Namco Stick Appreciation!

[tusecsy]

If you want an octo gate for stock Hori joysticks then you’ll need to find a way to 3D print one, that is the only way.

I’ve never noticed any popping with the LS-56, you sure you aren’t confusing it with the LS-32?

Ahh yes the LS-32 is the one with the problem, knew it was one of them. Was really disappointed in my hori ex-se when I got it for that reason, had to swap it.

[Darksakul]

I appreciate your efforts to sway my preference but I’m not really a fighter fan (where I see the corners being very useful), mainly into shmups where the octagonal gate is far better. I like to grind my gates. Really no place to purchase an octagonal replacement?

sigh…

ok how do i go about modding this damn thing lol.

Nice, another Shmup fan.

I kinda fail to see the need for a octo-gate for a shmup as most don’t need semi circular inputs.

Only way I really see to getting a custom gate for a obscure stick like the old Namco stick is ether laser cut one from acrylic or to 3D print one,
not a easy undertaking for some who don’t have access to ether option and want a one off.

As a fan of Shmups my self I prefer Seimitsu joysticks, the LS-32 and LS-40 are both really great all around sticks. It might be do-able with a LS-56/58
But installing one in a Namco is no small feat ether.

I might suggest you try a different arcade controller that can already take a Japanese style joystick.

I won’t tell you how to play fighters and you don’t tell me how to play shmups how about that? I find the LS-56 to be the absolute worst joystick on the market for instance (pops out of socket at the slightest nudge).

I just asked a simple question, figured this was the right thread on the internet for it considering whats been talked about within. But I guess gate preference is a hot button issue around these parts LOL.

I am telling you how things are from a factual perspective and telling you what the larger consensus of the community agrees on.
You can play how ever you dam well please, but I going to tell you how things actually are and you can proceed from there.

Facts is the Namco stick is difficult to mod, even harder if you want to keep the appearance of it being stock.
There no aftermarket parts that are drop in replacements for the existing Namco stick.

And what you are looking for in a Shump stick, I telling you where to start looking. You can do what ever you want with the Info, but the facts remain.
Also the JLF is terrible for Shumps, it’s very much a Fighter Stick. This isn’t my personal opinion but the larger consensus of everyone that sat down and experimented with arcade controls for shmups.

You are also confusing the LS-56 for the LS-32 with the popping out of socket. Even then the LS-32 is preferred by most over the JLF for Shoot em ups.

You won’t be able to fit an octo-gate on the stock joystick in the Namco; since the “gate” is actually the lower half of the joystick housing, you’d have to at least replace the entire lower half. There’s no existing octo-gate that’ll fit on the stock housing, so you’re out of luck there.

If you really want the octo-gate, your best bet would be to replace the stock joystick with a JLF, and put in an octo-gate on that. The installation mod itself isn’t too hard (there’s tons of reference out there on how it’s done), and some people even prefer using the stock Namco actuator and shaft on the JLF after it’s been swapped in.

Sweet thank you, actually just found the article talking about swapping the JLF in there I’ll get on that. The hori joystick throw I really love but it does have a small bit of the problem the LS-56 has with the pop out on the edges. Swapping the stick should be the perfect solution. Thanks again!

If you don’t know what you are doing, you will ruin a Namco Stick by shoving a JLF in there. A Sanwa JLF is not a easy drop in replacement and requires modification of both the JLF and Namco stick.
But go head it’s your money. And if you fuck it up, don’t come crying back for help as I told you so.

I couldn’t give a shit what your opinion is kid, sorry.

Yet you came here to ask of everyone’s opinions on how do to your mod. Otherwise you would not come here.

[gahrling]

Ahh yes the LS-32 is the one with the problem, knew it was one of them. Was really disappointed in my hori ex-se when I got it for that reason, had to swap it.

I really dislike the LS-32 for the same reason, I know it’s a very popular choice for SHMUPS… just not my cup of tea.

The LS-55, 56, and 58 actually have incredibly good octo gates (though the default is square), and have much better construction quality than a LS-32. Any joystick is going to be a pain to install in a Namco stick because of how shallow it is along with the slope. It can be done, but the end results are often pretty disappointing IMO.

[tusecsy]

I appreciate your efforts to sway my preference but I’m not really a fighter fan (where I see the corners being very useful), mainly into shmups where the octagonal gate is far better. I like to grind my gates. Really no place to purchase an octagonal replacement?

sigh…

ok how do i go about modding this damn thing lol.

Nice, another Shmup fan.

I kinda fail to see the need for a octo-gate for a shmup as most don’t need semi circular inputs.

Only way I really see to getting a custom gate for a obscure stick like the old Namco stick is ether laser cut one from acrylic or to 3D print one,
not a easy undertaking for some who don’t have access to ether option and want a one off.

As a fan of Shmups my self I prefer Seimitsu joysticks, the LS-32 and LS-40 are both really great all around sticks. It might be do-able with a LS-56/58
But installing one in a Namco is no small feat ether.

I might suggest you try a different arcade controller that can already take a Japanese style joystick.

I won’t tell you how to play fighters and you don’t tell me how to play shmups how about that? I find the LS-56 to be the absolute worst joystick on the market for instance (pops out of socket at the slightest nudge).

I just asked a simple question, figured this was the right thread on the internet for it considering whats been talked about within. But I guess gate preference is a hot button issue around these parts LOL.

I am telling you how things are from a factual perspective and telling you what the larger consensus of the community agrees on.
You can play how ever you dam well please, but I going to tell you how things actually are and you can proceed from there.

Facts is the Namco stick is difficult to mod, even harder if you want to keep the appearance of it being stock.
There no aftermarket parts that are drop in replacements for the existing Namco stick.

And what you are looking for in a Shump stick, I telling you where to start looking. You can do what ever you want with the Info, but the facts remain.
Also the JLF is terrible for Shumps, it’s very much a Fighter Stick. This isn’t my personal opinion but the larger consensus of everyone that sat down and experimented with arcade controls for shmups.

You are also confusing the LS-56 for the LS-32 with the popping out of socket. Even then the LS-32 is preferred by most over the JLF for Shoot em ups.

You won’t be able to fit an octo-gate on the stock joystick in the Namco; since the “gate” is actually the lower half of the joystick housing, you’d have to at least replace the entire lower half. There’s no existing octo-gate that’ll fit on the stock housing, so you’re out of luck there.

If you really want the octo-gate, your best bet would be to replace the stock joystick with a JLF, and put in an octo-gate on that. The installation mod itself isn’t too hard (there’s tons of reference out there on how it’s done), and some people even prefer using the stock Namco actuator and shaft on the JLF after it’s been swapped in.

Sweet thank you, actually just found the article talking about swapping the JLF in there I’ll get on that. The hori joystick throw I really love but it does have a small bit of the problem the LS-56 has with the pop out on the edges. Swapping the stick should be the perfect solution. Thanks again!

If you don’t know what you are doing, you will ruin a Namco Stick by shoving a JLF in there. A Sanwa JLF is not a easy drop in replacement and requires modification of both the JLF and Namco stick.
But go head it’s your money. And if you fuck it up, don’t come crying back for help as I told you so.

I couldn’t give a shit what your opinion is kid, sorry.

Yet you came here to ask of everyone’s opinions on how do to your mod. Otherwise you would not come here.

No shit?

[DEZALB]

How shallow is the namco case compared to the hori fighting stick (PS/NEO/SS) line? Just curious since ive been doing alot of hori stick mods lately.

[tusecsy]

Ahh yes the LS-32 is the one with the problem, knew it was one of them. Was really disappointed in my hori ex-se when I got it for that reason, had to swap it.

I really dislike the LS-32 for the same reason, I know it’s a very popular choice for SHMUPS… just not my cup of tea.

The LS-55, 56, and 58 actually have incredibly good octo gates (though the default is square), and have much better construction quality than a LS-32. Any joystick is going to be a pain to install in a Namco stick because of how shallow it is along with the slope. It can be done, but the end results are often pretty disappointing IMO.

Agree on the ls-56 it’s the install on my go to hori.

Ya I actually had a spare jlf laying around this is definitely going to be a project.

Thinking I might just try to put some screw holes into the sanwa octo gate and try to attach it that way. Worst case I just screw up a 2$ gate. I don’t think the whole original gate contraption with the clips is really needed since the 4 long screws secure the whole setup in place anyway? Or am I missing something.

[gahrling]

How shallow is the namco case compared to the hori fighting stick (PS/NEO/SS) line? Just curious since ive been doing alot of hori stick mods lately.

The dimensions are similar, but with the old school Hori FS range you can drop in something like a LS-56 with no hassle what so ever. However there’s no escaping the pain that a Namco stick will give you when modding it.

[gahrling]

Thinking I might just try to put some screw holes into the sanwa octo gate and try to attach it that way. Worst case I just screw up a 2$ gate. I don’t think the whole original gate contraption with the clips is really needed since the 4 long screws secure the whole setup in place anyway? Or am I missing something.

The joystick microswitches are held in place by a hole on each side. With your suggestion, one hole would have a screw going through it but it will need the plastic pin on the Sanwa gate to fit in the other hole. I’ve never tried lining them up before but I can’t promise you it will work out.

And you might still encounter problems with getting the Namco stick put back together because JLF gates are unnecessarily chunky and might clash with the metal base plate.

[tusecsy]

How shallow is the namco case compared to the hori fighting stick (PS/NEO/SS) line? Just curious since ive been doing alot of hori stick mods lately.

The dimensions are similar, but with the old school Hori FS range you can drop in something like a LS-56 with no hassle what so ever. However there’s no escaping the pain that a Namco stick will give you when modding it.

I have an old snes hori fs and dropped in an ls-56 no problem, although it is very close to rubbing. The namco is definitely looking like a much different story, way thinner.

Thinking I might just try to put some screw holes into the sanwa octo gate and try to attach it that way. Worst case I just screw up a 2$ gate. I don’t think the whole original gate contraption with the clips is really needed since the 4 long screws secure the whole setup in place anyway? Or am I missing something.

The joystick microswitches are held in place by a hole on each side. With your suggestion, one hole would have a screw going through it but it will need the plastic pin on the Sanwa gate to fit in the other hole. I’ve never tried lining them up before but I can’t promise you it will work out.

And you might still encounter problems with getting the Namco stick put back together because JLF gates are unnecessarily chunky and might clash with the metal base plate.

Ya I will definitely need to do some dremmeling to make it fit because of the gate. Probably better to try a seimitsu gate with this method. The holes don’t seem to line up on the sanwa but i’ll work on it.

[Darksakul]

Thinking I might just try to put some screw holes into the sanwa octo gate and try to attach it that way. Worst case I just screw up a 2$ gate. I don’t think the whole original gate contraption with the clips is really needed since the 4 long screws secure the whole setup in place anyway? Or am I missing something.

The joystick microswitches are held in place by a hole on each side. With your suggestion, one hole would have a screw going through it but it will need the plastic pin on the Sanwa gate to fit in the other hole. I’ve never tried lining them up before but I can’t promise you it will work out.

And you might still encounter problems with getting the Namco stick put back together because JLF gates are unnecessarily chunky and might clash with the metal base plate.

I seen most people do is lose the metal mount plate and drill though the JLF, using the preexisting mount screw and threads on the case.

Like this

Photobucket

Here how you mount a JLF gate on a existing Stock Namco joystick

Photobucket

[tusecsy]

Thinking I might just try to put some screw holes into the sanwa octo gate and try to attach it that way. Worst case I just screw up a 2$ gate. I don’t think the whole original gate contraption with the clips is really needed since the 4 long screws secure the whole setup in place anyway? Or am I missing something.

The joystick microswitches are held in place by a hole on each side. With your suggestion, one hole would have a screw going through it but it will need the plastic pin on the Sanwa gate to fit in the other hole. I’ve never tried lining them up before but I can’t promise you it will work out.

And you might still encounter problems with getting the Namco stick put back together because JLF gates are unnecessarily chunky and might clash with the metal base plate.

I seen most people do is lose the metal mount plate and drill though the JLF, using the preexisting mount screw and threads on the case.

Like this
http://photobucket.com/gallery/http://s4.photobucket.com/user/wilazn/media/Custom%20sticks/Modded%20Namco%20Stick/IMG_0005.jpg.html

Here how you mount a JLF gate on a existing Stock Namco joystick
http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/kiki_daiso/media/bWVkaWFJZDoxMDI4NTQ0MDM=/?ref=

Awesome that’s just what I needed, thank you.

[DEZALB]

How shallow is the namco case compared to the hori fighting stick (PS/NEO/SS) line? Just curious since ive been doing alot of hori stick mods lately.

The dimensions are similar, but with the old school Hori FS range you can drop in something like a LS-56 with no hassle what so ever. However there’s no escaping the pain that a Namco stick will give you when modding it.

Actually to mount a LS56 at the proper height and keeping the orginal shaft/cover its alot harder. Had to modify shaft and actuator.

Check Out My New Arcade Stick! (No Image Quoting)

Hori Fighting Stick Neo 2 with a Seimitsu LS56 and Seimitsu PS14G buttons. Just modded this for a member. Due to shallow case i had to modify the LS56 shaft to match the bottom half of the Hori shaft. Other methods like swapping shafts didnt work because stick height was coming out to about 20.5mm

http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae64/DEZALB/Mobile%20Uploads/received_10154829851801491_zpskyven3ve.jpeg

http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae64/DEZALB/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0340_zpsznitsg0m.jpg

http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae64/DEZALB/SHAFT1_zpsxzdou7t8.jpg http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae64/DEZALB/SHAFT2_zpsupg4g0tq.jpg

[tusecsy]

Ahh yes the Hori FS for snes I have is a different design with more room.

[tusecsy]

Thanks for the help everyone.

For future reference, a 1/8" drill bit on the 4 spots of the sanwa gate where the screw holes will do the trick. You will need to dremel off the two tabs that extend off the bottom of the gate. Other than that, ez pz.

[gahrling]

Thanks for the help everyone.

Now all you have to worry about is how the Hori actuator interacts with the Sanwa gate

[tusecsy]

Thanks for the help everyone.

Now all you have to worry about is how the Hori actuator interacts with the Sanwa gate

Seems to be working ok, what should I look out for?

[PresidentCamacho]

Might have less throw past neutral into diagonals. If it works, great.

[Nobus3r1]

Thanks for the help everyone.

Now all you have to worry about is how the Hori actuator interacts with the Sanwa gate

Worst case scenario is that he’ll have to shave a JLF actuator down to match the height of the Hori one. The angle on the part that doesn’t hit the gate is a bit different between them and I recall some issues with parts getting stuck way back whenever I was doing a Namco case mod. I think I used a sanding disk on a dremel to “lower” the JLF actuator.

[tusecsy]

Might have less throw past neutral into diagonals. If it works, great.

This may be happening a small bit but nothing too noticeable. I’m pretty anal about such things.

This has to be the best arcade stick ever made, the buttons are so damn good, can do the 3 finger flick for days. Does anyone make buttons like these anymore? They seem more lightweight and responsive.

Sticks actually pretty great too. The popout ala the ls-32 is very very tiny and not really noticeable during gameplay.

[gahrling]

Does anyone make buttons like these anymore? They seem more lightweight and responsive.

Nope, the closest thing are probably the Seimitsu PS-14-G… but you may need to make the holes bigger to fit them as they’re 30mm buttons. I think Namco buttons were approx 28.5mm?