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[Brad]

Hello all,

First time poster and I hope this is in the right section. I have a question which may seem a little stupid, however, if you don't know, I guess just ask, right?

Do I need a specific type of joystick to play these games? Do I have to hunt around for an old joystick or will modern joysticks work? If I do have to hunt around for an old joystick, where do you suggest I start?

I do have an X-box 360 joystick for PC. Can that be configured to work as a joystick rather than as a game pad?

I know these questions may seem rudimentary, however, I'm just starting to get back into the games from my youth, have found DosBox, this truly fantastic site, and now I just need a little more help.

Thanks in advance,

Brad

[The Fifth Horseman]

Your question is far from stupid, nor it is rudimentary. The sort we usually get is "why doesn't this game work in Windows?". :laugh:

DOSBox shouldn't have any problem with a modern USB gamepad or joystick, as long as the device is properly supported by your operating system and correctly calibrated. Since I understand that your gamepad is DirectInput-compatible, there should be no problem with it.

Have in mind, though that you might need to spend some time configuring Joy2key and possibly also the DOSBox' internal keyboard remapper to get everything working the way you want it.

[Japo]

Any joystick or gamepad you're able to plug into your computer and make Windows recognize it, should do. And of course PC games can most times be played with the keyboard, and in any case you could remap (Ctrl+F1 in DOSBox).

The main difference is that many games (flight simulators etc.) are meant to be played with an "analog" controller, and gamepads are usually discrete, all-or-nothing controllers.

EDIT: Horseman beat me.

[Brad]

Thanks for the quick replies folks, I appreciate it .

@ The Fifth Horseman

Thanks for the link to Joy2key. I've never heard of that before, it sounds like a cool little app. I'll have to download it and try it when I get home.

@ Japofran

The main difference is that many games (flight simulators etc.) are meant to be played with an "analog" controller, and gamepads are usually discrete, all-or-nothing controllers.

So what you are saying is that I need to purchase and Analog Joystick? I wouldn't be able to configure the joystick on the 360 gamepad to function as a 'joystick?'

[The Fifth Horseman]

So what you are saying is that I need to purchase and Analog Joystick? I wouldn't be able to configure the joystick on the 360 gamepad to function as a 'joystick?'

No, not at all. There is no specific requirement to use an analog joystick.
What Japofran meant was that some games work better with analog rather than digital controllers, since the analog controllers allow for more fluid movement control.
You can read more about the difference between analog and digital joysticks on Wikipedia.

[Brad]

Ok, fair enough. Thanks again for the responses, I appreciate it!

[nvrmre]

I use a Logitech Cordless Rumblepad (USB) and have been able to play any game I've thrown at it.

Besides joy2key, another program that will allow you to map keystrokes onto a joypad is xpadder, which I like.

www.xpadder.com

I must admit though, despite having the ability to play any game with a joypad, I generally have found that the old fashioned mouse and keyboard works best in most situations. Since the games were developed around that control scheme, you get the best performance. Then again, it might be related to the types of games I am drawn to (RPGs, adventure games).

[Japo]

If you play through DOSBox you don't need any 3rd party remapper, just press Ctrl+F1.