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Kyle

Arcade Stick vs Controller

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Hey all, I have a little question...

 

So, I've been using a Stick for only a little while less than a controller and I'm kind of torn between which to pick...

 

I can move far easier on a control than a stick, since I can't move as well on the stick I feel more sluggish.

 

Doing any 236, 214, 41236, etc etc. Is a pain for me on both and it usually comes down to something like me spamming the direction and hoping I get it off...the difference is I find it a bit easier to actually pull them off on stick where as with a controller I just high jump x-x;

 

Suggestions/tips guys? I can see stick working for me down the line, but those two problems keep making things complicated :x

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I would recommend just going into training mode and practice moving around and doing those special motions on stick. Also be sure to try different grips (check the grip vid in this thread, along with the thread as a whole http://www.dustloop.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1651-the-help-using-a-joystick-thread/ ).

 

With a little bit of practice you should be good to go.

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I recently started playing again on a stick after about 3 years after not using one. Lol Using Arcade stick may seem daunting at first and a little uncomfortable but it will feel very nice after spending some time with it. You will also notice that certain inputs seem alot easier (Or maybe it was just me). I think the player should play a somewhat simple game, something like P4A or Jojo ASB, to get used to the stick since they don't require strict timing with the exception of a few characters. You can easily get adjusted to the buttons without overwhelming yourself. Also, For me, I find it alot easier to block on stick. When I played on pad (DualShock 3), I would always mess up blockstrings because I could not tell if I was pressing  :db: or not. It looked like I was inputting  :db: but truly I was pressing  :d: . Of course, That's just a habit. However, on stick, My defense got so much better. Arcade stick is worth the investment for sure .(Especially the HORI Fighting Edge) Good Luck~ :)

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New to GG and not sure of which weapon to use, Been a pad user forever an recently borrowed a stick from a friend to try out. Atm I feel slightly comfortable with pad as its been my bnb for a long time but for GG I feel like stick might be the better choice. Would learning both be better or using one? I've read that its all about what you are more comfortable with an I'm not sure which feels better for me. 

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New to GG and not sure of which weapon to use, Been a pad user forever an recently borrowed a stick from a friend to try out. Atm I feel slightly comfortable with pad as its been my bnb for a long time but for GG I feel like stick might be the better choice. Would learning both be better or using one? I've read that its all about what you are more comfortable with an I'm not sure which feels better for me.

well, then you have to find out what is more comfortable. if you dont have an enpowering reason to switch, thwn you shouldnt change imo. I dropped random things on pad and it drove me up the wall, and now that I have a stick I am much more in peace (less now that I need to wait for my MADCATZ pro) play with em both you will figure it out

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New to GG and not sure of which weapon to use, Been a pad user forever an recently borrowed a stick from a friend to try out. Atm I feel slightly comfortable with pad as its been my bnb for a long time but for GG I feel like stick might be the better choice. Would learning both be better or using one? I've read that its all about what you are more comfortable with an I'm not sure which feels better for me.

Idk, I play I-No and Valk just fine on 360 d-pad. Then I learned Carl and Eddie just to see what all the fuss was. Imo, either one works fine.

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Quick question, does anyone have or ever used the "PS3 Versus Controller" by PDP? I've heard mixed reviews but, it looks interesting enough.

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It's okay depending on the price you get it.  Sometimes I find it on sale for $10-$15. Don't bother paying anymore than that.
The buttons feel a bit odd and might wear down over time.  The click stick is amazing, but I've heard that it can break over time.  I've heard reports of the down-left input not working on some of them, but I've never had that happen to me.

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Does anybody use stick for one or more games and pad for others? Cause right now P4AU is so weird on a stick for me. I learned yosuke on a controller and was able to do pretty much everything i wanted to and i stopped playing a long time ago cause it was borrowed. When i started playing street fighter i picked up a stick and all the old fighters felt pretty normal to me on the stick except for persona. Just got P4AU and the game feels so weird on a stick and im debating if I use stick only for it.

 

Anybody else use pad for Persona but stick for everything else?

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Going back and forth like that is more typical of players who are learning stick but haven't fully adjusted/committed to it yet.  Persona is also less likely to be singled out for pad use as its multiple button macro combinations and the challenge of mashing all out attack to maximum hits (especially now that it is harder to do so in ultimax) give stick several obvious advantages for this particular game.  If your awkwardness comes from the button layout using the LP MP LK MK buttons, similar to most king of fighters control layouts, then just reassign them to something more comfortable.  Some people move D to the HP button, especially Shadow Labrys players who don't like constantly holding down the most awkward button on the stick (MK).

 

The only game I have really seen established stick players sometimes go back to pad for are 3D fighters like Tekken.  I do not know why that is and usually they can play the game fine on stick as well so that choice is a bit of a mystery to me.

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I've been playing with PS pads for years. I decided to try out sticks a few months ago. I tried various sticks out; even tried out a hitbox. I personally struggled with the lack of directional accuracy you get with sticks. Plus, having a cumbersome thing sitting on your lap is annoying.  After I decided to go back to pad I feel a lot happier with my playing. I don't care if sticks are supposed to be more accurate, I love my pads.  

 

I recently started playing with a Sega Saturn controller, with a Mayflash converter. It's really awesome. The dpad is so light and accurate.

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I honestly think that playing on stick is worth the slight learning curve. I've played fighting games on pad all my life until last year. I can now do everything that I learned on pad and more. My inputs are much more precise and accurate. It's very well worth the time dedicated to learning it.

 

The learning curve isn't "slight" to me. I've been trying for a decade now and still can't do a reliable 236 motion without a jump. At least, not with me left hand. If I didn't have to get a custom build to have a stick in my right hand, I'd have a much easier time, as I don't even have to practice to do inputs I want with my right.

 

Why do arcades and consoles have the stick on the left, while PCs have the stick on the right (like Saitek sticks and old Apple ][ joysticks)? The only common access I had to sticks growing up was on a PC.

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Aren't Saitek sticks are meant for flight/space sim-type games? They seem to be mostly larger analog joysticks on the right with a throttle on the left.

 

And I dunno, if you're getting a jump with a 236 motion you might be moving your wrist/arm/hand/what have you a little too much.

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Yeah; Sounds like someone is applying way too much force. Consider changing your grip.

Also, you can always play cross handed if you really need to use your right hand.

That said, I have always found it a little odd that all layouts put the stick on the left, when most people are right handed, and the stuff you need to do with the stick requires way more coordination than the stuff you need to do with the buttons.

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Aren't Saitek sticks are meant for flight/space sim-type games? They seem to be mostly larger analog joysticks on the right with a throttle on the left.

 

And I dunno, if you're getting a jump with a 236 motion you might be moving your wrist/arm/hand/what have you a little too much.

 

They are, but that's what I've had for a PC, short of the old 2-button joysticks in the 80s and 90s for PC and Apple ][ series computers. Flying games like Descent, or shmups, are about all I use a Saitek for on PC, otherwise I'm using a PS2 DualShock2 with an adapter. I have a Pelican PS2 stick too, but it's left-handed and I can't use it well. It was the only arcade stick I've ever seen in an Alaskan store, and it ran me about $40 10 years ago. I'm not really willing to spend $200+ including shipping to get a stick to Alaska for a custom build, just to have something else to learn on, especially when I don't know what I like out of a stick short of it being in the right hand. That's a steep price for an experiment.

 

Playing with crossed arms doesn't give me a long time to work with though. I can stand it for about 10 minutes.

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If you're getting jump inputs out of a stick but want to use one. Just stick with using it if you're sure its what you want to do because I've had that problem recently with a switch from a Sanwa JLF to the Hori Hayabusa stick and it took me about a week or so to adjust (i'm still in the process of eliminating stupid inputs and i've been a stick user since soul calibur 2 days). Consider that length of time invested and there will be a big adjustment period.

 

For the average pad guy it'll take anywhere from one month to three of decent playtime to get adjusted properly. And even if you prefer pad on some games (i still do for a few older titles where that was still my native controller) the stick may be your preference on others.

 

Also if you're having problems because of handiness consider a custom box or a stick with a rotated switch assembly. Shouldn't be that difficult to do and wont do anything weird other than look funny with you playing with the stick "upside down" (its also very cheap compared to a custom case).

 

If anyone would find it useful I can write up an article over the hell I went through converting from pad to stick back when and the various issues i ran into.

 

 

That said, I have always found it a little odd that all layouts put the stick on the left, when most people are right handed, and the stuff you need to do with the stick requires way more coordination than the stuff you need to do with the buttons.

Let us lefties have something we die early if statistics are to be believed.

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I've never not had the jump input problem. I've been trying to overcome it for at least ten years. I'd say it's not a "long adjustment time" problem, but that I cannot do it properly with my left hand.

 

I'm not making a custom box myself because I can't solder (again something I have tried for 10+ years, and I always burn the circuit board or put solder where I don't want it), and I can't find anyone in Alaska to do it, so shipping a custom rig and keeping it from breaking during shipping is an absurd shipping cost. I can't justify more than about $100 for a controller, and even that much may make the wife mad.

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Honestly for GG, especially in xrd, you don't need a stick. 

 

The only advantage I've ever noticed with stick was I could mash out staggers and dizzy state faster... or mash grand viper to the full extent.   I guess also there's less chance of a diagnol input mistake which the ps4 pad seems to give me occationally.

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I've been going back and forth since picking up Guilty Gear Xrd, and I have to say the control pad feels better on my hands and feels more comfortable in terms of muscle memory. The stick, on the other hand, feels like it has more options due to the various ways the controls can get customized. I'm likely going to stick with the control pad, but I see the benefits of a stick.

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Hello all. I am new to BB. I just got CPEX last week, and so far, I am having a lot of fun. In addition to that, I just got my first fightstick recently, and I really like it, despite me having to get used to using a stick, after using a control pad for so long. 

 

Anyway, the stick came with a circular gate, and an octogonal gate, and I was just wondering, which gate do you guys prefer, when playing BB, or 2D fighters in general?

 

Thank you.

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Hello all. I am new to BB. I just got CPEX last week, and so far, I am having a lot of fun. In addition to that, I just got my first fightstick recently, and I really like it, despite me having to get used to using a stick, after using a control pad for so long. 

 

Anyway, the stick came with a circular gate, and an octogonal gate, and I was just wondering, which gate do you guys prefer, when playing BB, or 2D fighters in general?

 

Thank you.

 

The community generally prefers square gates, which come with most joysticks by default.  I preferred using an octagonal gate when I played on stick.  The most important thing is that you understand the benefits and limits of your chosen input device, and practice.

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after learning stick for 2 weeks I came to the conclusion, that I dont know if anyone here addressed. Stick seems more fun.

it's like if you think of it like other genres. play ddr for example, yes you can get as good or better with controller, but playing with a dance pad is probably more fun. play driving games, get a wheel and it's more fun, even if you are a controller master, and play better on it.

fighting games aren't as big of a difference, but I still find it more fun moving my whole wrist/forearm, as opposed to just using my thumbs. it feels more natural to push more than one button at once, compared to the shortcuts most people probably use on a pad.  I'm still better with controller currently

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In my opinion this depends on few thing:

-Given persones preferences.

-Pracitce with given device.

-Stick/Controller.

-Game.

-Character.

-Move you want to perform.

Those things are important. Both devices have their good and bad sides. I bet if not Phenomenon of getting used/unused to these devices many players would be using both controller and arcade stick depending on game, character or even matchup they are participating in.

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On 01/08/2017 at 1:15 AM, Strike80 said:

In my opinion this depends on few thing:

-Given persones preferences.

-Pracitce with given device.

-Stick/Controller.

-Game.

-Character.

-Move you want to perform.

Those things are important. Both devices have their good and bad sides. I bet if not Phenomenon of getting used/unused to these devices many players would be using both controller and arcade stick depending on game, character or even matchup they are participating in.

I disagree with some of the comments here. Certain things are subjective; Others not. I spent over ten years with pad, I developed far enough to be more than competitive but it became patently clear that the ceiling for character command is lower than that of a stick. By its very design it allows all buttons to be equally accessible, whereas pad requires one to wrap their hand around its frame. Granted, it initially feels better to hold and grip a controller and needing to move one's thumbs and index fingers feels stronger and more assured, but for dexterous movements requiring precision? It's definitely inferior. Wrapping of the hands around a pad leaves these precise movements feeling less assured as there are various pressure points to account for that change with every position. For every button press there has to be a contrary application of pressure to maintain control of the pad. Try doing FADCs in Street Fighter 4 on pad. For stick there is one surface and one can rest that surface comfortably on one's lap or floor or table etc. One setup will be perfectly applicable for all characters and the skills are transferable across all fighting games. Precision movements are much better catered to. Now, if you want to play pad, that's fine. If you can achieve adequate functionality, that is the main thing, but to argue pad is overall the better option in terms of usability? No, I disagree entirely. The greatest obstacle to those seeking to transfer their skills from pad to stick is that of muscle memory and brain to muscle connection. It will take some time to ingrain those movements and feel comfortable with the button layout. The effort however is well worth it as you will be rewarded with a level of command of your character that pad cannot replicate. What did I do? I downloaded a PSP emulator and got Street Fighter Alpha 3 and practiced doing shoryukens and other special movements until they were perfect. I did ten minutes a day on each side of the screen. Then I learned my favourite combos and tried to learn some from different character types that I normally wouldn't use. After that I'd fight the CPU and try to get a feel for executing in a live fight. It didn't take long before I was at a point where pad was no longer comfortable enough for me to use.

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