Gaming with a Trackball

indstr · Post by **indstr** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:58 pm

Ball rolling games (Marble madness and clones) are one of my favourite genres of games ever. But I've unfortunately never had the opportunity to play these types of games with a Trackball device. I never really even thought about it until today, when I was reading a review of Marble Madness on Genesis (on http://www.Sega-16.com), and it mentioned the original arcade version having a trackball.

It got the gears in my head turning... Would this be fun? Would I be able to enjoy Super Monkey ball & clones now? (I love the concept but I just don't enjoy playing them with analogue stick or mouse input )

So ...
Tell me of your experience/enjoyment with trackballs and gaming. And also your favourite trackball. I am aware of the x-arcade trackball, although a bit turned off by the price. Other balls I am looking at are the Logitech trackman ( http://www.trackballworld.com/40-165.html ) and the Kensington orbit ( http://www.trackballworld.com/40-170.html ). Would either of these be any good for arcade style gaming?

Gimme some input!

lgb · Post by **lgb** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:04 pm

Somehow they work golf games, but aren't used for games like this. I just don't get it, just don't...

indstr · Post by **indstr** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:09 pm

I heard that the arcade version of super monkey ball used a trackball. Can someone confirm/deny?

zinger · Post by **zinger** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:45 pm

I thought Super Monkey Ball had a simple banana shaped stick, but I might be wrong.

Syvalion was designed for trackball, and I was lucky enough to find a cab equipped with it in Tokyo. It was definetly a unique experience, I'd love to play it some more.

Lordstar · Post by **Lordstar** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:49 pm

zinger wrote:I thought Super Monkey Ball had a simple banana shaped stick, but I might be wrong..

Your right! you could use that or the analog balltop stick. Zombie revenge used it too.

Joe T. · Post by **Joe T.** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:16 pm

When I was about eight or nine I used to play Pole Position II on atari 7800 with a trackball and basically dominated.

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:50 pm

Best trackball game ever: Armadillo racing. Ah. What a youth I lead.

Also, it's pretty old and smelly, but centipede is almost unplayable without a trackball. In the arcade, it's prob the only pre 1990 game I have ever enjoyed. On MAME... gwak.

ARCADIA · Post by **ARCADIA** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:12 am

SDI, Missile Command, Cabal and there were some bowling games, weren't there?

drboom · Post by **drboom** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 2:47 am

Crystal Castles - best trackball game. Hard and super fun in the original cab.

Mortificator · Post by **Mortificator** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:30 am

MX7 wrote:Also, it's pretty old and smelly, but centipede is almost unplayable without a trackball. In the arcade, it's prob the only pre 1990 game I have ever enjoyed. On MAME... gwak.

A mouse works almost as good.

All my favorite trackball games have already been brought up. Missile Command, Centipede, Millipede, and Marble Madness are awesome.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:20 am

I liked playing Centipede, Millipede, Missile Command, Reactor, and Crystal Castles on the 2600 with a trak-ball, but it's not really the same since the ports aren't designed for analog.

Edit: I tried the games again and the trak ball input wasn't as good as I remembered. I like joystick better for the 2600 ports. The trak-ball itself is a good controller. I wish Atari made more use of it.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:58 pm

Nyko brought out it's Classic Trakball Controller for the PSX back in November of 1998 at a MSRP of $49.99 USD. Nyko had to consult with Dan Kramer (famous ex-Atari employee who created both the 5200 & 2600 versions of the Trackball controller) to get it to work properly on the PSX console. I have one and it works like a charm -- I use it to play Crystal Castles properly on the PSX/PSone consoles.

The cool and very little seen ultra-rare arcade laserdisc shooter of Cube Quest (circa 1984) uses a trackball scheme to play with. It was shown once at a California Extreme show back in 2004. Awesome CGI EFX that reminds me of Rez and Internal Section type of graphics for the FMV portions of Cube Quest.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

FIL · Post by **FIL** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:05 pm

Tehkan World Cup, dreadful game but the only trackball game i've ever played in an arcade.

indstr · Post by **indstr** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:58 pm

PC Engine Fan X! wrote:Nyko brought out it's Classic Trakball Controller for the PSX back in November of 1998 at a MSRP of $49.99 USD.

Oh man! Looked that up and it looks like a good compromise, nice like the X-arcade but not so expensive. There's one new on ebay right now for $20, unfrotunately for me, I don't even have $20 right now. But maybe soon I will be able to get one

Thanks for the recommend

pcb_revival · Post by **pcb_revival** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:02 am

D · Post by D » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:23 pm

pcb_revival wrote:

WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUU!
awesome. I had no idea, thanks pcb_revival. Do you know how this plays?
I can only imagine.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:30 pm

If the game used a trackball in the arcade, it will play better using it at home as well.

Lordstar · Post by **Lordstar** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:39 pm

Naomi loves its trackballs. I had my hands in a Virtua golf Arcade machine today trying to track down a part for a mate. thats a track ball and a shit load of buttons.

Lordstar · Post by **Lordstar** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:44 pm

pcb_revival wrote:

nice bed covers! bed bath and beyond?

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:22 pm

indstr wrote:
PC Engine Fan X! wrote:Nyko brought out it's Classic Trakball Controller for the PSX back in November of 1998 at a MSRP of $49.99 USD.
Oh man! Looked that up and it looks like a good compromise, nice like the X-arcade but not so expensive. There's one new on ebay right now for $20, unfrotunately for me, I don't even have $20 right now. But maybe soon I will be able to get one

Thanks for the recommend

For indstr,

For a mere twenty bucks, a new Nyko PSX Classic Trakball controller is a steal at that price. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

indstr · Post by **indstr** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:41 pm

Yeah I found some somewhere else too. In a couple weeks I will get one and give an update with how enjoyable games are with it

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:03 am

indstr wrote:Yeah I found some somewhere else too. In a couple weeks I will get one and give an update with how enjoyable games are with it

Yes, I'd like to hear your impression on it, indstr. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:38 pm

Joe T. wrote:When I was about eight or nine I used to play Pole Position II on atari 7800 with a trackball and basically dominated.

Really, was it a 2600 trackball? I know those are compatible with the 7800.

I remember playing Capcom Bowling, that rocked with the trackball!

So did the Golden Tee Golf games.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:52 pm

I use a trackball (a pretty good sized one - about 2" diameter) on my Amiga 3000. It is super awesome for Marble Madness (best port of the game BTW). I also find it to be pretty handy for DPaint action.

There is a controller similar to the one above -- the Madcatz PantherXL -- that was released for the PC and Dreamcast. I've never used one, but I'd imagine it would be quite good for Outtrigger and other FPS games.

indstr · Post by **indstr** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 1:04 am

PC Engine Fan X! wrote:
indstr wrote:
PC Engine Fan X! wrote:Nyko brought out it's Classic Trakball Controller for the PSX back in November of 1998 at a MSRP of $49.99 USD.
Oh man! Looked that up and it looks like a good compromise, nice like the X-arcade but not so expensive. There's one new on ebay right now for $20, unfrotunately for me, I don't even have $20 right now. But maybe soon I will be able to get one

Thanks for the recommend
For indstr,

For a mere twenty bucks, a new Nyko PSX Classic Trakball controller is a steal at that price. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! wrote:
indstr wrote:Yeah I found some somewhere else too. In a couple weeks I will get one and give an update with how enjoyable games are with it
Yes, I'd like to hear your impression on it, indstr. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Well.... I finally got around to procuring some cash for this.

I really very highly regret not doing my research first.

I had no idea this accessory did not function as a full controller, and was only compatible with PS1 games that support "the mouse" (I didn't even know there was a PS1 mouse). I really thought it had all the face buttons and the trackball just emulated the analog stick.

So basically, it doesn't work for super monkey ball on PS2, and it doesn't work on my PSX-->USB adapter, which is the main reason I got it because I wanted to play PC games with it.

It actually is detected with the adapter, but it's some weird axis that doesn't show up in xpadder, and besides, it only recognizes each motion basically as an "all or nothing" switch, which wouldn't be very useful for games that required any sensitivity or precision, WHICH IS WHAT BALL GAMES ARE ALL ABOUT.

I failed.

I need to figure out some way to hack this thing to get it to work on PC. So far my ideas are -- somehow solder the sensor to the sensor input on a PSX controller, and have it function as the analog stick. Alternately, solder it to a PC mouse and have it function as the mouse ball.

These probably won't work though as I have no idea what kind of microcontrollers would be in either and they likely wouldn't be compatible with each other.

Anybody interested in buying this thing before I gut it pointlessly?

Pixel_Outlaw · Post by **Pixel_Outlaw** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 1:13 am

I have this moues but have never used it in MAME. It runs 15 to 20 usd.

indstr · Post by **indstr** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 3:23 am

Yeah I was looking @ something like that, and I wish I just had gotten that instead... I just figured the larger one would be better for gaming. And I'm sure it would be, if it worked.

maxlords · Post by **maxlords** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 4:45 am

I highly recommend this trackball....I've been using this style for YEARS:

http://www.trackballworld.com/40-160.html

It takes almost a week to adapt to using it and once you do it's MUCH MUCH faster. Much easier on your hands as well. I use it for all my PC gaming and it's great.

Post by **undamned** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 4:52 am

Marble Madness
Track and Field
Simpsons Bowling
Sonic Arcade (I think DaveK has this)

...and I remember this horrid Quake arcade game that used a trackball. Just sitting in it made me feel vulnerable.
-ud

ZOM · Post by **ZOM** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 5:20 am

@Pixel_outlaw:
I use the same mouse/trackball, it's very good and I *think* it should work well in MAME but i never tried it out.

Might as well fire up some breakout clone like Arkanoid & see how good it performs... (hoping that trackball is configurable in MAME)