Arcade-stick gave me back my youth

[Lord_Santa]

having since long lost my C-64 collection, which I have been sadly missing since back in '99, I've been emulating the C-64 on PC instead

needless to say, I started out playing with keyboard and later-on "advanced" to using various controllers

the latest acquisition (controller-wise) I got was the Wii Classic Controller

and although I do love the D-pad and controllers in general, when it comes to playing C-64 games, nothing really beats a joystick

I do have about 5 TAC-2 joysticks for the C-64/Amiga, but I've never been able of making the cable/connector for the PC myself

now I could buy it on-line, but I'd have to buy it from the States (retrousb), which kind of complicates the matter to me, since I've never ordered anything from abroad; and I prefer buying things in stores, easier to get refund, etc.

throughout these years of lacking my C-64 I've been booting up VICE, every once in a while, only to find that the games are not nearly as enjoyable as I remembered them to be

hence I've been playing all the console-emulators I have instead and been quite satisfied with that

until a couple of days ago

I finally invested in an Arcade-stick
mind you, it's not advanced in any way and probably the cheapest/most amateur on the market

http://www.mayflash.com/pc/pc042/pc042.htm

but it "does the job"

I am finally playing my C-64 games again (and Amiga) and I can finally start enjoying all the Spectrum games I missed out on "back in the days"

I realize that many of the forum members here have grown up using a D-pad controller, but for someone like me, who grew up using a joystick throughout 15 years, it is rather... "not the same" feeling with a D-pad when playing the old computer games that I enjoy

so finally, I feel like I'm back in business
the sensation of using an actual joystick is so superior that words can hardly describe it; I feel as if though I finally have the control of the games as I did when I was young

I (of course) also use it to play MAME, WinKawaks, etc.

but the primary reason for getting it was to play C-64/Amiga/Atari/Spectrum games

I can really recommend this Arcade-Stick for anyone who is on a tight budget, as I only paid about 32€ for it (in Sweden)

it may not be a replica of a TAC-2, but the ball-shape and buttons do resemble it enough for me to make my way back to the games I've loved for so many years, but have not been able to thoroughly enjoy due to lack of a decent joystick

this may not be of importance to anyone but me, but I felt I wanted to share the experience =)

[dsheinem]

I have that stick! No, it isn't a great stick but in honesty it is pretty solid for the price. In fact, I might rate it higher than the recently acquired TvC stick, which costs about the same. You could do much worse!

[Shogun]

I recently bought a Hori real arcade pro 3 joystick off Amazon and it has really brought back older games for me. Especially shmups. However I find myself looking at my whole game collection and asking myself if the game would work with a joystick better than a game pad. For instance the other day I was playing Crash bandicoot on the PS3 (to test out compatibility) and ended up playing the game for much longer than I intended because it worked so well with the joystick.

I really hadn't used a joystick since the NES but now I'm having great times and wondering how I missed out for so long.

[Ivo]

I used to play on joysticks in the Amiga and nowadays prefer d-pads greatly. However these games are often not designed with d-pads in mind (e.g. press up to jump - like in fighter games - instead of using a button; in that case sticks are indeed better).

There is something else - when I played on Amiga style joysticks, like flight-sim sticks, they are more or less meant to be used by your dominant hand (usually the right). In arcade sticks and d-pads you use the left for the directional inputs. I am used to d-pads now as pads were always like that, but arcade sticks confuse me a lot due to this.

I would not want to swap the d-pads now, but from the start would it not have made more sense to have the d-pad / arcade stick on the right thumb? Only after some generations did the inputs on the right start outnumbering the inputs on the left... I blame arcades with their "button masher" fire buttons requiring people to use their dominant hand to maintain a decent rate of fire (which I never really appreciated, for prolonged shooting it SUCKS IMO - short burst of mashing are ok, but during the whole game???).

Ivo.

[gtmtnbiker]

@Lord_Santa, have you used the stick to play PacMan or DigDug with MAME? If so, how does it work?

I've been toying with the idea of getting the X-arcade for my xbox.

[Lord_Santa]

I used to play on joysticks in the Amiga and nowadays prefer d-pads greatly. However these games are often not designed with d-pads in mind (e.g. press up to jump - like in fighter games - instead of using a button; in that case sticks are indeed better).

There is something else - when I played on Amiga style joysticks, like flight-sim sticks, they are more or less meant to be used by your dominant hand (usually the right). In arcade sticks and d-pads you use the left for the directional inputs. I am used to d-pads now as pads were always like that, but arcade sticks confuse me a lot due to this.

I would not want to swap the d-pads now, but from the start would it not have made more sense to have the d-pad / arcade stick on the right thumb? Only after some generations did the inputs on the right start outnumbering the inputs on the left... I blame arcades with their "button masher" fire buttons requiring people to use their dominant hand to maintain a decent rate of fire (which I never really appreciated, for prolonged shooting it SUCKS IMO - short burst of mashing are ok, but during the whole game???).

Ivo.

indeed most games from computers in and before the Amiga-era seemed meant to use the right hand for controlling
this fell natural to those of us, not playing consoles (apart from the 2600, but it was compatible with both hands)

if you look at "cheaper" joysticks like the Suncom Slick-Stick, it has only one button; on the left side of the joystick
this was the "norm" for C-64/Amiga/Atari (computers)/Spectrum/Amstrad joysticks IIRC

these days I've grown very attached to the D-Pad, especially the one on Wii Classic Controller and I find that controller to be the best of the "console" -controllers

even-so, whenever I play on my Amiga, the joystick (a TAC-2) falls naturally in place as I use my right hand to control the games

with this arcade-stick, however I've got all the buttons on the right and the joystick on the left, hence it's a... strange combination for me to play as

if though I was using a D-pad, but instead with a joystick

it does fall naturally in most cases, but when playing something like Summer Games, or Decathlon where you "wiggle" the joystick, it feels awkward using my left hand

it is sometimes a bother playing SHMUP's, due to the frenetic button-mashing, but since I've gotten a taste of Don Pachi, etc. I'm getting happier by the minute having an Arcade-Stick, compared to my Wii Classic Controller, 360 controller, Xbox1 controller and PS2 controller

this simply handles not only the ship(s) in these types of games, but it is not nearly as bothersome pushing the rather huge buttons with your finger/hand, instead of just using your thumb to do it

[Lord_Santa]

@Lord_Santa, have you used the stick to play PacMan or DigDug with MAME? If so, how does it work?

I've been toying with the idea of getting the X-arcade for my xbox.

I tried it out with Pac-Man and the "hacked" Sped-up Pac-Man and it is my opinion that this one is quite capable of playing both

unfortunately it is not compatible with Xbox1; I tried using a PS2 converter (it only comes with PS2/PC as standard, plug-on modules for all last/current-gen, but Xbox are available)

I haven't gotten around to Dig Dug yet (I like to take some time testing it), but I've spent plenty of time emulating the C-64/Amiga and it works splendid in those games

also I tried it out with Sonic The Hedgehog (curiousity) and I find that the game play better than ever; I feel a control that I've yet to try in a Sonic game
this may probably be where I am biased, having used joysticks primarily in-before-hand

also I am trying it with various fighters, which I've never been a fan of (the genre as a whole) and I'm finding that it's an actual fun experience

I can finally pull off (somewhat) some tricks, due to the sense of direction

it does make a clicking sound whilst being pushed in various directions, but it doesn't bother me too much

[CRTGAMER]

I'm waiting to hear about all the joystick wiggle C64 Emulated EPYX sports games.
Those games a true test of the durability of joystick and player.

[Lord_Santa]

I'm waiting to hear about all the joystick wiggle C64 Emulated EPYX sports games.
Those games a true test of the durability of joystick and player.

exactly those titles I'm working mah way through ^^

Winter Games, Summer Games, Summer Games II, World Games, California Games, The Games - Summer Edition, The Games - Winter Edition

only problem thus far, is the lack of interest from my girlfriend, since they basically require more than one player

I'm giving Daley Thompson's - Decathlon a try in a few minutes

it's kinda awkward using my left, but I think I'm getting there

and only "a bit" disturbing that it clicks every time I wiggle it either direction

[Lord_Santa]

well, this came as a surprise

nor D.T. Decathlon, nor Track & Field will even work with this
Summer Games did not register the wiggle either

it seems as if though there's a fast wiggle required, the stick isn't responding fast enough

Summer Games - Pole Vault, I also noticed that I pushed down on the stick way too easy, hence I stuck the Pole in the ground too early, due to the stick feeling too sensitive

that may, may not be me out of shape though

I tried various events and they joystick works fine enough in menus, etc. but it's near impossible to make any move, apart from what's-it-called? where you run and hand a stick to the next guy...

there it worked, somewhat... not good though
but it requires slower wiggling, as to "keep pace" with the legs

other than that, I am sorry that it's not functional for the only sports-games I'll ever play

but I guess that's a good reason to play them as intended with the TAC-2

apart from the wiggle games, however this stick is proving it's worth

Tetris - Grandmaster 2 runs as perfect as I could imagine it playing
the "ticking sound" is much more bearable in titles like these, as one "tick" is one step either direction

also Miner 2049'er (C-64), is a bliss with this, as it feels very responsive when going in all directions

it has buttons enough to meet all my requirements in Maple Story (all hot-keys, NPC dialogue, jump, fight) and is a real pleasure using in games like these

I'm going to give Sonic the Hedgehog some more play time and try out Wonderboy series as well as a bunch of Neo-Geo/MAME, etc. to see what games suit this and maybe write a little ramble/review 'bout it (unless I write it all down here, which seems easier =)

next game up is Megaman, since I've always been curious how I'd fare in that game with a joystick

all in all I would say that this is the best choice I've gotten apart from a joystick in platform games, as well as puzzle