Joystick Question

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Cpt. Zaphod B.
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Joystick Question

Post by Cpt. Zaphod B. »

I'm not entirely sure where I'm supposed to ask this, so I decided to post it here since someone's bound to know here.

I'm going to get a new computer this month. Good power, most likely Windows 7. I plan on taking Descent online, something I've never done before due to a lack of a newer than decade old computer. I'm willing to bet there's a version of D2X-XL for Windows 7, so that's not what I'm here to ask.
I have an old joystick, the Thrustmaster Top Gun Fox 2 Pro. Will this work with Descent? I'm native to Playstation controls, since I've been playing it on Playstation for maybe a few years now, on and off. Would it be better to get an adapter for a Ppaystation controller so I can plug that into USB, or would it be better to use a joystick? Thanks for your help.
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Post by Foil »

Go with the joystick. And, yes, it will work with all versions of Descent, including D2X-XL.
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Post by Glowhyena »

Yeah. And Descent Rebirth too.
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Post by Cpt. Zaphod B. »

Descent Rebirth? That I've never heard of. What's that?
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Post by Glowhyena »

Descent Rebirth supports classic Descent 1 and II work on a new and powerful computer. Unlike D2X-XL.

Descent Rebirth Official Site
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Post by Cpt. Zaphod B. »

Will it still connect to people playing online with D2X-XL? I may have to check that out.
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Post by Swazook »

ReBirth is the way to go - excellent program.
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Post by Glowhyena »

Cpt. Zaphod B. wrote:Will it still connect to people playing online with D2X-XL?
I'm not sure... Rebirth and D2X-XL aren't brothers, I mean they're different.
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Post by Sirius »

I'm not sure whether I just misunderstood the post, but D2X-XL does work on \"new and powerful\" computers - actually it works better since you can use features like high-resolution lightmaps / per-pixel lighting that I wouldn't recommend on lower-end machines. I'm not sure what the bottom-end requirements for D2X-XL are, since I haven't heard from anyone who has tried to hit them.

However, D2X-XL and D2X-Rebirth are not compatible in multiplayer, sorry. There was some kind of effort to fix this a while back, but it fell through, and chances are slim that that will change in the future. My advice would be to use what your friends are using. :)
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Post by Foil »

Sirius wrote:My advice would be to use what your friends are using. :)
x2

Rebirth seems to be more popular for multiplayer, and for singleplayer I usually play XL.
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Post by Glowhyena »

Rebirth keeps Descent 1 and II look traditional.

D2X-XL kills Descent's classic and then modifies as adding sexy graphics, effects, and blah.
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Post by Cpt. Zaphod B. »

Sounds like I should download both lol.
It sounds like Rebirth would be better feeling-wise, since I like the classic feel to things better, but it also sounds like there are things in D2X-XL that are also worth checking out. That way, if someone simply specifies whether it's a Rebirth or XL game for multiplayer, I know which one to open for multiplayer.
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Post by Alter-Fox »

Yep, a lot of us use both versions.
In case you didn't know there is some pretty heated debate on these forums (and practically any other Descent board) about which is better... I wouldn't get involved in that... but each to his own.
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Post by Sirius »

Just so the, um, misinformation doesn't get out of hand, it's quite possible to run D2X-XL with the \"classic\" look as well. It's probably not why you'd use it, but it wouldn't really be honest to say it throws old-school Descent out the door.
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Post by Cpt. Zaphod B. »

I'll probably end up setting it to the most classic look possible, but I'll mess around with graphics and see what I like best.
They both require a seperate copy of the game, correct?
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Post by Alter-Fox »

I believe so... I think theoretically you could put the two in the same folder but you'd need two copies of most of the data files (because of D2X-XL's folder system) so you'd end up with 2 copies of the game anyway.
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Post by Sirius »

Yeah, I've done that. DOS D2 in main directory, D2X-XL in main directory with data copied to /data, D2X-Rebirth in another subdirectory and configured to look one level up for its data. Bit messy.
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Post by Cpt. Zaphod B. »

Sounds easier just to have two seperate copies of the game. Which in theory is easy enough.
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