Changing the arcade cab’s joysticks – 4-way, 8-way, 2-way
So I’d read quite a while ago about changing the gate or plate on your arcade cab’s joysticks and never really “got” it… I mean, I only remember using standard 8-way joysticks when gaming, but I think I’ve finally worked it all out 🙂
It all happened as a result of getting the 48-in-1 installed in the machine – when Wifey and I sat down for some retro gamage, we found that in some cases it just wasn’t controlling that well… Pac-man in particular was problematic! So afterwards I popped open the control panel to see how it worked:
So, by default my cab was setup for 8-way control (i.e. what most modern games use for control), which for the standard rectangle gate on the Sanwa is in the middle:
The shape in the rectangle controls the freedom of movement the base of the joystick shaft has when it sits in the control panel. So, by changing the configuration of the rectangle gate, you can control the joystick’s degree of movement, restricting it to 8-way, 4-way or 2-way (horizontally or vertically).
To get started, remove the screws holding it in place:
From here, you’ve got the rectangle plate itself:
On the left is the 4-way template, in the middle is the 8-way template, and on the far right is the 2-way template, which you can set for vertical or horizontal. I can’t think of too many vertical 2-way controlled games you’d play with a joystick (I mean, Pong can be setup for vertical play, but you’d normally use a spinner instead of joysticks), but still, I’ll show how you set it up 🙂
4-way:
2-way, vertical:
I thought I took a snap of it in the horizontal position, but mustn’t have… go me 😛 Anywho, you pretty much grab the rectangle as per the above image, and swing it around 90° clockwise, then screw it in again.
Anywho, I’ve currently got the two Sanwa sticks locked into 4-way mode at the moment, which means that, in theory, I should now do much better at Pac-man, right?
Oh well, I’d better get back to practicing 😉
… because I am so, so bad at that game!!!!!!
Anywho, there are a handful of extra pics on page two of the Arcade Stuff – Cabinets gallery, so feel free to check it out (and remember, there’s full blah-blah commentary when you click on any of the thumbnails).
