-> Hints+Tips

Games that work with the Vertical Twist joystick interface :
------------------------------------------------------------

        __________________________ Game
       /                    ______ Distribution disc is protected
      /                    / _____ Game reboots itself during load
     /                    / / ____ Shift+break used to start game
    /                    / / / ___ Permanently redefinable keys
   /                    / / / / __ Simultaneous two player mode
  /                    / / / / / _ Game reads module directly
 /                    / / / / / /

Alerion              y y y     n
Apocalypse           y n n n n n
Arcade Soccer        y n n n y n
BallArena            y y y y y n
Blowpipe             y n n   n y
Brixx                          n
Bug Hunter           n n n n n n
Bug Hunter in Space  n n n n n n
Caverns              n n n n n n
Conqueror            y n y n n n
Chocks Away          y n n n y n
Chocks Away Extra    y n n n y n
Chuck Rock           n n n n n n
Crisis               y n n n y n
Drop Ship            y n n n n n
Dungeon Quest                  n
Elite                n n n n n n
Enter the Realm      y n n n n n
E-Type               y n n n n n
Fireball             y y y n n n
Fireball II          n n n n n n
Freddy's Folly       y   y     n
Hoverbod             y y y n n n
Hostages             y n y n n n
Ibix the Viking      y y y y n n
Inertia              y n n n n n
Interdictor          n n n n n n
Interdictor II       n n n n n n
Iron Lord            n n n n n n
James Pond           y n n n n y
Jet Fighter          y y y n n n
Kaptain Konflikt     y y n n n n
Mad Professor        n n n n n n
Manchester United    y n n n y y
Nebulus              y n n n n y
Nevryon              y n n y n n
Orion                y y y y n n
Pacmania             n y y y n n
Pandora's Box        y n n n n n
Pipemania            y n n y y n
Quazer               y n n y n n
RedShift             y n n n n n
Repton               y y y n n n
Rotor                y n n n n n
SWIV                 y n n n y y
Tactic               y y y n y n
Talisman             y n n n n n
Terramex             n y y n n n
ThunderMonk          y y y n n n
Twin world           n n n y n n
UIM                  n n y n n n
White Magic          n y y n n n
X-Run                n n n n n n
Yaig                 n n n n n n
Zarch                y n y n n n

+ many, many more

Notes :
-------

- "Vertical Twist" cannot guarantee or be held responsible for
  the accuracy of the data in this file. Several different versions
  of a game may exist and hardware configurations ( eg. amount of
  memory ) vary from computer to computer resulting in many
  different loading procedures.

- Games are sometimes started by double-clicking in the desktop and
  sometimes by pressing shift+break together. If you have only 1Mb
  of memory and a game appears to offer both methods then only
  the shift+break method may work.

  Inevitably some games will use ALL the memory on a 1Mb computer
  and cannot be used with the joystick interface.

- Some games will claim that they the 'Vertical Twist' or 'Serial
  Port' joystick interfaces directly, in these cases follow the
  instructions supplied with the game. You may have to load the
  joystick control module before starting the game or yoy may
  only have make sure the joystick interface is switched on before
  playing the game.

- Most of the supplied joystick programs simulate keyboard presses
  so if a game has several methods of control ( eg. mouse or keyboard )
  then select "keyboard".

  ( This even applies to games which claim to have joystick control
  options, unless the game's instructions state that the game is
  compatible with either the "Vertical Twist" or "The Serial Port"
  joystick interface. )

  Some games select their control method depending on how you start
  the game. For example, starting Pipemania by clicking on "start game"
  with the mouse will start the game in mouse control mode. You must
  start Pipemania by pressing the fire button to start in keyboard
  mode.

- Some games allow their control keys to be redefined permanently.
  If you do this then you will have to reprogram the joystick or
  return the control keys to the original setting.

- Remember that you must never use !JS_AddMod on the original games
  disc, always make a working copy and use !JS_AddMod on that copy.

  To make a working copy of a protected game disc you may have to
  use a utility such as "Investigator".

- If you want to !JS_AddMod on a game which will be played on computers
  without the Vertical Twist joystick interface fitted then make sure that
  the options 'Prompt' and 'Verbose' are NOT ticked. This will make the
  joystick module keep quiet during the loading of the game even though
  it cannot detect the joystick interface plugged into the printer port.

- Sometimes !JS_AddMod cannot be used on a game because there is not
  enough free disc space. If the game runs from hard disc as well as
  from floppy disc then you may be able to use !JS_AddMod on the copy
  on hard disc ( although you may also need to put the original games
  disc into drive 0 before the hard disc version will work ).

  Sometimes it is possible to make some free space by making a copy of
  the games disc and then deleting unnecessary files from the copy,
  eg. Twin World will work quite happily without the !TwinInfo application.

  ( If you're feeling very brave then it is often possible to free some
  disc space by making a copy and deleting some non-critical files that
  the game normally uses. Data used for later levels in the game or
  loading screens are obvious candidates. Don't even think about
  attempting this unless you know exactly what you're doing ! )

- Look out for multi-player games. They're much more fun when you
  have two joysticks and you don't have to squeeze two pairs of hands
  onto one keyboard ! ( You might even consider conqueror to be a two
  player game - one person can drive the tank using one or two
  joysticks and another person can control the gun & turret using
  one joystick or the mouse. )

- If you would like to expand this database with information about more
  games or with more hints & tips, feel free to contact us !


How to get a new game working with the joystick interface
---------------------------------------------------------

If you have a game that you wish to play using a joystick but
it is not included in the list above then try these steps :

- Firstly and most importantly, make a copy of the game on a blank
  disc. If the game is copy-protected then you may need a special
  utility to make a copy.

  Try playing the copy of the game to make sure that the copy is
  a good one. If you cannot make a copy ( eg. because you do not have
  a copying utility ) then do not attempt to use !JS_AddMod on the
  original disc. You will just have to load the joystick programs by
  hand whenever you play the game, see below.

- Look at the instructions for the game and use !JS_Tutor or !JS_Comp
  to develop a simple joystick program to simulate the game's keys.
  Don't spend too much time developing the program, you can refine it
  later when you have tried playing the game. Use !Key_Test to check
  that your joystick program does work as you intended.

- Try using !JS_AddMod with your new joystick program on the copy
  of the game. !JS_AddMod may fail to work because of a 'Disc Full'
  error ( because there isn't enough space on the disc for both the
  game and the extra joystick software ) or because of a 'Disc error'
  error ( because the disc is copy protected and has a non-standard
  format ). If this happens then you will have to load the joystick
  programs by hand whenever you play the game, see below.

- If !JS_AddMod worked without generating any errors then try playing
  the copy of the game. The game may fail to work as normal because
  either it cannot find enough memory ( some will have been used by
  the joystick module ) or because the action of !JS_AddMod has
  disrupted the copy-protection of the disc. If this happens then
  you will again have to load a joystick program by hand every time
  that you play the game, see below.

- Try using the joystick to play the game. If it works then you have
  succeeded, you may now do some experimenting and refine your joystick
  program to suit your style of play. If it doesn't work then you
  will not be able to use the Vertical Twist joystick interface with
  the game.

- The process of loading the joystick module, loading a joystick
  program and then starting by game by hand can be made less repetative
  by using a "Start" file. A selection of "Start" files are provided on
  this disc for a variety of common games, but you can also create your
  own. See the !ReadMe file in the "Start" directory for further
  information.

- Finally, have patience. With a little practice and experience the
  joystick can be used to play almost any game.
