So, for those of you who have gotten to use this game in 8-way mode, particularly with circle or octo gates, what is your opinion of diagonal sensitivity? One of the reasons I have been averse to jumping on the Japanese joystick bandwagon is because the only way to get sensitive diagonals is to use a square gate, which means that you now have the opposite problems of the X and Y directions being poorly defined. I liked the iL Competition / Euro sticks because the X, Y, and diagonal directions were all equally sensitive and accessible, making it feel like a true 8-way stick rather than a "4 way + diagonals."
The iL / Happ sticks have plenty of other problems like being too bouncy when released, causing unwanted inputs and the articulator getting twisted causing an irritating "crunch" during play, which is why I am looking into Japanese style sticks like all the pros are using, however I don't want to give up the wonderfully balanced 8-way sensitivity of the Competition sticks. The Ultrastick sounds promising, especially since you can choose between a long throw (no restrictor plate) or a short throw (8 way / circle plate) which could help me in my transition (especially with a harder spring installed), but it's the balance between diagonals and X/Y movement that I am most concerned about, since aside from the nostalgia of American-style parts that's the one thing that Competition sticks actually do better than JLFs.
I use mostly charge characters in Street Fighter so good diagonals are important, but I also need good X/Y directional movement since I'm also into Mortal Kombat. Would the Ultrastick 360 meet my needs as a fighting game enthusiast who plays a lot of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, MVC etc? How hard is it to get used to playing a fighter on a stick with no micro switches, and are there advantages / disadvantages I should be aware of before I consider investing it the U360, P360, Sanwa Flash, or any other switchless stick? I think am ready to graduate from the school Happ, but I don't want to dive in head first-- I want the familiarity of a long throw and equal responsiveness from all 8 directions, without the springiness, crunchiness, and all around decreased precision that comes with Happ / iL joysticks. Also, keep in mind that I would be using the U360 in 8-way mode, not analog, since it would be in a fightstick case for consoles rather than hooked up to Mame.
And out of curiousity, does anyone know if the U360 would fit inside a Madcatz TE fightstick, even if it means making some modification to the internals of the MCTE's housing? I have a buddy who is sick of opening up his to swap between his 8-way JLF and his 4-way Seimitsu every time he wants to go from Street Fighter to Tetris, and he is interested in the U360 too.