Arcade Manage Review: Which is better and why?


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Posted by Xiaou2 on 16, 2000 at 1:45 AM:

In Reply to: I know Im asking for a religious debate on this.. buuut. Which is better and why? posted by Joe on 16, 2000 at 12:48 AM:

: Which is better, the Happ Ultimate, Super, or Competition Joystick?? I want a good 8 way that feels nice, good return to it, and has the arcade quality. Would any of these three do, or is one a serious 'no-no'??? Thanks for the help.

I Worked (Manager-Repairguy) in an Arcade in the Usa for 3yrs. I had extensive time to inspect the playability, and qualities of all the controlers. This is what I found:


Everyone seems to go with the Super - But in all honesty... the Ultimate is the ultimate :)

Supers are steadily replacing the ultra's in the arcade sceens. The main reason is that they are a little more durrable - and hold up to abusive players... IE - the people who move the entire cabinet w/ the stick :) Other reasons are the spacer dosnt wear as quickly... and the
circle motions feel more open.

The Ultra's were top in the arcades till probably about 4 yrs ago. They have a sort of boxlike feel to them when you move in circles... but are far more sensative than the Supers. Especially in Diagnols.

If you look at the actuators on the two... you will see that the Super uses a Round one, and the Ultra uses a square one.

(supers)
In order for the Circle one to work at all - they had to put in microswitches that had the thin metal blades on them.. so that diagnols would catch. The problem is that the 'Catch' is a little off 'timing-wise' (creates some gamplay issues)... and over a short period of time, those flimsy metal parts can get bent and out of whack (making timing and diagnols worse!). They are un-fixable... Bending them will only lead to lees than perfect results.

I find the Supers to have a 'tough' feel to them... meaning: they take a bit of effort to move arround. (not as 'springy' as ultra's)


The Ultra's have a square. It rotates a little to allow for some 'play'. It reaches ALL directions with the same 'timing' because of this. It also is Very responsive. Just a small touch and it registers a switch. Complex movments and combinations are a lot easier to pull off. They have a great 'springy' quality to them - very bouncy, not hard to push or pull.

The only thing you will have to do - is to replace the small spacer every now and then. This spacer will wear over time depending on the abuse it takes. This is another reson they are switching to Supers. In all actuallity though - 3months in a busy arcade in like 2 years for a single person! So I wouldnt worry about it too much. Also, the spaces are cheap.

Look for signs of plastic dust in you cab. If so, take the spacer out and inspect it. If it has a small 'lip' edge arround the top - then flip it over, and re-install it. Later, when the other side wears... you will need a new one.

Make sure to use the right size spacer. Use the longer one for wood panels, and the shorter one for shallow metal ones. Also make sure you have the spacer in the right place:

Order:

1 Joy handle
2 Round 'Hand Pincher' proctor disc.
3 Control panel
4 spacer
5 joystick base
6 e-clip

I havnt messes arround much w/ the Competetion one too much - but it didnt seem as responsive as the ultra. I think it was an older model.

All in all it is opinion. Two things to consider:

What type of games do you play?
How much 'force' do you exert?

If you play hard - but the supers. You may still have to replace the micro-switches every now and then though.

If you need more accuracy, and have very controled movments... then get the Ultra's. They are the Truely the best you will find for this.

Sincerely,
Steve
:)




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