Retro gaming setup?

I just recently got an idea to play some old-school games. As in, Amiga, Speccy, Atari 65XE, Mame. But in 2-player mode. You know - like for a quick Sensible Soccer tournament at a party? Or a Chaos Engine killing spree with a fair deal of drinking?

We got rid of our TV a few years ago, we just have an LCD projector in the living room. I have my laptop's docking station connected to it, so it's just a matter of placing the laptop in the dock. I don't really mind huge pixels (though with approx. 100" screen they should look better without any filtering - just sharp rectangular edges should be nicer).

Now, I know I can get WinUAE and such, but what about the controls? You see, I would like to use two joysticks (for 2 players). And not some fancy-modern-flight-simulator-type joysticks, but rather an oldschool set.

I found the Competition Pro USB joystick, and some fairly good reviews on the Internetz. Any Goodjers using these? Can I plug in 2 CPros for 2-player experience in the emulators?

Have you considered a USB SNES controller? I re-purposed an old laptop I had to exactly this purpose, though more for NES, SNES, Genesis, and NEO GEO play, and hooked it up to our TV. With two USB SNES controllers. I realize this isn't the question you're asking, but I've had great success with this setup because the number of buttons works well for many different systems.

Somehow, ZX Spectrum gaming on a pad just feels wrong

I will probably consider getting SNES pads some time in the future, as soon as the missus approves the whole retro gaming idea. And she is from the Atari crowd.

Anyways, did you have any issues configuring the emulation for 2 gamepads?

MsbS wrote:

Somehow, ZX Spectrum gaming on a pad just feels wrong

I will probably consider getting SNES pads some time in the future, as soon as the missus approves the whole retro gaming idea. And she is from the Atari crowd.

Anyways, did you have any issues configuring the emulation for 2 gamepads?

Not at all, most of them recognized the pads on their own. There might have been some configuration involved to make sure the buttons are what I think they should be. But as far as hardware compatibility, it was cake. The missus and I play Neo Geo games together all the time on those two pads.

I just bought a second hand PS1, along with Metal Gear Solid, FF VII and Grand Tourismo.
My intention is to get a Gamecube, N64, SNES, X-Box and PS2 into the collection, and maybe a Dreamcast.
I'm more excited about this than any next gen console available right now.

I do it the old fashioned way.... With all the old consoles still hooked up. I used to have them hooked to a plasma via a receiver, but now I have them on a system switcher attached to a CRT TV.

I also looked into some USB controller options but it sounded as if many of them were not very good based on user reviews.

So this Saturday, whilst in town I happened to pop in to a second hand, retro toy shop. They had a Gamecube, a SNES and an N64 for £20 each.
I thought it'd be rude not to buy them. That's my first ever Nintendo purchase.
That evening my PS1 turned up. Playing Metal Gear Solid again has brought back so many happy memories ! It's still brilliant.
Just started my first playthrough of Final Fantasy VII which I'm loving, my first Final Fantasy experience.
Good times.

pinkdino99 wrote:

So this Saturday, whilst in town I happened to pop in to a second hand, retro toy shop. They had a Gamecube, a SNES and an N64 for £20 each.
I thought it'd be rude not to buy them. That's my first ever Nintendo purchase.
That evening my PS1 turned up. Playing Metal Gear Solid again has brought back so many happy memories ! It's still brilliant.
Just started my first playthrough of Final Fantasy VII which I'm loving, my first Final Fantasy experience.
Good times.

That's awesome. I wish I could play all of those for the first time again. I started a FF 7 playthrough again and I was absolutely loving it even now. Can't wait to go back to it.

I've been planning a replay of MGS soon but I can't decide if I want to play the original or Twin Snakes.

If you want to play Gran Turismo on ps1, seek out Gt2, many consider it be one of the best in the series.

I got into something similar a few years ago. I set up an original soft-modded XBox with every system and title I could think of; that worked well. Later, I set up a computer and bought USB classic-style controllers (including Atari-style joysticks) for those emulators, and that worked really well.

Wowzers