Cabinets Joystick Throwdown; Balltop vs Battop

[Sumea]

Depending on your budget, it looks like Amazon have some fairly competitively priced sticks. I can't speak for quality, but some are selling for $40USD

Yeah, sanwa or seimitsu parts that are considered quality japanese parts are 50-60$ total, rest of it is a quality box that I usually recommend to get a used old one you like for cheap, heck, cheap old one for cheap and if you need to, upgrade it with a brook adapter or brook PCB. PCB will cost you but can be more comfortable to use depending on your likes.

 

[Prism_Red]

Balltop, it's easier to flick, that's probably the only advantage I feel over battop haha. I have 3 DIY fightstick that's interchangeable so just in case I want to try another setup I can easily swap the parts and voila.

 

[baroterri9000]

It might come down to personal preference, but I think the ball top is better—at least that's what I see most often in fighting game tournaments.

It's preference of stick technology. It's not so much whether it's a ball or bat-top, but rather what kind of lever the stick is.
Your video is of street fighter legend, Daigo. Here's one of Tekken legend JDCR.

I say this with any peripheral when it comes to fighting games or any game in general. Play what feels best, if the standard Sanwa JLF stick and buttons do it for ya, then sweet. If you used HAPP bat tops and convex buttons growing up and that's how you play, sick. In saying this, there are pros and cons to each.

With Sanwa, or traditional Japanese 'Ball Top' arcade sticks, it's activated by when one/two of four micro switches are in contact with the lever. So, you really can only get 8 directions. I know that there is a HAPP Wico stick that does 360 degrees, so depending on what you're playing it could give you a slight advantage. I also do like a more 'tighter' feel in my arcade stick, so I have a 6 pound spring I put in my Sanwa. That's because I grew up in the USA on HAPP bat tops, which are inherently heavier levers. Anytime I see someone with a MAS stick at casuals or tournaments. I'm like, "What secerets are you keeping?" lmao.

ME, PERSONALLY, in my day to day use. It's a Madcatz TES+ that I've replaced the OEM Sanwa JLF with a newer one and newer buttons just because it was that time. I've smacked those OG buttons and churned butter on that stick for over 6 years, so it was time for a change. Also, like I said before. I have a 6lb spring in it for imidate 'return to neutral' gotta get those Electric God Wind Fists in!

The microswitch point is made a little moot - the only thing that matters is what inputs your game accepts. There's no benefit to a complete analogue range of motion, only for your game to accept hard directional inputs only, like most fighting games and SHMUPs do (these are the two biggest genre for sticks)

My sticks are;
Qanba Q4Raf more special than not edition from PS3, Xbox 360 days, but fully kitted with brook universal fighting board.
View attachment 22538
When I say fully kitted, I mean every function has been wired up to the brook PCB, player LED's under the "special" sticker that shine through, the turbo button functions as does the LED for turbo. Even the switch originally for choosing between PS3 and Xbox 360 modes now works as RS switch; flick it right and the lever now inputs right analog stick commands. Faster than switchless way of holding button combo for 5 seconds, and actually somewhat useful for Tekken 7/8 customization or whatever else like that.
The parts are all sanwa, and the main idea for the Guilty Gear theme was first done on my next exhibit but transferred to this now main stick. I originally got the Ky Kiske button for 200yen while ordering other stuff from AmiAmi and it took years to just order basic Sanwa buttons to make the full Xrd colorization around the taunt button. No shaft cover and fitting dust covers, I feel like that is more accurate earlier 2000's JP Arcade feel. I do have octagates and even 4 way spinned gates for tetris the grandmaster but square gate is overall the best.

The MadCatz Fightstick Pro
View attachment 22539
This thing has seen days. It has had it's original electronics gutted out and replaced with the brook, only for the brook to come out and the original electronics soldered back in with shoddiest soldering job ever, but beauty of an arcade stick all that is inside the box and this one's not see through either. Originally one of the wires connecting a button break-out to the main PCB upper right had disconnected, really cheap stuff you can knock off easily if you do too much inside the stick. Lever is older seimitsu LS-32 that matters with newer ones with Omron switches people do not like as much. The buttons are sanwa and in this case transluscent blues traded with Q4Raf. I used some amiami cards and magic cards for the art in the buttons. Officially, just a PS3 stick as it stands, does work on PC too, and for my use also on my modded switch which fits well enough for me. I meant to install shmups on one of my PS3's and try them out with the LS-32 as a lot of people swear by it.

A sad mayflash of forgotten origin
View attachment 22542
Adibas stick, gopnik stick, while the most unremarkable still loved more than it would deserve. Has whatever mayflash PS3+360 electronics it came out with but stick and buttons are replaced with sanwa. For the theme, I used a Hori Hayabusa lever's shaft without cover, which are more than less Sanwa compatible and painted black from factory. It is ortherwise sanwa. It's plastic, it's not wide, it is lighter than it oughta be but it does well, and for long while it was my only 360 stick to try DOA4 or Deadsmiles with. Also for me works on my modded switch and PC as well which is plenty. Still, with the other two ones this one's a ghetto status symbol, and even without use a certified hood classic.

I might get your help with modding my Q4! It's high time I installed a Brook board in mine. Did you do the work yourself?


Me personally - I use both a traditional Sanwa JLF (the generic, Japanese arcade ball-top) and also this custom Seimitsu lever made by Tekken pro Nobi. It's a bat top, and I just love the feeling and response it gives when inputting Tekken movements.

 

[Sumea]

I might get your help with modding my Q4! It's high time I installed a Brook board in mine. Did you do the work yourself?

Yeah. There are some shittier parts to it especially if you get solder version and are missing some cables in your Q4raf like mine had from past mods by it's original owner, if you have everything inside it is easier but there is STILL crap to it.

One idea I did twice to the Q4Raf I have and friend's mad catz modded with brook was to use a turbo key, or the Mode key as touchpad key, it would not have a use and sits nicely even next to the select key, but Brook UFB (not sure about the newer version) is exctremely finnicky when it comes to the extra TP, L3 and R3 keys. They CANNOT share a ground loop with everything rest of the stick or the board becomes very upset, and in practice this means for the Mode key to become a touchpad key without issues on the rest of the stick. I think same was also same for turbo key so; I had to cut the traces around the turbo and mode keys seperating them, exposing some copper with knife and wiring individual two wires for the buttons and also have a jumper wire connect the cut home and select buttons together into same ground loop. That part really sucks somewhat universally when manually modding sticks because two buttons you want to use for these functions usually reside electronically in same plane and it sucks.
For Q4Raf additional succ is that two of it's posts are great for mounting the UFB onto, very clean very solid, the two other screws would be nice but at least the most stressed area when it comes to amount of wires is solidly there. But the USB-B Port is blocked by a plastic reinforcement post that you either have to cut, or do what I did and solder the USB wire to the board as those solder points are away from the more problematic part.

Any specific questions I will answer in my best ability.
Like said, if you have the connector and wires from upper left still with you in your life, it will be easier but "Full array mod" still requires you to solder those to the brook or at least splice wires with connectors.

Here are some examples of the pristine, beautiful solder work I did:

Not showing the thing about touch and turbo buttons because it is a pain of the ass given the buttons and their rubber membranes are just completely loose once that board is screwed loose, and I gone for a search quest for those more than I would like.

Me personally - I use both a traditional Sanwa JLF (the generic, Japanese arcade ball-top) and also this custom Seimitsu lever made by Tekken pro Nobi. It's a bat top, and I just love the feeling and response it gives when inputting Tekken movements.

This is actually it's unique category of handles called "Bullet top", and is more of a hybrid of ball top and bat top, not outright bat top like most Korean and US/EU/AU levers come with.

 

[baroterri9000]

Yeah. There are some shittier parts to it especially if you get solder version and are missing some cables in your Q4raf like mine had from past mods by it's original owner, if you have everything inside it is easier but there is STILL crap to it.

One idea I did twice to the Q4Raf I have and friend's mad catz modded with brook was to use a turbo key, or the Mode key as touchpad key, it would not have a use and sits nicely even next to the select key, but Brook UFB (not sure about the newer version) is exctremely finnicky when it comes to the extra TP, L3 and R3 keys. They CANNOT share a ground loop with everything rest of the stick or the board becomes very upset, and in practice this means for the Mode key to become a touchpad key without issues on the rest of the stick. I think same was also same for turbo key so; I had to cut the traces around the turbo and mode keys seperating them, exposing some copper with knife and wiring individual two wires for the buttons and also have a jumper wire connect the cut home and select buttons together into same ground loop. That part really sucks somewhat universally when manually modding sticks because two buttons you want to use for these functions usually reside electronically in same plane and it sucks.
For Q4Raf additional succ is that two of it's posts are great for mounting the UFB onto, very clean very solid, the two other screws would be nice but at least the most stressed area when it comes to amount of wires is solidly there. But the USB-B Port is blocked by a plastic reinforcement post that you either have to cut, or do what I did and solder the USB wire to the board as those solder points are away from the more problematic part.
View attachment 23290
Any specific questions I will answer in my best ability.
Like said, if you have the connector and wires from upper left still with you in your life, it will be easier but "Full array mod" still requires you to solder those to the brook or at least splice wires with connectors.

Here are some examples of the pristine, beautiful solder work I did:
View attachment 23291View attachment 23292
Not showing the thing about touch and turbo buttons because it is a pain of the ass given the buttons and their rubber membranes are just completely loose once that board is screwed loose, and I gone for a search quest for those more than I would like.


This is actually it's unique category of handles called "Bullet top", and is more of a hybrid of ball top and bat top, not outright bat top like most Korean and US/EU/AU levers come with.

The Q4's daughterboard was always the sticking point when it came to modding this stick - hearing that we don't have to abandon the buttons on that little panel is a really good sign.
Appreciate it - this is one of those projects that has been on the backburner forever, so I'll definitely DM you when I get around to doing it.

 

[Sumea]

The Q4's daughterboard was always the sticking point when it came to modding this stick - hearing that we don't have to abandon the buttons on that little panel is a really good sign.
Appreciate it - this is one of those projects that has been on the backburner forever, so I'll definitely DM you when I get around to doing it.

Yeah, little bit pain in the ass modding needed thanks to one or two quirks of the brook board; that if you got a newer revision of might test out without those modifications first. I have seen this behaviour that forces you do those mods to any sub-boards on two basic UFB's. Fusion Might have this fixed, might bloody well not, and the boards were on newest firmwares for partial PS5 workability. My first install of the brook on the mad catz was very ghetto, just guttef and wired some microswitches to work as extra home/touch buttons.
The bonus from the TP button is that it works as screenshot button in switch and Xbox modes.

Also, unless you were already aware, as long as you update a basic non-fusion brook even without the UP5 separate upgrade, it still will work with PS5 menus and PS4 games running on PS5. Just PS5 games like Tekken 8 need UP5/Fusion/etc.

 

[Aziamuth]

I play FGs with a levered stick with a balltop. Pretty comfy.

And then I'll go to the mall which has USFIV on arcade, and that arcade machine has battop and it feels SO bad.

 

[tigg]

Balltop. I can get my fingers under the bottom and makes for easier rotation of the stick, plus just feels better on the palm of my hand

 

[RageBurner]

I was never much of an arcade goer, but growing up, I definitely remember bat tops feeling distinctively inferior when it came to range of motion, even though they are more comfortable to grip if you aren't gripping the ball top correctly (i.e the wine glass position).

That said, I imagine things can vary wildly considering the general quality of the rest of the stick assembly, the kind of gating it uses, and so on. All this obviously flew way over my head back then; I just knew what felt right and what felt wrong.