XArcade Tankstick Mods for use with Raspberry Pie/RetroPie

[nsantalu]

Hey everyone. So I recently purchased a Raspberry Pie and started setting it up with RetroPie. We will call that phase 1 of my arcade project. Once I start a project I typically become obsessed and like to see what all I can do with my limited resources.

Below is a link to the kit I purchased:
RaspberryPie Kit

I used the below video for instructions on setting it up:

My next phase was to improve the look and feel of RetroPie itself by adding themes, I'll call this phase 2 of my arcade project.

I used the below video for instructions on how to do the below video (I opted for the Magazine Madness theme):

Watching the various videos about themes I quickly realized that the videos showed box art and videos for each game but I wasn't seeing any of that when I installed the themes. So that of course brought me to phase 3 of my arcade project.... scrapping box art and video snaps.

I used the below video for instructions on doing this using Steven Selph's Scraper:

Shortly after setting up my Pie I realized I wan'ted a more accurate arcade feel but I can't afford a full Arcade cabinet and we really don't have room for one either. So I opted for what I figured would be the next best thing and splurged for a XArcade Tankstick (Dual JoyStick with Trackball). We will call that phase 4 of my arcade project.

Below is a link to the XArcade TankStick I purchased from XGaming:
XArcade TankStick

Much to my disappointment my fancy new XArcade Tank Stick track ball didn't work within MAME on the RetroPie and after doing some research online and on the XArcade website I discovered that if you "update all packages" as I was instructed to do in my earlier setup video you break mouse/trackball support that is needed for XArcade. I tried everything I could to fix the support but the only solution I found was to start over using the pre-configured RetroPie image provided under RetroPie "Easy Way" on the XArcade website:

XArcade RetroPie Setup (easy way)

Once I got it all setup and working the XArcade Tankstick seems very solid and well built but I didn't like that all the buttons were black so that spawned phase 5 of my arcade project... to change all the buttons to be different colors of genuine HAAP arcade cabinet buttons.

Below is a link to the site I purchased the color HAAP buttons from:
HAAP Arcade Buttons

Below is a short video I took of this quick and easy project:

After playing several games with my tankstick i found I wasn't thrilled with the joysticks, they seem to have dead spots and they are not very responsive to angels. This set me on to phase 6 of my arcade project... to research what joy sticks to replace the factory XArcade stick with. I was planning to buy HAPP Competition sticks but after watching a few videos on YouTube comparing them to I.L. EuroSticks (the manufacturer that used to make the HAPP joysticks prior to 2005) I decided to pay the few extra bucks to get those instead. So I've ordered two Red I.L. Euro Sticks and they should be arriving today! I will be installing them this weekend and will post another YouTube video of that build and will post a link here.

Below is a link to the joysticks I purchased from Paradise Arcade Shop:
I.L. EuroSticks

The other thing that disappoints me about the tankstick is that it doesn't have a spinner for games like Major Havoc, Tempest, Archanoid, Marble Madness etc.. Although it is possible to play these games with a joy stick or the track ball it's really just not the same. Naturally that lead me to phase 7 of my arcade project... to add a spinner to my XArcade Tankstick. After doing some research online and watching several videos I decided on the TurboTwist 2 spinner

Below is a link to the spinner. I opted to add their "Accu-Twist™ System" and their "Blue Inset" premium knob but did not purchase the optional "Energy Storage Cylinder" because I don't believe it will fit in the location I plan to mount my spinner (in the center of my tankstick under the track ball).
TurboTwist 2 Spinner

Once the spinner arrives I will post another YouTube video of that build and will post a link here.

Comment if you have any questions.

[chigundo]

Awesome post. I love the videos. It helps me get back on track with my build. Based on your arcade stick mods, do you think you’d rather just build one from scratch next time? Or do you still think it was worth the purchase to still swap out the buttons and sticks?

[caver01]

@nsantalu Good read. Thanks for posting all of the steps and links, as it helps others see first hand exactly what you are building.

The evolution you describe seems to be common among DIY arcade builders over the past decade or so (pre-raspberry pi). While plenty of users buy the X-Arcade solutions and stop there, it can be a gateway to other considerations leading to more controls, more customization, and generally, a much deeper understanding of the hardware and software. I too am curious about your answer to @chigundo's question: knowing what you do now, if you were going to do it over again, would you follow the same path or go completely scratch built?

The one fly in the ointment of an X-Arcade story is the image which they provide for download as the suggested start. By downloading their image and continuing your build from there, customers are in an unsupportable situation--we have no idea what configuration changes X-Arcade may have made to the image they are providing. Moreover, they are in violation of several license agreements which is a legal problem. Finally, the recommendation against full updates is sure to eventually cause support issues. This is unfortunate because it is not difficult to start with the official RetroPie image and install the relevant drivers after that.

The silver lining is that, if necessary, X-Arcade owners can switch to an official RetroPie image at any time and they have a decent bundle of arcade controls that are likely going to last a long time.

I am anxious to find out what you think of the TurboTwist 2 spinner. I have two of them in my cabinet.