what joysticks did NBA Hangtime use? more than 8-way?

[SpatzST]

8way seems rough. Is an optical joystick or 49 way stick the correct stick?

[DeLuSioNal29]

NBA Hangtime used an 8-way.  Not to be confused with NBA Showtime, which used 49-way.

According to KLOV:
"The NBA Jam hardware became the cornerstone for Midway's action sports games. This cabinet can be upgraded to NBA Jam Tournament Edition, NBA Hangtime or Maximum Hangtime, Open Ice 2-on-2 Challenge, NFL Blitz and its two upgrades, and NBA Showtime NBA on NBC. Blitz and Showtime use 49-way joysticks."


http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8812

DeLuSioNaL29

[Malenko]

yeap, used 8ways.

[wp34]

I'm planning a build for my son to play NFL Blitz.  We are using 8-way wico's because dad wants to play Smash TV as well.  Is NFL Blitz going to suck using 8-ways?

[pbj]

You won't tell a lick of difference playing NFL Blitz with 8 ways.

[Vigo]

Biggest issue is if you want to run your guy at like a 30 degree angle, you have to settle for a 45. Not a big deal if you are used to tecmo bowl.

[wp34]

Biggest issue is if you want to run your guy at like a 30 degree angle, you have to settle for a 45. Not a big deal if you are used to tecmo bowl.

That makes sense.  He has a Madden with 49-ways otherwise I don't think he would know the difference. 

[pbj]

Blitz plays way too quickly for slightly different angles to be a factor.  I noticed it was an issue on the occasional passing play - you'd have to move your quarterback more than normal to get to the proper receiver.. but, man, this game is so damn quick....

[wp34]

Blitz plays way too quickly for slightly different angles to be a factor.  I noticed it was an issue on the occasional passing play - you'd have to move your quarterback more than normal to get to the proper receiver.. but, man, this game is so damn quick....

That's good to know.   

[SegaOutrun]

its my favorite game to play in my cab and i had no idea that it was 49-way. So yea, you should be fine with 8-way. Although now im curious if i could do better...

[SpatzST]

I ask because playing hangtime with an 8 way is difficult to me. Especially since you need to hit certain angles when I want to shove someone or just try and pickup the ball. Will a 49 way stick work with hangtime even though it was built for 8 way? Meaning, will I actually get the benefit of a 49 way stick (eg. Angles that are not 90 and 45 degrees?)

Also

Are 49 way sticks also called optical sticks? Or are those different? Can an optical stick set to work only in 4/8 way if necessary? Lastly, any suggestions as to which sticks to purchase?

Thanks, and Sorry to the wall of questions

[Vigo]

Hangtime would still play the same no matter what joystick you used. NBA Showtime I think was 49-way, so that game would benefit from an analog stick.

A 49-way is different from an optical analog joystick. A 49-way is technically a digital joystick, but reads 49 different joystick positions. Unless you are looking restore a game, 49-way is falling out of use. If you get a GPWiz49 from GGG, you can breathe some life into 49-way joysticks turn them into a versatile joystick if you have some 49-ways on hand. You can easily handle 4/8 way games on it as well.

Optical just means that it uses optical sensors to tell the position of the joystick. There are different types of analog sticks out there. Other analog sticks can use magnets or potentiometers to determine the joystick position. Any analog joystick is gonna have a better "resolution" than a 49-way joystick (although most games available in MAME won't take advantage of that).  Right now, most people looking for an "out of the box" analog stick for their setup will get a U360 from Ultimarc. It has a built in encoder and you can custom map it to work as a 4 way or 8 way based on the game you are playing.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Refresh my memory:  Does the U360 get recognized as a joystick (HID device) in Win XP/Win 7?

[SpatzST]

Ohk.  So I don't really need a 49 way stick then. 

So can anyone recommend me some alternative 8 way sticks, maybe nicer ones? I don't know if its just me, but I find it hard sometimes to the 45's with my happ comp.