Upgrade AES stick or build new fight stick?

[Phaedrus]

Way back when I got an AES with the stick but never got any games because the AES games were very expensive. Now I have a MiSTer and and 2600-dapter to use the stick with it, but now I realize that the Neo Geo AES stick is actually pretty bad. Mushy buttons and soft feeling stick. I'm really not enjoying using it.

So now the question, should I refurb the AES stick and replace the buttons and stick, or just build/buy a new 8 button fight stick for better compatibility and customization? Leave the AES stick stock.

The AES buttons are easy to replace, but I've only seen one youtube video of someone replacing the actual stick and it looked like a pain to get it to fit.

Anyone modded their AES stick? What did you do? How do you like it?

Any good recommendations on a fightstick? I'm not opposed to some DIY. Would you use Daemonbite, or something else?

[XtraSmiley]

Nah, sell it to get your money and keep the history intact and just buy a new stick. I have an AES and agree with you on the buttons, but I actually don't mind the stick (if the microswitches are working and the spring is still good).

For MiSTer, why not just buy a Hori USB stick for PS4 which can be had pretty cheap. If you want to keep the AES aesthetic, get a Neo Geo X stick and mod it.

[XtraSmiley]

By the way, I got the Soul Caliber 6 stick for only about $70 new and it's fine, but I prefer the Razor Panthera overall due to the extra weight. Both work great via USB on MiSTer.

[aberu]

Agreed with the other one, either sell it or keep it in pristine shape as a collector's item, and get a separate stick for the MiSTer. That is, if you are a heavy stick abuser

[Chris23235]

Agreed, I prefer to keep original hardware intact over upgrading it. I built an arcade stick with parts from Amazon. I used a premade acryl arcade stick case and one of the cheap EG starts sets. I replaced the poor electronics with a Daemon Bite KTRL Arcade, this works great.

The stick and the buttons on these EG starts sets are fine, they are good quality Sanwa clones, this means you can use all restrictor gates on the market to tune the stick to your taste.

[PikWik]

i agree with whats been said

i 100% recommend to invest in a quality arcade stick (preferably with a UFB and a quality stick/buttons).
the arcade stick shell all of those parts go in is personal preference, but a UFB will serve you well for years to come.

if youre hesitant to invest in a UFB, i would point to how versatile that board is with multi-gen console support, PC/PS3/PS4/PS5/xbox'/switch/MiSTer/pi.

i use an arcade stick for all of the arcade games on the MiSTer, the neo geo, atari 2600, and turbografx (because i only play SHMUPs on the PCE).
yes, a UFB is expensive, but with an average of sub 1ms input lag (misteraddons reports 0.7ms in most pollings) it is as close as youre going to get to serial/native support

[Phaedrus]

Thanks everyone. I've decided to keep it stock. It didn't feel right modding it considering it's in really good shape otherwise.

Now for the fight stick. I'd like to go with a UFB, but the availability in Canada seems poor. The official Brooks amazon stores in canada and the US don't even list it. What I have found might be a knock off. Not sure.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0713PGNHD/

I'll have to plan out a build. I have a large format 3d printer so that might be an option to just design and print one.

However I do feel bad starting a fight stick build when I have a Pinsim/arcade stick build currently on hold. Should probably finish one before starting a second.

[PikWik]

im not sure if these websites ship to canada (i wanna say they do)

https://focusattack.com/brook-universal ... h-headers/
https://paradisearcadeshop.com/products ... 5681222818

but, i purchased 2 of the kits below a couple years ago, and would recommend them to someone else looking to make a fight stick.
the kit has all the parts to convert a fightstick to a UFB, or build your own.

https://arcadeshock.com/products/univer ... ss-neutrik

[BigMac2]

Now for the fight stick. I'd like to go with a UFB, but the availability in Canada seems poor.

The DaemonBite project https://github.com/MickGyver/DaemonBite-Arcade-Encoder, build around a Arduino Pro Micro it seams a cheap alternative.

[Phaedrus]

Thanks for the links. Definitely would end up expensive importing.

DaemonBite is an option, but from what I understand there's no console compatibility, which the UFB has, so that's something to consider. Unless I'm wrong about that?

[PikWik]

im thinking the daemonbite is an "original controller > USB" converter/adapter,
but a DIY version, where you disassemble the controller wiring and solder each input to the points on the arduino.

VebMuVv.png (247.58 KiB) Viewed 6323 times

you could also just buy one of those arduino boards and wire it up with arcade parts for a cheaper version of a brooks UFB.
(the input lag on those mini arduinos is actually very good) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07WPCLF8Y

which im assuming acts like a USB controller at that point, which should work with all the cores on the mister, yes.
a USB HID controller should be compatible with most PC systems, PC/MiSTer/Pi, but may not have console support.

[Phaedrus]

I wonder how different it is to a pinsim controller that uses a teensy based o MSF_fightstick xinput.

https://github.com/Jerware/PinSim

https://github.com/zlittell/MSF-XINPUT

https://zlittell.com/fightstick/introdu ... e-project/

This might actually be a good option for me right now since I already have the hardware on hand for the PinSim build that was supposed to get a full arcade stick as well as the flipper buttons etc. I basically ran out of time on the cabinet build. I had envisioned a pinsim base with a slot on the top that the fight stick portion could sit in and still be removed for seated play. Maybe if I finish the fight stick portion I'll get the motivation to finish the cabinet portion when the weather improves.

[Phaedrus]

I went ahead and designed a 3D printed fightstick case and ordered some Sanwa parts along with a Brooks Ultimate Fighting Board. I do plan to open source and share the design files and details after I've had some more time to play test the stick and make some tweaks and different versions.

Here is a photo gallery of the final results.: https://www.reddit.com/r/fightsticks/co ... _complete/

3ng5jfglwwx71.jpg (123.97 KiB) Viewed 5261 times

[Phaedrus]

And here's the finalized source files for the fight stick case.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5132706