Are you guys swapping out restrictor plates per game type?

ChristianG

I keep switching my restrictor plate on my Sanwa JLF based on what games we are playing. This obviously becomes a pain in the neck. Obviously 4 way is great for Pacman but sucks for Tekken. Has anyone tried an octagonal plate and is this a happy medium?

Thanks,
Chris

Capeman

I use octagonal restrictors in my sanwa joysticks in my bartop. I like them alot since they notch into all 8 directions. Makes finding UDLR really easy find for 4 directional games, especially those that ignore diagonals like ghouls n ghosts (arthur stops if you hit a diagonal direction, uhg).

They also feel fine for fighters since doing half circle motions are still possible and are decently fluid.

I recommend them, but hey even if you don't it's only a waste of a few buck from focus attack.

Here's my cab
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/4934/pixel-art-themed-bartop-arcade/11

lilbud

I use no restrictor plate at all

/r/madlads

TMNTturtlguy

@lilbud I am with @lilbud, i don't use a restrictor plate on either of my 2 arcade machines. I haven't run into many issues yet.....but as I get more time to play them I guess i will see if i run into issues.

Capeman

Only issue i could see running into is the throw distance on your joysticks would be really far, that's more of a matter of personal preference though. Without some sort of restrictor, you might shorten the life of the joystick actuators over time if you are hard on your directions, but those things can take a beating and replacements are cheap for sanwa parts.

DorkVonWaterfall

i use a magstick-plus by Ultimarc...its switchable from top, just lift the stick and turn to switch from 4 to 8 way ...

edmaul69

@dorkvonwaterfall i have lots of experience with those. Highly recommend. And you can get ball top or fightstick style handles.

ChristianG

@capeman Very cool cabinet. I will order them today.

Thanks!

ChristianG

@dorkvonwaterfall I read about these. You are a big fan? How do they feel compared to JLF's? Have you used them before?

Thanks.

ChristianG

@dorkvonwaterfall I have my control panel drilled out for the Sanwa's. Do all stick have the same hole patterns hopefully?

Thanks.

spud11

@christiang I'm not using a hardware restrictor plate; instead, I'm using a software restrictor - xboxdrv.

I have a home built 4 player sit down arcade table (cocktail and side by side) with 4 cheap Sanwa-style arcade joysticks. These are 8 way joysticks and ordinarily are very difficult to use for games like PacMan.

I'm using xboxdrv as a 4 way restrictor on a per game configuration basis. PacMan and games such as that work very well. All the normal 8 way arcade games work well too. There's no fiddling around because all the necessary code is contained in runcommand-onstart.sh and works automatically when I start up either a 4 way game or an 8 way game.

FlyingTomahawk

No swapping here.
I have 2 arcade sticks, one with Sanwa stick (JLF) and buttons the other with Seimitsu stick (LS-32) and buttons.
For the Sanwa I use the octagonal plate for fighting games like Street Fighter and other NeoGeo titles. The Seimitsu arcade stick has more like a roundish looking plate and is great for shoot em ups.

TMNTturtlguy

@spud11 can you post a "how to" regarding using the xboxdrv and the 4-way vs 8-way setup and runcommand settings. Also, does this just make the diagnosis dead presses, and this still cause issues of no input on 4 way games?

TMNTturtlguy

@spud11 I have found my answer to the "how to" per this link on github wiki Universal controller calibration & mapping using xboxdrv

I still have the question of how this works, will i still have dead presses if i hit the diagonals?

I think I am going to also open a new thread with this question: I already have my 4 player arcade set up with dragonrise usb and it works great, i have N64 and dreamcast all running perfectly as well as all the standard retroarch setups and I am using @meleu joystick selector tool, again working perfectly. I also have game specific control overrides through retroarch saved to game cores for several games. Can I set up the xboxdrv to run only on the arcade 4 way joystick games and continue to use my dragonrise joystick config, or do i need to redo all 4 joysticks for all my emulators and games using the xboxdrv?

caver01

@tmntturtlguy and @spud11 I too would love to see how this is done. . .but IIR there was a challenge when it came to keyboard controllers. Is that still the case? @spud11, what controller are you using for your 4-player cab? It sounds like we might have very similar hardware configurations. I am using an old IPAC4.

pjft

@tmntturtlguy said in Are you guys swapping out restrictor plates per game type?:

i have N64 and dreamcast all running perfectly as well as all the standard retroarch setups

Slight hijack of the thread, though I always want to learn more when it comes to Dreamcast. Any particular overclocking, emulator settings (resolution? audio? frameskip), and/or what games to you play that run well there? My experience has always been hit or miss.

TMNTturtlguy

@pjft I will get you that info later! On my to do list....quick answer - i get most of them to run fairly well with a 1350 overclock. I have found some games that just don't work. I only run about 15 games right now, but i haven't tried many others. When i am actually at home with my pi i will get you my overclock settings and more info. I have these setting on 3 different pi units, works well on all 3.

pjft

@tmntturtlguy Thanks. Probably the list of games you run is more useful than the exact settings, then, as I might just be chasing the wrong games :) Have a good weekend!

TMNTturtlguy

@caver01 @spud11 @ChristianG I have opened a new topic regarding my specific question: link to topic

spruce_m00se

I have just 3d printed an octagonal plate to try, it feels nice,
I am looking into 3d printing a plate that uses a 5v servo to change from 4 to 8 way. I have an arduino in the cabinet doing other things so could use it to control the servo.