Who wants a switchable Pac-Man/Qbert stick?

[1UP]

So I'm looking at the possibility of fabricating a joystick or accessory that would allow a dedicated 4-way joystick to be turned 45 degrees without reaching under the panel.  I've been really disappointed with the performance of the competion sticks in this role, and there's really nothing else out there that can do UDLR and diagonals.

The closest thing I've seen is the Universal or E-Stick, both of which have a rotatable switch plate, but they suffer from heavy spring tension and a short throw distance.  Not only that, you need access to the bottom of the panel for the switch.  Anyway, a balltop stick is the only way to play maze-type games.

So it's up to you!  Is there any real need for yet another specialty joystick?  This is something I've been mulling over for quite some time, so I have several ideas about how it could be done...  

[goofy]

I would much prefer a 8-way that could switch to a straight or diagonal 4-way.

While we're at it, maybe put a trigger fire button on too. But, that may be way too complicated.

[1UP]

There are plenty of 8-ways that switch to 4-ways, but most people still have a dedicated 4-way somewhere on their cab.  The Universal or E-stick can do 8-way, 4-way straight, 4-way diagonal.  Are there many 4-way, 2 player games that would need two 4-way sticks?

[crashwg]

How about some sort of mechanism that you could attatch whatever joystick to?  If you could put a t-stick on such a device you'd have a pretty sweet setup!

[Hoagie_one]

not to change the subject, but how is the cabinet making buisness?  Any idea on when those cabs are gonna be for sale.

[Thenasty]

have you seen this MOD ? Make your 8-way 360 have diagonal Leaf Switches for Q-bert/Congo Bongo.

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=25385

[1UP]

not to change the subject, but how is the cabinet making buisness?  Any idea on when those cabs are gonna be for sale.

Very soon...  

What I am planning is a rotating plate that would accept any standard mount joystick.  In my opinion, the T-stick sucks.  The twist-to-convert mechanism is brilliant, too bad it's not on a different joystick.  But it has about 1/4" throw in any direction, which is too small for any good Ms Pac-Man action, and really not good if you have any wrist pain.

The absolute best balltop for maze games is the J-stick, with a medium throw, light spring tension and a nicely shaped restrictor, this is the stick that won out in heavy playtesting by many different people, and I tried everything from a T-stick to an E-stick, to a super with a balltop hacked on.  Everyone absolutely loved this stick during our office-wide Ms. Pac-Man playoff!  The light spring tension makes for quick turnarounds when the ghosts reverse direction, and the perfectly rounded restrictor gives positive feedback when you hit the corners, but never sticks when you make a turn.  1UP approved!

But you can put anything you want on my adapter plate...doesn't bother me.

[Hoagie_one]

not to change the subject, but how is the cabinet making buisness?  Any idea on when those cabs are gonna be for sale.

Very soon...  

What a tease

[Tommy Boy]

not to change the subject, but how is the cabinet making buisness?  Any idea on when those cabs are gonna be for sale.

Very soon...  

What I am planning is a rotating plate that would accept any standard mount joystick.  In my opinion, the T-stick sucks.  The twist-to-convert mechanism is brilliant, too bad it's not on a different joystick.  But it has about 1/4" throw in any direction, which is too small for any good Ms Pac-Man action, and really not good if you have any wrist pain.

The absolute best balltop for maze games is the J-stick, with a medium throw, light spring tension and a nicely shaped restrictor, this is the stick that won out in heavy playtesting by many different people, and I tried everything from a T-stick to an E-stick, to a super with a balltop hacked on.  Everyone absolutely loved this stick during our office-wide Ms. Pac-Man playoff!  The light spring tension makes for quick turnarounds when the ghosts reverse direction, and the perfectly rounded restrictor gives positive feedback when you hit the corners, but never sticks when you make a turn.  1UP approved!

But you can put anything you want on my adapter plate...doesn't bother me.

Cool idea...you may install one on my very own "1uparcade" -- that is when you get around to finally selling me one!    

Seriously, my credit card has been burning a hole in my pocket for months waiting for one of your creations...but I'm sure the wait will be well worth it  

Not to change the subject but you had mentioned in an earlier thread that you might look to replace the full-size Tron sticks with a hybrid approach on something like a comp base.  Any further thoughts on that?  I like the idea of having a true trigger option in a somewhat smaller form factor than the full-size Tron.  I'm more of a tank game buff and I never liked the feel of the Tron sticks for those games...

[koolmoecraig]

How hard is it to switch a J-Stik from 4 to 8 way?

Is it just turning a lever underneath?

Thanks

[1UP]

Cool idea...you may install one on my very own "1uparcade" -- that is when you get around to finally selling me one!    

Seriously, my credit card has been burning a hole in my pocket for months waiting for one of your creations...but I'm sure the wait will be well worth it  

Not to change the subject but you had mentioned in an earlier thread that you might look to replace the full-size Tron sticks with a hybrid approach on something like a comp base.  Any further thoughts on that?  I like the idea of having a true trigger option in a somewhat smaller form factor than the full-size Tron.  I'm more of a tank game buff and I never liked the feel of the Tron sticks for those games...

That's the idea, I'd be making this as part of my cab, but also selling it as a separate product.

As far as the Tron sticks, I am working on that as well.  The Tron repros were just a hair too tall, so they were scraping the bottom of my monitor shelf after I put in the 27".  So I am making a Tron-like stick that's a little more compact, with the handle about 1/2" shorter, which should be available separately as well.  I may add a rubber grommet to the design, to increase resistance and to better approximate the feel of a true Tron stick.

But I'm working night and day to get these cabinets cranking out, and it's close!  Expect some big news in a few weeks!  

[1UP]

How hard is it to switch a J-Stik from 4 to 8 way?

Is it just turning a lever underneath?

Thanks

It's a disc with a diamond restrictor that rotates on the bottom of the switch base.  You need to open the panel to do it though.  But I much prefer it as a dedicated 4-way, so I keep it screwed down tight in 4-way mode.

[Sasquatch!]

Voted "slightly interested".  

(The potential Tron repro: VERY interested!  )

[Zathras]

I'm interested in both the pm/q and especially the Tron repro

[Hoagie_one]

mmmmm, tron repro

[1UP]

It probably won't be a Tron repro, but a similarly shaped trigger stick.  Remember, Happ still makes the Tron replacement, so I don't know if they have licensed that from Midway or not.  There's a difference between making a few dozen out of your home for ebay, and rolling them off the assembly line by the hundreds.

I will have images of the complete cabinet soon, and you'll see what they look like then...

[Hoagie_one]

what a tease

[Sasquatch!]

It probably won't be a Tron repro, but a similarly shaped trigger stick.

I knew that's what ya meant.  

[etumor]

There was a time when I was very interested in this idea, and wondered why nobody had engineered it yet.  I even put together some plans of how I thought it would work.

Then I discovered the T-stick Plus, which provides me with 4-way, 8-way, and diagonal movement, all without having to open the control panel.  I didn't believe it until I tried it (although many people had assured me that it was true), but the T-stick Plus in 8-way mode makes a great Q*Bert joystick.  I've compared it to the real thing, and it feels very similar.  There are no wrong moves or getting stuck like their was with the restrictor plate solution.  T-stick Plus is definitely the best solution so far.

That having been said, I'm always a fan of having options.  So if you come up with a different solution, it will certainly be something I'll take a look at (meaning I'll buy one and play around with it).  The more solutions I have available to me, the more designs I can consider.  And I can certainly imagine instances where a 4-way rotatable joystick might be my choice over the T-stick.

-Jeff "etumor"

Edit: I just read what 1-Up has to say about the T-stick, and I wanted to add that I agree when he says "I wish it was on a better joystick."  The short throw and stiff feel of the T-stick are very problematic.  I ended up hacking mine to make it work the way I wanted.  I used Happ microswitches on it and did the trick where you stretch out the spring -- only then did it meet with my expectations.  These two things "loosened" up the feel of the joystick considerably.  The throw is still very short -- so that all relates back to my comment that I'd love to see "other" solutions.