KTRL CD32 - Amiga CD32 custom gamepad

[Amiga1992]

Have you tested Body Blows Galactic CD32? I remember having issues with that when testing robinsobnb's atmega-based adapter.
I can check for others. I think Dangerous Streets also was iffy.

[MickGyver]

Originally Posted by Akira

Have you tested Body Blows Galactic CD32? I remember having issues with that when testing robinsobnb's atmega-based adapter.
I can check for others. I think Dangerous Streets also was iffy.

I assume you mean Ultimate Body Blows CD32? I checked some lists of CD32 games and Body Blows Galactic wasn't among the official releases. I found a version of Body Blows Galactic on Amigajay's Team 17 collection, don't have it on a CD yet though.

I just tested Ultimate Body Blows on my CD32 with two ProCons, it worked, red, blue, green, yellow and the shoulder buttons. I noticed that when just pressing the red button, the block pose could sometimes flash quickly, it was the same when I tested with an original gamepad, only with the original gamepad the flashing happened while keeping the red button pressed, so the timing for the button reading in that game seems to be a bit too fast.

I tested Dangerous Streets earlier, it was working fine.

Please let me know about other dodgy games so I can test them!

[Amiga1992]

Yes UBB, sorry!

Originally Posted by witchmaster

I noticed that when just pressing the red button, the block pose could sometimes flash quickly, it was the same when I tested with an original gamepad, only with the original gamepad the flashing happened while keeping the red button pressed, so the timing for the button reading in that game seems to be a bit too fast.

This is one of the issues I noticed, and it doesn't happen with my original gamepad!

Here's the list of games I found had issues when testing his adapter (all CD32 versions):

Fury of the Furries: no button works except red. When you press the others you are supposed to change automatically to a furry of that color.

Pinball Illusions: START doesn't seem to work. I cant start a game of pinball

Syndicate: "Mouse/Joypad required error" appears when trying to boot

Ultimate Body Blows: (you already found this one out) There's a glitch on the RED button when you hold it. The character should stay still after doing a punch but instead you can see that it changes randomly from button pressed/depressed state.


The first two were related to the game not recognizing the pad as a CD32 pad, UBB is related to timing.

[MickGyver]

Originally Posted by Akira

Yes UBB, sorry!

This is one of the issues I noticed, and it doesn't happen with my original gamepad!

Here's the list of games I found had issues when testing his adapter (all CD32 versions):

Fury of the Furries: no button works except red. When you press the others you are supposed to change automatically to a furry of that color.

Pinball Illusions: START doesn't seem to work. I cant start a game of pinball

Syndicate: "Mouse/Joypad required error" appears when trying to boot

Ultimate Body Blows: (you already found this one out) There's a glitch on the RED button when you hold it. The character should stay still after doing a punch but instead you can see that it changes randomly from button pressed/depressed state.


The first two were related to the game not recognizing the pad as a CD32 pad, UBB is related to timing.

Thanks!

I just tried Fury of the Furries again, changing between colours was working (it was also possible to pause the game with the start button).

I also tested Pinball Illusions, it was working perfectly.

I will test Syndicate tomorrow and Body Blows again with another power supply for the CD32. Like I said, the sprite in UBB was also flashing with one of my original gamepads (only tried one yet). I will try my other original gamepad tomorrow, the components in the original gamepads also vary. For example the capacitor for the latch pin on the shift register varies in value, this could affect the timing.

I'm interested in two fully assembled controllers - will send PM.

[Daedalus]

That looks most excellent witchmaster, well done!

[indigolemon]

Amazing work, I'll ping you about some kits come payday

[amigo-mexicano]

Interested in two partial kits... but I wanna ask, the atmega comes soldered or all small SMD components are separate? I ask this because I do not have that much skill to solder SMD myself yet.

Thanks!

[MickGyver]

Originally Posted by amigo-mexicano

Interested in two partial kits... but I wanna ask, the atmega comes soldered or all small SMD components are separate? I ask this because I do not have that much skill to solder SMD myself yet.

Thanks!

The kits for those prices mentioned have no soldered components, you will need to do this yourself. I could of course offer a partial kit with the components soldered though. We can continue the discussion using PM.

[Amiga1992]

Originally Posted by witchmaster

I will test Syndicate tomorrow and Body Blows again with another power supply for the CD32. Like I said, the sprite in UBB was also flashing with one of my original gamepads (only tried one yet). I will try my other original gamepad tomorrow, the components in the original gamepads also vary. For example the capacitor for the latch pin on the shift register varies in value, this could affect the timing.

Worry not, sounds to me like your board is working very well! We can leave UBB down to "shitty coding" :P

[NeoHippie2016]

Oh, very Great, i want to buy some of it!!

[EzdineG]

Originally Posted by witchmaster

Hi!

Here are some details about the gamepad I have been working on the past year! I call it the ProCon CD32. I was thinking about making a demonstration video but it felt out of scope so I'm writing a long post instead. If you are interested in getting one or more of these, see at the bottom of this post. I have a few ready built ones and I will order more parts as needed.

It looks like this:


The action buttons (and [UP] can be mapped between each other and turbo fire can be set up for any action button (and [UP]). The speed of turbo fire can be changed and you can store up to four presets (each face button holds a preset). An LED is used to help in configuring the gamepad. Electronically, the gamepad works the same as the original gamepad (automatically switching between CD32 mode and two button mode). This image shows an overview of the functions:


The instructions for the gamepad can be found here: http://daemonbite.com/files/procon/P...structions.pdf

The back also has a small "cheat sheet" that shows the info about the various functions:


The final version of the PCB has an ENIG (Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold) finish. One of the prototype versions had a cheaper HASL finish, but the buttons are much more responsive with an ENIG finish.


Inside view of the gamepad:

The firmware of the gamepad can be updated using the available ICSP pins (needs a ICSP programmer like the USBasp which can be bought for ~2€).

Due to a bad power supply and bad capacitors on my A1200, the development process was slower than needed. I have also had a few versions of PCBs made with various problems etc. The implementation of the microprocessor (Atmega328p) emulates the shift register in the original gamepad. The other components are more or less the same as in the original gamepad to maximise compatibility. So far I have successfully tested the gamepad on my Amiga CD32, A1200 and A500.

Games I have tested (ALL games I have tested so far have worked):

Official Releases:
Alien Breed 2
Alien Breed: Tower Assault
Banshee
Beneath a Steel Sky
Benefactor
Bubba n' Stix
Bumb n' Burn
Cannon Fodder
Captive 2: Liberation
Chaos Engine
Chuck Rock
D/Generation
Dangerous Streets
Dragonstone
Fury of the Furries
Guardian
Hero Quest 2: Legacy of Sorasil
James Pond 2: Robocod
James Pond 3: Operation Starfish
Mean Arenas
Pinball Illusions
Putty
Roadkill
Sensible Soccer 1.2: International Edition
Shadow Fighter
Skeleton Krew
Speedball 2
Super Methane Bros
Superfrog
Ultimate Body Blows * (see note)
Wing Commander
Worms
Zool
Zool 2

*) Small timing issue for the red button, the game still works but blocking pose of player character can flash when pressing the red button without doing anything else. I noticed the same effect with an original gamepad but it was maybe less frequent, I will investigate this further.

Unofficial releases:
4 Decades of Amiga Demos (Amigajay)
Cadaver (Bitmap Brothers Collection by Amigajay)
Gods (Bitmap Brothers Collection by Amigajay)
Heart of the Alien
Indy Heat (Indy Heat/Super Off Road by Amigajay)
Moonstone
Rally Championship (Isometric Racer Collection by Amigajay)
Sensible World of Soccer '95/'96 (Sensible Soccer Anthology)
Sensible World of Soccer '96/'97 (Sensible Soccer Anthology)
Solomon's Key
Solomns's Key 2
Time Gal
Worms: Director's Cut (Worms Collection)

Cover Discs:
CD32 Gamer Volume 6
+Bubble n' Squeak Demo
+Rise of the Robots Demo

Tools (A1200, A500):
JoyCheck (included with the official CD32 devkit)
JoyPortTest (lowlevel.library on and off) (http://aminet.net/package/driver/input/JoyPortTest.lha)
My own CD32 gamepad test tool made in Blitz Basic 2


Interested in one of these?
You have a few options in getting one of these gamepads. I'm offering preassembled/tested gamepads and two type of kits that you can build yourself.

Preassembled and tested: 38€
Includes a fully assembled and tested gamepad.

Full Kit: 27€
Includes all the parts you need to build one of these gamepads yourself. The Atmega328 comes preprogrammed.

Partial Kit: 20€
This kit includes the main PCB and trigger PCBs plus all the components needed, including a preprogrammed Atmega328. You will need to get a suitable snes style usb gamepad and a 9-pin cable yourself.

Shipping costs:
Airmail shipping (no tracking) for one gamepad to Europe is 5€, 12€ for the rest of the world.
Airmail shipping for two gamepads to Europe is 8€, for rest of world, express shipping will be cheaper.
Express shipping including tracking to anywhere in the world is 16€ for up to two gamepads.
A partial kit can be shipped for 3€ to Europe and 4€ to the rest of the world.

Interested in 2 full kits shipped to USA. Will PM.

[DanyPPC]

Very cool !!!

Interested in one preassembled controller.

[MickGyver]

Originally Posted by Akira

Syndicate: "Mouse/Joypad required error" appears when trying to boot

I tested Syndicate, it was working perfectly with my gamepad.

A note to the ones who have sent me PMs and haven't got an answer yet, I will answer them soon, sorry for the delay.

I need to source parts before I can send out any kits, I just have a few assembled gamepads now. It happens to be Chinese New Year now so there can be a slight delay.

[GadgetUK]

EDIT: I see now prices above =D Will send a PM =D

[robinsonb5]

Originally Posted by witchmaster

A note to the ones who have sent me PMs and haven't got an answer yet, I will answer them soon, sorry for the delay.

No worries - no hurry at all. Glad to see the project's popular!

[oggie]

How are you planning to update users with a new firmware? Github?

[Retroplay]

Interested in two assembled pads shipped to Denmark, PM sent.

[amigoun]

I am in for one assembled too

[MickGyver]

Originally Posted by oggie

How are you planning to update users with a new firmware? Github?

I'm not sure yet how to do this. An ICSP programmer (cheap) is needed to upgrade the firmware. I will send out a first batch of a few gamepads to see if it's working reliably for others. According to my tests it seems stable. I will upload possible updates of the firmware somewhere, that's for sure.