There are alot of people who like the keyboard+mouse settup for PC games. Thats great, but this thread isnt for you so please save your energy. I hate KB+M and since Im getting a PC in about a month that can actually run newerish games I figured a thread on PC controllers would be great for the rest of us (however few we may be)
So this thread is ment to be an open conversation. Recomendations, Success stories, horror stories, etc.
Ive never actually had a PC controller before. Somthing along the lines of a dualshock with a little more meat or an S with a competant d-pad would be sexcellent though.
There's nothing I love more than male nipples in Starcraft, the two go together so well. - Tasteless
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Zilla36021st Century. |She/Her|Trans* Woman In Aviators Firing A Bazooka. ⚛️Registered Userregular
edited May 2007
I wish the wireless controller worked with the play and charge cable on PC, I plug it in to my main PC to charge, windows detects it, but the wired drivers don't work. Don't want to spend money on the dongle (I've heard the drivers are sucky).
I've been using a GameCube-PC converter that I bought at Lik-Sang (D:) a while ago, and it's been great. Rumble doesn't seem to work with it, though... so yeah, go for the 360's wireless.
Rohan on
...and I thought of how all those people died, and what a good death that is. That nobody can blame you for it, because everyone else died along with you, and it is the fault of none, save those who did the killing.
Nothing's forgotten, nothing is ever forgotten
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RoshinMy backlog can be seen from spaceSwedenRegistered Userregular
I wish the wireless controller worked with the play and charge cable on PC, I plug it in to my main PC to charge, windows detects it, but the wired drivers don't work. Don't want to spend money on the dongle (I've heard the drivers are sucky).
I own a dongle - it's fine for me. The controllers work well, and you can still use Xpadder for binding stuff.
I used to use a PSX-USB adaptor, and that gave me access to the best console controller in history:
Seriously, there has never been a console controller more comfortable, more durable, and more responsive. Ever.
Unfortunately, times have marched on, and analog is mandatory, so I switched to these:
Those are what I use for many modern video games, and they are very comfortable and reliable. I think they're like $20, which is very cheap considering how well-made these things are.
However, when playing fighting games and older games, there's only one option:
You cannot fathom playing video games with this thing unless you grew up in the 80s or you have one yourself. Pure sex doesn't accurately describe this controller, and it is the ultimate controller that is the measure by which all other controllers are judged.* You owe it to yourself to buy this controller, and I guarantee regret will never cross your mind.
This thing can take a pounding, the buttons have that arcade "bounce", the joystick has an amazing responsiveness, and you can literally beat someone to death with it without worrying about breaking the controller. The weight is distributed nicely, and feels good sitting on your lap, straddled between 2 chairs, and on your coffee table. The trackball even works as a mouse when not playing games.
Yeah, it's $200, but on your deathbed, surrounded by loved ones, with your last gasp of breath you'll realize that that $200 was the best investment you've ever made in your life.
I bought an X-Arcade, and I have spent every day since regretting my decision. Oh, I wanted to love it, if for no reason other than how much it cost. I tried to use it to play Soul Calibur II, but found myself forgetting button assignments and generally not reacting anywhere near as fast as I could with the lovely, compact button layout on the Wavebird. I tried to use it for Ikaruga, but the monstrous joystick wasn't much good at making small, fast adjustments compared to a D-pad, and again I found reaction times to be considerably slower than using the default GameCube controls, where changing alignment and using the alternate fire was as simple (and fast) as tilting my thumb up or to the right. I tried many other games which seemed suited to arcade controls, such as Viewtiful Joe, Radirgy and Wario Ware, but all ended in disaster. The X-Arcade is big and slow. Perhaps this is a valid complaint against all arcade sticks, rather than just the X-Arcade, but as the X-Arcade was my first arcade controller I couldn't say.
Well I have a Dual Shock converter, A 360 controller, and a Logitech Rumblepad 2. I mostly play 2D/retro stuff on my PC.
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The one thing to keep in mind about the 360 controller is that the D-pad sucks. If you mostly want to use the analog sticks, then you should get this pad as it is by far the most comfortable IMO, and can be wireless depending on what you buy. I got mine when the 360 launched and they didn't have wireless receivers yet.
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The Dual Shock converters are great, but the Sony PS pads have always had that crappy 4-piece D-pad that can be killer on the thumbs. That being the case, I would get a third party controller with a better D-pad.
My Favorite:
Anther great one:
And of course you get to use an arcade stick, which is a BIG plus for me:
The only drag about the DS converter is that I haven't found a wireless controller that works with it, so unless someone else can attest to a wireless controller working, I don't think you'll be able to go wireless with this option. Personally, I'm never more than 2 feet away from my PC anyway, so it's not a concern for me.
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Finally, there's the Logitech RumblePad 2, available in Wired (mine) and Wireless.
Great controller IMO. Similar to a DS, yet with a better D-pad, no converter needed and buttons that are labeled for PC use, which makes life much easier. The only fault I have with this controller is the square socket around the analog sticks. This could potentially make life difficult if you want to use the analog sticks, but since I've only used this for 2D games I honestly haven't used the sticks yet.
Yes, Joy2key was essential with some games. I also used it to configure my PS2 remote to control my media player in college, my best friend did the same for his TV tuner since he didn't have a TV. Good Times.
Unfortunately, times have marched on, and analog is mandatory, so I switched to these:
Those are what I use for many modern video games, and they are very comfortable and reliable. I think they're like $20, which is very cheap considering how well-made these things are.
You cannot fathom playing video games with this thing unless you grew up in the 80s or you have one yourself. Pure sex doesn't accurately describe this controller, and it is the ultimate controller that is the measure by which all other controllers are judged.* You owe it to yourself to buy this controller, and I guarantee regret will never cross your mind.
This thing can take a pounding, the buttons have that arcade "bounce", the joystick has an amazing responsiveness, and you can literally beat someone to death with it without worrying about breaking the controller. The weight is distributed nicely, and feels good sitting on your lap, straddled between 2 chairs, and on your coffee table. The trackball even works as a mouse when not playing games.
Yeah, it's $200, but on your deathbed, surrounded by loved ones, with your last gasp of breath you'll realize that that $200 was the best investment you've ever made in your life.
*no other controller comes close.
If you're even semi-competent with a soldering iron, you can build yourself a much better controller for less than 1/4 the price of an X-arcade controller. X-arcade is a massive rip-off... they're simply selling Happ parts at a 200% markup.
If anyone's interested, I can provide more details on how to build one.
If anyone's interested, I can provide more details on how to build one.
please, if it's not much hassle.
A parts list:
-One joypad or keyboard of your choice to be hacked up
-Arcade parts
-A nice box to set all this shit up in
-A roll of 22 to 28 AWG (.326 to .081 mm2) gauge wire
-A soldering Iron
-Time
STEP ONE: Buy the parts
First things first - you need to know where to get the parts to build one - Happ Controls.
Happ is THE arcade parts distributer. I mean that litterally - every button, joystick, coinslot, and anything else you interact with on every arcade machine you've ever played comes from these guys. Here's the best part - X-Arcade uses standard microswitch buttons and a bat-style joypad from happ controls. A bat-style joypad should run you $25, and buttons are about $2 each.
Best thing about making your own controller is that YOU get to customize it. Like the joypad from pac-man? Then you'll be looking for a 4-way ball-style joystick with a red handle. Want what MK II used? You'll want an 8-way ultimate bat-style joypad with black handles. Want a street fighter 2 set up? You'll need 2 red buttons, 2 white buttons, and 2 blue buttons. You can mix and match.
So place an order and sit back, relax, and wait for them to arrive (Or if you're in Houston, Tx, drive down to the Heights and look for a place called Houston Arcade Game Repair center... they sell authentic Happ arcade parts at cost).
Now then, with your Happ parts ordered, you're gonna need to decide what you want your arcade stick to work with. The method I use to make arcade controllers is hack - very simple to do. It involves taking a standard joypad, opening it up, soldering some standard gauge wire. You're essentially going to be taking a button from the joypad and remapping it to the arcade button you just ordered.
I've made controllers for PCs before, but the basic principle will work on any controller. Just remember - you're mapping digital to digital. You can't, say, map an analog trigger to a button press without more work than it's worth, so pick your controller accordingly.
I suggest grabbing a cheap-as-hell controller for the PC, like The interact ProPad 6 which can be picked up for as low as $5.
Alternatively, you can use a PC keyboard, but you'll run into some problems later on - keyboards can only detect so many inputs at once. To see this in action, try holding down your A and S keys, and then hit your Q key. You'll notice the Q key doesn't get detected. Alternatively, try typing a bunch of keys really quickly, noting which keys you press. Occasionally, an additional key will get detected that wasn't pressed. This is called Ghosting, and the reason it happens is because of the way keyboards work. I'll explain later in more detail, just be aware of these limitations right now.
Aside from that, you'll need some 22-28 gauge wire (I used 22 gauge) and a soldering iron. Both of which can be easily picked up from Radio Shack. Don't forget to pick up solder and rosin while you're there, if you've never soldered before.
Also, pick up a nice box to house this stuff in. I simply built myself a wooden box, but you can house it in anything. Particuarly, if you're using a keyboard for your joypad (like I did) try and find an old blockbuster style clam-shell VHS box because they house the components nicely.
With all the parts gathered, you should be ready to begin assembly....
Step Two: Theory
Arcade gaming is still just as digital as the day it began.while modern consoles have gone the analog route, arcade controls still work the same way as they always did - with a pushbutton microswitch mechanism.
This is a pushbutton microswitch. It's very simple. To the right, you see two metal prongs, a prong on the bottom, and a red button at top. All it does is switch between circuits. The prong on the bottom is the common prong - this is the part of the circuit shared by all connections. The two prongs on the right are selection prongs, and the button at top selects between them. When the button is up, the top-most prong on the right is selected, and when it's down, the bottom=most prong on the right is selected.
Before I continue, I need to explain basic circuitry for those who never took any sort of physics course. Don't worry, this stuff is easy to digest. A circuit is simply a completed circle of conductive metal that allows electricity to travel. When a circuit is completed, electricity begins to travel around it. When it's open, electricity choses another method to travel.
forgive the crude drawing, but this is an open circuit. Note the break along the top of the circuit? Because there is a gap, electricity will not travel around the circuit.
This is what a microswitch looks like on the inside. You see the circular switching point? That represents the button. WHen it's up, the top-most circuit is complete. When it's pressed down, the circuit switches like this:
See how now the buttom circuit is complete? Depending on the button, you can switch between two circuits. In case this has all been a bit confusing, just remember this - when the button is up, then button is up, the top prong is selected. When it's down, the buttom prong is selected.
Now this is important because it's what we'll be using to press the actual button. It understand why this works, we need to examine how video game buttons work on the inside...
TSR, that needs to be it's own thread because that guide is awesome.
My roommate bought an X-Arcade controller and that thing is fucking popular. There was always people wanting to throw down some Marvel vs. Capcom or something on it. It was a blast slogging through dozens of awesome arcade games.
I really should get a gamepad for my PC. The wireless 360 controller + dongle = freedom, right?
So continuing what I was saying... how do gamepads work? To explain, I've drawn a very shitty picture of the inside of a gamepad:
The top picture is a standard gamepad as we see it, with a large A button, probably used to get the power up and win the game. Open it up, and you'll come to the second picture. As you can see, the cord you use to connect the controller to your console is actually connected to a small micro processor, and the button is actually 2 gold-plated semi-circles with circuits running from each half of the semi-circle to the micro processor.
There's a picture of an actual gamepad if you're curious. The copper things are the semi-circle I was talking about, and not pictured (it's on the back) is the microprocessor.
So, picture 3 depicts how input is detected. As you can see, a microprocessor has many small pieces of metal sticking out, called terminals, which it uses to detect input with. Terminals are numbered and the number of terminals depends on the microprocessor. the microprocessor I drew has 15 terminals. The microprocessor is constantly thinking, checking to see what's going on. So, in this case, the microprocessor asks "Is there a complete circuit running from terminal 5 to 10?" As we can see, those two terminals are connected each to a half of the semi-circle under the A button.
Picture 4 is a close up of the semi-circles. As you can see in my drawing, the semi-circles actually dig a bit into the PCB and have a slight gap separating them. When you press the A button, it applies pressure to the button, which makes the two copper pieces touch. Copper conducts electricity well, so when they touch, the circuit is complete. The microprocessor is programmed to know that when there is a circuit between terminal 5 and 10, then it sends the data to the console telling it that the A button has been pressed, and that the game should grab the powerup and win the game.
And thus, we understand how game input works. So, with this knowledge in hand, it's a relatively easy process to map the microswitch input to a gamepad button. If we connect one half of the semi-circle to the bottom prong on the microswitch, and then the other half of the semi-circle to the bottom-most prong on the right of the microswitch, then, when we press the red button, we'll complete the circuit and the microprocessor will think the A button has been pressed.
And wouldn't you know it, those buttons you ordered from happ controls have a spot for you to attach a microswitch to, like so:
Now, before I go about explaining exactly how to do this, I must explain why ghosting occurs with a keyboard...
Keyboards work under the exact same principle as gamepads work. That is, they have a small microprocessor which reads data, and each key completes a circuit. However, there are many more keys on a keyboard than there are on a gamepad, so there are more combinations possible. Keys are mapped to microprocessor terminals by way of a keyboard matrix, like so:
Keyboard matrices are sheets of thin, conductive plastic with circitry wired across them. So, the input for the A key might be terminal 1 and 2 on the microprocessor, while S might be 2 and 3. But since there's so many different combinations, eventually you'll see some overlap, like in the case of the Q key, like we saw earlier. To get around this, the microprocessor might require more than just two terminals being pressed. Going off my previous example of A being 1 and 2, and S being 2 and 3, lets say Q is 1 and 3 being completed, AND the 2 terminal not reading any input. So if A and S are pressed, then there is a circuit at 1-2, 2-3, and 1-3. Since the Q key requires 1-3 without 2, Q can never be detected if A and S are pressed.
Similarly, sometimes pressing two keys can result, accidentally, in another key being pressed. Lets say, for example, that the D key requires a circuit being completed from 1-3, with no other conditions. In this case, pressing the A and S key would cause the keyboard to detect the A key, S key, and D key being pressed, since A make a circuit from 1-2, S makes a circuit from 2-3, and there'd be an inadvertant circuit at 1-3, hence D.
This is called ghosting, and unfortunately there is very little you can do about it. The immediate advantage of using a keyboard as your host for the joystick is more buttons available, but the drawback is that sometimes stuff like this cannot be avoided without hours of careful planning. There are alternatives - some high dollar keyboards are made in a way that makes it impossible to ghost, but that defeats the point of this quick and dirty hack. My suggestion is to simply use a joystick. HOwever, the choice is yours.
ANYWHO, with all that theory covered, we can begin the actual building process (finally)...
I wish I could use my classic Wii controller on my PC. That things i near perfect (the dpad is a little shallow/stiff, but a dozen times better than the 360 or the playstation pads).
You'll need a PS2->USB adapter, but it's totally worth it.
Indeed, it has my nomination for best PS2 controller ever. But, I could never get it to work with my converter. When I plug in the receiver the converter detects it, but the receiver acts as thought it's not plugged into anything (no blinking green light), and the controller never establishes a signal (red light blinks for a minute, and then shuts off). You got your cordless action to work?
Now that we have the theory down, the assembly of the joystick is actually easily. First, take your 22-28 gauge wire and solder it to one end of your controllers connector piece, and solder another strip of wire to the other half, like so:
Now, take a standard push-on crimp (the exact size escapes me... I believe it's around 6.3 mm, check happ for details) and attach it to the end of the wire, like so:
For those of you who have never used a crimp before and are unclear as to what they are, they are essentially connector pieces for wire. In this case, we're looking for a piece that looks like this:
The part on top is where the wire feeds into, and the bottom part is the connection piece. Once you have the wire soldered on, and the crimps attached, all you need to do is plug one end of the wire to the common prong of the microswitch, and the other end to closed prong of the microswitch.
Viola! The button should be attached. Give the microswitch a press and see if it responds. If it doesn't respond, check to make sure the crimp is attached correctly, and that it's soldered correctly.
Simply repeat this process for all the buttons and directional pieces, then attach to your box that you used to house the parts, and bam - instant arcade joystick.
Your end result should look like this:
It's seriously this easy. No joke, anyone should be able to do this. It's cheap, it's customizable, and it's easy.
This guide should be a starting point, however. If you want more indepth help, there's an entire community of people who do this all the time. I can't link to them because they often deal with taboo and no-no subjects, but googling stuff about how to build your own arcade controls should yield all the results you'll need.
Hopefully this has been of help, and if anyone has any questions I'm more than happy to help out.
In addition to what TSR is saying, everyone interested should check out the Tech Talk forum on Shoryuken. Fantastic guides on there, and all the info you'll ever need.
As a side note, arcade stick buttons come in many varieties, Happ concave buttons are great for an American Arcade feel, but as far as competitive fighting sticks go, I'd recommend Happ competition pushbuttons, or even better, Sanwa or Seimitsu buttons. I ended up using all Sanwa Parts in my modded T5 stick. I love it so.
You'll need a PS2->USB adapter, but it's totally worth it.
Indeed, it has my nomination for best PS2 controller ever. But, I could never get it to work with my converter. When I plug in the receiver the converter detects it, but the receiver acts as thought it's not plugged into anything (no blinking green light), and the controller never establishes a signal (red light blinks for a minute, and then shuts off). You got your cordless action to work?
Just a word of caution. I'm not sure if it's the same at all radioshacks, but I bought the only adapter they sold here and it didn't work great. It also had no dance-pad support, which isn't big deal but I also like to play stepmania so it was kind of a bummer. I ended up giving that one to a friend and buying one of the 2 controller adapters off ebay, including shipping for the same price. It works really well and has dance pad support, though the construction is a little flimsy.
My friend uses a 360 controller and swears by it, but I use a regular first party ps2 controller and it works wonderfully for everything I've tried.
I use a Trio Linker Plus that I got from PlayAsia. It works with PS2 controllers, Gamecube controllers, and even for some weird reason Dreamcast controllers.
No support for analog buttons (except for Dreamcast triggers), unfortunatley.
Daedalus on
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mntorankusuI'm not sure how to use this thing....Registered Userregular
I wish I could use my classic Wii controller on my PC. That things i near perfect (the dpad is a little shallow/stiff, but a dozen times better than the 360 or the playstation pads).
With a $9 bluetooth adapter and a program called GlovePIE, you can.
You can use the nunchuk and Wii remote alone as well, along with all of the motion sensors and the pointer. And up to 7 Wiimotes can be connected at once.
You'll need a PS2->USB adapter, but it's totally worth it.
Indeed, it has my nomination for best PS2 controller ever. But, I could never get it to work with my converter. When I plug in the receiver the converter detects it, but the receiver acts as thought it's not plugged into anything (no blinking green light), and the controller never establishes a signal (red light blinks for a minute, and then shuts off). You got your cordless action to work?
Just a word of caution. I'm not sure if it's the same at all radioshacks, but I bought the only adapter they sold here and it didn't work great. It also had no dance-pad support, which isn't big deal but I also like to play stepmania so it was kind of a bummer. I ended up giving that one to a friend and buying one of the 2 controller adapters off ebay, including shipping for the same price. It works really well and has dance pad support, though the construction is a little flimsy.
My friend uses a 360 controller and swears by it, but I use a regular first party ps2 controller and it works wonderfully for everything I've tried.
I'm using a Radioshack 26-304 with my Logitech. I just plugged it in and viola, everything was peachy. Actually installing the adapter driver didn't change anything, so I'd just as soon not bother.
This is on three different motherboards, using Windows XP and Vista.
I wonder if that custom soldering joystick job can be done with my nearly-dead Logitech Cordless Action to make a wireless arcade stick? That'd be pretty damn awesome.
The LCA that I have is just suffering the problem where the little rubber thingy under the buttons is beginning to tear. There's nothing wrong with the circuit board itself.
I wonder if that custom soldering joystick job can be done with my nearly-dead Logitech Cordless Action to make a wireless arcade stick? That'd be pretty damn awesome.
The LCA that I have is just suffering the problem where the little rubber thingy under the buttons is beginning to tear. There's nothing wrong with the circuit board itself.
Worth a shot. The reason most gamepads stop working is because a buildup forms on the connector pieces.
I wonder if that custom soldering joystick job can be done with my nearly-dead Logitech Cordless Action to make a wireless arcade stick? That'd be pretty damn awesome.
The LCA that I have is just suffering the problem where the little rubber thingy under the buttons is beginning to tear. There's nothing wrong with the circuit board itself.
Worth a shot. The reason most gamepads stop working is because a buildup forms on the connector pieces.
The LCA dies early because the rubber backing holding up the buttons is flimsy shit. It's a shame; they have a great shell shape going.
I wish I could use my classic Wii controller on my PC. That things i near perfect (the dpad is a little shallow/stiff, but a dozen times better than the 360 or the playstation pads).
With a $9 bluetooth adapter and a program called GlovePIE, you can.
You can use the nunchuk and Wii remote alone as well, along with all of the motion sensors and the pointer. And up to 7 Wiimotes can be connected at once.
HWaaaaa???
Have you tried this method....is it as responsive as a wired connection?
I wish I could use my classic Wii controller on my PC. That things i near perfect (the dpad is a little shallow/stiff, but a dozen times better than the 360 or the playstation pads).
With a $9 bluetooth adapter and a program called GlovePIE, you can.
You can use the nunchuk and Wii remote alone as well, along with all of the motion sensors and the pointer. And up to 7 Wiimotes can be connected at once.
HWaaaaa???
Have you tried this method....is it as responsive as a wired connection?
It is as responsive as using it on the Wii, so, yes. I haven't had any trouble with lag or anything.
If you have any sort of programming skill at all (or if you're willing to play around with it for a while until you figure it out), it's easy to make your own scripts for GlovePIE, even ones that use waggle. If you don't, a google search will lead you to tons of pre-made scripts for various games and purposes.
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Automatically compatible with all the "Games for Windows" games, decent controller too.
http://www.electracode.com/4/joy2key/JoyToKey%20English%20Version.htm
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Nothing's forgotten, nothing is ever forgotten
I own a dongle - it's fine for me. The controllers work well, and you can still use Xpadder for binding stuff.
Seriously, there has never been a console controller more comfortable, more durable, and more responsive. Ever.
Unfortunately, times have marched on, and analog is mandatory, so I switched to these:
Those are what I use for many modern video games, and they are very comfortable and reliable. I think they're like $20, which is very cheap considering how well-made these things are.
However, when playing fighting games and older games, there's only one option:
You cannot fathom playing video games with this thing unless you grew up in the 80s or you have one yourself. Pure sex doesn't accurately describe this controller, and it is the ultimate controller that is the measure by which all other controllers are judged.* You owe it to yourself to buy this controller, and I guarantee regret will never cross your mind.
This thing can take a pounding, the buttons have that arcade "bounce", the joystick has an amazing responsiveness, and you can literally beat someone to death with it without worrying about breaking the controller. The weight is distributed nicely, and feels good sitting on your lap, straddled between 2 chairs, and on your coffee table. The trackball even works as a mouse when not playing games.
Yeah, it's $200, but on your deathbed, surrounded by loved ones, with your last gasp of breath you'll realize that that $200 was the best investment you've ever made in your life.
*no other controller comes close.
Because I'm cheap.
edit: The post above mine makes me believe I have no place in this thread.
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The one thing to keep in mind about the 360 controller is that the D-pad sucks. If you mostly want to use the analog sticks, then you should get this pad as it is by far the most comfortable IMO, and can be wireless depending on what you buy. I got mine when the 360 launched and they didn't have wireless receivers yet.
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The Dual Shock converters are great, but the Sony PS pads have always had that crappy 4-piece D-pad that can be killer on the thumbs. That being the case, I would get a third party controller with a better D-pad.
My Favorite:
Anther great one:
And of course you get to use an arcade stick, which is a BIG plus for me:
The only drag about the DS converter is that I haven't found a wireless controller that works with it, so unless someone else can attest to a wireless controller working, I don't think you'll be able to go wireless with this option. Personally, I'm never more than 2 feet away from my PC anyway, so it's not a concern for me.
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Finally, there's the Logitech RumblePad 2, available in Wired (mine) and Wireless.
Great controller IMO. Similar to a DS, yet with a better D-pad, no converter needed and buttons that are labeled for PC use, which makes life much easier. The only fault I have with this controller is the square socket around the analog sticks. This could potentially make life difficult if you want to use the analog sticks, but since I've only used this for 2D games I honestly haven't used the sticks yet.
Edit:
Yes, Joy2key was essential with some games. I also used it to configure my PS2 remote to control my media player in college, my best friend did the same for his TV tuner since he didn't have a TV. Good Times.
I have this one. I don't really like the dpad.
If you're even semi-competent with a soldering iron, you can build yourself a much better controller for less than 1/4 the price of an X-arcade controller. X-arcade is a massive rip-off... they're simply selling Happ parts at a 200% markup.
If anyone's interested, I can provide more details on how to build one.
please, if it's not much hassle.
A parts list:
-One joypad or keyboard of your choice to be hacked up
-Arcade parts
-A nice box to set all this shit up in
-A roll of 22 to 28 AWG (.326 to .081 mm2) gauge wire
-A soldering Iron
-Time
STEP ONE: Buy the parts
First things first - you need to know where to get the parts to build one - Happ Controls.
Happ is THE arcade parts distributer. I mean that litterally - every button, joystick, coinslot, and anything else you interact with on every arcade machine you've ever played comes from these guys. Here's the best part - X-Arcade uses standard microswitch buttons and a bat-style joypad from happ controls. A bat-style joypad should run you $25, and buttons are about $2 each.
Best thing about making your own controller is that YOU get to customize it. Like the joypad from pac-man? Then you'll be looking for a 4-way ball-style joystick with a red handle. Want what MK II used? You'll want an 8-way ultimate bat-style joypad with black handles. Want a street fighter 2 set up? You'll need 2 red buttons, 2 white buttons, and 2 blue buttons. You can mix and match.
So place an order and sit back, relax, and wait for them to arrive (Or if you're in Houston, Tx, drive down to the Heights and look for a place called Houston Arcade Game Repair center... they sell authentic Happ arcade parts at cost).
Now then, with your Happ parts ordered, you're gonna need to decide what you want your arcade stick to work with. The method I use to make arcade controllers is hack - very simple to do. It involves taking a standard joypad, opening it up, soldering some standard gauge wire. You're essentially going to be taking a button from the joypad and remapping it to the arcade button you just ordered.
I've made controllers for PCs before, but the basic principle will work on any controller. Just remember - you're mapping digital to digital. You can't, say, map an analog trigger to a button press without more work than it's worth, so pick your controller accordingly.
I suggest grabbing a cheap-as-hell controller for the PC, like The interact ProPad 6 which can be picked up for as low as $5.
Alternatively, you can use a PC keyboard, but you'll run into some problems later on - keyboards can only detect so many inputs at once. To see this in action, try holding down your A and S keys, and then hit your Q key. You'll notice the Q key doesn't get detected. Alternatively, try typing a bunch of keys really quickly, noting which keys you press. Occasionally, an additional key will get detected that wasn't pressed. This is called Ghosting, and the reason it happens is because of the way keyboards work. I'll explain later in more detail, just be aware of these limitations right now.
Aside from that, you'll need some 22-28 gauge wire (I used 22 gauge) and a soldering iron. Both of which can be easily picked up from Radio Shack. Don't forget to pick up solder and rosin while you're there, if you've never soldered before.
Also, pick up a nice box to house this stuff in. I simply built myself a wooden box, but you can house it in anything. Particuarly, if you're using a keyboard for your joypad (like I did) try and find an old blockbuster style clam-shell VHS box because they house the components nicely.
With all the parts gathered, you should be ready to begin assembly....
Arcade gaming is still just as digital as the day it began.while modern consoles have gone the analog route, arcade controls still work the same way as they always did - with a pushbutton microswitch mechanism.
This is a pushbutton microswitch. It's very simple. To the right, you see two metal prongs, a prong on the bottom, and a red button at top. All it does is switch between circuits. The prong on the bottom is the common prong - this is the part of the circuit shared by all connections. The two prongs on the right are selection prongs, and the button at top selects between them. When the button is up, the top-most prong on the right is selected, and when it's down, the bottom=most prong on the right is selected.
Before I continue, I need to explain basic circuitry for those who never took any sort of physics course. Don't worry, this stuff is easy to digest. A circuit is simply a completed circle of conductive metal that allows electricity to travel. When a circuit is completed, electricity begins to travel around it. When it's open, electricity choses another method to travel.
forgive the crude drawing, but this is an open circuit. Note the break along the top of the circuit? Because there is a gap, electricity will not travel around the circuit.
This is a closed circuit. Note how there is no gaps? Because the circuit is complete, electricity can flow in a complete circle.
A microswitch, on the inside, simply chooses between two circuits. Another crude drawing:
This is what a microswitch looks like on the inside. You see the circular switching point? That represents the button. WHen it's up, the top-most circuit is complete. When it's pressed down, the circuit switches like this:
See how now the buttom circuit is complete? Depending on the button, you can switch between two circuits. In case this has all been a bit confusing, just remember this - when the button is up, then button is up, the top prong is selected. When it's down, the buttom prong is selected.
Now this is important because it's what we'll be using to press the actual button. It understand why this works, we need to examine how video game buttons work on the inside...
My roommate bought an X-Arcade controller and that thing is fucking popular. There was always people wanting to throw down some Marvel vs. Capcom or something on it. It was a blast slogging through dozens of awesome arcade games.
I really should get a gamepad for my PC. The wireless 360 controller + dongle = freedom, right?
The top picture is a standard gamepad as we see it, with a large A button, probably used to get the power up and win the game. Open it up, and you'll come to the second picture. As you can see, the cord you use to connect the controller to your console is actually connected to a small micro processor, and the button is actually 2 gold-plated semi-circles with circuits running from each half of the semi-circle to the micro processor.
There's a picture of an actual gamepad if you're curious. The copper things are the semi-circle I was talking about, and not pictured (it's on the back) is the microprocessor.
So, picture 3 depicts how input is detected. As you can see, a microprocessor has many small pieces of metal sticking out, called terminals, which it uses to detect input with. Terminals are numbered and the number of terminals depends on the microprocessor. the microprocessor I drew has 15 terminals. The microprocessor is constantly thinking, checking to see what's going on. So, in this case, the microprocessor asks "Is there a complete circuit running from terminal 5 to 10?" As we can see, those two terminals are connected each to a half of the semi-circle under the A button.
Picture 4 is a close up of the semi-circles. As you can see in my drawing, the semi-circles actually dig a bit into the PCB and have a slight gap separating them. When you press the A button, it applies pressure to the button, which makes the two copper pieces touch. Copper conducts electricity well, so when they touch, the circuit is complete. The microprocessor is programmed to know that when there is a circuit between terminal 5 and 10, then it sends the data to the console telling it that the A button has been pressed, and that the game should grab the powerup and win the game.
And thus, we understand how game input works. So, with this knowledge in hand, it's a relatively easy process to map the microswitch input to a gamepad button. If we connect one half of the semi-circle to the bottom prong on the microswitch, and then the other half of the semi-circle to the bottom-most prong on the right of the microswitch, then, when we press the red button, we'll complete the circuit and the microprocessor will think the A button has been pressed.
And wouldn't you know it, those buttons you ordered from happ controls have a spot for you to attach a microswitch to, like so:
Now, before I go about explaining exactly how to do this, I must explain why ghosting occurs with a keyboard...
Keyboard matrices are sheets of thin, conductive plastic with circitry wired across them. So, the input for the A key might be terminal 1 and 2 on the microprocessor, while S might be 2 and 3. But since there's so many different combinations, eventually you'll see some overlap, like in the case of the Q key, like we saw earlier. To get around this, the microprocessor might require more than just two terminals being pressed. Going off my previous example of A being 1 and 2, and S being 2 and 3, lets say Q is 1 and 3 being completed, AND the 2 terminal not reading any input. So if A and S are pressed, then there is a circuit at 1-2, 2-3, and 1-3. Since the Q key requires 1-3 without 2, Q can never be detected if A and S are pressed.
Similarly, sometimes pressing two keys can result, accidentally, in another key being pressed. Lets say, for example, that the D key requires a circuit being completed from 1-3, with no other conditions. In this case, pressing the A and S key would cause the keyboard to detect the A key, S key, and D key being pressed, since A make a circuit from 1-2, S makes a circuit from 2-3, and there'd be an inadvertant circuit at 1-3, hence D.
This is called ghosting, and unfortunately there is very little you can do about it. The immediate advantage of using a keyboard as your host for the joystick is more buttons available, but the drawback is that sometimes stuff like this cannot be avoided without hours of careful planning. There are alternatives - some high dollar keyboards are made in a way that makes it impossible to ghost, but that defeats the point of this quick and dirty hack. My suggestion is to simply use a joystick. HOwever, the choice is yours.
ANYWHO, with all that theory covered, we can begin the actual building process (finally)...
I wish I could use my classic Wii controller on my PC. That things i near perfect (the dpad is a little shallow/stiff, but a dozen times better than the 360 or the playstation pads).
You'll need a PS2->USB adapter, but it's totally worth it.
Radio Shack, They sell their own brand.
Indeed, it has my nomination for best PS2 controller ever. But, I could never get it to work with my converter. When I plug in the receiver the converter detects it, but the receiver acts as thought it's not plugged into anything (no blinking green light), and the controller never establishes a signal (red light blinks for a minute, and then shuts off). You got your cordless action to work?
Now that we have the theory down, the assembly of the joystick is actually easily. First, take your 22-28 gauge wire and solder it to one end of your controllers connector piece, and solder another strip of wire to the other half, like so:
Now, take a standard push-on crimp (the exact size escapes me... I believe it's around 6.3 mm, check happ for details) and attach it to the end of the wire, like so:
For those of you who have never used a crimp before and are unclear as to what they are, they are essentially connector pieces for wire. In this case, we're looking for a piece that looks like this:
The part on top is where the wire feeds into, and the bottom part is the connection piece. Once you have the wire soldered on, and the crimps attached, all you need to do is plug one end of the wire to the common prong of the microswitch, and the other end to closed prong of the microswitch.
Viola! The button should be attached. Give the microswitch a press and see if it responds. If it doesn't respond, check to make sure the crimp is attached correctly, and that it's soldered correctly.
Simply repeat this process for all the buttons and directional pieces, then attach to your box that you used to house the parts, and bam - instant arcade joystick.
Your end result should look like this:
It's seriously this easy. No joke, anyone should be able to do this. It's cheap, it's customizable, and it's easy.
This guide should be a starting point, however. If you want more indepth help, there's an entire community of people who do this all the time. I can't link to them because they often deal with taboo and no-no subjects, but googling stuff about how to build your own arcade controls should yield all the results you'll need.
Hopefully this has been of help, and if anyone has any questions I'm more than happy to help out.
http://forums.shoryuken.com/forumdisplay.php?f=177
As a side note, arcade stick buttons come in many varieties, Happ concave buttons are great for an American Arcade feel, but as far as competitive fighting sticks go, I'd recommend Happ competition pushbuttons, or even better, Sanwa or Seimitsu buttons. I ended up using all Sanwa Parts in my modded T5 stick. I love it so.
Just a word of caution. I'm not sure if it's the same at all radioshacks, but I bought the only adapter they sold here and it didn't work great. It also had no dance-pad support, which isn't big deal but I also like to play stepmania so it was kind of a bummer. I ended up giving that one to a friend and buying one of the 2 controller adapters off ebay, including shipping for the same price. It works really well and has dance pad support, though the construction is a little flimsy.
My friend uses a 360 controller and swears by it, but I use a regular first party ps2 controller and it works wonderfully for everything I've tried.
No support for analog buttons (except for Dreamcast triggers), unfortunatley.
http://www.acortech.com/Generic_ES-388_Class_1_USB_V1.2/ES-388/partinfo-id-3219645.html
You can use the nunchuk and Wii remote alone as well, along with all of the motion sensors and the pointer. And up to 7 Wiimotes can be connected at once.
This is on three different motherboards, using Windows XP and Vista.
The LCA that I have is just suffering the problem where the little rubber thingy under the buttons is beginning to tear. There's nothing wrong with the circuit board itself.
Worth a shot. The reason most gamepads stop working is because a buildup forms on the connector pieces.
The LCA dies early because the rubber backing holding up the buttons is flimsy shit. It's a shame; they have a great shell shape going.
HWaaaaa???
Have you tried this method....is it as responsive as a wired connection?
If you have any sort of programming skill at all (or if you're willing to play around with it for a while until you figure it out), it's easy to make your own scripts for GlovePIE, even ones that use waggle. If you don't, a google search will lead you to tons of pre-made scripts for various games and purposes.