4 U360s

[(+_+)]

Hi Everyone,

I am thinking of going with 4 U360s on my next CP build and was wondering if I'd have any issues with

1) Too many USB connections (4 U360s, keyboard endoder, trackball, spinner, keyboard, mouse and an external drive or 2)
2) Would I have trouble playing some games or will XPadder and Autohotkey cover mappings to games that use ascii characters
instead of joystick x, y axis type games.

3) Would I be able to oversize or sync one of the U360 joysticks a bit more when using the new Front-Mount Restrictor Kit. I don't want it sticking out and do want to
use dust covers. I'm guessing I could lift the dust cover and insert the restrictor pieces.

or

Should I go with 2 U360s and 2 top switchable Mag-Stik Plus sticks

I really want to be able to restrict at least one joystick to a truer 4 way experience without adding a dedicated 4-way joystick.

Thanks
Marc

[AndyWarne]

Hi,

There would not be any USB issues.

The Mag-Stik plus does not have the same appearance as the U360 so mixing them might look rather strange, unless you go with the ball-top handles for the Mag-Stik which would be pretty close.

I am not sure what you mean by "oversize or sync". Can you explain this, either here or drop me an email: andy@ultimarc.com

[drventure]

I used that exact setup on my cab, 2 u360s for players 1 and two and two Magsticks (for 3 and 4).

The magsticks definitely feel more like arcade sticks, but I love the u360s for their flexibility. You give up a little in feel but you get a lot in flexibility to use them in different ways.

And with the mapping, I honestly haven't really noticed issues with 4/8/2 way restrictions. But that say, my hi scores are shamefully low,  so hardcore gamers would likely disagree with me.

About the USB though. I've got A LOT of devices working through usb and it has definitely NOT been without problems. I don't believe it's any one vendor's fault or anything, but it can get very tricky once you get past 4-6 usb devices. You got to pay attention to hub chaining length, the current draw of each device, the max amps deliverable to each hub via it's powersupply, etc.

I constantly have my u360s go "offline", as if they were unplugged. Oddly, that never happens to either of my Happ trackballs or my Logitech flightstick. I'm not saying it's the u360s fault, I'm just not sure where the problem is. Things will work fine after boot up, but if I let the machine just sit, eventually, I'll start loosing devices.

I also occasionally get "delays" with the u360s, I can open up the game controllers panel and start wiggling the sticks, and from time to time, the little X on screen that tracks the sticks placement will just stick in place for about a half second. Again, I suspect it's some peculiar combination of hubs, the way I have them chained, other devices I've got installed etc, but it's been maddening to hunt down. Just FYI.

[yotsuya]

Dr. V-

I usually buy an add-on USB card rather than use a hub just because of issues with everything connected. They're usually the price of a good hub and I get dedicated slots. Just a tip, if you have the open slots.

[(+_+)]

Hi,

There would not be any USB issues.

The Mag-Stik plus does not have the same appearance as the U360 so mixing them might look rather strange, unless you go with the ball-top handles for the Mag-Stik which would be pretty close.

I am not sure what you mean by "oversize or sync". Can you explain this, either here or drop me an email: andy@ultimarc.com

Ha "sync". I must have had a long week. I meant sink. The thickness is 3/4" and I was thinking of sandwiching a 1/8 piece of felt between the restrictor plate and the wood panel thus lowering (sinking) the piece that sticks out on the top of the CP. If necessary, I could also oversize the hole by a bit so the restrictor attachments fit on properly. That way my dust washer sits flush when not using the restrictor pieces.

What I'm doing is going for a quad joystick layout

   1                2                   3                  3
   X                X                   X                 X
 u360          U360              U360           U360 
    or                               Restrictor         or
Magstick                             here         Magstick
   here                                                   here 


I like the idea of having the restricted joystick as the 3rd joystick
and prefer the U360s for Joystick 2 and 3 since I play
a ton of Robotron.

I can't remeber but do BYOACers get an Ultimarc discount?

Thanks guys!

[drventure]

@Yatsuya

Yeah, I've got an addon card in the pc, But, I've got one USB 2.0 cable running from the CP down to the PC.

The reason is my CP is on a lift and slide mech. the more cables I've got running, the trickier it is.

Still, I +could+ run a  second USB cable down and out. I just didn't think a single USB cable would likely get saturated with the kind of data that's going over it in this case (remember, not all devices are sending simultaneously).

But I'm no USB expert. Maybe there's something to that.

[mimic]

am I getting of topic if I pile up with this possible setup: 2 trackballs, 4 spinners, 2 light guns (top guns2), 2 U360's? all of them use USB, whether directly or through some kind of interface but at the most 4 spinners will be used at the same time. Is this going to be an issue or that will be alright? (yes I know it sounds nuts, but the way I have envisoned it will look just fine, so spare me the comments, just answer my question, if I'm hijacking parenthesesplusunderscoreplusparentheses thread, let me know and I'll delete it)

[drventure]

@Mimic

That setup +should+ work fine, and it probably will if you take Yatsuya's advice, put in an extra USB card in the PC and connect all your hubs directly to the pc. For several reasons, that's a bit tougher for me, and that may be where my problems are coming from.

If you do go that route, though, unless all the controls will be connected all the time, you might want to eventually check out my ControllerRemap utility to help deal with how USB devices will often get remapped by Mame when you unplug and replug them.