Posted by Andy Warne on 15, 2001 at 1:09 PM:
In Reply to: Yes...electronic design...not mechanical...(NT) posted by Mr Arcade on 15, 2001 at 7:23 AM:
This is a great idea provided it is a mechanical method. This needs to limit movement of the stick just like the plates that are normally mounted on the back of a 4 way stick and can be flipped to make an 8-way. Real 4-way sticks have a diamond-shaped limit plate. It is not authentic at all doing this electronically because the feel is all wrong as anyone who has tried to play Pacman with an 8-way stick will know! You have to be able to slide the stick across the diagonal which you can't do unless there is a physical limitation.
I have a version of the I-PAC firmware which does an 8 to 4-way "conversion" electronically, which I put together as a test but have no plans to incorporate this as it is not the real arcade "experience".