U360 owners and users with octagonal restrictor please chime in.

[ivwshane]

I've read a ton of threads on the various restrictor plates available for the u360 and it seems everyone likes the circular restrictor plate (and the harder spring which I will be getting) but when it comes to the octagonal restrictor plate only a couple of people chimed in but the results were positive.

So before I order one I want to get a few more opinions based off of what games I play.

I'm mostly into fighting vs games (sf2, mk, etc) but I do like playing random games and old schoolers as well.
The moves I have the most problems with on the U360's are tap motions (like raidens torpedo or liu kangs moves). Will restrictor plates help or will this be helped by the harder spring?

I know the throw feels too long to me so I guess the question is which plate will be more "compatible" with the most games (as in feel truer to their real arcade stick)?


And if it matters I have a trackball on my cp as well.

[Ginsu Victim]

A restrictor will be good for stuff like MK, since it shortens the throw, making taps easier. Since you're a fighting fan, the octagonal should be a good fit for you. Being able to feel the corners is a good thing in those games.

[Visitor Q]

I own two of these with circular restrictor plates and hard springs but can't really speak on octagonal. Seems like it would be a good fit for what you are trying to do though. I would defiantly recommend the hard springs without a doubt. To me it is really one of the only draw backs to these; I wish the springs where even harder.

[u_rebelscum]

...restrictor plates ... u360 a ... circular restrictor plate (and the harder spring which I will be getting) ... octagonal restrictor plate....

So before I order one I want to get a few more opinions based off of what games I play.

...The moves I have the most problems with on the U360's are tap motions (like raidens torpedo or liu kangs moves)....

I know the throw feels too long to me so I guess the question is which plate will be more "compatible" with the most games (as in feel truer to their real arcade stick)?

Are you saying you have the u360 without restrictor already and just looking getting a restrictor & springs?  Or that you have the circular plate and thinking of getting the octogon plate?

The reason I ask is the octogon & circular plates have about the same throw; both are a lot less than without plates.

I don't have the octo plates wither, but I would think they're the way to go if you want to feel the corners and straights.  I really like the smooth feel of the circular plates, but I play mostly scrolling shmups, but don't know first hand how the octo "clunks" feel.

[ivwshane]

I have no restictor plates at all and I'm just looking for more feedback on the octagonal plate.

I know I would like the circular ristrictor because it will give me the same feel I have now but with a shorter throw. However the octoganal restrictor seems even better as it might give me better feed back durig play.

[severdhed]

i bought the octagonal restrictors, but i really didn't care for them.  i went from using x-arcade sticks to the u360s.  i have the longer shafts and the medium springs...i much prefer the feel of them without the restrictors.   i had problems pulling off tap moves (barakas blade attack was impossible)..until i adjusted the 8way map to increase the dead zone in the middle..now it works great.  i can pull off moves just fine, and i think it is easier to pull off the dragon punch moves in sf much easier now than with my x-arcade sticks.

the throw is slightly longer than my xarcade sticks were, but only slightly.  with the restrictor, the throw was pretty short...too short for my taste.

i'd suggest making the dead zone larger in your map and try that first, you may be pleasantly surprised.

[ivwshane]

Thanks

Now I just have to figure out how to do that.

I've been using led blinkys software to control the maps so I haven't used the ultrasticks mapping program.

[severdhed]

i use a mala u360 plugin to control my maps, so that is no problem.  just open up the 8way map in the ultramap program and make the center deadzone one square larger on all sides, it makes a big difference

[Visitor Q]

Seem here, I went from the x-arcade as well to the 360s. I like the limited throw but as I stated above, I really wish there was more spring there. Even with the hard springs they tend to feel a little weak to me compared to my 4-way which I love to death! 

[Encryptor]

Seem here, I went from the x-arcade as well to the 360s. I like the limited throw but as I stated above, I really wish there was more spring there. Even with the hard springs they tend to feel a little weak to me compared to my 4-way which I love to death! 

I read in another thread that someone went to like Ace hardware and got some much stiffer springs for their u360's. They just took one out and took it with them to get the correct diameter.


Encryptor

[Endaar]

I tried out the octagonal restrictor and found that while it greatly improved the feel of the stick, it reduces the throw so much that the U360's analog mode becomes pretty useless. If you can live with that, you'll probably like the octagonal.

[ivwshane]

Did you have a circular restrictor to compare it against? If so what were your thoughts between the two?

[isucamper]

Did you have a circular restrictor to compare it against? If so what were your thoughts between the two?

I tried them both before going with the circular.  I had a really hard time installing the octo plates.  The mounting holes did not match up with the little pegs.  Also, at first I had the octo plate on upside down, because it wasn't really intuitive to me which way it was supposed to go.  Once I got it on correctly, I was suprised that there was very, very little throw left to the stick.  Not nearly enough for my tastes. 

I was testing with the medium spring and short shaft. 

[ivwshane]

I tried using the ultramap software and expanded the center, it worked great!!!

I think I'm going to go for the harder spring and the circular restrictor.

[Ginsu Victim]

You can't go wrong with that circular restrictor. It hasn't given me any problems.

[TheShanMan]

I like my circular restrictors but do wish I had the little corners of the octagonal. I'm tempted to buy a pair and try them out, although I'm disappointed to hear that it restricts travel much more than the circular restrictors.

[Endaar]

Did you have a circular restrictor to compare it against?

No, I did not. The main reason I ordered the octagonal was to have distinct positions at the edge of the stick's travel, rather than reducing the throw. Given that, the round restrictor seemed pointless.

I have to mention that in order to even be able to hit the corners in analog mode with the octagonal plate, you have to further decrease the stick's analog range (compared to the round restrictor) via an edit in the INI file.

To be honest, I never managed to get the U360 to the point where I was happy with it. I've since ordered Happ Comps as my primary sticks and will use the U360 unrestricted for analog (and Q Bert) only. I'm certainly in the minority though as almost everyone seems to love the U360.

[TheShanMan]

Sometimes people (myself included) expect too much of the stick. It really is the ideal "all purpose" stick, but that doesn't mean it's perfect or even close to perfect for all games. Nor does it mean that it will be the best stick for any given game. I love my mag stik plus when I'm playing a 4 way game I'm really serious about (like DK), and I'm certainly less than satisfied using my u360 with restrictors on analog games. But I've learned to just appreciate it for what it's great at - being a universal stick. And for that I'm very happy. My kids don't want to worry about 4 way vs. 8 way, or which stick is best for which game. They just want to play so there simply isn't a better stick for them.

Since it sounds like you don't really want your octagonal restrictors, I would be interested in buying them if you're willing to sell them for a nice price. I'm not certain enough that I'll stick with them to pay full price for new ones, but I'll take the chance on buying some used ones.

[Endaar]

octagonal restrictors, I would be interested in buying them

I only had one, and I tried to modify it a bit to increase the throw. That, uh, didn't go so well.

[ivwshane]

I got my springs and restrictors today. I love the harder spring! However I don't like the restrictors, they just don't feel good and I seem to be more confident in pulling off moves without it.

[Ginsu Victim]

To each his own. I just tried them again without the restrictor and the throw was a tad too long for my tastes. As long as you like them, that's all that matters. (hard spring ftw!)

[GaryMcT]

Did you have a circular restrictor to compare it against? If so what were your thoughts between the two?

I tried them both before going with the circular.  I had a really hard time installing the octo plates.  The mounting holes did not match up with the little pegs.  Also, at first I had the octo plate on upside down, because it wasn't really intuitive to me which way it was supposed to go.  Once I got it on correctly, I was suprised that there was very, very little throw left to the stick.  Not nearly enough for my tastes. 

I was testing with the medium spring and short shaft. 

Which was is up?  It doesn't seem obvious to me, and I don't see anything on the Ultimarc site about it.  I have to assume that I have it backwards since it's impossible for me to install it as it is.

[EddieArcadian]

Updating this old thread for back to the future readers.  Andy/Ultimarc has just re-modeled and updated his version of the U360 Octagon restrictor plates to increase the throw a tad bit, and also correct the mounting holes.  I say "his version", because there are other octo restrictors made for the Sanwa stick that can be used on the 360.

His comment on the update is in this thread:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,139872.0.html