U360 what you need to know up front......

[jtslade]

So the Mag Stick Plus's in my MVS Neo Geo Mame cab
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=84291.msg1061470#msg1061470

Are just not cutting it. They dont have the feel of arcade. Just not much fun to try and play with.

I am eyeing a pair of U360's from Andy at Ultimarc....

How tough is the setup (software wise) to getting the maps right.

I run the new 1.0 Hyperspin / Emulators are MAME, AAE, Daphne, SNES, NES, Fusion (Sega stuff), model 2 emu, Future Pinball...

What kinds of setup roadblocks do people have. Would you say it's worth it to pull out Mag Stik Plus's and relpace them with U360's?

I would like to be able to play SNK fighting games better, 4/8 ways stuff well (the wife is a hard core Magic Drop 3 fan)


any thoughts would be a big help.

[wweumina]

If it's the "feel" you're missing then the U360's probably aren't the answer.

The maps are easy to set up and they are a brilliant stick in most aspects, but the lack of clickiness will hurt the arcade realistic feel that you seem to be after.

[Ginsu Victim]

If it's the "feel" you're missing then the U360's probably aren't the answer.

The maps are easy to set up and they are a brilliant stick in most aspects, but the lack of clickiness will hurt the arcade realistic feel that you seem to be after.

I grew up on leaf switches (no click at all), so the U360s feel perfect.

[Dazz]

Recently, I went against the grain and un-installed my U360's.  While they are nice feeling controls I got really tired of having to use 3 party apps like Joy2Key and XPadder.  I re-installed my Happ Competition with Cherry switched back and I'm enjoying things much better now. 

Not to mention I never really could get the bat tops to stay tightened and metal fragments getting stuck to the magnet.  Other than that they are great controllers.  If I can get the tops to stay tightened without messing up the controls and figure out where the metal fragments are coming from then I may switch back sometime. 

Right now I'm actually thinking about making a standalone arcade controller that I can sit on top of my pinball cabinet and use to play vertical shooter games on my 42" playfield LCD.  The U360's would be perfect for that and not being consistently used may keep the metal fragments from happening as much.

[wweumina]

If it's the "feel" you're missing then the U360's probably aren't the answer.

The maps are easy to set up and they are a brilliant stick in most aspects, but the lack of clickiness will hurt the arcade realistic feel that you seem to be after.

I grew up on leaf switches (no click at all), so the U360s feel perfect.

I understand, but on an MVS machine a no-click sensation may be a bit alien.

[jtslade]

Thank you for the feedback...

How often do the metal fragments need to be cleaned (figuring for regular semi daily usage)


The problem with the Mag Stick Plus's is that if you switch from 4 to 8 enough (after about 4-5 months) the plastic ring washer that allows you to switch gets dogged. As in it gets destroyed. This then affects which directions you can even move the stick well.

Andy has the replacement in spare parts: http://www.ultimarc.com/JShopServer/section.php?xSec=16

Replacement Switch Actuator for Mag-Stik Plus    Replacement Switch Actuator for Mag-Stik Plus (black cylinder)       Price: $15.00       
More info...

What is the opinion of everyone on the restrictor plates? Worth it?

Also is it one hard spring per stick (may be a dumb question but just wanted to make sure each stick only uses one spring?)

[wweumina]

1 spring per stick.

Restrictor plates are pretty much required unless you want to use it as an analogue stick.  Round is the most versatile, octagonal sounds like it should be good but ends up feeling a bit weird, square is ok as well and has the advantage of being able to rotate to diamond for a truer 4-way experience if you're on a retro kick.

[kronic24601]

1) First off I agree with the above post. Hard Spring and round restrictor.
2) If you LOVE the clicky clicky sound, it's not that hard to install micros into the bottom of the u360 ... a little modification but doable.
3) Getting the Bat/Ball tight is as simple as a little plumbers tape and a screw driver in the bottom slot of the shaft while holding the ball/bat and twisting in a tightening direction. Just take off the PCB, remove the magnet and tighten the screw.
4) Metal shavings. For new u360's Andy has a new bush that won't shave. However for older joys like mine (and probably yours Dazz) there is a small metal washer (a shim) that goes between the metal bush (a half sphere) and the top plastic piece of the spring holder. I just removed that washer and all seems fine. Also I had to add a little grease to the bush area (this will need to be done on any joystick from time to time). As you take off the e-clip on the bottom of the joy, just disassemble the parts and you can't miss it.
5) I find that I have to use a 3rd party app like xpadder if I'm NOT using the joys, as some games cannot accept keyboard input for your joystick. So this goes either way in my mind.
6) They aren't for everyone, but I like their versatility so for me, I love em

[severdhed]

i have two of the older u360s, but i have never had any problems with metal shavings(at least not that i know of, i cant feel anything wrong with them)  they are fantastic sticks...sure, they dont feel like a happ competition stick, but you can quickly adjust to the feel of them.  i am using the bat top version, regular shafts, heavy spring, no restrictor.  i had the longer shafts installed, but the throw was just way too long.  i installed the octagonal restrictor on one of them, but i hated the feel of it.  ive considered getting the round restrictors and trying them, but i really can't complain about how they currently feel. i only run Mame on my cabinet, with MaLa as the front end, i dont know how they work with other emulators, but they are completely awesome for mame.  it is nice to be able to play qbert without having a dedicated stick for it.   If i had it to do all over again, the only thing i would have changed about my order, is that i would have bought the ball top version, that way i could use either balltops or bat tops(with the adapter)

[kagaden]

It's probably just me... but if you're going to be playing fighting games: it seems to me like if you're putting in quick movements (like doing a Super Art in SFIII:3s) it doesn't register very well depending on how quickly you perform the motion. I want to say that it drops inputs, but I'm not 100% sure.

For me, I don't recommend the U360's for fighting games at all but works well for most other games.

-K