El Kabong2 (or making my first arcade stick) - Prologue

Over the next few days (or weeks, or whenever I get around to it..), I plan on documenting my trial and error build of my first arcade style joystick. There will be plenty of pictures, instructions, and tips along the way, but I figured some background on what I'm doing, why I'm doing it this way, and why in the world I'd name it 'El Kabong!' in the first place was necessary. If you don't wish to read my ramblings (and I probably wouldn't blame you), go on down to Part 1, assuming it's even posted. For those of you that want some insight (or if I haven't posted Part 1 yet), read on...

I've played some form of Street Fighter II for the last 19 years. My friends and I have spent so much money on that game in the arcade that we probably could have bought our own machine twice over. We would scour the county trying to find a machine that, not only wasn't packed with no technique, no honor having players (a entirely different post), but one where ALL the buttons worked, the stick didn't hang or get stuck in any direction, etc (which after a while became harder to do, since people had no pride in their machines, as my buddy would put it). When the game finally came out on the SNES, we got it first day.

Wow, that art was bad...

The thing is, even with 6 buttons on the SNES pad, it felt strange for a while. We were used to arcade controls - US arcade controls - and the pad just felt, well, WRONG. A bat joystick, 3 punch buttons in a row, 3 kick buttons in a row, all with that 'clicky' sound and feel to them - that was what we were used to, what we spent so much time and money honing our skills on. So we looked for an alternative.

Even when I was young I found out the importance of 'you get what you pay for'. Sometimes a name brand item will cost more, but in the end it's worth it. So we already know not to trust any knock off Mad Catz anything (this was the early 90s, after all and they're bad reputation was very well earned). When Capcom announced they were making their own stick, we figures 'what could go wrong?' I mean, it's a fighting stick made by the company that made the greatest fighting game to date. It should be perfect! Sadly, it was not to be. My brother saved up his cash and came home with this

I wonder what happened to that stick...

This was NOT what we had in mind. The stick was a ball, not a bat (which wasn't so bad) but was extra loose and nearly impossible to get used to for any moves. Not only were the buttons slanted at a weird angle, but they were convex instead of concave and felt like mush. There was no 'click' to them either. My brother dubbed the stick ‘El Kabong!', which to this day I don't quite understand. After a few games, it went in an unused drawer, never to be seen or used again. So, we stuck with the pad, which is what I've used for the past 16-18 years, from SNES, to PS1 to PS2, from all versions of SFII to the Alpha series (I just could not get into SFIII or the vs. series. Sue me). I'm still using it now. But that's about to change.

With the release of Street Fighter IV came the Mad Catz release of the SE and TE arcade sticks. The SE uses stock parts but can be upgradeable to real arcade parts. The TE comes standard with real Sanwa arcade parts right out the box. The only problem? These were Japanese style arcade parts, which are very different in feel than the American style sticks I was used to. This wasn’t going to work. I toyed with the idea of getting a custom built stick, but the wait times were too long for me to even bother with. When SFIV hit, turn around time for any custom stick was at least 8-10 weeks. So, it was back to playing with the DualShock3. After a few months, frustration set in. With the play mechanics in SFIV the way they are, some moves or button combinations were much more difficult that they needed to be. 2 button pressed for a throw or focus were a pain, True you could map either to a single button, but you would lose the 3xp or 3xk, which is needed for supers and ultras (and not easy to hit on a pad). And while quarter circle movements have been perfected with a pad (and why there are legions of dragon punching Ken players across the globe now), back/forward/back movements stymied me for years, limiting my use of some characters super moves unless I hold the pad in a totally retarded manner. So, it was back online for more research. After a while, I found out the difference between Sanwa, Seimitsu, and Happ/iL parts. I saw the different button layouts used in arcades by different region and on fight sticks. I took a look at a lot of custom sticks and how they were built. I read up on padhacking, case building, custom pcbs, artwork, LEDs, online shops…the works. Turns out there’s a robust cottage industry for fight sticks for those that don’t like the offerings from Mat Catz, Hori, and a bunch of other knockoff companies. After a while, my inner nerd and handyman kicked in. So, I set out to build El Kabong2.

Now, I’m pretty sure some of those terms were totally foreign to some of you. If I tried to explain all of them this post would never get finished, Plus, others have done a much better job. So, here are some links for you to look at for more info and inspiration (I'll post more as I find them):

www.slagcoin.com
Everything you wanted to know about building a joystick, but were afraid to ask. This site is like a joystick builder's bible. From button layouts, PCB diagrams, wiring diagrams, detailed descriptions of happ, Sanwa, and seimitsu buttons and joysticks, tools of the trade, and 3 detailed joystick builds, there's more to learn here than a lottle bit. Definitely the first place I would check.

http://forums.shoryuken.com
This message board is full of hardcore fighting fans. Any popular fighting game or specific character usually has their own writeup with strategies, move lists, combos, etc. The Tech Talk thread is an invaluable resourse for builders. A few helpful and constantly updated threads include:

http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=201537
"Check Out My Arcade Stick" Thread. A number of custom and semi custom sticks. From modded MadCatz sticks, modded Hori sticks, custom built sticks and art of all sorts, this is a great place to get inspiration on what is possible with a fight stick

 http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=118289
The Sanwa and Seimitsu FAQ. All you could ask on Japanese style arcade parts

http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=141741&highlight=happ%2FiL
The happ/iL Information thread. Info on American style arcade parts


http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=170294
The Axisdapter thread. If you want a wireless PS3 stick, here's all you need to know...

http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=162026
The Cthulhu Board thread. Interested in a stick that can be used on yor PS3 and Xbox 360? There's a thread for that...