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U360 with 720...mini review.

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Will:
Well not sure if this warrants a post but since I had been searching for a way to play 720 as I had in the arcade twenty years ago I thought I would mention this to others who like this game.I had given up all hope after trying it with my spinner and trackball and although those worked OK they were not close to playing it on the real thing.I played various classic packages of this game on consoles and pc and the closest i had come to the real feel was playing it with a mouse.I entertained the idea of somehow converting a real 720 joystick to analog mame but due to the price of the joysticks on ebay and the lack of support for the original chain driven joystick with mame I pretty much decided that i would never play 720 as i remember it.Enter the u360 from ultimarc.

I will first say I'm using the joystick with stock light spring and no restrictor plate (i own the harder spring and restrictors but have yet to install).Right out of the box no real configuring other than lowering the analog speed settings the game plays almost perfect.You spin he spins you point right it goes right.Its almost so good that it feels like you can spin to fast ,right off the bat.With the light spring and no restrictor i really feel like I'm almost playing the real thing.Only thing different is joystick is not quite as heavy in terms of resistance(no chain),but the spinning movement combined with large spins really is amazing.

So to anyone who had dreams of playing 720 as intended or dreamed of buying a real 720 full arcade might want to consider this option.I have not toyed with the joystick with many other games but i will say it worked perfect with Afterburner and the original Star Wars arcade.I also played around with a n64 emulator and it really worked well with that too.

Anyways I'm really happy with this product and recommend it to any 720 fan or really anyone looking for a analog solution.

THANKS ANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!




-Will

Donkey_Kong:
Did the exact same experiment except I tried with no restrictor, and NO SPRING! It was ok but not that great.  (Trying to remember the not so great part as it has been a couple months)

Oh yea, the original controller would spin around the perimeter with no chance of centering, EVER. With the U360 it played OK, but I remember it being kinda....meh, because you would have to concentrate a bit on NOT letting the stick come off the perimeter or 'centering' even the slightest bit. This definitely took away from high performance 720 gameplay IMO.


Here is what someone needs to make, and it might work. A restrictor that only allows 360 degree travel along the outermost layer of the U360's 'throw'. Add the light or medium spring and you might possibly have 720 bliss!


I'll be waiting anxiously for someone to build that restrictor!

Will:
In my head im having a hard time imagining a 720 restrictor because it would need to have the middle filled in and the outer edge a thin O.Without something attached to middle not sure how this would work.I did not notice the pull to the center because I was spinning that thing like a madman.I see you're points of course DK but I'm comparing this to all other controls I've tried this game with and none do a good as job as this one(IMHO).

A 720 restrictor would be amazing but i don't see how one could make one and if there would be enough interest in it to make it worth making.I would buy one for sure.

Donkey_Kong:
Yea, after I made the post I thought about how impossible it would be for the restictor to be made like that. hmmm.

I do want to try this again with your setup though, no restrictor + soft or med spring. It may be the closest we can get for now...  :)

BTW: If there was a decent 720 stick out there for mame, I would consider building some kinda crazy retarded looking dedicated 720 machine.

krutknut:
I suppose you could put in a bearing in the U360, and attach the 360 shaft to the bearing. Then it would never center, but still rotate.

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