Does Groovy Game Gear have something like U-360?

[jukingeo]

Hello All,

I been planning a bartop cabinet for a while now, but one of the reasons I held off was because I was looking for a very small computer.  Now with today's ITX boards, I believe a project is more than ever within my grasp.

Now the question does come to pass that I will not have enough real estate on my control panel to facilitate 2 separate joysticks (4-8 way), so I am going to need a single joystick to do both.  There is just no way around it.

Upon my earlier readings here I did come across a joystick called the U-360 and it supposedly is programmable to mimic various joysticks electronically.  Thus I have a few questions about that.

First off, can it REALLY mimic a 4 way without the use of restrictors? Next, how easy is it to program?  Can the program change with the selected game?

That is just for starters, but the big question I have is if Groovy Game Gear has a similar product.  Reason being is that the U-360 comes from overseas and it is already $60.  By the time I get it, it probably will be close to $100.

That's all for now!

Thanx,
Geo

[bkenobi]

First off, can it REALLY mimic a 4 way without the use of restrictors?

Yes and no.  The stick is analog, so depending on where the stick is pointed, the PC can decide what to do.  If you have the stick in a diagonal position and the program is in 4-way mode, it won't send an input to MAME (or whatever emulator you happen to be running).  It does not have a physical restrictor, so it won't feel like a 4-way, but it should act like one otherwise.

[Paul Olson]

Ultimarc's shipping is cheap and fast, so I wouldn't worry about that. I recently bought an AVGA from him, and I think it cost $11 to ship, and it arrived in Nevada from England in 2 days.

The U-360 is an analog stick, so when it is programmed for 4-way, only the inputs in the 4 directions are used. It will work well as a 4-way, but since it is not physically restricted, it will not feel the same as a real 4-way stick.
That is about all I know about them as I haven't used one. If they were available when I built my panel, I may have used those, but I went with multiple controls since there really wasn't an easier option at the time.

Search for U-360 here, there is plenty to read on the subject. It seems to be a really popular item.

[Hoopz]

Reason being is that the U-360 comes from overseas and it is already $60.  By the time I get it, it probably will be close to $100.

Do the research before making up numbers.  Andy ships faster than any other vendor and you'll get it extremely quickly.  You may also chose to order from Divemaster127 who carries Ultimarc's complete line.  His thread is in B/S/T.

[jukingeo]

The stick is analog, so depending on where the stick is pointed, the PC can decide what to do.  If you have the stick in a diagonal position and the program is in 4-way mode, it won't send an input to MAME (or whatever emulator you happen to be running).  It does not have a physical restrictor, so it won't feel like a 4-way, but it should act like one otherwise.

How much control over the program do you have?  Could you program it that if there is a slight arc off center of the left/right up/down positions that it would still register?  The reason being that if you don't have a physical restrictor the joystick will not automatically "guide" you to the correct up/down - left/right.   I do play various games in the early 80's series (Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Dig Dug, etc).  As far as I know with a standard 8-way used in a 4-way game, there will be problems if you hit a diagonal.

But my head did perk up when I started to read about the U-360 in which you can program it to NOT it two outputs on a diagonal, and avoid quite a few of the problems associated with using an 8 way joystick on a 4 way game.

Ultimarc's shipping is cheap and fast, so I wouldn't worry about that. I recently bought an AVGA from him, and I think it cost $11 to ship, and it arrived in Nevada from England in 2 days.Search for U-360 here, there is plenty to read on the subject. It seems to be a really popular item.

Oh!  That is good news.  I thought it would cost MUCH more to ship.  Yes, I have been doing some reading on the U-360.  I know it is expensive, but given my unique situation with a single player (or multi-player alternating) cabinet.  It might come in handy in respect to allowing me to play a bunch of the 8 way games.  Otherwise the choice would be either 8 way or 4 way games and get the appropriate stick.  Of course that would limit the amount of games I could put on the machine.

The U-360 is an analog stick, so when it is programmed for 4-way, only the inputs in the 4 directions are used. It will work well as a 4-way, but since it is not physically restricted, it will not feel the same as a real 4-way stick.
That is about all I know about them as I haven't used one. If they were available when I built my panel, I may have used those, but I went with multiple controls since there really wasn't an easier option at the time.

I was thinking about going that route too when I had a larger cabinet in my possession, but I was forced to sell my house and now I am shoehorning myself into smaller quarters.  So I have to scale down to something that could sit on a counter or mount into a wall.   So large Frankenpanels and/or multi-player controls will be out this time.

Search for U-360 here, there is plenty to read on the subject. It seems to be a really popular item.

Edit:  I went straight to the horse's mouth and took a visit to the Ultimarc website.

Oh!  The U-360 also has a built in 8 button interface as well?  Hmmm, that DOES make the deal sweeter as I might not have to buy a separate keyboard controller interface.

NAWICE!  You can also program diagonal games in too such as Q-Bert.  Hmmm this IS becoming a sweet deal.   

Ok, will do, thanx!

Geo

[severdhed]

the u360s are awesome, very versatile sticks....if you need just a single joystick to handle anything you throw at it, the u360 is what you need.  there are better dedicated 8 way sticks out there, just as there are better dedicated 4 way stick..if you have the room for multiple sticks, then that is probably a better option.  the u360 works very well, it is nice being able to switch between playing street fighter, to donkey kong, to qbert all on the same stick. 

i have two u360s that i used in my 2 player mame cabinet for a few years.  when i picked up a showcase cabinet for a 4player setup, i converted my 2 player cabinet, set it up with a vertical monitor and a dedicated 4way stick.  i have 4 8way sticks in my showcase (sanwa JLW) , so i have my u360s sitting on a shelf right now, i will probably end up using them if i ever get around to building a portable/bar top style cabinet. 

bottom line, a dedicated 4 way and dedicated 8 way is generally better, but they take up space and add clutter to your panel...the u360 performs very well and is really the only way to go if you need everything in a single stick.

[ragnar]

First off, can it REALLY mimic a 4 way without the use of restrictors?

Yes and no.  The stick is analog, so depending on where the stick is pointed, the PC can decide what to do.  If you have the stick in a diagonal position and the program is in 4-way mode, it won't send an input to MAME (or whatever emulator you happen to be running).  It does not have a physical restrictor, so it won't feel like a 4-way, but it should act like one otherwise.

With a u-360 you can program the diagonals to be "no change".  So if you point left and go down to a diagonal, it will stay left.  If you go down then go to a diagonal, it will stay down.  If you do one of these motions then go from the diagonal to the adjacent side, it will switch positions then.

The u-360 software truely is the best thing about it.  I just wish restrictors with more play were available.

The u-360 is the stick I went with for my first build and I have no regrets.  It is extremely versatile and does most games well.  I think it is THE stick to get for your first cabinet.  I think I will go with something dedicated in any future build.  I have grandiose plans to do 3 cabinets eventually but for having one, I am absolutely satisfied with the u-360.  There is also a plugin for Mala that will automatically switch the setup of the u-360 to 8-way, 4-way etc based on the game you are playing.  And you can set up the configuration for each mode quite easily so once it is tweaked (configed) for 8-way on one game, it will work on all 8-way games well.