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Choosing the right joystick...So many options
RandyT:
--- Quote from: jimmer on February 05, 2013, 11:39:03 am ---Unfortunately the maths is the same for a round actuator on a bladed switch (unless you put a clever concave shape onto the blade). You have to move the stick 1.41 times further on the diagonal.
--- End quote ---
That's because you've made the incorrect assumption that the blades are parallel to the switch bodies. They are not. They angle away from it. The switch arrangement is also rotated slightly, and the activation nubs moved more into the diagonal location. Obviously, it's still not completely perfect, but the diagonal is activated much sooner. In use, this is still a marked improvement.
jimmer:
We could go into the maths of small angles and small increments, but it's not necessary as I've done another diagram.
edit: Note: the 4 blades have to be 90degress to the 4 directions of travel at the point of engagement. If not the point of diagonal actuation will not be at 45 degress (and you'll stilll have to move 1.41 times as far).
WindDrake:
I'm going to chime in a little about the Supers, as I have a pair of decade-old+ ones out of my first MAME cab from the same time period. :)
The actuator arms were pretty soft back then, and both myself and my brother did manage to tweak them a little! This was enough to mess the diagonals up.
However, my current-manufacture Rotary sticks, which are Super-based, use what appears to be a different material for the arm, and I've yet to screw that up. I like these sticks. I didn't like my old supers.
Happ Competition sticks are great, too. Don't bother with the current-day ones, though, as the ones back in the day were really iL Eurosticks that Happ Resold. The current-day ones are cheap knockoffs. Just grab real iL sticks from ParadiseArcadeShop or something. :)
I don't like the Japanese sticks. Short, weird throws with weird restriction. Blegh.
Cynicaster:
I’m only 2 years into this hobby, only have a single cabinet, and I’ve never used a Japanese-style stick.
With that out of the way, I can say that I’ve spent a lot of time using the Competition, Ultimate, and Super.
I haven’t hated any of them, but the Ultimate is definitely the weakest of those products, IMO. Pretty sloppy, and after less than a year it was already getting all squeaky and creaky, which drove me insane so I changed it out for a Super.
I also find the Super a bit sloppy to be honest, but dang, that thing is bulletproof compared to the others. If they can be “tweaked” to taste, maybe I should look into that.
I love the Competitions for general purpose 8-way stuff. I think they feel great, with a nicely sized throw that’s not too long or short. Plus, if there’s a better bang-for-your-buck out there, I’d like to know what it is. I agree the diagonals aren’t perfect, but I have no use for fighters, so the only time I notice it is when I’m playing a game like Berzerk or Robotron where you have to regularly “aim” on the diagonals. Even in those cases, it’s manageable and not the end of the world. My brother also plays a lot of MAME and has used the same sticks that I have, and the Comps are far and away his favorite too.
I’m actually glad I don’t care about fighters, because the more threads like this that I read, it seems that those games really complicate things for people like me who just want a single machine with a good general purpose control panel.
RandyT:
--- Quote from: WindDrake on February 05, 2013, 01:06:57 pm ---Happ Competition sticks are great, too. Don't bother with the current-day ones, though, as the ones back in the day were really iL Eurosticks that Happ Resold. The current-day ones are cheap knockoffs.
--- End quote ---
It's really bizarre that this notion keeps getting perpetualized. In the early days of Happ's production at their own factory, there were a couple of issues. This is the case with any new mold put on the line, and it takes some tweaking over time to work out some of the issues with the tooling. I communicated with them extensively about the issues at that point, and modified the sticks before we shipped them, where it was necessary.
Today, however, this is no longer true. I have measured every dimension of every part on the new HAPP competitions against the IL counterpart and the differences are within a few thousandths of an inch from one another. They feel the same and perform the same. It's my understanding from communication with HAPP that this design was a joint effort between IL and HAPP, so the notion that HAPP Competitions are "knockoffs" is ludicrous.
The biggest difference one can make in the performance of this particular style of stick is the switch used. One where the nub of the switch is taller, and therefore interacts with the actuator more quickly, helps to make them more responsive. Outside of that, the differences in the build quality are the stuff of fairy tales and marketing hyperbole. :)
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