ServoStik, can anyone comment on 8 way mode and Robotron

[Zeosstud]

Hello,
        I am doing some work on my MiSTer pedestal and am thinking of trying out the ServoStik's because of the ability to switch between 4 and 8 way mode manually with a buttons or a toggle switch. MiSTer has done some nice upgrades lately to some of the Williams cores that allow Defender and Stargate to map the buttons properly which makes this hardware pretty attractive as a sort of MultiWilliams capable setup in addition to everything else it is really good at.

So, I am no 10 million plus Robotron player using the default settings, but I do really enjoy the game, like, if I was stranded on a desert island and could only have one arcade game, I would want a Robotron, so my question is, anyone have recent experience using these sticks in both 4 and 8 way modes and would you care to share.  I have a dedicated 4 way leaf switched joystick I use for PacMan games and I will be keeping that, but I do play Donkey Kong, Pengo, and other games that use a 4 way stick and I want to play Mario Bros, Tetris, Joust and other 2 player games on occasion and the 8 way leaf swithed joysticks I have now, which are just fine for Robotron, fail miserably when the wife wants to beat me at Tetris.

I have a couple Sanwa JLF sticks coming with the 8 way restrictors, some say these work well in both 4 and 8 way games, I will share my views on that subject before to long..

Thanks for your time..

[nexusmtz]

The square restrictor on the ServoStik allows 8 way movement, but it doesn't feel like a round or octagon joystick. I doubt you'll be happy going backward from a real 8-way.

[circusfreak]

Buddy of mine just finished a cab with a pair of servostiks. I love the idea of the switching. But, my old cab had dual 8-way sticks with just round restrictors, and the square does not feel good at all to me for 8-way games. I am a Robotron fan and I could not seem to accurately hit the U/D/L/R directions for moving and firing accurately. I kept unintentionally dropping into the corners. I guess it depends on whether you play lightly, or whether you play right up against the full travel against the restrictor.

I would recommend buying a cheap sanwa JLF which comes with a 4/8 way like the servostik would feel. And also buy a circular and octagonal to try as well. I kind of dig the feel of the octo, but haven't put it in a control panel to try yet.

Another option is a pair of U360s with circular restrictors and do the software switching from 4 to 8 way.

[Zeosstud]

My Sanwa JLFs with Octagonal Restrictor Plate are showing up today, many seem to think this is a pretty good solution for a good 8 way stick that does not stick at being used for 4 way games.. I will be testing it out very soon.. The U360's are not an option for this build as I am using a MiSTer device, not a Pi or a PC, no way to program them.. I have used the U360's before and liked them for a very long time..

Zeosstud

[Zeosstud]

Got my Sanwa JLF's in yesterday with the octagonal plates, installed them and did some play testing.. I think they are going to work out, playing Robotron was a little different but took very little time to get used to, in fact I think the feedback might actually help you aim a bit better after you get completely used to it.. the real goal for me is that the right Robotron stick can also be used for Player 2 when playing Joust, Mario Bros, Tetris and Wizard of Wor in my current pedestal cabinet using a MiSTer as the source. I need to get the wife downstairs to do some play testing but pretty sure she is going to like this much better than trying to use the taller Dominux8 joystick, Tetris being her main game, she just refused to play with that setup.

[jimmer]

A recent Williams core update has maybe fixed the sound, can you comment on that?  (I'm waiting to hear that MiSter Defender is close to original before I buy in).

For your JLF joysticks, if you get the ottodiy grommet conversion (4 grommet stiffnesses) and some different spring strengths then you can tune a wide range of different feels, and with the swappable gates (circle,diamond,octagon,slot) you should be able to make a configuration that suits you on any particular game.  If you are not going to swap restrictors then I'd go with circle gates. And given that you have a nice short 4way I'd lengthen the 8ways a bit for Robotron goodness (ie sink them into the underside).

I like to see the Defender/stargate button layout but you can do better than that black thing.

[Zeosstud]

The black joystick is a Happ Super that I found in a drawer and has served it's purpose well, that said, I agree with you 100% I can do better. I actually have reached out to grooveygamegear and ordered some of their plates do do some additional testing. I use a Dominux8 stick currently for Pac-Man games on that panel with its 4 way plate and I love it, since I have a couple more just sitting around now seemed like a good time to test some more.
A recent update uploaded to the mister project by Alanswx said that they updated some cpu piece that fixed the sound in the williams games, I play a fair amount of Robotron and have a JROK multiwilliams cab setup as a dedicated Robotron about 10 feet away from my mister pedestal, I think the update did in fact make a difference, and the 2 cabs sound very similar now. I know it would not be very scientific but I would be happy to play some defender and stargate on my mister and record the sound if you wish to hear it.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[jimmer]

A recent update uploaded to the mister project by Alansx said that they updated some cpu piece that fixed the sound in the williams games, I play a fair amount of Robotron and have a JROK multiwilliams cab setup as a dedicated Robotron about 10 feet away from my mister pedestal, I think the update did in fact make a difference, and the 2 cabs sound very similar now. I know it would not be very scientific but I would be happy to play some defender and stargate on my mister and record the sound if you wish to hear it.

Thanks, that's good news. I'm not going to be a perfectionist on the sounds, you saying it sounds very similar to your JROK now will be good enough for me to give MiSter a try (sometime). 

[Zeosstud]

You won't be sorry.. The MiSTer is really an amazing project, getting better daily..

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Gilrock]

Somehow I had never heard of that MiSter project.  I'm tempted to get one but I really have so many things I should finish before tinkering with that.

[Zeosstud]

It does not get the kind of press that the Retro Pie gets for sure, I know you have an appreciation for fpga boards, we both do, the JROK Multiwilliams specifically, this thing take fpga to a whole new level. Fun to mess with..

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Gilrock]

Yeah I couldn't resist already ordered one...lol.  I had been browsing the other JROK boards to see what other games they have boards for and its not that many so I was already thinking about getting into the FPGA stuff on my own.  Didn't know there was already a huge project out there.

[Zeosstud]

I bet you are going to really like it.. they have a pretty active discord channel you might enjoy, a lot of good people..  Cant wait to see what you come up with to take advantage of it..

Zeosstud

https://discord.com/channels/418895913210216448/497145588446396416