Kroc Camen<p>If you're writing games for retro computers like the <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/C64" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>C64</span></a> or <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/ZXSpectrum" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ZXSpectrum</span></a> please consider, firstly, being able to play 100% with a controller (that's a given), but even where the system doesn't support controllers with more than 1 button, to consider emulators mapping keyboard controls to modern gamepads such as XBox / PS4 / <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/8BitDo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>8BitDo</span></a>!</p><p><a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/Elite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Elite</span></a> is a very keyboard-driven game but I really want to play on my <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/PSP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PSP</span></a> or on PC but with a modern controller. Elite is problematic in this regard specifically due to a combination of shortcommings in both emulators and the game itself:</p><p>The game uses many separate keys for things that should just be toggles; e.g. C to enable docking computers, P to disable; T to target missile, U to untarget, D to fire missile and so on.</p><p>This on its own would not be a problem if suitable button combinations ("chords" or "aliases") can be created, e.g. "R+A" = target, "L+A" = untarget, but very few, if any, emualtors support this!!!</p><p>Fixing the emulators is not the total solution. Emulation of 8-bit systems has been adequate for decades and there will be some emulators that will never be updated (e.g. on PSP) so we need to work with already exists.</p><p>For Elite, I'm proposing to include a screen (mockup attached) that provides a set of standard keys that can be mapped for any emulator and to implement the chording within the game. I intend to make versisons for Sony and XBox controllers where L2/R2 are available.</p><p>I'd like to see this become some sort of standard so that more retro games are accessible to modern players on the hardware they want without needing to change the original hardware (gamepad adaptors) or the emulators (bit-rot).</p><p><a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/emulation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>emulation</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrogaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>retrogaming</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrodev" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>retrodev</span></a></p>