4 ways and 2 ways... The Truth...


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Posted by xiaou2 on 19, 2000 at 12:36 AM:

In Reply to: Re: MAME Source looks like it already filters diagonals in 4-way games with nothing special required. Please read and comment... posted by BillyBoy on 18, 2000 at 2:58 PM:

Acutally not true. To my knowledge there were no Plates to limit 4ways. Plates do not work unless the actual joystick is custom made of metal. Read below about the Galage dellema...

Pac Man was full circle - else people would have broke that sucka in seconds :) Some people are 'cabinet movers' when they play... especially arround that erra.

The only 4way that was different was the ones like Q-Bert where it was mounted at an angle. Still it allowed circles though.

And lastly there are the Two-Ways. Galaga and Defender games used a special custom joy that only allowed 2 directions. The assembly in a stargate was completly metal and was actually a welded part of the control panel... if my memory serves me correctly.

Since they no longer make 2ways - The Galaga at my store was using a 4way. Only problem was that the the metal kept cutting into the plasic on the joystick - as people grinded it up at times.

I was losing a stick every 2 weeks! So, I had to actually cut a larger hole in the metal control panel to allow the joy a full circle path. After that, I didnt have to replace any sticks for over a year... :)

: I'm fairly new and guessing a bit at this, but I think ope of the advantages to a "true" 4 way stick is the physical restriction on diagonal positions. I believe some 4-way sticks have a diamond shaped restrictor plate incorporated to restrict/prevent pushing the stick in a diagonal direction. If I imagine this correctly, I'm assuming if you were to try to move the stick in a circular path, the "plate" would "assist" you in making only up/down or left/right "throw" with the stick. Almost like the "gated" shift pattern on a sports car



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