Controller 2 Problems (Mayflash Adapter, Ubuntu)

[scottyb]

Hello, folks. I'm hoping you might be able to help me with a problem I'm having. Here's my setup:

• Laptop with Ubuntu 9.04
• Mayflash SNES USB Controller Adapter (the one with two SNES ports)
• Japanese SFC controller
• American SNES controller
• zsnes (and also FCE Ultra) emulators

One of the SNES ports is working fine, and I have the SFC controller plugged into it and the gamepad buttons are set for player 1 in ZSNES. It also works as Gamepad 1 in FCE Ultra.

Unfortunately, the other (second) port has erratic behavior. Most of the time I can get it to register the B button in zsnes config and when running jstest.

Code: Select all

jstest /dev/input/js0

indicates that this is button 18. zsnes sets the key as J22. If I hold down the B button, I can also press Y and then Select (in that order, holding them all down). I know these aren't the FCE Ultra forums, but I thought I might mention that that emulator doesn't even pick up the B-button press.

One of the funny things I've observed is that the Mayflash adapter seems to be a 31-button joystick, with both controllers' input being one joystick, js0. I tried it on a Windows Vista PC and it showed up as two separate gamepads, but neither of them worked at all, even in the Control Panel's testing center/tool.

I've tried switching which controller is in which port with the same results. When the American controller is in the second port and no controller is in the first port then I can sometimes get more buttons while holding B + Y + Select. I was able to get D-pad "Up" to be set in zsnes as J0F once, but I've never seen it respond in jstest and I haven't been able to replicate this.

Does anyone have any ideas about what else I could try? Has anyone here at least used a fully-working Mayflash 2-port SNES-USB adapter?

Thanks in advance for any interest you might have in my little problem.

[TOdorus]

Hi there scottyb, I've had my MayFlash adapter in just today. Superexited to play my old SNES games again, but apperantly only one controller works and the other only registers the B button (Control Panel - Game Controllers). I'm googling the internet for a fix and came across this thread. TheDustin on another thread seems to have problems with the device too, only it's behavior is a bit different.

Nice to know it isn't Vista specific. I'll have to try some other stuff. I was thinking about doing a double boot with XP to try something, but knowing it isn't Vista specific that probably won't work. If we can pinpoint some stuff without finding a solution, I want to write an e-mail to MayFlash with a complaint and see if we get things rolling on their end.

Other thread
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=8617.0

[TOdorus]

Allright I did some testing and you may not like this. I have two original Nintendo controllers (Nint I and Nint II) a SN ProPad (SN Pro) and a honeybee gamepad (Honey). I bought two of the double Nintendo to USB adapters and here's what I got when using a single adapter with different controllers. The apdaters are refered to simply as I and II and their two ports as A an B.

You can see a table of my results in the other thread (this forum doesn't support tables):
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=8617.0

The only conclusion I get out of this is that performance varies between controllers. Even an original Nintendo controller. This sucks badly. If you could do a similair test scottyb, we could compare notes. With one of my controllers not compatible with their product I'm certianly going to write MayFlash a complaint, but I'd like to get some more data first.

[scottyb]

At least I know I'm not crazy.

I'd like to help you make a more comprehensive test, but as I've just got the two controllers and one adapter, I'd rather spend my money on a single-controller adapter once I can get spendy again.

I did notice on my desktop (also Ubuntu Jaunty) that the working controller ends up acting like it's on turbo, and it's not my settings. I'll figure out if any of my USB ports are low-speed/low-power hubs, and if using one of them gets it to act normal. I've got a funny feeling there's a power issue here, but I know next to nothing about electrical engineering.

Thanks for all the work you've put into this so far.

[mmatoso]

Hello,

I'm having the very same problem here.

I have bought a Mayflash Snes Dual Adapter, and have two original SNES controler pads.

Windows recognize, and install it automatcally, with no problems or errors. But when I try to calibrate, or check the configs in control panel, only the "B" button works. Nonthing else.

I have tried in other computers, with other OS's, and the same problem occours. I tried another mayflash adapter, but same error.

Did you found something?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers!

[paulguy]

Just sounds like these snes adaptera are shoddy, overall. Might be better off getting one of their classic controller adapters. I've gotten one and had good luck with it and haven't heard anything bad about them, and you get a couple extra buttons to use.

[Gil_Hamilton]

Or you could build an adapter.
http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/4ne ... dex_en.php


Has advantages in authenticity and versatility(there's a LOT more SNES/NES-compatible controllers than Classic-compatible controllers).



Or buy Not-Mayflash's adapters.
http://www.retrousb.com/index.php?cPath=21
...
Oh, sweet, they make a Vectrex adapter!
Not that I'll actually buy one. Even someone with rose-colored glasses as thick as mine will admit the Veccy controller is a horrible monstrosity.

[mmatoso]

Hi guys!

I've sent an email to May Flash. No help from then. Check above:

===========================
Hello, how are you?

I have bought a Mayflash Snes Dual Adapter PC044, and have two original SNES controler pads.

Windows recognize, and install it automatcally, with no problems or errors. But when I try to calibrate, or check the configs in control panel, only the "B" button works. Nonthing else. I have tried in other computers, with other OS's, and the same problem occours. I tried another mayflash adapter, but same error.

Can you help me?

I have found people in internet with same problem:

Here:

http://board.zsnes.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13195

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=8617.0


Thanks in advance!
===========================

Hi Michel,

Thanks for your mail ...

Is possible to send your SNES control pads to us ? Actually , we have recognized this issue .Unlucky, This issue haven't been tested by our SNES control pads .


Thanks & Regards
Eric Wu
===========================

My Control pads are working fine, and they are super originals...



Cheers

[I_am_dumb]

Just sounds like these snes adaptera are shoddy, overall. Might be better off getting one of their classic controller adapters. I've gotten one and had good luck with it and haven't heard anything bad about them, and you get a couple extra buttons to use.

The Classic Controller adapter is better than anything I've ever used to play emulators with.

And Paul's right, you get extra buttons plus those sticks with the nice octagons around 'em. And if you take the time to set up profiles in Joy2Key you can do just about anything you want. Joy2Key has a great feature that allows you to loop profiles in chains and set a button to flip through them (I use Home for that). So I have two profiles for everything I use... Stella, NNNesterJ, Zsnes, Kega Fusion, VGBA, Mame, EPsxe etc.

One profile is the "in game" profile, the other is the "selecting" profile where the analog stick is my mouse, Y is Left Click, L and R are my scroll wheel, the Dpad arrows are for slower rom browsing and Start loads the highlighted rom. For the emulators that don't use a gui (everything that isn't Zsnes) Select is the "minimize window" key...

So if I'm playing a game in say, NNNester J, or Project64 and I get bored and wanna play something else, I just hit Home, hit Select to minimize and then just pick another rom. If I want to play in a different emulator I just click Joy2Key's icon in my "emulation" stack docklet on RocketDock, click on the "selecting" profile for that emulator, and then the icon for the emulator in my dock and then hit Home to switch to the "in game" profile.

It's quite convenient when playing roms down on the floor in front of my svideo tv, since I don't have to get up... also zL and zR make nice Save State and Load State buttons.

[paulguy]

Hmm, for that I'd just want to toggle joy2key on and off, then just use a basic mouse control mode that I can swap to when I need it. Seems better to have the emulator access the controller directly when you don't need to use joy2key functionality.

[Gil_Hamilton]

Why are you using a FamiCom pad for your TG16 icon?

Also, your Atari stick is upside down. Fire goes in the top-right. And the fact that it's silver means it's an Atari XE computer stick, not a 2600/VCS stick(never mind that they're electrically and mechanically identical).

[odditude]

Also, your Atari stick is upside down. Fire goes in the top-left.

fixed. stick in right hand, button on left thumb.

[Gil_Hamilton]

Also, your Atari stick is upside down. Fire goes in the top-left.

fixed. stick in right hand, button on left thumb.

*kills self in shame*

[I_am_dumb]

Why are you using a FamiCom pad for your TG16 icon?

Because www.iconarchive.com didn't -have- a Turbo Grafix 16 controller icon, care to point me in the direction of a site that does have one? Preferably in .ico format so it works with RocketDock?

Also, your Atari stick is upside down. Fire goes in the top-right. And the fact that it's silver means it's an Atari XE computer stick, not a 2600/VCS stick(never mind that they're electrically and mechanically identical).

I don't really care that much, it looks like a generic atari controller to me... that's all that mattered.

[I_am_dumb]

Hmm, for that I'd just want to toggle joy2key on and off, then just use a basic mouse control mode that I can swap to when I need it.

That is pretty much what I have...

Every select mode has the same left click (Y), right click (X), escape (B), scroll (L/R), enter (start), minimize (select) and mouse (stick) set up all I do is hit home to activate the in_game profile and start playing after loading a game. Sure, I could just use the joypad input stuff, but I like having joy2key use keyboard stuff better and the j-number stuff usually varies from machine to machine, port to port.... right? I have little photoshopped diagrams of every setting with the corresponding letters/numbers so when I bring it and my roms / emulators with me to a friend's I can just plug it in, load joy2key and such onto their machine, bring up my diagrams and set everything up in the menus. I'm probably making it more complicated than it needs to be, but whatever. It'll also be nice if I ever get a wall projector... my bf's friend who came down to visit brought one over and let me hook it to my comp, oh mai furking gawrd.

[Gil_Hamilton]

Why are you using a FamiCom pad for your TG16 icon?

Because http://www.iconarchive.com didn't -have- a Turbo Grafix 16 controller icon, care to point me in the direction of a site that does have one? Preferably in .ico format so it works with RocketDock?

While it only took 15 seconds to create a *.ico from a photo of a TG16/PC-Engine pad, I have no place to upload it.

Also, your Atari stick is upside down. Fire goes in the top-right. And the fact that it's silver means it's an Atari XE computer stick, not a 2600/VCS stick(never mind that they're electrically and mechanically identical).

I don't really care that much, it looks like a generic atari controller to me... that's all that mattered.

But.... it's not even BLACK!

Looks like a freakin' Commodore controller... grumblegrumble...

[odditude]

But.... it's not even BLACK!

after the first 3 died, we gave up on the classic black sticks and i convinced my dad to get a suncom stick (possibly a tac50) - that thing was fantastic.

i miss my 130xe. archon off bootable 5.25" ftw - and rescue on fractalus is the first game that ever genuinely scared me (7 years old and WHAT THE HELL JUST JUMPED ON MY WINDSHIELD?!).

when we had to replace the keyboard, the old one became an awesome toy, too - it was always the control panel for the fort or spaceship or whatever was going on. ts3 nailed those memories perfectly, lol

[Gil_Hamilton]

But.... it's not even BLACK!

after the first 3 died, we gave up on the classic black sticks and i convinced my dad to get a suncom stick (possibly a tac50) - that thing was fantastic.

Yeah. Most of the VCS sticks had a fairly weak mechanism, so if you pushed them very hard, they'd break.
If you take a working one apart, you can see why, and probably stress marks where the plastic has been flexed.
If you take a broken one apart, you can see why and dangling pieces of plastic that no longer press switches.

Gemini's Gemstick has a much sturdier stick, while being otherwise the same(okay, so it has a fat, convex fire button too. Whatever.)



Of the ones I've used, my personal favorite for general use is the stick that came with the Coleco Gemini clone.
http://www.atariage.com/2600/consoles/coleco_gemini.jpg
It's got a side-mounted fire button, and fits the palm nicely(I HATE the standard VCS stick, truly).
It's also usable as a paddle, if you only need one instead of two. But it's not really optimum for that task.