Gp2x's Joystick

[rSl]

i too have the issue with going right-up when i push right and going down sometimes
needs 2-3 trys.
i also have done the pencil-cap-action-stick mod.
with this it feels a lot better to me.

i really would like to use the frodo c64 onscreen-keyboard without jumping over the
key i want to press!

 

[Mr. Anderson]

I love it for all the arcade games I've played so far on gp2xengine

It's really a unique feel to have a joystick for those games instead of a D-Pad! However, they have to tweak the microswitch recognition for the next firmware, there is just no excuse for going up when actually pointing to the right!(voted for few minor problems)

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I never had that Up problem. Hm...

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You never played some vertical or horizontal shooters then I guess.

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I'm pretty sure this problem is one of the (very) few which will not be able to be fixed by software. It is likely to be a physical design flaw with not enough spacing between switches.

I hope I'm wrong, but if I'm not then the joystick is absolutely spasticated!

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I'm sure there is a damn easy fix! Just disable the stupid diagonally placed microswitches and treat the stick like a standard Dpad with 4 microswitches!

 

[Drag]

I got my Gp2x today, and I stumbled across the test mode. I went to settings, and the icon that looks like a plug on the upper left, and it brought me to a test mode. pressing L and R brought me to page 2, which was an input test. Having a platform game in mind, I was testing swiftly going left and right, and I often found myself hitting diagonal up+left instead of left. right was a little easier to get to.

Though I really wish the thumbstick could be improved. Due to the way the thumbstick is, physically, it may not be possible to just have a simple solution like disable the diagonal switches. It'd be hard to fix it in software too, I mean, if you have a game where up and down makes you climb up and down ladders, left and right makes you walk, you'd very frequently find yourself accidently climbing on ladders if you left diagonals alone.

It'd also be kinda hard for GPH to fix the hardware too, because hundreds of GP2x units have gone out already, and if everyone wanted the new hardware, we'd all have to send our GP2x's back. That's gotta be a pain for the people who have to handle that mess. :S

 

[swf]

I've been playing around in test mode and I think that the joystick is good in it's own way. After playing with it for a few days I've gotten used to it. Most of the software we have right now are simple ports that haven't taken the new stick into account. We just need to wait a bit for the devs to get used to the new hardware.

I'm hoping to write a libary and demo program to show all the different things you can try with the stick. We should be able to get 2, 4, 8 and 16-way working, as well as analogue joystick emulation and maybe mouse emulation. Then we can have an informed discussion on this topic.

 

[alucks]

It tends to hit diagonals more than discreet directions, but the only game I've seen it cause problems on is Dizzy on the C64 (he keeps jumping accidentally)

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I haven't tried frodo yet but for dizzy in fuse, I assign pushing the thumb stick up to an abitrary letter (t, say) and then assign one of the action buttons to the space bar and it plays fine.

I'm not really into the C64 but i seem to remember you had to use a joystick for games instead of keys. if so and if frodo doesn't feature joystick direction remapping, I guess that suggestion doesn't really help. sorry.

But have to say I do find hitting diagonals far too easy. I'm going to wait and see if devs can perform software fixes for this.

not that anyone can predict the future but do you imagine that any software developments would be game/emulator specific, a firmware fix or that there would be a utility that you could load before loading .gpu files which would dictate joystick behaviour?

 

[g4m3r]

I have a question. Many people have been screwing around with their joysticks to improve it. I'm not really good at that stuff, so would there be any chance that their will be "official" joystick mods?

 

[Saxton_boy]

I dont like the joystick at all for fighting games and RPGs. I tend to use the GP2x with just the metal stick digging in to my finger . I'm creating a mod at the moment consisting of a small rubber ball, its simple and effective so far.

 

[sausage dog]

I love the GP2x as it has given me the chance to play some old classics on the go, but the joystick it really bad. I mean, to go left you should have to just push it a little to go left, not push it all the way to one side to get a reaction out of it. It's all about precision, and you don't really get it on this system.

 

[Willei]

It's alright, I'd much rather have had a dpad though. It would undoubtably be much better with a smaller deadzone, I would personally like to see a square gate/restrictor on it as well. I can live with the throw of the thing, but the deadzone totally kills it for me.

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

I love the GP2x as it has given me the chance to play some old classics on the go, but the joystick it really bad. I mean, to go left you should have to just push it a little to go left, not push it all the way to one side to get a reaction out of it. It's all about precision, and you don't really get it on this system.

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perhaps work on a mod. They can greatly better the joystick's response. Im waiting on a retrocon controller make my own. so damn expensive though

ps: IM PAST 1000 POSTS!!!! W00T!!!

 

[Willei]

Yeah, I should point out that doing the Retrocon mod does improve things by far. The added grip makes it much more accurate and you don't find yourself slipping off it all the time. Shouldn't be too expensive either, I was able to pick up a Retrocon pad for £5 in literally the first place I looked for one, admittedly luck may have been on my side a bit there.

Deadzone is still a major issue though.

 

[n00bile]

IMO not a great deal wrong with the controller that isn't a software issue i.e. diagonals. my major gripe is the fact that after 100's of hours of DrMDx playing the bloody thing ejects its self from its stay without warning only to fly across the room straight into the 5mm gap i have between the skirting(?) board and the carpet. damn caps working loose and living in a house older than other (U.S.) peeps countries...
p.s. all angles are really easy to hit using the metal spike with no cap so maybe an old skool laptop pencil top eraser style thing would work, well off to try right now...

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

IMO not a great deal wrong with the controller that isn't a software issue i.e. diagonals. my major gripe is the fact that after 100's of hours of DrMDx playing the bloody thing ejects its self from its stay without warning only to fly across the room straight into the 5mm gap i have between the skirting(?) board and the carpet. damn caps working loose and living in a house older than other (U.S.) peeps countries...
p.s. all angles are really easy to hit using the metal spike with no cap so maybe an old skool laptop pencil top eraser style thing would work, well off to try right now...

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"ejected itself"???? wtf??

 

[Anhaedra]

The joystick is okay. It can be very annoying in registering directions incorrectly, but that seems to depend on the game/emulator, some do it, some don't.

 

[yaustar]

I have a problem where the tip is hitting the casing when I try to go left so it doesn't register. Might try the pen mod. Also looks like it isn't centered properly.

 

[g4m3r]

Does anyone know if GPH or someone will be making better joysticks, for sale? For the ones who don't want to cut up their GP2X?