~The REVENGER 

A Review......Obtained from Internet Mail.....

~                      THE REVENGER
~                      ------------

This device allows you to connect two SEGA Megadrive 
(name for the Genesis outside the USA) joysticks to 
your IBM PC!  This gives you two 8-way digital 
joysticks with 7 buttons each.

It hooks up via the keyboard, so you do not need a game 
port.  Now you can play, for example, Mortal Kombat II 
with ALL the proper buttons and with *two* players!  
The box is even smart enough to store key combinations.  
That means your joysticks don't need to be "smart" 
enough to store multiple commands.  The connectors are 
all 5-pin AT size, so if you have the smaller 6-pin 
PS/2 jacks, you will need converters.

I have only seen this product offered in England.  It 
was in the Feb. 95 inside back cover of the British 
edition of "PC GAMER" published by Future Publishing.  
I have NOT seen this from any US supplier.


The Run-Down:
------------

The REVENGER
Accepts any SEGA Megadrive joystick
Has two joystick ports
Can store multiple moves onto one button
8 joystick positions and 7 buttons each
Sold by: DATEL Electronics Direct
24 hour mail order
Phone: 01782 744707 (UK)
Fax: 01782 744292 (UK)
Calling from the USA: 011 44 1782 744707
(Warning!  This is an international call!)

I recommend contacting your long distance company and 
signing up with one of their free international calling 
plans.  I got AT&T's True Country plan and saved 20% on 
my call to the U.K. without any sign-up charge!

24.99 British Pounds for Revenger interface
34.99 British Pounds for Revenger interface and 
Competition Pro Pad
49.99 British Pounds for Revenger interface and Arcade 
Pro Stick

The current rate of exchange is approx. $1.6 US Dollar 
for every British Pound.
The total with the shipping is 30.69 British Pounds.  
That is approx. $49 US dollars.

I think the price for the joystick packages were 
lowered in price.  I think it's a good deal even with 
the exchange rate, but you might as well buy your 
joysticks in the USA where you can return them if there 
is a problem!


My Review:
---------

This thing is a marvel for PC games that need lots of 
buttons to work correctly.  I've tried this with MKII, 
Descent, Rise of the Triad, Jazz Jackrabbit, Dark 
Forces, and Doom.

MKII:  Now you have the true 6 button SEGA layout and 
you can program one of the buttons as a special move!  
Better than a Gravis Gamepad, however, I have to admit 
that MKII compensates for the 4 button limitation of 
the game port adequately.  The game can be configured 
to work with the Revenger defaults, so you don't need 
to set the buttons before you play.  Hey, since you are 
using the keyboard keys with the Revenger, you can play 
with TWO PLAYERS!!!  FINALLY!

Descent:  Is there any other way to play this game?!  
NO!  If you love this game, buy this adapter!  Think of 
it...7 buttons at your disposal.  Also, the keyboard 
configuration menu allows you to use the Revenger 
defaults, so you don't have to worry about constantly 
configuring the Revenger.

Rise of the Triad:  Awesome!  The more buttons, the 
merrier!  The keyboard layout is completely 
configurable, so you don't have to program the Revenger 
each time you want to play.  

Jazz Jackrabbit:  Well, all you really need with this 
game is 3 buttons.  You can't use the Revenger's 
default setting because the "L" key is used for a menu 
option.  You better stick with your Gravis Gamepad 
unless you build the power adapter (see "Pinzone's 
Revenge" below).

Dark Forces:  Same as Rise of the Triad.  All the keys 
are configurable, so no need to set the Revenger.  They 
should bundle this game with the Revenger.    

Doom:  The keyboard commands are not configurable in 
the game, so you will have to program them manually in 
the Revenger.  However, I'm sure you will enjoy the 
extra buttons for automap and stored cheats!  Yep, just 
refill your ammo with a touch of a button!  Of course 
doing this requires you to program it into the Revenger 
first.  If you "must" use a joystick for Doom, you 
might as well stick with the Gravis Gamepad.


Cheers and Jeers:
----------------

+ The 7 button capability of this is great!  Any SEGA
  Genesis joystick that is out there should work just 
  fine!  (The SG ProPad 6 is my personal favorite.)

+ You can configure the buttons and joystick to be any
  key or *combination* of keys you want.  Therefore, 
  you can store cheat codes or finishing moves.

+ Has two joystick ports.  You can play two player, or 
  use the second port to hold a different mapping.  

+ No IBM game port needed.  No IRQ or DMA worries.

- Has no "memory".  Can survive a warm and cold reset, 
  but loses settings when the computer is turned off.  
  (You can get around this by building "Pinzone's
  Revenge" below.)

- Has silly default settings.  It uses L, R, U, & D for 
  the joystick keys.  It *should* use the arrow keys 
  instead!

- Both the joystick ports have the same default 
  keyboard map!  (Note: they are independent of each 
  other and can be programmed to work separately.)

- The "MODE" button on newer SEGA joysticks does 
  nothing.

- The "SLOW" button causes tons of "START" button 
  presses to be flooded into the computer.  (I don't 
  think this is the fault of the Revenger, I think this 
  is the way the SEGA handles the SLOW function 
  normally).


Modest Proposals:
----------------

Here are a few ways to improve on this product:

1) DIFFERENT KEY MAPPINGS - The current mappings don't 
work straight off for most games.  The use of U, D, L, 
& R for the joystick may seem like a good idea, but 
quite frankly, the arrow keys are a much better choice.  
The buttons are logically laid out as A, B, C, X, Y, & 
Z.  However, they are sometimes "in the way" of other 
game functions.  The following table shows my 
recommended key layout for the first joystick port.  

             Button           Keyboard Key
             ------           ------------

               UP               UP ARROW
              DOWN             DOWN ARROW
              LEFT             LEFT ARROW
              RIGHT            RIGHT ARROW
                A                 Ctrl
                B                 Space
                C                  Alt
                X                 Shift
                Y                 Pg Up
                Z                 Pg Dn
              START               Enter
              MODE                  P

Where did I get these keys from?  Well, it's the DOOM 
default for the first two buttons and the first three 
buttons are the same three keys for Jazz Jackrabbit 
(not in the same order).  Most new games seem to be 
going this way.  The X, Y, Z buttons are assigned to 
keys that shouldn't interfere with "special" game keys 
(e.g., what if 'X' is to exit the game?)  The key to 
select an option or start a game is usually Enter.  The 
MODE button could be used to pause the game (assuming 
Datel re-designs the Revenger to accept input from the 
MODE key).  

The second joystick port would be configured the same 
way it is now.  This is also good for older games that 
would better be served with the simple keyboard keys.  


2) MEMORY - Give the ability to keep the programmed 
settings after the power is turned off.  This could 
most likely be done by adding a 9V battery in the right 
place.  I have developed a different way to accomplish 
this by using an unswitched power supply for the 
keyboard and Revenger:  

~                   PINZONE'S REVENGE!
~                   ------------------

Disclaimer:  You know what?  Don't do this.  You will 
just blow up your computer and kill yourself in the 
process.  It's way too complicated and all your 
warrantees will be voided.  More importantly, don't 
come crying to me if your computer is damaged or you 
sustain an injury due to this project.  I assume no 
responsibility for anything you do.  

Parts:
   (1) Keyboard Extension Cable
   (1) 5VDC Power Supply (simple wall plug in type)
   Soldering Iron

Directions:
   Strip off the outer insulation from the extension 
cord to reveal the inner wires.  Find the 5 volt and 
Ground wires (Pin 4 and 2).  Cut off the 5 volt lead 
from the male end.  Connect the 5 volt lead on the 
female side to the positive terminal of the external 
power supply.  Connect the negative lead of the power 
supply to both the male and female ground wires.  

CAUTION: the outer shell (Earth Ground) may NOT be the 
same as the electrical Ground (Pin 4); therefore, do 
not solder the GND wires to the outer shell conductor.  
In the keyboard extension cable I used, the outer shell 
connection was through a bare wire that was separate 
from the 5 wires that connected the pins to each other.  

Here is a schematic of the circuit:  

                     +5V external source
   male                       |           female
 _ (from computer) |=>5V      O==|      _ (to Revenger)
/ \________________|=============|_____/ \ 
\_/                |=============|     \_/
                   |======O======|
                          |
                         GND

            Schematic for Pinzone's Revenge

If you use a power strip to turn off your computer 
system, make sure you connect the external power supply 
to an outlet that is ALWAYS on.  Getting a 5VDC 
external power supply might be a little tricky.  I 
suggest finding a surplus electronics store and look 
for an old 8-bit computer (like an Atari 130XE) power 
supply.  Make sure you buy a DC power supply and not an 
AC one!  And for gosh sakes, don't reverse the 
polarity!  Use the keyboard mappings listed in the 
table above this suggestion.  Program your games to fit 
those settings.  


3) COMMAND LINE PROGRAMMING - The ability to run a 
program from DOS to configure the button mappings would 
solve all problems!  You could save pre-configured data 
files for every game!  All you would need to do is run 
the program to set the Revenger for the desired game, 
then run the game.  You could put the whole thing in a 
batch file.  Of course, this option would be the most 
expensive for Datel to implement.  However, this kind 
of technology has already been incorporated into those 
124-key keyboards that Gateway sells.  


4) ADD SUPPORT FOR "MODE" BUTTON - This is really a 
nit-pick, but the "MODE" button on the newer SEGA 
joysticks doesn't do anything on the Revenger.  I had 
an idea of opening up my SG ProPad 6 and wire the MODE 
and START buttons to the extra L & R buttons on the 
top.  This would have given me 8 individual keys at my 
fingertips!  It's not that big of a deal, but if you 
are gonna make a SEGA joystick emulator, you might as 
well go all the way!  


Overall Score:
-------------

I agree with PC Format's conclusion (although for 
different reasons) and give this product a rating of 
85%.  If you build the external power supply, bump it 
up to 95%.  After considering all the pluses and 
minuses, I highly recommend this product.  It's a tad 
expensive with the foreign exchange rate for US 
customers, however, where else are you gonna get 
something like this?  


                       Gerard J. Pinzone
                       King of all Tech Support
                       al885@cleveland.freenet.edu
                       gpinzone@ic.sunysb.edu
