I see the idea, but I never caught the jist. I mess with this stuff casually, so pardon the scrubiness.
I just bought a new Hori VF5 stick for my XBOX. It’s my 2nd stick(first was a DFist srick which I casually chose parts for), and so far I’m liking it. It’s clicky and comfortable. But everytime I bring it up, some nigga always comes out with “mod this stick, switch your stick with this JLF-OMG-WTF-A40 instead because the Sanwamitsu GHT-B23 Cranberry stick in it sucks and I hate it for you”.
Pardon the euphamisims, but thats along the lines of what I usually hear. I’m reading the Parts/Joysticks megathread, but theres still alot I dont understand, so I just want to ask a simple question.
Based on whats already inside of this Hori VF5 stick, is modding it with seperate parts an effort of adding time to it’s lifespan, or giving me more precise control over my games? Or both?
trust me everyone is going crazy for modding cause, the sanwas and seimitus and happs are ARCADE Quality brands and parts, so it makes sense wanting to have the best parts and precise control:wink:
a best example here would be the SFAC stick, the stock parts [parts it comes with] are terrible,
joystick is stiff, buttons are slow and bulky, by putting in different parts means i have more FASTER control over my game, perfect execution = teh win.
if you mod with sanwa/seimitsu then you are using arcade grade parts which is what’s used on candy cabs. these are made to withstand punishment.
control wise a sanwa/seimitsu joystick has a smaller deadzone than the stock hori stick. the point where it engages the microswitch is closer to center than the hori and the return to center feels more solid.
button wise for sanwas is that they are alot more sensitive meaning less effort to engage inputs meaning your inputs will happen as soon as you tap the button before the button hits the bottom.
to be honest though, i seen alot of heads at evo just rocking stock t5 sticks and they were tearing it up
yeah, but man sometime sooner or later your gonna be like, hey i really wish this felt like it did when i used to play at the arcades! so you will do anything like me to get the best of the best. maybe its just an obsession for some people like me with arcade parts and arcades in general :lovin:
If your like me and you use it all the time it WILL eventually break or stop responding precisely if you mod it the life span will be prolonged and in the event that it does break swapping out the bad parts will be a snap
But most of you are american and you want the arcade experience so you mod it with japanese parts???
If you truely want the feel you had when you were playing in the arcade then you’d go for american parts.
And why the diss on the SFAC stick? 1st, its far closer to the american arcade stick that you probably remember if you ever played in the arcades. 2nd if its so terrible then why did Alex and Graham wolfe use it to place top 8 and/or win Evo for ST the last 2 years? For such a terrible stick they must have gotten lucky right?
Ecko, people have perferences, whether that preference comes from personal experience or japan nut hugging doesn’t matter. Most people on this site that goto tournaments seem to prefer japanese parts. Whether there reasons for it are dumb or smart I won’t get into. But they’re comfortable with their choice. And if you’re comfortable with your choice then fuck’em and play the way you wanna play.
However since the VF5 stick by hori does use japanese parts, should it break down or if your anal about having the absolute best buttons and sticks then it shouldn’t be difficult to mod it (which has no statistical data to back it up to say that the parts you mod with are “better” than the ones that come with it anyway just user speculation).
Did Alex/Graham Wolfe use stock parts with their SF AC stick? There’s a lot of people at Evo that use the SF AC stick but that doesn’t mean they use it exactly the way it was when it came out of the box. The buttons that come with the stick are terrible for SF. I hear the stock stick is stiff but useable if you get used to it. I dunno…I would imagine they would have at least swapped the buttons or something. People mainly diss the SFAC stick because of the overly stiff spring in the stick (although it’s probably not bad other than that) and the cheap buttons. The buttons are raised way too high up from the stick and dont feel much at all like real competition buttons. I’d be really surprised to hear that those guys use the stick straight out of the box for tourneys.
Maybe you can call it user speculation but when I play on an HRAP and then play on my custom sanwa I can literally feel the difference. At least in the buttons. The buttons are just a bit stiffer on an HRAP than real Sanwa buttons. Not to mention the buttons on an HRAP aren’t real Sanwa buttons so I can’t imagine that they last as long. HRAP uses a real Sanwa stick so the actual stick shouldn’t feel much different. If there’s one thing that we can all agree on though it’s that a PS1 PCB is the highest quality PCB. So even if you’re good with your stock HRAP/SFAC parts your PCB is gonna short out eventually. It’s proven that they’re just not as responsive with converters and just dont last as long as a PS1 PCB. If it’s a Hori stick of lesser quality than an HRAP then I’m sure the stick wont last as long or is as durable as a true Sanwa. My friend has an old SC2 stick and the plastic Sanwa ball has started to erode over play time. Like the plastic literally peeling off. I’ve never seen a real Sanwa stick do that ever.
If people spent more time playing than worrying about what went where on top of this artwork it probably wouldn’t matter. I bought a Seimitsu modded Agetec and I’ve found that I can play just as well on my stock T5, granted it may not feel as quality.
I’m thinking about unloading all my mods/parts and just using the T5 stock, and once it craps out on me I’ll consider replacing it with JP parts, or just grab another Hori set from some modder for cheap.
Yeah…you dont necessarily have to mod your stick as soon as you get it. It’ll work for a certain amount of time. It’s just better to do it early incase something happens. There’s nothing wrong with the T5 stick really. It’s just a cheap HRAP. Buttons definitely dont feel like real Sanwa buttons and I’m sure the stick isn’t as durable over time. Either way it’s still useable. Only real problems that it has is that the PCB isn’t that great for converters and the cord is kinda cheap. I’ve seen people’s cords torn up in all kinds of ways after long use.
Depends on preference at that point. You’re comparing US to Japanese and that already comes down to preference. Some people like Japanese parts and some people dont. I personally prefer Japanese parts at this point but I dont mind US parts either. Especially if those parts are HAPP parts and someone has modded the stick with a PS1 PCB. With all of the problems I’ve seen people have over long use with a US T5 stick (buttons, PCB, etc.) I’d be more than inclined to just take the week of practice I’ll need to get back into shape on a US stick (I can use both Japanese and US parts decently) and use that instead.
In all reality one isn’t much better than the other just because I know you’d eventually run into problems with the PCB’s on both sticks. I still would feel more comfortable with having real arcade parts in my stick though. I’d have to go with SF AC stick with modded parts. That way if something goes wrong I know it’s because of the PCB or bad wiring and not the actual buttons/stick.
Oh I see. Thank you. another question…and yes its nubby but what is the significant difference between Happ parts and sanwa parts? Quality? I just know sanwa are ACTUAL arcade parts. Thanks.
Both are actual arcade parts. Difference is more so in the feel. Japanese sticks are designed so you dont have to use as much wrist movement to do the motions. Some people like this especially when they’re looking to make a stick that’s lightweight so they can play it on their lap. Some people like to feel their motions through and dont like the sensitivity of Japanese sticks so HAPP style sticks are better for them. US sticks are obviously taller so for people with big hands they may prefer the feel of a US style stick. You can get light spring US sticks as well if you dont necessarily like the harder spring stuff that’s usually at the arcades or on the SF AC stick.
Apparently HAPP buttons are supposed to last longer than regular Sanwa buttons but unless you’re playing Marvel like everyday and multiple people are using your stick you shouldn’t have to worry about them wearing out over time. If you want to spend the money you can buy more durable versions of Sanwa buttons that last longer and are slightly less sensitive to the touch.
I bought a HRAP2 and a T5 stick at the same time. The HRAP2 stick is real Sanwa and the T5’s is an imitation. Both have imitation buttons. They received an equal and typical amount of use over a six month period.
To be completely honest, though they did feel a little different, I did not personally feel that the real Sanwa stick was decisively greater than the imitation one. I felt this way for months.
At the six month mark, I noticed a dramatic change in the feel of the imitation stick. It got floppy. Imagine that, instead of actually holding the stick, you’ve tied a piece of craft string to your hand, and the other end to the balltop, and now you’re pulling it around. To be more precise and less metaphoric, the dead zone is larger and the return is slower… and yet it hasn’t become any softer. It feels gross, and it’s a struggle to make it do anything I want it to do.
The real Sanwa stick still feels just as sweet and precise as it did on day one, and has become even more buttery smooth. I feel like it melts into my hand. I feel like it reads my mind and does everything I want for me even before the thoughts have formed.
By the way, I swapped the HRAP2’s stock buttons out for Sanwa ones three days ago. They are extremely crisp and responsive. I actually never had any real complaints about the imitation buttons before, but I didn’t really understand what I’d been missing; compared to the real Sanwa buttons, they feel like armored sponges.
I’m reading the Parts/Joysticks megathread, but theres still alot I dont understand, so I just want to ask a simple question.
so you will do anything like me to get the best of the best.