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Post by PatFH on Apr 27, 2018 11:11:05 GMT
I've managed to load .d64 games via the USB stick but I'm having a frustrating time getting the joystick to work.
My understanding is that the game (in this case, Matrix) requires the joystick to be plugged into Port 1, whereas, the C64mini makes the joystick recognisable only on Port 2 for USB loaded games.
I have the following questions:
1. Are the ports physical USB ports? ie left USB port =1, and right USB port =2. I've tried plugging and swapping the joystick into each of them (powering down and plugging in before launching BASIC to load the game). The game doesn't recognise the joystick at all. (Which requires the fire button to start the game.) However, as an aside, when I have the virtual keyboard displayed, if I press the triangular R1 button, it seems to work as the fire button. But alas, the joystick itself still behaves like deadwood and I can't move my ship.
2. Or are the ports assigned on the fly by the C64 mini depending on what's plugged in first?
- if so, then how the heck do I assign my joystick to Port 1 even though the C64 only recognises joysticks on Port 2 for USB loaded games?
Could someone please explain the actual steps of getting a Port 1 Joystick required game to work.
My inner-teen is begging for Matix/Gridrunner to run but all I can see is the start screen just teasing me...
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Post by mrrockitt on Apr 27, 2018 12:41:23 GMT
Hi there. I don't have a simple answer for the issue unfortunately, would quite like to know this myself on a few games, but just wondering if Matrix or Gridrunner appear on any of Vinny's excellent compilations? freeze64.com/c64mini-hacks/He might have fixed the port 2 issue on them if they are there perhaps?.... |
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Post by MIK on Apr 27, 2018 12:48:46 GMT
From memory... Only joyport 2 is supported for single player gaming, unless it's a 2 player game but even then it may need support added. I know for sure 2 player games on the carousel support 2 joysticks using Firmware: 1.0.7
Most games after 1986 used port 2 for single player, although Codemasters thought other wise...
A way around this is to use Keyboard controls, (if a game supports it) by using a USB keyboard.
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Post by RetroBiker on Apr 27, 2018 14:31:02 GMT
If you have the official joystick and a non-official one, then the Mini will try and set the official one to be port 2 if possible in my experience. As mrrockitt says, the hacks on Freeze64 are your best bet for working around this stuff at the moment until there is a suitable firmware update to allow configuring the ports. I haven't tried this on the Mini, yet, but there is a little quirk of the way the joystick port 1 works. The registers for the two joystick ports are used in keyboard scanning and a side effect of this is that you should get the effect of UP by pressing "1", DOWN with left arrow, LEFT with the control key, RIGHT with "2" and FIRE with the space bar. This quirk is often the reason why many games were port 2 only as port 1 could act strangely with keyboard characters appearing in unwanted situations and might be why the Mini was configured to use port 2 by default. |
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Post by PatFH on Apr 27, 2018 17:03:38 GMT
Thanks everyone for the replies. I'll try to source a second joystick and give that a g. And I'll try those Freeze64 hacks too
Gridrunner and Matrix was one of the main reasons for getting the C64 mini but alas, it hasn't proven as straight forwards as I'd hoped. (And I don't see it as one of the Freeze64 hacks)
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Post by MIK on May 3, 2018 11:24:12 GMT
I stumbled on a Joyport 1 game last night, (Wec Le Mans) which is a first since the update! I turned the mini off and plugged in a second pad to see how it might work. What I found with Wec Le Mans was this: If you have 2 controllers plugged in the one you use to start Basic with will become Joyport 2, the other will become Joyport 1. If this is true of all Joyport 1 games then it doesn't matter which of the 2 controllers you use to start Basic with, just remember the other will become Joyport 1. RESULT!  I used two iNNEXT snes pads for this test. When I get a chance I'll tests some Codemaster games as a lot of the early ones were Joyport 1. But yeah as already said and by the looks of this, you need two controllers to make port 1 active. |
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Post by MIK on May 3, 2018 21:06:39 GMT
Just quickly tested Codemasters Jet Bike Simulator which uses joyport 1 and made it on the score board to show it indeed works.   Bad score due to image delay..., I was bashing everything like a noob ha!  |
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Post by spannernick on May 3, 2018 23:55:02 GMT
Thats how I play my games,I have my Zipstick in port 2 and my Snes controller in port 1 so if I play Spy Hunter I use the Snes Controller and If I play a game from the Carousel I use my Zipstik Joystick and any other port 2 games.I make this a sticky for anyone else having this problem.
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Post by cirdan65 on May 9, 2018 19:33:55 GMT
Hi trying to load my own d64 games but only comes up read only anyone any ideas
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Post by gurce on May 9, 2018 20:39:26 GMT
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Post by mrrockitt on May 9, 2018 20:43:08 GMT
Thats how I play my games,I have my Zipstick in port 2 and my Snes controller in port 1 so if I play Spy Hunter I use the Snes Controller and If I play a game from the Carousel I use my Zipstik Joystick and any other port 2 games.I make this a sticky for anyone else having this problem. Is this a Zipstick using a Kempston to USB converter or is there a USB version of the Zipstick now Spannernick? Thanks |
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Post by spannernick on May 9, 2018 23:11:29 GMT
Thats how I play my games,I have my Zipstick in port 2 and my Snes controller in port 1 so if I play Spy Hunter I use the Snes Controller and If I play a game from the Carousel I use my Zipstik Joystick and any other port 2 games.I make this a sticky for anyone else having this problem. Is this a Zipstick using a Kempston to USB converter or is there a USB version of the Zipstick now Spannernick? Thanks No it not USB,I soldered the cable from the Zipstik to TheC64 Joystick board,then tapped the board with black tape and put the board under the Zipstik so the 4 buttons sticking out the back,then glued the red buttons on each rubber button,it's a lot better and when I push right it goes right and not up/right.. You have to remove the rubber feet to do this,mine did not stick anymore anyway. If you want to do this,let me know and I will help you,step by step,I can make a post about if anyone wants it..?  Only thing is you don't have the Triangle buttons buttons but if you get a Joystick with them then you solder them on to board to and they will work. Here is 3 pictures of it..    |
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Post by spannernick on May 9, 2018 23:23:52 GMT
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Post by mrrockitt on May 10, 2018 10:00:50 GMT
Wow...
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Post by mrrockitt on May 10, 2018 10:03:10 GMT
Hi trying to load my own d64 games but only comes up read only anyone any ideas Did you get it all going Cirdan? Many have had issues with it but it's normally fixed pretty easily using Gurce's links. |
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Post by masterofmadness on May 17, 2018 15:50:39 GMT
Hi all.I've just bought loads of 128mb memory sticks but when I add d64 files it can't find them on 64 mini.I've formated to fat32.any ideas thanks..I'm using freeze64 magazines mini hacks
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Post by ch1ller on May 17, 2018 16:58:05 GMT
Hi all.I've just bought loads of 128mb memory sticks but when I add d64 files it can't find them on 64 mini.I've formated to fat32.any ideas thanks..I'm using freeze64 magazines mini hacks 1) Load a Game from Carousel first (Avenger), quit game, then load Basic and your Disk/Files. 2) If that doesnt work, then yur stick is not formatted with MBR on it. Use a Tool to Format USB Stick in Fat32 with MBR. You can try this one: hp_usb_disk_storage_format_tool-2.2.3.exe (96 KB) or SD Memory Card Formatter |
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Post by cirdan65 on Jun 3, 2018 15:43:41 GMT
no sorry still trying to sort out my usb stick been busy lately
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Post by cirdan65 on Jun 3, 2018 18:29:09 GMT
Hi sorry still struggling to get my usb stick to work been busy
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Post by peterbuch74 on Jul 4, 2018 13:39:55 GMT
Hi all.I've just bought loads of 128mb memory sticks but when I add d64 files it can't find them on 64 mini.I've formated to fat32.any ideas thanks..I'm using freeze64 magazines mini hacks 1) Load a Game from Carousel first (Avenger), quit game, then load Basic and your Disk/Files. 2) If that doesnt work, then yur stick is not formatted with MBR on it. Use a Tool to Format USB Stick in Fat32 with MBR. You can try this one: or SD Memory Card FormatterThank you!!! I've been trying to work out why my USB wasn't being recognized. Used the HP formatter you linked and bang, it worked! Thank you |
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Post by cirdan65 on Jul 10, 2018 20:46:58 GMT
Hi don't know what I'm doing wrong have tried all the solutions but still only getting read only when trying to load from usb
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Post by carey on Jul 29, 2018 4:09:52 GMT
I've tried all of gurce's suggestions, and still have not successfully loaded any .d64 files successfully. They all are listed as "read only". I did update the firmware with the same flash drive easily. Also, I can't find the online game store or the advertised itch.io integration.  |
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Post by gurce on Jul 30, 2018 0:00:45 GMT
I had a look at my logs for times when I experienced doing a LOAD "$",8 dir listing, it returned: 0 "READONLY " 01 2A My logs confirm this sort of thing happened when the USB stick was missing the MBR (master boot record) when it was formatted. Can you confirm that your USB stick was formatted with an MBR. My suggestion is to download an 3rd party formatting tool, but other suggestions can be found here for mac/windows: gurce.net/c64mini/correctly_formatting_your_usb_sticks |
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Post by carey on Jul 30, 2018 0:54:06 GMT
I had a look at my logs for times when I experienced doing a LOAD "$",8 dir listing, it returned: 0 "READONLY " 01 2A My logs confirm this sort of thing happened when the USB stick was missing the MBR (master boot record) when it was formatted. Can you confirm that your USB stick was formatted with an MBR. My suggestion is to download an 3rd party formatting tool, but other suggestions can be found here for mac/windows: gurce.net/c64mini/correctly_formatting_your_usb_sticksI used both method 1 and 3 in your referred to post. How does one confirm the existence of the mbr? Hopefully the new firmware eventually makes all this moot. |
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Post by gurce on Jul 30, 2018 5:05:56 GMT
Hmm, the way I used to assess for the existence of an MBR was a bit on the techy side, with a few linux console tools to help me look at the contents of the first 512 bytes of the drive. I look for the existence of certain sequences of bytes that are indicative of an MBR existing.
It's a bit of a techy way, probably not for the faint hearted, I could elaborate in more detail in a future post when I get the chance.
But if you're sure that you used that 3rd party formatting tool ( www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/ ), then I'm reasonably confident it added the MBR for you, as I tested how it performed on my USB sticks and confirmed that the formatting tool does indeed add an MBR.
So I'm thinking two remaining paths of investigation left:
1) Perhaps there is something unique to this particular USB stick you have - If so: a) I wouldn't mind investigating it further, and I'd be interested to see what the first 512-bytes of your USB-stick contain (which means I need to jot down the steps of retrieving them, unless you beat me to it and find a walkthrough online on how to grab these bytes ) b) Have you tried an alternate USB stick to see if that works? That will also help rule out if the problem is unique to your initial USB stick or not
2) Any chance you could share the .d64 file you are dropping onto your USB stick? Just as a way for me to try it on my system and assure it works fine. If not, maybe I can investigate the file itself and see if there's something wrong with it.
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Post by jaymondo on Nov 18, 2020 22:21:40 GMT
Thats how I play my games,I have my Zipstick in port 2 and my Snes controller in port 1 so if I play Spy Hunter I use the Snes Controller and If I play a game from the Carousel I use my Zipstik Joystick and any other port 2 games.I make this a sticky for anyone else having this problem. Hi Spannernick, I jumped out of my seat reading this. I bought my C64 mini just to play Spyhunter with my kids. I have upgraded the firmware, and dowloaded every D64 of Spyhunter out there, but just can't get Spyhunter to work. I do get to a screen where the car is there on the road, but cannot get it to move. Do I understand correctly that you put the flash drive in Port 2, the SNES in port 1, and that is all you have to do and then you can play it? No configuration of buttons etc. If so, I buy a SNES controller in 30 seconds flat. I have a spyhunter app on my Android phone, but it is not the right thing. |
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Post by spannernick on Nov 18, 2020 23:45:48 GMT
Thats how I play my games,I have my Zipstick in port 2 and my Snes controller in port 1 so if I play Spy Hunter I use the Snes Controller and If I play a game from the Carousel I use my Zipstik Joystick and any other port 2 games.I make this a sticky for anyone else having this problem. Hi Spannernick, I jumped out of my seat reading this. I bought my C64 mini just to play Spyhunter with my kids. I have upgraded the firmware, and dowloaded every D64 of Spyhunter out there, but just can't get Spyhunter to work. I do get to a screen where the car is there on the road, but cannot get it to move. Do I understand correctly that you put the flash drive in Port 2, the SNES in port 1, and that is all you have to do and then you can play it? No configuration of buttons etc. If so, I buy a SNES controller in 30 seconds flat. I have a spyhunter app on my Android phone, but it is not the right thing. wow thats old.. I use PCUAE now to play it from the Carousel.. its one of the games included, its in Carousel gamelist Screen S to Z. |
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Post by kugelblitz on Nov 19, 2020 8:38:34 GMT
Thats how I play my games,I have my Zipstick in port 2 and my Snes controller in port 1 so if I play Spy Hunter I use the Snes Controller and If I play a game from the Carousel I use my Zipstik Joystick and any other port 2 games.I make this a sticky for anyone else having this problem. Hi Spannernick, I jumped out of my seat reading this. I bought my C64 mini just to play Spyhunter with my kids. I have upgraded the firmware, and dowloaded every D64 of Spyhunter out there, but just can't get Spyhunter to work. I do get to a screen where the car is there on the road, but cannot get it to move. Do I understand correctly that you put the flash drive in Port 2, the SNES in port 1, and that is all you have to do and then you can play it? No configuration of buttons etc. If so, I buy a SNES controller in 30 seconds flat. I have a spyhunter app on my Android phone, but it is not the right thing. Spy Hunter C64 has controls on Joy Port #1. So your game either needs a .CJM file configured for #1 or you need to add "_j1" to the file name (like "spy hunter_j1.d64") so the C64 switches from #2 (which 90% of the games use) to #1. The USB ports themselves have NO meaning at all. Or you plug in a second joystick that then becomes #1. (The reason for all this madness is that Port #1 messes with the keyboard, Port #2 does not. For games that use for example the Space Bar as a 2nd fire button, only #2 works, so most C64 programmers who also hated switching the joystick all the time sort of standardized to port #2 for their games in year 2 or 3 of the C64). Best regards, Boris |
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Post by jayhen75 on Dec 13, 2020 17:40:47 GMT
Man, I am really struggling with this too but do not see an answer that would work. I finally got the USB stick to work, and can load Spyhunter. But the joystick does not work, and neither does the SNES controller that I bought. I can only have one joystick at a time, as the other port is used for the USB stick. Really bought this thing for Spyhunter, and I can see the game, but not play it!
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Post by kugelblitz on Dec 14, 2020 8:28:20 GMT
Jayhen75, the answer is RIGHT ABOVE YOUR POST.
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Only thing is you don't have the Triangle buttons buttons but if you get a Joystick with them then you solder them on to board to and they will work.
