Question About Arcade Parts

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Fallsmyer
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Question About Arcade Parts

Post by Fallsmyer »

Does anyone know if there are differences between the JP VO cabs and the ones shipped overseas? I'm looking into creating some custom twin sticks using the arcade hardware.
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twistedsymphony
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Re: Question About Arcade Parts

Post by twistedsymphony »

Fallsmyer wrote:Does anyone know if there are differences between the JP VO cabs and the ones shipped overseas? I'm looking into creating some custom twin sticks using the arcade hardware.
If you're talking about OMG then yes there are a number of differences in the cab design..

specifically there are 3 different syles of VO twin sticks in Arcade cabs

OMG twin units all used Happ style flight stick-grips... the rest of the sticks are specific to sega though...
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the Japanese OMG Candy cabs (Sega Versus City Candy Cab units) have a completely different twin-stick design... I don't know much about it but it looks uncomfortable as hell and I almost always see them broken or selling way cheaper than any other stick so I would suspect these are crap. Supposedly based on Sanwa JLW sitcks
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All newer (Candy and Twin unit) VOOT and Force machines use very similar sticks and they were completely redesigned from the OMG cabs and completely specific to Sega. I've heard that there are slight differences between VOOT and Force sticks but other than color of the grips I can't tell the difference in design from pictures.
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The Saturn and Dreamcast twin sticks share a similar shaped grip but the base units are much weaker on the home console twin-sticks... There are some slight difference between the SS and DC sticks... the DC ones are a touch better from what I've heard.
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I don't know about the Xbox 360 Hori Twin sticks, I've heard varying reports from them being actual arcade parts to them being a completely different design altogether.


There are also a number of arcade flight sticks that people have used on actual arcade machines... these "work" but none of them are real Sega sticks and while some of them are arguably good quality none of them will feel like the real deal (particularly the grips). Also the grips on ALL of these different sticks seem prone to failure in arcade environemnts so a lot of times you'll have the base from one style stick with the grip from a different style based on whatever the arcade operator could find... so be aware of that.


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FWIW I have a US market Twin unit with original sticks... they are built like a tank. They feel like controls you'd have in an actual mech, not like arcade controls. As a result they're a little clunky but I've never felt they they were holding me back, and once I rebuilt them (disassembled, re-greased and tightened everything back up) they play really great.

I also have 1 Japanese market VOOT stick that I've played around with, the build quality is slightly above that of a typical arcade stick, but it has a really short throw and a really "clicky" feel to it... it's definitely designed for high-level play/twitch reflexes...

IMO the Japanese VOOT/Force Arcade sticks are the best sticks you can get for this game PERIOD...

beyond that the Saturn/Dreamcast sticks will probably be more geared toward high level play but prone to failure, while the US Arcade sticks are a little slower but could survive nuclear fallout and still work fine.

Hori sticks are probably better than SS/DC sticks but they're so expensive you might as well just source Japanese Arcade sticks instead... and the OMG Japanese candy sticks aren't worth buying IMO.


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if you want close up pics of the OMG Twin or Japanese VOOT sticks then let me know and I can snap some.


if you're building a custom twin stick then you'll probably want to avoid the OMG Arcade sticks I'd need to measure but I'd guess you'd need about 5inches of depth from the mounting sufrace to clear the housing and leave room for the wires since they come straight out the bottom... This is probably why sega used a different design for the OMG Candy Cabs since their control panels wouldn't have enough depth for the larger Twin unit sticks.

If you do find a good source for VOOT/Force Arcade sticks let me know... I need 3 more to go with the 1 I've got so I can outfit my OMG cab with the newer style sticks.
Last edited by twistedsymphony on 25 Sep 2014, 06:20, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Question About Arcade Parts

Post by MentholMoose »

A lot of good information. I just have a couple things to add.
twistedsymphony wrote:I've heard that there are slight differences between VOOT and Force sticks but other than color of the grips I can't tell the difference in design from pictures.
Somewhere on the forum are schematics of the VO4 arcade sticks. They do look identical from the outside but the schematics show otherwise. The arcade VO4 sticks have an actual microswitch for the turbo button, whereas previous versions (arcade VOOT, SS, and DC sticks) have a soft dome membrane switch for turbo.
twistedsymphony wrote:The Saturn and Dreamcast twin sticks share a similar shaped grip but the base units are much weaker on the home console twin-sticks
The grips from DC and SS sticks are actually identical (aside from color) and are fully interchangeable with each other and also the grips from arcade VOOT.
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Re: Question About Arcade Parts

Post by Fallsmyer »

Thank you both for the prompt and in-depth response. I currently have a pair of DC Twin Sticks modded with a PS360+ and a dual modded Hori Force Edition EX Twin Sticks. I'd like to get 2 more Twin Sticks so I could host system link Force matches and was thinking to go custom made using arcade parts. Wanted to figure what kind of parts it used before proceeding.
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Re: Question About Arcade Parts

Post by twistedsymphony »

Yeah you'll definitely want to use the Japanese VOOT or Force Arcade sticks as the best option...

Since you own both the DC sticks and the Hori sticks... I was wondering how you felt they compaire?

also do you know if the Hori sticks use the diaphragm button for turbo or a micro switch? (you should be able to tell just buy pushing it... the DC sticks use a diaphragm which should have a soft rubbery action, where as a micro switch will be "clicky" like the triggers.

Any pics of the inside base would be good too.
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Re: Question About Arcade Parts

Post by Fallsmyer »

I like the size and weight of the Hori sticks more, but the DC sticks feel more comfortable and responsive. I also get less misinputs when playing Fighting Games with the DC twin stick as opposed to the Hori. As for the Turbo buttons, they are very clicky.
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Re: Question About Arcade Parts

Post by tcancian »

I know this thread is somewhat old but I'd like to give my opinion on the hardware, particularly the japanese OMG upright cabinet stick. I think it's by far the best option for anyone building a controller in a budget situation. The OM controllers are hard to come by, and sure enough, they're awesome, but the upright cabinet stick uses Sanwa JLW as a basis, I've own both the Sanwa JLW and the Stick and they are pratically the same, except of course, for the addition of the grip and triggers.

The grip itself is more unconfortable than the home versions, and it also twists more but it's way more reliable and you can also service the parts more easily. The buttons on the grip also feel more clicky than their home counterparts, it seems the Dash button is a tact switch, not a rubberdome. I can't confirm this as I've received both of them serviced from the seller and have no intention, or tools, to open them up. I've got mine for about 45 usd each. I can post pictures if anyone's interested. Price-wise, both sticks are cheaper than the home versions (shipping for my country is close to 100 usd, though you can get one cheap through Yamatoku Classic at eBay, I've got my SS TwinStick for a single dollar on auction), and cheaper than a single new Sanwa JLJ stick.

Comparing the SS and DC TwinSticks the DC seems a bit more well built, I don't remember who manufactured the parts, but the electric switches on the DC are better than the ASCII ones on the SS, though you could mod the SS quite easily and then there's the fact that the SS twinstick is close to 20 years from it's manufacture date by now (and who knows how much the previous owner used it), so it needs maintenance before constant use.

As twistedsymphony did point out, they twist quite a bit, so potential buyers be advised.
Last edited by tcancian on 26 Sep 2014, 12:54, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Question About Arcade Parts

Post by twistedsymphony »

tcancian wrote:I know this thread is somewhat old but I'd like to give my opinion on the hardware, particularly the japanese upright cabinet stick. I think it's by far the best option for anyone building a controller in a budget situation. The OM controllers are hard to come by, and sure enough, they're awesome...
OMG Twin unit sticks are big and bulky but ultimately they suck because they're slow and heavy with a very large dead-zone making it difficult to perform any moves with precisions. They're fine for OMG but worthless for OT or Force.
tcancian wrote:...but the upright cabinet stick uses Sanwa JLW as a basis, I've own both the Sanwa JLW and the Stick and they are pratically the same, except of course, for the addition of the grip and triggers.
The grip itself is more unconfortable than the home versions, and it also twists more but it's way more reliable and you can also service the parts more easily. The buttons on the grip also feel more clicky than their home counterparts, it seems the Dash button is a tact switch, not a rubberdome.
What you're describing is are the sticks used on the OMG Candy Cabs... These are the least desirable because of that twisting action, they're basically a normal joystick with flight grip. The most desirable sticks used on OT and Force arcade cabinets (both Twin Units and Candy Cabs) are completely different and these are the most desirable ones with grips that are identical to the home Twin Sticks...
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Re: Question About Arcade Parts

Post by tcancian »

@twistedsymphony

I'm aware those are probably the best sticks but I've never seen them being sold on eBay or Yahoo Auctions, at all. The JLW mechanism is also way more reliable than the Home versions, even if you do grease the home sticks they'll end up breaking with intense usage and repairing those using Seimitsu parts is possible but even so :roll: .

The home version grips are more comfortable, but as said, it's considering a budget situation. You can get used to the twisting action with enough time. I'd love to have the JLJ sticks or original VOOT or Force sticks, but they're way too expensive and rare. It's unlikely to build a stick using those parts for less than 200 usd, the JLJ stick alone is 135 usd at ParadiseArcadeShop. If I ever do open those up I'll look for a way to stop the twisting from happening, If I manage to do so I'll post a tutorial. They're the cheapest arcade-quality parts avaiable.

I'll post some pictures of the japanese OMG sticks for reference.
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