Intellivision Core (INTV)

[caffeinekid]

How do I set all the number controls etc to work, while still being able to use my joypad? Can I set numbers on keyboard and rest of controls on pad? I'm sure I've seen this before but my memory is not what it once was. Thank you.

[Lightwave]

This core would be perfect with 16 directions for the real Intellivsion controllers. (Another Ultimate PC interface user here, with reproduction Intellivision flashback controllers.) - It's crucial in some games to be able to move diagonally and shoot diagonally as well. Is any further work being done on this core?

Yes, I would definitely love to see 16 directions supported. I'm also using the Ultimate PC interface w/ Flashback controllers. That would help a number of games. I expect this could be done in the INTV core controller setup.

Same here, I'm using original Intellivision controllers via the 2600daptor D9, and it would be great if 16 direction control was supported.

[Ashfall]

This core would be perfect with 16 directions for the real Intellivsion controllers. (Another Ultimate PC interface user here, with reproduction Intellivision flashback controllers.) - It's crucial in some games to be able to move diagonally and shoot diagonally as well. Is any further work being done on this core?

Yes, I would definitely love to see 16 directions supported. I'm also using the Ultimate PC interface w/ Flashback controllers. That would help a number of games. I expect this could be done in the INTV core controller setup.

Same here, I'm using original Intellivision controllers via the 2600daptor D9, and it would be great if 16 direction control was supported.

16 directions seems to work for me. When I run handdemo2.itv it registers 16 directions. It is a bit sloppy though, could it be interpolating the extra 8 directions?

[Lightwave]

16 directions seems to work for me. When I run handdemo2.itv it registers 16 directions. It is a bit sloppy though, could it be interpolating the extra 8 directions?

Oh, that would be great if true!

I’m using a version of the core from before it was merged into main, and it appeared to be only using 8 directions in-game.

I haven’t tried with that test rom though, so I’ll have to update to latest and see how it works

[Ashfall]

16 directions seems to work for me. When I run handdemo2.itv it registers 16 directions. It is a bit sloppy though, could it be interpolating the extra 8 directions?

Oh, that would be great if true!

I’m using a version of the core from before it was merged into main, and it appeared to be only using 8 directions in-game.

I haven’t tried with that test rom though, so I’ll have to update to latest and see how it works

That would be great if you could try it when you have time. I'm new to MiSTer so am not sure if I'm interpreting some things right.
Either handdemo1 or handdemo2 would work. It's part of the JzINtv install, in the examples folder. The only place I found handdemo2 though was in the jzinstall.exe found on the Ultimate PC Interface page.

[CartoonDonkey]

Handdemo2 only registering 8 directions here. @ashfall what do you have as far as controller / interface to the Mister?

Using the ultimate pc interface and an intellivision flashback controller I'm only seeing eight directions register: Going slowly around the disc with handdemo2 running, starting at the top, you should see the number 4 (N), continue clockwise pressing the outer edge of the disc ..you will then see a 2 (NE) then a 0 (E), then a Uppercase E (SE), Uppercase C (S), Uppercase A (SW), 8 (W), 6 (NW) - so only 8 directions, not 16.

Maybe this needs to be checked against an actual Intellivision. I could have sworn more positions than that register.
Hrm... more info on this here: Possibly depends on the game?
https://atariage.com/forums/topic/169987-16-directions/

[Lightwave]

Maybe it would be useful to post the handdemo & handdemo2 ROMs here for everyone to test out their controllers?

(Not sure many people will download and install an emulator and then compile the assembly source examples just for this)

[Ashfall]

Handdemo2 only registering 8 directions here. @ashfall what do you have as far as controller / interface to the Mister?

Using the ultimate pc interface and an intellivision flashback controller I'm only seeing eight directions register: Going slowly around the disc with handdemo2 running, starting at the top, you should see the number 4 (N), continue clockwise pressing the outer edge of the disc ..you will then see a 2 (NE) then a 0 (E), then a Uppercase E (SE), Uppercase C (S), Uppercase A (SW), 8 (W), 6 (NW) - so only 8 directions, not 16.

Maybe this needs to be checked against an actual Intellivision. I could have sworn more positions than that register.
Hrm... more info on this here: Possibly depends on the game?
https://atariage.com/forums/topic/169987-16-directions/

Here, I videoed it:
https://youtu.be/y9_YAaAX2fE

Shown in the video are the Retronic Design adapter and the 2600-daptor D9. Not shown is the Ultimate PC Interface which works exactly like the D9, with all 16 directions.

Maybe you should update the adapter's firmware?

[Ashfall]

Maybe it would be useful to post the handdemo & handdemo2 ROMs here for everyone to test out their controllers?

(Not sure many people will download and install an emulator and then compile the assembly source examples just for this)

Handdemo1 and handdemo2 are attached. I had to change the extension of handdemo2 to .int for MiSTer to see it.

[Lightwave]

Ok, I had this working properly with 16 directions while testing in handdemo2.

Then somehow after doing a few other things, it has reverted to 8 directions and I cannot find a way to enable 16 directions again.

I've deleted all mapping configs for the controller and tried remapping from scratch, tried powering on MiSTer with and without controller plugged in, but no luck. It's quite maddening!

Again, this is with a 2600daptor D9 and original Intellivision controller (I've made sure to press 0 at power on to enable Intellivision controller mode on the D9).

[jordi]

nice it got into official repo!!

looks like the IntelliVision has lot of homebrew:
http://www.indieretronews.com/search/la ... ELLIVISION

[Ashfall]

Ok, I had this working properly with 16 directions while testing in handdemo2.

Then somehow after doing a few other things, it has reverted to 8 directions and I cannot find a way to enable 16 directions again.

I've deleted all mapping configs for the controller and tried remapping from scratch, tried powering on MiSTer with and without controller plugged in, but no luck. It's quite maddening!

Again, this is with a 2600daptor D9 and original Intellivision controller (I've made sure to press 0 at power on to enable Intellivision controller mode on the D9).

My 2600daptor is flakey. Periodically keys 4,5,6 and the right half of the disc will all stop working. No amount of reboots/reconnects helps. Even moving it to a Windows PC the problem is there. After a while it starts working again, until it flakes out again. I have two of them, they both do the same thing. I just got a Retronic Design adapter, and it works fine. Will see if it's stable.

[Lightwave]

Ok, I had this working properly with 16 directions while testing in handdemo2.

Then somehow after doing a few other things, it has reverted to 8 directions and I cannot find a way to enable 16 directions again.

I've deleted all mapping configs for the controller and tried remapping from scratch, tried powering on MiSTer with and without controller plugged in, but no luck. It's quite maddening!

Again, this is with a 2600daptor D9 and original Intellivision controller (I've made sure to press 0 at power on to enable Intellivision controller mode on the D9).

My 2600daptor is flakey. Periodically keys 4,5,6 and the right half of the disc will all stop working. No amount of reboots/reconnects helps. Even moving it to a Windows PC the problem is there. After a while it starts working again, until it flakes out again. I have two of them, they both do the same thing. I just got a Retronic Design adapter, and it works fine. Will see if it's stable.

Hmmm, very weird. I can't say I've had that issue (or any other problems) with the D9, it seems to work consistently for me with 2600 and Mega Drive controllers at least.

I should try my other adaptor now that you mentioned it and see if it behaves the same. And maybe updating the firmware as well, not sure if I'm on the latest.

[retroactive]

This core is awesome, I'm really enjoying it.

I didn't know if anyone else noticed that in Dreadnaught Factor that the explosion effect when you destroy a ship doesn't correctly display as it does on real hardware? I know this is a known issue in emulation, but assumed that FPGA would properly emulate this, but it has the same issue of just the border flashing whereas the whole screen flashes on real hardware. I remember from the interview with Tom Loughry on the Intellivisionaries podcast that he mentioned this issue with emulators. If this is an inappropriate place/question to ask here, let me know and I'll delete it, but I was just curious about this, or even wondering if anyone was aware.

Thanks.

[Sarge]

Might want to bring it up as an issue in the repository.

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Intv_MiSTer/issues

I'm going to take a look at this core for sure. It's the one system that I haven't reobtained from my childhood yet, and I probably should.

[Lightwave]

Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

[Ashfall]

Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

That is strange. You have original controllers and I have Flashback controllers, so maybe that has something to do with it?

[ericgus09]

Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

That is strange. You have original controllers and I have Flashback controllers, so maybe that has something to do with it?

I find I have to frequently "reprogram" my daptor to enable intellivision mode .. I think if you dont it just goes into a 4 way joystick mode .. make sure when you power up you are setting the right mode on the dapter .. .

[Lightwave]

Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

That is strange. You have original controllers and I have Flashback controllers, so maybe that has something to do with it?

Yes, could very well be... I actually have a flashback on the way so I'll see if it makes a difference with those controllers.

[Lightwave]

Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

That is strange. You have original controllers and I have Flashback controllers, so maybe that has something to do with it?

I find I have to frequently "reprogram" my daptor to enable intellivision mode .. I think if you dont it just goes into a 4 way joystick mode .. make sure when you power up you are setting the right mode on the dapter .. .

Yes, I'm definitely setting it to Intellivision mode after each power on by pressing keypad 0.

(The adapter supposedly defaults to last controller selected after 3 seconds, so even if I miss the timing window it should still be fine)

The thing is the controller works perfectly to play games, it's just that the directional pad is 8-way (at least in the test ROM). I'm not even sure how many games there are where 16 direction control is actually necessary.

[Paradroyd]

I''m pretty sure that the problem here isn't the controller/interface.

I have a couple of the newer multi-system 2600-daptors, as well as several of the Vision-daptors, which are hard-set to Intellivision mode with hardware switches. I use them with the controllers from my Sears-branded Intellivisions (these have nine-pin plugs that plug directly into the 2600/Vision-daptors directly).

I've also been using the pre-release version of this Intellivision core for a long time. It has always had this problem. The core itself has gotten really good lately, but this issue is bad enough that I've pretty much quit using the MiSTer core for this and have dropped back to using my RetroPi/JZInTV setups (or my real Intellivisions) for Intellivisiion.

With RetroPie/JZInTV, and Nostalgia (a really great emulator that runs under DOD/Windows) these control adapters work perfectly and consistently. I literally play them for hours on end with Retropie and they have full control articulation and have never exhibited this problem.

It makes a HUGE difference to me, especially in TRON:Deadly Disks and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons:Cloudy Mountain, both games that I play a lot and have been playing for over 30 years. I can immediately tell the difference. When opponents in Tron:DD are making well articulated turns all around you, and all you can do to try and follow/counter them is jerk between averaged 8 direction diagonals, you tend to get your ass kicked at higher levels.

In Advanced D&D, it manifests as making wrong turns a lot when you're trying to round corners in the maze. It's completely frustrating if you're used to being able to use all 16 directions.

The core has really come a long way, but the controls aren't there yet.

[Lightwave]

In Advanced D&D, it manifests as making wrong turns a lot when you're trying to round corners in the maze. It's completely frustrating if you're used to being able to use all 16 directions.

Funny, I was testing Cloudy Mountain just last night and noticed this exact issue.

It's frustrating that I actually had 16 directions working with the MiSTer at one point, so I know it's possible... just not sure how to re-enable it

[Paradroyd]

I've never seen it work. I have no idea how it could, given the way the input mapping works.

[ericgus09]

the Vision-daptors, which are hard-set to Intellivision mode with hardware switches

I love my daptor2600 but I really should get one of those just for intellivision use.

[CartoonDonkey]

I hope the 16 dir thing gets sorted. We don't want emulators to do a better job with this.

[Paradroyd]

I hope the 16 dir thing gets sorted. We don't want emulators to do a better job with this.

Currently, I'm leaning on RetroPi and real hardware for Intellivision and PSX, MiSTer (and real hardware) for just about everything else.

[Pepeart]

I am having problems playing dracula, I cant map the bottom right button to turn victims into zombies. I am using a snes ntt controller. When I map my buttons I dont get an option for a 4th action button. Thank you

[Lightwave]

I am having problems playing dracula, I cant map the bottom right button to turn victims into zombies. I am using a snes ntt controller. When I map my buttons I dont get an option for a 4th action button. Thank you

The Intellivision controller effectively only has 3 side action buttons: bottom left, bottom right, and top (the top left/right buttons are shared)

[Pepeart]

I am having problems playing dracula, I cant map the bottom right button to turn victims into zombies. I am using a snes ntt controller. When I map my buttons I dont get an option for a 4th action button. Thank you

The Intellivision controller effectively only has 3 side action buttons: bottom left, bottom right, and top (the top left/right buttons are shared)

I will map my buttons again, Thank you

[Lightwave]

Ok, tried the original controller with D9 adapter in the jzintv emulator on Windows, and it's working perfectly with 16 directions.

I can only conclude that this is a MiSTer issue then, that it only allows 8 directions.

The really crazy thing is that it worked briefly on MiSTer with 16 directions, and then never again after that

That is strange. You have original controllers and I have Flashback controllers, so maybe that has something to do with it?

Just received and tested the Flashback controllers, unfortunately still only registering 8 directions in the MiSTer core. Haven't tried updating the D9 firmware yet, so that's the next step.

I've never seen it work. I have no idea how it could, given the way the input mapping works.

You can see 16 directions working properly with 2 different adapters in the video Ashfall posted on the previous page. I had it working like this as well, briefly.