> But how is the Mindlink supposed to work exactly?
I've never had access to an actual Mindlink controller, so I can only
describe
what I found out by analyzing the games. As it seems the Mindlink keeps an
internal 16-bit position value. The games set up SWCHA with two input lines
and two output lines. One input line has to be constantly 0 to signal that
a Mindlink controller is connected. The other input line is for transmitting
the position value bitwise. If one of the output lines gets changed from
0 to 1, the Mindlink seems to generate a new position value. If the other
output line is switched from 0 to 1, the next bit of the current position
value gets put onto the input line.
Position values between $2800 and $3F00 are treated as player 1 input,
values between $1000 and $2100 are for player 2. I'm not really sure
if the Mindlink supports two controllers on the same port that it
checks alternatively, or if you are supposed to control both players
at the same time with only one Mindlink controller. If the $4000 bit
is set, the games treat that as some sort of button press. It is
used to start the games and Telepathy also uses it to turn around
the guy in the running screens.
In Bionic Breakthrough you first have to move the Mindlink logo
across the line on the right side of the screen and then back
all the way to the left. This will start the game. The game
itself is basically just Super Breakout with bigger paddles.
It uses the Mindlink in the left controller port and one
of the game variations supports two indipendantly moving
paddles.
In the first Telepathy screen you just move the guy left and
right as if you were using a paddle controller. In the screens,
where the guy is running left and right (spiders, elevators etc.),
moving the Mindlink to the right will make the guy run faster.
Moving the Mindlink to the left will eventually make the guy
stop. Pushing the 'button' will turn the guy around. In the
water screens moving the Mindlink left and right will just
work like it does with the joystick. This game uses the Mindlink
in the right controller port and also accepts joystick input
from the left port.
The Mindlink description on the AGH site mentiones that the
prototype controller works with Bionic Breakthrough and Mind
Maze. I don't have any information about Mind Maze, so I can't
say how it would work together with the Mindlink emulation in
z26.
Ciao, Eckhard Stolberg
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