Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum

Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: Rowdy on January 05, 2009, 02:54:04 pm

Title: Do I need a 4-way stick? Or a trackball?
Post by: Rowdy on January 05, 2009, 02:54:04 pm

I see alot of people are installing a 4-way stick with the two ordinary 8-way sticks. What is that for?

And trackball. Is that needed for other than the games that use it? Don't think I'll be playing many of those.

Starting my first cab now, so I'm trying to suck up all the info I can.

Title: Re: Do I need a 4-way stick? Or a trackball?
Post by: ghettodish on January 05, 2009, 03:02:14 pm

List of trackball games, if you are interested:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_trackball_arcade_games

USB trackball also acts as a mouse.

Title: Re: Do I need a 4-way stick? Or a trackball?
Post by: massive88 on January 05, 2009, 03:02:20 pm

If you intend on playing true 4-way games, and care about either truly going after score, or feeling like the original, then yes you need at least some way to have a true 4-way.

This can be through a switchable stick, a dedicated stick, or an optical/mappable stick like the U360.

8-way sticks will play 4-way games (obviously) but will frustrate you to no end if you are trying to play the game for any real length of time.  The timing on those games is so precise, that one accidental diagonal up that results in you going left will be enough to anger you to the point of stopping play.

If you have no interest in trackball games, then you dont need a trackball.  Its only other purpose is ease of use when using the computer without the front end, of course you could always just hook up a USB mouse when doing that.

Title: Re: Do I need a 4-way stick? Or a trackball?
Post by: Rowdy on January 05, 2009, 03:52:29 pm

Thanks for the reply. Now I know. I'll use U360, so that takes care of the 4-way.

Title: Re: Do I need a 4-way stick? Or a trackball?
Post by: severdhed on January 05, 2009, 04:41:15 pm

i didnt think i would play many trackball games, so i dont have one in my cabinet...however i helped a friend build a cabinet and he introduced me to centipede, and now i have to redo my panel so that i can have a trackball....that game is just too much fun

Title: Re: Do I need a 4-way stick? Or a trackball?
Post by: Lecithin on January 05, 2009, 04:45:35 pm

with the U360 you can get around it unless you're really intent on getting 100% classic experience.

Title: Re: Do I need a 4-way stick? Or a trackball?
Post by: Lecithin on January 05, 2009, 04:45:47 pm

Quote from: ghettodish on January 05, 2009, 03:02:14 pm

List of trackball games, if you are interested:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_trackball_arcade_games

USB trackball also acts as a mouse.

oO, thanks!

Title: Re: Do I need a 4-way stick? Or a trackball?
Post by: Ummon on January 07, 2009, 07:08:58 pm

Quote from: Lecithin on January 05, 2009, 04:45:35 pm

with the U360 you can get around it...

But it blows.