xarcade any good?

[Anakin]

I want to build a dedicated cabinet for super smash brothers brawl for the wii but the analog joystics would be a problem....Since xarcade has attachments for a gamecube controller, I was wondering if they work with the analog joystick on the gamecube.....anyone know?

[knave]

I don't have one so I can't speak too much on the x-arcades themselves.  but Most people say thay are not as good as building a CP yourself.

As for analogue controll, I believe the u360 and p360 can be used as an analogue controller.  but I'm not sure if this could be hacked into the wii.

[Anakin]

i was going to hack a gamecube controller or use a psx-gamecube adapter since you can play brawl with a GC controller

[severdhed]

according to the x-arcade website, you can use it with the wii just like a gamecube controller, however you will not have analog control.   From what i read about the x-arcade, you can make it emulate the analog stick, but it will not be analog control.  I used an x-arcade that i gutted for in my control panel, and i have a gamecube adapter.  if i get some time in the next day or two, i'll hook it up to my Wii and try it out.  i don't have Super smash brothers, (because i think the game is horrible) but i can test it with metal slug or something.


it seems like a waste of a perfectly good Wii to use it for a dedicated ssb cabinet...you'd be better off buying a used gamecube for $40 at gamestop and using that super smash brothers for a dedicated cabinet..  at least then you could change games and still use the arcade stick.   with the wii, you really need the wiimote to play most of the games.

[rlemmon]

I bought the duel unit a few years ago. It always stopped working until i restarted my PC.  As for the stick and buttons there Chinese knockoffs and are much less responsive. My hi scores shot way up when i built my c.panel with utimarc and happ parts.

[noobofthecentury]

NO!!!
if ur a good player on any fighting game...

DO NOT BUY x-arcade
Their design and BOX is good BUT...

the joystick and buttons have delays...

I HAVE a x-arcade solo, and I had to replace  the buttons and stick with Happs.
otherwise.... its impossible to play in high level.


I REPEAT, do not make the same mistake i did.


here the pic

[Dizzle]

I have a dual x-arcade that I have hooked up to a dedicated dreamcast cab.  In the year and a half or so that I've had it, I haven't experienced any problems with it ceasing to work or slower response times as described above.  There's definitely a different feel to the the sticks and buttons -- you certainly won't mistake them for Happs components, but everything from Street Fighter III to Ikargu plays great.

I do agree with the previous poster's suggestion about using a used gamecube and smash brothers melee as opposed to dedicating a wii to a cabinet for brawl (as much as I love the game).

[severdhed]

i just removed my x-arcade panel from my cabinet and connected it to my Wii via the gamecube adapter.  It seems to work fine for Metal SLug anthology (i'd still rather play them on my arcade cabinet, but for now this is the only way to play metal slug 6)  when using the gamecube controller for this game, you need to use the DPAD to navigate menus, and the left analog stick to move your character in the game.  the x-arcade joystick can easily be switched between the D-pad, plus left and right analog sticks.  you simply hold down the modifier button (pinball flipper button) and press one of the top 3 buttons.  IT seems to work just fine in any mode.  i don't know how much analog precision comes into play with SSB, but i would think this would work great.  I don't understand why people like this game, but hey, to each his own.

i still think you would be better off with a gamecube in there...from what i have seen there isnt alot of difference between the two games.  plus you can pick up a refurb gamacube at gamestop/eb for $29.99.    that way your Wii can still be put to good use instead of wasting it in a cabinet.   

as for the x-arcade being any good?  well, i am happy with mine.  all of my friends seem happy with mine.  yeah, they might not be as good as happ controls, but unless you are an arcade purist, you would never know the difference.    i have had dozens of people play on my cabinet and no one has every had anything negative to say about the controls.    If i had to do it all over again, i'd probably buy happ controls and an Ipac or keywiz... but if i didn't buy an x-arcade, i'd probably never have been inspired to build my own cabinet in the first place.

and since the x-arcade is pretty much your only option for an encoder that will connect to the wii/gamecube, i'd say go for it.  if you are worried about the buttons and sticks, just buy their encoder and get happ controls for it.  personally, i would say buy the x-arcade unit and i bet you will be happy with it, if not, you can always replaced the sticks and buttons at a later date.

[noobofthecentury]

Y dont just buy from MASsystem?
they all use happ parts

http://www.massystems.com/ProStick.html

its an arcade stick with all happ parts and same price as x-arcade.
the only thing you might want to be aware is that massystems take a while  to ship products. =) but definetely a better choice is u want to do complicated combos like ggx or kof2k2.

[ediblegod]

When I was building my first cabinet I discovered I could buy a used X-arcade cheaper than all the separate components so I did. I gutted it and put the the contents in the original cabs CP. It seems to work fine but I do notice it wacks out and is kind of buggy sometimes. 
Sometimes buttons will stick causing the caracter your playing to move to one side of the screen. The only way to fix this is to reset the computer. Does this happen to alot of people?

I think I'm gonna strip them out and do it right.

[severdhed]

i have a gutted x-arcade in my panel and i never have any problems with it.  are you using ps2 or usb to connect it to the PC?  i'd maybe try the other and see how it works.  mine seems to be better when connected via usb

[ediblegod]

It's connected via ps2. I'll try usb...

[TPB]

i have a gutted x-arcade in my panel and i never have any problems with it.  ...

Where you say "gutted", do you mean you've just replaced the joysticks and buttons ?

Are you still using the X-Arcade trackball, and the USB keyboard decoder ?

[torcer]

I have one on my 1st Cab, and it works fine.  It bothers me though b/c it doesn't look like an authentic part of the Cab, and I plan on replacing it.  If you don't mind aestetics, and just want to play MAME, then its fine.  Amazingly though, building a control panel is both fun and easy once you get over the intimidation factor. 

[Teebor]

I've got xarcade parts and they are fine, its nice as its one of the few controllers where you can just change an adapter and plug it in to a wii, game cube, pc, etc

I did change some of the microswitches (the stock ones are a bit noisy) and the sticks are different though.

Can't say I've ever noticed lag/speed issues and it seems fine for me when I play Streetfighter etc.  My friend did say that the sticks I had he needed to get used to, but once he did he proceeded to repeatedly kick my arse

[Bleagh]

X-arcades are fine.  I've had the 2 player version for severak years and had no problems with it.  Of course I built my own sticks and don't use it anymore.  Their encoder is crap tho if you ever decide to take it out and use it in your own project.  It doesn't have common ground for every button.  Each set of 4 buttons has it's own "ground" wire.  I would reccomend that someone just build they're own sticks.  It's funner and cheaper. 

[noobofthecentury]

even if its fine
for the same price u can get MAS stick with Happ parts...
i dont get y u would choose the non happ parts ones =(

[Bleagh]

even if its fine
for the same price u can get MAS stick with Happ parts...
i dont get y u would choose the non happ parts ones =(

Do mas make 2 player units?  The xarcade parts arent as bad as everyone makes them out to be.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Do mas make 2 player units?  The xarcade parts arent as bad as everyone makes them out to be.

The X-Arcade parts are not bad at all..... The problem with them is that their encoder is not good and their microswitches are absolute rubbish.

I used X-Arcade sticks and buttons on my panel. But I very quickly changed out all the switches on them for "Cherry" Microswitches, since then they're at least as good as the Happ ones.

One little trick if you have X-Arcade sticks, is to bend the push strip on the microswitches towards the shaft, so that the switches make contact sooner. It improves the response by a huge margin.

I used a Keywiz not the X-Arcade encoder.... The X-Arcade has way too many problems in the encoder.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[deadpool18]

I use one of these for smash brothers since it has analog sticks and all of the buttons. I'm sure some people absolutely hate this, but it does work as a multi-purpose console solution.

http://www.quasimoto.com/quasicon.php

It does work great for games that require two analog sticks or pressure sensitive buttons.  The buttons are kind of mushy for arcade style games, but to be honest they don't really seem unresponsive.  If you play a lot of sports games like I do (NFL 2K5, NHL 06, The Bigs) then it really is the best option for Arcade style console play.

[severdhed]

i have a gutted x-arcade in my panel and i never have any problems with it.  ...

Where you say "gutted", do you mean you've just replaced the joysticks and buttons ?

Are you still using the X-Arcade trackball, and the USB keyboard decoder ?

when i said gutted, i mean i moved the encoder, joysticks and buttons into a panel that i built.  i am still using all of the x-arcade components, just in a different box.  my unit did not have a trackball, i bought it long before the tankstick ever existed.   I bought it for console games, i never thought that one day i would be building my own mame cabinet.  looking back now, i would have gone with something else, simply because the wiring on the encoder is a pain in the butt if you want to make your control panel any wider than the x-arcade unit.  as for the buttons and sticks being to noisy, i dont' really mind that.  i don't have much to compare it to, but I am very happy with they way they feel.  my friend is about to build a 4player cabinet with happ parts and an ipac, so i will soon get to see if they are any better.  if you are planning on buying a prebuilt controller that will connect to the wii, then the x-arcade is probably the way to go.  i wouldn't reccomend it if you are planning on building your own panel and using the x-arcade components

[JKJudgeX]

I don't know about the buttons and sticks, I would go with what was said above about that...

I bought the x-arcade DIY harness: http://www.xgaming.com/byoarcade.shtml

20 buttons + 2 joysticks worth of inputs, as well as all the wiring you need for all of them, pre-assembled for $50?  The time savings alone were worth the extra $25 or so you end up paying over buying a different encoder, honestly...  plus it's keyboard programmable with a hardware switch (no program to fiddle with, just plug a keyboard into it, press buttons, watch the LED, press more buttons, etc)

I have both this and a JPAC in my machine currently.  I use the X-Arcade harness for all player sticks and buttons, and the JPAC for all my extra buttons (coins, flippers even though x-arcade has them, I dunno - I'm psycho, interface buttons)...  but also use both to keep my wiring seperate (so I can rip off my CP top and make other ones if I ever get the itch to do so, and keep all my interface buttons on the cab... if that makes sense)

Anyway, long story short...  if you're going to get *anything* from X-Arcade, the DIY kit from them and buttons/microswitches/joysticks from Happ makes for a spot on arcade-perfect experience.

I play SFA3 and SF3 (as well as all the older versions of SF games) and a little bit of KOF on this setup as well as in real arcades, and I can't tell the difference between my Happ/X-Arcade setup and the actual SVC Chaos setup.  I can tell a difference between it and classic, old-school SF2, but it's not negative at all, and so minute that I can't put it into words right now without both controlsets in front of me.  I can throw dragon uppercuts (F,D,DF P) on SVC chaos much better than on SF Alpha 3 in the arcade, but on my home setup I actually feel equally comfortable in both.

That's about the best I can sum it up with my mileage.  I have not used X-Arcade controllers and buttons.  hope that helps.

[wbassett]

I have a TankStick and I haven't had one ounce of trouble with it.  The buttons and joysticks are plenty responsive and the trackball works great. 

I suppose there are other companies out there and you can buy better micro's but it is a solid unit in my opinion.  It also has a lifetime warranty, but I'm always skeptical of those... you never know when a company will go 'poof' and so much for that impressive 'lifetime warranty'!  (SlikStik anyone?)

I also bought their controller kit which comes with all the wiring to build a console.  I may not have as much experience as some of the heavies on here, but I do have tons of experience with DIY, especially Home Theater screens.  So based on that I knew I would be tweaking and designing my 'Ultimate CP' and until I really started playing Arcade games, I wouldn't know what layout I like the best.  The TankStick is excellent in the sense you're up and running right then and there and then you can design your ultimate layout and even use the parts from the XArcade... or buy different parts that some feel are better.

From what I understand, XArcade uses Happ parts, so they aren't totally bad components.  One thing I don't like though is every button is black.  I suppose that's so people can configure any button for anything, but I would have liked to have had some red and green buttons to indicate 'fire' and things like that.  Easy enough to just change it though.

Like I said, I've had absolutely no problems with mine and it definitely gets you setup and playing fast...

[Fozzy The Bear]

From what I understand, XArcade uses Happ parts, so they aren't totally bad components.

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!  X-Arcade does not use Happ parts!!!  They use their own parts that are manufactured in China. They're not bad, but they're not Happ. Change the Microswitches for Cherry ones and they're near to Happ units.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[wbassett]

My apologies, I see where I misunderstood, i.e. didn't read it fully....

New Competition-Grade Button-Design!
Redesigned X-Arcade™ buttons based on top-selling competition buttons from Happ/Suzo™

Now achieve the highest performance amongst American, European or Japanese arcade-quality switch. Performance match to Cherry™ Switches found in Happ™ Buttons/Joysticks.

I play Defender all the time as well as Track and Field and they really cause the buttons to take a pounding.  Like I said, absolutely no problems so far and if I have a failure, I'll be sure to report back with how well X-Arcade honors their warranty.

In the event that your X-Arcade™ can’t take a beating or is defective, Xgaming will either fix it, send you replacement parts, or send you another one.

It would be interesting to hear if anyone had to get repairs done and how the company was to deal with.

[JKJudgeX]

lol, I don't know how you're going to break something like that... would take quite a bit of force... probably why they offer that.  I guess if you dropped a TV on one...