Let's talk about sticks

[Shiranui_ninja]

I think it could be interesting to share opinions and experiences with console sticks.

I had a Hori 3 Fighting Stick (HFS3). I was pretty satisfied with that stick, but after 1 year two buttons start to miss when press... I had two options, fix it or buy a new stick. I decided bought a better stick, and I bought Hori Real Arcade Pro Stick V3-SA (RAP V3-SA)(the same that Kane won on NorCal Regionals 8 judging by the picture). I feel that stick totally different, is suuuuper sensitive (both stick and buttons). sometimes i have the feeling that I don't have the control. Buttons and stick are closer than HFS3 and I'm not sure if this is something good or not.. another thing I don't like is where start button is placed, too close to L1 button...
I would like to know Kane impressions if he tried out RAP V3-SA. Did I make a bad choice...?

About 4 gate or 8 gate... What do you think? I prefer 8 gate, I changed 4 gate in both sticks putting a 8 gate instead. But I read here that 4 gate is prefered (i know 4 gate is more usual in arcades). is there any reason?

[jinxhand]

From my experience, 4 gate allows better buffering, and execution in some cases, especially when it comes to dp moves...

[JeremyH]

Personally I play on a home made Korean Fantasia stick that works wonders for me, but it's always going to be personal preference.  Honestly making a stick yourself isn't that hard, but if I were to suggest anything I'd say go for the TE.  It's a really solid stick that you can many times find on sale (Usually they advertise sales during streams fyi).  They are pretty stable, not too costly, and you always have the side option of adding your own artwork. 

As far as what gate to play, when I play on Sanwas I prefer octo-gate, but most of the time that is when playing SF, in which I primarily play charge characters.  Personally I find it easier to make sure I hit the correct direction when I know exactly where it is, like making sure you are using charge b~f instead of charge b~d/f.  Again it's personal preference though, as some folks like to know they can immediately find the d/f when doing the dp motion (like above).  Honestly though you'll want to keep your motions short and precise in the long run, so either one can work once you've adjusted to it.

[jinxhand]

What sites provide material so you can place your own artwork on the sticks??? I've been wanting to do this for a long time...

[nilcam]

What sites provide material so you can place your own artwork on the sticks??? I've been wanting to do this for a long time...

What kind of stick do you have?

[Shinra Shiranui]

What sites provide material so you can place your own artwork on the sticks??? I've been wanting to do this for a long time...

The way i customized my Stick was using CS4 photoshop and a Fightstick template provided in capcom-unity. It has a option for a TE template or SE template

[jinxhand]

What sites provide material so you can place your own artwork on the sticks??? I've been wanting to do this for a long time...

What kind of stick do you have?

I've got a Madcatz SF4 Round 2 stick for x360, a Tekken 5 Stick for ps2, and I also have a couple of imported SvC Chaos sticks for ps2. Got a HRAP somewhere, but I scrapped it with hopes of changing some parts out...

[Kane317]

I would like to know Kane impressions if he tried out RAP V3-SA. Did I make a bad choice...?

Mine should arrived this week, I had to get mine shipped and the one in the pictures was a "stand in".  From what I read it's an excellent stick and the only few complaints were always it being on the light side, hence people mod it so the whole stick is heavier.

About 4 gate or 8 gate... What do you think? I prefer 8 gate, I changed 4 gate in both sticks putting a 8 gate instead. But I read here that 4 gate is prefered (i know 4 gate is more usual in arcades). is there any reason?

I've always used a 4 gates.  AFAIK all the arcades in HK are 4 gates and in fact it was quite recent that I discovered that there's even an 8 gate.  My opinion, is the 4 gate is more precise -- a diagonal is a diagonal there's no question about it which is important when you're wanting to block.  Maybe it was the particular stick I was using in NCR but I remember the diagonals being ambiguous.

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Oh and, get your ass re-registered Shiranui_ninja!

[Shiranui_ninja]

the only few complaints were always it being on the light side, hence people mod it so the whole stick is heavier

Is heavier from what I expected (I read these complaints too)

Maybe it was the particular stick I was using in NCR but I remember the diagonals being ambiguous.

for me 4 gate has ambiguous diagonals lol

I'm starting to get use with the stick. I wait your comments about.

Oh and, get your ass re-registered Shiranui_ninja!

Ok, here again

[Shinra Shiranui]

How long it took you guys to get used to the Fightstick transition? Im left-handed so it took me about one month to get use to it. But if your right-handed i heard it will take alot of time since people rarely use their left.

[krazykone123]

I've got a Madcatz SF4 Round 2 stick for x360, a Tekken 5 Stick for ps2, and I also have a couple of imported SvC Chaos sticks for ps2. Got a HRAP somewhere, but I scrapped it with hopes of changing some parts out...

Is that Tekken 5 stick any good? because I really need to buy me a stick for PS2, and I still need to swap the buttons on my SFIV Madcatz stick.

[nilcam]

Is that Tekken 5 stick any good? because I really need to buy me a stick for PS2, and I still need to swap the buttons on my SFIV Madcatz stick.

Hori licensed sticks generally use soldered on Hori buttons so changing them out is a pain in the ass. I built my own PS2 stick by padhacking a PSOne controller and using a MadCatz SE case.

On the subject of art, I usually find a template for the stick I'm modding and then have it printed at Kinko's. If the stick has a plexiglass overlay, printing and trimming is pretty simple. Things get more complicated when you're using a lamilable due to the absence of plexi. If you need both plexi and art, I recommend Art Hong at http://www.tek-innovations.com/arthobbies/.

Art can laser cut the art for you and it will work perfectly with his plexiglass.

[Shiranui_ninja]

How long it took you guys to get used to the Fightstick transition? Im left-handed so it took me about one month to get use to it. But if your right-handed i heard it will take alot of time since people rarely use their left.

¿Fightstick transition?

Do you mean from cross pad to fighting stick? Well I always played with stick when I played NeoGeo and arcades (when I was young...). but when neogeo disappear and arcades too, I stop to play fighting games. then i only played some PS2 KOF (with cross pad), but not in a competitive way. I start to play fighting games more seriously again, after 15 years without playing it, thanks to PS3 and its online. And I get a stick again. How long it took to me get used to fighting stick? A LOT (this means some months, 2 or 3) And when I get used to my Hori 3, now I get a RAPv3 and I have to get use again. lol

[FataCon]

Is that Tekken 5 stick any good? because I really need to buy me a stick for PS2, and I still need to swap the buttons on my SFIV Madcatz stick.

T5 sticks are good for starters, especially if you're new to sticks. it's got a good solid base and it's really heavy duty. if you don't like the stick to be a little stiff, you might be put off (personally i like it better than loose sanwas). also, the buttons are a but mushy and less responsive than sanwa or seimitsu buttons (or any high quality parts). like i said though, good starter stick and better than anything else you can get for the price. you can generally find them second-hand online or sitting in a shop on clearance for $50 or less.

as nilcam stated, customizing that stick is a pain in the ass. everything in the stick is soldered onto a specialized PCB, so unless you're confident in your basic electronic skills, i'd be wary of fiddling around with it. of course, there are plenty of tutorials that would help you with that if you were looking to learn. if you want a stick for ps2 that's good as is, you'd be better off with an HRAP2 or a Virtua Stick High Grade. however, both are now completely out of production and will run you $100+ most of the time online for used conditions. it is a good investment though, since you can use them with a ps3 (if you have one + a converter).

in general, if anyone in this thread is starting out on learning how sticks work, http://slagcoin.com/joystick.html is a great resource for info or general know-how.

[Kane317]

Is heavier from what I expected (I read these complaints too)

You mean lighter than expected?  Most people mod it to be heavier.

for me 4 gate has ambiguous diagonals lol

It can't be ambiguous because it's a corner, there's only one input to make it a diagonal.  In contrast, the back, forward, down, and up directions are on the "sides" of the square so one may be confused about the input.

I'm starting to get use with the stick. I wait your comments about.

As soon as mine arrives I'll give you feedback although I'll probably need to put it through hours of grueling games before I get a real good comparison.

Ok, here again

Welcome back