Using Joystick as Driving Shifter?

[esoteric_rt]

Hi all,

Does anybody have any experiance using a normal joystick as a 4 gear driving shifter?

Given the cost and availibility of Happ shifters this may be a cheaper option for me, looking to install on a Virtua Racer Cabinet.

I could mount the Joystick on an angle, so that up = gear 1, down = gear 4, left = gear 2, right = gear 3

Would a 4-way joystick be preferential in this set-up?

Will be running Daytona USA, Model 2 emulator etc.

Maybe somebody has tried this already.....?

[BadMouth]

I've never seen it done, but a switch is a switch is a switch, whether it's in a joystick. button, or shifter housing.

Would it stay in gear or would you have it return to center?
M2 emulator can "hold gears" even if the switch isn't held down, but most MAME games can't.
You could remove the centering spring and cut out a gate for it, but then you'd still need some way to hold it in gear.
(each gear could have two bent strips of metal on each side of where the shaft slides into the gear)

It probably would be preferable to have a 4-way restrictor or actuator, so that it's less likely for two switches to be pressed at once.

Personally, I think it sounds like more trouble than it's worth.
I'd wait around for a deal on a used shifter.