Competition Pro Joystick...

Charlie · 27 February 2009, 12:21

...ok, so I'm probably going to be on my own here but:

Why for the love of God does anybody rate these bloody nasty joysticks???

You see all I hear about on retro forums is how good / robust / accurate / nice to use these things are while I have distinct memories of mis-timed jumps & sore hands after just a few miniutes use.

Why am I ranting now?

Well, my sister-in-law is about to have her 40th & she wanted her speccy set-up for a retro-games corner for her party...
...after a few conversations along the lines of 'No, I won't set your spectrum up for the party because nobody will want to play with it after 20-40 mins of waiting to load any game + joystick interface wobble making it crash every five miniutes' I finally got my way:
SFF PC hidden behind monitor running speccy emulator while speccy sits in front for 'display'.

Good, fine.
'Can I use my joystick with the emulator?' she said.
'Ah, maybe not' I said. 'But I'll buy you a USB one.'

Anyway one Speedlink CP purchase later & all is runninig quite nicely - even got the PC routed though a telly for more authenticity. But my God! The unhappy memories have come back...
...hands hurting after a few miniutes & games I'm usually good at are now nearly impossible to play...
...oh, and maybe not the design's fault but I had to rebuild the bloody thing as it was so badly nailed together...

...I think I'll stick with my BUG - shame there aren't any USB ones, but at least there are adaptors.

Ahhh, glad to have gotten that off my chest.

TCD · 27 February 2009, 12:30

You're talking about the PC USB one right? Well that lags and isn't nice to play, but the Amiga version is just awesome

Sore hands after some minutes use? Hmm, sorry but I think you're doing it wrong then

Anyway I can understand when people like the 'wobbly' type more, but hey that would me my time to rant then

cosmicfrog · 27 February 2009, 13:28

she wants a speccy for her birthday

anyhow an new joystick is like new shoes you have 2 wear them in

any ways after just a few mins of playing anything joystick related my hands hurt so it realy is importand to get a stick you like.

StingRay · 27 February 2009, 14:17

Competition Pro was a nice Joystick back in the day! The USB versions are indeed not that great though. However, even better than Competition Pro are the ZipStiks. ZipStik = AWESOME! <3

Charlie · 27 February 2009, 14:22

Each to their own, of course.

It's the speccy her & her sister (my wife) played with 20+ years ago & she felt it would be cool to have running @ her party...
...the USB C.P. was to replace her Atari-type one that isn't going to plug in to the PC.

s2325 · 27 February 2009, 14:25

Which games she will play?

Predseda · 27 February 2009, 14:31

It is a crap. I stay with my Quickshot joypad 8)

TCD · 27 February 2009, 14:35

Oh wait till Retro returns you lot

Charlie · 27 February 2009, 14:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by s2325

Which games she will play?

Manic Miner & Jet Set Willy most likely...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Predseda

It is a crap. I stay with my Quickshot joypad 8)

Ah, some sense at last! A passable stick.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCyberDruid

Oh wait till Retro returns you lot

Retro-Nerd · 27 February 2009, 15:46

1. Quickshot Turbo sticks are crap, useful for Summer Games and other wiggle/waggle games.

2. The second CP USB has better mircroswitches, but it's just like Jens Schoenfeld said some days ago. These PC version doesn't use the fast bouncing of the microswitches. The crappy USB chip filters the signal if you press the button/steer in one direction too fast. Avoid it, or modify it somehow.

3. The new Competion Pro for real Amigas is much better than the original. Todays microswitches are really better, no real surprise. Only the plastic chassis is a bit thinner. Still a great and especially very accurate joystick.

Smiley · 28 February 2009, 14:20

I agree totally. Competition Pro, ZipStik and The Bug all suck.

For Amiga gaming, there is only 1 viable option:

Adropac2 · 28 February 2009, 16:00

Zipsticks best joysticks ever.The new competition pros you can get now are ok but the Zipstick was absolute perfection

Still i shouldn't grumble as at least we can get new joysticks i suppose

Good joke by the way smiley

Dastardly · 28 February 2009, 17:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlie

...I think I'll stick with my BUG

We had a bug and I found it completely unusable. Seems to me they tried so hard to make it look like a bug that they forgot what it WAS supposed to be.

Zipstick was the best IMO.

27 February 2009, 12:21	#1
Charlie . . Mouse . . Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Nowhere Age: 55 Posts: 1,792	Competition Pro Joystick... ...ok, so I'm probably going to be on my own here but: Why for the love of God does anybody rate these bloody nasty joysticks??? You see all I hear about on retro forums is how good / robust / accurate / nice to use these things are while I have distinct memories of mis-timed jumps & sore hands after just a few miniutes use. Why am I ranting now? Well, my sister-in-law is about to have her 40th & she wanted her speccy set-up for a retro-games corner for her party... ...after a few conversations along the lines of 'No, I won't set your spectrum up for the party because nobody will want to play with it after 20-40 mins of waiting to load any game + joystick interface wobble making it crash every five miniutes' I finally got my way: SFF PC hidden behind monitor running speccy emulator while speccy sits in front for 'display'. Good, fine. 'Can I use my joystick with the emulator?' she said. 'Ah, maybe not' I said. 'But I'll buy you a USB one.' Anyway one Speedlink CP purchase later & all is runninig quite nicely - even got the PC routed though a telly for more authenticity. But my God! The unhappy memories have come back... ...hands hurting after a few miniutes & games I'm usually good at are now nearly impossible to play... ...oh, and maybe not the design's fault but I had to rebuild the bloody thing as it was so badly nailed together... ...I think I'll stick with my BUG - shame there aren't any USB ones, but at least there are adaptors. Ahhh, glad to have gotten that off my chest. Last edited by Charlie; 27 February 2009 at 14:44.

27 February 2009, 14:17	#4
StingRay move.l #$c0ff33,throat Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Berlin/Joymoney Posts: 6,863	Competition Pro was a nice Joystick back in the day! The USB versions are indeed not that great though. However, even better than Competition Pro are the ZipStiks. ZipStik = AWESOME! <3 Last edited by StingRay; 27 February 2009 at 14:38. Reason: typo

27 February 2009, 15:46	#10
Retro-Nerd Missile Command Champion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Germany Age: 52 Posts: 12,435	1. Quickshot Turbo sticks are crap, useful for Summer Games and other wiggle/waggle games. 2. The second CP USB has better mircroswitches, but it's just like Jens Schoenfeld said some days ago. These PC version doesn't use the fast bouncing of the microswitches. The crappy USB chip filters the signal if you press the button/steer in one direction too fast. Avoid it, or modify it somehow. 3. The new Competion Pro for real Amigas is much better than the original. Todays microswitches are really better, no real surprise. Only the plastic chassis is a bit thinner. Still a great and especially very accurate joystick. Last edited by Retro-Nerd; 27 February 2009 at 16:08.

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27 February 2009, 12:30	#2
TCD HOL/FTP busy bee Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Germany Age: 46 Posts: 31,518	You're talking about the PC USB one right? Well that lags and isn't nice to play, but the Amiga version is just awesome Sore hands after some minutes use? Hmm, sorry but I think you're doing it wrong then Anyway I can understand when people like the 'wobbly' type more, but hey that would me my time to rant then

27 February 2009, 13:28	#3
cosmicfrog The 1 who ribbits Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: leek, Staffs, UK Age: 56 Posts: 3,557	she wants a speccy for her birthday anyhow an new joystick is like new shoes you have 2 wear them in any ways after just a few mins of playing anything joystick related my hands hurt so it realy is importand to get a stick you like.

27 February 2009, 14:22	#5
Charlie . . Mouse . . Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Nowhere Age: 55 Posts: 1,792	Each to their own, of course. It's the speccy her & her sister (my wife) played with 20+ years ago & she felt it would be cool to have running @ her party... ...the USB C.P. was to replace her Atari-type one that isn't going to plug in to the PC.

27 February 2009, 14:25	#6
s2325 Zone Friend Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Gargore Age: 43 Posts: 17,789	Which games she will play?

27 February 2009, 14:31	#7
Predseda Puttymoon inhabitant Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Tromaville Age: 46 Posts: 7,539	It is a crap. I stay with my Quickshot joypad 8)

27 February 2009, 14:35	#8
TCD HOL/FTP busy bee Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Germany Age: 46 Posts: 31,518	Oh wait till Retro returns you lot

28 February 2009, 14:20	#11
Smiley Amiga-less! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,350	I agree totally. Competition Pro, ZipStik and The Bug all suck. For Amiga gaming, there is only 1 viable option:

28 February 2009, 16:00	#12
Adropac2 Zone Friend Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Age: 51 Posts: 1,056	Zipsticks best joysticks ever.The new competition pros you can get now are ok but the Zipstick was absolute perfection Still i shouldn't grumble as at least we can get new joysticks i suppose Good joke by the way smiley

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