Trigger Stick Recommendations

[mahuti]

Hey Guys, I'm looking to get a trigger stick to play DOT, Gorg, Tron, Zwackery, etc.

I looked on the board, for some info, but I thought I would put out a request for comparisons.

I would prefer an arcade stick (rather than a hacked logitech, microsoft, etc) I know that Happ makes a few models. The heavy duty (about $100) looks like a good stick. Also, I've noticed a few other people hacking regular sticks. What's the advantage?.. price?

Also, could you guys suggest a few trigger stick games (besides what I mentioned ) that are particularly fun. My trigger stick panel will have 1 trigger stick, and a DOT spinner. perhaps a few other controls, if someone could suggest a reason to add them.

Any info would be great.

Thanks!

[NoOne=NBA=]

You probably won't be happy with anything but a real Tron stick for Tron.
For the other games, a DOT/Xenophobe stick, or a Happ Heavy Duty (which is the same stick, but with microswitches), will work fine.

You can't play the lightcycle stage with the above mentioned 8-ways.
The lightcycle will go into a zig-zag, and you will die.
The real Tron sticks used 4-way restrictors, but had an actuator large enough to let you barely hit the 8-ways when the stick was between directions.

Do NOT get a Gorf stick.
They used optical sensors on the bottom of a Tron-style stick, so you'd have to interface those, rather than just wire it up.

[RayB]

Does it have to be a big trigger style joystick or can it be a classic ball-top stick with a button on the top??

PM me if this interests you.

PS: Other trigger game: Assault (needs 2 of them), Battlezone, etc...

[Doc-]

  I have two top-fire joysticks and a hacked "Tron-style" 8 way joystick.   You can see a few layouts on my site below.  I'm happy with the top-fires in most cases, but the trigger fire joystick is superior for the games you listed.

  As mentioned above, they are fine for all of the games except the Tron light-cycles.  The original Tron stick had a 4-way style actuator which helped reduce the zig-zag.  I actually use a four way stick for light cycles (I have a modular panel, so I can line up as many joysticks as I want in any order).

  I would recommend hacking a joystick onto an 8 way base - it is dramatically cheaper than most of the alternatives.  I took an old Logitech Wingman joystick that was dead and hacked the handle onto an 8-way base and wired 3 buttons up.  There are some pictures on my site - and it works great.  There are quite a few examples out there of various hacks if you do an advanced search - and all of them work fine.  

I combined the ideas from Oscars trigger stick hack:

 http://www.oscarcontrols.com/projects/triggerstick.shtml

and 1-Ups rotation restrictor:

  http://www.1uparcade.com/projects-trigstick.html

to hack my joystick.

[mahuti]

Thanks for the info. It's a shame that the guy selling the repro handles on eBay went away. I may buy one of the HD Trigger sticks from Happs for the short term. I definitely need to get a top fire joystick too. I wish there was  an ultimarc switchable topfire stick.

[Tiger-Heli]

I know you're not a fan of the Prodigy, but what I will probably end up on one of my destop controllers is a pair of Prodigies with a PC triggerstick hacked to the handle.  This way I can have both sticks in 8-way for Zaxxon, and 2-player trigger fire stick games (Xenophobe), both sticks in 4-way for Battlezone and Assault, For Tron, I will set one stick to 4-way and one to 8-way and map P1 to both sticks, so I can switch quickly between them.

FWIW.

[IncrdblHulk7]

Has anyone tried using HAPP Left and Right hand Trigger stick grips and grafting them onto a Super/Ultimate?  I think last time I looked - the HAPP L&R grips w/buttons&trigger were something like $25/grip.

[Tiger-Heli]

Has anyone tried using HAPP Left and Right hand Trigger stick grips and grafting them onto a Super/Ultimate?  I think last time I looked - the HAPP L&R grips w/buttons&trigger were something like $25/grip.

I think someone has done this, can't remember who.  Matter of fact, I think someone was trying to sell these at one point.

$17/grip at www.therealbobroberts.com, FWIW

[mahuti]

That's funny. I had thought about doing that too, but figured it would turn out terrible.

And about the Prodigy sticks... I'm not really opposed to them. If they work, they work. I just haven't bought any yet, but I may do so one of these days.

[NoOne=NBA=]

I grafted a Saitek top onto a Competition base, and wasn't too happy with it.
It worked OK for Tron after I replaced the square actuator with a round chunk of flagpole to force it to work as a 4-way.
It just always FELT like a hack to me though.

I got a real Tron stick, and haven't looked back since.

[albrigsr]

Doc-

What Top-Fire joysticks do you have?  I see that Happ Controls carries a top fire super joystick and I know Groovy Game Gear has one as well.

[RayB]

Guys, I am wondering if you would have any interest in this type of solution:



See you get the classic look and feel of a red ball top, but if you need it, you got a fire button on top!

This ball & shaft fits in a WICO joystick base. I just purchased 37 of these ballshafts alone (no button!).

Any interest, let me know.
~Ray B.

[IncrdblHulk7]

RayB - Awesome Find!  That is an awesome looking joystick - very unique.

Unforunatly I need a trigger stick with at least 2 buttons (Trigger and Thumb preferably) since I mainly want it to play games like Vindicators (2 x 2-way w 2 buttons each).  

Thanks for the link to the BobRoberts grip assemblies.  They look perfect for what I am looking for - just hoping somebody had tried using them before.  I am nervous about trying to graft them onto another stick.

[Doc-]

Doc-

What Top-Fire joysticks do you have?  I see that Happ Controls carries a top fire super joystick and I know Groovy Game Gear has one as well.

Well through some bizarre twist of fate I actually have both!  

I ordered a Happs one early on and then found the groovygamegear at the cheaper price later.  Both are 8 ways.

As you might have guessed, the Happs topfire uses the Super joystick base, so it has the microswitches with the long arm actuators on them and a round actuator.  I would say the feel is close to a Super joystick - moderate tension and throw, with a pretty continuous transition from sides to corners.  

The Groovygamegear stick is a much different design.  It has a round actuator that makes direct contact with the microswitches.   The corners are a bit more distinct.  The stick is actually mounted on a rounded base about 1-1/4" or more wide that sticks out slightly above the control panel.

Comparing the two, the Happs has a longer throw, and slightly more spring tension.  The corners are more distinct on the Groovygamegear, but more continuous on the Happs.   Both MUST be top-mounted on the panel - the handle is much too short to mount it under a wood panel.  Both use the same basic mechanism for the thumb button and have the same handle shape/size so there is no difference there.  

I think the Happs has a slightly better feel to it from a pure joystick perspective, but given the price difference plus the fact that being able to feel the corners can be important in many top fire games (i.e. some are clearly designed for two way or four way joysticks) the Groovygamegear may be a better value.

IncrdblHulk7 - I have had success using a top fire on the left and 3 button converted  "PC" stick on the right with Vindicators.  I just set both thumb buttons to rotate and the trigger to fire.

[NoOne=NBA=]

I bottom mounted my Happ's Top Fire, and thought it felt fine.