Thanks. I really dig the concept art for two VS Sticks. Is there a thread for artwork commissioning service for the VS Stick?
Nope but d3v has a thread in the trading outlet if you’d like to commission some artwork from him. The templates are up on arthong’s site as well!
Thanks, Markman. I’ll check it out!
I was planning on buying another TE (or VLX) and getting some TE Kitties, and I’ve also been toying around with tracking down an HSS-0130. Thanks to this thread, I ended up ordering two + connecting kit. I’ll have to wait a bit on the Kitties. Thanks for all the great pics to inspire me to open my wallet.
Enjoy! 
Somehow I think buying the V.S. duo will be cheaper in the long run than getting an HSS-0130. Unless you’re a Saturn or Dreamcast fiend (Total Control 3 adapter lets you use most Saturn controllers with the Dreamcast), you’re stuck getting an adapter or two to use that joystick with anything modern. I’ve seen people put in alternate PCB’s but that can ruin the value. It’s also hard as heck to find one of those sticks in decent shape… Any way you slice it, the HSS-0130 is not a cheap joystick to buy and is ancient now. Lastly, the stock buttons on the HSS-0130 aren’t that great and have to be desoldered if you want to replace them.
(I’m still puzzled I passed on both the Twin Virtua Stick and candy Virtua Stick considering I was a huge Sega Saturn fan in the 1990s when this stuff was brand but knowing what I know now I don’t think I really missed that much…)
I think in my case it’s very likely I’ll end up getting two V.S. units in the end. I’ve got art ideas already and like the general layout of that box. So far, the breakout sticks this year from my POV are the Hori SC V Noir joystick and the Mad Catz FightStick V.S. Both have retro-classic looks and nice customization possibilities. It’s insane what you can do with the V.S. art… The Hori Noir cabinet, with the exception of one overlooked item (>COUGH< Narrow joystick entry! JLF-only fits from the top!!!), is probably the nicest looking standard Hori case in a long while. I even like the standard SC V artwork…
We’ll see what happens with the Fighting Edge. We already know about the VLX from last year even though I think the blue color scheme looks smart… The FE is the one that I’m starting to have the most reservations about… It’s just all that technology in one stick… I believe in the KISS principle – load too much into one thing, it’s guaranteed to break at the worst possible times. LED’s, touch-sensitive, and new parts… It’s all a bit much. It’s risky unless it’s really built well. Even then, to me it’s another variation on the HRAP V3 which in retrospect probably isn’t the best follow-up to the Astrocade-style HRAP’s 3…
Yeah, I had also been thinking about checking out the FE. But not knowing anything about how easy they are to mod (the TE Kitty mod seems like something that even I can handle), and them also being a full $100 more expensive than the VS (EDIT: Not sure where I got the idea that $199 was more than $199), I think I’ve made the right call. I also bought a surplus of kowal’s actuators, which I really like, so I won’t need to cannibalize any of my other sticks.
And yeah, getting an HSS-0130 in decent shape alone would be expensive, never mind modding it, which seems to be a bit more complex than I am capable of handling with my current know-how.
I’m also excited at the idea of the art possibilites on the V.S. sticks.
The vs Sticks really are great if you are cool leaving them somewhere like a stand or table rather than on your lap. The connector kit makes them 100x cooler too.
Oh yes, that is the truest thing about the V.S.! It is mad with art possibilities.
It’s made for videogame grafitti!
As far as the HSS-0130 goes, I hate to discourage anybody, but they should know the facts before they go and hunt one of them down.
Those mid-1990s joysticks are a pain-in-@$$ to mod with the exception of the Konami Hyper Stick which is a lot like today’s joystick.
The biggest issues with most 1990s era joysticks are clearance area for mods – not a lot of internal space for arcade hardware – and the buttons.
The buttons in these joysticks are either rubber pressure-contact type (no microswitches; the PCB registers when you hit the button on a circular contact point; majority of 1990s joysticks and joypads-to-the-present are like this) or soldered directly into the PCB itself as is the case with the HSS-0130 and its singular player counterpart, the HSS-0136(?).
Don’t get me wrong… The HSS-0130 is a nice enough joystick but I think it’s become a huge collector’s item more because of scarcity and arcade case styling than actual end product quality (which can be argued about… The joystick lever is fine but the stock buttons are crap).
I just happen to think that both the FightStick V.S. and Hori Soul Calibur V (Noir-style) joysticks are nicer. They’re also a lot more flexible to mod and better supported by vendors, too. They’re also cheaper bases for mods, too.
Art mods is something we take into consideration when designing sticks.
You haven’t seen anything yet when it comes to art mods!
pics soon. I think.
Oh and we put together some special V.S. sticks in collaboration with arthong, they were special gifts for Ayano-san and Ono-san at Capcom. Check out the gallery here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150717921407196.406481.152792137195&type=3
Just got mine today. They are very slick. I don’t think I’m a fan of the silver-y bolts (they kind of remind me of snaps?), But they definitely feel really nice, and linked together is pretty cool. My coffee table is at a perfect height, too.
hey quick question has anyone ordered the korean metal plate and plexi from blk lightning’s website cause i was thinkin bout dropping in a korean stick to get ready for tekken tag and also do you think i can splice the sanwa joystick wire harness and daisy chain the negative wire on the fanta
Is it okay to move around two connected V.S. sticks? Like will anything bend or break if I try transporting them?
If they’re connected with the middle rods/bottom plate, you should be good. It’s very sturdy. Just be careful/use common sense when transporting!
Looks sick but those white buttons on the back man… grrrrrrrrrrr haha
I just purchased my TE kitty and VS harness today, but I don’t have any experience modding. Are there any tutorials out there explaining how to mod a VS stick? If so can someone post a link? I’d really appreciate it.
The instructions Toodles includes are pretty straightforward. You should be able to read them on his site now, so look through and see if there is anything that worries you. As long as you are careful pulling the connectors out of the plugs and cut the USB cable properly, you will be fine.
I dont have an install guide for the VS stick done yet. The best I can give you at this point is to use a dremel or strong set of clippers or whatever you have handy to trim down and remove the corner piece of plastic that sticks up near the main TE board, so the Kitty will lay flat there. Once that piece is gone, you should be able to follow the TE-S Install guide linked in the first posts of the Kitty thread (URL in sig)