Joystick 8 way or 4 way??

[budz71]

Looking for peoples opinion about the best joystick setup for my control panel. I will be playing mostly Mame games. Anything from Pacman type to Mortal Kombat type but defiantly more of the mortal combat type fighting games. Do I go with (2) 8 way, Selectable, or (2) 8 way and (1) 4 way? I will also be playing some newer games like smash brothers, mario galaxy, etc. Would 8 way even work with those games? or do I need a 48 way or rotary? This is my first build and all of the different styles of joysticks, buttons, and trackballs are driving me nuts. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Titchgamer]

This is a question only you can answer really as there are many ways of achieving results.

You could just stick to the 2x 8 way but it will be horrible playing 4 way games. Especially things like pac man!!

You could go as you suggested 2x 8 way and 1x 4 way if you dont mind it taking up the additional real estate on your CP.
But its probably the best solution in terms of practical realism.

You could do what I did which was to get 2x 4/8 way switchable sticks (mag stick plus's in my case) so you have the best of both worlds but with only 2 sticks.

You could get servo sticks which are automatic 4/8 way switchable but a bit more complicated.

As for the newer games have a think how practical they are to play on a arcade machine before you delve deeper into that one.

[ugleymatt]

Hijacking a thread...

Is there a switchable 4/8 way leaf joystick? What options are there for click free gaming?

[Titchgamer]

Hijacking a thread...

Is there a switchable 4/8 way leaf joystick? What options are there for click free gaming?

Not that I am aware of.
But you could do as I did and upgrade the microswitches to low noise/actuation ones as i did.

[ugleymatt]

Hijacking a thread...

Is there a switchable 4/8 way leaf joystick? What options are there for click free gaming?

Not that I am aware of.
But you could do as I did and upgrade the microswitches to low noise/actuation ones as i did.

Is that easy enough to do?

[yamatetsu]

You just pull the old one out and put the new one in.

[Cynicaster]

Looking for peoples opinion about the best joystick setup for my control panel. I will be playing mostly Mame games. Anything from Pacman type to Mortal Kombat type but defiantly more of the mortal combat type fighting games. Do I go with (2) 8 way, Selectable, or (2) 8 way and (1) 4 way? I will also be playing some newer games like smash brothers, mario galaxy, etc. Would 8 way even work with those games? or do I need a 48 way or rotary? This is my first build and all of the different styles of joysticks, buttons, and trackballs are driving me nuts. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I admit I've never used a switchable 4/8-way stick, but through the years the overwhelming majority of reviews I've seen for such products are lukewarm at best. 

If you're only going to play the odd 4-way game here and there for a few minutes, just fake it with an 8-way.  If you're genuinely interested in classic 4-way games, then it is definitely worth having a dedicated stick.

I'd suggest a pair of Happ Competitions or Supers (low price, great value--I prefer the feel of Comps, myself) for P1 and P2, 6 buttons each (since you seem to like fighting games), and a single 4-way in the center if you really think you'll use it.
 
As for the console emulation, it's not a popular thing to do on MAME cabinets but it can be done if you really want to.  You'll want to stick with games having controls that map well to the 8-way stick + 6 button layout.  Keep in mind that many games will not, especially once you get into analog controls and consoles with stupid controllers like the N64.  Early consoles that had numeric key pads on the controllers are also not a good fit.  Lots of games from systems with basic controllers work just fine (Atari 2600, Atari 7800, NES, SMS, Genesis come to mind).

   

[JimmyH]

This is the same conundrum im in at the moment. My plan is a Mame cabinet, and I want both 4 and 8 way, so im not sure if I should have a dedicated 4 and two 8's. In my limited research so far, I am yet to see a build like that (although I have not been looking for very long), so I cant decide myself. I was originally thinking of getting the sticks that can be switched between 4 and 8, but then that would mean having a CP that you constantly have to get under and I think that would be annoying, so the more I think about it the more im leaning towards the single 4 and two 8 setup.

[smass]

This is the same conundrum im in at the moment. My plan is a Mame cabinet, and I want both 4 and 8 way, so im not sure if I should have a dedicated 4 and two 8's. In my limited research so far, I am yet to see a build like that (although I have not been looking for very long), so I cant decide myself. I was originally thinking of getting the sticks that can be switched between 4 and 8, but then that would mean having a CP that you constantly have to get under and I think that would be annoying, so the more I think about it the more im leaning towards the single 4 and two 8 setup.

There are 4/8 way joysticks that can be switched from the top of the panel.  Two that come to mind are the "mag-stick plus" and the "servo stick" from ultimarc.  I am sure there are others.

[Titchgamer]

As smass says there are a few options out there.

I have the Mag Stick Plus sticks in my cab and after some fettling changing out the microswitches and a few other minor tweaks they are great.

The main problem people have with them is they have a short throw on them. Of course thats a personal preference thing rather than a design flaw and you are stuck with the square gate but again thats a minor point.
But they can be changed from above by pulling up the stick and twisting it. Literally takes seconds!

The servo stick is automatic change over but requires some setting up etc.

I believe GGG do one to that uses a switch to change that sticks through the panel.

You can also get top mountable changeable restrictors.

[thewisteron]

Has anyone had good experiences with the Ultrastik 360?

[ahofle]

In my opinion, an 8-way like the Sanwa JLF with the octagonal restrictor is the best compromise if you don't want a dedicated 4 way.  The restrictor let's you feel the 4 way directions easy and still works great for 8 way games.
https://www.focusattack.com/jlf-gt-y-octagonal-restrictor-plate-insert/

[DeLuSioNal29]

Hijacking a thread...

Is there a switchable 4/8 way leaf joystick? What options are there for click free gaming?

Not that I am aware of.
But you could do as I did and upgrade the microswitches to low noise/actuation ones as i did.

Is that easy enough to do?

Or just swap them with Microleafs from GGG:
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=309

DeL

[Titchgamer]

Hijacking a thread...

Is there a switchable 4/8 way leaf joystick? What options are there for click free gaming?

Not that I am aware of.
But you could do as I did and upgrade the microswitches to low noise/actuation ones as i did.

Is that easy enough to do?

Or just swap them with Microleafs from GGG:
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=309

DeL

Dont think they fit properly on the mag sticks.

[StefanBurger]

aham... did I lately mentioned, that I made that thing:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1984680

It's firmware is software compatible with the ultimark servo stick