Things I've been doing in my spare time... joysticks!

[GeorgeC]

One of the things I've gotten into the past 3 months is modding joysticks.

I've picked up 4 older, out-of-print sticks (relatively cheaper than brand-new but PS2-branded for my needs) and modded 2 of them with new joystick parts and pushbuttons. The result?? Durable, arcade quality controllers with much better response times and less wearing on the hands than the original stock controller. As of right now, USB converter connections allow the sticks to be used on PS2 or PS3 or Mac and PC.

They've been electrically modified so that parts are far easier to swap out and replace in case of wear and damage. This is the first time I've done soldering in my life and I'm glad the original stick manufacturer put in such big contacts points to solder wire to and that none of the original stick PCBs have burned! Later in the year, when a new universal PCB (UPCB) becomes available (probably from a UK electronics hobbyist), at least 3 of the sticks will be modified so that they become compatible with 6 different systems (Mac, PC, PS2/PS3, and Sega Saturn/Dreamcast).

The other thing I've done is spray paint 3 of the bases in colors that are frankly more vivid than the original flat black bases. I've assembled and put on new artwork I've scrounged from the web for the faceplates. Result? Themed sticks featuring barbarian queens (Red Sonja vs. Wonder Woman), anime characters, and, soon, perhaps Mickey Mouse!

I've felt a bit guilty that I haven't used much American-style art but so is the price of being a perfectionist and wanting to get a look I can live with long term. This stuff is expensive as is and it's hard to justify mediocre work.

There just aren't great sources of hi-res art for Mickey online and many of them don't feature the particular era of the character that's my favorite (1936-1938). As a consequence, I pulled out the old Pierre Lambert Mickey Mouse coffee book and am in the process of doing at least 20 color scans to collage a new background for the faceplate of the stick I'm working myself up to doing... This'll be stick #4 and likely one of the 3 modded for six systems. The fourth stick I've tentatively decided will end up being a wireless PS3-only controller.

Here's a preview of what may become the base paint job and decals for the new stick...



One of the great free fonts I've found online is a replica of the font the Disney Company uses for "Walt's signature." It's been incorporated into the side-paneling of the proposed stick base. Paint job for the base will probably be red upper top, predominantly black glossy sides with decals for white Mickey heads or white silhouette heads and the "signatures" of Mickey and Walt. I've gotta be careful on the backside of the stick because I'm going to have to drill a hole for an extra cable connection. This stick will have two connector cables for the system compatibilites. Both cables can't be connected at the same time -- that would fry the UPCB -- but they do extend the useful life and versatility of the stick.

[GeorgeC]

Coming up with the base paint scheme and decals was easy... Deciding on WHAT images to use for the faceplate was harder!

I knew I wanted to go with the iconic Mickey look that I liked best -- Mickey Mouse as he appeared in "The Brave Little Tailor" and "Through the Looking Glass."

Well, I happen to have a book which has a lot of reproductions of production drawings and cels in it so I headed over to Staples to make color photocopies. I quickly realized things have gotten a lot more expensive to photocopy even at the cheaper copy centers and pared down my initial selections to about 17-18 images...

I seriously thought of using images from "Runaway Brain" on the faceplate for obvious reaons that you'll see in these pencil production drawings --





In the end, I decided not to use either of these sets of drawings along with about 4-5 others. There's just not enough space even on a 13 X 8 plate to do them all justice so I went with a simpler collage and gradient phase design ---



Ultimately, this image will be printed out on legal size laser printer paper, 230 dpi (I reduced the size for the forum), laminated, and the holes will be cut to allow the joystick shift to stick through as well as to snap-in the buttons I've selected for the plate.

My color choices are pretty much dictated by the image. I believe personally that simpler is better and has a more lasting appeal but I still like to mix up my colors a bit. Many other stick modders do all the buttons in one color which I think is boring. I like to maintain button colors in pairs but generally leave the buttons furthest to the right in a different paired shade to facilitate six-button fighting as well as break up color monotony...

This image was produced for my personal enjoyment and will NOT be sold. The fonts I used are all freeware and downloadable from a site I mentioned several years back in another post on this site. One of these fonts is based on the official "Walt Disney" signature that appears on all Disney advertising and motion pictures and another font is adapted from the hand-drawn font used on Marvel's Fantastic Four comic book. The third font I believe is an adaptation of the font used for the Daredevil movie. I used layer blending options in Photoshop to give the lettering the illusions of being fingerpaint, three-dimensional, cast shadows, as well as texturing and striked outlining.

You only learn these tricks through experimentation and reading about how other people have used the software to create certain effects.


P.S. -- If you know anything about the higher grade Hori sticks, there IS a pun put in on purpose on the faceplate...

It's not hard to spot!


Oh, and the background watercolor/gouche Mickey image IS a storyboard from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." That film was originally intended as a special Mickey short but was folded into Fantasia after the production costs soared well past the average Disney short budget.

Mickey's design in the storyboard is different as Freddie Moore hadn't redesigned Mickey yet and incorporated the pupil-eyed look which I feel is not iconic as the earlier "Tailor"/"Looking Glass" designs. There is a point at which I feel "the illusion of life" starts to work against animation and the more fantastic elements of animation design and motion get pushed aside in favor of slavishly imitating real life...

The foreground Mickey image on the faceplate is a classic Mickey pose. I snapped a digital photo of a framed litho that I bought over 10 years ago from the time that the Disney Store actually carried exclusive items worth buying. I lassoed the image in Photoshop and did some color rebalancing and adjusted the brightness/contrast ratios, too. You can see the image's origin from a litho collage made up of Mickey Mouse model sheets from various decades...

[James]

Sounds cool. I'm actually building my own arcade cabinet. I bought a premade joystick (X-Arcade Tankstick) but next time may try to do it myself.

[GeorgeC]

It's expensive to do this stuff, James. Not cheap at all!

(Yeah, I know that you know that but some of the kids that visit this site are under the impression 'everything comes for free' and that's a fantasy...)

I caught the bug for stick-building this year in the midst of the whole Street Fighter IV craze. SF IV has been both a blessing AND a bane for arcade fighter fans as well as arcade collectors in general.

It's harder to get the GOOD parts for stick building, mods, and repairs (I learn towards mods -- much easier to mod what exists and recycle as much as possible to save some $$$$$) because of the demand.

One of the side-effects of the whole arcade business downsizing in the US and abroad are the lack of vendors for parts. Most parts are made abroad in China (even the Japanese brands) or South Korea and have to be imported. With fewer companies supporting arcade equipment -- let's face it, the traditional videogame arcade IS dead in the US and Europe --, there are fewer places importing and selling parts.

Arcades are still alive throughout Asia but even Japan has seen some downsizing and closing of some big videogame arcade chain locations, too.

There are maybe a half-dozen places that I'd call grade-A arcade parts vendors with service and parts selection that will have 80% or more of what you'd want in-stock. There are many smaller businesses and individuals that stock only specific items so you really can't get much more than 60% of what you want from those guys. Lots of one-man vendors have popped up in the past few months to fill demand and compete with companies that have been in business for 10 or more years.

Again, this is Street Fighter IV's fault!

The best stick to buy for mods -- until recently -- was the PS2 Tekken 5 Tenth Anniversary Ultimate Edition Limited Bundle stick. They made 20,000 for the North American but the GameStops and GameCrazys got stuck with a bunch of them in overstock and finally had to cut the prize to $30 to get rid of what was a $100 bundle! You were getting a darn good deal on a stick that was worth maybe $60 tops in mint condition. The stick had a usable PCB and power connection for PS2 (and PS3/Mac/Windows with USB adaptor) as well as a nice, heavy base. The base has plenty of room to house another PCB board to make it multi-system compatible. The faceplate itself has a button configuration that many people favor for fighting games. The reason why you want a heavy base is because of regardless whether you sit the stick on a box, a table, or your lap, your stick and button movements aren't going to be affected by "base movement" because the thing is heavy and it ain't going nowhere!

(Admission: I ended up buying four Tekken 5 sticks for mods. They were simply easier and cheaper to buy than most sticks for a while. Now, they're not as easy to get now and DEFINITELY not as cheap as they used to be. For a while, they could be had for under $60 with the limited bundle set. I personally got rid of 3 extra copies of Tekken 5 the game for store credit but kept and modded the sticks. They're about mid-level difficulty to mod -- you have to do some desoldering and soldering but the PCB is hard to destroy! -- but it's so satisfying to finish a stick. My mods are more elaborate than most because I like to paint the stick bases in colors other than just black and also put on artwork that I can scale to fit/customize the faceplate.)

Lots of people like me were not happy with the joystick and buttons in the T5 base so we replaced them with Sanwa or Seimitsu arcade parts. Yeah, that's $70 worth of parts to buy but when you get done with the mod it's SOOOOO worth it! You get a much more responsive stick with buttons that require 1/5 the force of the Hori stock buttons. This makes a huge difference in playing fighting games and your hands last a lot longer with the more responsive buttons.

The great thing about the Sanwa or Seimitsu joysticks is that if you think they're too loose the tension is easy to ratch up. All you have to do is pop the e-ring at the bottom of the joystick shaft (wear protective eyeware because the stick is held under tension and parts CAN fly up at you if you're not careful!!!) and put in another spring like the one that comes with the stick and you have a stick that's not so loose. This is a great option for older fighting games as well as possibly Pac-Man or Donkey Kong. Frankly, you really don't want to use Sanwa or Seimitsu joysticks for those games if you have other options (ie, more cash to burn), but if you're on a budget the added stick tension helps.

For the older (think late 1970s and early 1980s) games, generally a four-way joystick or trackball is better depending on the game. Pac-Man and DK definitely need four-way sticks and one of the main vendors that used to supply the US market until they sold out/closed years ago was a company by the name of Wico. (My first two joysticks for my Atari 800 computer with Wico brand joysticks. I had a red ball and a bat handle stick.) Two brand names of stick were iL and Happs. A company by the name of LizardLick (LizardLick.com) still stocks clones of those parts and they're the most authentic you can get for older arcade games.

As for me, I'm happy playing most older arcade games in emulation on MAME but when I have a better-paying job (and more disposable income!) I'd like to buy some of the 1990s fighting game boards and get full-up 'non-emulated' versions of my favorite games. Nothing beats owning an original working system with the games that brought brief joy into your life! The Sega console ports of those games were mostly great and at least 94%-96% accurate in most respects but a few of the games NEVER had good home console ports or were never released in the US to begin with....

[James]

Now that I've got the computer set up and the arcade stick, it's all downhill price wise! Just some wood, glass, a marquee, light, and a coin box left.

Definitely right about those 4-way sticks for the older games. The Tankstick has two joysticks and I considered converting one of them to a 4-way switch since there really aren't many two player at a time games I like much.

I actually have every console I ever bought since the Atari 2600 along with all the accessories and games. I'd planned to one day make a system that had all of them connected at once. But this arcade cabinet will be much easier on space -- which is a big consideration for wife approval! I've got the computer part done using Maximus Arcade as the front end. Besides MAME I've got it running emulators for Atari 2600, Genesis, Super Nintendo, and Playstation. Also setup, but not running on the front end (to keep it all simple and kid/wife friendly) are emulators for the Apple II, Game Gear, NES, Sega CD, and Sega 32X. I've got every one of those consoles in the garage along with a Dreamcast. But I probably won't bother emulating that one. Also running a jukebox on the machine too. I think it'll be really nice when done.

I can' talk at length about this stuff because 1) I just started out in all this stuff a few months ago, and 2) my computer is in the shop for repairs so I'm not on my computer right now! But I'll maybe keep my progress posted here too as i go along.

[GeorgeC]

As for me,

I'm perfectly happy keeping my Sega systems as long I can keep them running or have a place on hand to fix them. (That reminds me -- I've got a broken Dreamcast I've either got to get fixed or replaced... There are still places that sell brand new DC's or fix them, too.)

Although emulation of the Genesis is close to perfect now -- Genesis emulators actually run better on the PSP than SNES emulators last I heard --, my main Sega interests are the Saturn and Dreamcast. Those two systems are notoriously difficult to emulate and still have many programs that haven't been re-released on other systems or perfectly emulated. A couple of once-exclusive DC programs have actually source-code ported to XBox Live and the upcoming Marvel Vs Capcom 2 online release is a DC code port, too.

Even after 10 years, the fastest PC out there CANNOT run a DC at full speed with competence! The state of Saturn emu is even worse because that system had a messed-up architecture to begin with and was one of the most difficult systems to program in its time.

I'm keeping the Sega systems I listed plus PS2, GameCube and PS3.

The rest I'm happy with on MAME and other emu programs (SNESX and hopefully decent Odyssey 2 and Vectrex emulators in the future). Other than perhaps CPS-2, I don't see myself buying dedicated arcade hardware for Pac-Man let alone Missile Command. I kept my Atari emulator collections for the Saturn and DC and they do a nice enough job reminding me how dumbed down the console ports of the old Atari arcade games were!

The problem with keeping any hardware is space. Generic controllers like joysticks are easier to keep since they can be rewired or adapted via USB for computers/MAME. The PC/MAME machine in a box is the way a lot of people are handling home arcades when they don't want to buy or can't afford to buy all the old machines. (If you're Steven Spielberg, you can afford it and have all the space for it. As for the rest of us, who has the time and money to afford a 24-hour arcade technician?)

Some of the old arcade machines are starting to go up in price again, too. I just saw on a website that a UK vendor was selling a sitdown of Star Wars (1983) for well over $4000 (about 3000 British pounds). A couple of years ago, you could buy old Star Wars machines for well under $500... Sitdowns and tabletops have always been a bit more expensive because fewer of those kinds of machines were made.



P.S. -- A few years ago, I did read a magazine article about a fellow who combined several home consoles into a PC Tower Box. He had the main components and disc drives of a GameCube, Dreamcast, PlayStation 1 or 2, and maybe an XBox all in one stack! I imagine he had a switch system to power up whatever system he was planning to use...

Other than that system stack pile, the neatest thing I read about was the Q-Cube. It was a licensed version of the GameCube built by Panasonic that was also a DVD player. It looked sort of like a mini-jukebox and had a chromey, silverish plating. Those things are still darned expensive to buy now and are collector's items! Nintendo so far hasn't implemented any kind of DVD playback on its past two generations of console systems because they don't want to pay licensing to the DVD patent holders...

[GeorgeC]

If you ever decided to get a JLF or Seimitsu stick James, there are some things that can be done to the stick to make it a bit more retro-like...

JLF's are notoriously loose sticks but that's the case for this brand the more popular varieties of Seimisu sticks as well. Most people get either the JLF-TP-8*** series or the Seimitsu LS-32-01. There are different marks of the JLF-TP-8*** series but they're all basically the same stick. The only difference are the extras they come packed with. Some JLF-TP-8's have mounting plates, others don't. Some JLF-TP-8's come with both a shaft and disc dust cover (highly recommended to prevent wear on the stick's metal shift) and one version is labelled "W" at the end of all those nice ID tags to indicate that it has a white ball handle!

Anyhow, back to the suggested mods --
a) You can add an extra spring inside either the JLF-8 or LS-32 to increase the stick tension, make them a bit stiffer;
b) you can rotate the stock stick restrictor gate (the clear piece of PVC plastic at the other end of the stick away from the handle) -- the square gate -- in the JLF-8 to make it a four-way stick stick. This is a neat option for older games like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. I'm pretty sure the same can be done for the LS-32 but I'm less familiar with the stick...

I'm keeping two of the square gates for my JLF's in case I want to try the 4-way positioning on the older games. (I have more joysticks now than I want to admit online... I kind of like customizing them and giving them different paintjobs and art schemes a bit too much! LOL) I like the octagonal restrictor gates better though for fighting games... Square gates also allow 8-way moving of the joystick but like I said can be rotated to restrict movement to 4-ways instead of 8. That's better for the older arcade games and the one true advantage of the square gate.

The basic thing with the octagonal gates is that some people, like me, prefer them because they have true diagonals indicated on the gate whereas you have to "feel" some of the directions on the square gate. It's just easier for a lot of people to pull off special moves for fighting games on the octagonal gate. There's that and the fact that I HATE the square movement on the square gate (you can FEEL this!) if you don't "round off" when you're moving the stick.

[James]

My father and I started the arcade construction this week! We've got the sides done but now have to wait on a router bit we special ordered before we can move on to the next step. Here are a few pics, some of which have the controller I bought put where it will eventually go.

[GeorgeC]

Ohhh.... NNNNIIIIIICCCE!

Like the cabinet. Gonna stain the wood or put decals on it? Either way, it looks it's going to turn out nice!

Bat handles, huh? Your American arcade experience is showing through!

It's usually the guys that are nostalgic for their old arcade games that go for the bat handles. Bat handles are harder to get and generally only available in five colors -- black, blue, red, white, and yellow. One company does provide a green colored bat handle for its joysticks but the generic handles that fit standard-sized shafts are available in only 5 standard colors. Yellow seems to be the hardest color to find now.

Nowadays, most competitive fighting game tournaments use ball handles (aka "lollipop sticks")since Asian hardware predominates. There are basically no American companies producing arcade parts since the last American company (Wico?) folded production about 10 years ago and very few European companies making parts, too.

It's pretty much an Asian game now. It still is possible to buy reproductions of old Wico (American) arcade parts or customize non-Japanese parts into something approximating the old arcade controls.

I personally prefer ball handles myself. You can get them in such a wide variety of colors. They have at least 12 solid colors -- red, black, dark grey, orange, vermillion orange/red, blue, dark blue, white, green, violet, pink, yellow -- as well as transparent bubbletops in the same colors as the solids. In addition, they have special meshballs which are basically solid ball handles covered by a mesh pattern. Very cool handles! Standard ball handle size is 35mm but they also come in 30mm and 40(or 45?)mm sizes, too. Bubbletops come in 35 or 40mm varieties. Meshballs are 35mm only.

I admit to having become an addict of ball handles. Love solid red (my favorite color) for sure but like the mesh red even better! I've ordered blue and green bubbletops, too. I figure some joysticks I'm just going to keep multiple ball handles around to swap off the top when I feel like it!

The neatest thing I've seen anybody do with a ball handle is figure out how to light up a bubbletop. It's more work than I'd want to do on a stick but basically you get a hollowed out joystick shaft, hollow the bubbletop a bit with a drill, and run electrical line through the shaft. An LED goes near the bottom of the drill in the bubbletop or attached to the inner wall of the bubbletop. You have to have a separate power source for the LED in the stick base since a USB cord may not provide enough power for the LED. I've even seen videos of people rigging different LED colors that light up depending on the direction a joystick is moved in! LEDs have also been used to light up transparent buttons when they get pushed.

Again, far more electrical work than I'd want to do. People have posted diagrams for the wiring and LED set-ups but it's far more complicated than anything I've attempted and generally gives me a headache!

I got an A in physics but just barely understand electrical wiring and frankly this is again more work than I'd want to do! I just learned how to solder this past year and have done tons of mod work and painting on store-bought joystick cases. Configuring LEDs to light up does not sound like fun to me...!

[Ben]

Now that's a sweeeet project. Gonna turn out good James...keep us posted!

[James]

Thanks guys!

I'm going to paint it black and eventually 1) find an artist to paint something on it, 2) just do some large scale generic geometric patterns myself, or 3) get a premade sideart decal.

Can't take credit for the stick -- that is the default configuration it shipped with! I've been considering personalizing it by changing out the black buttons and possibly switching to a ball top stick. But that expense will have to wait until all the other cabinet expenses are done!

I love some of the (well done!) LED button projects and might try that on a future project.

I've heard some nice things about Happ for parts. Could be just hobbyists though since they let you buys individual parts rather than bulk! About to order t-molding and the coin door there.

[GeorgeC]

The quality of the Happ parts depends on who you talk to...

Some people have been making cabinets or custom sticks for years and are of the opinion that the latest production Happs sticks leaves something to be desired. The manufacturer is cutting corners and people feel the quality has fallen.

There is a European manufacturer that hasn't skimped on the quality of its Happ sticks and pushbuttons. It's an Italian company named iL. It manufactures exact duplicates of the original Happ parts under license.

Happ itself has subcontracted its manufacturing to China and that's where a lot of corners are getting cut to maximize profits and reduce manufacturing costs. That's only giving Happ a bad name in the eyes of people that swear by the parts. Some people are starting to stop buying Happ parts as a result.

Most homebrew stickmakers are of the opinion, at any rate, that Sanwa and Seimitsu offer the best quality joysticks and pushbuttons money can buy.

However, purists insist on using Happs for their cabinets and sticks "because that's what they grew up with!" Happs and iL sticks are definitely more common for retro-arcades and people who want to replicate the American arcade fighting game experience.

I only have Sanwa and Seimitsu sticks so I can't comment about Happs other than that I prefer what I have now at home to what I played with in arcades -- and most American arcades used Happs parts when arcades used to be common in the US.

The general hobbyist market is going towards Sanwa and Seimitsu since those are the manufacturers who source parts for the higher-quality joysticks produced for the home market and the arcades in Japan.

I prefer Sanwa myself for both sticks and buttons -- Sanwa JLF sticks modified with an extra spring to increase tension and quicken snap-back to neutral positioning -- but Seimitsu parts aren't bad, either. Sanwa pushbuttons are definitely the most sensitive buttons I've ever used on a controller, period. Love them to death!

[GeorgeC]

I'm modding a Hori Wii Fight Stick in anticipation of the North American release of the fighting game Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom next year!

Sure, it'll be a while until the game hits -- January-March? --, but the hardware will be ready for it.

Artwork design for my latest stick mod...



The characters depicted in the art are the Science Ninja Team Gatchman from the 1973 animated series of the same name!

Two of the characters are featured in the Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom game. The team's leader, Ken the Eagle, is in a lot of promotional art for the game. The lone female member of the team, Jun, is also in the game as a selectable character.

The characters from front to rear are Ken, Joe, Jun, Jinpei, and Ryu. In American parlance, they were (from the G-Force dub) Ace Goodheart, Dirk Daring, Agatha June, Pee Wee, and Hoot Owl.

All other ridiculous character name mutations are listed here -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatchaman

Artwork is by Alex Ross scanned in from DVD covers of the ADV Films release of the uncut translated original Japanese series' footage. All 105 episodes of the original Gatchaman series were released on 18 DVDs by ADV Films in 2005-2006. Ross created artwork for all 18 (non-extra disc) DVD covers. The ADV Films' release is out-of-print but copies of the many volumes still available through many video companies. Lettering is from the public domain font based on the Dark Crystal logos.

Button colors are tentative but close to what I want to use for the stick. More imaginative than the all light blue stock buttons the stick came with. Sanwa pushbuttons are certainly better than any buttons Hori makes!

And yes, most of the pushbuttons are supposed to have white or black borders/rings around the actual plunger part of the button. There are pushbuttons made this way.

The stock Hori Wii stick isn't much to write home about with its flat generic face plate and OEM stick and pushbuttons, but what is mediocre can be made excellent with a bit of sweat and tears.

I still have to get the pushbuttons for this but the replacement joystick (JLF) for the base is on its way to me. Chances are that I will reuse the shaft for the stick that shipped with the base as the JLF joystick shaft is a bit too long to fit comfortably within the Wii stick base without serious modifications.

[James]

Wow!

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/23/r2d2 ... nted-proj/

[GeorgeC]

If there were an icon for jaw-dropping, I'd be using it!

Aside from that, I hope he's taking into account the power usage for those consoles and that are plenty of circuit breakers there.

R2 units do occasionally blow up...