USB arcade sticks

smkdan

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Not sure if this belongs here or unrelated..

I'd like a decent USB stick for MAME and whatever else. Can I get some input from anyone who uses a PC compatible stick? I'm having a look at local stores sometime this week but I doubt the selection will be any good. It has to have that 8 button layout.

Anything in particular wrong with the HRAP EX SE or HRAP 3?

It'll cost something like $60-$80 US to import but I probably don't have any choice. If it's a quality stick, I don't mind.
 

genjiglove

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PS3 HRAP sticks (HRAP3 and HRAP3 SA) are eight button and will work on any PC as far as I know. 360 HRAPs require you to download the 360 controller driver, which isn't that big a deal. But PS3 sticks are also cheaper. Here in the U.S. you can get the HRAP3 for 99 bucks, the HRAP EX is like 130, apparently due to Microsoft's licensing fees.

There's also the Mad Catz SF4 Fight Sticks, but in my experience these are kind of iffy when it comes to PC play. When I tried a PS3 Tournament Edition on my PC it wouldn't read it at all.

My advice would be to go for a PS3 HRAP. Keep in mind the regular HRAP3 has stock Hori buttons and they kind of suck but are pretty easy to swap out. They also have the HRAP3 SA which has all Sanwa buttons. Both have Sanwa sticks though and the HRAP3 SA is probably 30 dollars more at least.
 

smkdan

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Good insight, thanks. HRAP3 sounds good then since I see $30 USD more for 360 stick. I'd prefer the Seimitsu stick but only because I don't have much play time with Sanwa's and can't really judge it. I might really like the Sanwa the HRAP3 comes with, don't know. I see the button swaps are very easy to do so I'll just put in some Sanwas if I end up hating it. I'm getting a friend to see if everything's alright to order from Arcadeshock since I don't see any cheaper way to get it here.
 

Wolf

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383d_12.JPG


I'm a HUGE fan of the Sega Virtua stick. There are two versions out there, so be careful. One has a USB (for PC) and the other has a Saturn connector. Both will work, but you'll have to mod the Saturn stick.
 

JammaGuy

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Playstation 3 sticks and controllers work on either mac or pc.

-Bill
 

complexz

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HRAP3 is awesome, I stopped using my custom stick when I got a hrap 3 just for convenience sake.

the stock hori buttons last long and worked just fine for me, I only really changed them to sanwa's as I thought black buttons would look pimpy.
 

mesmer

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I love my HRAP2. I put 6 sanwa buttons and 2 plugs in. I use it on my PC with a PS2->USB adapter.

HRAP3 + sanwa buttons is a way to go, also HRAP3 SA. If you want semitsu, maybe get an HRAP EX SE.

Don't forget the HRAP V3 SA, which is a new case with vewlix style layout. Might be hard to find someone selling it for a sane price.

Here are two threads on putting an LS-32 in an HRAP2 with an S-plate:
http://shoryuken.com/f177/hrap2-modding-guide-review-102216/
http://shoryuken.com/f177/hrap-2-modding-tutorial-132472/
I don't know if the HRAP3 has the second rotated mounting flange for the LS-32 like the HRAP 2 does.
 

Supasaru

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If you also have a 360, I would recommend Hori EX2's.

They're light weight, cheap and easy to upgrade the buttons and such on. You can find them for $30 and they work with Windows out-of-the-box.
 

defor

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383d_12.JPG


I'm a HUGE fan of the Sega Virtua stick. There are two versions out there, so be careful. One has a USB (for PC) and the other has a Saturn connector. Both will work, but you'll have to mod the Saturn stick.

Ok, out of curiosity, I'm new to the whole arcade thing and all, but what the hell was sega thinking... I can somewhat understand that perhaps when the concept of a dedicated "arcade stick" was new, that you'd need access to shoulder buttons for use on non-fighters.. but why'd they reprint it with the same buttons- I was considering picking one of these up simply to make my life easier in making a simple custom stick, but I can't escape the feeling that those extra buttons are just going to get in the way.


On a separate topic... if one was aiming to recreate the button/stick experience of "authentic" cabs, do most arcades (japan) stick to some sort of original manufacturer's parts for the components, or do they mix and match what seems to be the leading current parts manufacturers (sanwa/seimitsu)? or even further, are these cabs factory stocked with those parts anyway? where do the stock hori parts fit into all this- they simply make their own parts that just happen to be close to standards-compliant?
 

The Chief

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...but I can't escape the feeling that those extra buttons are just going to get in the way.

You could always remove and plug the shoulder buttons if you feel they'll get in the way. I've got the Saturn Virtua Stick and have to say it's pretty solid for the money.
 

defor

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I may go that route down the road - how bad is replacing the entire top so that there aren't even blanks?

Right now I'm on a quest to update a namco stick...
 

Electric Grave

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That's it. Otherwise get a Madcatz TE which is ready to go and PC compatibility is not an issue, maybe for 5% of the people who are not saavy enough to figure it out. HRAPs are cool and all but if it's not gonna be the high end one with sanwa/seimitus hardware it's not worth it, too much money for something you're gonna end up upgrading anyway.

If you're looking to spend good money then Custom will be the best solution, nothing tops it.
 

smkdan

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I ended up getting the EX SE. After some hands on time with Sanwa sticks I knew I didn't want any of that so there's no point in getting the HRAP3. Importing a new set of everything would've been more than the price difference.

It works great, I expected a really solid stick and I don't really have any complaints for it. The only thing close to a complaint is how loud it is when the shaft hits the restrictor but it's not a problem in my case. The official MS drivers wouldn't install on the XP machine but custom 360 XBCD drivers + adding in the HRAP USB ID info to the driver file and it was working fine after that. It cost a fair bit but I'm pretty much set for a long time to come.
 
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