An arcade stick thread

[Strolls]

A stick would work well with Pac-Man (it's what it's designed for), however you'd really want a 4 way rather than an 8 way stick. With a normal 8 way stick, you have the four main directions plus the diagonals. A 4 way stick physically stops you from being able to do a diagonal, which is what you'd ideally want for Pac-Man (it doesn't cope with diagonal inputs as it doesn't really have any way to work out which of the two directions you actually want).

With a decent joystick (Sanwa for example), there's a plate beneath the stick that can be rotated to change between 4 and 8 way..

Thanks. That's quite informative - I'll order the compilation the next day or two & see how it goes with the normal PS3 controller.

All the sticks in the photos in this thread have the stick on the right & buttons on the left - is that normally how right-handed players play?

The other way round, generally. You'd be hard pressed to find a stick with the stick on the right. I think the original Pac-Man cabinet had the stick in the middle, so it could be used with either hand.

Ooops. I wrote there exactly the opposite of what I meant. I still don't know whether I should go for a conventional build or make a "left-hander", but I have plenty of time in which to think about it.

Stroller.

[randombs]

I managed to get one of those guitar hero guitars for free from work today (has a button problem but the circuitry is fine), thinking of doing a Summer stick mod using the bits inside it, which will make a wireless stick! Hopefully a wireless stick wouldn't be any laggier than a wired one...

Also, I've got a cunning plan regarding batteries which I hope turns out to work as I think it should:



I'm thinking I could fit a switch to the red/black wires to switch between joystick mode and charging, then just wire up some kind of usb connection (probably USB B or mini USB. I'd prefer B as it'll be more rugged) and I'd be able to charge the stick over USB. That way, I wouldn't need to mount the battery holder on the outside nor would I need to keep opening the stick up to change/charge the batteries.

That Arcade sticks site has this:



For a paltry £22. Fits Sanwa bits without any fiddling.

Quick question, though - how are you lot printing your artwork? Are you just using printers at your workplaces? Has anyone paid to have it printed, and if so, was it expensive?

[dosucol]

NTSC-UK saves the day again

Those pre made stick cases are exactly what i need,super super super and for the art,it might be easier to maybe pop into a local college (art/photo department),to see if they could help out for free?

I managed to get one of those guitar hero guitars for free from work today (has a button problem but the circuitry is fine), thinking of doing a Summer stick mod using the bits inside it, which will make a wireless stick! Hopefully a wireless stick wouldn't be any laggier than a wired one...

Also, I've got a cunning plan regarding batteries which I hope turns out to work as I think it should:



I'm thinking I could fit a switch to the red/black wires to switch between joystick mode and charging, then just wire up some kind of usb connection (probably USB B or mini USB. I'd prefer B as it'll be more rugged) and I'd be able to charge the stick over USB. That way, I wouldn't need to mount the battery holder on the outside nor would I need to keep opening the stick up to change/charge the batteries.

That Arcade sticks site has this:



For a paltry £22. Fits Sanwa bits without any fiddling.

Quick question, though - how are you lot printing your artwork? Are you just using printers at your workplaces? Has anyone paid to have it printed, and if so, was it expensive?

[Strolls]

I'd probably find some high-resolution art that suits your needs and then get it printed on A4 at Adsa or Tesco's or somewhere. I think you should find the photographic quality adequate.

[Kubrick]

VOOT TwinStick for 360!



HORI will only build them if there's enough demand. At a mere Y30,000 each (or $398.90 from NCS), that's by no means guaranteed, I'd imagine. Pretty extreme for a ?10 game

[kernow]

Apparently those sanwa sticks are £30 odd each alone.

[Kubrick]

Try doubling that I think. Arcadeshop.de have them for 98.95 Euros each.

Sourcing the sticks from an old Saturn controller is a cheaper alternative. Nice custom stick

[kernow]

eep! expensive

[J0e Musashi]

Finally tried a TE sick t'other day. Doesn't compare to a VSHG IMO. I then tried a Seimitsu modded VSHG... ZOMG. New parts ordered. Shorter throw ahoy...

[kernow]

I have LS32's in my cab, one of them cocked up after 5 hours use from new. I've only just sorted it by playing with the actuator and taking it apart several times. They are definitely better for shmups though, no contest.

[J0e Musashi]

I prefer them for fighters too, always have done. AES sticks are still the most responsive I've used though.

[randombs]

I've not yet (knowingly anyway) tried Seimitsu stick, I'd like to see what they feel like one day.

Cheers for the replies guys, I'll try Asda/Tesco/etc, I didn't think about those. I'm just going to make a wired stick, by the way. Apparently tournaments don't let you use wireless sticks. It would've been cool and groovy but I guess practicality wins out! I'll probably also buy the £35 housing instead of the £22 one, there's not much room for your palms on the £22 one it seems (also the £22 ones aren't showing up anymore!).

I think I'll go for a 6-button Viewlix layout. I'll have fun sorting out the artwork, I reckon a bunch of emulator printscreens are in order

[Geezer]

I bought one of the 6 button ?22 ones, to make a compact stick for shmups, it's too small for fighters. They say it's only suitable for a JLF but I'm pretty confident a LS32 will fit fine.

How will you be painting yours Billy?

[Kubrick]

Finally tried a TE sick t'other day. Doesn't compare to a VSHG IMO.

In what way? The parts are the same.

I sold my VSHG quite recently but one thing I will say about them is that they feel absolutely bombproof and no other stick is built like them.

Anyway, I got a TE a couple of weeks ago (360 version) and you can colour me impressed. For me, the bigger surface area makes it more comfortable to use than the VSHG or HRAP. I'll be leaving it 100% Sanwa since it'll be used primarily for fighting games, plus I already like how it looks and performs. I have personalised it a wee bit though by changing the buttons (kick buttons in red plus black rims allround to match those of the dark hai buttons), plus the balltop is now one of those nice meshballs.

[C']

VOOT TwinStick for 360!



HORI will only build them if there's enough demand. At a mere Y30,000 each (or $398.90 from NCS), that's by no means guaranteed, I'd imagine. Pretty extreme for a £10 game

I'm a massive fan of the first 2 Virtual-On games (I own 2 copies of VO:OT for the DC plus 2 sets of twin sticks so I could have a kickass linkup setup years ago when I knew people who would play) but whilst I'd love a set of those the cost is just absurd. I think both of my DC sticks combined cost less than what one of those would cost.

It's a shame because the port of VO:OT for 360 is pretty much flawless and it's the latest version of the game but I just couldn't get on with the trial using the standard controller.

I suppose I could look at getting one of my DC sticks modded so that it would on the 360 (I don't have any opportunities to play linkup any more) but I'm not a fan of having my valuable stuff gutted.