Glens Arcade Tron Joystick

[Zeosstud]

Hello,
         Anyone tried one of these yet?  Curious if you used the 4 way or 8 way restrictor plates or just left it with the round one it comes with for playing Tron.  I will be giving it a shot as I just ordered one, but if anyone else has any experience they care to share, please do.

https://www.amazon.com/GRS-Tron-Arcade-Flight-Stick/dp/B07X8DZ344/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

[jdevane]

I actually bought two but they are both sitting in the box as I haven't made it to my Tron projects yet...  but I pulled one out and I liked them.  I don't think they would stand up to route use but that's not what they are intended for.

[Zeosstud]

Planning on fitting one into my pedestal in place of the U360 Flight Stick, see if I like it better..  That and a nice 4 way joystick and maybe, just maybe, that pedestal will be done.. :-)

Curious, you think you will use it in 4 way mode?  That is the piece of the puzzle I am wondering about, would be nice if it was 8 way, for Zaxxon and a few others, but in 8 way mode, would that really jack with the Light cycles in Tron.. 

Time will tell..

[Zeosstud]

Joystick is installed. I like it.. It will stay!!

Thoughts.. 

You will want to use the included 4 way restrictor, light cycles get a bit crazy with both the round and the 8 way restrictor.

The handle is a little small, like, just a little.. Not a deal breaker, but if it was just maybe an inch or 2 larger it would be better.

The manual that comes with it, is for sure lacking, but hey, not the end of the world.

It is pretty easy for me to give this Joystick 8.5 out of 10, and for $50, it does not break the bank.

I hooked it up directly to my IPAC2, did not use the provided encoder at all.. I am powering the LEDs for the Trackball and the Joystick from the same 5v connection.  All my devices are plugged into the IPAC2, the Trackball, the Spinner and the Joystick.. I really like it this way, very clean, and I think when I go from the PC I have in there now to maybe an OdroidX4U or a Pi, pretty sure it will work very well.

If anyone has any questions, fire away..

[Mike A]

No button for Discs of Tron?

[Zeosstud]

There is not, though if you did not put on the Tron sticker, it would not take a lot I guess to rig one up.. I have seen people talk about it on other forums, but not something I am to worried about.

[ppilot]

You will want to use the included 4 way restrictor, light cycles get a bit crazy with both the round and the 8 way restrictor.

How do you play the I/O Tower, MCP Cone with the 4 way restrictor?  Can you get into the corners?

[Zeosstud]

I have had no issues with the mcp cone levels, the beginning of a few of the spider levels would be easier with the ability to go diagonal, but it is not a deal breaker.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[negative1]

these are now being sold through microcenter:



later
-1

[Batchman]

If it only had the extra button on it for the Discs of Tron, I would be really interested in this!

[PL1]

If it only had the extra button on it for the Discs of Tron, I would be really interested in this!

Looks like it wouldn't be that hard to add a thumb button and run another wire down the shaft.   


Scott

[CitznFish]

I don't want a fankenpanel but I do want this...lol.

[Mike A]

I would like to see a show of hands for people that actually play Tron on a consistent basis and enjoy it. Be honest.

Maybe I am in the minority on this.

The game sucks. Especially in proportion to the number of Tron themed cabs you see.

There are so many builds where people make tons of compromises so they can play that ---smurfy--- game with that giant ---smurfy--- joystick.

The only part of the game that is remotely interesting is the light cycle stage. That joystick makes the light cycle stage unnecessarily frustrating.

END OF RANT

[CitznFish]

I would like to see a show of hands for people that actually play Tron on a consistent basis and enjoy it. Be honest.

Maybe I am in the minority on this.

The game sucks. Especially in proportion to the number of Tron themed cabs you see.

There are so many builds where people make tons of compromises so they can play that ---smurfy--- game with that giant ---smurfy--- joystick.

The only part of the game that is remotely interesting is the light cycle stage. That joystick makes the light cycle stage unnecessarily frustrating.

END OF RANT

but this is used in more than Tron...

Zaxxon
Mad Planets
Satans Hollow
Gorf

lots of flight games like m.a.c.h. 3

[Mike A]

You just listed a murderer's row of ---smurfy--- games, except Gorf.

Satan's hollow is okay too I suppose. More for the artwork and theme than the game play.

That stick is one of the rare cases where I hate the original controls.

I am not trying to stop anyone from doing what they want. I just see time after time people plant that giant stick on their cp and it just gets in the way.

[JDFan]

Wonder if it is actually the original product ( from Glen at Glen's retro Show) or a knock off (third shift) product from the Chinese plant he used to get this made being sold to Microcenter ! ( like most of the other product Microcenter is selling.

[Hoopz]

You just listed a murderer's row of ---smurfy--- games, except Gorf.

Satan's hollow is okay too I suppose. More for the artwork and theme than the game play.

That stick is one of the rare cases where I hate the original controls.

I am not trying to stop anyone from doing what they want. I just see time after time people plant that giant stick on their cp and it just gets in the way.

But the original stick, with it's grommet, is better than a four way for the game.

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah except all of those other games use DIFFERENT joysticks.  I feel like I'm constantly repeating myself around here.... probably because I am, but the generic trigger stick top may be the same on those games, but the bottom... you know the actual joystick part, differs.  Gorf uses an optical gate system, for example, making for smooth motions which is probably why it's the only one that doesn't suck.  Some have 4 way restriction and some don't  some have a stiff grommet and some don't.  The point is, if you want the control to look the same then knock yourself out, but it isn't going to feel the same with any of these games.... not by a longshot. 

Also mach 3 is a horizontal game and all the others are vertical and I believe it requires two thumb buttons.  Gorf doesn't require any thumb buttons btw.  All the "flight games" brought up.... yeah they need analog controls.  I'm with Mike on this one.  Nobody needs a trigger stick unless they have a dedicated machine with a broken trigger stick and can't afford oem parts. 

[Mike A]

Hoopz. You are right about Tron sort of. Its a compromise.

Because of the ---smurfy--- game design they crammed 2 8 way mini games in with 2 4 way mini games.

The stick plays all of those mini games okay. None of them great.

[Batchman]

Maybe so, but it was still probably one of my 10 favorite arcade games.

[mahuti]

I love Discs of Tron. Don't care about just Tron though.

[Mike A]

I am with you on discs of Tron. The game taunts you. I like it.

[Hoopz]

The environmental DOT is my favorite cabinet. I'd spend all my allowance in it as a kid.  And I sucked at the game. But it was worth it in that cabinet.

[Howard_Casto]

DOT is great.  I feel like they released that one because they realized how bad they had screwed up with regular Tron.  The environmental is probably the most blinged out cab ever released, so there's also that. 

[mahuti]

Satan's hollow is okay too I suppose. More for the artwork and theme than the game play.

I have a Satan's Hollow cabinet that was converted to a Terra Cresta (and then gutted) long before I picked it up back in 2001. The Terra Cresta artwork is kind of cool, but man, I really wish I could strip all the artwork and black paint off for that sweet sweet artwork underneath.  It still has the really awesome curved bezel with the UV light though. I won't ever convert it back to a Satan's Hollow machine (the game is mediocre), but it's likely I might attempt someday to gently strip that paint off. I imagine the results will be garbage, but I dunno. I feel like trying.

[negative1]

Wonder if it is actually the original product ( from Glen at Glen's retro Show) or a knock off (third shift) product from the Chinese plant he used to get this made being sold to Microcenter ! ( like most of the other product Microcenter is selling.

what difference would it make. they are probably the same materials, and the same price.
glen's involved with it. so if it was a lesser product, he would have said so.

later
-1

[Vocalitus]

I would like to see a show of hands for people that actually play Tron on a consistent basis and enjoy it. Be honest.

Maybe I am in the minority on this.

The game sucks. Especially in proportion to the number of Tron themed cabs you see.

There are so many builds where people make tons of compromises so they can play that ---smurfy--- game with that giant ---smurfy--- joystick.

The only part of the game that is remotely interesting is the light cycle stage. That joystick makes the light cycle stage unnecessarily frustrating.

END OF RANT

Actually I do play these games especially Discs of Tron.  I loved the environmental cab and the surround sound back in the day.  But like most games, I am crap at them and do not survive for any great amount of time.  Sometimes I get the odd day that I am on form and get to the top and down functionality of the aiming cursor. 

I think there was one spinner by GGG that had this functionality but I am poor  so I had to find an alternative. 

The logic 3 flight stick has four buttons on rubber suckers, so I can control the aiming cursor, shield and disks while skipping between platforms.  When I am spent it has a home underneath the control panel.  Works great for Ikari Warriors, Satan's Hallow, Frontline, G-Loc and all those Sega joystick games.   I got it for $5 somewhere.  It works on the original Xbox too.

A HOTAS setup will work just as well if you are a contortionist.

[ArcadeWorkshop]

I love this stick for several games. I did add a thumb button, which is essential for DOT, and created my own push/pull spinner design. The 3D printable spinner files and instructions are available for FREE on thingiverse at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4119101
The thumb button mod is on YouTube at .
The microcenter stick is also from Glen's Retro Show, but it is a standard microswitch version without the control board or trigger microswitch.

[bobbyb13]

Would you happen to know where one trying to build a proper DOT panel could buy that stick currently?

Amazon is out (indefinitely) and MicroCenter doesn't seem to like my billing/shipping address anyway...

[ArcadeWorkshop]

I just spoke to Glen. There's a new universal kit that should be in stock in about 30 days.
A quick Google search of "grs Tron stick" brings up some other sites with this stick in stock. I have no dealings with any of these shops, so I can't provide recommendations.

[bobbyb13]

Appreciate the reply.

I have so much going on otherwise that I think I'll wait for the next round Glen puts out.