Four U360s?

[thewisteron]

Hi there. Long time lurker on these forums and I'm finally ready to take the plunge. I just ordered pushbuttons from GGG and am ready to order sticks and uhid from ultimarc. I will probably have many questions for all of you pros, but here is my first. I am building a four player pedestal. I have heard u360s are some of the best joysticks around, so I was planning on getting four of them. However, I am wondering if players 3 and 4 really need them. I have 4 kids, so I want to be able to play all the good 4 player games (TMNT, Gauntlet, Simpsons, etc...), but are the u360s overkill for all four players? Would it be ok to swap in less expensive sticks for 3 and 4?

Also, does anyone know a legit place where I can get some AimTrak guns? Ultimarc is out and GGG doesn't sell them.

[TopJimmyCooks]

arcadeemulator.net on the aimtraks. 

U-360 - I would only do it at p1 and maybe p2 if you want analog capability there.  if you just want 4 and 8 way, go with servo stiks - a little cheaper and mechanically restricted which seems to be preferred.

[yotsuya]

I bought my AimTrak from Ultimarc directly with no complaints. If you're not in a rush, I'd wait.

[thewisteron]

Thanks for the info.  I guess a better question to ask would be am I missing out on any great 4 player games if I only have 4-way/8-way sticks for players 3 and 4?

[yotsuya]

Thanks for the info.  I guess a better question to ask would be am I missing out on any great 4 player games if I only have 4-way/8-way sticks for players 3 and 4?

Based on the question above, let me ask you a question - why do you want a 4 player pedestal?*








*Edit - legit question, not being snarky.

[severdhed]

i say u360s for all 4 players is overkill...  when i built my first 4 player cabinet, i used two u360s (P1 and P2) and two Sanwa JLWs (P3 and P4).  THe sticks all looked identical, but  I ended up liking the JLWs so much, i opted to use 4 of them in my last 4 player cabinet...with plans on purchasing the servostik upgrade kit sometime for the p1 stick.  I still use my u360s in my 2 player cabinet, but i really like the JLWs better.  i got bat top u360s, and i wish i would have purchased ball tops instead. the bat top shafts are much thicker and therefore seem heavier.  i like the lighter feel of the balltop JLWs.

[eds1275]

As far as I know I got Arcade Emulator's last Aim Trak (and had to purchase the shells and kit to make up a second one by gutting an old playstation gun), and he gets his from Ultimarc. I hear they will be in stock late feb/early march.

[severdhed]

Thanks for the info.  I guess a better question to ask would be am I missing out on any great 4 player games if I only have 4-way/8-way sticks for players 3 and 4?

Based on the question above, let me ask you a question - why do you want a 4 player pedestal?*


read his first post, he has 4 kids....speaking from experience, when you have 4 kids, you need a 4 player cabinet. A pedestal is just the most space efficient way of doing that.





*Edit - legit question, not being snarky.

[yotsuya]

read his first post, he has 4 kids....speaking from experience, when you have 4 kids, you need a 4 player cabinet. A pedestal is just the most space efficient way of doing that.

Yeah, but he's asking about 4 player games, which tells me he doesn't have much experience with them. So in the end, what I'm trying to get him to do is consider whether the extra cost going to be worth it, especially with the cost of the sticks he's looking at. That was the point of my question.

Oh, and I have 4 kids as well.

[NickG]

Thanks for the info.  I guess a better question to ask would be am I missing out on any great 4 player games if I only have 4-way/8-way sticks for players 3 and 4?

You may be missing out on some 4 player games if  this is the only control panel in the house.   There are indeeds some indie and console games for 2-4 players which can utilize 4 analog joys, but many of them can/will be better enjoyed with alternate controllers such as steering wheels or dual joy  gamepads.  2 analog + 2 digital is a  good start and you probably know what your missing until you reallly need to.  One good advice in this case may be to ensure that your digital controller screw template is compatible for u360 replacement later on if need arise.  There are in fact many games which play better with discrete switches in the joys, so your 2+2 instinct is looking good.
 

[eds1275]

Another thing to consider is that the U360, while a great joystick due to it's versatility, is not a great feeling joystick. I prefer the feel of even my x-arcade stick, purely for the fact that you can feel and hear when you've done something.

[thewisteron]

yotsuya - I do have experience with several 4 player games including the ones I listed (TMNT, X-Men, Gauntlet, Simpsons, etc.).  However, I am sure there are many more we will discover and I want to make sure we can play them.

[yotsuya]

yotsuya - I do have experience with several 4 player games including the ones I listed (TMNT, X-Men, Gauntlet, Simpsons, etc.).  However, I am sure there are many more we will discover and I want to make sure we can play them.

thewinsteron - that's good. You're going to be dropping a lot of money on all those controls - I raised the question to make sure that's what you want. Trying to be helpful, since I know when my own kids have beaten all those games you listed, they get bored with them and move on to other things. Given that U360s and Servostiks aren't cheap, it's good to know exactly what you want your machine to do.

Good luck with your build.

[TopJimmyCooks]

i just did a 4 player and used various rom filters and a lot of hand work to come up with a 250 game list of 3 and 4 player games or two player 4 stick games.  multiple arcade emu's (demul, model 2 and mame) but no consoles.  there are a bunch more console games that can take 4 players.  I'll see if I can dig up that Xml and post it.  there were about 250 games. 

[spratkobasa]

I have all 4 u360's on my arcade CP.  It's a real benefit for 4 player n64 games.  But its all preference as I can see above they have valid points with the feel.  You could get a restrictor plate to kind of get that feel.

[Ginsu Victim]

I have all 4 u360's on my arcade CP.  It's a real benefit for 4 player n64 games.

The majority of us will never have N64 games running on our cabs.

[thewisteron]

TopJimmyCooks - I'd love to see your list of games!

spratkobasa - I hadn't thought about supporting N64 on my cabinet due to the button requirements for P3 and P4.  So you built your CP with enough buttons to support 4 player N64?

Can anyone think of any 4 player arcade games that need more than an 8-way for P3 and P4?

[Brutick]

The only oddball game that really comes to mind for me... but it doesn't even use joysticks, is Warlords. Good 4 player game though...

Edit: Also NFL Blitz is 4 player with 49-way joysticks I believe. 

[thewisteron]

Brutick - I forgot about Blitz!  The seals the deal for me since I was already leaning towards 4 u360s for ease of use, ease of installation, and consistency for all four players.

[Ginsu Victim]

I sent you a PM about your Aimtrak search.

[spratkobasa]

I have n64 on mine.  Choosing an optimum button layout can be difficult.  I have 8 buttons per player plus a start and select button.  It can be hard to control at times and you might have to make per game control mappings to get n64 to work.  I found analog works well for racing games though as well.