The "Help Using a Joystick" Thread

[Airk]

Yeah, it was a Madcatz TE.

Do they normally feel this imprecise?

Nope; They're extremely high quality.

While it's -possible- yours was damaged, odds are you're just completely unused to it.

[sakabato24]

There is no correct hand position on when you play on stick. You just have to find something that feels the most comfortable with you and then try to practice any and all of the motions for moves with your comfortable hand placement. It takes time from someone that just started playing on stick.

It varies from person to person too. I took me a week to get comfortable with stick since I played plenty of arcade games back then, while my friends, who were still new to playing stick, took them a month or two. Again, getting comfortable with a stick takes time and practice.

[Prestizi]

Figured out a solution, kinda

I'm normally extremely, extremely light on all my inputs on the stick and buttons... but it seems like an easy way to input IAD is to input something like a 6969 but not exactly, instead aiming for the area between 6 and 9 and then having enough force that the stick slides into 9, making it feel like im inputting a (double tap) dash but with a bit more exaggeration.

When im exerting my input more than im used to, this input seems to come out naturally. Seems a lot more reliable than lightly aiming for a 9, followed by aiming for a 6 in quick succession.

[Anfingrimm]

So I got this brand new Hori X2 for my 360 off EBay for $50 AUD, and I... have no idea how to use this. I'm trying different grips and I've got a comfortable button setup, but it's so goddamned clunky compared to my Razer Tournament edition controller. It doesn't help that I don't have anything comfortable to rest it on while I play.

Update: My ring and pinky fingers are really, really sore now. I can't figure out how to comfortably cover all six buttons.

Edited October 13, 2012 by Anfingrimm

[Shazam]

Keep practicing, it might take a few weeks or months to get comfortable. Practice dashing, DP, supers and quarter circles. A good friend once told me, "You want to 'draw' the input with your thumb."

Why do you need six buttons? BB only has 4 buttons.

Personally I just use

ABC

D

Keeping my thumb on D and index-middle-(ring/pinky) on the top three.

Play something that's not BB with your stick. If you have Super Meat Boy on your PC that's a great game to play with stick. I've heard of people playing PacMan to get used to using the stick as well. Just something simple that will familiarize you with the concept of playing with your new 'utensil'.

As far as how you're holding it, I've noticed most people play with overhand styles. I prefer wineglass myself, but now that my execution is beefed up I have less trouble using it overhand if I want/need to. Make sure you watch the vid on youtube with all of the different styles if you haven't yet. It all comes down to a matter of preference - what feels comfortable for you? Keep playing around and try to find something that you like. Remember that you don't want to have the same hand position 100% of the time; you want to let it flow and move your hand in a way that keeps you relaxed and comfortable.

The final advice I offer is to loosen up your arm/wrist instead of feeling tense. Relaxation and calmness will get you a lot farther than frustration and trying to force it.

[Anfingrimm]

I assigned shortcuts for Rapid Cancel and Taunt to LT and RT on my controller, and it's a habit that's stuck. It works for me.

As for other games I can play with a stick... I think all I've got is Skullgirls (which I've barely touched so far).

[Shazam]

Just a warning though, if you ever end up playing on a cabinet you'll be out of luck because there's only 4 buttons. I had maps for rapid/burst/barrier/grab on pad but I feel it's unnecessary on stick; I have no qualms with just pressing two or three buttons when they're all laid out on a flat surface and in a row. Do whatever you want.

Skullgirls is not what exactly what I was going for. I'm talking about something really casual to get you used to having the stick in your hand instead of a pad. Shoot 'em ups, platformers, certain RPGs, single stick action games (something that you don't need to control the camera a lot/two sticks) are more along the line of what I like to use my stick for. MegaMan X is a good one. Your stick should work with your PC clean. Just plug in and configure the buttons with the game/program. Although, Skullgirls plays a lot better on stick too, you should give that one another shot.

[_rFX]

Sooo...I was perfectly fine with playing on pad, and if there's one and only one aspect of fighting games in which I'm actually kinda-semi-not a complete pile of smoldering garbage at, it's execution.

I just really get a kick out of doing the fanciest, craziest stuff, and I never felt like playing pad was in any way limiting that.............but~ I always did want a few extra buttons to play with, or at least a more comfortable layout to make multi-button inputs slightly less awkward, and so I bought one of those Hori pads. It was pretty awesome for a bit. More ergonomic and all that jazz+it had actual buttons for L2/R2 instead of those stupid triggers that the DS3 has. The only problem was they built it with the Guinness Book of World Record's current record holder for world's cheapest plastic, and it busted after like a week.

...Then I bought another one, hoping it was just bad luck or something, but that broke after about a month too >.>.

So anyway; I rage-purchased an arcade stick(Q4RAF), and while I don't regret it; I guess I underestimated how difficult it would be to make the controller shift, because suddenly dashes/IADs are a really complicated input.

I can't seem to find any comfortable way to hold it(I never got the whole 'can't play for extended periods with pad' thing, but I'm sort of getting it with stick). No matter how I do, it's mind-bogglingly hard to dash left. Dashing in general is tricky, but the only way I can even dash left at all is by letting go of it completely and just kinda...tapping it with my middle finger.

......I get the feeling that that might not be the best approach. I'm trying to practice simple stuff with characters that I'm already familiar with, but even attempting something as simple as dash 5C or dash 3C with Hazama is...disheartening.

I know it just takes time to get accustomed, but I wouldn't want to keep practicing something the wrong way either.

For dashing left specifically; I don't see any possible way to do it that would be even remotely natural to me. Trying to pull towards the direction of your arm goes against everything I believe in

Also not exactly sure how to configure the buttons. First thought was 4 fingers 4 buttons, but......yeah~no. Pinkies are a worthless, good for nothing appendage.

For BB at least, I always preferred having D up top as triangle, so I set it up basically the same way with

DC

AB

Is that, erm...normal? Unlike the whole 'all fingers on deck' thing, I'm at least fairly comfortable with it, but idk. *shrug*

Still tempted to use shortcuts, but I'm trying to suck it up and use the simultaneous inputs instead.

...

/pointlessrant

[Shazam]

Dude, I know the feeling exactly. Dashing left specifically or just dashing whenever I really needed to finish a combo used to absolutely wreck my shit. It's a well documented problem for beginners haha.

IAD is pretty easy, the input is something like 9 5 6. Tricky but not really hard. Dashing is just grinding it out. I mean, I won't say I'm perfect yet but instead of 20% success it's more like 70%, but I don't practice enough, lol.

So you don't want to be tense, you want to be the opposite. Calm, collected, and relaxed - not only will you make better decisions but it helps your execution and muscles flow better. Just play matches, forget about training mode, come back to it when you want. Getting your ass kicked enough will toughen you up lol. While you're still in this phase keep with the -playing to learn- motto and forget about winning. Not to discount training mode, the more time you train the better, so long as you're doing it right.

Your BB buttons are all off... now it's not really a big deal unless you ever want to go to Japan and play in their arcades. Some people can consider this but some can't, so it depends on your situation. The only two ways on cabinet are BCD/A or ABC/D with three on top and one on the bottom to the left. I play with the second because of my pad habits and specifically because of Hazama's drive so I can kind of understand where you're coming from.

Don't discount the pinky, especially if you ever want to play Guilty Gear or AH3 - dat 5th button.

tl;dr it's going to suck for awhile but you'll get over it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsME37GrqjY this if you haven't seen it yet.

[freelander]

_rfx

i also just bought a stick(a hori rap) and started practicing.

one trick I found out for the right hand positioning is that these sanwa buttons are so sensitive that you dont even have to push them. because of this i have 4 fingers over the buttons and I use the third phalanx of my little finger to activate the dust button

[Airk]

If you use a 'wineglass' style grip, dashing left is a very similar motion to dashing right.

If you don't, well, I just kinda nudge with my thumb. :P

[Spike6545]

So I just got my stick Friday, a Brawlstick modded with Sanwa parts, and I have few questions. I know it's generally not advised to "ride the gate" when putting in inputs but does that apply to movement as well? I can't seem dash at all without touching the gate.

[mr.mortified]

you can ride the gate if you want to, dashing is okay

[sogeking90]

So can someone explain the logic for the correct joystick layout for Guilty Gear?

[Circuitous]

Unless you mean logic as in why they would set it up like that, in which case I have no idea. It works, though.

[pharosngm]

I started with the hori pad then upgraded to a V3-Sa (I didn't find the HORI FC3P pad that bad). It still doesn't feel as natural as a pad since I use a different grip and button layout depending on who I am playing as.

For characters who I use back-dash a lot I just use a talon(?) grip with my middle, index, and thumb and place them at the very top of the stick, slightly tilted to the left so the end of my middle finger is more centered. I double tap with my middle finger to back-dash.

My biggest issue with switching to stick was getting ghost 7's and 9's whenever I did half circles, this was mostly an issue when I tried using the more popular wine glass grip and I have found that I am more precise when I control it from the top.

As for button layout I primarily play GG so I set it up as shown in the first post but with and switched, both handled by my ring finger (so its not 1:1), I only use my pinkie for shortcuts

I'm no arcade stick guru but is strategy worked for me so give it a shot if nothing else works. Give each style enough time and eventually you will figure out what works best for you. GOOD LUCK XD

[JD012]

Recently trying to get back into Guilty Gear and i'm having a 2 problems. 1 wtf is this button layout? i cant find a comfortable way to place my hand and be able to easily hit dust. Also, IADes to the left are a problem. I'm not sure what it is but i have the toughest time hitting 9 smoothly and i think its because im using a bad grip. I've been trying a bunch of the ones in the video on the FP but none really ease my problem. Did i mention i have big hands?

[InWithTheAshes]

The official, arcade used button setting would be:

KSH

P D

but if that doesn't work for you, just try different variations until you find one that you would call com

[JD012]

The official, arcade used button setting would be:

KSH

P D

but if that doesn't work for you, just try different variations until you find one that you would call com

Thanks for the quick response. Too bad it doesn't really help me. The problem im having with the button layout is im used to BB and Kof which only use 4 buttons. I put my index on P and the pinky on HS and i have nothing left to put on D. Stretching my pinky down to hit it takes to long but maybe that's something i'll get with practice. IDk. Any suggestions for good grips i could try? i've never really thought about them before bit i have always had a bit of a problem jumping to the right.

[Celerity]

Thanks for the quick response. Too bad it doesn't really help me. The problem im having with the button layout is im used to BB and Kof which only use 4 buttons. I put my index on P and the pinky on HS and i have nothing left to put on D. Stretching my pinky down to hit it takes to long but maybe that's something i'll get with practice. IDk. Any suggestions for good grips i could try? i've never really thought about them before bit i have always had a bit of a problem jumping to the right.

Personally I use the same button layout for all ArcSys games:

A B C

D

For GG, that translates to:

P K S

H D

I would just recommend using your standard layout and adding D to it.

What grip are you trying to use? Some kind of wineglass? A lot of players think they're trying to emulate top Japanese players with fancy underhanded grips, and they end up with no control over the top of the stick. Try experimenting with rotating your hand so it's more parallel to you instead of straight forward, and make sure you're controlling the ball top with your thumb. Let your thumb control the movement and use your other fingers for support.

Here is a guide with pictures of some grips: http://www.eventhubs.com/guides/2009/jul/08/tips-switching-pad-joystick/

[Xtra_Zero]

I always used my thumb for P. I used type A for a while in BB but quickly moved to type B. In BB D made a little more sense on thumb because it was a separate function for many characters, but in GG attacks are attacks, and HS is always a harder hitter than P.

[Effenhoog]

Thanks for the quick response. Too bad it doesn't really help me. The problem im having with the button layout is im used to BB and Kof which only use 4 buttons. I put my index on P and the pinky on HS and i have nothing left to put on D. Stretching my pinky down to hit it takes to long but maybe that's something i'll get with practice. IDk. Any suggestions for good grips i could try? i've never really thought about them before bit i have always had a bit of a problem jumping to the right.

I play GG with a finger on each button. Assuming arcade layout, my thumb is on P and then my fingers spread naturally across the rest of the buttons, with my pinky on D. This is kind of my natural hand stance on the buttons for all games, it is slightly annoying when any game uses the "medium kick" button as it is the only one I have to reposition a finger to press

as for grips, you should really just use whatever is comfortable for you, the best suggestion I have heard is to just put your hand on the stick without thinking about it and see what your "natural" grip is like and then go with that, perhaps slightly tweaking it later on if any issues arise.

My grip is pretty much just thumb on the ball facing me and then ring and middle fingers on the side opposite me. I tend to make as little movement with as little force as possible and don't grip the stick very tightly, same with button pressing. That does not necessarily mean it will work for you, I have seen plenty of people that prefer to manhandle the stick with a ridiculous grip and gorilla smash on the buttons with equal effectiveness.

[donkatsu]

I was wondering if anyone is having a similar issue that I'm experiencing at the moment. I have a madcatz SF x Tekken stick that I've been using for P4A which is my also first fighter. Now, I want to get into BB and I started playing around a bit with BB extend, but I'm experience some discomfort on my right hand using the BB layout. I'm using the B layout which is

ABC

D

compared to that I was using default layout in P4A which is

AC

BD

The way I place my hand on the stick isn't that much different. I do let my ring finger on top of the C button for BB. For some reason, my right hand is straining a lot and gets tired really fast. I never had issue with P4A, so I'm just wondering what is going on. It may be that I'm not used to using the ring finger to press C and it's somehow adding stress to my hand. Anyone have any idea?

[Celerity]

I was wondering if anyone is having a similar issue that I'm experiencing at the moment. I have a madcatz SF x Tekken stick that I've been using for P4A which is my also first fighter. Now, I want to get into BB and I started playing around a bit with BB extend, but I'm experience some discomfort on my right hand using the BB layout. I'm using the B layout which is

ABC

D

compared to that I was using default layout in P4A which is

AC

BD

The way I place my hand on the stick isn't that much different. I do let my ring finger on top of the C button for BB. For some reason, my right hand is straining a lot and gets tired really fast. I never had issue with P4A, so I'm just wondering what is going on. It may be that I'm not used to using the ring finger to press C and it's somehow adding stress to my hand. Anyone have any idea?

Obvious solution, why don't you just use the same button layout for BB that you use in P4A?

[Tigre]

Just practice. Sounds like you just need to build up the muscle in your right hand. Especially if you're new to stick