Best Joyst./;ick for a 60-in-1

ChaosJohn

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Howdy,

For those of you who own 60-in-1's, what joystick are you using? And more importantly, how well does it work on 4-way games?

I'm restoring a beater Frogger that was JAMMAtized, and the 8-way joysticks that were in it play very very poorly on 4-way games.

Is there some Happ or other 8-way model that does a better job on the 4-way games?

If not, I guess my options are to buy one of the 4/8 switchable models (any recommendations?), to disable all the 8-way games, or to replace one of the 8-way joysticks with a 4-way and parallel wire them both into player 1 on the JAMMA harness.

Thanks for any input
 
Hey John,
I totally fabricated my CP and when I did I used the "Classic Arcade Joystick (8-way to 4-way switchable)" ones that Jammaboards.com sells and honestly I have NO complaints. They work great and look petty cool too. I actually have them in 4 way mode all the time and I couldn't be happier with them.
The pricing is pretty resonable too.

Good luck,
ERIC
 
So are you saying you can play 8-way games in 4-way mode and get diagonals?

I think so. like i said, I have it in 4 way strictly and I have no problem playing any of the games on the 60-1. You can try it out either was it's super simple to switch back & forth. Just 4 screws on each and flip the guide over.
For the games that are on the 60-1s a "competition" style JS is just overkill. The "classic" types work great and they have that "classic" look to them...In my opinion at least.

Good luck,
ERIC
 
I put an octagonal restrictor on the Sanwa JLF joysticks on my MAME cab, and it works great for 4 and 8 way games without switching:

sanwa_gty.jpg
 
I put an octagonal restrictor on the Sanwa JLF joysticks on my MAME cab, and it works great for 4 and 8 way games without switching:

Yeah but the problem I noticed was in games like PAC MAN & FROGGER the 8 way will screw you up trying to take the 90 degree turns. It won't recognize the signal for some reason and it won't make the move. On the flip side of that I've had NO problems with the 4 way on 8 way games so...
Just my experience though...
 
So is everyone saying that you CAN get diagonals in the 8 way games like 1943? I've been told you can't. Is this a 100% correct statement?
 
Yeah but the problem I noticed was in games like PAC MAN & FROGGER the 8 way will screw you up trying to take the 90 degree turns. It won't recognize the signal for some reason and it won't make the move. On the flip side of that I've had NO problems with the 4 way on 8 way games so...
Just my experience though...

Not in my experience. Works great. The restrictor pictured above that I use has notches for all 8 directions. You can tell when you're in a diagonal versus going U-D-L-R. You can go diagonals for 1942/1943 and still play the pacs and froggers well.

What you describe happens in sticks with square or round restrictors. It doesn't recognize the signal because you're in the diagonal, but you don't realize it, and I think the game ignores it.

If you are really using this exact restrictor plate, and you are still missing turns in pac-man, I'd be surprised. You can still hit diagonals, but you should be able to tell you're in a diagonal, and you shouldn't wonder why you missed the turn. :confused:

I've switched between using the octagonal and the 4-way restrictor (Sanwa sticks come with a 4-way and square switchable restrictor) and haven't found much difference. So I just use the octagonal one all the time.
 
Are you talking about the 60-in-1 board? Yes, you can go diagonal.

Let me clarify. It seems some are suggesting that you can go diagonal with a 4-way stick. I currently have an 8-way in mine and I have full range of movement in games that use an 8-way. If I were to pair a 4 way stick with an 8-way game on the multiboard- could I move diagonally?
 
Not in my experience. Works great. The restrictor pictured above that I use has notches for all 8 directions. You can tell when you're in a diagonal versus going U-D-L-R. You can go diagonals for 1942/1943 and still play the pacs and froggers well.

What you describe happens in sticks with square or round restrictors. It doesn't recognize the signal because you're in the diagonal, but you don't realize it, and I think the game ignores it.

If you are really using this exact restrictor plate, and you are still missing turns in pac-man, I'd be surprised. You can still hit diagonals, but you should be able to tell you're in a diagonal, and you shouldn't wonder why you missed the turn. :confused:

I've switched between using the octagonal and the 4-way restrictor (Sanwa sticks come with a 4-way and square switchable restrictor) and haven't found much difference. So I just use the octagonal one all the time.

Yeah, I have the Classic Arcade JS from Jammaboards, it kind of look like the PAC MAN JS. I originally had it in 8 way assuming it wouldn't be a problem but then had the problems I stated earlier.
 
Let me clarify. It seems some are suggesting that you can go diagonal with a 4-way stick. I currently have an 8-way in mine and I have full range of movement in games that use an 8-way. If I were to pair a 4 way stick with an 8-way game on the multiboard- could I move diagonally?

I'm going to fire mine up and check right now. Hang loose...
 
Let me clarify. It seems some are suggesting that you can go diagonal with a 4-way stick. I currently have an 8-way in mine and I have full range of movement in games that use an 8-way. If I were to pair a 4 way stick with an 8-way game on the multiboard- could I move diagonally?

Negative. If you have a 4-way restricted stick, then no, you can't physically move the stick to where it would be activating two switches at one time, so therefore you could not tell the game you are trying to go in a diagonal direction.

The point I'm trying to make here is: if you have an OCTAGONAL restrictor, then your movements are restricted to those 8-ways, eliminating the problem of landing in that "dead zone" where you think you're going UDLR, but you're really in a diagonal. This is the "missing the turn" problem you get with using just any ol' 8-way stick. The octagonal restrictor allows you to play the pacs AND the 1943s equally well with no switching because it elminates that "dead zone."

This is the setup that works best for me since I don't have room on my panel for a dedicated 4-way stick and I still want to play 8-way games without having to switch.

I've already asked GGG if they'll make an octagonal for happs. But until they do, I'd use Sanwas with that restrictor plate in any 60-in-1 build.
 
Negative. If you have a 4-way restricted stick, then no, you can't physically move the stick to where it would be activating two switches at one time, so therefore you could not tell the game you are trying to go in a diagonal direction.

The point I'm trying to make here is: if you have an OCTAGONAL restrictor, then your movements are restricted to those 8-ways, eliminating the problem of landing in that "dead zone" where you think you're going UDLR, but you're really in a diagonal. This is the "missing the turn" problem you get with using just any ol' 8-way stick. The octagonal restrictor allows you to play the pacs AND the 1943s equally well with no switching because it elminates that "dead zone."

This is the setup that works best for me since I don't have room on my panel for a dedicated 4-way stick and I still want to play 8-way games without having to switch.

I've already asked GGG if they'll make an octagonal for happs. But until they do, I'd use Sanwas with that restrictor plate in any 60-in-1 build.


Thank's for the info. I may go this route with future sticks.
 
I have a Mag-Stik Plus. They added the ball top option after I bought mine.

http://www.ultimarc.com/controls.html

It switches from the "top". Pull up (as in "out" from the CP) and twist one way or another to switch the action. The only real problem is that it uses the smaller bolt pattern. The plate actually comes off the top with a few screws. I took one of Bob's joystick templates and drilled holes to match the ones used to mount the original top plate then used the "template" as the new top plate. Had to space up with a washer to clear some things in the body of the stick that were accounted for in the original plate and had the chamfer the screw holes a bit to countersink the screws. Has worked great for a couple of years. Of course if you are making the CP up from scratch you can account for the patter from the start.

BTW, if any one orders from Ultimarc and is willing to throw in a separate ball top stick (just the shaft, not the entire joy) I would appreciate it. I don't order that ofter and can not see paying their default shipping for just the ball top "update" for my existing stick. As such...the old bat style is still on there!!
 
I have a Mag-Stik Plus. They added the ball top option after I bought mine.

http://www.ultimarc.com/controls.html

It switches from the "top". Pull up (as in "out" from the CP) and twist one way or another to switch the action. The only real problem is that it uses the smaller bolt pattern. The plate actually comes off the top with a few screws. I took one of Bob's joystick templates and drilled holes to match the ones used to mount the original top plate then used the "template" as the new top plate. Had to space up with a washer to clear some things in the body of the stick that were accounted for in the original plate and had the chamfer the screw holes a bit to countersink the screws. Has worked great for a couple of years. Of course if you are making the CP up from scratch you can account for the patter from the start.

BTW, if any one orders from Ultimarc and is willing to throw in a separate ball top stick (just the shaft, not the entire joy) I would appreciate it. I don't order that ofter and can not see paying their default shipping for just the ball top "update" for my existing stick. As such...the old bat style is still on there!!

I picked up a Mag-Stik Plus and all I can say is if you are used to a normal arcade stick the feel of this one might not do it for you, personally I think it is a POS!! For me it is only good for collecting dust!!
 
If you are making these games to sell, just put in a 4-way. I'll have plenty of customers call and complain about the joysticks on Pac-Man or Frogger if I put in an 8-way, but NOBODY calls and complains about not being able to go diagonally in 1943 or Scramble.

If you are making it for yourself, then get the switchables if you don't mind the price...
 
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