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1993-02-01
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Path: menudo.uh.edu!menudo.uh.edu!usenet
From: atra@galaxy.UCR.EDU (Wayne Wallace)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews
Subject: REVIEW: Turbo Touch 360 game controller
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Date: 2 Feb 1993 03:12:21 GMT
Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett
Lines: 289
Sender: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu (comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator)
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <1kkoqlINN8qt@menudo.uh.edu>
Reply-To: atra@galaxy.UCR.EDU (Wayne Wallace)
NNTP-Posting-Host: karazm.math.uh.edu
Keywords: hardware, game, joystick, controller, commercial
PRODUCT NAME
Turbo Touch 360(tm) The Technology Break-Through Controller
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
After my Epyx 500XJ joystick with 2 buttons and autofire started
having controller problems, I looked for a replacement in the long list of
Sega Genesis Controllers which are compatible with the Amiga. The TT360 has
a special sensor pad instead of a joystick, is shaped like a standard Sega
controller, has 3 buttons each with autofire control, and a start button.
It promised greater circular and diagonal control.
AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION
Name: Triax Controls Inc.
Address: 11 Computer Dr. West
Albany NY 12205
Telephone: (518) 489-3563
(800) 858-7429
(TT 360 questions only. I don't know if they
make anything else)
LIST PRICE
$29.99 US
SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
HARDWARE
Joystick port. I don't know if CDTV has one.
SOFTWARE
None, beyond any program that uses a joystick.
COPY PROTECTION
None. (Since it is a hardware device attached to the Amiga, it is
just like a dongle. :-) The copy protection is not noticeable, unless you
try to exceed the cord's 4-6 foot length. :-))
MACHINE USED FOR TESTING
A2500 w/ A2620 board (68020 14Mhz w/ 68851 MMU and 68881 FPU)
OS 2.1, KS 37.175, WB 38.35
1 Meg chip, 2 Megs Fast
200Meg HD, ICD AdSCSI 2000 controller
14.4K bps Supra FAXModem
Sony 1302 Monitor
REVIEW
The Turbo Touch 360 (TM) (called "TT360" from now on) is a Sega
Genesis Controller. However, Sega's controllers use the SAME connector as
Amigas, Atari STs, Atari 2600, C-64, and others. This means that EVERY Sega
Genesis controller can be used on your Amiga.
On to specifics: if you haven't seen a Sega controller, you should
go to your local video game store and stare at them for a while, and ask to
try one out. It's not much different from the NES and SNES controllers,
except that you can't use NES and SNES controllers on the Amiga, and they
have differing amounts of buttons.
The TT360, like all Sega controllers, has a movement controller on
the left, and buttons on the right. The buttons are the following: Button
A, B, C, and Start. In addition, buttons A, B, and C have autofire on/off
control. The controller looks something like this badly-typed ascii diagram
I'm about to make: ;)
|------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| __ Start |
| / \ auto C |
| | | <-- sensor pad. auto B |
| \__/ auto A |
| ________________________________ |
|----------/ \----------|
The actual controller is MUCH more ergonomic than my drawing, and is
easily held in both hands, with the right hand thumb controlling buttons,
and the left hand thumb controlling movement.
Getting used to the TT360's touch pad takes some time, and the most
important things to do I'll paraphrase from their documentation:
o Slide your finger over or touch the "sensor plate" in the
direction you want to move.
o To stop the movement, lift your finger off the plate, or rest it
directly on the round ridge in the center of the plate.
o Tapping, sliding or touching the plate [outside of the middle area]
will start movement again.
o DO NOT LIE YOUR THUMB FLAT ACROSS THE PLATE. If you do, nothing
will happen. Instead, arch your thumb for best results. [i.e.,
treat your thumb as if it were an index finger, and not a
fire-button pusher.]
o Don't push down on the sensor plate. That only slows down your
game and tires your thumb.
o Try rocking your thumb from side to side for quick, easy action.
o Try using your index finger instead of your thumb. With TT360, you
can use any finger.
[Their final recommendation:]
o GIVE YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME ON ALL OF YOUR FAVORITE GAMES TO GET
USED TO TT360. LIKE WITH ANYTHING NEW, YOU HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO
USE IT, AND MASTER IT. ONCE YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH IT, YOU WILL
HAVE BETTER CONTROL [especially circular and diagonal] AND YOU WILL
ACHIEVE HIGHER SCORES.
After trying using TT360 with just my thumb, and then with fingers,
I found that the TT360 is THE best controller for playing Amoeba Invaders (a
Space Invaders clone). When you put the controller on your lap (at your
computer desk, for example) or on any stable surface in front of you, you
can use your left middle and index fingers to alternate tapping the left and
right sections of the pad, just like the keyboard controls.
I had some trouble using TT360 with Wings by Cinemaware, but then I
discovered that I shouldn't be using my thumb for flying. The middle/index
finger combination works much better, and with time I'll be able to play the
game just as well as I can on the joystick. I'm going to try the index
finger solo next time I play. I suspect that will be the best way for
Wings, and any other game where you need to send a clear direction to the
game. The thumb is simply too wide for flight simulators, IMHO; but then,
for flight simulators, you should use the keyboard or an analog joystick.
The buttons are quite nice, work effectively, and the autofire
capability is much faster than the autofire on my Epyx 500XJ. There is also
autofire capability for all three buttons, so Turrican players can finally
autofire the firewall weapon. ;)
[For the curious, Epyx made a 500XJ w/ one button, no autofire, and
then a 500XJ, w/ autofire (first button only) and second button. There was
no separate model number.]
Now then, which buttons do what? Button "A" and "start" have no use
whatsoever, unless you are on a Sega Genesis, or game programmers start
using them. Button "B" is the standard joystick button on the old Atari
2600 joysticks, and Amiga joysticks today. Button "C" is the second button
for games like Turrican I and II, and others. I'm not a Euro-games guru, so
I can't elaborate further.
I truly enjoy my TT360; and because I've had the opportunity to use
NES, SNES, and Sega controllers in the past, I know how much better they are
than standard joysticks. The great ease of directional and circular control
(just move your arched thumb or index finger around the sensor plate pan's
edges) make it one of the best controllers for just about anything, except
for programs that don't use the joystick, or want a calibratable analog
joystick. Since the TT360 and other Amiga controllers are not calibratable,
there are some things they just can't do well.
This controller WILL suit the typical arcade-junky, however, and
worked quite nicely in Gauntlet II. The autofire makes games like Galaga
'92 (PD, on fish disks) VERY nice. I wish I had more Euro games and that
they didn't choke on accelerated machines so much, for then I'd get a lot
more use out of it.
For $30 US, you're getting a great bargain, considering that a
normal Sega controller is $18, with no autofire, and when autofire is added,
Sega controllers then cost $25 or so.
DOCUMENTATION
The documentation is terse, but operating the TT360 is pretty easy.
As the docs say, this is a standard Sega controller, and the sensor
will take some getting used to. Since it's a consumer product, I did not
expect them to tell me how to rewire the buttons to redefine button A (not
used on the Amiga, yet.) as something else, but I would have liked the
information to be there, as some games use the "up" direction for jumping
(ala SF2 or Turrican) and a jump button wo