The Joystick Thread

[Shazay]

*This thread is pretty outdated now.*

Disclaimer: Just keep in mind that everything about controls for this game (and fighting games in general) is all about preference. It’s all about what you play your best on and what you feel the most comfortable with.

Why joysticks?

To be frank Guilty Gear was made with the joystick in mind. Most serious players will tell you once you put the time into learning stick its much easier and much more comfortable then playing on a pad.

How much should I expect to pay?

This depends on a number of things:

- Are you making it yourself?

- Buying/modding a manufactured one?

- Requesting one from a custom stick builder?

- What kind of parts and materials are you looking for?

The bottom line: If you’re expecting a good stick, you can expect to pay anywhere from $60-200+.

What companies make GOOD pre-built sticks I can buy?

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What companies make BAD sticks that I should definitely not buy?

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Okay so what brand parts should I look for in a stick?

If you go to tournaments, generally you’ll usually see three kinds of parts in sticks: Happ, Sanwa, and Seimitsu. Which kind you want to get in your stick depends entirely on your own preferences. All of these manufacturers are very good quality, but they are all very different in style.

Happ (American)

If you’re lucky enough to have an arcade nearby then they’ll have some Happ parts in their machines. The joysticks have a bat style with a circle gate and the buttons are either concave or convex. Happ sells many different kinds of sticks, buttons and springs. Happ parts are bigger than Sanwa or Seimitsu in general, so your overall stick size will be larger and heavier.

Sticks - Typically used are Happ Competition sticks, although Happ Supers are also occasionally used as well. Happ sticks make circular motions very simple to perform, and as such can often be preferred for doing 360 and 720 motions and the like (not that GG has many). The stronger spring tends to make 'shaking' more difficult, which is bad news for escaping from stagger.

Buttons - The only buttons used are Happ Competition, convex shaped. The buttons require a bit more force than Sanwa and also have a smaller hittable area. The buttons also click when hit, and have a stronger restoring force than Sanwa. Happ buttons tend to be quite good for rapid tapping due to these factors.

Sanwa (Japanese)

Sanwa parts are very different from Happ, they are smaller and lighter and normally have square gates. If you are from America, your most likely exposure to Sanwa sticks would be in Tekken 5 machines, which are well known for their red sanwa controls. Because Sanwa parts are smaller, it's possible to get very small Sanwa sticks.

Sticks - Typically used are the JLF model sticks. These sticks have very light springs and square gates by default (although you can swap in an octagonal gate if you want). Because the sticks have light springs, they are very good for shaking out of stagger easily. They require less force to accomplish motions, however it may be more difficult at first to do certain motions due to the nature of the square gate.

Buttons - OBSN-30 or OBSF-30 are the typical buttons used. They are larger than Happ buttons and have a much larger hittable area. They do not 'click' when you hit them, and the force required to activate them is very small.

Seimitsu (Japanese)

Similar in style to Sanwa parts, you could easily mistake one for the other by appearances. Seimitsu parts are pretty similar in usage and size to Sanwa parts as well, but they do have a very different feel.

Sticks - The LS-32 is the standard Seimitsu stick. These sticks have a much smaller throw and a much stronger spring than Sanwa sticks. They still have square gates, and don't have options for octagonal or round gates either. These sticks are vastly superior to Sanwa for Shooting Games, but for fighting games it remains simply about preference.

Buttons - Similar to Sanwa buttons except the motion feels a little more clicky than Sanwa's. The buttons feel 'cheap', but in fact they are still quite good.

Where's a good place to buy custom sticks?

I recommend making an account on http://www.shoryuken.com and browsing the trading outlet forum every once in a while. You can find some decent sticks at good prices or you can have one of the stick builders make you one. Make sure you buy from a builder with a good reputation who is known to make good quality sticks. As a last resort, you can also make a 'want to buy' thread.

Who makes good custom sticks?

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What if I want to make my own custom stick?

Making your own custom stick is a bit of an undertaking. It will require lots of time, money, and knowledge to do. You will need a large assortment of power tools, and will probably have to spend a lot of money up front to even get started. If you don't already have a lot of tools as your disposal, you will probably be better off not trying to make your own from scratch.

More info will follow, but until then, please see the many stick building threads on SRK for more info on how to get started.

Other dustloop joystick links!

Have a stick already? Post a picture here!

Questions?

If SRK is useful for anything, it's joystick knowledge. There's a good chance your thoughts/questions have already been discussed and answered in great detail so check out this thread for more information.

REMEMBER: You should ALWAYS read up and understand what you are buying before you buy it. SPEND TIME READING WHAT OTHERS HAVE POSTED FIRST, there is a ton of good information out there already.

Etc~

- Used some of zand's thread as a guide (kind of).

- Updates later (just pm me if you feel something needs to be added, taken away, or fixed).

[Koozebanian Fazoob]

I make your post nicer. :I

[darkpanzer]

This is great info. I was always wondering the differences with a few things but this cleared up a few things for me. Oh, and thank you for the heads-up about those crappy do not buy sticks and what-not. SRK does have great info on sticks, after all, a bunch of people are members there and generally SOMEONE has to have the know-how for sticks.

[Mayftw]

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with wireless arcade sticks.

[Shazay]

I make your post nicer. :I

It went from so-so to awesome. Thanks!

[DJ Xero]

I feel like a moron. I bought a Hori Fighting stick 3, but unfortunately, I don't have a PS3. I was told it would work on the Playstation 2, but it has a USB input, thus, It won't work. Is there any way to get it to work on a PS2 or am I screwed?

[Digital Watches]

I feel like a moron. I bought a Hori Fighting stick 3, but unfortunately, I don't have a PS3.

I was told it would work on the Playstation 2, but it has a USB input, thus, It won't work. Is there any way to get it to work on a PS2 or am I screwed?

You lost me at "Hori Fighting stick."

I'd assume you can get a converter somewhere.

[Shazay]

Hori Fighting Stick 3

There is no converter that will let you play it on the ps2. The only way you could use it is by swapping out the pcb and rewiring the inside completely.

[DJ Xero]

I guess that means that it's a long and painful process?

[FaustAndFurious]

I feel like a moron. I bought a Hori Fighting stick 3, but unfortunately, I don't have a PS3.

I was told it would work on the Playstation 2, but it has a USB input, thus, It won't work. Is there any way to get it to work on a PS2 or am I screwed?

I was looking at this stick too a little while back and I remember reading that the stick won't even work with PS2/PS games that you're playing on a PS3... so you might be in some trouble. I'd try posting something in the techtalk forum on SRK, if anywhere would know how to get that stick working on a PS2, they would.

[Chomite]

Don't bother...Just get a new stick other than spending hours trying to mod it just so it can work with PS2...it's not worth it unless you are very knowledge about modding. Save that stick when you get a PS3.

[DJ Xero]

I was looking at this stick too a little while back and I remember reading that the stick won't even work with PS2/PS games that you're playing on a PS3... so you might be in some trouble. I'd try posting something in the techtalk forum on SRK, if anywhere would know how to get that stick working on a PS2, they would.

After hearing this, It's really really depressing. I was sharpening up on #Reload for the PC with this sucker, and now I can't use it for AC.

[MrHatandClogs]

Ok if you have the PS3 version of the hori fighting stick you cant use it for the PS2 duh! the only reason it has a usb port on it is so you can charge the stick because to my knowledge its a wireless stick. As for using hori, pelican, redoctane, or a makeshift or custom crafted ps2 stick that you've been using since 2k1 or something, go to gamestop and get the specific converter for PS2/1 to PS3. Reasoning as to why you need that specific converter (which by the way is only $14.99 if i may add) is no other USB converter will work because it doesn't have the pseudo PS3 button(center button like the xbox 360) which allows you to access the menu functions of the dashboard while using a ps/ps2 formatted joystick or pad and to reassign that controller device. So next time do your research before making anything over a $50 purchase to avoid the hassle. In reality you should research your gaming purchases period. ps/ps2 to Usb converters work on most PC's you just have to find the driver online, but they do not work on Mac's (I have a macbook intel pro)

[HeartBuri XD]

Oh wow I just noticed you guys used my sticks for the examples :D. THIS THREAD IS OFFICIALLY AWESOME :X.

[Koozebanian Fazoob]

Well we couldn't use mine because mine are all fucking weird shit like Sanwa + Happ, Seimitsu + Sanwa, and Happ + Chair. :X

[Henaki]

people who wont try and scam you out of your money on srk and make quality joysticks (jap style) hahano finkle koi i know hahano personally, hes a cool dude and knows his shit finkle obviously has a reputation of being a great stick maker there koi has made the official stick of the colbert nation for my friend, and thus rules

[Sic-]

How much do most custom builders charge in comparison to comparable say.. MAS products? ... and, does anyone have any good products to recommend for use with both the PS2 and the Wii?

[Koozebanian Fazoob]

MAS I think generally run on the less expensive side actually. They usually go about 100$ or so. As for PS2/Wii, uhm... I don't know if anyone is making Wii sticks other than Hori at this point.

[Sic-]

Hm. I'm looking at importing a machine now, and I'm not sure if I'm gonna go with a US PS2 and maybe a MAS to begin with, or getting a Wii. I guess I might just end up buying the Wii here (Europe) when I get around to it. God, I hate living in Europe gaming-wise. Sucks (well, at least in terms of Japanese fighting games).

[Hoov]

Alright, so I understand that the Fighting Stick 3 isn't able to play PS2 games on the PS3, but does anyone know about the HRAPS3 and it's compatibility? I'd love to be able to play AC on my PS3 with a stick, but am afraid of wasting my money...

*first post*

[Jaiven]

Question. Im planing to buy the Wii version of ac and im planing to buy a stick for it. So should i buy the Hori Fighting Stick Wii or should i build my own (using a gcn controller)?

mind you that if i build my own stick ill be using this until i can find some sort of case:

edit: im only looking to spend about $50

[Koozebanian Fazoob]

Get someone else to build you a stick that has both PS2 and Wii output.

[B_Ko]

HAAAY! My thread got linked to! Word.

[A.B.A-can-do]

If your gonna get one built then go for it, but i still think a well worn ps2 is perfect. I call mine the EZGlider.

[Jaiven]

so yeah, im browsing the shoryuken trade forum and its alot of money. its not that im cheap i just never had an arcade stick, so its hard for me to spend $100+ on one.