T-Stik Plus opinions

[Craig]

Just wondering what people here thought of the T-Stik Plus joystick from  Ultimarc. I am thinking of ordering 4 of them for two projects.

[markrvp]

I personally could not get used to the short, heavy throw. 

Many people like them.  It is very subjective. 

You might see if you can buy a used one off the board here and see how you like it before getting 4 of them.

[Gradius]

Arcade gaming is about fast and precise movements. The shorter the throw is, the more perfect the control is. In this sense, the T-Stick is the best arcade stick ever made. Moreover it's heavy and strong. I've been using mine for years and it's as good as new. My advice is to stay away from popular sticks such as Happ's Supers. In my opinion they're as useless for playing arcade games as using a analogue stick for flight sims.

[TOK]

Arcade gaming is about fast and precise movements. The shorter the throw is, the more perfect the control is. In this sense, the T-Stick is the best arcade stick ever made. Moreover it's heavy and strong. I've been using mine for years and it's as good as new. My advice is to stay away from popular sticks such as Happ's Supers. In my opinion they're as useless for playing arcade games as using a analogue stick for flight sims.

Uh, aren't most flight sim controllers analog? You kind of need more than just off/on control for rudder pedals, stick and throttle.

My take on the T-Stik is that it's a nice compromise for 4/8 way, but I didn't find the 4 way all that useful and I wasn't crazy about the feel of the sticks.
New players, or people that haven't played an arcade game in a long time will have trouble with them too. Even in 4 way mode, the newbies on my cab experienced a lot of frustration with Pac Man and Donkey Kong. That was important to me, but might not be for you.

Once I got used to them, I found them accurate but right now I'm in the process of switching over to Happ's Competitions. The T-Stiks will get used again in another project, but I prefer the feel of a more traditional stick.

They are a quality, durable stick. I wouldn't steer anyone away from them based on that, just make sure the "feel" works for you.

[Gradius]

You have the Tstik plus, which has a lever accesible from the CP and which lets you switch to real 4-way. Check it out at the Ultimarc's website.

[1UP]

I have to second markrvp.  I hate those sticks.  There is a long learning curve to get used to the short throw, and the action is very stiff.  If you are prone to wrist pain, do NOT use these sticks.  The feel is very different than what you are probably used to.

  Personal story that I never get tired of telling:  I had my cab at work for a couple months, and the most popular game was the fast version of Ms. Pac-Man.  I started out with an Ultimarc E-Stick, which was ok, but most people had trouble with the bat stick for 4-way games, and the throw was very short.

Next I tried a Competition stick with a ball-top.  No dice.  I picked up a brand new T-Stick Plus balltop in my quest for the perfect balltop.  Everyone almost hanged me, and it was easily the least popular of the bunch.  (Expensive too.)

The number one complaint was that the throw was so short, you couldn't tell if you were going in the right direction.  It comes down to this: in the higher levels of 4-way games, you are going faster, and your enemies are going faster.  You have to start your turns BEFORE you hit the intersection.  That means that you have to know for certain that you are pushing in the right direction before you get there.  This is not helped by a stick with a short throw.

Finally, I put in an Ultimarc J-Stick balltop, and bingo!  Everyone loved that stick.  High scores in Ms. Pac-Man and many other games soared.

I know there is a hardcore fan club for the T-Stick, but if you like your 4-ways with distinct corners and spring action that is not tiring, I highly recommend the J-stick.  I can not understand for the life of me why the T-stick is so popular, but I think it has to do with people forcing themselves to get used to a crappy stick, just so they can switch 8-4way without going under the panel.  Not worth it to me. 

If you are looking at multi-function sticks, you may want to consider the Happ 49-way with the GGG GPWiz49 interface board.  This is quickly shaping up as the true do-it-all joystick.  It also has a pretty authentic old-school feel, because there is no microswitch click, and it uses a rubber grommet like the old arcade games did, rather than a spring.  You switch modes electronically, which is ultra cool.

My 2 cents.

[Grasshopper]

I think the 4/8 way switching mechanism of the T-Stik+ is a work of genius. But I do have a question mark over the long term durability of the mechanism as it is essentially a hack.

I'm wondering how the T-Stik would feel with a significantly longer shaft. That would increase the throw and reduce the stiffness at the same time.

[Gradius]

I really cannot understand why people wish longer throw. What for? to spend 5 miliseconds in reaching the microswitch instead of 1? That's increasing the time from the moment you take a decission (let's move the space ship to the right to avoid being hit by that bullet) and the actual action (the ship moving to the right). Result: you've lost a valuable life. You end up in frustration and don't know what to think: are you a bad player or has this game a pathetic playability. Wrong: your are using a bad stick with a long throw which is bad for arcade games which are conceived for digital controls. And as regard other kind of games, it's the same. I feel much easier to do special moves in fighting games, for instance, using a stick with a very short throw. Honestly, I've tried using Happ Universals in the CP of a friendof mine and they feel horrible! Trying to push right quickly so as to make your sprite run is a pain, and forget about shmups or platform games where you need precission. I'd rather use a keyboard than a Super, a Competition or a Ultimate.

[mahuti]

I think I had the opposite story from 1Up in my house when my relatives drop by. The absolutely HATED the longer throw sticks I put in, and wanted to use the T-Stick Plus instead.

I imagine that... if you are playing arcade games for the first time in 15-20 years and someone lets you play a week on long-throw sticks, you'll like those, and it might feel weird to then switch & vice versa.

[PaulG]

I think I had the opposite story from 1Up in my house when my relatives drop by. The absolutely HATED the longer throw sticks I put in, and wanted to use the T-Stick Plus instead.

I imagine that... if you are playing arcade games for the first time in 15-20 years and someone lets you play a week on long-throw sticks, you'll like those, and it might feel weird to then switch & vice versa.

You're probably onto something there.  I haven't (Nor anybody who's played mine) have any of 1UPs problems, but then none of us had touched an actual arcade machine in many years.  Maybe that's a defining trait among those who like the short throw and those who don't.

[slicer_d]

Well I figure I will throw my 2cents into this.

[cholin]

This thread couldnt have come up at a better time!  Im going to be buying stuff soon and I really wonderred about these sticks hearing all the bad reports and then hearing happy customers.  You should turn this into a poll.

[slicer_d]

I think I had the opposite story from 1Up in my house when my relatives drop by. The absolutely HATED the longer throw sticks I put in, and wanted to use the T-Stick Plus instead.

I imagine that... if you are playing arcade games for the first time in 15-20 years and someone lets you play a week on long-throw sticks, you'll like those, and it might feel weird to then switch & vice versa.

You're probably onto something there.

[lcddream]

i prefer the j-stick personally. what i'm wondering is why can't a J-stick Plus be made by ultimarc?? Easy to switch 4 and 8 way while maintaing the longer throw...no brainer really.

[Paul Olson]

The 4/8 way switching is great!!  I really wanted to like this stick because of it, but I just could not get used to the short throw.  I had it mounted as the P1 joy, and my friends would only play as P2 after trying it.  If you don't mind the throw, I think you would be very happy with it.  I really liked everything else.

As mentioned, the T-Stick Plus is a Japanese style stick.  If your mounting holes are drilled for a US stick (or the outer holes on Happs sticks), you will not be able to mount this stick.  The mounting holes are the same as the inner holes on the Happs sticks.

Paul

[1UP]

Heh, it's pretty black and white on this stick--you'll either love it or hate it!

[Craig]

I am wondering whether I should go the J stik. The problem is it doesn't have the feature of the T stik plus where you can turn and click to change 4 or 8 way.

I like the idea of a more springy joy, I am not sure whether the T stik is for me. I guess I will get used to it.

Thanks for the great review 1UP and other peoples opinions :-)

[Fat_Trucker]

I recently bought 2 of these for my cab and had no real issues with the short throw. I was a little disappointed with how stiff the buggers are though, I can easily spend several hours at a stretch gaming on my cab and you do get a few aches after a while.

The ability to switch from 8 to 4 way and back again without having to open your CP (just pull up on the stick and twist) is great and makes a lot of sense if you have a smaller CP like mine.

Overall I'm reasonably happy with it, although I am thinking seriously about trying to install weaker springs to eliminate the stiffness.

If it helps I haven't found any accuracy or control issues with any 4 or 8 way games, the stick performs perfectly, its just for lengthy use I would recommend you stock up on Spinach and Kryptonite  .

[Grasshopper]

Overall I'm reasonably happy with it, although I am thinking seriously about trying to install weaker springs to eliminate the stiffness.

Most of the resistance is created by the microswitches. So replacing them with a different brand should help.

[dabone]

I've got t-stick pluses  on my franken cab and p360s on the other 2 cabs, (A candy and a vertical).


The tsticks would be gone from the main cab if they had the same mounting as the p360s. The short throw is a strange thing for most of the older (Adult players) but my kids don't seem to care (5 and 7).


Later,
dabone

[seanp]

I've got T-Stik Plus sticks in my cab.  They were the best compromise for me.  I kept the original control panel dimensions of my cab, and didn't have room for two 8 ways and a dedicated 4 way.  I was surprised to learn that there weren't more top-switchable 4/8 way sticks, but since Happs isn't exactly a "home market" vendor I can understand them not having that option.  I swapped out the microswitches which made a big difference on the stiffness, but it's still a short throw.  It doesn't seem to be too bad, but if I were doing things now I'd probably go with a 49-way with the new GP-Wiz49 encoder - it seems to provide the most flexibility for the most games in one option.

-Sean

[Chris]

I have never used T-Sticks.  I would have probably bought some by now if they had the same mounting pattern as Happs Supers.  I have a DK Jr. 4-way on my panel, but it has such a long throw to me that it's useless for most 4-way games, so I might like the short throw.  I'm considering going with 49-ways now...

--Chris

[SuperRabbit0]

Though I'd add my thoughts as another T-Stick Hater.

My cab is a bartop and has only one joystick, a T-Stick.  I thought it was going to be a good compromise.  I find it just terrible.  Impossibly stuff and horribly inaccurate.  I also have a HotRod and enjoy using the joysticks on it so much more I rarely turn on my cab.  I guess I should switch it out to a better stick.

I should also note that I first had the stock switches and then switched to the quiet ones and it improved it a lot, though it is still not at all to my liking.

On the plus side, I have green balltop and the thing is beautiful.  Can I resuse that balltop on another stick?

[microwrx]

I have T-Sticks and T-Stick Plus' on my 4 player CP and I love them.  When I got the machine it had some Aussie made crappy sticks in them with a long throw and I hated the long throw.  I love the short throw of the T-Sticks and as I don't ever play fighters I won't experience the problems others have with the short throw.  I will say that it is true, after playing for some time the stiff action of the sticks can lead to sore hands (which I experienced after playing The Simpsons all the way to the end with my nieces and nephew).  I'll probably go J-Sticks next time basically because I don't really use the 4/8 way switching and therefore the expense really isn't justified (especially if you want balltops).  I've gotten used to playing 4 way games in 8 way mode and very rarely get stuck in corners anymore.

[APFelon]

Well, I am one of the few T-Stick Plus so-so guys. However, I have a BIG list of CONS to the short list of PROs. I have a standard SF2 setup with two sticks. I installed the T-Tstick on the left side for 4-way games. Here is what I have found:

The complaints that the stick is STIFF is no exaggeration. After playing Pac Man or Do Run Run for 20 minutes or so, wrist fatigue sets in.

It is absolutely HORRIBLE for fighting games. The angles are all off and I find it incredibly difficult to do a dragon punch. Impossible to do any sophisticated super move on the KOF series. Perhaps if I trained myself on the stick this would improve, but I have yet to find a controller that gives me as much difficulty executing fighting game moves as the T-Stick Plus (this includes the keyboard and gamepads).

The vinyl washer sticks to the vinyl overlay of my CP. I still have that cheesy Home Depot faux marble overlay, and the dust washer of the T-Stick sticks to it, which causes inconsistent movement while playing. (If anyone has ever played on a worn-out Wico 8-way in the arcades, sometimes the actuator wears so that when it strikes the switch it causes a "clunk" when the actuator catches on the switch. This is similar).

I had to drill new holes in my CP to mount it. The mounting plate is narrower than a US mounting plate, so I had to drill some fresh holes in my CP. If I had known about this pre-order, I would have skipped it (I should have done more research, so this is my fault).

The blades on the switches are wider, so my connectors were too small. I had to snip off my connectors and solder the wires directly on to the T-Stick Plus.

The switches are "backwards". It's hard to explain what I mean here, but sticks sold in the States have the switches mounted on the sticks the exact opposite way than that of the T-Stick Plus. This made some of my wires too short, and I had to do some wire lengthening in order to make them reach.

The "pros"-

My son and my guests love it. I often had complaints that the Wico stick I had in it was too inaccurate for 4 way games.

I DO like the shorter throw. I wouldn't mind if it were longer, though. As someone mentioned, a longer throw would make the stick feel less stiff (basic fulcrum/lever mechanics).

I like the top-mounted 4-8 switching as well.

That's about it. Good luck with your purchase!

APf

[slicer_d]

Heh, it's pretty black and white on this stick--you'll either love it or hate it!

[mahuti]

I'm also a big guy... I like the t-stick plus's just fine, though I'm anxious to get my 49way installed.