Official Mad Catz FightPad Feedback Thread

Tech Talk
1

I originally made a post about this in the FightStick/FightPad thread, but it is now being heavily inundated by FightStick shipping/anticipation posts and I didn’t want this issue to be lost in the crowds so to speak. Here’s my original post:

MarkMan,

I just picked up an Xbox 360 fightpad from Best Buy today. So far the pad feels pretty solid. The d-pad has a good feel and is easy to execute moves. It feels like a cross between the Genesis 3-button and 6-button pads which is good.

However, there is one issue that I seem to be having with this pad that maybe you can take a look at and try yourself.

I was trying to use the fightpad in Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe and for some reason, I can’t do any special moves at all with the pad. I have tried toggling the d-pad switch behind the pad with no success. I can move around, jump and use all of the attack buttons just fine, but for some reason it won’t let me do any tapping or rolling special moves (like Kitana’s fan blade or Sub Zero’s ice freeze.) I can do them fine with the regular 360 controller, just not with the fightpad.

Aside from this issue so far the pad has been great in the games I’ve tried.

*Edit: I unplugged and reconnected the pad and all works great now. That was odd.

*Edit 2: I just exited to the dashboard and when I started the game again, I am now having the same problem again. I wonder what is causing this issue. I tried unplugging/reconnecting the fightpad, but this time its not solving the problem. Markman, can you test this out?

*Edit 3: Now this is getting a bit stranger. I have been trying to figure out whats going on with the fightpad and MK vs DC. Here are my results so far. When I go into practice mode with the fightpad, the display in the lower left corner that is supposed to show what buttons you are pressing is missing.

Ok, so then I disconnected the fightpad and connected a normal wired 360 controller, now you can see the button pressing display again. If I disconnect the wired 360 pad and connect the fightpad, NOW it will display the buttons and the special moves work again. But as soon as I quit the game to the dashboard and start it up again, the issue happens again.

Unless I happen to have a faulty fightpad, my theory on what is happening here is that there may be some issue in the way the fightpad handles the whole d-pad/analog switch thing. Maybe this is something that Mad Catz may have to discuss with Midway to fix in a future update. Hope this helps Mark.

*Edit 4: I just tested MK vs DC in 2 player mode. (Player 1 wireless, Player 2 FightPad) In a 2 player battle I can do all of the special moves with the wireless player 1, but still unable to do them with the fightpad. The plot thickens.

This bug also prevents me from doing any finishing moves with the fightpad as well.

So based on my testing, it seems like the only current temporary solution I found is to start the game with either a wired or wireless xbox 360 controller, disconnect it or turn it off, and then connect the FightPad to play.

Can anyone else that has the fightpad test it out with MK vs DC? I just hope this bug isn’t in the FightSticks as well. Hopefully this is something that can be fixed easily and won’t affect any more games in the future.

2

Since the FightPads have not yet been released everywhere yet, I’m hoping at least MarkMan can chime in to verify if I may have received a faulty FightPad or if this is a universal issue.

3

What does it do in other games?

4

So far I have only noticed this issue in MK vs DC. I have tested the pad with several fighting games and they all seem to work just fine.

It’s a very odd bug because I can move my character and all of the buttons work fine in the game, but none of the special moves will come out. And I know it has nothing to do with me not being able to do the special/finishing moves because I have already tested this with 2 other regular 360 pads and I can do all of the specials just fine.

I think somehow it might be a combination of the Mad Catz FightPad hardware and the way MK vs DC was programmed.

Hopefully there will be more FightPad owners out there who can try it out and see if it is a widespread issue or if it’s just isolated to my FightPad.

5

I finally talked to MarkMan about it. He has a tech who will be looking at the issue closer and will post his findings.

So, nobody else has tried the 360 FightPad with MK vs DC yet?

6

Very few people actually have the damned thing.

7

Nope, not yet.

Have you tried it with UMK3? (curious, also with how/if it works w/ MKII on PSN as well)

8

Yes I have used the FightPad with UMK3 and other than the odd mapping of the block/run buttons, (The pad is mapped for SF4 and you can’t remap them in UMK3) my pad works just great with the game.

9

cool. I am a stick user, but I wanted to let some MK buddies of mine know thanks!:wgrin:

10

Madcatz Fightpad Diagonal Problem

I’m having the same problem with HF and HDR. A bunch of us have already picked one up from Best Buy and a few people are reporting seamless play while others can’t pull off a DP for their life. I’m in the latter category.

It seems like the four points on the D-pad work fine, but the diagonals don’t register. When I hook it up to my PC and calibrate it, diagonal presses register as up or down or whatever. Someone suggested that, because the d-pad on the 360 is pressure sensitive and differentiates between a light press and a hard press, that maybe some of the Madcatz pads only register a certain kind of press.

Yet! Here’s a dude on youtube hitting flame kicks with Fei Long with no problem:
[media=youtube]S2_g89oXYys[/media]

That leads me to believe it’s just some of the controllers, but who knows.

11

The strange thing about my case is that the dpad is working perfectly fine in every other game I have tried. I can pull dragon punches, hurricane kicks, even piledrivers without so much as a hiccup with this pad. I tested my FightPad on a PC and everything registers perfectly including diagonals.

Even in MK vs DC I can move around and fight just fine. Like I said in my first post, it seems like it’s some kind of compatibility glitch in how the FightPad is being registered by the game because it only seems to have an effect on the special moves/fatalities. But if I disconnect the FightPad during the game, connect a different pad, disconnect it and then reconnect the FightPad, everything works flawlessly. (All of the specials, fatalities, etc.) But as soon as I quit the game and start it again, I have to repeat this process all over again.

This is why I am hoping I am not alone with this problem, otherwise I might as well just return it and try to get another one, but I am still waiting until others have tried it with this game and hear their feedback.

12

Oh, weird. I returned mine, but this makes me think I should have tried unplugging it and plugging it back in. Probably different problems though, as you indicated.

13

The unplugging thing didn’t help me. Mine still doesn’t register diagonals without extreme pressure.

I also tried switching the breakaway cord with another one from a regular 360 controller, but that didn’t make a difference. Didn’t think it would, but it was worth a shot.

I won’t be able to get to a Gamestop until Saturday to attempt to return/exchange my Gamestop.com bought pad. I’d actually prefer exchange, because some people’s do indeed seem to be working fine. But it’s a gamble for sure. And if my second 1 still has problems I hope they accept another return.

Sufficient to say, Madcatz done screwed up. It appears to be higher “failure” rate than the normal accepted high of 3-5%, judging from the issues here on SRK and on NeoGAF.

14

I recently got confirmation that there is indeed an issue with the FightPad and MK vs DC Universe. Hopefuly this can be patched up in the game so I won’t have to do the workaround everytime I want to play it with the FightPad.

Any 360 FightStick SE/TE owners care to try their stick with MK vs DC to see if the issue affects them as well? I am still waiting for my TE preorder to come in.

15

lol

MK vs DC Universe so trash that they didn’t test the pads on them

and now they have a problem

16

Thanks for your profoundly useful contribution Twinnniss. I am glad to see there are still productive members of society cabable of such intellectually stimulating conversation.

The whole point of this thread is not to isolate MK vs DC as it is more about making sure that the FightPad (more importantly along with the FightSticks) work for their intended purpose. (ie fighting games) I’d hate for this issue to pop up in future games later down the road.

17

LOL. well said. Someone always has to spout off their opinions as if it’s the divine truth, regardless of the subject at hand.

Anyway, thanks for your post on this. Was considering checking out the pads, and probably would’ve pulled my nails trying MK vs DC on this. Saved me some Vicodin.

18

shoryukens are easy to pull off it jus take some time in training maybe a half hour. I can do dragon punch commands and 360’s jus as precise as an arcade stick. and parrying is as precise as it gets for 3rd strike.
This pad does suck for Guilty gear for some reason HCF commands are impossible. but thats the only problem i had and i tried this pad on just about every fighting game on xbox.

I cant speak for you guys, but this pad is the answer to my prayers. Ill never touch the 360 controller again.

19

I have been putting up with the 360 FightPad as well. I recently picked one up at Best Buy and here are my findings.

Like mentioned previously in the thread, the problem is the diagonal directions just do not want to register properly unless you press down unnaturally and unnecessarily hard (i am a pretty big strong dude and I have to MASH it to get it to register, it isn’t the case of me just being limp wristed with my inputs).

The reason people are able to pull off moves in HDR and SFIV has a lot to do with “shortcuts” put into the game. pressing d+fx2 = the same as d+f+df, meaning you can shoryuken consistently with practice, but you are inputting the wrong command to get the same result.

This also explains why HCF motions in Guilty Gear are impossible.

I really hope MarkMan can get to the bottom of this to find out if it’s a widespread issue, perhaps just Best Buy’s shipments, or even better still, if it is just an isolated issue with SOME of the pads and the majority work swimmingly.

By the way, when I say that, I do not blame MarkMan at all. It is by no means in his job requirements to fix all the problems we have here at SRK. However, he is our best chance at answers and real talk, which is why I mention him by name.

I’d love to know whether I should pursue an RMA procedure with MadCatz. I LOVE the feel of the dpad, I LOVE the button layout … in my book it IS better than my saturn controllers (in my hands), and if the diagonals registered properly … :lovin::lovin:

But right now when I have to either use incorrect workaround inputs or mash super hard, it is actually WORSE than the 360 controller. :confused::confused:

If you have one of these pads, and feel it might be acting weird, do the following: Put the FightPad into a USB slot of your computer. If using Vista it should plug&play, if using XP, you’ll probably need to install the driver. After it’s installed and recognized, go into your Control Panel (Classic View) and then finally to Game Controllers. Highlight the SFIV FightPad and then take a look at Properties. It should show you a visual representation of button inputs. Just play a bit with the dpad with emphasis on hitting diagonals. If they hit with relative easy and at a high percentage, then you have a good one.

Anyone else with first hand experience with these things please post. I’d love to hear some success stories about these things.

20

I changed the title of the thread to make this a general feedback thread for the FightPads. Feel free to post your reviews/opinions and/or issues about the FightPad here.