| From: | Clyde Hannan |
| Date: | 3 May 2000 at 13:44:14 |
| Subject: | Joysticks (was Goal) |
David Stroud wrote:
>
> > I went through three ZipStiks on that game ... They were great
> joysticks!
>
> Really? And you still consider them to be great joysticks?
>
> No, a great joystick is one that you've never had to replace, despite
> wearing all the "chrome" off the stick and buttons after frantic
> hammerings in Deluxe Galaga, Battle Squadron, SWOS, etcetera - and
> taking it apart once to fix one of the microswitches which had worked
> loose with the nose-cone of a Concorde eraser :-)
>
> Now *that's* what I call a joystick (volume 1 :-)
The *worst* joysticks I have ever used were those cruddy grey things
that were made by Commodore for the C64. Horrible design - utterly uncomfortable
- a slab of cream plastic sized just right to cut into your palms, and the stick
a triangular thing covered in rubber that also cut into your hand. Not
forgetting a single orange firebutton that was a stretch to reach. (well, when
you are 9 years old it is).
The good old Quickshot 1's and 2's were a staple. By that I mean readily
available in shops, and readily cannabilised for spares for other joysticks.
But the ultimate joystick was the good old Tac-2, the big brother of the
SlickStick I think it was called. The Tac-2 was the king. A huge base, with two
huge bright red firebuttons on either side - ideal for left or right handed
players and a joy for those Athletic games where you need to hit fire to run.
And a great big solid metal shaft with a black huge knob on the top. (Yes, feel
free to sing "A Wizard's Staff has a Knob on" ;-) )
Accurate, smooth, solid and 100% responsive. The perfect joystick.
That was until my oldest brother decided to be completely stupid (as first year
University students tend to be) and tried to see just how far he could push it
and snapped the shaft in half. That single act has been something that the rest
of my brothers and I never forgave him for. It was like a death in the family -
especially as we were never ever able to get a replacement (for the joystick,
not our older brother)
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