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Sanwa JLF with Octagonal Restrictor *ONLY* for 4 way games
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McHale:
I'm debating going with either Sanwa JLW's or JLF's with octagonal restrictor plates.  Does anyone use the octagonal plate with 4 way games?  How does it work for you?

If you're using a joystick encoder, MAME will use a default joystick_map so it should work great.  But I use a keyboard encoder so the joystick_map is ignored so you still get diagonals (and related issues).  But since most of the issue is not being able to lock on to your direction, I'd think the octagonal would work pretty well but unable to test.

If you are using a keyboard encoder and half JLF's and an octagonal restrictor, could you try Donkey Kong and Pac-Man and let me know? 

Thanks!

-Mc
opt2not:
Had JLW+octo-gates in my Cocktail cabinet, and I remember it being annoying, but better than a square-gate. Burgertime and the DK's were the worst offenders...
BadMouth:
I've had octagons in my JLFs.

I thought they were pretty good for 4-way.  Not as good as a dedicated diamond, but better than the standard square.
It depends on how you use the joystick. 

If you're conscious that it is a 4-way game and move the stick directly from one direction to the other, it will act as training wheels and guide the stick to the correct spot, skipping the corners.  I was surprised how much more I enjoyed qbert with the octagon.

If this is for guests who don't have a clue what 4-way means or you ride the gate, it's not going to be much better than the standard restrictor.
fleskebacon:
Old topic but, I've recently had to deal with some trial and error with my JLF's. I use it for both 4-way and 8-way games.

I agree that the octagonal resitrictor is the best compromise if you're playing both 4-way and 8-way games. But as with all compromises, it's not really optimal for either 4-way or 8-way.

The best way around is to use the standard square gate for 8-way, and 4-way by rotating the core piece 45 degrees. As far as I can tell this gives proper 4-way, with no way of hitting diagonals. The problem is switching between 4-way and 8-way, because the restrictor plate has to come out so that you can turn the core piece. It has two prongs sticking out of it, but it's fairly impossible to rotate it without taking the whole plate out. And to do that, you'll probably need to open the cp and access it properly from below.

I've modified my restrictor plate so that I can easily flip from 4-way to 8-way by simply twisting the centre piece of the restrictor plate, not having to use any tools or remove the plate or anything. This way I can just reach up from the coin door and make the switch between 4-way and 8-way.

What I did was I just filed down some of the plastic between the two holes that locks the piece in place, so that it locks into position but still can be rotated without any hassle. Probably done by many before me, but still my best mod ever. :)
wweumina:
I tried it for a while and found it was ok for both 4 way and 8 way but not great for either (preferred diamond for 4 and circle or square for 8).  I decided I didn't want a constant compromise regardless of what I was playing so I built two panels.
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