Favorite games that work with 8 way Joysticks?

1500points

New member
Joined
Sep 2, 2011
Messages
5,706
Reaction score
107
Location
Iowa
Anyone have a game they love, that works with 8 way joysticks?
looking for a new challenge and interested in feedback. :)

obvious 8-way joystick games are-
--Robotron/SmashTV/Total carnage
--bubbles
--berzerk/frenzy

obvious 2 way controller games that work well-
--joust
--moon patrol

games that seem to move in a flakey manner-
--tutankham
--rally X

Thanks
 
well assuming you aren't a biker, i presume that means For The Win? ;)

I cut my teeth on Robotron, looking to expand. curious what games other folks play with 8way joysticks.
 
Most games use 8-way sticks, it is the most common control in the world.

Pretty sure Tutankham has an 8-way and a 2-way, which could lead to funkiness playing with a pair of 8-ways.

Rally-X is 4 way.
 
tutankham is a 4 way controller.
DK, pacman, nibbler, etc are 4 way.
8 way causes odd turning movements and false moves.
 
Most games use 8-way sticks, it is the most common control in the world.

Pretty sure Tutankham has an 8-way and a 2-way, which could lead to funkiness playing with a pair of 8-ways.

Rally-X is 4 way.

Yeah, ever since JAMMA became the standard- almost every game since used 8-ways.

I also thought Tutankham used an 8-way and a 2-way :confused:
 
I just got rid of a tutankham PCB, it is 4 way on left, 2 way on right, and a flash button.
does not play correctly with the 8way due to false movements of player.

still looking for game suggestions that people enjoy from the classic game era. :)
 
No it isn't. Not by a long shot. You can coin it up, you can pretend to play it. You can't actually play it because he no longer does what you tell him to do.

Pac-Man with an 8-way is LESS playable than Centipede with a joystick.

It is playable with one though.
 
you guys have me curious on this pacman talk. i know someone with an original pacman controller that needs some TLC. think I'll try to pick it up this weekend and see just how far off the play is with a cheap 4way microswitch and an 8way wico leafswitch stick.
 
The problem is that the game doesn't know what to do when it gets told two directions at once, and 50 percent of an 8-way sticks range is sending two directions at once. Thus you have to fight the stick the entire time or watch pac-man zoom off in directions entirely unintended because the game has no way of knowing which way you wanted to go when the stick is on a diagonal, which it will be much of the time even if you don't mean for it to be.

This is the reason why you see that extra joystick on all those mame cabinets.

It is a big deal. It essentially ruins the game for anyone who knows what it is supposed to be like (as well as for anyone else).

Come over to my place. I have a machine set up where you can try Pac-man using a real 4-way leaf stick, a Happ 8-way stick and a perfect 360 with robotron handles.
 
any 4 way game can technically be played with an 8 way stick. The problem is if you hit the in between spots on the 8 way stick you are basically pushing two switches at the same time. If memory serves a 4 way game will either not respond and therefore keep going in the direction it previously was or possibly change direction based on which switch gets depressed first.

If you have a relatively stiff 8 way stick 4 way games are playable because you have to put forth a little effort to hit the other 4 directions. With a sloppy stick or even a not so tight 8 way you will find it hard to maneuver and will often die due to the stick seemingly not responding.

Not impossible to play a 4 way game with an 8 way stick but usually not desirable.
 
Yeah, what they do seems to vary from game to game. Pac-man seems to become unpredictable, while in Donkey Kong your character is likely to simply stop moving.
 
It's also not quite as bad on the Pac games if you play at regular speed, but an 8-way is damn near impossible to control with any reliability on the turbo versions. I'm using a Jr Pac board (one of the DC Mappy conversion boards) in my Gaplus cab right now, and it's not too bad with the 8-way, although I do miss turns occasionally.
 
Back
Top Bottom