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How do you guys do it?

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time to give up:

All I wanted was to play some video games... revisit Pac-Man, try some FPS, a little of this, a little of that. I'm a middle-aged man who hasn't played any of these games in about 25 years. So I bought myself a PS2 hooked up to an old TV and got started. So far so good. One little problem, though:  the DualShocks work well, but are just too small for my hands.

Step one:  order some Kontrol Freek knobs to give me something to grab hold of.     They arrive quickly, look cute, and don't fit on the DualShocks.  Okay, no biggie, they were cheap.

Step two:  order a PlayTech fight stick from Amazon.  The reviews are great! The price is dirt cheap! Quick Amazon delivery!  ... and it doesn't really work.  I can't get it to reliably go in any direction, which is a real drawback when playing Pac-Man. And I'm certainly not going to move on to games that are new to me with a joystick which I do not trust.

Step three:  maybe it's time to try some modding.  I open up the stick, see it has quick disconnects, and go out to find a similar aftermarket stick.  People rave about Sanwa, so I decide to give them a try.  The JLF Doesn't have quick disconnects, so I go for a JLW.  Stop me if you've heard this one before: it is very very difficult to get a JLW.  I only see three places on the web that have them, and they are in Hawaii, London, and Perth. I try Hawaii first.  place the order, they charge me, and then nothing. There is no response to my e-mails, and the joystick has not been shipped.I search the web for ways to contact him, and find a tip as to which e-mail link to use, and I finally am able to successfully cancel the order.

Step four:  let's try that again.  I order one from London. They, in contrast to Hawaii, seem to be a very well run enterprise. They send the stick out right away. I wince a little about having to pay $15 for shipping, but I feel I am backed into a corner.  DHL decides that my address doesn't exist, but since I am following the tracking like a hawk, I get hold of them and eventually get the stick....  It doesn't fit. Okay, fine, at this point I am desperate and cut a hole in the base of the PlayTech, and let the JLW hang out a little.

Step five :  huzzah!  I have a modded fight stick...  that works like crap.  The Sanwa Starts out okay, but after 20 min. starts failing to move in the appropriate direction. It is especially reluctant to go down. Okay, "reluctant" is an understatement. I am furious. After all this time, after all this effort, I have gotten nowhere.  Sanwas are supposed to be the gold standard, right?  I have had enough.  I bring my fist down on the joystick... and break it.  Some little part that has no name but keeps the joystick from falling into the box has broken.

Step six: go look for the part online. It's entirely hopeless, no one sells such a thing.

Step seven:  it's time to decide whether gaming is worth this insane hassle.

So I ask you all:  what is the secret?  Did I make some egregious newbie mistake that can now be corrected?  How do YOU get to have a stick that works?  Were your first sticks nonfunctioning junk?  Do I have to spend $300 if I'm not willing to take this on as a trade?  Give it to me straight:  I don't have the time, mental energy, or money to spend chasing snarks.

Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom.
 

drventure:

Well, sorry to hear you're having troubles.

I don't really know much about the PS2 and how mame or other classic games run on it, so I can't be much help there.

I DO know that there is a marked difference between an 8way stick and a 4 way stick. 8ways let you hit diagonals, 4 ways do not.

What this means in practice is that using an 8 way stick on a game that was intended for a 4 way stick can be infuriating.

and using a 4 way stick on a game that was meant for 8ways, means you can't move diagonally, also annoying.

Bottom line. With mame, or any other emulator emulating so many different games out there, and with so many of those games being meant for very specific and different hardware configurations, there's a lot of choices and combinations to choose from, many of which won't quite get you to where you want to be with a specific game.

I'd recommend doing some searching around on these boards and reading up. There's a lot of people doing what your doing and a lot of good info here.

Don't let it get to you, and don't give up.

and if you post back, the more specific you can be, the better.

Maybe someone with more knowledgeof the ps2 offering will step in as well.



Unstupid:

Your big mistake was in step 2.  You cant use a cheap arse "fight stick" to play classic games.  That thing is a toy!  Build your own box and reattach the JLW.  also make sure you have the restrictor plate on the JLW set to 4 ways.  Also step 3 I find hard to believe.  Also if you look on their website they have a phone number right there you can call...  BTW I'm sure they have the part you broke on your joystick!  Also your nic says time to give up...  but you havent even gotten started yet!

chopperthedog:

After he finds himself a new "E" clip.


good day.

Typefighter01:

1. Do you see yourself buying other consoles or playing games on the PC (MAME) or are you content with the PS2?

2. Exactly which type of games are trying to play (just Pac-man)?

3. Are you the type of guy who likes to build things and take things apart (I know you stuck a JLW in a fight stick) but did you enjoy doing it?

4. How much do you want to spend? ($300 is what I would budget for a fight stick with 4/8 way switching)

If you can answer these questions we might be able to help you better :)

BTW, was it Pac-man you were playing when you punched your fight stick?

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