MAS sticks

Hello all from London. It's raining.

I have the sega stick for my dreamcast but it's so springy, that crouch dash seems overly difficult...I know it's just my inability but I want to blame the joystick so I will.
I was wondering what you thought of the MAS sticks? ( www.massystems.com )
The tekken gods swear by it, but does it do the business on vf?

Take care,
ham.

 

I didn't play with them much, but basically, they're a lot stiffer (extremely type) with a big base (heavy). It's US arcade style, but a bit stiffer than that. You might like it if the Sega Arcade Sticks are too loose or springy to you. Anyways, that's about as much as I can say. Luber, as one who is used to them, what can you say?

-Chanchai

 

I too own a MAS Stick and I'm approaching a god like status
in T3/TTT. j/k. But I can vouch for the quality that is
MAS. The stick is great. It's US arcade quality, except
better since stupid mashers can't ruin them! When I first
got mine, it was very stiff, then I ordered a soft spring,
and it was perfect. If you do order one, make sure to ask
for the soft spring. The default hard spring that they put
in is WAY too tight. At least is was for me anyway...

Bent-Lee

(p.s. Oh yeah, and it works great for VF3 too.)


"Granted my brother, we're good, but people can
still see us."

 

Obviously, I highly recommend you getting a MAS stick. Regardless of what the NYG2 crew thinks of them (yuz don't know what yer missin), MAS joysticks are the pinnacle of fighting game controllers. You just can't beat a REAL arcade stick with REAL arcade buttons. Why anyone would use anything else (unless it's out of their price range) is beyond me. Btw, my MAS came with a heavy spring because I didn't know that it could've been ordered with a light one until after the fact. The only good thing about having the heavy spring is, once you get used to it, the transition from heavy spring to light is a breeze (in the event that you get used to it and have to play on a stick with a light spring, as in the arcade versions). However, as most would already know, the same doesn't hold true for the transition from light to heavy since light springs handle smoother and easier. Good luck!!

Brian

 

bluntly, i thought the MAS sticks were blah, at best. and actually, "arcade joystick" is a big vague, because there's a bunch of different manufacturers of sticks out there. you've got Wico, Happ, Japanese sticks like Seimitsu, etc.
i don't know what brand stick MAS uses (MAS is actually a tiny, two person company that know basic carpentry and basic electronics), but i did NOT like them.
i know that people get used to the sticks they use, either by choice or out of necessity (ie dc vf3 players), and i respect your opinion on the MAS sticks. however the vast majority of people who have dealt with arcade parts, either in arcade games or who have made console units with arcade parts in them, find that Happ Competition sticks are the best out there. i've got em, love em...
http://www.happcontrols.com/amusement/joysticks/competition_joy.htm
anyone un-lazy enough, with a few pieces of wood and with a brain could sacrifice a dc controller and make one with these.
and i wish i had info on how to obtain real japanese arcade sticks, but i've gotten nowhere.

 

MAS joysticks are the pinnacle of fighting game controllers. You just can't beat a REAL arcade stick with REAL arcade buttons.

...yeah...but true only among the gamers in the U.S. I personally prefer Japanese arcades sticks (the real ones) as they have smaller radius around the stick, thus allowing me to do more precise motion with minimal effort.

It's interesting that each country has arcade sticks of different settings. I guess people just get used to it eventually. It's also funny that how a player from one country absolutely hates the sticks from other country. Hey, I know many NA gamers laugh at those ball-shaped Japanese sticks.

But every time I go back to Japan, my fellow VFers always ask me, "How on the earth can you play with that 'hotdog' stick?"

 

It's funny you would mention that Rich

I recall you mentioning Happ parts/sticks at NYG2, but I don't remember if I told you about what a buddy of mine did. He made his own joystick using very hard plastic (he used to work at a plant that manufactured it, so he took some) along with a joystick and buttons he ordered from Happ. The spring on his joystick is extremely light (how he wanted it), too loose for my tastes. Maybe because I'm so used to that damn heavy spring on my MAS. Just wondering, what is it about MAS joysticks that you don't like? The only difference between my MAS and my friends homemade (with the Happ parts, mind you) is the springs in the joysticks, and a MAS stick can be ordered with a light spring if desired. For all I know, those TWO GUYS at MAS may very well use Happ parts for their joysticks. Oh, there is ONE thing that gives Happ a major edge over MAS...all the neat colors you can order their buttons in!!

 

Re: It's funny you would mention that Rich

MAS: i had extreme difficulty finding the diagonals on the mas sticks. the stiffness didn't really bother me. being able to *consistently* find the directions is the most important thing for me.
happ makes a whole bunch of different kind of sticks. out of the three main ones: one of them is total garbage, another is so-so, and then there's the competition stick...
the same goes for wico and others. different sticks, different actuators, different microswitches, different springs, different dimensions. all adds up. no two north american sticks are the "same" unless they are the exact same model.
so i don't know what else to say w/o knowing which model is in yours and your friends units...

--
"A chem bla deshembla blurr fuh bli fouzh"