arcade stick n00b

Just keep practicing. You are only having a hard time because you aren't used to it. I use an EX2 at home and VSHGs when I go to other peoples' houses and I can play VF just fine on either of them. Once you get used to putting in your inputs (which will probably take some time in training mode) you'll do just as good, if not better than on a pad. You will also find ETEG much easier to do on a stick.

 

EX2s do have a square gate. I don't know if the Soul Calibur 4 version has one, but I know the VF one definitely has.

 

They all have square gates. They're all technically the same, except for the artwork, or that's the official story, anyway. I never liked the SC4 style sticks, since the spring felt too loose for my taste.

 

I had the same problem as well when I bought a EX2 for VF5. Once I found out about swapping the square gate out, with a octagon one, everything went smooth from there. I was able to do my moves with no problem. There's no advantage on playing with a octagon gate or square, is just preference.

 

Can anyone recommend the HORI Real Arcade Pro EX?

 

I Can recommend the HRAP EX.

It's very big and heavy at the beginning, but now I got used to it and it feels so natural. I like having so much room to rest my hands on! and since i sit on the floor with my back resting on the sofa, the stick sits nice and steady on my lap.

The lever itself is a Sanwa JLF but not the one with the microswitches soldered directly to a board, so It's possible to swap the microswitches without buying a new JFL. That's handy because there is no common ground and it would be a pain otherwise.

The original buttons are not Sanwa and I swapped them out immediately, so I cannot comment on those.

The stick has a black metal panel that can get dusty and needs to be cleaned a lot.

there are 8 buttons and I removed the far right 2 because they bother me. luckily there are nice hole plugs for that.

one good thing about the stick is that it looks nice with every colour, I have red buttons, zeroex has blues, nik has pinks and they all look nice.

 

Thanks for the info, just I was wondering if it was worth me getting one instead of another ex2, or an extremely pricey TE stick

Funds are low and my buttons are failing on my current EX2.

Although I feel comfortable with the size of it, maybe I should put a brick in it to make it heavier. I feel should get a new one but mod everything. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

How much can you get the HRAP for MP?

I really liked the HRAP, my moves come out and everything... Unlike the EX2.

HRAP probably is your best option if you can find one for an affordable price.

 

£140 on Amazon, although they don't get there's in til August.
Nothing on ebay and play-asia has sold out.

Hoping the price will come down once we get to august, i'm just going to have to keep my eye out for a good bargain /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

The SF4 Madcatz Tournament Edition sticks are my favorite out of any I've used.