slikstik VS DIY

[jefftse]

I do have PS/2 on the motherboard.  Is gp-wiz max better than key-wiz? IPAC seems a lot more expensive IMO.

[Kaytrim]

I do have PS/2 on the motherboard.  Is gp-wiz max better than key-wiz? IPAC seems a lot more expensive IMO.

The only difference between the two is that the KeyWiz is recognized as a keyboard and the GPWiz is recognized as a game pad.  Randy made the GPWiz in response to everyone calling for a USB encoder from him.  One other thing I almost forgot.  The switch on the KeyWiz is to switch from the KeyWiz to a keyboard plugged into it.  It is a bypass switch instead of a pass through connection.

[Chris G]

Man... i think you have me convinced to get 4 u360s!!! i always want the best so i don't have to worry about it later.

He convinced you to buy 4 U360's?  I think you may be missing the point.  The important thing (which KT said too) is to decide for yourself, based on what you think will work for YOU.  I don't mean to impede your progress or dampen your enthusiasm, but from your continued questions, it just sounds like you still have a lot to learn about the various options before plunking down the huge chunk of change you're talking about.  Unless money is no object for you, in which case - fire away!  The U360's are not "the best".  They are one good option (which I happen to have chosen too).  How about buying just one to see if you even like them?  Especially since you will likely need to buy restrictors and springs for that stick, which add up quickly.

Just a few words of caution from a guy who's rushed into a few purchases before educating himself first.

 
Chris

[rbarr110]

Ah, parts parts and more parts...

Here are some good ideas for vendors with top end products:
   www.ultimarc.com (KB encoder, 360 stick, etc)
   www.happcontrols.com (trackball, flight stick, buttons, regular sticks 4/8, etc)
   www.apachecontrols.com (Blackhawk push/pull spinner)
   www.ram-controls.com (new Star Wars yoke - due out soon)

Good luck with the project.
 

   David

Maybe someone already metntioned this, but anything you may want to get directly froms happs (trackballs, regular sticks, etc) try first with the guys on the BST forum ( ponyboy and divemaster).  They have most of what you could want at a fraction of what happ will try to squeeze out of you. 

I can speak from experience, happs will stick it to the average home user who wants a couple of parts and also nail you on shipping.  Ponyboy and divemaster are better on most prices for parts and will be better on shipping every time.

[Kaytrim]

Man... i think you have me convinced to get 4 u360s!!! i always want the best so i don't have to worry about it later.

He convinced you to buy 4 U360's?  I think you may be missing the point.  The important thing (which KT said too) is to decide for yourself, based on what you think will work for YOU.  I don't mean to impede your progress or dampen your enthusiasm, but from your continued questions, it just sounds like you still have a lot to learn about the various options before plunking down the huge chunk of change you're talking about.  Unless money is no object for you, in which case - fire away!  The U360's are not "the best".  They are one good option (which I happen to have chosen too).  How about buying just one to see if you even like them?  Especially since you will likely need to buy restrictors and springs for that stick, which add up quickly.

Just a few words of caution from a guy who's rushed into a few purchases before educating himself first.

 
Chris

Chris,  I think you missed something there.  I suggested 2 U360s and 2 Happ Competitions.  He convinced himself to go the Full Monty.

[Chris G]

Indeed - that was part of my point.

[Chris G]

And we don't need any Full Monty'ing around here - outside of Cheesecake anyway.

[jefftse]

Man... i think you have me convinced to get 4 u360s!!! i always want the best so i don't have to worry about it later.

He convinced you to buy 4 U360's?  I think you may be missing the point.  The important thing (which KT said too) is to decide for yourself, based on what you think will work for YOU.  I don't mean to impede your progress or dampen your enthusiasm, but from your continued questions, it just sounds like you still have a lot to learn about the various options before plunking down the huge chunk of change you're talking about.  Unless money is no object for you, in which case - fire away!  The U360's are not "the best".  They are one good option (which I happen to have chosen too).  How about buying just one to see if you even like them?  Especially since you will likely need to buy restrictors and springs for that stick, which add up quickly.

Just a few words of caution from a guy who's rushed into a few purchases before educating himself first.

 
Chris

So do you like your U360?

[Tiger-Heli]

How about buying just one to see if you even like them?  Especially since you will likely need to buy restrictors and springs for that stick, which add up quickly.

Good advice here!  (Even if shipping is more, at least you will know that you will be happy with what you get.)

[Chris G]

So do you like your U360?

Currently, no.  But I'm still optimistic.  

I say no because of the feel, which I expected.  I wanted to try them without the stiffer springs and restrictor plates, just in case I disagreed with pretty much everyone that buys them.  So now that I've proven to myself what everyone already knows, I need to cough up the $ for the extra goodies.  Just haven't gotten around to it yet.

My primary reason for buying them was because I wanted as simple a CP as possible while allowing the broadest range of gameplay.  They definitely accomplish that, IMO.  If the feel part works out, I MAY think they are worth the expense in the end... TBD.

 
Chris

[jefftse]

That's one of the main reasons I'm considering buying them because it will work probably any games out there.  Add longer shaft, spring and addon can be done later.. I really don't want to switch the joystick if I don't have to..

To be honest, I think anything I do is a major upgrade considering I've been using x-arcade.

[xmenxmen]

I might sound harsh, but here we go.

I see lots of fancy and expensive things being consider, so no comment on that, but here's a differnt look at it on the cheaper side and still provide great stuff.

Consider the following (what I did 4 my 4 player, sf being the core)
4 happ competition stick - one of the best fighting stick, too. - about 8 to 10 bucks ea
1 happ super stick - good 4/8 way - use mainly for 4 way - yet another 8 to 10 bucks ea.
happ concave button - 1.5 or so each.  True arcade feel to me.

trackball and spinner I will leave alone.  stay with happ if you can...

encoder: conbination works here:
2 gpwiz max - 1 doesn't have enough input for 4 player . still need something for the trackball/spinner.
1 keywiz max + 1 gpmax - allow u to hide admin buttons and use shift key.
2 eco one - only if you want to mess with wiring... cheaper...
ipac mini - 1 ring solution, more expensive....

that's all for now...

[Chris G]

trackball and spinner I will leave alone.  stay with happ if you can...

Why?

[Tiger-Heli]

1 happ super stick - good 4/8 way - use mainly for 4 way - yet another 8 to 10 bucks ea.

I don't know that I agree with the Super for a 4-way.  The Happ universal would be good, or I like the Suzo/OmniStik/EuroStik, but they are somewhat difficult to mount without a metal CP or mounting plate.  Happ Reunion would be an option as well.

[Kaytrim]

Another option is to go with 49-way sticks and Randy's GPWiz49 interface.  It will take a bit to get used to them as well because they have a long throw and are kinda loose.  the looseness that I am experiencing could be due to the age of the stick I have.  I plan on getting the new ones that Randy has sometime down the road.

There is only one front end that has built in support for the GPWiz49 though.  That is AtomicFE and I am in the process of switching to that because it also has built in support for the LEDWiz as well.

There are too many choices and that is a good thing.

Kaytrim

[Tiger-Heli]

There is only one front end that has built in support for the GPWiz49 though.  That is AtomicFE and I am in the process of switching to that because it also has built in support for the LEDWiz as well.

As I said in Reply #31 - There is also similar support for the GGG 49-way sticks as long as your FE supports batch files (but I don't know just how current it is).  See http://www.mameworld.net/tigerheli/set49mode/

(Missed the Led-Wiz part of your reply, though!!!)

[Chris G]

This is definitely a plus for the U360's - I'm trying MaLa right now and fatfingers' plug-in works awesome.

[jefftse]

What do you think If I do all 4 of 8 way joysticks and 1 4 way joysticks?

[Kaytrim]

What do you think If I do all 4 of 8 way joysticks and 1 4 way joysticks?

Getting confused Jeff?  If you want to go that route then go for the Happ competitions  Those are the ones that most people like here in the states.  Then you can look for a decent 4-way stick.  Remember that joystick preference is different from one person to another.  Purchase one of a stick that you are thinking about like Chris suggested then sell if off if you don't like it.  IIRC there is a 49-way stick with GPWiz49 being offered in the BST forum right now.  Here is a link http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=65188.0 

I have gotten a few items off that forum and have been happy with the results.

TTFN
Kaytrim