[SOLVED] Newbie - Help buying a stick and buttons

[TheOnlyShad0w]

I'm trying to find a good stick and buttons for my arcade cabinet build. This is the first thing I've ever done anything like this. I want to be able to play all kinds of arcade games and even console games on this thing.

I'm currently looking at these buttons with the Cherry microswitch. I like the design of these buttons over most of the others I've seen although I can't figure out what kind of quality the manufacturer is known for.

Before finding a stick I found these cool ball tops and didn't realize until later that they are only compatible with a couple different sticks so I'm looking at this Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT. As I said, I want to be able to play all kinds of games, however I do want something that'll maybe be better for Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga.

I also noticed that Focus Attack offers differently shaped inserts for sticks so I was wondering what would be ideal for a multi-arcade cabinet like this. My first inclination would be for octagonal but I'm not sure. I'm only 21 so I don't have much experience actually playing classic arcade games, but I've always loved playing them in console collections so now I want to build a cabinet to play them in a more traditional manner.

Thanks for any help!

[stavros693000]

the sanwa jlf is a nice stick and is the standed for japenese cabs. you cant really go wrong with one of those IMO.
and those buttons are happ concave which were on most cabinets in the usa and Australia through the 80's and 90's.

everyone has their own opinion on what the best stick/button is but for the purpose you want, those will do nicely

[TheOnlyShad0w]

the sanwa jlf is a nice stick and is the standed for japenese cabs. you cant really go wrong with one of those IMO.
and those buttons are happ concave which were on most cabinets in the usa and Australia through the 80's and 90's.

everyone has their own opinion on what the best stick/button is but for the purpose you want, those will do nicely

Fantastic! Do you have any suggestions as far as plate shapes go?

[jeremymtc]

Fantastic! Do you have any suggestions as far as plate shapes go?

Octagonal is a good compromise to start with if you're going to be using it for a combination of 4-way and 8-way games: it'll give you some "definition" or feedback in terms of the stick position in the cardinals and corners.

If you wanted more accurate feel for 4-way games you could go with a square restrictor; square works well in both 4 and 8-way, but with less definition in the cardinal directions in 8-way.

Round restrictors are generally used for fighting games (8-way) as they facilitate sweeping movements, but give no real feedback for diagonals and cardinals on their own.

[harveybirdman]

Don't spend a lot of money on sticks before you realize the following:

Console games on a cab doesn't make near the amount of sense as you think it does right now, but if you must go there you should consider native controller support.

Aesthetic and functional compromise or big time $ is required to do four way and 8 way sticks in the same project.  Perhaps the definition of what you want this machine to be is too broad at the moment.

Control opinion varies widely from user to user, what you are asking is the equivalent of going into a focus group of rednecks and asking who makes the best trucks.  Buy some cheap ones to get an idea of what you like, then when you have the experience drop coin on sticks

[WakiMiko]

Slagcoin has a comparison of sticks and buttons, with a focus on Japanese brands: http://slagcoin.com/joystick/attributes_brands.html

The rest of the site is a great resource too and I highly recommend reading all of it.

[yotsuya]

Control opinion varies widely from user to user, what you are asking is the equivalent of going into a focus group of rednecks and asking who makes the best trucks. 

Toyoter, obviously.

[TheOnlyShad0w]

I ended up going with the stick and buttons I linked above and I decided to see what the default restrictor plate felt like and also added on a round and octagonal so I can test those, since they only cost me about a dollar each to add on.

I'm not looking for an exact arcade representation for my setup here, I just want something that feels close. I also don't expect this setup to be ideal for every single game, but I am hoping it at least feels good for pretty much everything, not perfect.

As long as you guys aren't saying anything negative about what I picked out I think it should work just fine. Thanks for your response

[BadMouth]

Was just about to chime in, but you've already pulled the trigger.

The IL buttons are decent.  I put the Japanese style convex buttons on my cab and sometimes with I had the old style concave ones.

You mentioned a few older games.  The JLFs have a super light spring in them.  You might not like this.
I described them as "dainty" the first time I tried them.
Luckily it's something that can be changed.  I think I ended up with a 3 or 4 pound spring in mine, but it's a matter of personal taste.
(the springs came from Paradise Arcade, but I order most of my Japanese parts from Focus Attack nowadays)

I used the octagon restrictor for a while.  I did better on most games with it.  It stops you from being as sloppy with the joystick.
You move the stick to a direction and then it's guided into the corner.  It even helps out a bit on Qbert.
I ride the restrictor when I play.  As time went on I didn't care for the bumpy feeling when doing circular movements, so I moved onto circular restrictors.

The good thing about this model stick is that there are lots of parts out there and it can be made into anything you want it to be.

[TheOnlyShad0w]

Was just about to chime in, but you've already pulled the trigger.

The IL buttons are decent.  I put the Japanese style convex buttons on my cab and sometimes with I had the old style concave ones.

You mentioned a few older games.  The JLFs have a super light spring in them.  You might not like this.
I described them as "dainty" the first time I tried them.
Luckily it's something that can be changed.  I think I ended up with a 3 or 4 pound spring in mine, but it's a matter of personal taste.
(the springs came from Paradise Arcade, but I order most of my Japanese parts from Focus Attack nowadays)

I used the octagon restrictor for a while.  I did better on most games with it.  It stops you from being as sloppy with the joystick.
You move the stick to a direction and then it's guided into the corner.  It even helps out a bit on Qbert.
I ride the restrictor when I play.  As time went on I didn't care for the bumpy feeling when doing circular movements, so I moved onto circular restrictors.

The good thing about this model stick is that there are lots of parts out there and it can be made into anything you want it to be.

I did pick up the octagon restrictor as well as a 2Lb spring because I had the same concern. Is it difficult to switch out the spring?

[BadMouth]

I did pick up the octagon restrictor as well as a 2Lb spring because I had the same concern. Is it difficult to switch out the spring?

Not difficult at all.  Just don't lose the little E-clip.

[TheOnlyShad0w]

I did pick up the octagon restrictor as well as a 2Lb spring because I had the same concern. Is it difficult to switch out the spring?

Not difficult at all.  Just don't lose the little E-clip.

That looks super easy. Thanks!