Question About the Turbo Tap Option

PhDTenma
Posts: 51
Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2022 9:16 am
Has thanked: 52 times
Been thanked: 9 times

Question About the Turbo Tap Option

Unread post by PhDTenma »

Hello,
I'm very confused with the Turbo Tap option in the core menu. In the documentation it reads this:

"The Turbo Tap controller is also supported. This is distinct from the MiSTer's built-in Turbo feature. The Turbo Tap had a specific turbo frequency that is more suitable for some games. Enabling this option will make the buttons use turbo at the original rate of that controller."

At first I thought that option enabled the "turbo" in the buttons of the controller but I noticed it doesn't. For the turbo I'm using the Auto fire option of the MISTer (https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_Mi ... #auto-fire). Does the Turbo Tap option ensures that auto fire is at the precise same rate as in the original PC Engine? Because I can't see a difference between enabling and disabling the option.

Thanks for the clarification!

12characters
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2020 5:39 pm
Has thanked: 8 times
Been thanked: 36 times

Re: Question About the Turbo Tap Option

Unread post by 12characters »

As far as I understand, Turbo Tap was not the name of any controller but the adapter that allowed multiple controllers to be connected. I have therefore assumed that the Turbo Tap option in the core menu simply enables using multiple controllers.

User avatar
TLPD-AVW
Posts: 107
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2020 9:59 am
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 42 times

Re: Question About the Turbo Tap Option

Unread post by TLPD-AVW »

Yeah, TurboTap is the western name for PC Engine's multitap which is mandatory for any multiplayer, as the console has only one controller port. It has to be enabled separately for multiplayer games as single player games might have issues with TurboTap attached. Whoever wrote the documentation probably confused TurboTap with controllers' built-in turbo button functionality. Blame NEC for that, as they built the whole TurboGrafx-16 brand around the word "Turbo".

dshadoff
Core Developer
Posts: 547
Joined: Sun May 24, 2020 9:30 pm
Has thanked: 20 times
Been thanked: 145 times

Re: Question About the Turbo Tap Option

Unread post by dshadoff »

TurboTap is the brand name of the multi-controller breakout attachment (i.e. generic name would be multi-tap). A generic name ought to be used for both clarity and to avoid trademark complaints.

For the original machine, when it came to the USA, the marketing department seems to have gone a little crazy calling all of the devices "Turbo(something)". TurboGrafx, TurboTap, TurboPad, TurboCD, TurboExpress, TurboBooster, etc.

Side note: one game (I think it's Ki Ki Kai Kai, but I don't recall exactly) won't function properly (i.e. does not boot) if the tap is enabled (same as on real hardware). This is an issue with the game itself, not the core. The multitap

PhDTenma
Posts: 51
Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2022 9:16 am
Has thanked: 52 times
Been thanked: 9 times

Re: Question About the Turbo Tap Option

Unread post by PhDTenma »

Ohhh I see so not related at all with the auto fire option of the controllers.

Thank you both!

Post Reply