Control really does matter.

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Samudra
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Re: Control really does matter.

Post by Samudra »

Super Glob wrote: The + is for the fact I feel you can learn to tap dodge to a more accurate level relative to the free flowing movement on a D-Pad.
Could you rephase this sentence for me? It is a bit ambiguous.

You mention the difficulty of free flowing movement on a D-Pad and here you mention the free flowing movement of a D-Pad (or not?).
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DeBurgo
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Post by DeBurgo »

Actually I think the continuum goes like this:

keyboard ------------ d-pad -------------- stick

sensitivity --------------------------------- freedom of movement

Keyboards are way more sensitive than d-pads, if mostly due to the way they're used. You can press and pull away each independant finger from the arrows faster than you can do the same with your single thumb on a d-pad (generally, of course).

and analog is near-useless of course. It's great for 3d navigation, but terrible for 2d twitch-gaming.
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FRO
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Post by FRO »

Diabollokus wrote:'Sat pad all the way, Lack of ps diagonals puts me off,
Neer understood the mindset here. Granted, the PS & PS2 d-pad doesn't have a visible diagonal, but I've found that it's just as easy to pull off diagonals on a PS d-pad as any other standard pad. The one d-pad I have used that makes diagonals (& other fancy movements) more fluent is the NES Max pad. I think the lack of "visible" diagonals is more a jedi mind trick than an actual real issue.
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Icarus
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Post by Icarus »

FRO wrote:Neer understood the mindset here. Granted, the PS & PS2 d-pad doesn't have a visible diagonal, but I've found that it's just as easy to pull off diagonals on a PS d-pad as any other standard pad.
Actually, the lack of a "visible" diagonal on the PS/PS2 stock pad does affect movement a bit, but it's more because of comfort - while a Saturn pad is a circular disc and you can "feel" the diagonal point you press, the PS stock pads don't have that point to press on, so it can be easier to miss the diagonal because you have to press two buttons at once - rather than any mindset.

Plus, playing games where you roll your thumb around the pad, like shmups and fighting games, can often cause very painful blisters if playing on a PS stock pad. I once had one on my left thumb so big it was as wide as the thumb itself, after a long session of SFA3 gaming.
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MovingTarget
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Post by MovingTarget »

Definetly considering getting an arcade stick for my ps2. I find precise maneuvres with the ps2 controller DS tricky to pull off, and the d-pad kinda clumsy. As has been said before, the saturn pad is very nice to use.

What I want to know is, will the arcade stick make me better? :lol:
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zimmy
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Post by zimmy »

professor ganson wrote:
zimmy wrote:I still prefer the ease and comfort of an analog stick.
If you prefer analog control for shmups, then you are not in a position to appreciate the quality of the PS2 Logitech dpad. Hence, I will not bother responding to your further comment:
zimmy wrote: Somebody mentioned the logitech cordless as a good option for a ps2 d-pad and I cannot be more horrified, I couldn't stand that thing and would often replace it with a regular controller, despite having considerably less range due to lots of wire tangling behind my uncle's TV.
Hmmm, good job on actually providing a legitimate argument instead of just calling ure argument superior for some unknown reason in the hope that ppl will believe u have a reason for this. I've used joysticks in arcades, and just find them not as responsive as analog sticks because of how you must move your whole hand or arm to move, instead of just a flick of the thumb. I've already addressed d-pads in my last argument, and since you brought up no real responces to any of my points, I'll just let you refer to my last post if you feel like making an actual argument. But I will say that I was so intrigued by all these ppl favoring d-pads, that I started playing through my Battle Garegga rom with the d-pad on my Wingman controller(although its not the best d-pad out there, if analog sticks were really as useless as you ppl say, even this crappy d-pad would better my game), but my game was shot to hell, and I started dying multiple times in the first level, but with my trusty analog stick, I can at least get past the first level untouched. Now maybe its just the case of not "getting used" to the d-pad, or some crap like that. But thats just the thing, I've never remembered a learning curve to the analog stick, and I have used d-pads before, so I think I would be familiar with one.
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professor ganson
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Post by professor ganson »

Alright, Zimmy, I'll remind you of my argument in favor of the claim that the PS2 Logitech cordless has a good dpad:
professor ganson wrote: Not only is it really nice to have cordless, but the dpad is ultra responsive, perfect for tap dodging, a very comfortable location and fit for the thumb, just the right size for the thumb, not overly loose or tight feeling... basically everything I want from a dpad. My only concern is longevity: they are known to break. Even the cost is acceptable if you find one used or on sale. But maybe you are talking about some other Logitech product.
Note: I am NOT claiming that the Logitech is as good as the Saturn pad for PS2. I haven't yet tried the latter.

I AM claiming that my argument is stronger than yours. Indeed, I don't see you providing any argument at all.
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Klatrymadon
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Post by Klatrymadon »

I've never really been able to find a good USB arcade stick for my PC. Any recommendations, folks? Cheers. :D

In fact, any stick that can be used with a reasonably priced converter thingy without any in-game lag would be great.
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Post by kidneythief »

It's been a while since I posted here, but what the hell.

If you're going to use a pad, use the jap saturn pad. There are many advantages to this one, my favorites being the 3 large face buttons that feel really nice on the fingers, and the springy ness of the face buttons. Unlike the PSX / nintendo pads, these have never ever gotten sticky for me, always nice and responsive. Additionally, the d-pad is very fluid, and I find I'm able to perform much more accurate moves on this than any other D pad ever.

For arcade sticks, I've never bought a slik stik/ x arcade / whatever (well actually I bought a cheap one for my DC a few years ago but it actually needed new switches already when I got it and didn't bother replacing them)
but when it comes to building them, I'd recomend sanwa joystick knobs, you know, the rounded head ones. I don't like the way these look compared to the usual american "pear" shaped stick, but I find I'm able to get a much better grip on them. Of course, these kinds of things are entirely personal preference. Try to get a taller stick, and if you can't find a nice tall one to use, (IE you're stuck with a happ competition stick like my first one), I would mount it above the panel rather than below to get an extra centimeter or so of stick length, which really improves the grip, the only downside is the base of it can be really uncomfortable after a while, and doesn't really look very good, but when it comes to control, it feels a lot nicer.
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ReKleSS
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Post by ReKleSS »

Out of curiosity, has anyone managed to damage their keyboards playing shmups? I use my thinkpad keyboard (psx->usb converter in the mail...), and found that after hammering the left ctrl key for a while it feels softer than the rest of the keyboard. Now I use an old mouse as my fire button, because I have spare mice kicking around, but a new keyboard is about $70...

oh, and anyone got controller suggestions for double playing? At the moment I use wasd/ijkl and space for both fire buttons.

-ReK
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Zweihander
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Post by Zweihander »

infested_ysy wrote:And where's the love for keyboards? :p
There's love for keyboards?? O_O This is news...

Personally, I prefer a D-pad, Though a good arcade stick would be more than welcome in my home... :D
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Texhnolyze
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Post by Texhnolyze »

Get the Saturn USB PC pad:

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-1i- ... 0-cj3.html

I have real Saturn pads with PC Joybox 3in1 USB adapter, but I use the PC-version when I play MAME or other emulators on my laptop. It's close enough to the real thing.
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Post by kidneythief »

jeeze thats expensive....... converter is probably the better option there
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Texhnolyze
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Post by Texhnolyze »

kidneythief wrote:jeeze thats expensive....... converter is probably the better option there
Yes, it's cheaper to buy the converter if you only game at home, but it's more difficult to carry a real Saturn pad (6' cable) and the 3in1 converter. The USB pad has a short cable (2') and it fits in my laptop bag with minimal bulk.
kidneythief
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Post by kidneythief »

so were paying more money for a shorter cable... now it's all beginning to make sense :P
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bigbadboaz
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Sat USB Pad

Post by bigbadboaz »

The cable is TWO FEET long??? Are you freaking kidding me? What about people who want to use it on a desktop?
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superhitachi4
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Post by superhitachi4 »

Saturn pad, or a nice arcade stick.
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Triple Lei
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Post by Triple Lei »

Can anyone tell me about Sanwa mods for my X-Arcade stick? I got a PM about it on the old board and I wasn't smart enough to save the page... :(
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Texhnolyze
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Re: Sat USB Pad

Post by Texhnolyze »

bigbadboaz wrote:The cable is TWO FEET long??? Are you freaking kidding me? What about people who want to use it on a desktop?
It's USB so you can use a spare USB extension cable. For desktop I recommend the 3in1 adapter with a real Saturn pad. That's about 7 feet.
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Post by kidneythief »

Triple Lei wrote:Can anyone tell me about Sanwa mods for my X-Arcade stick? I got a PM about it on the old board and I wasn't smart enough to save the page... :(
I'm just going to guess about this but... does it involve mounting a sanwa joystick into a X arcade panel? sounds like a pretty cake mod to me, but i dunno exactly whats inside an X arcade either so..
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kemical
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Post by kemical »

so the neo pads aren't very good ? does their thumbpad use microswitches ? I've never used one, but it looks like the thumbpad could be comfortable...

are there any control pads which use some form of clicky microswitches for the thumbpad ?
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Post by Ex_Mosquito »

Sanwa sticks all the way.
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Leeram
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Post by Leeram »

iatneH wrote:I think it will be helpful not only for newbies, but also for anyone thinking of making a change over to another control setup. I remember when I made the switch over to arcade sticks (from D-pad), and I was so horrible at it that I almost gave up.

I kept at it and now I'm better with a stick than I could ever hope to be with a pad. Good luck!
Exactly the same for me. It was so hard switching to a stick after using pads for so many years. But I have far better control over a shmup now than I ever did with a pad.

Cheers

Leeram
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