Reasons to get something OTHER than U360's?

[honkey]

I am just wondering what people's reasons for getting sticks other than U360's are... I just got mine and I LOVE them. With the harder spring and the front mounted restrictor, I feel like they are as close to perfect as it gets. I have mine plugged in via USB, so they are recognized as a gamepad, but even that "problem" is fixable with joy2key. I am having trouble seeing what a different stick would do better.

My only actual problem, is I am having trouble running them with Hyperspin. I am sure I just need to change a setting, but Hyperspin recognizes the buttons I press, but I can not scroll with the stick even after changing the control setting in HyperHQ.

[Le Chuck]

Some people like clicky joys, or are die-hard leaf switch players.  Some people prefer the original hardware or as close as they can get it.  Some people want a flush-mount joy with physical restriction that is auto-changeable using a servo hidden from sight.  Some people... I could go on but the joystick is where you interface with the machine.  As the tactile representation of the electronic world it is a personal thing.  It's amazing how many people don't carry Swiss Army knives even though MacGyver proved you don't really need anything else.

[Green Giant]

They probably don't get along very well with my friend Ben thus they can't get the best of the best.

[Jack Burton]

Trust me, for many people on this forum money is not an issue *

Different joysticks for different games.   A U360 is sort of the jack of all trades but master of none when it comes to arcade sticks.  If you want to get REALLY good at a particular game you're probably going to go with more dedicated hardware, like a Sanwa JLF for fighting games, Seimitsu LS 32 for shmups, true 4 way for Pac-man, nintendo joystick for DK, etc, etc, etc.


*< not one of those people

[wweumina]

They probably don't get along very well with my friend Ben thus they can't get the best of the best.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you aren't a wanker, but either way you are totally wrong. As described above they are excellent multi-purpose joysticks but mine sit in a corner whilst the dedicated panels come out for more serious game playing, especially for 4-way games.

[Green Giant]

They probably don't get along very well with my friend Ben thus they can't get the best of the best.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you aren't a wanker, but either way you are totally wrong. As described above they are excellent multi-purpose joysticks but mine sit in a corner whilst the dedicated panels come out for more serious game playing, especially for 4-way games.

For every CNC machined cab with GGG electric ice RGB buttons, there are 4 ebay parts budget cabs.



And as you pointed out there are the other side of the spectrum who have multiple cabs or just multiple panels for different game types.

[honkey]

They probably don't get along very well with my friend Ben thus they can't get the best of the best.

I am a college student working at a grocery store and teaching trumpet lessons, living in an apartment, taking care of two dogs, and feeding my fiancee and myself, and I could still afford to save for an extra month to get them. 

[danrosenstein]

In my case it wasn'ta budget issue. I wanted illuminated joysticks, and the U360 wasn't an option for that.
I happen to like the U360, but i am very happy with my 8 ways!

-Dan

[ragnar]

If I had to redo everything, I would not get u360s.  They are a nice starter stick but I have no intention of doing it again.

If I had to do it again, Mag Stik Plus!
http://www.ultimarc.com/controls.html

I'd also consider atleast 1 spinner on my CP.

[ComputerAbuser]

ragnar, may I ask why you would go with the Mag Stik Plus instead of the U360s?

[Blanka]

Just for the feel, I like the Sanwa's best. But they are hard to find nowadays. They are a needle in a haystack of chinese crap.

[southpaw13]

Daphne does not support U360.  You have to run Joy2Key which defeats the whole purpose of the U360. 

[drventure]

I like my u360's, but they seem to get "gummy" pretty quick. Maybe it's because I don't play them consistently (it might be a few months between powering it up for a session sometimes), but they get "sticky" and the only way to fix it is to completely disassemble the stick and clean and relube it.

I have mag stick pluses on P3 and 4, and they still feel exactly like they did when I first bought them.

It's cool to be able to switch them from 4-8 way without going under the panel. I've even seen some hacks using a servo that can switch them automatically.

But for shear convenience and universality, the 360's are hard to beat.

[Gray_Area]

Daphne does not support U360.  You have to run Joy2Key which defeats the whole purpose of the U360.  

Not so. Daphne supports at least one gamepad, and the U360 is treated like a gamepad in Windows. I use one just fine.

Even so, joytokey features app-specific setting.

I like my u360's, but they seem to get "gummy" pretty quick. Maybe it's because I don't play them consistently (it might be a few months between powering it up for a session sometimes), but they get "sticky" and the only way to fix it is to completely disassemble the stick and clean and relube it.

That is the absolute weirdest I've heard. I've been using one for years, and haven't had anything remotely like that happen.

[southpaw13]

Which version of Daphne works? Or when did they put it in?  Thanks...

[drventure]

That is the absolute weirdest I've heard.

Yeah, it's frustrating because otherwise, I love them. I'm suspecting it might be the particular batch or something, although I have been in touch with the guys at Ultimarc, and they don't think that's the case.

I may end up just getting another one and replacing one, just to see if it was something to do with the particular sticks I ended up with.

Regardless, they're still awfully nice for playing a large variety of games easily.

[Le Chuck]

Daphne can see whichever joystick is listed as Joy1, so if you have a U360 as that then Daphne will play.  Otherwise J2K.  

[drventure]

You might be able to use Joyids http://www.wingmanteam.com/files/Tools/JoyIDs/

if the u360 is NOT listed as joy1.

[southpaw13]

I will check it out.  Last time I tried to configure a joystick in Daphneloader, it would not work.  That's why I think you might be running a newer version.

[Le Chuck]

Daphne loader's input configuration is the biggest red herring I've ever seen.  Ya can't change it, if you're lucky enough to have your player 1 joy mapped as Joy1 then you're in business... if your button mapping matches (I don't know too many people that have -*/ mapped).  BUT if you are batch starting the loader config you went trough the trouble to change in a dainput you created doesn't get called anyway.  I've read tons of threads about different ways around it.  My personal choice was joytokey batch open and close with the daphne batches.  I've seen good solutions with auto hotkey too, but most of those call joytokey.     

[wizkid32]

Trust me, for many people on this forum money is not an issue *

*< not one of those people

Same.  

[nitz]

To answer the original question, I was seriously considering U360s at one point, but the cost killed it for me. 2 U360s plus stiffer springs and restrictor plate kits costs $152. I decided that was just too much money for 2 joysticks, especially considering I wouldn't get the hardware restricted 4 way feel, which is somewhat important to me. The fact that they essentally have a built in encoder offsets the high cost a bit, but not enough for me to get them.

Having said that, if I were ever doing a 1 player cab, I would probably get one. The cost wouldn't be a terrible lot higher than a good 4-8 way switchable stick plus encoder, and I would have the convenience of not having to manually switch, a good stick for Qbert, and an analog stick.

[southpaw13]

OK Daphne-wiki

Joystick
Daphne has basic support for a joystick.
Daphne will automatically use the first installed joystick that it can detect. The direction of the joystick is fixed and cannot be changed (ie you cannot flip the up and down direction).

I will try again-thanks

[Le Chuck]

It also goes right down the button list if your buttons are joy mapped, so no matter where Joy1Button5 is on your cab it will natively be coin 1. Batch files and joytokey are your friend.

[ComputerAbuser]

I'm close to pulling the trigger on buying a couple of U360's but man, it can get expensive.

2x U360's: $118
2x mounting kits: $16
2x wiring harnesses: $16
2x front mounted restrictor kits: $48 

for a total of $198

That doesn't even include buttons. 

[southpaw13]

OK cool....I got the u360 to work with Daphne!

Thanks for the info..

[ragnar]

ragnar, may I ask why you would go with the Mag Stik Plus instead of the U360s?

With the u360, you have to use a restrictor plate.  4-way, 8-way, octagonal or circular.  I rarely if ever use it as an analog stick except for N64 games (which my son loves).

It's not a horrible stick but I find it extremely annoying with fighting games for example.  Almost unusable.

Most games are 4-way or 8-way.  I'd rather be restricted to a good experience of just those types of games at this point rather than a lesser experience with the u360s.

Having said this, I have no intention of ever changing the u360s but I have no intent of ever using them again.

They are a good starter stick.  I'll give it that.  Maybe I am blowing things out of proportion.  Most games are fine with it.  It's jsut that alot of games could be better with a dedicated stick.


If I ever do another cab, it will be a 4 player cab with atleast two Mag Stick Pluses.  Probably 4 just to keep a consistant feel.  And that damned spinner.  It will have one of those.  Requires I come into money though ... so it might be a few years.

[ragnar]

drventure,

I have two u360s.  Bought at the same time.  one is smooth.  One is sticky for lack of a better term.  I can not improve the sticky one.  The latest design requires that you never have to lube it.  That's what i have.  I tried lube and it was useless.

[rockyrocket]

Yeah mine get sticky I lube them too!.
Generally I feel a bit underwhelmed with mine and much prefer a cheaper clickie feel, even wiith a heavy spring and plate fitted.
Ever tried a long jump in pacland with a U360?.
Anyway thats the first time that I have felt compelled to comment here, so thats how much they bug me!.

[drventure]

@ragnar, Hmm, I wonder if it is something with the batches then. Are both of yours the newer variation? or is it possible you got one new and one old.

I picked mine up several years ago. According to Andy, they're both "new", but they're both sticky.

A complete dismantle, clean, lube and reassemble will have them back good as new, for a while.

But after a few months or so, they're sticky again. And I'm talking sticky enough that when you move the stick all the way to one edge, it stays there. And that's with the hard springs installed.

[mgb]

For me, the reason I haven't bought the U360s is because I have read alot of complaints here that just kinda makes me not wanna spend that much money on joysticks.
I have put plenty of money into my cabinet, so its not that I'm cheap, I just don't feel the need to pay that much for a stick (especially after all the needed accessories) thats seems to me to have alot of issues.
 The fact that they eliminate the need for an incoder doesn't appeal to me because I had my Ipac for a long time before these sticks came out. And my Ipac has been nothing but dependable.
I have no issue with my Sanwa JLWs. I am currently waiting on an Omni2 however for replacing my controller 2 so I can more easily change over to 4 way mode.