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 THIS OP IS A WORK IN PROGRESS, ITS A LOT TO COVER OK. ITS GONNA BE A LOT OF LITTLE UPDATES TO THE OP AND JUNK AND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SUPER PATIENT SO WHATEVER WE'LL DO IT LIVE  Hi! I'm N4B. I love fighting and arcade games. A while back, I decided to customize my own fightstick to lose at local tournaments with. Back in those days, during the heyday of Marvel 3 and SF4, knowledge was a lot harder to come by. It was incredibly daunting, especially since I had no knowledge of electronics or soldering or any of that junk. I spent hundreds of hours reading then ancient threads of bickering and bullshit on places like SRK Tech Talk and weirdo MAME sites that looked straight out of some ancient emulation webring. I've broken and ruined plenty of parts, and finally ended up with multiple sticks and a full on arcade cabinet.  I have basically no electronic or soldering experience from before I started this hobby. I am also a scrub at this, and I'm positive there are thousands more qualified people right here in Games to explain stuff. I'm going to be coming at an extremely basic level for all of this, and feel confident that if you have never done any electronic work or even know how PCBs or buttons work. You can do this. Seriously. If you want to start learning electronics this is pretty much the best first project to try and learn this stuff. Plus you get a sick controller that is way better than a crystal radio or lightbulb switch kit that you'd get from a learn how to electronics kit.  Custom sticks by fellow goon Coxswain Balls Nowadays it's stupidly simple to get an awesome working kit that requires no soldering at all if that's how you want to roll, and not only that but- arcade sticks are boxes. All your wiring crimes are hidden forever and everyone can focus on your sick anime boob art that gives you the confidence you need to drop all your combos and go 0-2.  Custom sticks by fellow goon FlowerRhythmREMIX I'm coming from a fighting game viewpoint here, but there are tons of awesome games that work great with arcade sticks. Lots of people are building hitboxes and keyboard sticks for platformers or puzzle games. I'm even going to cover some stuff for people who want to play with making a setup for virtual pinball. Maybe you bought an Arcade One-Up and want to replace the buttons. Maybe you bought a stick for xbox and want it to work on your playstation. Maybe you cant stop playing the emulated version of the insanely sick Adams Family Movie pinball machine and you want to take it up a notch. I'm going to stay away from discussing JAMMA or other actual hardware here, since this is going to be more of how-to guide for people who want to get up and rolling on a PC or console and don't want to confuse everyone. There are seriously no stupid questions here. I've asked every dumb question possible and would have broken less parts in the meantime if I had asked more. If you want to know, ask.  An Arcade Stick or Fight Stick is a box controller with a joystick and multiple pushbuttons. There are many varieties of layouts. Most fightsticks have 8 face buttons- ABXY and the 4 shoulder buttons, laid out in a number of different formats. I'm just going to post a few examples to not get lost in it, but these days you can get any format you want made or just drill it yourself. Many fight Sticks have a selector switch on them to switch between left stick/d-pad/right stick, so you're able to map functions needed for training mode usually or to change the input type. Also sometimes there are sticks with "tournament mode" switches, that disable the start/share/guide buttons during tournament matches, so you don't hit them by accident. Internally, fight sticks consist of a PCB board that the buttons are wired into. This is normally what you'd have to solder during these projects, but many boards have screw terminals that make it super easy to do instead of soldering. Besides that it's just the signal and ground wires for the buttons, and a usb cable for the pc or console. There's a ribbon cable that runs to the joystick harness, and a restrictor gate for the joystick itself. If you're doing a hitbox style thing then its just buttons all around.  Maybe you don't want to build a stick. Maybe you just want something out of box that just works and you can learn to throw fireballs on, or you like the look of it and you just want to swap out buttons or make it compatible with all your consoles. My first stick was a WWE themed Mad Catz stick I got on clearance for $20 and promptly replaced everything on. It's a good way to cut your teeth on all this, and button size is consistant among brands. Sanwa/Seimitsu/Hori buttons all will work for the most part with all sticks these days with very few and far between exceptions that you more than likely wont run into. QANBA https://qanbausa.com/ Qanba is a good pick for people looking for a low to normal level stick. The Drone and Carbon are good small sticks for $80/60 retail, and the Obsideon and other variants are fine full size sticks for $200. I know a lot of people that roll these and have had no issues. MAD CATZ https://www.madcatz.com/ They were the top of the heap back during the MVC/USF4 times, but since then declared bankruptcy and then got bought out. They currently offer a new stick, the Ego for $180, which I've heard nothing about to be honest. If you go online for used Mad Catz, be assured that you can get it working with minimal fuss on your PS5/Xbone/PC these days without much fuss, and may be a good choice if you want a good framework for a custom stick. Mad Catz are usually made with Sanwa components, except for the original SE sticks which were clone in-house parts. HORI https://stores.horiusa.com/ I've had wonderful luck with my Hori products, and would recommend all their stuff easily. The Fighting Commander pad is easily the best and cheapest way to get a fighting controller if you don't want to drop cash for a full stick or just prefer pad. RAZER https://www.razer.com/ The Razer Pantera for $200 is decent choice, if a bit pricey for what you get to be honest. If you can get a deal then go for it. MAYFLASH https://www.ebay.com/ These are 90% of what you find on amazon for cheap arcade sticks and buttons. Hit or miss in my opinion, since it's mostly clones of other companies parts for wish.com prices. Roll the dice if something strikes your fancy. People in the Fight Game Thread do recommend the F500 though- Amazon US link below https://www.amazon.com/MAYFLASH-But...ps%2C167&sr=8-4 hey i know its weird that this OP is so threadbare at the moment but its seriously easier to update it when its live so please be patient and post sick sticks and ask anything in the meantime, working on stuff like full parts lists, shops, how-to's, and other stuff. Thanks for being patient
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Jun 8, 2022 17:20
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 21:47 |
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snagging for OP
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Jun 8, 2022 17:20
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this one too
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Jun 8, 2022 17:21
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and one more for good measure
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Jun 8, 2022 17:21
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FlowerRhythmREMIX posted:I feel honored for my stick making it into the op, op if anyone has sticks or stuff theyve worked on PLEASE post them. I like having cool things to post between paragraphs of dry info
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Jun 8, 2022 19:48
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some good work posted so far! I work weekend overnights so you'll probably see more updates to the OP then. If anyone has parts retailers they use I'm going to be listing shops like Focus-Attack and Paradise Arcade. I'm out of the US, so any shops from outside my neck of the woods would be super appreciated. I'm working out parts lists and stuff too Saint Freak posted:If you're modifying a stick, take a photo of the wires before you start pulling things apart. If they aren't colored or labelled in some way, then color or label them in some way. stuff like this too- all the lil silly poo poo people pick up to make this less frustrating. post more of this too. also if anyone has the octogate % reference pic we're gonna have a special section on octogates, don't you worry.
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Jun 9, 2022 17:10
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midistick rules too btw
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Jun 9, 2022 17:11
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Lichtenstein posted:Bit the bullet and am actually building the MIDIBox adapter for myself based on Arduino. And since I'll be grabbing myself an extra cable for that - what do you think is the right cable length for an arcade controller, for overall convenience? i go 10 ft usually
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Jun 11, 2022 13:59
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Coxswain Balls posted:If you're using a converter or adapter it's a good idea to have it attached to a USB extension cord instead of plugging it directly into the console. I was told to do that at my locals when someone there sold me a Brooks converter to use my Xbox sticks on PS4. It'll prevent damage to the converter and the console USB port if someone accidentally bumps it while it's plugged in. https://focusattack.com/neutrik-nausb-wb-ab-usb-feed-through-black/ I recommend using a port for that- These work great and install really easily
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Jun 12, 2022 00:07
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hells yes, keep posting cool sticks people
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Jun 12, 2022 12:44
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Coxswain Balls posted:Please make this the very first stick in the thread I owned one of those too, its a good stick.
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Jun 13, 2022 21:10
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Blue Labrador posted:Holy moly, I never knew that was a thing with the hitbox! I have beat up old PS4 I can dig out, yeah. I'll try all these combinations with that, thank you so much! the same deal with ps360+ and brooks boards, they have diff startup combinations my arcade cab runs off of ps360+ so i have this taped on the door  the ruler is there to shimmy the plexiglass back into place through the back of the cab in case i need to adjust my tv screen lol
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Jun 13, 2022 22:28
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just wanna say that it rules you're all posting cool poo poo in here and answering questions if anyone wants to write up anything for the OP about specific things or guides or whatever please feel free to post it in here and I'll copy it in (and give credit of course)
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Jun 14, 2022 06:48
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Tiger Millionaire posted:We got any snackbox micro users here planning on doing the manual PCB upgrade to the next gen brooks board when it drops? I want to do it for the ps5 compatibility but I'm worried about bricking an expensive bit of kit. This should be simple enough to do tbh and unless you like mess up the PCB physically by doing weird poo poo you'll be fine.
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Jun 17, 2022 13:58
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Saint Freak posted:hells yeah good pickup on the actuator/spring, I use the 4lb spring (maybe? idk) and oversized actuator, makes the stick movement super nice with a bat top
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Jun 22, 2022 04:04
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maybe spray some contact cleaner on the button connections and joystick harness and see if that helps at all too otherwise unless you've gone ham on the stick and buttons you should be ok, swapping it out for a brooks board is super simple, what model is the stick? edit: first gen madcatz TEs have weirdo driver issues too, if you're using one of those
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Jun 23, 2022 04:00
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Coxswain Balls posted:Prebuilt sticks are just another platform to get into controller customization so stuff like sweet deals are welcome here. seriously, my first custom stick was a wwe brawlstick (rebranded madcatz se) that i got on clearance for $20 post any deals or codes or whatever, spread the savings around
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Jun 23, 2022 23:58
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Vadun posted:How the hell do you get an X-Arcade Tankstick to work? those always were a pain as far as ive heard, whats the issue?
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Jun 25, 2022 00:38
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https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/06/sega-announces-a-usb-cyber-stick-controller-for-the-mega-drive-mini-2 Cyberstick Controllers being remade? God drat
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Jun 25, 2022 00:39
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Vadun posted:Well, beyond having to buy an absurdly expensive adapter for consoles, the thing doesn't work out of the box on any fighting games I've tried on PC. they were made before madcatz came in and took over the market and were for a different time. id say just replace the board itself with a brooks board and move on if you wanna keep using it
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Jun 25, 2022 00:55
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:Dang, for a second I thought it was a new Densha De Go controller. i mean it can be edit: legit want one of these tbh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-ZBPWhhbQ Nostalgia4Butts fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Jun 25, 2022 |
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Jun 25, 2022 01:34
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 new fighting commander!
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Jun 29, 2022 17:33
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Medullah posted:Where's the best place to get bat top replacements for ball top arcade sticks? focus attack has really good aluminium milled ones, I used one on a stick of mine and loved it
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Jul 25, 2022 22:36
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Hey! It Evo weekend so if anyone sees stick or part deals spam them all here for 
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Aug 5, 2022 12:51
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https://focusattack.com/brook-up5-playstation-5-add-on/ some brook boards have support via a ps5 add on daughterboard heres one of the main boards that support it https://focusattack.com/brook-ps3-ps4-fighting-board-ps4-ps3-pc/
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Aug 8, 2022 01:29
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yeah bring a button to home depot and find some washers to sit between the lip of the button top and the actual cabinet using a hot gun gun in the drill hole too wouldnt hurt at all, but I'd use that to make sure it wasnt slipping out rather than actually hold in place also can we get some pics of the full thing?
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Aug 14, 2022 19:18
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oh poop i got confused lol lemme know how the sinclair is- I bought a aimtrak like 7 years ago and melted the plastic with the recoil solenoid from playing too much t2 the arcade game itd be nice to have a lightgun that had recoil and no wii lightbar. I just wanna play point blank 2
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Aug 14, 2022 19:27
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i use a rando usb foot pedal i found on amazon as long as it can be mapped in your emulator it'll work.  deffo need it for time crisis and virtua cop
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Aug 14, 2022 19:48
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https://twitter.com/HellaBrett/status/1561113406597263361?s=20&t=mJK70dTLy9ruZGcMWqQJvQ
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Aug 21, 2022 06:39
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Smoking Crow posted:
the aluminum ones at focus attack are fantastic.
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Aug 24, 2022 23:40
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Minidust posted:I had been passing through the FG thread during the chat that spawned this thread... finally caught up now, thank you very much N4B!!! thanks for posting! sorry the OP isnt fully fleshed out yet, kiddos are home during summer vacation and yeah i cant get poo poo done lol. again, if anyone has guides or pics or anything added to the OP, just post it. i'm gonna sit down soon and make it a hell of a lot more legible and poo poo rather than the hodgepodge of random poo poo
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Aug 25, 2022 00:48
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ahhhhhh thats one of the *most* fun parts of this crap. I have mine setup with a triggered power strip. I drilled a power button that is wired to the PC, and when that boots it automatically starts the marquee lightbox. I have a usb CEC adapter meant for kodi boxes that turns on the screen and its supposed to boot all into bigbox automagically with one button press ...except that windows constantly fucks up the usb assignments for the ps360+ boards so I still have to unplug/replug holding 2p/2k half the time. if you find anything that keeps that assigned through power cycles id be so drat happy
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Aug 29, 2022 01:56
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https://twitter.com/ecthrowdown/status/1565081997571043330?s=20&t=NQNHcuBPiqBNOYSXolZZiQ
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Sep 1, 2022 00:47
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sf ex3 had 4 player mode on ps2 so you could play that with all them buttons
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Oct 17, 2022 20:45
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Oct 20, 2022 01:55
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:Dang it! Project is on hold for a bit. I didn't realize the threads only started half-way in on the insert-nuts I was using to mount the trackball in the controller. So my mounting bolts are about 10mm too short to grab the threads. And with the tight confines inside, it looks like I'll need to get a right-angle USB cable to go from the Ipac to the neutrik port. Oh well, stuff will be delivered in a few days and final assembly can happen. whered you order your ipac from? i was gonna order this week but realized ultimarc is UK based. I could do paradise arcade, but im in CT so literally anywhere else but alaska in the US would be closer than them
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Oct 20, 2022 20:45
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oh poo poo thats awesome, ordered now thanks for that info
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Oct 20, 2022 23:12
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:I'm in Canada, so I buy from Retroactive Arcade. ty again so much for this. theyre literally 20 min away from me lol. it got delivered, but i let my sister borrow my car this weekend and its stuck in my mailbox until i get the keys back. Thinking about recording it as a how-to video for the OP, at the very least it'll show how the ps360s are currently wired before i tear them out to never deal with windows randomly choosing what side is p1/p2 on boot for my cab
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Oct 23, 2022 04:56
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need a hand with the IPAC-2 if anyone has any experience for my arcade cab I use Launchbox for my frontend- arcade cab has about 82 consoles worth of romsets on there and maybe about 30 or so Steam fighting games. After fuckin around wirh this thing for the weekend I've figured out what im gonna have to do is have launchbox launch a script with each of the 30 or so steam games (gently caress xinput) to start/stop joy2key for those shits, which whatever that's a night of work, just wondering if anyone has a good key list for xinput poo poo- ipac comes with poo poo like LK set to Left Shift as default, which SFV wont recognize. I'll bang out something myself but if theres like a community standard set keys i'd just assume use em and then copy/paste it as a doc on the cab for future reference
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Oct 27, 2022 03:48
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 21:47 |
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nevermind, I was able to force the ipac into xinput mode with the new firmware and by holding start and whatever button I had wired to pin 1SW3 for 10 seconds while i had the winipac utility open with admin rights sfv and steam recognized it as 2 xbox 360 controllers immediately and i was able to remap the buttons in the winipac program and now thats set at least. edit: booted up next day, and ipac reverted to default controls in winipac utility. Rewiring it one last time just so that I dont have to deal with script fuckery and be done with it heres a pic with a wiring chart so that i can refer to it 5 years from now when i try to unfuck whatever this causes and also in case people wanna use an IPAC mainly in gamepad mode  Nostalgia4Butts fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Oct 27, 2022 |
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Oct 27, 2022 04:50
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