Thinking about building something similar to the X-arcade Tankstick

[ropeadope]

Been a long time since I was here

Got Street Fighter IV for PC an it's a lot of fun but needs arcade-style controls to fully enjoy it. Some moves are really difficult to execute using a gamepad, moves that should be fairly easy to do. I guess I don't have to explain it to you guys.

Would like to build something similar to X-arcade's Tankstick:


Honestly it seems like a good deal already but I can't afford it. Plus I've always wanted to make my own arcade controls. How cheap could I make something comparable to the Tankstick? I really like the layout of all the buttons and trackball already. I would have to add pinball buttons to the side though, as I love playing pinball/vpinmame, but that add-on shouldn't cost much extra.

So I've always wanted to build a control cabinet, and would sure get a lot of use out of it for years to come hopefully. The problem is I'm terrible at this DIY kinda stuff, but I'm willing to try. I'm sure I can already find plenty of information around here, but any advice/help would still be appreciated. I already forgot everything I read about when I used to visit here a lot :p

[bradx]

you wont save alot money building it yourself, especially if you dont know what you are doing. 

[saleem]

i spent over £100 just on a 6 button layout for 2 sticks,6 buttons each,a 1/2 player button and a coin and esc button.the mini-ipac and harness was over £30 alone.so without wood,filler,primer,paint its easy to see how much a byo will be.

the 2 player cp from xarcade is?

i got a 2 player xarcade it cost me something like £130,as i thought i would be clever,i bought a refurb frrom states to import to uk,customs wouldnt allow it in without tax and ontop that parcelforce here added handling charge which was like £17 so it actualy cost me more than it would to buy a new pne here.

i just think with xarcade you dont get any experience at putting one together,you miss out on something thats interesting to do,something that you could probably learn and do time and time again.

[ropeadope]

So it sounds like it will be pretty much impossible to build something similar for under $200 eh? Oh well. Will just have to keep saving up I suppose. I thought DIY stuff was supposed to help you save money 

[garnerb350]

Ropeadope...go to the X-arcade site...they have where you can get the joysticks and pushbuttons/encoder...for cheap...( without the wood) with that you can build a control panel....

I myself , I went with the x-arcade tankstick, on my first go around...love it...have no complaints with it...

[bkenobi]

Add it up:

$25-40 - Controller (cost depends on the options you want)
$30 - 2 joysticks (minimum price is ~15 each.  You can easily spend more if you want better stuff)
$27 - buttons ($1.50 average price for black and player start buttons assumed)
$75 - trackball (I haven't priced these recently, but if you pay less, it might not come with a controller.  If it doesn't include one, you need an optical controller or a mouse hack)

TOTAL = $150-$175'ish

You can probably do a bit better if you are picky about where to buy things (like starting with a X-Arcade bundle), but you can certainly spend more.  If you can get it at $100, that's a deal!  If you get it for retail at $200, you won't save much building it yourself (if at all). 

If you want the project, then you have answered the question before you started.  You are ready to dump a bunch of money into something because you want a hobby.   

[ivwshane]

I really depends on the quality you want and how many buttons you plan on using.

From ggg.com you could go with this setup:
Happ comp stick (8 way) $8.49
Black pushbutton (with cherry switches) x10 $12
LED wiz+gp (16 input) $39.95

Total: $60.44

Or go with altimarc:
U360 (configurable analog stick) $59
USB harness (supports 8 buttons only) $8
Black pushbuttons (cherry switches) x8 $15.60

Total: $82.60

Keep in mind there is no trackball and this is only for one player.

Add about $20-$40 for wood and other misc supplies.

And that's assuming you already have all of the tools needed to make the thing.

[ropeadope]

Now it doesn't sound so bad. I can get the two joysticks and all the buttons (except for the two pinball side buttons) I need from X-arcade for $39.95. I already have plenty of controllers (not sure if we're talking about the same kind of controllers though...probably not - I'm thinking gamepads I could dissect) - I could skip getting a trackball for now. Then I'd just need to build a box/control panel and do my best to try and connect all the dots. Still seems very unlikely that I could do all of this though, but I guess there's still a little hope.

[bkenobi]

You can do a joystick/gamepad hack.  There's a thread about using a $9 controller that was posted last week that might be interesting.  I personally would avoid a keyboard hack since they have limitations and you can get an economy controller for ~$20 that does more out of the box (vs ~$10 for a cheapo keyboard + time + supplies + etc).

The parts I listed were middle of the road assuming you wanted to recreate the Tank Stick.  I did forget about the pinball buttons, so you would want to add 4 more buttons onto what I said above.

[ropeadope]

Actually looking at more of the tankstick pics there are already buttons on the side that would seemingly be perfect for pinball stuff. It's like they built the tankstick just for me - I'll just have to put it on my wish list.

Thanks for the help, though.

[Jack Burton]

The X-arcade is crap for fighting games.  If you're serious about spending $150 on a joystick for Street Fighter IV forget the trac-ball and pinball buttons.  Get a TE or HRAP.

http://www.amazon.com/Street-Fighter-FightStick-Tournament-Playstation-3/dp/B001M25AY6/ref=pd_sim_vg_5

http://www.amazon.com/Playstation-Real-Arcade-Fighting-Stick-3/dp/B001GDQRZM

Both are also compatible with PCs.

[brandon]

Now it doesn't sound so bad. I can get the two joysticks and all the buttons (except for the two pinball side buttons) I need from X-arcade for $39.95. I already have plenty of controllers (not sure if we're talking about the same kind of controllers though...probably not - I'm thinking gamepads I could dissect) - I could skip getting a trackball for now. Then I'd just need to build a box/control panel and do my best to try and connect all the dots. Still seems very unlikely that I could do all of this though, but I guess there's still a little hope.

 Keep in mind that the joysticks and buttons sold by X-arcade are NOT the same as what you would get from GGG or anyone else that sells Happ brand parts.  Personally, I think the X-arcade pushbuttons kinda suck...

[ropeadope]

Has anyone told you guys you're all buzzkills :p

The X-arcade is crap for fighting games.  If you're serious about spending $150 on a joystick for Street Fighter IV forget the trac-ball and pinball buttons.  Get a TE or HRAP.

http://www.amazon.com/Street-Fighter-FightStick-Tournament-Playstation-3/dp/B001M25AY6/ref=pd_sim_vg_5

http://www.amazon.com/Playstation-Real-Arcade-Fighting-Stick-3/dp/B001GDQRZM

Both are also compatible with PCs.

The Fightstick costs $150 for one control pad (one player only). I'm sure it's nice but no thanks...

Anyone else think the X-arcade is crap for fighting games or is Jack just making stuff up?

[vputz]

I thought DIY stuff was supposed to help you save money 

 

 

 

 

What DIY gives you is choice.  Only where a lot of labor is involved does that choice generally coincide with lower dollar cost (how much your time is worth to you is your own business).  With a DIY controls setup, you can get the components you want, the layout, you want, etc--and that can be worth it right there.

[saleem]

i seen people here put like £300 perhaps more just into the controllers/buttons etc just for the control panel.thats a lot of usd there.

they can sit back proud and show off what they created and what they achieved.i bought xarcade 2 player,now i am on my first conversion,coming along slowly but,nicely.

[severdhed]

one thing you need to learn is that arcade controls are not cheap.  I have around $500 tied up into my control panel. (2 players, 6 buttons each, trackball), once you factor in the cost of the wood, paint, plexiglass and hardware (hinges, corner braces).

people like to bash the x-arcade stuff, and i'm not sure why.  i had an x-arcade 2 player unit for years, and honestly i cannot tell a difference between their pushbuttons, and the happ pushbuttons i have now.  if you ditch the trackball, you can save a good bit of money, but dont expect a panel like this to be cheap.  also, if you dont have the right power tools, making your own can be difficult and time consuming. to do it right you would need a drill, saw (i used both a jigsaw and a circular saw) and a router, along with various bits which arent exactly cheap.  so  you may need to factor in the cost of tools. 


lots of people buy xarcade controllers and are pretty happy with them.  often, after a few years of use however, they seem to end up building thier own anyway. 

you can build a contoller much cheaper than i did, but i wouldn't expect for it to end up costing any less than it's xarcade counterpart.

[bkenobi]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is that if you do buy an XArcade stick, you can always upgrade the controls down the road.  If you don't like the stick or the buttons, they are all EASILY swappable for other units.  As long as the box is both physically suitable and aesthetically pleasing enough to you, you can mod the XArcade panel how you see fit.

[Jack Burton]

Has anyone told you guys you're all buzzkills :p

The X-arcade is crap for fighting games.  If you're serious about spending $150 on a joystick for Street Fighter IV forget the trac-ball and pinball buttons.  Get a TE or HRAP.

http://www.amazon.com/Street-Fighter-FightStick-Tournament-Playstation-3/dp/B001M25AY6/ref=pd_sim_vg_5

http://www.amazon.com/Playstation-Real-Arcade-Fighting-Stick-3/dp/B001GDQRZM

Both are also compatible with PCs.

The Fightstick costs $150 for one control pad (one player only). I'm sure it's nice but no thanks...

Anyone else think the X-arcade is crap for fighting games or is Jack just making stuff up?

Look at any footage of a fighting game tournament.  You will hundreds of people walking around with every type of portable joystick known to man except for one.  And that's X-arcade. 

X-arcade joysticks are clones of the old super joystick type and are too stiff and slow for fighting games.  There buttons are not clones of Happ buttons but instead are the same as the dozens of other generic concave button types out there.  The buttons are too tall and too concave.

Go type X-arcade into the search function of forums.shoryuken.com if you don't believe me.

And Severdhed, if you can't tell the difference between an X-arcade button and a happ button then that is just you.  It's double if you use X-arcade switches instead of cherry switches.  X-arcade switches are stiffer and much louder.

[severdhed]

they may feel a little different, but the noise level seems the same, and i can't honestly say that one feels better than the other.    my point is that out of the dozens of people who have used my cabinet, nobody has ever complained about the x-arcade components that were in it for a long time.  i upgraded to happ buttons because i wanted other colors, and nobody has ever said that they feel better then the old ones.

i am not a hardcore fighting game fan, if i were, it may make a difference.  personally, i think the x-arcade is a great product and a good place to start.  you can always upgrade the components later.

[brandon]

you could always try to find an arcade stick for an obsolete console and do a gamepad hack on it.. Like my super awesome SNES stick that I've had since I originally bought SF2: World Warrior for SNES  (and spent $80!!)

[Falkentyne]

I remember those old fighting game joysticks.  My friend had one for the Genesis.  Back in the early 90's, those things absolutely **RULED** for fighting games.   MAME was in its infancy and the build your own controls setup was more based on things like sneskey, hacking gamepads or getting custom encoders.  (Datel made one for the Genesis to PC called the "Revenger"; I still have it and it works, but having to use flaky (and cheap) AT to PS2 convertors and I think having the adapter connection keep unplugging, caused my ps/2 port to eventually die on my Pentium 4 rig (not good if I want to use a ps/2 xarcade or ipac, etc...), so I'm not using it on my newer computer. 

Xarcade buttons have far too much travel distance for street fighter.   Happs Competition buttons are much better,  even though they're concave, the travel distance on a Happs competition button is half that of the Xarcade buttons, so theyre good if you like concave buttons.

You can remove the buttons and the joystick from the xarcade and replace them with a japanese style or Happs competition joystick.  The only problem is the fit of the housing; the xarcade has the wood routed to fit its "Super" joystick clone perfectly, so putting a Happs Competition stick in there will be a *LOT* of work to squeeze it in.

The encoder is another problem; my tankstick may be an older pcb but it only supports 6 button inputs simultaneously in USB mode, when it's supposed to support 12.  It's as if the endpoint 1 and ep2 interrupts arent functioning even though theyre installed...

I'll probably just put an I-pac in there and mod the wires to fit in that.

But still, as long as you have a PCB that is correctly allowing 12 inputs simultaneously, and you ditch the crappy Super joysticks (I HATED--HATED street fighter 2 machines that had those in the early 90's!) and put in some better joysticks (which xgaming can do for you anyway), it's a decent buy.  If you have the i-pac and know how to splice wires, just buy the xarcade without the encoder and you have a good unit for street fighter (you will want to replace the buttons eventually).