OPINION: Best 4/8 way stick?

[ChadTower]

A friend of mine has asked me to help him make some controls.  I would like to hook him up with a pair of 4/8 way sticks, switchable without opening the panel.

What is the best stick for this?

[stratjakt]

Those Suzo inductive sticks where you switch 4/8 way by adjusting a pot sound really intriguing.  You could either find two resistance values you like, and wire them to a switch, or maybe just remount the pot itself on the panel..

Has anyone actually bought one of these sticks and played with them to see if any of this is possible?

[tommy]

Read the faq, noob. 

[ChadTower]

I did... didn't see this, or just didn't find it.

Besides, I'm asking for opinions, not a rundown of features.  I know what features I need.  I'm not going to find the opinions of people I trust in the FAQ.

[Stingray]

I've got an Omnistick Prodigy that I've been very happy with. Works great in both modes, switching takes all of about a second. It does have a very short throw, which some people don't like, I like it quite a lot myself.

-S

[TOK]

I got T-Stick +'s which were great for ease of switching, but I wasn't crazy about the short stiff throws, and neither was anyone that tried them. I ended up taking them out and installing Happ's Competitions. I preferred learning to play 4 way games in 8 way mode with them to using the T-Sticks.

The newbies that tried playing stuff with the T-Sticks hated them. Gamers adapted quickly, but still didn't like the feel.

Not sure if that info will be helpful or not, but there it is. 

Edit to add... If I was to do it again, I would just add a single dedicated 4 way and wire it to stick 1. Don't think there are enough games that use multiple 4 ways to worry about more than that. Since you're doing a new build from scratch and sticks are cheap, that's the route I'd go.

[ChadTower]

Not a bad idea... I'm trying to do it without altering the steel CP much, but maybe drilling one hole is doable.

[TOK]

My buddy added an extra stick to a steel panel and we used one of these to make a perfect hole. You drill a small pilot hole, put one side of this on each side of the panel and tighten it down. It cuts a perfectly circular hole. The one we had used a standard 9/16" socket not an allen key, but this gives you a pic to get the idea.

It's just called a sheetmetal hole punch.

[ChadTower]

Awesome.

[Lilwolf]

So nobodys going to mention a happs 49 way + GP49 encoder?

I hear they are the best all around joystick once they are broken in.  Not the best for fighters, but still very good.

I have different control panels for each.  So I would vote for a happs super, and a happs pacman reunion stick...

[TOK]

He bought a Craftsman set that was around $40.
If you want to take a chance on Harbor Freight, they have a real cheap set.
Might work once, and that's all you need. 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91201

[TOK]

Awesome.  How much do those run?


EDIT:  Oh, duh!  I forgot, he wants to use a JPac he has on hand, which would preclude a third stick, yes?

Not at all, you just double up the wires from the encoder. Run one set to the 8 way, other to the 4 way. As long as he's only trying to use one of them at a time (since MAME will recognize both as stick 1) he won't have a problem.

[ChadTower]

Ah, yes, parallel wiring.  Gotcha. 

Hrm... which is better... a pair of 4/8 ways, or keeping the existing 8 ways and buying the hole punch + a 4 way...

The cost is roughly the same, I think.

[Level42]

Those Suzo inductive sticks where you switch 4/8 way by adjusting a pot sound really intriguing.  You could either find two resistance values you like, and wire them to a switch, or maybe just remount the pot itself on the panel..

Has anyone actually bought one of these sticks and played with them to see if any of this is possible?

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=43210.0

and

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=42066.0

[nostrebor]

Ah, yes, parallel wiring.  Gotcha. 

Hrm... which is better... a pair of 4/8 ways, or keeping the existing 8 ways and buying the hole punch + a 4 way...

The cost is roughly the same, I think.

From a gameplay standpoint, you will not beat a dedicated 4-way. 4-way wico leaf sticks are my personal pick. Next best compromise IMO is the 49way, but cost gets up there. 3rd choice is T-stick+, but I don't like mine in 8-way games. I really do like it in 4-way games because of the short throw, but it's no wico.

[ChadTower]

what would a 48 way give him?  He wants 4 way for 4 way games, 8 way for 8 way games... 48 way is neither.

[dmsuchy]

I really like the T stick pluses I have, going with the Groovy Game stick you will have to alter the panel for the switch arm of the stickto stick through. Not easy unless you have mad welding skills like Stingray.

[nostrebor]

what would a 48 way give him?  He wants 4 way for 4 way games, 8 way for 8 way games... 48 way is neither.

You must come out of EE more often. You're missing some good stuff over here

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=32747.0

[Stingray]

You must come out of EE more often.

Hey, we're doing our best to contain and quarantine Chad. Don't encourage him to leave the restricted area.

-S

[ChadTower]

That's cool, but over the top for this guy.

He's not a heavy gamer.

[nostrebor]

what would a 48 way give him?  He wants 4 way for 4 way games, 8 way for 8 way games... 48 way is neither.

You must come out of EE more often. You're missing some good stuff over here

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=32747.0

Don't get all fussy. I was just joshin on ya. Note the big simley.

[epic69]

I would agree that the T-Stick plus is great as a 4-way and functional as an 8 way. I like it for ease of swtiching and it looks like any other joystick on the panel. The short throw is awesome for ms. pacman. If i had to do it again (which i probably will) i will go with 49way and gpwiz. I would love to be able to play Qbert as it is meant to be played, i have not figured out how to disable cardinal directions in mame and only use diagonals yet.

[NoOne=NBA=]

i have not figured out how to disable cardinal directions in mame and only use diagonals yet.

You set it just like you would any other game-specific control, except that you hit the diagonal after hitting enter to change the input.
That will give you P1 Right=Right Arrow Down Arrow in the game-specific controls.
That sets it so that you have to hit the Right Arrow AND the Down Arrow to send the game a Right command.

[paigeoliver]

I have never found a mode switching joystick I was truly happy with. The Happs Universal (which switches from the bottom), is the only one I can really even tolerate.

[Minwah]

I like the J-Stik personally.  It is not switchable from the top, but at least the switching mechanism (rotating restrictor plate) is easy to rotate to switch modes.

[JoyMonkey]

I'm very impressed with the Suzo Inductive's that I got. I haven't hacked a switch to them yet, but they seem to work great with the pot set half-way between 4-way and 8-way modes- you can hit diagonals at its full throw, but still play Donkey Kong and Pac-Man without hitting a diagonal.
Since these are the sticks that I grew up playing with they feel just right too.

[fiscap]

Ok guys - you're starting to scare me. I ordered four T-stick pluses last week (should be here today) for my cabinet. I hope I didn't make the wrong decision and I'm happy with them. I had considered the 49-way joysticks, but since I only have about 2.5" of clearance in my panel I didn't think they would fit.

[deadmoney5]

I have T-stik plus's myself ..

I ended up putting cherry switches in place of the stiff ones that come with the T-stiks, though...

Much better....

[the3eyedblindman]

Im really not satisfied with my j stick from ultimarc, I dont like the screw on ball top, when you move it around during a game it screws off sometimes, leaving you with just a steel stick in the middle of a game....and thats not a good thing...

[AndyWarne]

Just one point about the T-Stiks. About a month ago we changed the type of switches fitted to these, to a type which are much less stiff.
These were previously sold as an optional "light action" switch kit but are now standard fitment.
Andy W

[Minwah]

Im really not satisfied with my j stick from ultimarc, I dont like the screw on ball top, when you move it around during a game it screws off sometimes, leaving you with just a steel stick in the middle of a game....and thats not a good thing...

Tighten the ball on properly then

Put a flat  screwdriver in the slot on the underside of the joystick shaft, and use a rubber grip to hold and tighen the ball.  Do it as tight as you can and it won't come accidentally undone.

[Dougmeister]

Another vote for the Omnistick Prodigy from GroovyGameGear.

[Level42]

Please people, lets'call it what it is:

Omnistick Basic (Groovy Game Gear) = Euro-stick (Ultimarc) = Suzo 500

The Omnistick Prodigy is a Suzo 500 with a modification to change from 4 to 8 ways from the top of the panel (a very nice mod if you ask me !).

Prices for the Basic (500) are very good at GroovyGameGear, but I just wonder why they just don't call the stick as what it is....

The 500 is the best stick with microswitches IMHO.

I still love my Inductive Suzo's more though....

[nostrebor]

Im really not satisfied with my j stick from ultimarc, I dont like the screw on ball top, when you move it around during a game it screws off sometimes, leaving you with just a steel stick in the middle of a game....and thats not a good thing...

Un screw the stick and put a bit of silicone in the hole/on the threads. Screw the stick back on tightly. This should hold it fine, and it will come back off if necessary.

[ChadTower]

At this point, I may just stick a 4 way in the middle and leave the two 8 ways.

[RTSDaddy2]

My two cents -

I know some don't like the short throw, but I'd cut you before I'd let anyone take away my T-stick plus sticks.  Maybe it's just from years of console gaming, but I like the short throw.

[SirPeale]

My suggestion:

ditch 4 way altogether.  Since you already have a CP layout, use games that use that layout.  Two 8 ways plus three buttons each?  That's a massive amount of games.  That way you won't have to cut your CP, and it'll make things easier to wire, etc.

[quarterback]

My suggestion:

ditch 4 way altogether.  Since you already have a CP layout, use games that use that layout.  Two 8 ways plus three buttons each?  That's a massive amount of games.

I'll add that I use my wico 8-ways 99% of the time and that includes playing pac-man, donkey kong and other 4-way games.    I much prefer the 8-way to the Ms Pac/Galaga reunion stick and it works fine in Mame with 4-way games, IMO.

In my next version of my CP I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose the dedicated 4-way all together.  YMMV