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Show Your Fightstick

AuraTheHedgehog said:
I am thinking of getting a fightstick when I get money.
Currently, I'm thinking about getting a Qanba Q1 for my first fighstick, although I don't know if I should save for more and buy a higher quality one right off the bat or not.

I also would like to know, what the difference is between the types of "gates" on a stick?
Firstly, is this your first stick? I assume so, in which case one option is always to get a second-hand one from eBay (360/PS3 sticks are quite cheap because people are upgrading to next-gen consoles, but these *should* work with your PC). That way you can figure out if it's for you without needing to sink quite as much money, but if the price isn't the main barrier for you then there's no reason not to go for a new (quality) stick if you prefer.

The difference in the types of gates is really a minor thing - circle gates would probably be the most difficult to learn with because there are no defined corners, an octo-gate has corners at cardinal and diagonal directions which means that you can still find down-forward but can also ride the gate if needed to get a quarter-circle motion (you shouldn't really be touching the gate at all, but you'll probably need to if you're learning how to use a stick), finally a square gate does not have corners at the cardinal directions, but the pronounced corners on the diagonals could mean that it's easier to do DP motions due to just being able to jam the stick into the corner at the end (again, you really shouldn't be doing this, but probably will in the beginning).

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about the gate to begin with - octagonal and square should both be fine. I'd focus more on getting the right stick for you (either cheap second-hand or good quality, whatever you go for).
 
Vadsamoht said:
Firstly, is this your first stick? I assume so, in which case one option is always to get a second-hand one from eBay (360/PS3 sticks are quite cheap because people are upgrading to next-gen consoles, but these *should* work with your PC). That way you can figure out if it's for you without needing to sink quite as much money, but if the price isn't the main barrier for you then there's no reason not to go for a new (quality) stick if you prefer.

The difference in the types of gates is really a minor thing - circle gates would probably be the most difficult to learn with because there are no defined corners, an octo-gate has corners at cardinal and diagonal directions which means that you can still find down-forward but can also ride the gate if needed to get a quarter-circle motion (you shouldn't really be touching the gate at all, but you'll probably need to if you're learning how to use a stick), finally a square gate does not have corners at the cardinal directions, but the pronounced corners on the diagonals could mean that it's easier to do DP motions due to just being able to jam the stick into the corner at the end (again, you really shouldn't be doing this, but probably will in the beginning).

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about the gate to begin with - octagonal and square should both be fine. I'd focus more on getting the right stick for you (either cheap second-hand or good quality, whatever you go for).
Alright, thanks for the quick response! I'll look around to see if I can find one then.
 
This is a good crash course in gates.


These days square is most common and is generally the default in pre-built sticks. Personally, I'm an octogate heathen, but I can switch between the two easily. Circles can be difficult to get used to.
 
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AuraTheHedgehog said:
I am thinking of getting a fightstick when I get money.
Currently, I'm thinking about getting a Qanba Q1 for my first fighstick, although I don't know if I should save for more and buy a higher quality one right off the bat or not.

I also would like to know, what the difference is between the types of "gates" on a stick?
The gate is the piece of plastic or metal way down inside the mechanism of the stick that restricts your movement. It also tells you what direction your going with your tactile senses. The most common gate you find in a fightstick is the square gate. It's simple. Imagine moving the joystick around, but you can feel it goes in a square pattern instead of a circle. The corners are your diagonals, so you can imagine a straight line going from down-left to down-right. Octagonal gates are also popular choices for fighters, and that's cool. It's really a preference thing. It does change how easy it is for you to get one direction over another, and that's why people choose different ones. SHMUP players actually tend to go with a circle gate, because cardinal directions hold no real value to them. Whatever stick you buy probably has a square gate, and if you decide later you want to switch, it's not a difficult thing to do. All in all, though, it's not a huge deal either way. These graphs also get bandied about whenever the topic gets brought up.

BCw5TPb.png
octagon_gate.png
 
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Thanks to all who provided information about the gates and fight sticks in general!
I hope to get a fight stick soon-ish, whenever I get the money, I'll check around places like eBay and such to see if I can find any sticks that aren't too expensive, but aren't pieces of junk. Any specific sticks people recommend as a beginner stick?
 
The TE would be a good choice, I feel. It's a quality stick, and there are enough of them out there that it's not going to break your bank. Yes, it IS made by Madcatz, but trust me, it's the one thing Madcatz has ever done right.
 
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These are my sticks: the Hori Soul Calibur V for Xbox360 and the Hori Mini Stick 3 for PS3:
sticksP1120644.jpg
The SCV is great: full sanwa, big, heavy, plenty of space for resting the wrists and great price.

I found the Mini in Akiba and bought it even if I don't have a PS3 because I move between places quite a lot and the SCV is way too big to be put in my luggages.
It's obviously way less good than a regular stick but when you can't afford to bring your stick and you don't necessarly play everyday, it's a great choice for still being able to play.
The parts are not Sanwa or Seimitsu but it's still good, while being more noisy though. The buttons are smaller than in a regular stick but it's quite easy to get used to them.
The biggest problem is that you don't have any surface to rest your left wrist on so it's quite uncomfortable, plus the stick, by being so small and light-weighted, can't stay properly on you laps so you need to put a big sketchbook or notepad under (it's even written on the package to do that) Still, it will move during tense moments so it can be a handicap in competitive play.

The price was a little bit under 3000yens so it's cheap, but while I would recommend to anyone who wants to still be able to play with a stick easily while moving somewhere, I won't recommend it that much for competitive play and daily intensive play sessions.
 
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Nekro_Surge said:
but here is a stick i made at work.
Yeah, just go and say something like that with no elaboration. Where do you work that you can build a fightstick?
 
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zarkingphoton said:
Yeah, just go and say something like that with no elaboration. Where do you work that you can build a fightstick?

I work making custom cabinets. during my brakes at work i built my coffin stick. Used my old eightarc for the insides.
 
Oh, okay. That's cool. That is totally not something I would have guessed.
 
I've posted this on Reddit a couple of times but I'm new to this board. This stick is made out of some scrap wood and spray paint.

wy6gXB2.jpg

Build album and evolution here: http://imgur.com/a/tRNAh

Im planning to completely rebuild it this year. I'm pondering using a TEK case to do it but I'm in the UK and it will cost a lot to ship here, so if I can find something made here that is similar I might get that instead.
 
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tek cases are good for what they are but I def. cannot recommend them for more than $60USD really

I recommend trying to buy a cheap secondhand stick and gutting it
 
me-tan said:
I've posted this on Reddit a couple of times but I'm new to this board. This stick is made out of some scrap wood and spray paint.

wy6gXB2.jpg

Build album and evolution here: http://imgur.com/a/tRNAh

Im planning to completely rebuild it this year. I'm pondering using a TEK case to do it but I'm in the UK and it will cost a lot to ship here, so if I can find something made here that is similar I might get that instead.

Throwing this out there, if you do decide to stay with the wood case, you might wanna ask @Pikmario about his stick and what he's done.
 
Merlock said:
tek cases are good for what they are but I def. cannot recommend them for more than $60USD really

I recommend trying to buy a cheap secondhand stick and gutting it

Maybe, but that won't be better than what I've got now anyway. I'm using the stick in stuff like World of Tanks too (with Joy2Key) so I know i'm going to use it, so why not spend a little on getting something beautiful?

If it turns out there is some design flaw with the TEK cases I don't know about there is a design in my head for a 2 piece hot-wire bent perspex fight stick case that I could get a local laser cutting place to make for me, assuming that its feasable to actually make the thing in my head. tl;dr I like the transparent perspex look.

The SimpleCases ones were also really nice, but the guy making them apparently disappeared like a fart in the wind and left a lot of people without the case they paid for.
 
I built a new stick while broadcasting the build on the /r/Skullgirls twitch channel. It is only fair I share the results here too:
mDBmiKM.jpg

Link to timelapse of stream:

Edited video of stream is still in the works...
 
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me-tan said:
I built a new stick while broadcasting the build on the /r/Skullgirls twitch channel. It is only fair I share the results here too:

Edited video of stream is still in the works...
What's the design on the top? I can't quite make it out from that angle.
 
me-tan said:
I built a new stick while broadcasting the build on the /r/Skullgirls twitch channel. It is only fair I share the results here too:
I think if you skipped the spacers and screwed the joystick mounting plate flush with the panel, you would have gotten a nicer stick height.
 
Vadsamoht said:
What's the design on the top? I can't quite make it out from that angle.

Marie's poster, cleaned up, made into a silhouette, and flipped.

ChexGuy said:
I think if you skipped the spacers and screwed the joystick mounting plate flush with the panel, you would have gotten a nicer stick height.

The thought did cross my mind. I'm gonna leave it at this height for now and see if it works for me. I can always adjust it later. The spacers assume you are using a JLF and I'm using an LS40.
 
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me-tan said:
I built a new stick while broadcasting the build on the /r/Skullgirls twitch channel.

Did you cut the plexi yourself or was it a kit?
 
I'm getting interested in buying a fstick and I was wondering what could be a good model in terms of quality.
I've heard about something like a Madcatz Tournament Edition or something being okay but I'm super ignorant about this matter.

I found one on ebay for PS3 (model mentioned above) and I also read that PS3 sticks can work on PC, is that true?

EDIT: Also anything about other manufacturers?
 
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ArgonBern said:
I'm getting interested in buying a fstick and I was wondering what could be a good model in terms of quality.
I've heard about something like a Madcatz Tournament Edition or something being okay but I'm super ignorant about this matter.

I found one on ebay for PS3 (model mentioned above) and I also read that PS3 sticks can work on PC, is that true?

EDIT: Also anything about other manufacturers?
Madcatz is a good brand, HORI and Qanba are the other main ones that come to mind. Also my HORI FS3 was made for PS3 and works fine on PC, but of course that's not an absolute guarantee that a stick by a different manufacturer will work. I *believe* you should be OK, though.

Basically just avoid the Mayflash and no-brand sticks and you should be fine for a first stick.
 
The most important thing is the PARTS manufacturer.

The rule of thumb is: Sanwa lever and buttons are the tournament standard. Seimitsu are the "second choice". The lever is a bit more stiff and activates with less movements, the buttons are a tad more "clicky" too.

There are some new parts that i don't know how they fare (Hayabusa lever and Kuro Buttons), but must be good.

For pre made brands,

MadCatz is the most popular, HORI does amazing pieces (normally lighter and with a weird start button placement) and the recent (and more expensive) Qanba uses Sanwa parts.

Hope it helps
 
Grangach said:
Did you cut the plexi yourself or was it a kit?

It's a kit. You spec up what colours you want and what button layout you want (I use Sega player 2, it fits my hands better that viewlix) and it gets laser cut and shipped out to you with most of the hardware you need to assemble it (it doesn't come with the screws to mount the PCB or the neutrik connector).
 
Grangach said:
Get a qanba q1, 70$
Is that a good one all in all?

EDIT: consider that I live in Europe and additional order costs may apply when I order stuff from the US for example
 
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I'd say a Q4 is a much better investment considering it has sanwas at the very least rather than their own buttons and the Q4 is dual modded whereas the Q1 is not.

They're $150 or so
 
Stuff said:
They're $150 or so

That's a bit too much than I can afford, especially since delivery to where I live is 50 bucks according to eightarc's site, so no thanks...

I get that fightstick are expensive but I prefer to look at more affordable options.
 
You could always build your own. Do you know how to solder?
 
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