u360 and/or physical restrictors

[bfauska]

I'm finding that I enjoy 4-way games enough that the occasional accidental diag/no move is really annoying. I've liked the idea of servo sticks for a long time but I also like the simplicity the u360 seems to offer. I've got some original GGG Prodigy sticks and some sort of basic happ 8-ways and I don't really feel like I care about the shape or travel too much.
This is probably up there with "what is the best stick" as far as preference questions go but rather than let it be a love/hate fest maybe we can keep it to people's experiences of pros and cons between the options of physically restricting a mechanical switch type stick or running something like the u360 without blanket statements like "u360 is best evar!!1!1!".
I'm curious about feel, effectiveness, and implementation of servos vs software mapped sticks.

[ChanceKJ]

A few days ago I fitted sets of zippy microswitches to my 360's without Restrictors or upgradded springs. And I've gotta say I love the feel of them now.  I didn't plug them into anything, it's just for the feedback feel and sound that the microswitch levers produce, but well worth it at .40¢ a switch.  I might fit octogon restrictors at a later date, but maybe not.

I'm comparing this to the Wico, j-Sticks, GGG True Leaf, and various 1980's Nintendo sticks I have.

[Nephasth]

The U360 isn't the "best evar 1!!!1!", but it is the best all around stick. Jack of all trades, master of none. You get a lot of flexibility with the stick and you can spend a lot of time fine tuning it, if that's your thing. A couple of musts when it comes to this stick... Stay with the standard length shaft. If mounting in a wood panel, either top mount, or route out a pocket for it. It needs a restrictor, my preference is for the octagonal one. A stiff spring helps the feel a lot. And absolutely have to lube the pivot with plumbers silicone grease before installation.

[jdbailey1206]

I have not found a use for the shoet shaft and ordered a long shaft shortly after only five days of use with the short shaft.   I found that the octagon restrictor is great for a short throw also.

[actionless]

The U360 isn't the "best evar 1!!!1!", but it is the best all around stick. Jack of all trades, master of none. You get a lot of flexibility with the stick and you can spend a lot of time fine tuning it, if that's your thing. A couple of musts when it comes to this stick... Stay with the standard length shaft. If mounting in a wood panel, either top mount, or route out a pocket for it. It needs a restrictor, my preference is for the octagonal one. A stiff spring helps the feel a lot. And absolutely have to lube the pivot with plumbers silicone grease before installation.

Exactly spot on. Cant recomend the octagonal restrictor enough and I agree with stick with the standard shaft and stiffer spring.
Not tried lubing, is that just for feel is it needed?

[NickG]

I use U360s with the stiffer spring and circular restrictor.   Adding wired switches to U360's yields the ability to "double-tap" rapidly with tactile feedback and without any mystery about whether deadzone was made between taps, while still being able to use maps or analog for games which do not require rapid repeated "taps".  The circular restrictor allows movement in such a way that I have bent the levers on my switches.  They are still working, but I wonder if I should use a different switch type or go to the octagonal restrictor..  I think the octagonal may be odd for some of the analog games, though. 

[2600]

It might help to make sure you have your U360's setup optimally as well.   This includes remapping how MAME restricts analog joysticks, MAME analog deadzone, and if you don't like the current Ultimarc 4way map then change it to your liking.

[jimmer]

If you limit yourself to 1 stick for all games then you have limited yourself to what can be achieved in terms of authenticity or tuning for each game.  The transformer stick that auto changes the gate shape, actuation pattern, stiffness, handle length, ball size doesn't exist yet.

Current options for gate change are: manually change the gate, or servo twist a square/diamond.

Auto gate changes between 2 different gates is a next step that I expect to see.  Swapping 2 is easier than 3 and you can get by with 2 gate shapes quite happily. My gate preferences are: for 8way a smoothed octagon type shape (actual shape depends on switch actuation pattern), and for 4way a mild cloverleaf (ie nearly a diamond) with smooth corner turns.

That still leaves you without a nice 2way slot for Defender though.

[bfauska]

If you limit yourself to 1 stick for all games then you have limited yourself to what can be achieved in terms of authenticity or tuning for each game.  The transformer stick that auto changes the gate shape, actuation pattern, stiffness, handle length, ball size doesn't exist yet.

Current options for gate change are: manually change the gate, or servo twist a square/diamond.

Auto gate changes between 2 different gates is a next step that I expect to see.  Swapping 2 is easier than 3 and you can get by with 2 gate shapes quite happily. My gate preferences are: for 8way a smoothed octagon type shape (actual shape depends on switch actuation pattern), and for 4way a mild cloverleaf (ie nearly a diamond) with smooth corner turns.

That still leaves you without a nice 2way slot for Defender though.

Since I think this discussion is valuable in general I hope this doesn't limit it, but for my purposes authenticity isn't nearly as much of a concern as playability and versatility. A 2-way stick for example is rarely going to be problematic to not have, even on an 8-way 2-way games play without input based bugs.

One of the primary difficulties I'm facing is my conflict between frankenpanel avoidance, broad game taste, and limited funds and space for multiple cabinets. Servo-sticks and U360s both offer reasonable solutions to most of those concerns. I am curious to find out if I have strong feelings about the ergonomics of a U360 in terms of restrictor, spring, and shaft/top style. It seems like the firm spring has overwhelming support (enough that it makes me wonder why it's not the standard) and since I don't think I'll be playing piles of analog games the octagon restrictor may be a nice way for some physical feedback on 4 and 8 way games. The idea of adding switches to hear and maybe feel the slight click seems like I probably won't need to go that far but I've never used the U360 so I don't know just how blind one feels in that regard yet.

Thanks for all the input everyone, at the very least it's helping me see that I may have already made up my mind.

[ChanceKJ]

I guess to summarize: a bone stock 360 just feels kinda sloppy. Like its missing that feedback, or limits.

[bfauska]

I guess to summarize: a bone stock 360 just feels kinda sloppy. Like its missing that feedback, or limits.

That's good to hear, a quick broad-stroke summary. I get the impression that it's a common opinion too. I think I'll get the spring and restrictor with them when I order.

[ChanceKJ]

honestly, for like .35/40 cents each i'd grab a few microswitches as well, i know it sounds silly, but its not like it wouldn't help having extra switches laying around and i was quite amazed what it did to counter my summary above.