The Stick Thread

[Johnny2d]

I modded these two PDP sticks with Sanwa Buttons on Saturday:

And today...

This one is getting the 'Frankensteins Monster', it will be a hitbox and traditional stick. I tested out drilling and wiring for the first button tonight. Right now it works and is mapped to up. Both the stick, and the buttons for directions work at any given time so you can use one or the other. Tomorrow I will be drilling for the rest of the buttons and wiring them too

 

[doomfarmer]

Damn... interested to see how this turns out!

opcorn:

 

[Talyn]

Definetly gonna want to see how that comes out. Can you make a vid once you're done, showing yourself use the stick then buttons in one fight?

 

[Johnny2d]

Alright, here's the final product (Well almost, I'll be putting a Sanwa stick in it once that comes in the mail):

You can either use the stick or buttons at any time without switching anything. It looks a little cramped but I honestly put a lot of thought into it, and went with the normal sized buttons rather than the small ones because I felt it would be more comfortable for me. I know this won't be something for everyone but I was sick of waiting on the Hitbox waiting list, and just paid like $15 bucks for buttons from lizardlick. So there you have it, turn your PDP stick into a beast that can do both for $15 bucks rather than waiting, then spending $150 on something you don't know if you'll even want to keep using. Whats the worst that would happen if I decide to not use the hitbox buttons? THen my pdp stick just has some extra buttons in it. haha.

I barely had enough time to drill holes, hook up the electronics, and test it this morning before I had to come into work, so I don't have any in action footage or pics yet, hopefully tomorrow or Friday

 

[rteruyas]

Looks nice and unique, but arent you a little afraid of touching the stick by mistake while using the hitbox layout?

 

[Darkhood88]

Hey man, Let me know how you like the Sanwa Buttons and Battop, I'm looking to replace my parts as well and just would like to hear your thoughts on it.

 

[Johnny2d]

Looks nice and unique, but arent you a little afraid of touching the stick by mistake while using the hitbox layout?

If this were the madcatz te, there would be no way to move around without bumping the stick. The pdp has enough free space that it hasn't been a problem. This weekend I'll post results of some actual time playing with it, I've spent more time modding this week than playing.

 

[Johnny2d]

Hey man, Let me know how you like the Sanwa Buttons and Battop, I'm looking to replace my parts as well and just would like to hear your thoughts on it.

The Sanwa buttons are a must. I've had them in my stick for a couple months now, and just got around to putting them into my gf's stick last weekend, after trying mine, she couldn't go back to the original buttons. Also, replacing the buttons is incredibly easy, the holes are just a little too small so you'll have to sand them a bit, but overall not a big deal.

The stick on the other hand, is a royal pain in the ass to remove from the original pdp. If you plan to take it out for any reason, know that it was not meant to come out. My current mod project is putting a Sanwa ball top in my gf's pdp right now. I got the original stick out last night but it came down to a hack saw and raw human strength. The way the screws were put in underneath the art and plexi glass make it so that it is very difficult to take the original out, but the Sanwa sticks are so much better in my opinion.

 

[rafadiii]

Looks like the stick would get in the way. Can you turn the stick off?

 

[Johnny2d]

Yeah you can turn it off if you want to. I haven't needed to though. Your hand doesn't really move that much with hitbox style buttons for movement, so I haven't bumped it yet. Its easy to turn it off if you do though.

 

[Talyn]

If this were the madcatz te, there would be no way to move around without bumping the stick. The pdp has enough free space that it hasn't been a problem. This weekend I'll post results of some actual time playing with it, I've spent more time modding this week than playing.

That is without a doubt a BEAST!!! Defenitly Badass MOD. Looking forward to seeing it in action, bro. Well Done

 

[aj1701]

So it finally arrived! This is the first stick I've owned. I know, its not a custom job, but I wanted to make sure I liked it before I went that far up the price scale. Anyway, this is my stick. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. I'll make this my best friend.

 

[shura30]

1 - block - 2
3 - throw - 4

is button binding usually allowed in tournament?
i am used to throw with 1+3 and xray with 3+4+block
since i've noticed some inconsistency with 1+3 resulting in strange stuff i think it's time to think a separate button

 

[TankX]

I have been contemplating this kind of mod to my stick as well, or at the very least removing the fight stick for Hitbox styled buttons. How did you do the conversion from a stick to buttons? I have am a programmer by trade, so computers and programming are my expertise. The inner workings of a video game console controller, I have to admit I am a novice.

Looks awesome. Was not willing to wait months for a $150plus Hitbox, not when I spend most of my extra $ on computer related programs and equipment. If you in that field you certainly know how much new tech costs.

Really excited to see someone make a "Hitbox" for a reasonable price.

 

[Abudabi]

this looks like the way to go. thanks dude

 

[doomfarmer]

Start by junking the stock Happ Competition and replacing it with an I.L. Eurojoystick:
http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/160-il-eurostick-joystick-blue.html

Then junk the crummy Happ buttons. If you like the concave feel of the stock buttons you can replace them with these:
http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/269-black-il-concave-pushbutton-psl-l.html

If you prefer the more japanese like convex style, here you go:
http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/175-black-il-competition-pushbutton-psl-l.html

Do this and the PDP stick becomes much much better

I'm looking to mod my PDP stick as well, and i'm still learning about buttons / sticks. My question to YOU, Rob (or any other experts), is about the buttons. I see on the paradise arcade website, when i'm looking at buttons there is an option to chose what gram microswitch I want. What does that mean exactly?? 20? 50? 125? Or 75 gram cherry? What's the best and why? What are the differences? Do they differ as far as instillation goes?

Trying to find out as much as I can before making the order. Thanks!

 

[getcaged]

i'm gonna buy my very FIRST te fightstick, i was going to buy one off madcatz store for 150 but i found an offer on craigslist for this particular mvc2 te fightstick for 80 dollars used, do you guys think this is a good deal?

 

[Dark_Rob]

I'm looking to mod my PDP stick as well, and i'm still learning about buttons / sticks. My question to YOU, Rob (or any other experts), is about the buttons. I see on the paradise arcade website, when i'm looking at buttons there is an option to chose what gram microswitch I want. What does that mean exactly?? 20? 50? 125? Or 75 gram cherry? What's the best and why? What are the differences? Do they differ as far as instillation goes?

Trying to find out as much as I can before making the order. Thanks!

You want the 75 gram Cherry's on all your buttons. Nothing else even comes close to how good Cherry's are. And no they dont differ installation wise. They fit the exact same way your stock Happ switches fit. Only differences is Cherry's actually work lol.

 

[WhiSKeY SMiLeS]

Ive been playin mk on pad for awhile now but would like to pick up a stick.. i was thinking about this one http://store.gameshark.com/viewItem.asp?idProduct=4762&idCategory=286 because i would like to pick up SSF4 AE as well as Street Fighter X Tekken and Skull Girls when they come out... So i was just wondering how mk9 would play on it?

 

[getcaged]

can someone knowledgable please answer my question?

 

[Sasuga]

i'm gonna buy my very FIRST te fightstick, i was going to buy one off madcatz store for 150 but i found an offer on craigslist for this particular mvc2 te fightstick for 80 dollars used, do you guys think this is a good deal?

Not bad I'd say. Maybe a little expensive for a used stick but if it's in good shape, it's not a bad deal.

 

[getcaged]

Not bad I'd say. Maybe a little expensive for a used stick but if it's in good shape, it's not a bad deal.

do you think i should reject the offer then?

 

[Sasuga]

do you think i should reject the offer then?

Hmmm... It -is- a TE stick... It saves you some money over a new one.. Difficult...

I can't really say. Depends on the condition and how much money you are willing to spend. If you don't have much more money to spend you might as well go for it. And if the artwork doesn't bother you But they are easy to mod.

 

[Johnny2d]

I have been contemplating this kind of mod to my stick as well, or at the very least removing the fight stick for Hitbox styled buttons. How did you do the conversion from a stick to buttons?

The stick works the same way as the buttons so its actually incredibly easy, a directional input is actually is no different than a button press. The exact same equipment is used in each case. If you look closely at your buttons in your pdp stick you'll see that the buttons you press with your finger actually trigger a second button that is inside that is connected to the wires. If you look closely at you stick you'll see that the stick, when you push a direction, actually triggers a button that is exactly like the 1,2,3,4, and block buttons etc. Before drilling any holes or making drastic changes I just switched the wires from a direction from the stick to a button and sure enough it worked fine, the next step was to add one button instead of a direction input on the stick, that worked, so then I drew up a plan and started drilling.

If you want picks as an example I can upload those when I get home, just let me know.

 

[Johnny2d]

I have am a programmer by trade, so computers and programming are my expertise.

Haha, yeah. I'm an animation teacher, so, I have no experience with electronics. The thing I do know from animation, that is probably no different than programming, is to test often before making giant leaps, and the way the pdp stick is set up, it allowed me to test stuff before committing major changes.