How Much Would You Pay For A Joystick Mod?

[DijiTao]

Any sort of guide would make fighting games impossible correct? We need a stick that I can still do a fireball on.

 

[nubie]

I say 10US would be about all I would spend on one. It would be kind of cool to see the designs that some people come up with. I have a sugestion for any one that is thinking about massproducing these. What about the material that the mouse stick on the IBM Thinkpads have. That thing was always so grippy your finger didn't move an inch.

(ps I am talking about the rough feeling one not the round one with the dots however both would be good)

​

I believe I mentioned this a couple months ago, I think they are awesome, they have microscopic "claws" that grab your thumb so it won't slip. I read about them in Upgrading and Repairing PCs 12th Edition by Scott Mueller. It came with my PC repair technician course.

 

[Kayday]

Fighting games with a stick works, especially the neo geo pocket one. So if you made it similar to that, I'd pay up to $10.

It's good that GPH is making a replacement joystick but that shouldn't stop abigsmurf from making alternatives also. It's good to have choices as well as spare joysticks lying around.

 

[chris_r]

Nothing. I don't have any problems with my joystick

 

[bmilleker]

I have no idea whethere or not this has been answered yet, but how does the GP2X's joystick compare to the Dreamcasts? I love the dreamcasts controller so much. Probably the best I have used. Theres just something about it that makes me want to hold it all the time

 

[Mr. Anderson]

5-10 €uro

 

[mysql101]

$10 + shipping sounds good to me.

I don't have any problem with the controller - but rather that i have to move it so much in order to get any reaction out of it.

If your mod helps with that, then I'd be a buyer.

 

[Rayek]

I'd pay 10 to 15 USD (about 631.55 to 947.33 Icelandic Kronur ) for a nifty new stick. I haven't got my GP2X yet, but from what I've read in the forums, I think the perfect GP2X stick would look like this:

Normal GP2X size stick;
Indented, or even concave;
Rubberized middle for grip;
A slightly shorter shaft for better contact;
And more rounded edges (so noone cuts their widdle hands ).

I'd pay 1,000 ISK for that

 

[Mr. Anderson]

agreed, 12,59 Euro sounds reasonable for that stick

 

[wyefye]

i dont know if anyone realizes it, but its not just the joystick "stick" - but the actual mechanisim that is crap/shoddy. look at all the other joysticks on consoles. well, thier manufacturers are also multi-million too...but thats not the point. the big difference is that they work - right. i'm actually thinking about cracking open my gp2x and having a comparison between the mechanisim and a few console controllers... just to get a feel for how thier made, and maybe try out my l33t soldering skills.


The stick modding will only take you so far.


The other thought is Standards. i think we need some standards or something here... notice how some games work better then others with the stick? makes you think.


-- don't flame me --

 

[Rayek]

The difference between the GP2X's stick and those of consoles that 'work' is that the GP2X is digital, and the console sticks you refer to are analog. They work completely different from one another. It feels fucked up, but that's how it's supposed to work.

edit: It's basically an NES pad with eight directions instead of four, hidden underneath a stick.

 

[wyefye]

eh. i knew that.

 

[Empyre]

Most console D pads are like the ABXY buttons underneith, they just have a cross on the top for the directions. The gp2x stick is a little box of switches with a rod sticking out of it.

To convert a 2x to a "nes" style pad would require a small circuit board with the 4 contacts on it, a rubber membrane and a cross shaped plasic button, then you would have to mod the case to remove the bezel and carve out the cross shape, then you would have to find a way to mount it all and connect it all up so that it worked + was strong enough to withstand the bashing dpads take when people are gaming without being to big to fit inside the case. This is a major mod and deffo not for the beginner.

it is possible though, maybe if someone wanted to sacrifice a nes pad or something for the circuit/membrane/cross it would be feasable.

edit: It's basically an NES pad with eight directions instead of four, hidden underneath a stick.

Its certainly noting like a NES pad in construction, in function yes but its made entirely differently.

 

[codeninja]

i dont know if anyone realizes it, but its not just the joystick "stick" - but the actual mechanisim that is crap/shoddy. look at all the other joysticks on consoles. well, thier manufacturers are also multi-million too...but thats not the point. the big difference is that they work - right. i'm actually thinking about cracking open my gp2x and having a comparison between the mechanisim and a few console controllers... just to get a feel for how thier made, and maybe try out my l33t soldering skills.

​

GP2x stick makes me really appreciate plus-shaped Dpad on Nintendo consoles more than ever. For 2D games 4 directions are all you need (you can have diagonal by pressing left+top together, for example). Having more directional degrees and analog strength input just makes the control worse and confusing. Look at the latest consoles. They all have analog sticks, but they didn't drop the good 'ol Dpad because of 2D games. So far, the joystick is my biggest beef on GP2x, which won't be fixable by firmware unfortunately.

 

[matt goode]

Is the joystick really THAT bad that they would have to make a replacement?

 

[abigsmurf]

I've got one quote which is something I can almost afford. The only thing stopping me is a rather prohibitive cost of $1500 for a metal mold.

To meet meet the golden "sells for a fiver" price point I'd need to sell roughly 475 units...

This would be made using ABS , I believe that would generate enough friction on the thumb to be comfortable but I'm not sure

 

[nickspoon]

475 units at a fiver each... good luck, hope you get there.

Maybe you could do a craigix and take everyone's money before you get the sticks.

 

[Reaperman93010]

how bad could the stick possibly be? I've seen the design, it looks very similar to dozens of correctly functioning sticks, though the 8-switch setup is very different from the typical 4. It still looks fairly similar to ANY snk system (including the two handheld systems), most arcade controllers quite a few others.

is there anybody not having trouble with their controller?

 

[abigsmurf]

I'd need to wholesale 250 units before manufacturing to be able to afford to cover costs to do a run of 500 although that would probably shrink to 175 if people ordered direct....

hrm it's a lot of money to risk but it is just possible...

 

[abigsmurf]

how bad could the stick possibly be? I've seen the design, it looks very similar to dozens of correctly functioning sticks, though the 8-switch setup is very different from the typical 4. It still looks fairly similar to ANY snk system (including the two handheld systems), most arcade controllers quite a few others.

is there anybody not having trouble with their controller?

​

the main three main issues are the grip, the dead zone and the stick hitting the casing.

The grip isn't brilliant because of an untextured, convex, small head. The dead zone is largely made noticable because of the lack of grip but it's also due to the height. Stick hitting the casing is due to an overly thick shaft that goes too far down