Is the Madcatz PS3 SE common ground or non? I realize that is probably one of those questions that is a “If you have to ask…” scenario, but from looking at it I’m going to venture to guess that it is common ground. I’d just like some conformation before making investments in this direction.
I’m looking at putting some Cherry switches on it as discussed in this thread.
Possible stupid question
I don’t need the octagonal gate if I buy the sanwa 4-8 way joystick correct? Because then you can flip the switch to 4 or 8 sides. I’m kinda new to modding joysticks.
You don’t need an octagonal gate, but if you are mores used to American style sticks, it will make the JLF feel more like those. The only reason you would ever flip the stock square gate to go 4 way, is if you are playing games you only want 4 way (pac man, galaga etc.)
Thanks for the quick response but I’m still a little confused by the response. I’ll try to reword it. I enjoy feeling the 8 notches as I rotate the stick, would I need the octagonal gate to achieve this, or will I be A-OK with my sanwa joystick just on 8-way?
All the Madcatz SF4 controllers of every variety are common ground.
The joystick is surrounded by a PCB with 4 micro switches, so by default it is a 8 way stick. There is a neural area in the middle where none of the micro switches is activated. That would be the dead zone. When you go in zones that are straight up/down/left right of the dead zone, only one of the switches gets pressed. When you do diagonally, two of the micro switches get depressed, and you register a diagonal movement. All of these facts are true no matter what kind of gate (square, octagonal, or round) you install.
The benefit of a square gate in a default configuration is that the area of all nine zones (dead zone, 4 straight directions, 4 diagonal directions) is equal. The drawback of a square gate is that the throw (maximum distance traveled by the joystick) is unequal with diagonals having a larger throw than the straights. What you may be confused about is that a square gate when rotated 45 degrees (and more accurately called a rhombus gate) will greatly expand the straight zone area and severly restrict the diagonal direction area to the point where you will almost never register them with the stick. A joystick in this configuration will be only suitable for games that need accurate 4 way movement (e.g., Pac Man). You would never do this for a stick to play Street Fighter with.
The benefits and drawbacks of the octagonal or round gates are the opposite of the square. For these gates the throw in all directions is equal, but the zone where diagonals will be registered is smaller than the dead zone and the straight zones.
As a result of these tradeoffs, a square gated stick has less smooth movement at the edges, but has a better sensitivity in the diagonal direction. A octagonal gated joystick has smoother movement around the edges but less sensitivity in the diagonal direction. It will boil down to your personal preference as to what you like. I am personally beginning to prefer the higher sensitivity offered on the diagonals by the square gate at the expense of smoothness of moment around the corners. In this manner I can register the corner inputs more reliably during special moves. If you play as a character like Zangief, you might prefer the smoother all around motion over the sensitive diagonals, where you rarely stop.
Thank you, great explaination BTW… I think I would benefit from the Octogonal gates, as I use Shoryu characters quite a bit. I just didn’t enjoy the movement restrictions when I got my SE Mad Catz stick. QCF’s and Dbl QCF’s feel really clunky upon input, and arent very fluid at all. After all, I grew up on Octogonal MK machines as a kid.
Everything I told you, I learned from here. There is lots of great information and pictures there. Must read site:
Replacing SE 4 Gate w/8 Gate
New to the site and I must say - What an awesome thread!!! Great work on the tutorials guys!
One of my best friends and I were playing SF 4 last night and he was ready to return his SE sticks and get his money back since he couldn’t deal with the poor quality of the buttons and more importantly the 4-Gate motion restrictions. The 4-Gate makes it impossible for him to play Zangief or anyone else effectively.
We also want to replace the buttons with better quality ones, but the first and primary concern right now is getting the stick to move the way we are used to (American style smooth motion/Octogonal).
I didn’t see an answer to this yet, but is it possible to just order and replace the existing 4-Gate plate with an 8-Gate plate by itself? Or do I have to order the entire Sanwa stick to achieve this?
I also have some older Pelican arcade sticks which had the nicer buttons and 8-Gate motion but I am not sure if they will fit in this MadCatz SE housing.
Thanks for all the hard work and info.
The Madcats is an 8 gate not a 4 gate, he is just not used to the square gate. I actually prefer the Japanese style now that I have been using it.
Ok, sorry for my misunderstanding.
So it is an 8-Gate but it feels like a square box movement when doing any kind of rotations or 1/4 and 1/2 circles. So then does this mean that the MadCatz is using a square box instead of an octogon one? So can I simply purchase an octogon to replace it with?
Thanks.
Yes. Replace the gate and you will have the circular feeling you are used to.
Sileighty,
Thank you for posting this quick guide. I purchased a SE stick no more than 2 hours ago. Took it home - stick is fucked up and gets stuck. Have no intention of dicking around w/ Madcatz and their 3-4 week turnaround when all they’re going to do is re-position the washer (according to the guy I spoke to at Madcatz). Besides, I intended on modifying the stick anyways. Anyways, thanks man, this was a huge help.
Madcatz SE stick is a Sanwa JLF knockoff, and just like the original, it also uses a square gate. The octagon gate is $5 at lizardlick. You are supposed to be able to pop out the default square gate and pop in the new gate, however there are reports that it is a bit harder to do on the knockoff MadCatz stick than a genuine Sanwa JLF. The gate is attached at the base of the assembly, which is exposed once you remove the bottom plate of the box. There are tabs on the side of the stick that hold the current gate in place. Pressing them is supposed to release the gate allowing you put a replacement gate in.
The picture on the first page of this thread is of a stick with an octagonal gate already attached. The gate is the clear plastic piece with the orange octagon in the middle.
Thank you for the extra details on this. I really appreciate that.
So to clarify things, assuming I get everything from LizardLick and want to achieve smoother octagonal motion for the joystick my options would be:
Replace Gate Only
Sanwa GT-Y Octagonal Restrictor Plate
Replace Complete Stick
Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT-SK Ball Handle Joystick, 4 & 8-Way Adjustable
Optionally Replace
Sanwa LB-30-N Joystick Bat Top
Is all this correct?
Yup, except ditch the bat top idea. 
The gate is a real bitch to get off the Madcatz stick, prepare to be annoyed. After watching some youtube vids it looks like a breeze to take off the Sanwa.
Not trying to be a dick here but the same question got answered 3 times on this same page. For the people looking for an octogonal gate. You are having trouble because you are riding the gate with the stick so your getting stuck in the corners. This is probably because you are using your arm to controll the stick rather than your wrist. I highly recomend playing with the square for a few months before switching anything.
If you do decide to go octogon I highly recomend using the seimitsu ls-56 with an octogonal gate. I say this because of the difference in shape between the sanwa octo & the seimitsu octo. The sanwa is shaped like a stopsign while the seimitsu is round with bumps where there isn’t a direction. The fact is that putting an octo on a JLF increases throw & generally doesent feel as good . While the octo on a LS-56 DEcreases the throw. & makes movements quicker. Also 360’s on a seimitsu are much smoother than on the sanwa octo.
1 others option which I havnt tried is the LS-32 with a circle gate. Some people might like this better if you were used to American sticks Which arecircle aswell.
Also, I’d say - if you’re going to replace the stick, then you may as well replace the main six buttons while you’re in there,
I have a question. What would I use to get rid of the lettering on the case without scratching or discoloring? “Headphone Jack” has got to go.
Good call. Your madcatz buttons will start sticking soon anyways. My HK started to stick so I thought I’d play some button musical chairs but putting the blacks in the middle.
Till I KOed one of the black buttons trying to disconnect the wires. :annoy:
Had an offer to by a TE edition fightstick for half price but what’s the point? I’ll have all Sanwa parts in my SE fight by the time it’s released anyway. :tdown: