Should I switch to joysticks?

[Mad Mage]

I use a pad for shmups.



It's nice and made by ascii, and the D-pad uses a stick to press against side contacts like a real joystick does.

BUT

Am I living a lie? Give me your honest opinion here? Would I be better off just using a real joystick? I have a few and use them for fighting games. Is there a finer level of precision I'm missing out on? Right now, I'm not as good at shmups using a joystick, but that's just because I'm more familiar with the ascii pad.

[kengou]

Pad and stick are both digital inputs, it's all personal preference. Try out a stick and see if you like it better than a pad, if you're fine with a pad then I don't see why you shouldn't stick with it.

The only thing the stick has going for it is the "authentic arcade feel". How much do you value that?

[mr_m0nks]

With using a stick I find it's also a lot down to your sitting (or standing) position and the relative hight and tilt of the stick. Try as I might I just can't seem to get the kind of angle at home that feels like an arcade cab. Without building some sort of tilting desk I doubt I ever will. I own 2 arcade sticks but I seem to prefer my Saturn Pad as I just don't feel comfortable with the joysticks on my desk.

[elvis]

The only thing the stick has going for it is the "authentic arcade feel".

I'm not so sure about that.

Sure, you could boil it down to personal preference and/or practice, but having spent very close to equal chunks of my life playing games on sticks and games on pads, I find sticks give a greater precision for changing direction quickly and accurately (particularly when requiring all 8 directions).

For that reason I much prefer sticks for shooters and fighters where it's integral to gameplay. Games where there's little need for constant 8-way direction control (say, platform games where simple left/right controls are needed), I much prefer pads. Even for scrolling beat 'em ups (the Final Fight and Streets of Rage titles), I *much* prefer a pad for comfort, as the need for very rapid direction control over a long period of time isn't there.

I know for myself I can get much higher scores and last longer playing shooters with a stick despite roughly equal amounts of practice playing with a pad. There's always going to be a subjective bias, but I'm writing all of this with as much objectivity as I can.

[Elixir]

Long time no see, thread.

[Mad Mage]

Elvis, I agree with what you're saying. Being able to do precision diagonals is really important in danmaku shmups, and not all that easy. With lesser controllers I can find myself going vertical or horizontal for a split second when I press diagonal. And on terrible controllers like the 360 D-pad, the opposite happens abundantly, making just about any 2D game miserable to play. I think I'll try getting good with a stick and see if it helps me. Though right now I'm really close to 1CCing Futari Black label on normal, which is quite exciting for me, so I may wait until I do that.

Mr. Monks, I'm okay setting the stick on my lap as long as it's not too unwieldy. Sticks that use arcade parts are kinda big for that, but I have a smaller Sammy stick (SvC Chaos) that works pretty well.

Kengou, I don't really care about authentic feel. I just want to improve my game. Shmups hold no nostalgia for me, and if I really did want authentic feel, I'd get a candy cab.

Elixir, I assume you are implying I've made a thread that has been made numerous times before. Please cut me some slack.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

i too wouldnt mind see what its like to play with a decent stick but common sense tells me it wouldnt get used that much due to my playing position been totally unsuitable for sticks

[Kyle]

Sticks give you a higher level of precision. I'm sorry but it's true. This is coming from someone with literally a half-dozen sticks surrounding me and a drawer full of Saturn pads. I can pull off much smaller twitch movements on a stick than I can a Saturn pad.

I've been told a Saturn pad is superior to the ASCII pad you're using. It's supposed to have a better dpad. I've never owned one personally to compare the two.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

[toaplan_shmupfan]

The design of the ASCII pad resembles that of the Sega Genesis 6-button controller (except for the buttons on the top row having equal size). That design--like the Genesis 6-button controller--allows for very accurate diagonals for shmups and also for the multi-directional special moves in fighting games.

[pseudo]

ive never owned a real high quality seimitsu stick for shmups, but i can tell you my scores are 100% improved with a saturn pad over the mushy stick i have. i just cant do quick tap directionals well with the stick and i guess im so used to pad for all these years... however i have no reference with an ls-32 and shmups so i cant say

for fighters though, if you're a person who plays on a pad it's 95% likely that you don't know what you're doing

[speedlolita]

Yeah, get a Seimitsu stick if you're going down that route.

My JLF feels sort of, loose and unresponsive compared to a seimitsu.

[mr_m0nks]

On second thoughts go with the Nintendo Powerglove

[Voxbox]

I'm sure a good stick will improve your game, but it takes time getting used to. Get some seimitsus and stick with it I say.
Placement can be tricky as some has mentioned. I sort of have to sit on my legs to get a good height, since my desk is pretty high.

[captpain]

Stick, pad, keyboard... they're all good.

[cools]

Should I switch to joysticks?

Yes.

[AraraSPAMWitch]

KEYBOARD HERO 4 LIFE

[mr_m0nks]

Stick, pad, keyboard... they're all good.

apart from the two that are evil but I'm not sure which they are :S