Download marathon-gravis-gamepad.hqx (10,340 KB)
From: wonk@mail.magic.ca (M. Hainsworth - Admin)
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 1995 21:44:37 EST
Subject: Gravis GamePad Controls for Marathon
I just bought the Gravis GamePad specifically to play Marathon.
Well, needless to say I was a little disappointed. First off, Gravis
doesn't incorporate a Marathon setting in their package - but I shouldn't
complain, Marathon officially was released quite recently.
However, I spent 30 minutes just trying to configure the Gravis GamePad for
this excellent adventure.
The problem is that the keyboard works very well with Marathon. If you're
running, you can turn corners and keep running. Any default-type
configuration for the GamePad doesn't work very well because the cursor pad
works single-mode. This means you can move forward, OR you can turn. You
can't move forward AND turn at the same time.
The crazy thing is that the buttons permit multiple keystrokes, but the
cursor pad doesn't.
Eventually I figured it out. To be able to run and perform other functions
at the same time, the move-forward command must be configured from a
button, not a cursor control. All other movements are okay, though backing
up and turning at the same time doesn't work in this configuration. I
decided it was more important to use the remaining buttons for other
functions. Besides, I didn't back up and turn often anyway.
So here it is.
Others may have found better configurations, and maybe I'm just not reading
the Gravis docs correctly, but this is my Gravis GamePad configuration
specifically for Marathon.
Included in this StuffIt archive is a PICT file that outlines all the
buttons and commands available via the GamePad.
Thank-you's, complaints, and "you idiot, you didn't need to do all this
work"-type messages should be sent to: wonk@magic.ca
michael