Anyone here using Optical Rotary sticks w/OptiPac?

[HeadRusch]

If so can we hear some experiences?  How to the smooth-turning opticals work on rotating games like Ikari, Time Warriors, how does the spin function work on things like Tempest, driving games and the like.......any problems playing fighting games with the sticks?

Just cirous to see if they're worth the $50 bones each...

[Tiger-Heli]

If so can we hear some experiences?  How to the smooth-turning opticals work on rotating games like Ikari, Time Warriors, how does the spin function work on things like Tempest, driving games and the like.......any problems playing fighting games with the sticks?

This is not first-hand, just parroting what others have said about them over the years.

They work great on games like Cal .50.  On games like Ikari and Time <Warriors?> Soldiers they work fine if you can get past not having the distinct click-click feel, and most people can get past that.  They would be okay for Arkanoid.  They would probably be okay for pot-based driving games where you don't have to turn the wheel rapidly (Spy Hunter?, Road Blasters).  They would suck for spinner and fast paced driving games like Tempest or Championship Sprint.  Get an OSCAR spinner.  As far as fighting games and non-rotary classic games, for that matter, they are based on a Super joystick and the Super had a shaft that would spin, so they have the same limits as a Super.  Which means they don't suck for non-rotary games (like the SNK LS-30's do, but they're not the best fighting sticks (like the Competitions) either.

Just cirous to see if they're worth the $50 bones each...

The big question here is what are your options . . .

Sure you could play IKARI with some kind of Trigger stick and a spinner, but it's not going to feel anything like the original game.

I plan to have a custom built stick which has the best of all worlds, but that won't help anyone else much.

I assume you need the opti-pac for spinners or trackballs anyway, so that price gets absorbed anyway.

So it comes down to $90 for a pair of opticals, or

$30 for a pair of SNK LS-30's and $38 for Druin's (www.connect.to/rotary) interface and you get the click feel but you wouldn't want to use them for non-rotary games, or

$90 for the Happ Mechanical Rotaries and $38 for Druin's interface and you get the click feel and a good stick for non-rotary games, but I don't know if the click mechanism would cause any problems for fighting games and you're out $40 more than for the optical rotaries alone.