I’m having a mod done on an X-Arcade DUAL case. I was gonna order a bunch of Happ Competition buttons from Lizard Lick, but then realized that the plungers may not fit in the “bottom row” of the X-Arcade button layout (I know people usually plug those up, but I plan on using it for the “Run” button in UMK3).
Then I noticed the Yenox buttons on Lizard Lick, which seem to be the same style as Happ, but shorter.
Some follow-up research on this site seems to indicate that the Yenox buttons feel different than Happs, and thus are often used for “special” buttons like Start or a Guide button.
My question is just HOW different do they feel? I kind of want a smooth Run button in UMK3, so if there is a huge tactile difference than I might just risk the longer Happs and hope my modding guy can jam them in there. :bottle:
of course, if anyone has done a similar mod and can confirm that the regular Happs will fit without a problem, then this whole discussion is moot!
I was able to put Happ competitions in every single button hole on my dual x-arcade with no problem. They are the same length as the x-arcade cheapo buttons. I also recommend the Happ competition stick or the eurostick–they are exactly the same–as it is the best stick you can put in there easily.
One note: x-arcade puts a little glue on all the joystick nuts, but they are exceptionally cheap plastic so a little squeeze with a pair of pliers breaks the bond easily
Thanks, that’s very reassuring to hear about the buttons! akuma001 is the guy doing the stick, and he actually recommended the eurostick as well. Thanks for the tips!!
When I did mine it was around $70 parts + shipping. But then I also replaced EVERY button (including P1 and P2 buttons and the modifier side buttons) and ordered a few extra buttons just in case. I’m surprised you are having someone else do it. There is no soldering involved at all. All you really need are some tools (screwdriver, socket wrench, pliers) and a lot of patience. The iL eurosticks i got also had slightly larger tabs on the cherry microswitches for whatever reason but its pretty easy to widen out the QDs with a flathead. I’d also order a few extra QDs while I was at it because the stock ones are rather flimsy and I broke one by accident when doing my mod.
Biggest difference besides quality is that Yenox buttons are Extremely Tight compared to many other buttons. In fact Yenox we’re the stiffest buttons I’ve ever encountered. Which makes them ideal for special buttons since grazing them won’t trigger them
I agree with Thirteen about doing it yourself. I am probably the least mechanically inclined person I know. I have so much trouble with PC heatsinks, especially Core2Duo’s and I was able to switch out all my buttons/sticks on my X-Arcade Dual with Happ parts myself. I even cut it in half and used a ps1 digital in one and am picking up a Cthluthu for the other side. It’s ugly as sin because I cut it, but its lighter and the 2 sticks were too close for 2 player action without getting the other player pregnant. =P
But good call on Happ buttons + Euro IL stick on x-arcade. All the parts are drop in and screw.
A question a bit off topic. I got 2 Yenox plugs for the bottom row of buttons because at the time of purchase Lizardlick was out of stock for Happ hole plugs. On the next order, Chad mentioned they picked up some more Happ plugs and he mentioned they were “better” than the ones they previously stocked. However I seemed to like the Yenox plugs better because they are curved like a little mound instead of being flat and kinda “chisel-ed” off like the Happ ones. Does anyone know how the new Happ plugs differ from the old and if you have a preference with hole plugs; Happ/Yenox/other brands-styles?
Well what I’m going for is a dual mod. There are gonna be four PCBs total - two PS2 and two 360. Since I’ve never soldered anything in my life, I’m much more comfortable having an experienced modder handle this!
Maybe if I do one of those Norris stick things I’ll try it myself, but for a project of this magnitude it’s worth the extra money and peace of mind IMO! Even for something as simple as the custom art… I’ll be much more comfortable having an experienced guy cut and mount all that for me (I’m ordering it from mamemarquees and shipping it straight to him).
Thanks again for the input everyone. I might go the Yenox route for the start buttons, but it’s Happ Comp all the way for the main buttons!
And just to clarify the nature of the project… The case itself will be the only original X-arcade part left on this stick. All the innards have been scrapped. Every button (and both sticks) will be completely new.
It’s a sad state for UMK3 gamers on the 360… our ONLY option for a suitable stick is to go the custom route! Meanwhile I wouldn’t want a stick that didn’t work on Capcom fighters. This is why the X-arcade’s button layout always appealed to me. So if you’ve got an X-arcade case to start with, I figure it’s an ideal platform to make a UMK3-ready stick out of!
If you get the iL eurostick from Lizard Lick the connects on the microswitches are 1/4" instead of 3/16". I don’t know why (they are still Cherry brand), but you can tell if you look really closely at the pictures. Just something to let your builder know as he’ll need different size QDs for it if that’s what you go with.
Thanks, I notified the modder about this in case it’s a problem. btw, which system did you do your mod for? If it’s 360, I’m curious how you did your button layout. On mine, the extra button on the bottom-left (where UMK3’s run button would be) will be a duplicate input for the left bumper (shared with the button in Capcom’s “medium kick” position). I’ll use the “pinball” buttons for Guide, so it’s hard to trigger by accident. And I was thinking about making the bottom-right button (next to run, below capcom layout) the “back” button - I know this seems odd, but I figure it’s good to have that button in there, even if it’s not used much. Some training modes use it, I can “future-proof” the controller if they ever put Alpha games on Live (I imagine they would map the “fake” moves to the back button rather than start), and it doesn’t seem like it would cause any problems in the games I have if it was accidentally triggered during gameplay. I wanna keep that button in for PS2 anyway, so I didn’t wanna plug it up.
I actually didn’t mod the PCB since I don’t need x360 support. I only use it for PC and Dreamcast. I know some people say they have lag issues but I really haven’t noticed any. For the layout though, you can always drill new holes as necessary.
I actually really like the Yenox buttons - the Sanwas feel too light to me. I just installed 8 Yenox buttons in my SF4 SE fightstick, and they went in perfectly - I didn’t have to whip out the Dremel or anything! They seem to just barely fit vertically, too, which I was a little worried about; the Happs would not have fit in this case.
Of course, I also like old-school IBM clicky keyboards; I’m a sucker for heavy resistance and tactile feedback, I guess.
I CONCUR!!! I ordered happ concave pushbuttons with horizontal micro switches and they seemed very sub par!! I then found on here that Ponyboy’s Thread, he is a distributor of iL parts, the original parts that Happ would use, and are of very high quality. So i bought the iL concave pushbuttons with horizontal micro switches and compared to the Happ concaves they blow them out of the water. Somebody in another thread posted a pic of the difference in appearance between the two brands and the iL concave buttons sit lower and are the original buttons in the old SF2-SF2 Hyper Fighting cabinets and probably others too from back then…so check out his thread well worth everyone’s time! Hope this helps!
Yeah its pretty funny when people buy Happ for that “classic” arcade feel when Happ doesn’t even sell those buttons anymore. People will defend Happ no matter what though. If you want “American” style buttons then you need Spanish made iLs.
I am a Happ fanboy, but after having tried Happ, Sanwa, and Seimitsu I like Seimitsu equally as well as Happ. They have a great feel if you aren’t fond of the Sanwa buttons. Now I’m curious what the Yenox feel like.
