Is a 4-way supposed to hit diagonals?

[The cranky hermit]

Yes, I know this sounds like a stupid question. But my Happs Ms. Pacman/Galaga replacement 4-way is definitely hitting the diagonals when I motion from one direction to a perpendicular motion. I thought it wasn't supposed to do that. It doesn't get "stuck" in the corners, so it doesn't really effect Pac-Man, but Donkey Kong is almost unplayable. Whenever I try to climb a ladder, it hits a diagonal just long enough for Mario to move about 5 millimeters too far to the left/right, and he just stands there and won't climb the ladder. Is this stick supposed to have diagonals, or is something wrong with it?

[Bill_S]

Oh man.  Don't tell me this.  My Happs stick just shipped on Friday and hitting diagonals would really piss me off!

[OSCAR]

Do you mean the Reunion stick?  The ones I've had will only hit the diagonals if I really try.  Since they basically use the Super base, just bend out the actuator levers a bit to lessen the diagaonals if you are having problems with it.

[The cranky hermit]

Do you mean the Reunion stick?

I think so. It's this one:
http://www.dameon.net/BBBB/redball.html

[OSCAR]

That's it.  It's not unusual for the switch and/or levers to be a bit out of alignment.  If the stick is causing you problems, use a pair of needle nose pliers to bend the levers back a bit to make them less sensitive to the diagonals.

[J_K_M_A_N]

You must be tired Oscar. You didn't provide any pictures!?!   J/K

J_K_M_A_N

[pmc]

I have noticed that my Ultimarc J-sticks which have the 4/8-way restrictor switch capability seem to sometimes do something similar. You can clearly feel the diamond shape when you play, but I think that as you move from "up" to "left" you can still hit both contacts at the same time and that sends both characters to the PC. In other words, you are always in 8-way mode. I always figured I had to "tune" the contacts with pliers at some point or that I was crazy. I've recently settled on the latter and haven't done anything about it.

[Bill_S]

OK, my 4 way reunion stick just got delivered and it seems to behave the same as the cranky hermits.  It hits both directions as it goes across the diagonal.
I took the white actuator off and flipped it over since it's cone shaped, putting the small end of the cone up at the switches.  It looks like that fixed the issue.
Does this sound like a workable solution?  Anyone know why this would be a bad idea?

[hooded_paladin]

since you changed the actuator from large where it hits the microswitches to small, it's like bending back the tabs, since the actuator has farther to go to press the switches.  People bend the tabs of microswitches back to reduce the diagonals they get.  You now have to press the joystick farther but there is less change of hitting a diagonal.

[SirPoonga]

That's it.  It's not unusual for the switch and/or levers to be a bit out of alignment.  If the stick is causing you problems, use a pair of needle nose pliers to bend the levers back a bit to make them less sensitive to the diagonals.

Also


If you turn the white actuator cone the other way?

[Apollo]

Hey Sir Poonga how do you do that ISP thing at the bottom of your page? That's cool.

[SirPoonga]

Hey Sir Poonga how do you do that ISP thing at the bottom of your page? That's cool.

Right click on the pic, goto properties.  Goto the page the the image comes from.  I figured out how he did it.  I plan on making a BYOAC one with Frosty's work he has done fore controls.dat.

PM me for more info, don't want this thread to go off topic.

[OSCAR]

If you turn the white actuator cone the other way?

The end result is the same, but the execution is a bit different...

By using the small end of the actuator, you increase the throw required to hit the 4-way directions.  By bending back the ends of the levers, you keep the 4-way throw the same but decrease the chance of hitting a diagonal.

[JackTucky]

I had this same problem.  I emailed Bob Roberts and he said it was right.  I fllipped the actuator and it doesn't hit the diagonals anymore.

But, I have some of Ultimarcs joysticks set on 4 way mode and I don't really see how this reunion stick it is much better.

I haven't installed it yet however.

Art