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Ultrastick 360..long shaft or not?
Jack Burton:
I can give you the fighting gamers opinion and it is:
short shaft, undermounted in metal CP. No exceptions.
severdhed:
my x-arcade joysticks are bottom mounted with no routing and teh top of the stick is 2.75" above the top of the panel. this is a nice height.... i tried bottom mounting my 8way wico balltops but they were way too short. i just didnt want to spend the money if i didnt need to. these sticks are expensive enough as it is...$59 + $8 for the wire harness (i dont want to use my x-arcade encoder any more, and i figured this was cheapest way to go for an encoder)..then you start adding on extra shafts($12), the restrictor kit ($14) and the springs ($3) you are suddenly looking at $96 per stick. i need two of those, about 14 buttons, trackball mounting plate, and tmolding...i'm looking at nearly $250.
it is alot of money to spend on something i very rarely actually play. i like having it, and i use it once or twice/ month...but i cant help but wonder if i would be better off going another route.
Jack Burton:
Well, you might be able to get ultimarc to ship the joysticks with the long handles already installed and skip the short ones, since it doesn't look you will be using those.
You can save a few dollars like that.
Does the U360 come with a restrictor or need one? Cause if either is true then you don't need to worry about that at all either.
severdhed:
i may not need the restrictor kits, but it seems as if alot of people recommend the restrictor if you are using the longer shaft, or the throw is too long. it's alot of money to spend on controls. but then again, i spent $150 on the x-arcade that i gutted and i am not satisfied. i thought about spending the $30 or so to get a magstik plus, to see if it would do what i need, but if it doesnt, then i am out that money too.
the hard part is going to be convincing my wife that i need to spend another $250 on controls for my arcade cabinet..especially since we just had a baby.
DaveStall:
I have the standard shafts, but my CP is only 1/2" + 1/8" plexi and the length is just about perfect. Personally, I think the length would be OK with a thicker CP, but that is something only you will know once you try it.
For quick games like Robotron, I think the circular restrictor is a must. I started with the regular stick and the throw was just too long for me to get comfortable with. The circular restrictor works great.
As far as the springs go, I think the "harder" spring is way, way too light. If you are used to fighting sticks it probably feels about right. If you prefer the feel of something like a classic Wico with the rubber grommet, you will most likely want something a bit (or a lot) stiffer. I would guess the Wico sticks on my Robotron are at least twice as stiff as the hard spring in the U360 if not more. It's pretty easy to find springs that will work with the U360 at your local hardware store, although you will most likely need to cut them down to size a little.
Dave