Living Room Setup Control Questions.

[roncore]

Hello all!

I couldn't get the search to work (?) so I figured I would post here.

I've got a Maximus Arcade/Hyperspin setup (still configuring Hyperspin, but Max is going now) in my living room.

The hardware I have right now is a Shuttle XPC system, with a 42" Samsung LCD.  Right now I am using a 4 way usb adapter and 4 Ps3 dual shock controllers.  This is a decent setup, but I'd like to step up to arcade controls, but I have a few questions first.

I'm a DIYer by heart, but I have some other intensive projects going on now (touchscreen ELO's in the kitchen for recipes and automation) and I'm a pretty busy guy.  I'm looking for a ready to go arcade control setup.  I need at a two player setup.  I've always seen the X-arcade Tank, and it looks perfect but I've always heard really bad things about lag and feel from random emu forums. 

What would you guys suggest?  I know there are people who build joysticks made to sell.  I would be fine with that, but I'm not wanting to go over 200 bucks on this, since my existing console style setup actually works decent.  I'm looking for something I can sit on top of my black coffee table, or even integrate into it.  I just dont have the time to buy and wire all the individual parts.

Would you recommend me a decent two player joystick setup?  Also, I know the downsides against the 8 way joysticks on Pacman, etc.  I'm not worried about that.  One thing I'm curious about is how these arcade setups work for console emulation (eg NES, SNES, etc)

Thanks in advance!

[dafelandry]

I would say if your a true DIY you would build one on your own.... You can totally customize it with your own art and such!!! plus its more rewarding...

now if you dont want to... yes you can "hire" someone to build one or you can get a tankstick... whoever told you a tankstick has lag is full of it or they got a dud!! I use it for all my pc emus.... (MAME, NES , SNES , GEN, PC GAMES) and for consoles using the adapters (DC, XBOX 360) and everything iv thrown at it completely works!!

Iv been able to do any mk fatality (generally tedious if controls are off) and really lack of 4-way isnt AS bad as everyone says it is... You do get ghosts/misses but games are totally playable (my brother actually got a 150,000 point Mrs. pac man game the other day, pretty good for a 16 year old) and donkey kong is totally playable!

Id say (and others may scorn me for it) buy a tank stick... its easy to use and its lifetime guaranteed

[roncore]

Thanks for the reply!  I've been hearing tons and tons of praise on the MadKatz Street Fighter TE fight sticks.  They have all japanese parts and supposed to be top notch.  I'm torn on which I want to grab now  EEEK

[Epyx]

I've always seen the X-arcade Tank, and it looks perfect but I've always heard really bad things about lag and feel from random emu forums. 

Imo the X-arcade Tank is a great stick in that you get a lot of "decent" parts...sure they aren't "best in class" but the trackball is pretty good as are the buttons with proper switches.  Sure you can fault the joysticks somewhat, but I honestly much prefer them to the Mag Stick Pluses for examples...they just feel better for a larger segment of games.

I abandoned my X Arcade but still use the trackball...its comfortable (most approximates trackballs Ive liked in the past as it is essentially a Betson Imperial clone) and its easy to modify (RandyT's mod kits).  Plus I still use the CP portion of the X arcade for button templates...it allows me to template 1 to 8 buttons very quickly.

Nothing beats building your own of course and that is now my preference but for starters you get decent equipment.