8-button arcade controller

[SSJ4Vegeta81]

3/17:  Finally got most of the parts and am just waiting on the inverter chip.  I have solid white buttons for back and start and want to use blue LEDs in them.  Where would be the best place to attach the wires for them?  And should I use 1 or 2 LEDs per button?  Or should I not bother since they're solid and not translucent?

Also, I was at Gamestop recently and noticed they have a new-style controller.  The back/start buttons are shaped like the back/start buttons on the official controller and are angled at about 45 degrees.  Has anyone tried modding these?  The controllers were locked up so I couldn't see the year or model number on them.

Thanks again for the answers I've gotten.


2/24:  I'm planning on making an arcade stick using an Xbox 360 controller.  I'm going to buy Super Street Fighter IV and Soul Caliber 4, and already own DOA4 and SSF2HD Remix and would prefer using arcade controls.  Also, I'll be using this for my PC until I start work on building a cabinet.

I've seen some that have an 8-button layout.  Are there enough 360 arcade games out there to make it worth using an 8-button layout or am I better off with the traditional 6-button?

EDIT:  If anyone has an 8-button can they tell me if they like it?

[versapak]

I'm planning on making an arcade stick using an Xbox 360 controller.  I'm going to buy Super Street Fighter IV and Soul Caliber 4, and already own DOA4 and SSF2HD Remix and would prefer using arcade controls.  Also, I'll be using this for my PC until I start work on building a cabinet.

I've seen some that have an 8-button layout.  Are there enough 360 arcade games out there to make it worth using an 8-button layout or am I better off with the traditional 6-button?

EDIT:  If anyone has an 8-button can they tell me if they like it?

I don't think there are any games that you would really need all 8 buttons for, but there may be instances where you need either the bumpers or the triggers and can't remap those buttons in the game.

Being that those are really the only options for elimination in a 6 button setup, you may find yourself unable to play certain games.

I can't remember how many buttons Castle Crashers uses, but I do remember that it uses one of the triggers for magic, and you are not able to remap. That was what got 2 more buttons added to my 360 arcade machine.

[ubiquityman]

You might not need all 8 buttons at the same time, but the layout might require 8 buttons.

For example, if you have 6 buttons, what will you do for Asteroids that requires 4 buttons on the same row?
You could use the joystick, but would lose the feel of the original arcade game.

Is there one button close to the joystick for Defender reverse direction?

The cost of the buttons are negligible.
I'd recommend going with 8 if you panel can fit it.

[Dazz]

Honestly, I had 7 buttons on my original control panel...  There were many times where I wished that I had an 8th button.  Most specifically when setting up console system emulation.  I just recently decided to rebuild my cabinet and really I've been dying to play some Ikari Warriors and Smash TV type games.  So, I am in the middle of re-building my control panel to add a second joy stick with rotary functionality for players 1 & 2.  At the same time I decided to add an 8th button per person using the Standard Japanese arcade layout.  Yeah my control panel is a little more Frakenstein'ish now, but I think I am going to be happy with it as it gives me a reason to use the nice HyperSpin Ikari Warriors and Smash TV themes.

[mwong168]

Have you ever done a padhack before?  If you don't have much experience soldering then you might want to consider the alternative I am going to suggest.  The reason being is the points and not really meant to be soldered onto and really small.  I've read on other forums people apply to much heat using their iron trying to solder a wire and ruining the PCB.  Now there is hope in this cause because there are alternate locations besides the obvious which require a bit of tracing and also the triggers are a bit of a pain to wire since you have to put some resistors.  The analogue sticks might also be a problem but I looked into this route and decided not to and had a custom stick builder make me this:



I would say go for 8 buttons and just put them a little further away from the six like I requested.  Now if you really want to go this route I would suggest contacting someone who sells padhacks for each system and all you do is make the case and connections to all the parts.  Now for the alternative I was mentioning earlier, I came across something on another forum which works for XBOX360, PS3 and PC.  It is from a website called eTokki (www.etokki.com) and the product is called Paewang Revolution made by a company called Joytron.


http://www.etokki.com/Joytron%20Paewang%20Revolution%20arcade%20stick    $54.95


http://www.etokki.com/Joytron%20Paewang%20Revolution%20PCB%20Only    $54.95

You will notice the entire stick and PCB only is the same price but where you really save is on the shipping.  I believe for me it was a difference of $30 for the complete stick or $4 for the PCB only.  Now the complete stick is workable but with japanese parts only like Sanwa or Seimitsu and maybe Korean parts but not confirmed yet.  Depending what you are going for, if you like Japanese style fight stick but don't want to go through the hassle of wiring or making a case then order the complete stick and a set of authentic japanese parts cause the ones that come stock are crap from what I read.  I don't think you can really go wrong for under $150 shipped for a stick and replacement Sanwa/Seimitsu parts that is good for 3 platforms is a bad price.

My friend just ordered the PCB only last week and should be arriving in 1-2 more weeks so I will let you know how it goes but here are some images and detailed information on this PCB in case you want to go down this route.

I'm not sure where the person found this connector but it is very nice and easy to work with.


Here are some wiring schematics to the PCB



Note this is a JLF 5 pin harness so you could follow the order in which the wires are soldered or else trace it back to the JLF PCB.



Now after look at the images above, here are some schematics for a Xbox360 controller padhack



Link for more detailed information regarding the triggers and analogue sticks. 
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=581887

Don't get me wrong or think I am trying to discourage you because for all I know you might be a master of electronics and this is a walk in the park.  I just wanted to inform you of what you could be potentially getting into.  To me if the Paewang was available at the time I was looking for a stick I would have definately picked that PCB over pad hacking.

Also the way to toggle between systems is as described on the eTokki website.

When you unpack the Paewang Revolution, it is in Xbox 360 mode by default. This means that when it is first switched on it will expect to be used with an Xbox 360. To use the Paewang Revolution with a PS3 console or PC, simply hold down the Turbo button when you connect the Paewang Revolution to your PS3 console or PC. This will change the default mode of the Paewang Revolution to PS3/PC. If you wish to change the default mode of Paewang Revolution back to Xbox 360 then simply repeat the process by holding down the Turbo button whilst plugging into the Xbox 360 console.

Some people are probably doubting if this works for the 360 since Micro$oft has their security crap for their peripherals but this has been confirmed to work on both platforms.  Funny thing is the PCB looks so simple but I will be able to confirm first hand once my buddy's PCB comes in and I help him build his stick. 

Good luck either way and I hope this post has helped.

[SSJ4Vegeta81]

Thanks for the input.  I'll go with an 8-button layout.  SF4 uses the triggers and I have 2 Xbox arcade games that use them as well.  There'll be plenty of room for them since I haven't started building the controller yet.

I'll probably go the padhack route using a Gamestop 360 controller, but I'll read the last post a bit more before deciding.  What are the best LEDs to wire for a ROL?  I'd like to have a blue ROL (to match the blue buttons and stick I'll be using) around my dashboard button and would prefer a custom setup instead of using the actual dashboard button from the controller.

[mwong168]

The gamestop branded 360 pad is slightly easier to pad hack but if you haven't bought it I would really consider getting the one I mentioned.  A few people have already swapped out their Madcatz SFIV TE Fight Stick with this PCB.  Good luck either way 

[SSJ4Vegeta81]

The gamestop branded 360 pad is slightly easier to pad hack but if you haven't bought it I would really consider getting the one I mentioned.  A few people have already swapped out their Madcatz SFIV TE Fight Stick with this PCB.  Good luck either way 

That PCB looks like the easy way to go.  I'll look into it since I have the connectors for the directions and should be able to pick up the other connector at Radio Shack or someplace.  Unless I can find an easy to see padhack schematic for a Gamestop PCB that is.

[mwong168]

Here is a thread I came across last year which I had bookmarked. 





http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=197388

Read the section on what you have to do to get the triggers to work.  Perhaps you should just forget about the triggers and settle with a 6 button control panel 

[SSJ4Vegeta81]

Here is a thread I came across last year which I had bookmarked. 

http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=197388

Read the section on what you have to do to get the triggers to work.  Perhaps you should just forget about the triggers and settle with a 6 button control panel 

Sweet pics. Thanks for the link to the tutorial.  The schematic is simple enough so I think I'll give that a go.  It's half the price of the alternate PCB so I'll try it first.  If I mess things up then I'll kick myself for not going the easier route first.


I'll keep an eye out for putting blue LEDs that look nice on a custom controller.  If I'm going to make my own it should look as different from anything out there as possible, right?

[SSJ4Vegeta81]

Moved this post the 1st post.

[mphuie]

3/17:  Finally got most of the parts and am just waiting on the inverter chip.  I have solid white buttons for back and start and want to use blue LEDs in them.  Where would be the best place to attach the wires for them?  And should I use 1 or 2 LEDs per button?  Or should I not bother since they're solid and not translucent?

Also, I was at Gamestop recently and noticed they have a new-style controller.  The back/start buttons are shaped like the back/start buttons on the official controller and are angled at about 45 degrees.  Has anyone tried modding these?  The controllers were locked up so I couldn't see the year or model number on them.

Thanks again for the answers I've gotten.


2/24:  I'm planning on making an arcade stick using an Xbox 360 controller.  I'm going to buy Super Street Fighter IV and Soul Caliber 4, and already own DOA4 and SSF2HD Remix and would prefer using arcade controls.  Also, I'll be using this for my PC until I start work on building a cabinet.

I've seen some that have an 8-button layout.  Are there enough 360 arcade games out there to make it worth using an 8-button layout or am I better off with the traditional 6-button?

EDIT:  If anyone has an 8-button can they tell me if they like it?

Why dont you buy a Madcatz SF4 TE stick?  You can get them for $99 when they go on sale and they work on 360 and PC. 

The Madcatz 360 pad is going to cost $25ish, and you're out another $30-40 for the stick and buttons, plus the labor to padhack and also the arcade box.

Also, 8 button layout is a must for fighters.  SNK Neogeo fighters use a 4 across layout, there is Garou and KOFXII on the 360 plus all the SNK fighters you can play on MAME...