Bliss-Box hit an all time high in the beginning of 2014. It was either abandon the project or take the next step forward. Bliss-box had 2 main complaints; price and looks. It was a project developed out of a garage as a hobby. Like so many other garage projects its now too big for one garage. Bliss-Box has teemed up with Mike from etonnet.com to bring to the world a 4 player version of the bliss box that fits in the palm of your hand. This is only the beginning but all beginnings have to start somewhere. 4-Play is the production version of 4 Bliss-Boxes in one!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/54 ... ontrollers
4-Play is a $600 value down to ~$75. It is professionally built to last and allows up to 4 players at once. Bliss-box and 4-Play are backward compatible but don't share the same design look. To summarize; Bliss-box is a way to connect just about any console controller to usb. A few goals are set and few left to achieve. The project will remain driver-less, will be upgradable via firmware, will support everything a controller has to offer in the best way possible. The last remaining functionality will be the use of memory cards. Bliss-box has already found a way to write to the Dreamcast LCD and is working on a method to communicate with emulators. Take a look at some of the features below.
Features:
Auto Pause - Most controllers will auto pause when the controller is unplugged. When you are in the middle of a game and your friend, wife, pet, or otherwise clueless partner trips over your cord resulting in NO GAME CONTROL, the game will pause.
Auto Pause Detection - In addition to auto pause, you can switch controllers on the fly. When you unplug, for example, a Saturn controller you can then choose any detectable controller and plug it in. The 4-Play will auto detect this controller and resume functionality. Very few controllers are not detectable. For example, the Atari and Intellivision are not, but most others are.
Global button mapping - Global Button Mapping - All buttons are laid out the same to match common set ups. For example the SNES y, b, x, and a are mapped like the Neo Geo a, b, c, and d so that when you switch from one to the next you use the controller in the same manner. Both left most buttons (SNES:Y or Neo Geo:A) are mapped to the emulator the same. Obviously some choices had to be made. See this spreadsheet for details.
Force Feedback - Force Feedback - Vibration (rumble) is supported with no drivers required. The following controllers support rumble: DreamCast, Nintendo 64, Playstation 1, 2, and GameCube.
UDLR mode - This mode will map all Up, Down, Left, Right d-pad buttons to the corresponding analog inputs so that you can use the d-pad to control the game and switch back anytime. To enter this mode you press shoulder left, shoulder right and the pause button all at once. To exit, press the same. NOTE: Do not press the analog stick on the N64 when you do this. The N64 uses this combo for calibration. As long as the N64 analog stick is left centered, you're ok.
Auto Detect - No switches needed. The 4-Play will detect the controller automatically.
Out of the Box ready. Nothing else is needed. No drivers, no wiring, or setups. Plug in the controller to the cable, cable to the 4-Play, and you are done.
Upgrades - The chip is designed to be upgraded via an upgrade file which is transferred via the 4-Play's USB connection. Each port has its own chip and will allow you to use multiple firmwares. Upgrading firmware is a lot easier then installing drivers and you can get instant updates from the web page. Upgrading instructions are also available online.
Full emulation - Each controller is fully emulated unless otherwise stated. For example, PS2 pressure sensitive buttons are working in the current release while the memory pack transfers are currently not implemented. When features becomes available they can be added by upgrading the firmware.
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