Quickshot II Joystick

The Games Machine

Overall 7/10

CENTRE BYTES THE PUNISHERS Back when Spectrums were first released, joystick owners were a breed apart. That elite group of computer owners who took their gaming seriously. Nowadays, though, with all new games machines having built-in joystick ports, there's no excuse not to have one But there's such a wide range that it's difficult to choose. Fear not, as the Centre Bytes teams look at all the popular joysticks around, plus some newer and more innovative ones ways to hand out the punishment. QUICKSHOT II Spectravideo £6.95 A few years ago this was the most popular joystick available. With suction feet, pistol grip handle and trigger fire button, it can be operated easily with just one hand - great on games where you still need to use the keyboard. The fire buttons give a good click when pressed, but they're a bit stiff and it's hard to build up rapid fire without resorting to the autofire switch. The actual stick responds well, although, as time has told, it's not too sturdy. The stick doesn't snap, the directions just become less reliable.

Crash

Overall 3.5/5

Mark Caswell

Phil King

STICKS IN THE MUD Christmas time seems to have brought forward quite a few new joysticks, with the Navigator in particular being heavily-hyped. Most of them look really good, but how do they play? Two of the CRASH lads put them to the test, on all types of software ('cept word processors, of course!)... Quickshot II Turbo Spectravideo £10.99 MARK: The original Quickshot joysticks were among the most attractive around when they first appeared, unfortunately their beauty did not wear well, many breaking quite quickly. The Quickshot II Turbo is their best-looking joystick yet in my opinion, and moreover it has microswitches so it should last longer. The length of travel is still a little long however - not really suitable for precision games. The other drawback is the adult scaling, personally I found it quite comfortable but for little hands it could be really awkward. There is autofire though and two good fire buttons. PHIL: Nice casing, but what about the responsiveness? The huge, moulded shaft looks and feels great for flight simulators etc, but for other game-types it's far too cumbersome. Otherwise, it feels fairly solid and responsive, but where other sticks are too small, this one is just that fraction too big. That's all folks, remember that the opinions of the CRASH lads are only meant as a guide. There are many joysticks on the market, we've covered what we could get hold of (further updates when we receive any more - hint, hint). Opinions on joysticks are as individual as those on games - 'every hand is different' as Lloyd's granny says. Certainly you should ask to try one before buying it, and of course keep your receipt, especially for those with long guarantees. You should also bear in mind none of these joysticks, with the single exception of the Navigator, will work with the +2 or +3 joystick interfaces without a small converter, such as the Frei adaptor (£2.50 - see the CRASH Hypermarket, page 95). But whichever one you choose it's got to be better than the Sinclair SJS-1...!

Your Sinclair

Precision 4/5

Strength 4/5

Manouevrability 3/5

Value For Money 5/5

Overall Performance 4/5

Howard King

Miles Tudor

Steven Brewer

THE JOY OF STICKS We've waggled our way through the joystick jungle to bring you the latest on the firepower of ten top joysticks. If you're a real games addict you'll know how important a good joystick is. Games have moved on a bit since Pacman and Space Invaders where all you had to do was move left and right and blast the fire button every now and again. Then you could use the same joystick for all the seven games on the market. Nowadays, however, computer games are much more demanding and varied - shoot 'em ups, beat 'em ups, fly 'em ups, waggle 'em ups, steer 'em ups and even fry 'em ups - they all need differing degrees of precision, manoeuvrability and strength. Which is why you need a damn good joystick for the job - and there are plenty to choose from. So there's no excuse for a bad game player to blame his tools! But which joystick is best for the games you play? Which joystick do you choose? There are thousands. And you've only got twenty quid. Well, it just so happens that we've got a run-down on 10 of the most popular sticks on the market - read on to find out which one covers your every need. THE GAMES A joystick's performance varies considerably from game to game. The precise movements needed in a martial arts game become redundant in an out and out waggle 'em up. And then, the strength and slackness of one stick might not help in a steering game where full control and manoeuvrability is necessary. So, in order to test the joysticks fully, we chose three different titles to strain those sticks to the limit. Target Renegade tests for precision, Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge for strength and Skate Crazy for manoeuvrability. And to make the contest even harder we asked three hot gamesplayers to give us their opinions on which sticks they preferred. TARGET RENEGADE A beefy beat 'em up. All that punching and kicking and butting requires a stick with easy access to diagonals and fire buttons, plus the ability to move slightly and quickly in any direction. SKATE CRAZY A loose and bouncy roller skate game, needing a combination of ease-of-movement and well positioned fire buttons for that sudden leap. A stick for this game will also need a strong shaft to resist those frantic circular steering motions. DALEY THOMPSON'S OLYMPIC CHALLENGE The meanest, the baddest and the toughest waggle 'em up in existence. The constant waggling environment requires a stick with excellent strength and good speed, coupled with a sturdy desk hold and well contoured grip. THE JURY Yes, solemn of face, tough of opinion, stingy of money, and ravenous of hunger, here are the three jury members, unswayable by money (or cheeseburger), ready to deliver their verdicts on the guilty sharp sticks. STEVEN BREWER Age: 16 Sex: Male Dist Features: Inane grin Computers: Speccy, QL Fave Rave: Gauntlet Hobbies: Grinning inanely, being enthusiastic about nothing Fave Music: U2 MILES TUDOR Age: 16 Sex: Twice a... (Snip. Ed) Dist Features: Bloodshot, knackered eyes Computers: I ain't got one, but if anybody's offerin'? Fave Rave: Target Renegade Hobbies: Sheep-spotting, train-spotting, spot-picking Fave Music: Prince HOWARD KING Age: 16 Sex: Male Dist Features: 'boyish good looks' Spluuter! Computers: Speccy 48K Fave Rave: Robin O' the Wood Hobbies: Boasting about his handicap (gold), kicking the dog 'bout a bit' Fave Music: Queen SPECTRAVIDEO QUICKSHOT 2 The Quickshot 2 is the father of most joysticks today, but its age does not show in its design. It has a square base, and a wide, sharply contoured handle as well as three fire buttons and an auto fire switch. It's four suckers stick relentlessly to any surface. The shaft is long and loose, which provides a fairly slowish response. The diagonals are difficult to locate in a hurry and it can't handle double movements (such as flying kicks) too well. It excels waggle-wise and the auto-fire switch is easily flicked on by the wrist. But despite all these faults, it works remarkably well in all games. Steve: 'Its slackness click irritated the hell out of my moody sister.' Miles: 'One old timer that's still up there with the new ones.' Howard: 'Ooh I'm a sucker for the suckers!' A little slow, a little temperamental, a little noisy - but what do you expect from a four year old joystick? Recommended. SUNCOM TAC 5 Now here's a very striking joystick - its beige and grey colouring is very chic, good-looking and elegant. The bulky square base sits on four studs and its size makes it unmoveably solid on a desk top even during savage waggling. There are three fire buttons. The stick moves with a very distinctive microswitch click that would annoy your parents and dogs. Movement is pretty good. The diagonals are excellent and there when you want them, although the stick does twist disconcertingly when you move it. It shines in all four departments but the granulated grip is a little too soft. Steve: 'I felt in full control when using this one. Great stuff.' Miles: 'Though it looks very "Habitat" I didn't find it very responsive.' Howard: 'I sweated so much the red directional marks rubbed off and I thought id cut myself!' Extremely attractive number with solid build, good diagonals and response. Annoying microswitch click, impotent fire button positioning and rub-off-when-wet paint let it down a little. Recommended. CHEETAH 125+3 The design of this joystick is very authentic, attractive and similar to the Quickshot 2. The base is robust and granulated for extra grip. It has four fire buttons. The stick, however, looks very plasticy and the seams were bluntly evident. The wide grip and tight throw allow magnificent handling although its size tends to make delicate or slight movements tricky. It responds quickly and smoothly especially in abrupt direction changes, despite the loud groans the stick emits under stress. Precision is perfect but in waggle-'em-ups, the stiffness of the stick prevents a good fast momentum. And it is simply perfect for games requiring manoeuvrability. Steve: 'The Cheetah 125+3 is the one for me - it's a beauty to handle!' Miles: 'I found this stick particularly useful in Skate Crazy which requires a lot of direction changes.' Howard: 'If only it would waggle better!' Outstanding all round joystick, authentically designed, furiously responsive, unbeatable steering but disappointing waggle-ratio. Recommended. POWERPLAY CRUISER The Cruiser is an instantly appealing and very attractive joystick, with its blue curved base, two-deep set white base buttons, and red standard stick. It rests solidly on four suckers on any desk top, but the curved design also suits the hand. The feature that really makes this joystick is the variable tension feature that allows you to select one of three degrees of tightness. The fire buttons are very well placed and click responsively. Diagonals are easy to find and direction changes are good. Adjusting the tension to number two helped in games requiring manoeuvrability, and as for waggling, number three seemed the best. The tightest tension (number one) worked best with Renegade. One of the less muscle-bound reviewers observed that the way you changed the tension (lifting then turning the stick) was quite difficult and a weak and feeble gamesplayer may find it a touch difficult. Steve: 'I'm a wimp so I found changing the tension awkward - I was so tired I couldn't play the game.' Miles: 'Not a bad little number for the all round gamesplayer. Worth, the money!' Howard: 'This is my top stick. It caters for everything and looks neat too!' Noisy but powerful joystick with unique variable tension option and multi-coloured "spaceship" look. Recommended. RAM DELTA The RAM Delia's design is very distinctive, futuristic and angular. The base is shaped like the front of a car while the shaft looks like a gear-stick. It's supported on three suckers placed at each corner, but holds just as well in the palm of your hand. Unfortunately it's shortness restricts precision, especially during hectic Renegade combat. Response is very polished and light, and the microswitches make the direction changes quick and substantial. While waggling, the small throw (the distance the stick moves in any direction) of the stick creates a good rhythm, but excess exertion leads to a sweaty slippery grip. All directional movements are springy, and the clicks of the switches are quiet and unobtrusive, yet loud enough to indicate when you had forced the joystick far enough. Steve: 'I liked the design but found handling a little awkward.' Miles: 'This one is definitely my favourite - I've never gripped such a nice stick!' Howard: 'Control is superb - and I loved those suckers!' Superb sculptured joystick, dedicated to those who like looks, body and character in their sticks. Recommended. EUROMAX PRO-ACE The Pro-Ace is a sturdy-based joystick with a long slender shaft and two fire buttons. The shaft is good and stiff but feels rather flimsy - as if it might break off at any moment. The lack of suckers and a firm base make it rock drunkenly on the desk during any frantic action. The fire buttons, however, are well placed and responsive. The throw is microscopic and renders waggling virtually useless. Described as emphatically pedestrian (What?? Ed) the Pro-ace steers quite well considering the limited throw, but the diagonals have to be forced and the shaft is too long for the field of Renegade movement. Steve: 'Not bad, not bad! I've used a better tool though!' Miles: 'Nice looking stick this - and it handles well too!' Howard: 'Cor this is rather good. I quite like it.' A stiff and flimsy affair, which rocks on the table and reacts very slowly. Steers well though. SUNCOM TAC 2 This small, square based joystick is the most solid on a desk top, and is compact, durable and quite rugged. It has two buttons The stick only moves slightly in each direction but triggers first-rate responses. However this light operation is let down by the overly (or underly) short shaft. The sensitivity is excellent and made both steering and diagonals a piece of cake. After a bout of waggling though, the handle became quite wet and one of the more sensitive reviewers suffered from a sore thumb after a heavy game of Renegade. Steve: 'This one was in a class of its own in playing Skate Crazy.' Miles: 'Not as good as the Suncom Tac 2 I'm afraid.' Howard: 'Tac is an apt name 'cos it's one of the tackiest objects I've seen.' Sturdy solid joystick, attractively metal-plated, is not so hot precision-wise but practically boiling in the steering field. KONIX SPEEDKING This unusually shaped joystick looks a little like a lost jigsaw piece and half a pelvis. It's very well designed for a hand held grip but so does not sit easily on the desk. The stick is a short red affair in arcade-machine stumpy style and is microswitched. It slides quickly into diagonal position and the small throw allows very fast direction change. But the same smallness restricts steering and makes the joystick feel disconnected in games like Skate Crazy where it only gives a fair degree of control. The smoothness of response is great for Renegade, and perfect waggle rhythm is a cinch to get going. The disparity of the design is difficult to get used to, and a sweaty session of waggling can make the stick very slippery. Steve: I just couldn't decide how to hold this one.' Miles: 'It looks quite natty and is a good all round joystick.' Howard: 'It's a bit small for my tastes.' Originally and economically designed, the Speedking is perfect for those who don't have a desk to lean on and don't sweat much while waggling. TERMINATOR Believe it or not this strange looking object really is a joystick. Shaped like a hand grenade (for the Rambo addicts?) this joystick is aimed more at the novelty and toy market rather than our serious 'executive' gamesplayer. The metallic fire button is the clip on the side, while the small Meccano stick juts out of the top. It sits well in your hand and is lighter than its explosive counterpart. As a joystick it's pretty useless, a nightmare to use and makes you want to go "aaarrghhh!". The fire button is awkwardly positioned and is easy to press unintentionally. The stumpy stick is awful for precision and all movements have to be shoved into direction, although the diagonals are easy to obtain. Obviously an excellent novelty and gimic but not very useful as a serious tool. Steve: 'The slippery stick is hideous and waggling is bleuuuch!' Miles: 'I really couldn't get to grips with this one.' Howard: 'I reckon you'd get arrested if you walked into a bank carrying this!' Excellent 'macho' gimic that looks exactly like a grenade with a piece of Meccano stuck in the top. Absolutely rubbish as a joystick though. VOLTMACE DELTA 3S The old fashioned prehistoric design makes the Volt mace Delta an instant turn off, but it's not as bad as it looks. Shaped like a door wedge, the Delta has three fire buttons and a small orbiting stick. It's quite awkward to hold and is happier on a desk top. The three red base buttons are too far away and tiny - rather like TV remote control buttons. The stick is also too small and weedy making small turns and movements virtually impossible - to go anywhere you have to exaggerate the movements. Changes in the direction and precision are easy because of the movable stick and the wide gap for movement, but the diagonals are spindly. Waggle-wise it performs surprisingly well and with the minimum cramp or restriction. Steve: 'I wish I could say this is a pleasure to use - but it isn't.' Miles: 'Urrggh! This one looks like a bar of Dairy Milk - shame you can't eat it!' Howard: 'If you like waggling, you'll like this!' Prehistoric design is not too attractive but it sits comfortably on your desk despite spindly diagonals and misplaced fire buttons. Comparatively outstanding at waggling. VERDICT It was a close thing with each reviewer snuggling up to their favourite sticks, and beating each other about the head with their not so favourite ones. But in the end the Cheetah 125+ scraped into first place, with the RAM Delta and Powerplay Cruiser coming second and third respectively, closely followed by the Konix Speedking and Quickshot 2. The overall positioning was: 1. CHEETAH 125+ 2. RAM Delta 3. POWERPLAY Cruiser 4. KONIX Speedking 5. SPECTRAV1DEO Quickshot 2 6. SUNCOM TAC 5 7. SUNCOM TAC 2 8. VOLTMACE Delta 3s 9. EUROMAX Pro-Ace 10. TERMINATOR Now for the votes on the best and worst buys. Here's what the reviewers had to say and they mean that most sincerely folks! STEVEN BEST - Cheetah 125+ "Magnificent handling... brilliant fire buttons... a real treat." WORST- Terminator "Aaarghhhhh... awful... my goldfish steers better than this." MILES BEST- RAM Delta 'Looked quite sexy... the knob was really nice... good and springy." WORST- Terminator "Bleuchhh!... Terrible... Looks too much like a hand grenade and 1 didn't know to hold it." HOWARD BEST - Powerplay Cruiser 'Fits well in the hand... stands out... good stuff and the stick variable tension - wow!" WORST - Terminator "Yicckkk!... a nightmare... it's bad, really, really bad." 1st Place Supplier: Cheetah Marketing Ltd, [redacted] Price: £12.99 Guarantee: 1 year Features: A C D E F G

FEATURES A- Suckers B - Studs C - Thumb Button D - Trigger Type Button E - Base Button F - Auto Fire G - +2/+3 Compatible H - Metal Shaft I - Miscroswitches

SCORES 1 - Eeek! 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Excellent

TOP TEN TIPS WHEN BUYING A STICK 1. Don't be taken in by sales blurb. Disregard phrases like "the greatest ever joystick " or "the most responsive on the market" plastered on the packaging. Stay in touch with the real world. 2. Consult a guide (ie, this one). 3. Decide beforehand how much you are prepared to pay. There are two sides to the market: budget (five to seven pounds) and the not so budget (ten to twenty pounds). 4. Keep in mind the type of games you'll be playing. If you're a shoot 'em up addict you'll want a stick with good manoeuvrability and a well-placed fire button: if you're a flight sim man you won't want a tiny effort. 5. Check for +2/+3 compatibility. More often than not, if a stick is compatible it will be supplied with two leads or an adaptor. Otherwise search around for a suitable interface. 6. When buying an interface, stick to names you know. 7. Search through mail order firms (like DATEL) for good prices and special offers. Often you can buy an interface and a joystick in a combined cheap package. 8. If possible, ask to test the joystick. Not necessarily with a game, but just move it around and get a feel for it. Test the tension, consider the looks, examine the quality. 9. Check out the guarantee. Don't accept under a year for any joystick. 10. Keep in mind, the amount of desk space you have. Buy a hand held model if you have no space.

WARNING Before you rush out and buy a brand new joystick, remember you'll need a joystick interface too. Rubber keyboard owners have always needed one and although Amstrad included a joystick port on the Plus 2 and 3, it's only compatible with Amstrad joysticks, so you'll still need an interface for Kempston and Cursor sticks. Got that?

ZX Computing

Charlton Appleby

JOYSTICK CONNOISSEUR CHARLTON APPLEBY TAKES A CRITICAL LOOK AT ESTABLISHED SPECTRUM JOYSTICKS AND ALSO PLAYTESTS CHEETAH'S NEW 128+2 COMPATIBLE STICKS. QUICKSHOT II Spectravideo £11.95 Probably the best known stick in the business. The Quickshot II has a contoured grip that fits the hand in a manner so perfect that it is a miracle of design. Two fire buttons are provided, one in a pistol trigger position and one on the top that fits your thumb. The base has four suction cups on it to grip the stick to a flat, smooth surface for one handed operation. Also on the base is a little switch for 'autofire' operation. This switch connects to a small circuit inside the joystick that creates a machine-gun effect when using the fire button. This is achieved by pulsing the fire button's output to the computer. This allows multiple firing in a game that allows such things, though a few of the more modern games can detect when an auto-fire switch is being used and will disable the fire button all together - with disastrous results. Internal construction is with collapsible domes, though with the large amount of leverage that such a stick affords, you may find that in some circumstances this stick will not have a long-life span - especially with younger players.

Quickshot II

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Accuracy 6/10

Ergonomics 6/10

Strength 6/10

Overall 6/10

Jim Douglas 6/10

JIM'S JOYSTICK JURY! "PROBABLY THE MOST INTERESTING JOYSTICK ARTICLE... IN THE WORLD!!" For most games players, the most important piece of extra equipment they will buy for their micro will be a joystick. In his search for the ultimate joysticks, C+VG's JIM DOUGLAS locked himself in a small, dark room with Uridium and Winter Games. This is his story... KEMPSTON PRO 5000 The Kempston has reigned as the top games-players' joystick since it first emerged from Coin Controls Limited all those years ago. Despite various gimmicks employed by other firms to make their sticks seem superior, the 5000 seems to have fought off all competition without much bother. Evdn with few alterations over its relatively long life span the Kempston still remains a favourite with most gamers. Performance on Uridium: It performed almost perfectly! The rapid fire needed in the game was admirably supported by the twin fire buttons, neither of which "stuck" or missed a shot. Although there is no definite "switch"ing sound when changing from one direction to another, no problems with accuracy arose at all, Performance on Winter Games: Owing to the lack of audible switching some events became more difficult. In the figure and free skating for example, it is necessary to make a move with extreme precision. The "click" which some sticks produce makes this easier; although it's very easy to correct an error with the Pro 5000. It's also very easy to make a slip. EUROMAX PRO ACE The Pro Ace looks utterly tremendous - all black, with a bright red fire button and direction indicators - but it's awkward to hold, unresponsive and a rather poor show overall! Performance on Uridium: I skimmed over the first Dreadnought's surface, unsuccessfully struggling to hold the blasted thing without partially paralyzing my hand. Firing is very hard work. You've got to push the button firmly home before you get any response. It's very strong - but that's really all I could say for it. Performance on Winter Games: This stick seems to perform best when only minor accuracy is required. On the long events. such as speed skating, it works quite well, although hard work, owing to the power of the sell-centring mechanism. The fire-button was barely adequate. EUROMAX MICRO ACE Doesn't this look frightfully similar to the Pro Ace? Hang on! This has got a RED handle, and WHITE directional arrows! It has also got micro switches, which make life a whole lot easier. Performance on Uridium: It's still a hit of a nightmare to hold, but is better than the Pro Ace. The switches make play more accurate, end less tiring. Firing is still pretty awful, causing terminal cramp in the reviewer's thumb! Performance on Winter Games: Well, it's a bit of an improvement! Movement is easier, and more precise. The firing lets the stick down. On long events, the shape causes considerable discomfort. VULCAN ELECTRONICS' GUNSHOT The Gunshot looks like yet another variation on Spectravideo's Quickshot range. It has the same design style, with one fire button positioned on the base, and another on the shaft. Here, though, the latter sits on top of the handle. Although it offers an effective autofire option, the stick feels a little top-heavy and the rubber feet aren't any real use. Performance on Uridium: The autofire option really comes into its own in the game! it will produce a continual stream of fire while you deal with the tricky aspect of steering. Unfortunately, the stick doesn't really have the necessary accuracy to avoid all the meteor shields. Performance on Winter Games: The grip is very comfortable, especially when working your way through the tough Biathlon event. The firing wasn't particularly sensitive. It has smooth movement, though, making the long-distance events such as speed-skating quite easy. I'm not ease how much it would stand, before the switches became bent away from their contacts. EUROMAX WIZ CARD "Pah", thinks the standard reviewer as this little monstrosity falls from the packet. Well, yah-boo sucks to "standard" reviewers, 'cos this is one of the best "sticks" in the entire universe. So there! It's around the size of an individual Fruit 'n' Nut choc-bar, allowing - obviously - some extra size for the two fire buttons and directional thingy on lop. Performance on Uridium: It's wonderfully accurate, and easy to operate. The only problem with using the Wiz Card (so-called because it's a bit like a card, and a "wiz" to use - geddit?) is if you've got used to a standard joystick. Once you've got the hang of the movement, it's a dream to use. You don't need to exert any force to change direction, and it fits easily into the hand. It's really quite good. Performance on Winter Games: Wonderful! This one worked with hardly any problems at all. Firing was responsive and trouble-free. Direction changes were precise, too. The only problem arose on long events, where continual direction changes are necessary, it was quite hard to get a comfortable grip. You can't really use one thumb, as you've got to press on different areas of the pivoting button. Using the digits though, is rather awkward! QUICKSHOT 1 Many regard the Quickshot 1 as the turning point in joystick manufacture. It's cheap, simple to use and versatile. Unfortunately it's also a pretty awful joystick. Performance on Uridium: Direction changes are ghastly. Firing is cumbersome and stiff. To get any response you need to use a good deal of force. Quite unbearable. Ugh! Take it away! Performance on Winter Games: You can hardly call it "performance". It's horrible. QUICKSHOT 2 Umpteen games players still swear by the Quickshot 2. It's lightweight and efficient. It fits well into the hand, and is comfortable for long-term use. Performance on Uridium: This is a bit of an improvement! It's a lot better than the Q.Shot 1. The autofire works well, giving a nice, healthy stream of bullets. Movement is still a little on the unresponsive side, causing the user to exert more force than is actually necessary on the stick. Its possible to be accurate enough to achieve a reasonable score. Performance on Winter Games: It's certainly of a higher quality than the Quickshot 1. It's easier to use, and the firing is more accurate. Movement isn't much cop, and when you need speed and precision you may as well forget it. CHEETAH 125 Yet another Quickshot clone! It's black, with red buttons, rubber feet and a rather dodgy switch system. This stick has got fire buttons all over it! There are two on the base, a trigger, one on the very top of the shaft and an autofire. It's reasonably strong, but is very Light, and feels as if it's suffering under the strain of multi-directional zapping! Performance on Uridium: Urgh! These base-mounted buttons are dreadful! Let's try the trigger; not much use either. Now about autofire? Oh. That doesn't work either. Not doing very well so far, is it, folks? Playing a passive game of Uridium isn't the easiest - or most sensible thing in the world. Still, the movement is pretty good. There isn't much resistance to direction-changes, and it's not too hard to avoid the dreadnought's static defences. Performance on Winter Games: Still rather awful. The firing was slow and inaccurate, and movement followed suit. It felt strong, though, and held up reasonably well under prolonged play. QUICKSHOT 7 "THE JOYCARD" Yah! Right on! This is the business! Not only do you get a dead swish black card-like object, with an immensely smooth direction-disc in the middle and two fire buttons. BUT... Da-daa! Two red lights to show you when you're firing! More of these little wonders are appearing on the market all the time, and if this one is anything to go by, they could soon be taking business away from conventional sticks. Performance on Uridium: You can hold the button down for autofire, or set it as a normal button. And just watch those red bights go! Movement takes a while to get used to, but is responsive, slick and requires minimal user strength! The design means you con use it with one hand, leaving the other free for slurping coffee etc.

THE RATINGS EXPLAINED The sticks featured here have all been graded on a scale of 1-10 in the following categories: Ergonomics: Design to you, stupid! Does the stick stay firmly in your hand, or does it wrench itself from your grip at the first sign of an approaching nasty? Do those buttons take the superhuman hammering dealt out when you're dealing with a squadron of Uridium fighters? Strength: At the end of your record-breaking effort, is the machinery still in working order? Accuracy: A pretty vital rating this. The last thing you want to happen as you try to match the rotation of the Elite space-stations is for your joystick to decide it only wants to turn one way, and fire at will! Overall: Does the stick do the job?

Your Sinclair

Overall 6.3/10

Darren Stephens

Martin Covill

Noel Wallace

Peter Shaw

[ZXSR: The overall scores are an average of the marks given individually by the three reviewers over the three games tested (Daley Thompson's Supertest, Wanted: Monty Mole and The Way of The Exploding Fist). The actual reviewer scores are included in the review text.] IT'S A STICK UP! Are you still scraping by using a keyboard on the latest arcade games - and scraping the skin off the ends of your fingers into the bargain? What you need's a 'stick to bring the joy back to your gamesplaying. To help you choose the right one for the job, we asked three YS readers to take a grip of themselves and review the top ten. Peter Shaw joined them and came in for some stick! How d'you go about choosing a joystick? We're all guilty of believing that a joystick is a joystick is a joystick - so why not plump for the cheapest. After all, they all work in the same way, don't they? No, they jolly well don't. Even leaving aside an obvious novelty like the Suncom Joysensor, you'll find that each 'stick has its own feel, almost its own personality. (What is yours called? Ed). There are big 'uns and little 'uns, some with flexible shafts, others stiff. You'll come across some real neat ones and some that are just plain ugly. And, to make things even more complicated, you'll soon suss out that a joystick that hits the heights on one game is of no earthly use on another. In an ideal world, you'd have a different joystick for every game in your collection - but then in an ideal world we'd be picking pound notes off the pavement! So, if you play more than one game, you're now faced with a very tricky bit of decision making. Do you pick a joystick that'll allow you to excel on your fave rave but only lets you plod along with pedestrian scores on the rest - or do you choose an all-rounder that'll give you better than average scores on a variety of games? But then you'll have to resign yourself to the fact that you may never receive the ultimate accolade of being chosen as one of Hex's Heroes. Of course, for most of us, our minds are made up by the weight of our wallets. (What's a wallet? Ed). But whichever way you want to choose a joystick, you'll find all the information you need in our comprehensive review of the top ten. Each 'stick; has been thoroughly put through its paces by three great games players who've been hand picked from Hex's Heroes. And then they did the rough stuff on three very different types of game - a platform, Monty On The Run, a hand-to-hand combat, Way Of The Exploding Fist and a joystick waggler, Daley Thompson's Supertest. So, if you're in the market for a new 'stick, turn the page and get stuck into the full reviews from our team of joyriders. HIT & MISS STICKS DALEY THOMPSON'S SUPERTEST - OCEAN This is the ultimate game that'll push any joystick to its limits. If a 'stick can cope with a day's pounding from DT then you can be sure it's tough. And it's not just the shaft - The fire buttons need to be good too - easily accessible and very responsive for that last minute press before taking a penalty or diving from the spring board. Quickshot II Martin: I like the reactions with this one an' it's got some of the best positioned fire buttons of all the sticks. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: I don't think this joystick wanted to co-operate and building up speed was tricky. On The Stickometer: 2/10 MISS Noel: The length of the shaft tires your arm out too quickly with all that waggling. Not keen on this one at all. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Gunshot 1 Martin: Quite a good design but not as good as most joysticks. I don't think the omission of rapid fire matters. On The Stickometer: 6/10 HIT Darren: Not exactly a special joystick - very standard 8-directional. Still I did get some good scores with it. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT Noel: Looks too much like the Quickshot for my liking, and I don't reckon it'll take the strain of Supertest On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Formula 1 Martin: A good joystick with a good reaction time. The fire buttons are also well positioned. Where can I find fault? On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Darren: It's a good joystick - what else can I say? The colour's a bit garish but that doesn't bother me. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: Oh dear, this one's deafening me! The reaction's OK, but the size of the shaft made my arm ache. On The Stickometer: /810 HIT Formula II Martin: Wonderful design job and a really good response to back it up. This has it all apart for big buttons. On The Stickometer: 8/ HIT10 Darren: Great stick. Well designed, good response and above all, the fire buttons are in the right place! On The Stickometer: 9/10 Noel: This one's too flimsy. I prefer a good stiff stem, and this joystick definitely hasn't got what it takes. On The Stickometer: 3/10 MISS Kraft Martin: Don't think much of this one. The design's too fragile and it just ain't good with Supertest. On The Stickometer: 3/10 MISS Darren: I reckon it's good. I prefer the small 'sticks as long as the control's still in there. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: This joystick is just right for Supertest. A short shaft means less work for me and it's tough enough. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Micro Stick Martin: Not much cop for this sort of game. The rotation of the shaft makes it pretty awkward to use. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Darren: Don't really like this one - the fire button is much too stiff to be of any use in this game. On The Stickometer: 7/10 MISS Noel: Well it's very nice but it tires your arm out after only a few waggles of the shaft. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT The Champion Martin: It's got nice fire buttons and a good reaction but it doesn't seem to work with Supertest too well. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Darren: Well it's easy to grip and easy to fire. I quite like the stylish design too. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT Noel: It's got very quick reactions and an excellent grip. I'll go for this one any day. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Le Stick Martin: Oh it's so easy to win on Supertest - you only have to shake the joystick vigorously! On The Stickometer: 10/10 HIT Darren: Excellent joystick to use with Supertest - I've got my best score ever on nearly all the games. On The Stickometer: 10/10 HIT Noel: Ideal for this game, you only need to wiggle the joystick - it's that simple! On The Stickometer: 10/10 HIT Command Control Martin: Well it's a good joystick and it's got a decent sized base to grab hold of. Bigger is better, eh? On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: I don't think the vigorous action of Supertest is going to do this one any favours! On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Noel: Brilliant joystick to use with Supertest - very sturdy and reactions are fast. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Suncom Joysensor Martin: Ugh. It's terrible. Too much like using a ZX81 keyboard. There's no real control at all. On The Stickometer: 1/10 MISS Darren: It's really useless for this game - how can you do left/right quickly on a membrane? On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS Noel: It reacted well but took the skin off the end of me finger while rubbing. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS MONTY ON THE RUN - GREMLIN GRAPHICS For a platform game like this, a joystick's gonna need pinpoint accuracy so you can get as close to the edge as possible. And as you'll expect to spend a fair dew hours meeting Monty's goal, you don;t want a grip that'll leave you with sweaty palms and a slippery shaft. And the button had better be big so a thumb can easily be dumped on it for those long jumps. Quickshot II Martin: This joystick definitely works well with platform games. It's nice and accurate with a well-designed shaft. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Darren: This is the one I've got at home, and I'm used to the action but that's not to say it's the best there is. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: OK, so it's not bad at coping with platform games, but I still reckon that the shaft is too flimsy. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Gunshot 1 Martin: Quite a good joystick to use on the old platforms - everything seems easy to control. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: It's got an average response and all-in-all it's a pretty average joystick. Nothing to write home about. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: Stem seems to spindly and the grip gets as sweaty as Bumpry's armpit. Not for me this one. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Formula 1 Martin: Very easy to get used to. I like the design and its accuracy overwhelmed me. I'll take one! On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: Nice shaft though it could be longer and the reaction is OK. The overall effect is good. On The Stickometer: 5/10 HIT Noel: This one went very well with Monty. Its reaction is very fast - not bad at all. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT Formula II Martin:Very good. The fire buttons react very well. Overall, perfect for this kind of game. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Darren: It's very similar to the Gunshot. I like it, the design's very hi-tech and the reaction's fast. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: It's still too flimsy for my liking but it works well with Monty though. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Kraft Martin: I don't rate this joystick at all. the response is OK but I find it too fragile for the game. On The Stickometer: 2/10 MISS Darren: It's a good joystick. I like this design more than most and the shaft's very comfortable. On The Stickometer: 10/10 HIT Noel: Oh, it's horrible - Monty, just doesn't work with it. I'd get more response from a garden gnome. On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS Micro Stick Martin: It's too stiffm very slow and unresponsive. But the design is quite good so I'll be gentle. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Darren: Better in this game, possibly because everything doesn't go so fast. Still not impressed. On The Stickometer: 7/10 MISS Noel: It's quite good. It's got fast action and a good grip design. I like it even if they don't. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT The Champion Martin: It's very pretty but I don't think much of the overall effect. The controls seem a bit dodgy. On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS Darren: It's a smooth joystick, but I don't reckon it works to well with this game. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Noel: It's the best desiigned joystick of the pack and to top that the reaction speed is fast too. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Le Stick Martin: It's a lot of hard work stopping Monty running into things when you haven't got a leg to stand on. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Darren: It's much too awkward to use in this game - you really can't control what's happening. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Noel: Ooops - no good for Monty as he keeps running off the end of all the platforms. On The Stickometer: 3/10 MISS Command Control Martin: Directional control on this joystick is quite good. Unfortunately the top button lets it down. On The Stickometer: 6/10 HIT Darren: The shaft's the right size, it's the right shape and offers good control. Just right for platforms. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: Well apart from getting a little too sweaty in my paw, this one works really well. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Suncom Joysensor Martin: Even worse than with Supertest. The movement control is absolutely tosh. Double ugh! On The Stickometer: 1/10 MISS Darren: It's not quite right for platforms somehow, but it was great fun trying! On The Stickometer: 6/10 HIT Noel: It's useless with platforms as you can't change direction accurately enough. On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS WAY OF THE EXPLODING FIST - MELBOURNE HOUSE If you're ready to face the karate challenge, your joystick will need the combined powers of both shaft and button. If the shaft won't react quickly enough, or its directional flexibility is dodgy, then a joystick can be considered worthless with a game like this. Plus you'll need a fire button that's easily accessible and very responsive - or it's the chop for you, matey! Quickshot II Martin: Hmmm, it;s realy easy to use with Fist, The reaction is good and the buttons are just right. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: Can't say I like this combination. Maybe it's me but it sure seems a bit unresponsive. On The Stickometer: 3.5/10 MISS Noel: It's got a well designed grip and fire button positioning, but the movement feels too limp and flimsy. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Gunshot 1 Martin: Nothing special, but the reactions are fast enough to keep up with Fist and fire buttons are OK. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Darren: Well I like it. I found it very co-operative an' I'd be quite happy having one on my Speccy. So there! On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: The shaft's too spindly and I reckon it'll break if you sneeze on it. Please take it away! On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Formula 1 Martin: Not so good for use with Fist. The size of the shaft seems a disadvantage. Fire buttons are nice though. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Darren: I think it gives you a lot of control. The fire buttons are in exactly the right position and they're BIG! On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: Reacts quite well and the size of the fire buttons are a big plus in this joystick's favour. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Formula II Martin: This one seems made for Fist, the reaction time is good - control is easy and the fire buttons are fab. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: It's great. The case design is very smart and the reaction time is good too - I'm tempted to get one. On The Stickometer: 10/10 HIT Noel: It's really too flimsy. I know I keep going on about it but I rather hold a piece of raw liver than this joystick. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Kraft Martin: Reactions are quick enough but the shaft's too small. You won't find me buying one. On The Stickometer: 3/10 MISS Darren: Pretty good - it responds well with this game. I like the four-way, eight-way feature. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: Shock, horror - it reacts quite well with Fist. You wouldn't think it was the same joystick. On The Stickometer: 6/10 HIT Micro Stick Martin: Don't like it a great deal, it's a bit too stiff. You get massacred using this one for Fist. On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS Darren: Oh dear... maybe the fire button has actually packed up. Not a good mark in my book. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Noel: Quite a good joystick (The fire button must still have been working! Ed). Good response. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT The Champion Martin: It''s a pretty design but being left handed I find it quite awkward to use. On The Stickometer: 5/10 HIT Darren: Another one of the joysticks has packed up on me this time the directional controls are up the spout! On The Stickometer: 3/10 MISS Noel: It's got quite good reactions and responsive diagonal controls. Good joystick. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Le Stick Martin: Terrible! Very hard to judge where it is and diagonals are nigh-on impossible to achieve. On The Stickometer: 2/10 MISS Darren: I think it's quite good but if you get too excited then you might lose track of where you are. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: Very slow reacting - I reckon it's a miss for Fist. (More, Adrian Mole poetry huh? Ed.) On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS Command Control Martin: A good stick with an easy-to-handle shaft but the choice of etierh top or bottom fire button is naff. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT Darren: The buttons are good although I'd have preferred to use both. Works well with Fist though. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: You can really kick the proverbial out of the other player with this stick. Very responsive! On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Suncom Joysensor Martin: It's not really very practical. As joysticks go, this one's more of a novelty than anything. On The Stickometer: 2/10 MISS Darren: Seems to work better with Fist than with any of the other games. Quite a good sore with this one. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: Reacts really well. I've just beaten my all-time high score. I might even buy one! On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT

GETTING SOME STICK Joystick Name: Quickkshot II Price: £10.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Spectravideo Ltd. [redacted] Joystick Name: Gunshot 1 Price: £7.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Vulcan Electronics. [redacted] Joystick Name: Kraft Price: From £12.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Vulcan Electronics. [redacted] Joystick Name: Formula I Price: £16.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Kempston Micro. [redacted] Joystick Name: Formula II Price: £11.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Kempston Micro. [redacted] Joystick Name: Micro Stick Price: £ Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Datex Ltd. Joystick Name: The Champion Price: £11.99 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: CGL Ltd. [redacted] Joystick Name: Command Control Price: £27.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: CGL Ltd. [redacted] Joystick Name: LeStick Price: £12.99 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Lightwave Leisure. No number available. Joystick Name: Joysensor Price: £19.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Consumer Electronics. [redacted]

GIVE 'EM STICK Talk about too much of a good thing! Even with all the reviews in front of you, it's still tricky choosing the right one for you. One way is to add up all the scores, of course. But if you're really clever, you'll use Chris Somerville's program, Second Opinion that appeared in YS 19. We tried it and came up with some very interesting results. Le Stick got into the quarter finals before being toppled and the Quickshot II and Formula II tied until reaching the final. Just take a look at our top five raves after they'd come through the mincer. 1st - Command Control, Wico/CGL; Formula II, Kempston 3rd - Quickshot, Spectravideo 4th - Le Stick, Lightwave Leisure 5th - Micro Stick, Datex

Yikes - here's the poor YS readers who're in for some stick. There's Martin Covill, a 15- year-old self-confessed Madonna fan (OK you can turn the tap off and take the matchsticks out now) who hails from Canterbury. In the middle is Darren Stephens who's 13 and brought his whole family plus pets to see the YS office. Finally, meet Noel Wallace who lives a 55p bus ride away - so, we made him walk home, and before you tell us, we know that Noel sometimes gets hold of the wrong end of the stick. After all, anyone who needs two hands to pull on a Quickshot and can injure himself on a Joysensor is brilliant enough to replace Troubleshootin' Pete!

Sinclair User

John Lambert

STICKING TO THE BEST Zap in style. John Lambert juggles with joysticks. Joysticks are the most popular add-on for the Sinclair computers, not just for playing games but also for drawing, cursor control in word processing packages and for moving anything around the screen. The keyboard can be used for all of those things but it is so much easier with a joystick. Choosing a joystick from the hundreds available is not an easy decision, but this guide will show you what to look for, and how to connect it to a Spectrum or QL. Joysticks are generally all the same. They may be different shapes and sizes but they all contain a number of simple switches which get turned on or off as the stick is moved. That type of digital joystick was first used on a home computer by Atari and, therefore, is sometimes known as the Atari standard. All Sinclair machines use this type of joystick interface. The switch used can vary a great deal. The cheapest joysticks, such as Quickshot 1, us a bubble which when compressed by the stick makes contact. Those can wear fairly quickly and cannot stand up to heavy use. Next in price and strength are leaf spring switches where the stick causes two pieces of metal to make contact. Finally, the most expensive joysticks use microswitches. Those will last a long time and can easily be replaced should they go wrong. Generally, you should buy the most expensive joystick you can afford as that way it should last a long time. Try to get one with a metal shaft in the handle - plastic ones break - and, if possible, try it out in the shop. The feel of a joystick is very important, some are sloppy and others require a lot of movement before they register. it is within the interface that the complications arise. All interfaces have at least one Atari standard socket where the joystick is plugged in, but those vary in how they tell the computer when the stick has been moved. Which type of interface you buy will depend on what software you want to use with it. The most common method is known as Kempston - named after Kempston Microelectronics who invented it. What that does is to configure the interface as part of the Z80 I/O map so that it can be read - to find what position the joystick is in - using the instruction IN 31. Another method is for the interface to emulate the cursor keys - five to eight plus zero as fire. For obvious reasons that is known as Cursor. The third method is known as Sinclair and emulates the six to nine keys, with zero as fire. That is based on Interface 2 from Sinclair. Why Sinclair wanted to bring out yet another method is anybody's guess! The problem is that until you but the software you have no way of knowing which of those three methods it will use. Many programs give you a choice but unfortunately not all. The way to get round that is to use a programmable interface. Those allow you to let each stick direction and fire represent a key on the keyboard. All games have a keyboard option and you just set the interface to the keys it uses. That also gets round the problem of game that do not use any of the three normal methods - Psion is very bad in that respect. Unfortunately, programmable interfaces tend to be the most expensive, and in some cases can be very difficult to set up. For playing arcade games a Kempston standard interface is the most useful, and the cheapest. Some interfaces combine more than one method in the same box, but the more facilities it has the more expensive it will be. Some joysticks offer extra facilities and you should take care when buying those. Although it is popular to have two fire buttons on a joystick, in many cases they are joined electrically and perform the same function, so it does not matter which one you press. Some joysticks, however, have two, independent, fire buttons and some interfaces can take advantage of this. That type of joystick can also be used with interfaces which normally only expect one fire button, and so are particularly worth considering. Care should be taken, though, as pressing the used button on some interfaces, will cause the computer to crash. Another common extra is auto-fire, giving an auto repeat on the fire button. In order to make their interfaces more attractive some companies add extras which are not related to joysticks. The best known is probably the Nidd Valley Slomo which lets you slow down the computer so that - in theory - the games are easier to play. Two other products, the Opus Discovery 1 disc drive, and the Mikro-Gen Mikro-Plus include Kempston compatible interfaces. As far as the QL is concerned life is much simpler. The two control sockets on the back are already wired to emulate either the cursor keys and space, or the function keys. All you need to plug in a joystick is an adaptor which fits the control socket at one end and a standard joystick at the other. Joysticks are available which plug straight into the QL - ones that have a QL style plug rather than the Atari standard. The problem with those is that when you upgrade to a different computer you will have to buy another joystick, as it is unlikely it will fit the new machine. Buying a joystick and interface can be a harrowing experience. Don't be afraid to try out half a dozen in a shop - and don't buy from a shop which won't let you experiment. Ask your friends and, of course, read the reviews in Sinclair User. PROTOCOL 1 Company: AGF Telephone: [redacted] Price: £9.95 Kempston compatible interface which contains a through port. PROTOCOL 2 Company: AGF Telephone: [redacted] Price: £14.95 Kempston, cursor interface. Contains a through port. PROTOCOL 3 Company: AGF Telephone: [redacted] Price: £19.95 Programmable interface. As Protocol 4 but not Kempston compatible. PROTOCOL 4 Company: AGF Telephone: [redacted] Price: £29.95 Programmable, Kempston compatible interface. Top of the range interface which uses a system of preprogrammed cards. Those clip over a membrane on the interface. Also has a through port, reset switch, and free demo tape. Fiddly to program but one of the few which allows auto-fire. It also allows a second interface to be plugged into the back for a second player. COMCON Company: Frel Telephone: [redacted] Price: £19.95 Programmable interface which, although it may not look too good, is easy to program using leads plugged into a matrix. Can run joysticks with two fire buttons. GAMES ACE Company: Datel Telephone: [redacted] Price: £10.99, £17.99 (with Quickshot II) Kempston compatible interface. Allows the use of auto-fire joysticks and outputs sound through the television. SWITCHABLE JOYSTICK INTERFACE Company: Datel Telephone: [redacted] Price: £12.95, £19.99 (with Quickshot II) Kempston, cursor, Sinclair compatible interface. Switchable interface which covers all the main joystick standards. Can be used with auto-fire joysticks. TURBO ACE Company: Datel Telephone: [redacted] Price: £15.99, £22.99 (with Quickshot II) Kempston, cursor, Sinclair compatible interface. Top of the range model which includes all the features of the Games Ace and the Switchable interface. Well priced for the wide range of facilities. DUAL PORT Company: DK'tronics Telephone: [redacted] Price: £13.00 Kempston and Sinclair compatible interface. Interface includes two sockets, one for Kempston and one for Sinclair. PROGRAMMABLE Company: DK'tronics Telephone: [redacted] Price: £22.95 Programmed by loading software from tape. FORMULA 1 Company: Kempston Telephone: [redacted] Price: £16.95 Large joystick with two - not independent - fire buttons. It uses micro switches and has a metal shaft so it should last a long time. Good value. FORMULA 2 Company: Kempston Telephone: [redacted] Price: £11.95 Three fire buttons and plenty of movement for the careful enthusiast. PROGRAMMABLE Company: Fox Telephone: [redacted] Price: £28.95 Programmable interface holding the details of which keys to use for 16 games in a battery backed RAM. Can also be used as a Psuedo ROM. Good operation and value for money. FLIGHTLINK HOTSHOT Company: Frel Telephone: [redacted] Price: £10.50 Small hand held joystick with a very good precise, action and two independent fire buttons. JOYSTICK INTERFACE Company: Kempston Telephone: [redacted] Price: £9.95 Kempston interface made by the inventors of the standard. KEMPSTON PRO Company: Kempston Telephone: [redacted] Price: £16.95 Kempston, cursor, Sinclair compatible interface with three sockets and a slot for games ROMs. Covers all the main standards including two Sinclair sockets, one to five and six to zero. TRISTATE Company: Kempston Telephone: [redacted] Price: £12.95 Kempston, cursor, Sinclair compatible interface. Two sockets cover all the main standards. MIKRO-PLUS Company: Mikro-Gen Telephone: [redacted] Price: £14.95 Kempston compatible interface. Sold as part of the Shadow of the Unicorn game and has 16K of EPROM onboard which will be used in subsequent MikroGen games. Expensive for just a Kempston compatible interface but good value - if you like the game. PACESETTER Company: Nidd Valley Telephone: [redacted] Price: £14.95 Kempston interface with through port and Slomo. PROGRAMMABLE PACESETTER Company: Nidd Valley Telephone: [redacted] Price: £29.95 Tape programmable with Slomo built in, and the ability to use two independent fire buttons. Good range of features. QUICKSHOT 1 Company: AGF Telephone: [redacted] Price: £7.95 Basic joystick which has been overshadowed by the II. QUICKSHOT II Company: AGF Telephone: [redacted] Price: £9.95 Popular joystick, rather fragile and hence, tends to wear out quickly. RAT Company: Cheetah Telephone: [redacted] Price: £19.95 Infra-red remote control joystick and interface. The recently reduced price is good for a complete system and it is the only remote control joystick for the Spectrum. The joystick is a pressure pad which takes a while to master. If possible try one out before buying. TURBO Company: RAM Telephone: [redacted] Price: £18.50 Kempston, cursor, Sinclair compatible interface. All the main standards including two sockets for Sinclair, one to five and six to zero. Also included are ROM slot, full width through port and a reset button. SCOREBOARD Company: Kempston Telephone: [redacted] Price: £19.95 Joystick housed in an enormous consol which is bigger than the Spectrum. Fine if you want to pretend you are in an arcade but a bit over the top. SPECTRUM INTERFACE Company: RAM Telephone: [redacted] Price: £9.95 Standard Kempston interface without through port. SPECTRUM KC Company: Nidd Valley Telephone: [redacted] Price: £8.95, £9.95 (with through port) Kempston compatible interface. Good price for a Kempston with a through port. SUPREME JOYSTICK Company: Cookridge Computer Supplies Telephone: [redacted] Price: £15.95 SURE SHOT JOYSTICK Company: Cookridge Computer Supplies Telephone: [redacted] Price: £12.95 - QL, £15.95 - Atari ZIPSTICK Company: Cookridge Computer Supplies Telephone: [redacted] Price: £12.95 Joystick which is guaranteed for two years' wear and tear.

Personal Computer News

PLUG IN PARAPHERNALIA Our eight-page guide to Christmas peripherals. PICK OF THE PRINTERS MONITORS IN FOCUS DISK DRIVES ASSESSED ...AND OTHER ADD-ONS DECIPHERING THE PERIPHERALS PUZZLE Once you've had a computer for a little while,you may be wondering what else you can do with it, aside from playing games and writing the odd program. Buying one of the wealth of peripherals currently on the market can open up a whole new realm of possibilities, by presenting new programming challenges, new types of software,and providing more capabilities for your computer. The problem is, what to buy, for how much,and where from? Probably the most uninteresting peripherals are printers,which are only of real use for word processing, screen dumps,and program listings. These come in many different types, sizes, prices and capabilities,from dot matrix to daisywheel. Of much more interest these days are modems. Unfortunately,they can give you that dreaded disease known as Hackery, which includes symptoms such as high telephone bills, sleepless nights and no interest in anything else. Other add-ons include light pens and touch pads for budding computer artists. These generally come with some software, but make sure when you buy that there are some details on howto program it yourself. The same applies to joysticks and tracker balls. On some machines handling these is easy but on others, such as the Spectrum and Electron, things area little more difficult. There are so many gadgets available that it would be impossible to name them all. Out of these, perhaps the most exciting are second processors, some of which can turn your humble home micro into something approaching the power of a minicomputer. Others are just add-ons to allow a sought after CP/M system. These are much more common, being available for the BBC, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC464, and Sinclair QL, to name but a few. One point to bear in mind when you buy something extra for your micro is what you are going to do with it when you become fed up with the applications that come with it. If you make sure that there are details on how to access and control it, you will be able to write your own routines to run it, thereby giving it a whole new lease of life. PCN's six page peripherals guide should give you some idea of what is available, how much you should expect to pay, and where you can get them from. PRINTERS Many people think they can live without printers, probably due to their high prices, but eventually you'll probably want one for your microcomputer. There are a number of types around, from the more expensive daisy wheels to the cheaper thermal or ballpoint pen printers. Not to be forgotten, too, are the ubiquitous dot matrix and the ink jet types. The former are generally judged by their Epson compatibility and features. Once the type of printer has been decided upon, there are then a number of additional features to choose from, print buffers, RS232 or Centronics, graphics capabilities, redefinable character sets, and speed being just a few. A printer with all of these the Smith Corona D200 for example - can cost up to £500. Alternatively, a ballpoint pen plotter such as a MCP-40 will cost around £150, but this only takes narrow paper and doesn't give you half the facilities. THERMAL BROTHER EP-22 The EP-22 is quite cheap and will take either thermal paper or a carbon ribbon. It has a keyboard, which makes it a word processor too. PRICE: £169.95 INTERFACES: RS232 REVIEW: Issue 35 FEED MECH: Pinch PRINT MECH: Thermal paper or thermal carbon ribbon PAPER SIZE: A4 width SPEED (APPROX): 16cps POWER SUPPLY: 4 U2 batteries AVAILABILITY: Brother [redacted] BROTHER HR5 The HR5 thermal printer from Brother basically uses the same mechanism as the EP-22 and EP-44. PRICE: £180.55 INTERFACES: RS232 REVIEW: Issue 47 FEED MECH: Pinch PRINT MECH: Thermal paper or carbon ribbon PAPER SIZE: A4 width SPEED (APPROX): 16cps POWER SUPPLY: 4 U2 batteries AVAILABILITY: Jones & Brother [redacted] DOT MATRIX SMITH CORONA D200 If you want a dot matrix that does nearly everything for your needs then the Smith Corona D200, at £483, is a good buy. PRICE: £483 INTERFACES: RS232 and Centronics, both fitted REVIEW: Issue 87 FEED MECH: Pinch and tractor PAPER SIZE: A4 width SPEED: 160cps FEATURES: 2K internal buffer, NLQ AVAILABILITY: Smith Corona dealers WALTERS WM80 If you just want a workhorse with no fancy bits, then choose a bottom-end machine such as this. PRICE: £189.75 INTERFACES: RS232 or Centronics REVIEW: Issue 43 FEED MECH: Pinch and tractor PAPER SIZE: A4 width SPEED: 80cps AVAILABILITY: Walters Microsystems International, [redacted] COLOUR INTEGREX COLORJET The Integrex Colorjet is mainly for BBC and Apple owners. A BBC screen dump program comes with this very versatile printer. PRICE: £632.50 INTERFACES: RS232 and Centronics REVIEW: Issue 51 and 44 FEED MECH: Pinch PAPER SIZE: A4 width SPEED: 37cps AVAILABILITY: Integrex [redacted] COMMODORE MPS 801 There are no frills on this and you will have difficulty attaching it to anything except a Commodore. PRICE: £395.95 INTERFACES: I triple Commodorey REVIEW: Issue 79 FEED MECH: Pinch and tractor PAPER SIZE: A4 width SPEED: 38cps AVAILABILITY: Commodore [redacted] DAISIES JUKI 6100 The Juki 6100 has above average speed at 17cps and is a nice cheap daisy wheel printer although it does have a few rough edges. PRICE: £385.25 INTERFACES: RS232 and Centronics REVIEW: Issue 17 FEED MECH: Pinch WHEEL TYPES: Triumph Adler PAPER SIZE: Up to 13in SPEED: 17cps AVAILABILITY: Most dealers SMITH CORONA L1000 The L1000 from Smith Corona is a good quality printer if a little noisy and slow. £50 extra for a parallel interface. PRICE: £368 INTERFACES: RS232 and Centronics REVIEW: Issue 78 FEED MECH: Pinch and optional tractor feed WHEEL TYPES: Smith Corona PAPER SIZE: Up to 13in SPEED: 12cps AVAILABILITY: Smith Corona dealers MODEMS Modems could well be classed as the up and coming peripheral of 1985. With the rapid growth of bulletin boards and the increase in Prestel-type systems, the number of cheap modems available has doubled since last year. One of the problems that beset their introduction was BABT/BSI approval. The modems had to be sent to the BABT or BSI for testing for compatibility with BT's telephone network. By the middle of 1984, there were so many modems awaiting the green sticker that people started selling them without. Things have settled down a bit now and there are a number of good modems on the market. These can be split up into different types - direct connection, acoustic coupler, single speed, or multi speed. The standard transmission speeds are 300/300 and 120005. The first is generally used for bulletin boards, although both Prestel and Telecom Gold are available on this speed. Whatever modem you buy, make sure you get one that fits your needs as far as baud rates go, otherwise you may feel a bit left out. COMMODORE COMMUNICATIONS Those with a Commodore 64 needn't feel left out. The Commodore Communications modem gives you access to Compunet, of course, and also Prestel. In the near future, Commodore is going to produce some software to allow user to user communication. If you want to use the various bulletin boards, you will have to acquire an RS232 port and a standard 300 modem. PRICE: £99.95 BATA?: Yes BAUD RATES: Full duplex 1200/75 INTERFACE: Commodore cartridge port and direct connection to BT CONTACT: Commodore dealers PRISM VTX 5000 One of the most popular modems for the Spectrum is the Prism VTX 5000. If you only want access to Micronet and Prestel it is ideal, although it can have a few problems with Interface 1. The way around this is to connect the whole system up without the modem and let it warm up (go and make a cup of coffee). Once warm, the VTX5000 can be connected (after powering down again) and it will work. PRICE: £99.95 BATA?: Yes BAUD RATES: Full duplex 1200/75 INTERFACE: Spectrum system bus and direct connection to BT CONTACT: Micronet 800, [redacted] PACE NIGHTINGALE The Pace Nightingale is another multi speed modem with both Bell and CCITT frequencies. It is a hard wire modem ie it connects directly into the telephone socket. Built mainly to be used with the BBC, for which the Commstar ROM is available, the complete package costs about £136. It is also available for any other RS232 compatible communications package. PRICE: £136.85 BATA?: Yes BAUD RATES: Full duplex 300/300 1200/75 INTERFACE: RS423/232 CONTACT: Pace Software [redacted] MINOR MIRACLES WS2000 The Minor Miracle WS2000 is great for bulletin board hackers and Prestel users alike. It lacks auto dial and auto answer facilities, which are a little expensive at £30 each but at least you're given the option. PRICE: £149.44 Auto dial and answer boards extra at £30 each BATA?: Yes BAUD RATES: Full duplex 300, 1200/75, half duplex 600,1200 INTERFACE: RS232 with DTR, RTS, CTS, DCD handshaking EXTRAS: Also has the Bell 103/113, 108, 202 and CCITT, V21, V23 tones standards fitted. CONTACT: Minor Miracles [redacted] SENDATA 700B For the ultimate in portability, it is hard to beat the Sendata 700B acoustic modem, distributed by Tandy. This modem will fit onto any standard telephone via its flexible connector so you can use it in a phone box if you don't mind the pips corrupting your data. PRICE: £235 BATA?: Yes BAUD RATES: Full duplex 300/300 INTERFACE: RS232 to the computer, and acoustic modem to BT CONTACT: Sendata [redacted] MONITORS The major excuse for not buying a monitor is that it's not strictly necessary if you have a TV. The counter arguments are that with a monitor you can see your superb high-resolution graphics with less eyestrain. The clincher is that someone else might want to watch TV. You mostly measure a monitor's quality by its bandwidth. This defines how fast the individual dots are scanned on the screen so obviously the faster it does this, the better the picture will be. 10MHz is at the low end of the range with the better colour monitors having over 20MHz. Another consideration is whether to buy colour or monochrome. The latter comes in various different coloured phosphors, usually green on green. Other options are orange on orange or grey on grey, if you want full colour, you must pay quite a lot more for high quality. If you are not too bothered about that there are a number of converted TV tube monitors available for much less. CHEAP COLOUR At the very cheap end come the JVC and Fidelity converted TV tube-type monitors. The JVCs come in two different versions, medium- and high-resolution. The 1302-2 is the high-resolution version but has a rather dirty white. This is generally caused by the quality of the phosphors used. However, it's not at all bad for £229.95. The lower priced version, the 1302-1, costs less at £149.95 but the bandwidth is not as good. MONITOR: JVC 1302-1/1302-2 PRICE: £253 RESOLUTION: 370 x 470 pixels/580 x 470 CRT SIZE: 14in/14in BANDWIDTH: 6MHz/10MHz CHARACTERS: 80 x 25/80 x 25 CONNECTION: RGB analogue/TTL SYNC: Pos or neg AVAILABILITY: Opus Supplies, [redacted] The Fidelity CM14 resembles the JVCs ie it's a converted TV tube. Its advantage is that it can be interfaced to a number of different machines, and has a built-in speaker and amplifier to allow access to, for instance, the Commodore 64's sound output. Cables for a number of machines are available from Tape Recorder Spares. One drawback to the CM14 is that it gives a better picture with some computers such as the Oric, but a bad one with others, notably the Dragon. MONITOR: Fidelity CM14 PRICE: £228 RESOLUTION: 370 x 470 pixels CRT SIZE: 14in BANDWIDTH: 12MHz CHARACTERS: 80 x 25 CONNECTION: RGB TTL, Audio input (1Kohm imp) SYNC: Pos or neg AVAILABILITY: Micro Peripherals [redacted] BETTER QUALITY Near the top of the range of colour monitors are Kaga, Microvitec, and one from Prism. The latter looks suspiciously like the Fidelity although it is better quality. The Kaga monitors come in a range, at the top of which is the Vision III. This has a black anti-glare tube and good colours. MONITOR: Kaga Vision III PRICE: £370 RESOLUTION: 640 x 440 CRT SIZE: 12in BANDWIDTH: 18MHz CHARACTERS: 80 x 25 CONNECTION: RGB AVAILABILITY: MBS Data Efficiency, [redacted] The Cub is popular and usually found attached to BBCs. The range is wide but the standard version is probably the most common. MONITOR: Microvitec Cub 1431 PRICE: £225 RESOLUTION: 452 x 585 CRT SIZE: 12in BANDWIDTH: 18MHz CHARACTERS: 80 x 25 CONNECTION: RGB TTL AVAILABILITY: Dealers MONOCHROME There are several monochromes around, and again, you pay for quality. A very average green-on-green monitor is Zenith's. This produces a fairly good picture on its 12in tube. It does have a switched option to allow the screen size to be altered between 40 or 80 columns. MONITOR: Zenith 123E PRICE: £90.85 RESOLUTION: 640 x 300 CRT SIZE: 12in BANDWIDTH: 18MHz CHARACTERS: 80 x 25 or 40 x 25 CONNECTION: Composite video AVAILABILITY: Most dealers Since most home micros now have an RF output socket as standard, many people want to use them with TVs. The quality of picture varies but the Sony Trinitron range is generally the best. MONITOR: Sony Trinitron KV1430 PRICE: £249 RESOLUTION: 320 x 250 CRT SIZE: 14in CHARACTERS: 60 x 25 CONNECTION: UHF switchable. AVAILABILITY: Electrical stores STORAGE Most home micros can only store data and programs on cassette, which can be a major hassle. The first big upgrade step that most micro owners take is some kind of fast access, mass storage system. For most machines this means a disk drive although for the Spectrum, Microdrives or Wafa drives are usually cheaper. As well as the disk/wafer drive, most machines need an interface to allow them to control the system. The odd one out is the Commodore 64 which has all the necessary bits and pieces built in. The problem here is that it can only be used with Commodore disk units (a typical Commodore gambit). SPECTRUM The main Spectrum storage system is the Sinclair Microdrive. This needs the Interface 1 to be fitted but once in, up to eight drives can be used, each giving access to 85K or so of storage. Unfortunately, this is not too reliable and is still rather slow, and there's no fancy filing system. The additional commands are those printed on the top row of the keyboard in red, so there are no random access files and no way of telling what type the file is until you try to load it. A better system is the Rotronics Wafa drive. This gives access to more storage space and a few more details about file types and sizes. The wafers, so far, have also been found to be much more reliable than the Sinclair Micro cartridges. SYSTEM: ZX Microdrive expansion pack PRICE: £99.95 COMMENTS: Comes with Interface 1, a single Microdrive, four pieces of software, an introductory cartridge, and a blank. Extra drives at £49.95 each. Interface 1 has a pseudo RS232 and a network port. AVAILABILITY: High street stores SYSTEM: Rotronics Wafa drive PRICE: £129.95 COMMENTS: Includes two drives, a word processor and a blank cartridge. Also includes an RS232 and a Centronics port. AVAILABILITY: High street stores BBC The BBC has one of the better filing systems found on home micros. From Basic you get proper random access files, loading and saving of programs and data with the big bonus that it is fast. The drawbacks are that you must have your Beeb altered and a disk controller fitted, costing around £100. You are also limited to a maximum of 31 files per disk and only four drives.The Acorn system is the most common, so if you don't buy its disk drives (which are not the best) you won't get a format program or a disk manual. Most dealers have sussed this and will sell you some other drives with the format disk included, or just the format disk at a nominal cost. The manual or a facsimile can be obtained in most good computer stores. There are a number of alternative filing systems for the BBC. These include the AMCOM, Watford, plus many others. They are not standard and some AcornSoft programs may not run on them. They do, however, improve on the Acorn DFS by getting around the 31 file limit. Which one you get depends on its price, performance, and what you want to do. Also for the BBC are a number of fast tape systems, including the Ikon Ultradrive and the Phloopy. The Ultradrive is better and costs about a quarter the price of a disk system. SYSTEM: Acorn DFS Upgrade PRICE: £115 Fitted DISK DRIVES: Cumana 100K £171.35, 200K £222 AVAILABILITY: Acorn Dealers SYSTEM: Watford DFS PRICE: In kit form £142.60 for single density, £97.75 for double density COMMENTS: The single density (100K 40 track) is more expensive due to the 8271 disk controller costing £90 AVAILABILITY: Watford Electronics [redacted] SYSTEM: Ikon Ultradrive PRICE: £79.95 COMMENTS: Pack of 6 cassettes £20.13 AVAILABILITY: Ikon Computer Products [redacted] AMSTRAD The Amstrad has a disk system in the offing, from Amstrad itself. This is a Hitachi drive and can be accessed from Basic using the definable I command to give IA, IB to select which drive, ITAPE, IDISC, ICPM, IDIR, IERA, and IUSER. From Basic there are, unfortunately, no random access files. The facilities are minimal with no proper filing. However, it does come with a full CP/M system and DR Logo fitted. The CP/M is the same good old standard that has been around for a number of years, the assembler is for the 8080 but on the whole, it paves the way for the Amstrad to become a full business system. SYSTEM: DDI-1 PRICE: £199.95 COMMENTS: Includes interface CP/M and DR Logo AVAILABILITY: High street stores INPUTS Input devices are things like joysticks, add-on keyboards, touchpads and light pens. Most of these can be simply plugged in and either come with their own software or can be used with existing games. Most computers have a minimum of a keyboard for input but some, most notably the original Spectrum Minus, have a keyboard that is less than suitable for a great deal of typing, as in word processing. Due to this, there has been a ready supply of add-on keyboards offerings from, for instance, Fuller, Cheetah, Transform and lately Sinclair itself, with the launch of the Spectrum Plus. Touchpads also seem to be booming with the release of the Touchmaster system for the Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Dragon. Also in the running is the KoalaPad but this is mainly for the Commodore 64 and the Apple. Also in the range of peripherals to help you with your graphics are light pens. These are usually for the Commodore 64 and imported from the US. A number of add-on Spectrum keyboards are available and most require fitting by the user. All you do is invalidate your guarantee by opening up the Spectrum's case, and pull out the keyboard connectors. These are then replugged into the add-on keyboard with the Spectrum circuit board and the add-on box re-assembled. A simpler way uses a buffer that plugs directly into the back of the Spectrum, so you don't have to invalidate your guarantee. KEYBOARD: Transform PRICE: £69.95 FITTING: Invalidates guarantee AVAILABILITY: Transform [redacted] KEYBOARD: Fuller FDS PRICE: £49.95 FITTING: Invalidates guarantee AVAILABILITY: Fuller [redacted] KEYBOARD: Stonechip PRICE: £59.95 FITTING: Plugs straight in AVAILABILITY: Stonechip Electronics [redacted] The peripheral for games players who want more speed and style is a joystick. The shape, size, and quality vary greatly but a rule of thumb is that quality costs more. Joysticks also fall into two types, is switched and analogue. The former is by far the most common with the usual connection being the standard Atari D plug with nine pins. Commodore, Atari, and Spectrum use this type and it is normally possible to obtain an interface for most other machines. The BBC micro is left out when it comes to joysticks as it uses the analogue type. These tend to be more expensive but more flexible to use. The major thing to watch out for is whether the stick might break just as you escape from the whirling hurling alien that is breathing down your back. One of the best is the Quickshot MkII, which comes with suction cups on the base to stop it slipping at tight moments. It also has its fire button built into the handle - good value for £12.95. Another good 'un is the Kempston Pro which doesn't have the fire button in the handle. It has two in tandem on the base allowing use by fight or left handers. It is also very solid. The BBC requires analogue sticks that plug into the analogue port at the back. The recommended version is marketed by Acorn but it seems to have been designed the wrong way round and is difficult to control. Other versions such as the Shado sticks from Spectrum at £16.95, come with an automatic centering mechanism that improves things no end. Of the light pen systems available, most and by far the best, are for the Commodore 64. The Flexidraw package from Inkwell Systems costs £140 but the accompanying software is flexible with full rubber banding, circles, fills, and a zoom. For the BBC, the best graphics package available is the BitStick. The trouble is that this does require the 6502 second processor and disk drives plus a souped-up joystick. However, for your money you get a system that will allow very high quality graphics to be designed and stored. The cleverest part is where you can zoom into part of a picture and then into a smaller part and so on until you run out of disk space. This means pictures can be designed with much more detail than is possible to see on screen. The major drawbacks are the price (£375 plus £199 for the second processor), and the lack of a suitable printer/plotter to obtain hard copy. The Spectrum is way behind in the graphics stakes with Touchmaster, DK'Tronics, and Stack being the few to produce something. The packages that come with these systems are primitive compared with other machines. The problem appears to be lack of interest from the US. The Touchmaster system costs £149.95 and is available from Touchmaster on [redacted]. The DK'Tronics light pen costs £19.95 and is available from DK'Tronics [redacted].

Crash

BATTLEFIELD JOYSTICK Joysticks are your most immediate connection with any game you play - the man-machine interface. The melting joystick makes a nice image for an advertiser who's suggesting that his games can beat anything, but do joysticks in real life really stand up to the beating they receive, are they tough enough for the job, do they move well, are the handles right, will the buttons fire? The CRASH reviewing team settled down for a weekend of joystick bashing on several types and makes, and here we look at the results... There are now many makes of joystick available, and almost as many types as there are makes. Each boasts design innovations so that it is better than all the others - and they come in a range of prices too. We all know that joysticks on arcade machines take a battering, so too do those at home. Do they stand up? We tested 19 joysticks from well known manufacturers to see how they all compared. A joystick must be able to withstand games that require fast and repeated movement, so what better than Ocean's Daley Thompson's Decathlon? We used the Commodore version of the game because it is more violent than the Spectrum! But it isn't only toughness; joysticks must also be capable of fine and positive movement, comfortable to use with sensible fire buttons. Several arcade skill games were used to test four major points for both the stick action and the fire button action. TRAVEL means the maximum movement between opposite poles (e.g. up/down) on the stick, and how far the fire button had to be depressed. On stick action over 1.5 inches was considered to be very long. Oddly, some of the short sticks had longer to travel than the taller sticks. ACTION FORCE means the amount of hand or finger pressure required to keep the stick pressed over or the fire button down. REACTION SPEED indicates how fast contact is made, how quickly the action affects the game, and how well rapid movements can be made (especially rapid fire buttons). RESPONSE/FEEDBACK indicates how positive the stick or fire action feels and whether there is any physical or audible feedback to tell the player that contact has been made. ERGONOMICS how useful is the stick for hand held playing, and how well does it operate on a table top. Is the stick well designed for comfort, ease of fire action and general stability. After preliminary testing, the joysticks all went through ten minutes of the Decathlon to see how long they were likely to stand up to use. During this test, some joysticks broke. Finally, all the sticks have 9 pin D connectors and are Atari compatible on the pin outs. They all need an interface of one sort or another to work with the Spectrum (except the clip-ons). Some offer 2 independent fire actions, but these only work with either a Cambridge interface or the programmable Comcon from Frei Ltd., which was the interface used for this test. Each joystick review is split into two halves; firstly a brief technical breakdown; secondly the review team's report. PRO ACE Supplier: Sumklock Microware, [redacted] Price: £12.95 Lever Action: Strong plastic handle suspended between two plastic bushes. Central copper star acting as self-centering spring and contacting 4 copper rivets Fire Action: Oblong fire button at 12 o'clock operating copper contact switch. Trigger button at tip of stick activates copper plate contact. Ergonomics: Average size easy grip enclosure for handheld operation. Rubber feet for table operation. Left and righthanders welcome. Lead: Plastic moulded D connector and retaining grommet. Weak point: Copper contact star can weaken and deform. Soft copper contact surface creates dust and can oxidise if not used over long period. STICK ACTION Travel: long Action force: very hard Reaction speed: slow Response/feedback: very poor and irregular - up/down was not too bad but left/right was terrible, and a lot of slack FIRE ACTION Travel: long on stick button, very long on base button. Action force: medium. Reaction speed: poor Response/feedback: poor, no indication or 'feel'; rather rubbery. Ergonomics: the shaped base fits the hand well with a well positioned left or right hand base fire button, but very unstable on a table top, especially with the sticky travel. The long thin stick is quite comfortable to hold. Life expectancy: top fire button pulls out too easily, the copper contacts bend out of shape easily with use, causing erratic response. The general stick response and travel means that the handle will take a beating on hard, fast games. SPECTRUM MECHANICAL Supplier: EEC Ltd., [redacted] Price: £9.95 Lever Action: Plastic shaft strengthened by long selftapping screw suspended in rubber mount activates via cam plate four flexible key actuating fingers. Fire Action: None Fixing: integrally moulded clip grips. Main body flexes under use. STICK ACTION Travel: long Action force: heavy. Reaction speed: poor Response/feedback: no feedback and generally poor response as casing flexes greatly during play. Ergonomics: This unit clips over the edges of the computer and is made from one piece. This means that together with the stiff stick movement the unit flexes heavily during use, especially with more violent games, and this sometimes renders the key pressed inoperable. The tendency to move away from position during play can also disenable any 8 directional movement. Life expectancy: not very high on fast games, and indeed there may be the slight chance of damaging the computer in a game like the Decathlon. FLIGHTLINK Supplier: Flightlink Control Ltd., [redacted] Price: £10.50 Lever Action: Short Steel short suspended in brass bell bush and compression spring for self-centering action. Plastic bush activates subminiature microswitches. Fire Action: 2 miniature square fire buttons at 6 o'clock. Two independent fire actions in combination with appropriate interface. Ergonomics: No rubber feet. Lever shaped body for handheld operation. Left and right-handers welcome. Lead: D type connector with plastic cover. No grommet Weak point: Lead entry point unprotected. STICK ACTION Travel: long. Action force: very light Reaction speed: fast. Response/feedback: good, positive lock at end of travel for secondary compass points, but tends to slide on primary compass points (left/right/up/down). FIRE ACTION Travel: medium long. Action force: light. Reaction speed: fast - good for rapid fire. Response/feedback: some slack but reasonably firm and positive. Ergonomics: handheld is very good because of small size and light weight but overall a bit pathetic on the table top. The 2 independent fire buttons are in a straight line, which make them a bit awkward for table use, as supporting hand is in the way. Life expectancy: because of fight action and metal construction, stands up to a hard game very well. Life should be quite good. SLIK STIK Supplier: Consumer Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £9.95 Lever Action: Short rubber mounted steel shaft contacting 4 rigid contact plates in end position. Tough short throw movement. Fire Action: 1 left-hand round fire button at left 10/11 o'clock position in enclosure. No trigger button. Ergonomics: No rubber feet or suction cups. Small well rounded body for handheld operation. Left-handers only Lead: Plastic moulded D type connector and sleeved retaining grommet Weak point: Moulded plastic support wall for contact plates can crack and break off. STICK ACTION Travel: very short Action force: medium Reaction speed: good. Response/feedback: quite positive feel and solid end stop with solid clunk. FIRE ACTION Travel: short Action force: medium to hard. Reaction speed: good. Response/feedback: sort of sticky feel, but solid end stop with loud clunk. Ergonomics: lightweight construction and small size make it good for handheld use and reasonably stable on a table top, the corner position of the fire button is good for right handers, but poor for left handers. Life expectancy: Pretty good because of the short stick, short travel and steel shaft. It feels quite safe even on a hard game. KEMPSTON PRO 5000 Supplier: Kempston Micro Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £13.50 Lever Action: Strong steel shall suspended in rubber bush. Leaf contact switches actuated by nylon bush. Fire Action: 2 large arcade style round fire buttons actuating leaf contact switches Ergonomics: Average size well rounded enclosure for handheld operation. Rubber feet for table top operation. Lead: Plastic moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Week point: Body flexes under use. STICK ACTION Travel: short Action force: medium Reaction speed: instant Response/feedback: no audible feedback but fairly good response overall. FIRE ACTION Travel: very short. Action force: very light - good rapid fire. Reaction speed: fast. Response/feedback: good with hard, positive feel Ergonomics: not very good for handheld use with the large base but reasonably steady on a table top. The two large arcade style fire buttons on the base are well placed for left or right-hand use, and the round knob shaped stick is comfortable to hold. The slightly stiffer action of the stick on this version of the 5000 make it slightly more tiring to use on the Decathlon. Life expectancy: Good KEMPSTON PRO 3000 Supplier: Kempston Micro Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £12.75 Lever Action: Hollow plastic shaft supported in rubber washer actuating 4 leaf contact switches. Fire Action: 2 trigger buttons (trigger finger and thumb) and one banana shaped fire button at 12'o clock. All fire buttons operate one leaf contact switch. Ergonomics: Small rubber feet. Handheld or table top operated. Lead: Moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved grommet Weak point: very weak hollow plastic shaft STICK ACTION Travel: medium long Action force: medium to hard. Reaction speed: quite fast Response/feedback: slow, very soggy feel and imprecise. FIRE ACTION Travel: base button medium - top and trigger buttons long. Action force: medium Reaction speed: poor Response/feedback: not very positive, soggy feel and no feedback. Ergonomics: similar to PRO 1000 - top fire button badly placed for handheld use. On a table the base button is in the way of second hand holding base fire button which occupies most of the front of the base. Trigger fire is quite well placed. Life expectancy: the hard game proved too much for this joystick, which broke, the stick snapping off at the base, before its ten minutes were up. The somewhat thin hollow plastic stick obviously lowers life expectancy rather drastically if hard games are going to be played with it. KEMPSTON PRO 1000 Supplier: Kempston Micro Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £10.99 Lever Action: Hollow plastic shaft supported in rubber washer actuating 4 leaf contact switches. Fire Action: Banana shaped red fire button operates leaf contact switch. Ergonomics: Handheld or table top operated (rubber feet). Lead: Moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved grommet Weak point: Very weak hollow plastic shaft STICK ACTION Travel: short. Action force: hard. Reaction speed: medium. Response/feedback: no feedback, rubbery feel to the stick and even on a slow game it felt as though the handle might break at any second FIRE ACTION Travel: medium long Action force: medium hard and tiring for rapid fire. Reaction speed: slow. Response/feedback: no feedback, again - very rubbery. Ergonomics: seems fine for handheld use at first, but not well designed as centre of gravity is all wrong to be able to operate stick and fire at the same time. Not too bad on a table top, quite stable with supporting hand holding it tightly, but too much resistance for single handed stick operation. Again, the long, curving base fire button gets in the way of the supporting hand. Life expectancy: Joystick was rendered useless after two minutes of Decathlon, because the stick snapped off at the base. Same thin, hollow Construction as the Pro 3000. COMPETITION PRO Supplier: Euromax Electonice Ltd., [redacted] Price: £16.95 Lever Action: Strong steel shaft suspended in rubber bush. 4 industry standard V3 microswitches actuated by plastic bush. Fire Action: 2 large arcade style round fire buttons actuating leaf contact switches. Ergonomics: Average size well rounded enclosure for handheld operation. Rubber feet for table top operation. Plastic moulded 0 type connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Weak point: Body flexes under action STICK ACTION Travel: short, in fact just about right. Action force: light. Reaction speed: instant. Response/feedback: although in most respects identical to the Pro 5000 this stick has audible clicks - generally very good. FIRE ACTION Travel: very short. Action force: very light - good rapid fire Reaction speed: Fast. Response speed: good, with hard positive feel. Ergonomics: base too large for handheld use, stable on table top with well placed left hand fire buttons on base. Comfortable knob shaped slick. Life expectancy: Good. ATARI Supplier: Atari International, [redacted]. Price: £7.50 Lever Action: Nylon shaft supported between pivot point and upper shoulder support. Nylon actuator ring activates 4 dome switches on pcb. Plastic gaiter and deformation of ring creates self-centering force. Fire Action: One round fire button at 10/1 1 o'clock activates dome switch. Ergonomics: Average size square body for hand-held operation Rubber feet for table top operation. Lead: Moulded D typo connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Weak Point: Actuator ring will wear and snap. STICK ACTION Travel: short Action Force: light to medium. Reaction: good Response/feedback: no feedback, soggy feel which gets soggier with use and hardens up with disuse. FIRE ACTION Travel: medium. Action Force: light. Reaction Speed: good - very good rapid fire Response/Feedback: very firm feel but no feedback. Ergonomics: the hand-sized square base and light construction are ideal for hand-held use, although the corner placed fire button can be awkward, and isn't very good for left-handers. Life Expectancy: not too long, but reasonable considering price. SUPER JOY Supplier: Spectravideo Ltd., [redacted] Price: £9.95 Lever Action: Plastic shaft with actuator ring activating 4 dome switches on pcb. Deformation of ring creates self centering action. Shaft Supported between lower pivot point and upper shoulder bearing. Fire Action: 3 firing buttons, on lever thumb switch, two on side of enclosure (10 and 2 o'clock). All three activate dome switches. Ergonomics: Slim body suitable for handheld operation. 4 suction cups for table operation. Lead: Moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Weak point: Actuator ring will wear and snap. STICK ACTION Travel: short. Action force: very light. Reaction speed: medium fast. Response/feedback: not very good - a lot of play in the stick and then over travel. FIRE ACTION Travel: short. Action force: light Reaction speed: medium to slow. Response/feedback: no good for rapid fire with top stick button and oddly placed twin fires on either side of the base. Quite a positive click. Ergonomics: quite good for handheld use with slim sides to the base - we found the side buttons hard to use. On the table the narrow base with large suction cups make single handed stick operation hopeless, and the cups tend to give it a soggy feel overall. The long stick travel was found to be too much for the Decathlon and the thin base, even with supporting hand, makes wobble too much in a fast game. Life expectancy: if the unit had actually had good suction cups, it wood have smashed to bits within minutes on the Decathlon - as it was the units base only lasted the ten minutes before coming apart at the base seam with the side buttons sliding inside. It was repairable. FAMOUS REDBALL Supplier: CGL, [redacted] Price: £23 Lever Action: Long and hefty steel shaft supported in elastomeric bearing. Plastic ball sleeve activates 4 leaf contact switches Fire Action: Thumb activated lever switch activates leaf contact via central tappet and dome head. Round fire button at 10/11 o'clock activates further leaf contact. Ergonomics: Large body with 4 rubber feet designed for table top operation Lead: Moulded D type connector and integrally moulded sleeved retaining grommet. Special feature: Button selector switch for lever or enclosure fire button control. Weak point: Lever suspension allows slight axial movement which can activate fire leaf contact by mistake. STICK ACTION Travel: medium long. Action force: medium Reaction speed: good. Response/feedback: no audible feedback, response quite springy. FIRE ACTION Travel: short to contact with over travel. Action force: light Reaction speed: last - good rapid fire from base not bad from stick top Response/feedback: positive response, feels solid on base, less so on stick button. Ergonomics: solid and heavy base make it very stable, but hard to hand hold. The round knob shaped stick is comfortable and very good for single handed use as the top fire button can be disenabled for hand over the top action. The disenabling switch is at the rear of the base. Flexing of the centre steel shaft however, can cause unwanted firing action during direction movement, and is particularly pronounced during fast games. Life expectancy: very good due to solid construction. THREE WAY DELUXE Supplier: CGL, [redacted] Price: £25 Lever Action: Long tough steel shaft suspended in elastomeric bearing support. Plastic ball sleeve activates 4 leaf contact switches Fire Action: Thumb lever switch activates leaf contact via tappet and dome head. Extra fire button at 10/11 o'clock activates further leaf contact switch. Ergonomics: Moulded D type connector end moulded sleeved retaining grommet. Special feature: Fire function selector disables body mounted fire button. Three different grips provided, which can be pushed onto steel shaft. Grips have 360 degree rotation. Weak point: Shaft suspension allows slight axial movement which can trigger off fire button inadvertently. STICK ACTION Travel: very long Action force: medium. Reaction speed: good. Response/feedback: some over travel, otherwise a positive end stop, no audible clicks. FIRE ACTION Travel: medium on stick top and long on base button. Action force: light Reaction speed: fast, good rapid fire from either button. Response/feedback: light clicks, rather soft in feel. Ergonomics: base identical to Famous Red Ball, so not good for handheld use but steady on table top. A base mounted slide switch allows either both or only one fire button to operate. The steel centre shaft has pull off handle which may be replaced with one of two others, so there is a moulded grip handle. This allows a wide range of individual grips and is an unusual feature. Again, like the Famous Red Ball, the flexing centre shaft can cause unwanted fire action during directional movement. On a fast game, the tendency of the handles to twist around the shaft can be disorienting. Life expectancy: stood up very well, and because of solid construction, should have a long life. THE BOSS Supplier: CGL, [redacted] Price: £13 Lever Action: Steel shaft supported in elastomeric bearing. Plastic ball sleeve activates 4 leaf contact switches. Fire Action: Thumb activated lever switch activates leaf contact via tappet and dome head. Ergonomics: Average size body for handheld operation. 4 rubber feet for table top operation. Lever grip can be rotated. Lead: Moulded D type connector and integrally moulded sleeved retaining grommet. Weak point: Lever suspension allows slight movement which can activate fire leaf contact by mistake. STICK ACTION Travel: long on over travel Action force: medium. Reaction speed: medium. Response/feedback: no feedback, response a little soft but reasonable. FIRE ACTION Travel: short to contact with over travel. Action force: very light. Reaction speed: fast - good rapid fire. Response/feedback: good positive response, no feedback. Ergonomics: rather heavy, solid construction and large base makes it awkward to hand hold, although a rebated underlie at the front and back do help. Moulded handle grip and top stick fire are reasonable for either hand use or table top, where the weight makes it reasonably stable. The handle twists on the base, which is uncomfortable and disorienting. Life expectancy: quite good as the whole is very solid but the long over travel on the tall stick may put it at risk on regular hard games. VOLTMACE DELTA 3S Supplier: Voltmace Ltd, [redacted] Price: £10.00 Lever Action: Short steel shaft, gimble mechanism operating two small rotary switches, two small tension springs for self-centering action. Fire Action: 3 small fire buttons operating rubber membrane switches. Two independent fire actions in conjunction with appropriate interface. Central green fire button F1, two red buttons for F2. Ergonomics: Calculator style flat enclosure for hand-held operation. No rubber feel for table top operation. Lead: Moulded D type connector, no grommet. Weak Point: Life of Rotary switch contacts may be limited, lead entry point. STICK ACTION Travel: long over-travel but short dead travel. Action Force: exceptionally light. Reaction Speed: instant. Response/Feedback: very good response, not much feedback. FIRE ACTION Travel: very short - more over travel. Action Force: very light. Reaction Speed: very good. Response/Feedback: nice firm end to travel, not much feedback. Ergonomics: above average for hand-held use with light stick travel and fire buttons within easy reach of thumb, ibis features 2 independent fire actions, with fire one using one button, and fire 2 using two for left or right-handed players. Very well laid out and light. It's long base makes it reasonable on the table although it moves in frenzied games. Life Expectancy: quite good because of the steel shaft. It 'feels' safe. SPECTRUM STICK Supplier: Grant Design Ltd., [redacted] Price: £9.95 Lever Action: Plastic handle suspended by lower pivot point and two upper slide plates with integrally moulded leaf spring for sell-centering. Slide plate cams activate key plungers. Fire Action: None Fixing: Left and right grip arms with stud and wing nuts. Weak point: Plastic arm will wear and snap. STICK ACTION Travel: very long. Action force: very light. Reaction speed: good. Response/feedback: no audible feedback, but feels positive. Ergonomics: this is a cursor key clip on joystick unit which mechanically depresses the cursor keys. It operates well in 8 directions and is quickly attached to the keyboard, leaving the zero key free for fire action. The short slick moves freely and feels good. Obviously it cannot be handheld and when attached to the computer is very stable! Life expectancy; surprisingly good, considering its light construction but not designed to withstand the onslaught of too many Decathlons. ARCADE PROFESSIONAL Supplier: Euromax Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £28.95 Lever Action: Short and strong steel shaft rotating in ball point bush compressed spring and nylon washer for self-centering action. 4 industry standard V3 lever operated microswitches actuated by nylon bush. Extra plastic end stop bush for 8 or 4 way action. Fire Action: 2 large body-mounted arcade style round fire buttons. Ergonomics: Large arcade style console for two hand operation. Heavy metal base with foam pad for stable table top use. Console top out of GRP with silver flake black high-gloss paint. Lead: Plastic moulded D type connector. Non retaining round grommet. Weak point: None STICK ACTION Travel: medium to long Action force: light. Reaction speed: instant. Response/feedback: good to excellent, very positive. FIRE ACTION Travel: medium to long. Action force: light. Reaction speed: very fast - excellent for rapid fire. Response/feedback: good, solid feel and clunky feedback. Ergonomics: handheld - you've got to be joking! It's huge! the large sized arcade style box makes it excellently stable and it has a low centre of gravity, hardly moves at all. Nice big arcade style fire buttons make life easy. Life expectancy: very good, it feels solid. Everyone felt this was just about the best on a hard game. QUICKSHOT 1 Supplier: Spectravideo Ltd, [redacted] Price: £9.95 Lever Action: Plastic shaft supported between pivot point and upper shoulder support. Plastic actuator ring actuates 4 dome switches on pcb. Deformation of ring creates sell-centering effect. Fire Action: One round fire button at 10/11 o'clock activates dome switch. Lever thumb switch activates dome switch. Ergonomics: Average size well rounded body for hand-held operation. 4 suction pads for table top operation. Lead: Moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved retaining grommet. Weak Point: Very weak actuator ring will wear and snap. STICK ACTION Travel: very long. Action Force: light to medium. Reaction Speed: good. Response/Feedback: audible click, but it didn't feel very responsive. FIRE ACTION Travel: short Action Force: medium. Reaction Speed: slow. Response/Feedback: audible click with positive feel, but resistance makes for poor rapid fire speeds Ergonomics: the long stick and large base with big suckers makes it poor for hand-held use, but reasonably stable on a table with the suction cups, although they give it a soggy feel. Life expectancy: not very long, showed signs of splitting along base seam, and the base area of the stick was starting to wear where it enters the base. QUICKSHOT 2 Supplier: Spectravideo Ltd., [redacted] Price: £11.95 Lever Action: Plastic shaft supported between pivot point and upper shoulder support. Plastic actuator ring activates 4 dome switches on pcb. Defamation of ring creates self centering force. Fire Action: Large trigger fire button and lever thumb switch both activating dome switches. Ergonomics: Average size moulded body for handheld operation. 4 suction feet for table top operation. Lead: Moulded D type connector and integrally moulded sleeved retaining grommet. Special feature: Rapid fire action increases firing power on single shot games. Provided constant stream of firing signals. Will not work with all interfaces, as it requires non standard 5V supply on the D connector. Weak point: Plastic actuator ring will wear and snap. STICK ACTION Travel: medium long Action force: medium Reaction speed: good Response/feedback: no feedback, overall rather soggy feel to it. FIRE ACTION Travel: very short. Action force: light. Reaction speed: good - reasonable rapid fire. Response/feedback: good, positive feel and audible click. Ergonomics: no good for hand held use with large base and suction cups in the way, although this makes it good on a table. This joystick has a Rapid Fire slide switch, which is badly placed so that the supporting hand tends to knock it on, and it doesn't always work with the Spectrum, causing all sorts of disasters! Top stick and trigger fire buttons are usefully placed. Life expectancy: better than Quickshot 1, medium expectancy - the long stick and travel means it gets rather a battering in fast games, especially with the full hand grip required. TRIGA COMMAND Supplier: Datel Electronics, [redacted] Price: £19.99 (excl. P & P) Lever Action: Nylon shaft supported between pivot point and upper ball support. Nylon actuator ring activates 4 dome switches on pcb. Deformation of ring creates self-centering action. Fire Action: Trigger button forces large copper contact to solid contact post. Ergonomics: Average size square body for handheld operation or with 3 separate suction cups for table operation. Large handgrip with trigger button. Lead: Moulded U type connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Weak point: Actuator ring and handgrip rotation stoppers will snap. STICK ACTION Travel: very long, although travel to response is short with long over travel. Action force: very light Reaction: very fast. Response/feedback: good response, long travel after contact makes life easy, no audible feedback. FIRE ACTION Travel: short to response, long over travel. Action force: very light. Reaction speed: medium - trigger action tires finger rapidly on fast firing games. Response/feedback: audible click - long travel after contact makes for a tiring fire action. Ergonomics: too large a base for comfortable handheld use, but light action and solid base make it very steady on a table. The large girth stick is comfortable to hold but the trigger fire is awkwardly pieced so that the finger tends to squeeze oh it, and its edges are quite sharp. This stick only has a trigger fire. Life expectancy: The large handle lends to twist too much and this combined with the long over travel makes it feel unsafe on a hard game, as though the stick would break off it survived the ten minutes however. THE ARCADE Supplier: Euromax Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £15.95 Lever Action: Steel shaft supported in tough rubber washer. Plastic dome on shaft activates 4 subminiature lever microswitches. Self-centering with rubber washer and plastic nose for endstop. Fire Action: Single large red fire button activates subminiature microswitch. Light action. Ergonomics: Hand or table operation with 4 rubber feet. Solid feel and operation. Lead: Moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Weak point: None. STICK ACTION Travel: very short Action force: hard. Reaction speed: slow and not very delicate. Response/feedback: not very good because of overall stiffness. FIRE ACTION Travel: long Action force: medium Reaction speed: slow - not good for rapid fire. Response/feedback: audible click, but soggy in feel. Ergonomics: quite good to hold, although the smallish, tapered base cause the hand to slip forwards in use. On the table, very stable with quiet games, although moves a bit on the faster ones because of hard action force required. Life expectancy: quite good, seems robust enough. This review does not cover the entire spectrum of joysticks on the market. Below you will find a further list of joysticks which may be reviewed in a later issue - God and the manufacturers of joystick willing. Please ask the suppliers listed in this review where to get hold of their products - not all operate a mail order service. COOKBRIDGE SURESHOT Supplier: Coookbridge Computer Supplies, [redacted]. Price: £15.95 CRACKSHOT Supplier: Jiles Electronics, [redacted]. Price: £7.50 SUPERCHAMP Supplier: Dean Electronics Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £12.95 QUICKSHOT 2+2 (modified Quickshot 2 with 2 independent fire actions and no rapid fire action) Supplier: Frel Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £13.95 LS JOYSTICK Supplier: Solidisk Technology Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £9.95 STARFIGHTER Supplier: Consumer Electronics Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £13.95 TAC 2 Supplier: Consumer Electronics Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £18.95 JOY SENSOR Supplier: Consumer Electronics Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £29.95

Sinclair User

COMCON CONTROL Frel Ltd has announced its new ComCon programmable joystick interface for the Spectrum. Any key on the keyboard can be programmed, including both shift keys, and there is provision for two independent fire buttons. The interface has arrays of pins which correspond to the keyboard and six leads representing the four directions and the two fire buttons. To program it you must plug the relevent lead into the pin you want. That can be done with a program running and the keyboard is not disabled. Any joystick with an Atari-style plug can be used. To allow for other add-ons there is an extender card which rises vertically from the front of the board. The two joysticks that Frel markets are the Flightlink and the Quickshot II which has been adapted to have two independent fire buttons. The joystick usually has an Auto-Fire feature but that has been removed. At £19.95, the interface is one of the cheapest on the market. The Flightlink joystick costs £10.50 and the Quickshot II is £13.95; a £2.00 reduction on either can be obtained if ordered at the same time as the interface. Further details from Frel Ltd, [redacted].

Big K

John Conquest

STICKS MAY BREAK... ...Or do their bearings in, but nothing fazes John Conquest. He's got plenty more to fall back on. Look through the computer mag ads and you'll see that there are a lot of people trying to sell you custom joysticks, all convinced that theirs is the real McCoy. "Arcade action", "instant response", "high quality", "professional" - writing joysticks ads looks like a doddle, but what we're concerned with here is the rather more difficult business of actually buying one. Obviously the first consideration is compatibility, whether or not the widget will fit your machine. Virtually all the joysticks currently available are designed to fit Atari video & computer systems and Commodores, though they'll also work on CBS's Colecovision videos (you'll still need a standard controller in the second port to make the games run). Wico supply adaptor leads for Apple and Radio Shack marchines and, like Suncom, for Texas instruments TI 99/4As. A rare exception is Suncom's Strike Commander (£18.95), made specifically for the BBC or Dragon, though Kempston are also planning a BBC stick. VEXED The vexed question of interfaces is one on which you'll need expert, and hopefully disinterested, advice. For Spectrums, the Kempston at £11.50, which will accept any stick, has only one drawback, a single port. For BBc's the Wizard at £14.95 is recommended. The basic rules are not to get joysticks with plugs jury-rigged to fit machines they weren't designed for (they don't work too well) and to avoid anything that needs a program to make it run. A less obvious but vital consideration is the size of your hand. Believe me, that's important. Many of the sticks I tried simply weren't comfortable, but might well suit someone with smaller, or indeed larger, hands and this applies especially to shaped grips. Unfortunately a lot of shops stock a very limited range, usually Quickshot IIs or Point Masters, so for this and many other reasons it's well worth while going to one of the big computer shops and trying your hand at their range. Lion House in London's Tottenham Court Road, for instance, has 17 models ready to be hooked up for demonstration, and the Silica shop in Sidcup reckons to have at least 15 of a possible 26 in stock at any given time. Even if you just try them for feel, you'll notice the differences. Ask yourself realistically how much you're going to use a stick. Price differences are almost entirely down to quality of construction and the cheap ones simply aren't up to a lot of punishment. If you're heavily into 'Decathalon', to take an extreme example, a cheap joystick is going to be a waste of money. With joysticks you get what you pay for with a vengeance, and Atari owners at least should calculate whet her they're really improving on the standard issue sticks. OBVIOUS The most obvious differences between cheap and not so cheap sticks are whether or not they have steel shafts, the grade of plastics (high impact or extruded) used and the general solidity of construction. What you don't see is the guts, which is what really sorts them out. Very few sticks have microswitches (though Kempston are rumoured to be using them in all future models), but the leaf switches found in most vary considerably in quality and the cheap ones have very limited lives. Also hidden inside the casing is the shaft mounting which is another thing that decides whether or not the stick will go on doing what you want it to do. You should also think about the kind of game you usually play. Sticks come in two basic configurations, with the fire button in the handle, either centre fire on the top or trigger fire in the handle itself, or mounted on the base. I'm convinced that handle fire is a major contribution to fire control. Most of the sticks with handle fire have a base button as well, which can be a nuisance when hand holding, and some base mountings are available in either left or right hand versions or already have both, either as separate buttons or as a bar across the width of the base. Most of the sticks mentioned were tested with Activision's Atari computer version of River Raid.It requires precise manoeuvre, reliable and responsive speed control and pinpoint fire - in other words it uses everything that a joystick ought to offer. The cheapest sticks around are Acorn at £13 a pair (soon to go up to £19), which are so terrible that nobody seems to stock them. The Pinnacle at £7.95 is admired more for its price than for the quality of its 8-way movement and handle and base fire buttons, but if you really want to spend the minimum, this is the one. For £9.95 you can get Spectravision's Quickshot I with centre handle fire and sucker feet, which, for rather more, is a standard Spectrum interface offering. Like its big brother (below) its shaped handle makes hand size critical. Easy to use, though because of the shaft mounting rather loose, it's as fragile as it looks and would last about five minutes in an arcade. Its leaf switches have a poor reputation. Alternatively there's Suncom's Slik Stik, the cheapest half way reasonable stick, which has a ball grip, a left hand side base fire button and is a nice hand size. Solidly made, it's the kind of thing Atari ought to be offering as standard. First in over the £10 mark is the very basic Kempston 1000 (£10.99) which has little over the Slik Stik except a base fire bar, workable from left or right. The handle suggests that it might best be controlled with the thumb. It's followed at £11.95 by the Quickshot II which is identical to the junior version already dealt with except that it has 'auto rapid fire' via a trigger in the handle, its main selling point. LOOSE FEEL The Triga Command (£12.99) has a very similar loose feel, again due to the shaft mounting, and looks very plasticky. It has a trigger tire only (and suctions cup feet) and comes in £19.99 versions for Spectrum and BBC. The handles design however is excellent with a diamond cross-cut pistol grip that is very satisfying. The much solider Kempston 3000 with handle centre, trigger and base fire bar buttons is El 2.75. At £12.95 you can choose between the Point Master, very similar to the Quickshot II but slightly less robust, and Sumlock's all-British Pro-Ace which resembles the Kempstons in its solid high-impact plastic construction and fire bar (plus centre fire in the handle), but which I found sluggish and awkwardly shaped. On the other hand, Sumlock back up the quality of their leaf switches with a two year warranty, so it should be pretty reliable in the long term. The top of the range Kempston 5000 (£13.50) is, again, a very solid piece of work with a ball grip on a short, tapered steel shaft and both left and right hand base fire buttons. It feels a bit stiff but I'm told that it wears in well. The next Suncom, the £13.95 Starfighter (also available in a ritzier version for Apple computers at a very ritzy £39.96) is a very nice hand size with excellent manoeuvre and speed control. It has a left hand base fire button and a stubby unshaped plastic handle that I found far too short, but that's me. Wico, like Suncom and American firm, make their first entry at £14.95 with The Boss, a muscular brute that I found very heavy to use, aggravating my advanced case of video wrist, but very positive. However as the hand grip is shaped for a much smaller hand than mine, it's virtually unusable in my glove size. The Arcade at £15.95 is the cheapest stick that one can get really enthusiastic about. Dutch made, with very superior microswitches, it's extremely positive and responsive, a real pleasure to use. This is an excellent device and highly recommended - not just by me but by Lion House where it's a big favourite. STEEL SHAFT Back to Suncom at £18,95 with the TAC which has a ball handle, steel shaft, nonslip feet and left and right hand side base fire buttons. A nice size for hand holding but, despite the amazing manoeuvre control, I find the shaft too short, the fire buttons need very firm instruction and the game (River Raid) seemed much speedier than with other sticks. The legendary Le Stick at £19.95 boasts unique mercury switches, but they're a mixed blessing. While it's ideal for one-handed use and suits games like Decathalon superbly, firing jogs the switches so that it has a tendency to jump about when you start shooting. Le Stick is if anything too responsive and so hard to control, making it a real wrist killer. QUALITY Jumping to £24.95 we have another Wico, the Red Ball a quality number with a longer steel shaft, a good size ball handle with built in fire button, plus another on the base, and all the control one expects from Wico widgets. However at this price I'd spring another £3 to get the £27.95 Wico Three Way. This is my personal favourite of all the sticks I tried and, for my money, the top of the range. It has a very long steel shaft, which means a far better 'throw', and three different clip-on handles, though in practice I only use one, the slim tapered job. The Three Way has a centre fire button in the handle and another on the base, but it offers a unique switching feature which enables one to cut off the base button, extremely useful if, like me, you like holding the stick in one hand and working it with the other. With other dual fire sticks it's very easy to find your fingers working both fire buttons, which may not be what you want. For River Raid at any rate the Three Way is the primp stick for control, fire accuracy, delicacy of manoeuvre, speed control and overall feel and response. TOUGH BABY From the same stable as The Arcade comes the Professional Mark at £28.95, which looks rather like it had been ripped off the front of an arcade machine. This is one tough baby and though I can't help wondering exactly what 'Professional' means in this context, if anything deserves the name this does. I imagine some of you must at some time have put your noses into a video arcade. If so, you'll know exactly what to expect from this one, The joker in the joystick pack is Suncom's Joy Sensor which looks rather like an upmarket version of Intellivision's control pad. I can't make it work and though I've heard rumours of people who have mastered it and love it. I've never actually met one of them. All it gives me is vicious oversteer. At £29.95 this seems like a real gamble, but maybe I'm missing something. MOVE BLIP All joysticks do pretty much the same thing, move a little blip round a TV screen. So how come there's a £20+ difference between the cheapest and the most expensive? Well, it depends on whether they're being made to a price or to a standard. I am not a racist... but. The tell-tale on the cheap sticks is the 'Made in Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea' and there's no getting away from the fact that they're not in the same class as the American and Dutch made sticks. The trick is to find one that suits both your hand and your pocket, which is why you need access to a wide range. However even the big shops have no consensus view; Lion House are big Wico fans, plugging the price range with the Pinnacle and The Arcade, while Silica Shop prefer the Suncom Slik Stik and Starfighter with the Quickshot as back up. To me the ideal stick would be a cross between the Triga (handle design), The Arcade (micro switches) and Wico Three Way (everything else), in the real world three sticks seem to me to stand out as value for money and they are: 1. Suncom Slik Stik - £9.95 2. The Arcade - £15.95. 3. Wico Three Way - £27.95

ABOVE: the Spectravision 2.

Both Spectras.

LEFT: Suncom Slik Stik. RIGHT: the Joy-Sensor vicious oversteer.

The Professional.

The WICO range - with the 3-Way top of the list.

The lot.

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

WHICH STICK? WE PRESENT THE RESULTS OF OUR JOYSTICK SURVEY A computer without a joystick is like a canoe without a paddle. No self respecting games player would want to be without a decent stick for his machine. Opinions vary as to the best stick and video games players are like seasoned tennis pro's, when it comes to choosing their favourite. At C&VG over the last few weeks we've tested just about every stick on the market to bring you this comprehensive guide to the best sticks around. We have tested the sticks for responsiveness, ease of grip and fire, robust construction of casing, attractiveness, and value for money. ARCADE PROFESSIONAL The Arcade Professional has a real arcade look and feel to it. Based on the controllers from an actual arcade game, the Professional comes in a shiny black metal case. It sits on a hard surface or on your lap with a foam base to protect your parents' best coffee table. Just like an arcade machine there are two fire buttons - useful in games like Scramble where you have to bomb as well as fire. The Arcade Pro is as responsive as any of the other sticks tested. The fire buttons are true arcade style alien blasters - as large as five pence pieces and dish shaped to avoid "finger-slip" - that dreaded affliction known to all vid kids! The Arcade Professional can be opened up to alter the stick's movement - four directions for maze games and eight directions for shoot-'em-ups. THE VERDICT Robust stick which can actually be repaired unlike some of the plastic throw-away sticks on sale. This advantage, however, makes the Arcade Pro dearer at £38.50. Nice design - will make your friends go green with envy! QUICKSHOT The Quickshot range of joysticks are the slickest, most futuristic sticks on offer. The original Quickshot stick with its long helicopter-style grip keys makes it easy to hold. Rubber suction pads on the base of the stick also make it easier to use - particularly with maze games where you can benefit from the stick being firmly secured to a solid base. Two fire buttons - one at the top of the shaft for thumb firing and another at the base of the stick - for you to choose your most comfortable fire position. THE VERDICT Good sturdy construction and comfortable grip. The stick scores best on shoot-'em-up type games where the shaft-mounted button is a real bonus. The bulkiness of the shaft makes the playing of maze games a little more difficult. One of the better sticks - retailing at £11.95. Compatible with Atari 400, 800, 600XL and VCS - will also work with Spectrum through the Sinclair interface. QUICKSHOT II Spectravideo's Quickshot II must be one of the best arcade-style sticks around for video gamesters. Its solid design promises hours of trouble tree playing. And you can use it with the Atari VCS, or Atari home computers, the Vic-20, CBM 64 and many others. The Quickshot II has a number of interesting features. Starting from the top of the aircraft style stick grip, you'll find the primary shooting button - for those games players who like to blast away using their thumbs. Below this is a trigger style fire button which lets those weary thumbs take a rest! Spectravideo say that the moulded stick grip is "ultra-ergonomic" - and who are we to contradict them. Suffice it to say that the slick is comfortable - even after an extended session of River Raid! The base at the stick is very sturdy and has a neat little innovation built in - an Auto-Fire switch. This allows you to unleash a continuous stream of bullets by simply locking the shooting mechanism. To make the stick stable, there are four powerful suction cups on the bottom of the base - this allows you to play one-handed. And the stick won't come unstuck even during the most exciting space battle! The Quickshot II is available from Spectravideo stockists and costs £12.95. THE VERDICT A winner from top to toe. The C&VG joystick jury voted the Quickshot II the best stick to come into the office for same time. RED BALL America's favourite deluxe controller (or, as they call them in the US, "gourmet stick'!) is the Wico range of sticks. It's easy to see why these sticks have been such a success across the water. They are sturdy, responsive, and built to last. The top of the Wico range is the Red Ball controller at £27.95. This is one of the most responsive sticks we tested - with a steel shaft, and fire buttons mounted on the base and the ball at the top of the shaft. Slightly cheaper than the Red Ball is the Wico Extended Lever stick, This has an extremely long control shaft, though unlike the Red Ball it only has a fire button on the base. The cheapest of the Wico sticks is the £16.00 Boss. It has a moulded grip which makes it comfortable to use. A well sprung fire button is mounted at the top of the shaft. THE VERDICT Wico sticks are generally regarded as the "Rolls-Royce" of video game controllers. If you can afford to fork out £27.95, you'll get no finer stick than the Red Ball - the Extended Lever and Boss are also excellent sticks at a slightly more affordable price. TRAK BALL Trak Ball controllers introduce a new specialist element to video-gaming. Like a professional goiter carefully selecting a certain iron to match the conditions of the green, so a true video games superstar will reach for a Trak Ball to play in certain games - such as Centipede, or Missile Command. The Trak Ball otters precision control in games where you need to move your character all over the screen as quickly and accurately as possible. It is a sleek black box with triangular-shaped "fire buttons" in both top right and left hand corners. Trak Ball-style controllers were first used in arcade games, but are now also available for home use and the latest version is Atari's controller far the VCS, 400 and 800. THE VERDICT I tested the Trak Ball on Centipede and Missile Command and found that it added the real feel of the arcade to these games. Something of a luxury add-on - but if you really lake your gaming seriously, the Trak Ball is a must at £39.99. STARFIGHTER Suncom's Starfighter is described by its makers as the ultimate joystick. Short and stubby and difficult to get a good grip on, I did not find the Starfighter very easy to use. Although the stick was reasonably responsive, I found the shaft a little stiff. THE VERDICT I was not happy with the fire button - it was sluggish and let too many nasty aliens slip through the net for my liking. Starfighter is a little overpriced at £13.95. LE STICK Another baseless stick is Datasoft's mercury-controlled Le Stick. What's really unique about Le Stick is that to move an object on screen you simply point the stick in the direction in which you wish the object to move. Mercury inside the stick makes the connections to make the objects move. THE VERDICT A nice idea - but one that doesn't come off - and we cannot recommend Le Stick. Priced at £24.95. VIDEO COMMAND Video Command is a baseless stick with a control grip secured to the top of the shaft. The fire button is mounted half way down the shaft so that you fire with the same hand as you hold the stick. The stick is good on shoot-'em-ups, but the lack of a firm base makes it difficult to handle the tight cornering required in maze games. Manufactured by Imagic - the makers of the Imagic range of video games - the stick is in the shops at £12.99. THE VERDICT Design of the stick means that it is extremely lightweight and easy to use. Fire response was adequate. The only drawback is that the short knob controller may make the stick difficult to use in games where a large amount of manoeuvring is required. TAC II TAC stands for totally accurate controller. The stick's extra responsiveness is due to a set of mini sensors built on to the shaft at the stick itself. The TAC's construction is amongst the most robust of the sticks we tested. On maze games, the joystick performed excellently. It also proved to be a good alien stomper. THE VERDICT This is my work-a-day stick. The one I reach for first when I sit down to review a game for C&VG. Its no-nonsense design with two large well positioned fire buttons makes the TAC II a joy to use. Available from Sumcom of Manchester at £18.95.