emulator

Here’s the bad news. You can be all macho and mess with 15-pin joystick controllers and lots of solder and resistors, but in 2004, the excellent Pixels Past released a Stelladaptor 2600 to USB interface for Mac, Windows, and Linux. This device works perfectly with the paddle controllers using the z26 (http://www.whimsey.com/z26/z26.html) Atari 2600 emulator, which has built-in support.

This is the real deal, and for only $30 it’s a decent value, too. It also works with Atari 2600 joysticks and driving controllers, though it’s worth reading the caveat regarding compatibility:

Stelladaptor will work with any emulators that support standard USB controllers. Paddle controllers will only work in emulators that allow configuration of analog USB controllers (such as MAME32 and MacMAME), or emulators that have been updated to directly support the Stelladaptor (such as z26).

If you’d like a second opinion, the Back N Time site’s Stelladaptor review (http://www.backntime.net/Hardware/Stelladaptor/FrameSA.html) is very positive, though they do point out that you need one adapter for each controller you connect to your PC. You’ll need two Stelladaptors to play two-player games.

JAKKS Atari Paddle Controller TV Game

If you think the Stelladaptor’s wimpy, then the JAKKS TV Game Atari 2600 paddle controllers are for cowards because you don’t need to buy original controllers or even own a PC. This software/hardware bundle, designed by retro master developers Digital Eclipse, should come out around the time this book goes to press. It apparently includes a great reproduction of 11 classic Atari 2600 paddle games within the controller and will cost between $20 and $30.

Unfortunately, the ever-gorgeous Kaboom! didn’t make it, but plenty of other classics did, including Circus Atari and Super Breakout. The whole thing is available in both one- and two-player variants, so it’s an easy way to get 2600 games running without digging out your own console. Rumor has it that this iteration is much better than the Atari 2600 joystick (see [Hack #9] ), which suffered from noticeable software issues.

In the end, whether you do it the hard, easier, or super-easy way, you can soon twiddle knobs to your heart’s content and praise the geniuses at Atari for classic early ’80s engineering feats.