The "Help Using a Joystick" Thread

[Airk]

The only stick I was ever able to find and get in Alaska without extremely high shipping was a Pelican PS2 stick with 8 buttons and turbo. I've had it probably 10 years now and I have never been able to do QCF motions without jumping (same problem with analog sticks on PS2 and Xbox and Xbox Dpad), unless the stick was in my right hand, which makes it very uncomfortable to play. I've been just using a PS2 controller for the Dpad and dealing with the blister and callous cycle on my left thumb if I've wante dot play games with this sort of input. Apparently a stick on the right can be custom built, but getting it to Alaska at an affordable price is the problem, as well as having it compatible with consoles I would use long enough. I've got PS2 adapters for my PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 to go in the USB ports, but I only obtained a PS3 or 360 this year, and have been on PS2 until then.

 

Every PC joystick I've ever used, like the ones on the Apple ][ when I was growing up, and the Saitek X45 I have had for 8 years, has had the stick in the right hand and the buttons or rudder on the left. I found one local arcade with two identical game cabinets for a shmup, except one had the stick on the right and one on the left, and I could clear 3-4 stages on one credit on the stick in my right hand, but couldn't clear the first stage on one credit with the stick in my left.

 

Any advice on what I could do? 10 years of having a stick I can't use, and being frustrated with my controller has been very discouraging.

Check my responses in the other thread. Also, I don't really know anything about that stick - looking at a picture does not fill me with confidence that it's not using garbage hardware, which can easily make things unpleasant.

[bungiefan]

That Pelican stick is all I've ever been able to find in a retail shop in my state for a console I have owned. Custom builds are out with shipping cost and the sheer variety of parts that I have no idea how I'd feel using. It was $40 when I got it at GameStop.

[shtkn]

-Its only flawl: THEY FORGOT TO ADD A BUTTON TO "CLIC" THE TOUCHPAD. So yes, if you want to reset your position in Xrd, you'll have to enter the Pause menu.

 

 

you can reset positions in XRD by pressing the Play + Record buttons simultaneously

[blackraen]

That Pelican stick is all I've ever been able to find in a retail shop in my state for a console I have owned. Custom builds are out with shipping cost and the sheer variety of parts that I have no idea how I'd feel using. It was $40 when I got it at GameStop.

 

Your problem makes it sound like maybe that Pelican is using an analog stick rather than a digital stick. When I tried to look up Pelican sticks for the PS2, they all seemed to be analog.   Your execution is probably due to a slight over-rotation when using your left hand that is causing the stick to send that extra diagonal pickup.  Digital is overall preferred for fighting games, specifically because it allows for finer control over things like that. 

 

You'd probably have no issues if you switched to using a standard digital lever rather than analog and as a result you wouldn't need to have a special right-side lever mount case built unless you *really* wanted to.

 

you can reset positions in XRD by pressing the Play + Record buttons simultaneously

 

Jeez, I wish I'd known this earlier.  I've been having hell in training mode with my pad-hacked GGXrd LE stick.  Makes things way easier.

[Airk]

Your problem makes it sound like maybe that Pelican is using an analog stick rather than a digital stick. When I tried to look up Pelican sticks for the PS2, they all seemed to be analog.   Your execution is probably due to a slight over-rotation when using your left hand that is causing the stick to send that extra diagonal pickup.  Digital is overall preferred for fighting games, specifically because it allows for finer control over things like that. 

 

You'd probably have no issues if you switched to using a standard digital lever rather than analog and as a result you wouldn't need to have a special right-side lever mount case built unless you *really* wanted to.

That's a really good point; That sort of issue is EXACTLY what I experience when I accidentally set that stupid switch on the Madcatz TE to LS instead of DP.

Have you tried using the mode button to see if that switches it to digital and cures your issues?

[Maker]

@Bungiefan. Back when i was picking up sticks for MY PS2 for Soul Calibur 2 competitions I ran into that company Pelican as well. Had an Arcade X i believe it's called. ( http://www.talkxbox.com/hardware/plestick.jpg <--Yeah sorta like that.) Went through three of them in two weeks. They have absolutely crap quality of construction. The one I did use for the final run of my time with them stopped working with my PS2 for no reason. The parts in those things are so bad Happ parts are considered upgrades.

 

That began my search which landed me with an original Hori Real Arcade Pro for the PS2 ( https://www.estarland.com/images/products/34/28434/49389.jpg ) The improvement over a Pelican was not night and day, it was like moving from a living shoggoth pit to a relatively clean brick house. Not perfect but rock solid. (really wish HORI had stuck with that button configuration as well) That said I'd also count you lucky the thing even still works. If you're looking for a PS3/4 stick. The Hori Hayabusa will destroy the memories of that Pelican I promise. Worth the money if you put in the time as well, I've spent the last 5ish years beating JLF's to death with no signs of them stopping or breaking, and my original PS2 HORI Real Arcade Pro still works for my friend I traded it to, to this day (really wish I hadn't done that). Id say as long as you can justify the cash to get something better it is FAR worth it.

[bungiefan]

I don't know what modern stick I would want now, having gotten a PS3 after its successor has come out. PS2 is useful because I have adapters for my PC, Xbox 360, and PS3., It depends how much the stick costs, because I'd want to be able to use it on as many things as possible, and anything more than $100 would be hard to justify to the wife, especially with the decreased playtime I have had for games in the past 2 years. Guilty Gear is the only fighting game I have ever really gotten into in depth since the PS1.

 

The problem is my price limit and the location I am in, Alaska, means I can't get a good supply of things to try, and custom builders aren't around. Shipping on something the size and fragility of a stick to Alaska is absurd.

[Kyosuke Kagami]

Margatroid: So far I can tell, I didn't have that issue your friend is having. My hands are a bit smaller than normal, so maybe that is also a factor.

 

shtkn: Oh lol didn't know that, thank you!

[Airk]

Did you try the mode button yet?

[Kyosuke Kagami]

Mode button?

[bungiefan]

Did you try the mode button yet?

Not yet, have to set up some stuff to get the PS2 games out again.

 

Got pictures of my stick, it's this one:

 

http://imgur.com/9s3ikPB,uq3rYxP

 

http://imgur.com/9s3ikPB,uq3rYxP#1

[Airk]

Uh, it's also worth asking - what games are you testing this with anyway?

[ChexGuy]

Is the joystick on that thing is an analog joystick? I see it advertised as "fully analog" and if that's the case the mode button wouldn't do much.

[bungiefan]

Uh, it's also worth asking - what games are you testing this with anyway?

Any of the PS2 Guilty Gear games, Melty Blood Act Cadenza and Actress Again, and Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition via a controller converter,

[Airk]

Is the joystick on that thing is an analog joystick? I see it advertised as "fully analog" and if that's the case the mode button wouldn't do much.

 

Rotten. But okay. I feel like we've at least ID'd the problem, and it's not that bungiefan can't play stick, or that he really needs to use his right hand, but simply that he's doing the equivalent of trying to play fighting games with a flightstick.

[Margatroid]

I posted this in the fight stick recommendation thread, but maybe this would be a better place:

 

I just recently got a Hori RAP4 (the silent optical one). I've been having trouble reliably doing IADs, and I was trying to figure out exactly why. I spent some time feeling out the lever's gate corners, then I tried moving the whole stick over to the left edge of my lap so my left arm could extend in a natural straight line to hold the stick instead of bending my elbow inward. I found that I immediately had much more comfort and control and was IADing more reliably.

 

I really like the silent RAP4, especially the quality of the lever, but my old madcatz Soul Calibur V stick had a lever that was significantly farther from the buttons. However, I think maybe even it is not far enough away to comfortably hold in your lap with a straight arm.

Aside from playing with your stick on a surface like a table, what solution is there for this? It's irritating that I'm having to bend my lever-arm into this uncomfortable, un-ergonomic position due to the lever being located so far inward. My lever arm feels almost "trapped" if I play with the stick in the middle of my lap, like my range and ease of motion are being significantly limited. Maybe this is less of an issue for Japanese people with shorter arms, but I'm not sure why Hori chose to place the lever so close to the buttons on the RAP4. It just seems like bad engineering...

[blackraen]

I really like the silent RAP4, especially the quality of the lever, but my old madcatz Soul Calibur V stick had a lever that was significantly farther from the buttons. However, I think maybe even it is not far enough away to comfortably hold in your lap with a straight arm.

 

 

This has been my fundamental problem with most commercial sticks.  They put the bloody lever so dang close to the buttons.  Probably the #1 reason why I build my own.

 

I think the HRAP cases tend to be some of the worst lever-crowding offenders too.  Glad I'm not the only one with that complaint.  That said, I also can't stand playing in my lap and prefer a table setup anyways.

[Margatroid]

Man, that plain white custom stick you made looks really comfortable (nice art on the other one, too). I don't really have the time or money to dedicate to doing that at the moment though, especially after I just bought this one.

 

I'm not really sure what to do about this since I play sitting on a couch. Maybe I could get some kind of TV dinner tray thing to go over my lap and elevate the stick a bit? Not sure if that would help.

[HammerKillin]

Sorry if this isn't quite the right thread. I've had an arcade stick for a while, just a FightstickPro from Madcatz, love it a lot. However i recently purchased a Qanba Q1 for portability and.. The stick goes from left to neutral so hard it trips the right microswitch. Should I open her up and dink around or just deal with it until the springs loosen up?

[Breakmeister]

Hammerkillin, I also have a Qanba Q1. It's my first stick, but I notice that if I let mine "snap back" it registers the wrong direction. It's a cheep Chinese joystick, so maybe that's why it reacts like that. I always have a hand on it, which seems to fix the issue. If that doesn't work for you...

Fortunately, the Q1 is VERY easy to mod! If you have screwdrivers, you can easily swap out the Chinese joystick with superior parts. Both Sanwa or a Seimitsu joystick should fit, and there are some good tutorials on youtube if you're confused. The only reason why I suggest to replace it if it bothers you is that the cheaper parts are usually not constructed to be taken apart. As an example, the Qanba buttons are totally disposable, while real arcade buttons (Sanwa, etc) have a replaceable micro switch. Hope that helped some!

On topic, I think the best advice for people learning how to use a stick is to just put your hand on the stick, and move it around. If it feels comfortable, you're doing it right. Just like learning how to play with a pad, your game isn't going to improve overnight. Treat learning the joystick like learning a new character. Do we stop because we aren't EVO ready in a few weeks? NO! Fighting games are about mastering the game, and the stick is just the part of the game that's not behind the screen.

[mAceOfHearts]

I can't connect my newly aquired wireless arcade stick to my PS3. No matter where I look online, I can't find a guide detailing how to connect the thing. I can't even tell if it's turning on, so I'm a little worried it might be broken. (I bought it used, so this is sadly possible)

 

EDIT: I've tried going into Settings - Accessory Settings, but no luck.

 

EDIT: Never mind, I figured out what the problem was.

[Qu_Ane]

This is probably going to be an obscure, perhaps even ridiculous question(I have two, actually), but I have no one to talk about this stuff with so bear with me here. So uumm...

 

1. Anyone here with short legs? How do you deal with your stick slipping? Or does it go away with time? I've been playing for a few months but as I've fought harder opponents I've managed to almost drop the thing. lmao I try to sit in a folding chair for better posture.\, but I have to hold my feet on the legs of the chair to set the stick flat. (I'm like 5'6")

 

2. Any left-handers here? I was wondering if anyone else holds their ardade stick at a different position. Cuz lately I've found myself holding it differently.

[Airk]

#1: Well, the easiest thing you can do for this sort of thing is to have a chair with adjustable height. :P  Failing that, a 99 cent 'page' of felt glued to the bottom of the stick will cut down on sliding a lot.

 

#2: Tried cross handed?  Otherwise, there should be no reason a person who is left handed should want to use a different grip. You're still using your left hand on the stick and the right on the buttons.   Also, honestly, if anything, I would think left handedness would be an ADVANTAGE on standard sticks, because all the dexterity is needed on the STICK hand and for you, that's your primary hand.

[Onionsunleashed]

High new too guilty gear any tips for the right hand on stick. Im not sure which fingers should be used for what. I ask cuz I don't want to learn a bad habits and make execution harder on myself

[www.keeponrock.in]

High new too guilty gear any tips for the right hand on stick. Im not sure which fingers should be used for what. I ask cuz I don't want to learn a bad habits and make execution harder on myself

 

Do it like this guy :D http://youtu.be/oC_1ZWLOPJc