ultra stik 360 any good?

**vuduman67** · December 11, 2006

The title pretty much says it all.

Thinking about upgrading my cab(Have Xarcade controls now) The Joysticks are pretty lose and tend to stick in some directions(To much Robotron ) Any advice on new ones?

Thanks

**lingpanda** · December 12, 2006

The title pretty much says it all.
Thinking about upgrading my cab(Have Xarcade controls now) The Joysticks are pretty lose and tend to stick in some directions(To much Robotron ) Any advice on new ones?
Thanks

Use Happ Ultra's.

**aton** · December 12, 2006

I Just ordered 2 ultrastiks. They look like a godsend.

**vuduman67** · December 12, 2006

Use Happ Ultra's.

I dont see Ultra's listed at happcontrols.com. Which one is it?

Thanks.

**lingpanda** · December 12, 2006

I dont see Ultra's listed at happcontrols.com. Which one is it?
Thanks.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean the Ultra's. Wrong manufacture. I mean the Supers.

http://www.happcontrols.com/joysticks/super_joy.htm

I have alot on my mind.

**Quixote Quest** · December 12, 2006

I'm having a cabinet built right now and I spec'd two UltiMarc UltraStik 360s for my primary joystick control. I chose not to have a dedicated 4-way nor two Happ 8-ways as everything I've read and heard says the custom mapping software (UltraMap) works great, as do the sticks. "Plug n play" they behave like an analog flight stick, though. So if you want other functionality one has to create the maps for interpretation and limitation of the analog signal to the behavior/zones specified.

My question is whether anyone is running GameEx and using these sticks--especially with the UltraMap maps. Does the GameEx software allow you to launch the UltraMap maps on the fly or do you have to open and switch the maps by accessing UltraMap from within the front end?

**Time Pilot** · December 12, 2006

I installed 4 UltraStiks in my cab a few months ago- 2 for each player. I like them for the most part, but they are a bit quirky. Here are some of my current thoughts/issues right now after working with for awhile:

1) Seems to be an issue with some motherboards maybe. I have to set my USB ports to +5VSB via motherboard jumper as suggested somewhere. This provides power to the USB ports even when the computer is off. The sticks don't seem to work without this- dunno why.

2) The U360s don't seem to work through a USB Hub- they need to be plugged into a USB port wired directly from the motherboard (doesn't seem to matter how much power the hub provides or how many you have plugged in- just doesn't work).

3) The drivers don't always seem to initialize correctly on power-up. They worked well for awhile, and then stopped. After wiping all HID devices out in device manager and restarting, the first joystick is now recognized in GameEx. After starting a game and downloading new maps, all of them work. Stinks when you boot directly into GameEx and none of your joysticks work- you have to plug in a keyboard, start a game, and then you are fine. I have GameEx configured to download maps on startup, but this doesn't seem to solve the problem. At least now one joystick is recognized on startup, so I can get the initial game started and exited in GameEx.

4) For downloading maps, there is a command line tool you can add to a batch file to run on game launch. There is a tool to create custom mappings. These seem to work really well. Someone is bound to write a cool GameEx plugin for this, but now I manually configure a batch file for each game.

5) There is a new Beta firmware for the U360s that allow them to work like mice/trackballs. I haven't tried it yet- still trying to get basic operation to be reliable. I think this would be great for 2-player Rampart though.

6) I love being able to reconfigure Player 1's second stick to be the main stick for single player games- nice to be standing directly in front of the screen.

7) Some people say that there is too much play in the sticks as compared to a digital stick. I'm not much of a purist and I'm not bothered by it too much. You can order stiffer springs and longer handles. I'm using the longer handles (I have a wood CP) and medium springs. The hard springs were REALLY hard, the soft ones are REALLY REALLY soft). The mediums seem good, but the tension seems to vary somewhat between springs so they all feel different from each other.

8) I guess the sticks are modified Sanwa sticks. I'm not too familiar with them, but that might tell you something if you are.

9) I've had trouble getting the tops to stay on the sticks. They come with little lock washers, but they don't seem to work too well. They come loose easily and quickly during play (have to be retightened after each screen of Ms. Pacman). I've been having a little success with teflon thread tape (plumber's tape) applied liberally to the threads. Maybe LocTite?

10) The Ultimarc Forum may be a good source of info, but I haven't had much luck there with U360 questions. http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/postl...;Board=ultimarc

11) You can plug up 8 buttons into each joystick- made wiring things a bit cleaner.

I'm really hoping to get these working reliably- they really solve a lot of customization problems for a control panel.

Just a bunch of random stuff, but maybe that will help out with your question.

-TP

**vuduman67** · December 12, 2006

I installed 4 UltraStiks in my cab a few months ago- 2 for each player. I like them for the most part, but they are a bit quirky. Here are some of my current thoughts/issues right now after working with for awhile:
1) Seems to be an issue with some motherboards maybe. I have to set my USB ports to +5VSB via motherboard jumper as suggested somewhere. This provides power to the USB ports even when the computer is off. The sticks don't seem to work without this- dunno why.
2) The U360s don't seem to work through a USB Hub- they need to be plugged into a USB port wired directly from the motherboard (doesn't seem to matter how much power the hub provides or how many you have plugged in- just doesn't work).
3) The drivers don't always seem to initialize correctly on power-up. They worked well for awhile, and then stopped. After wiping all HID devices out in device manager and restarting, the first joystick is now recognized in GameEx. After starting a game and downloading new maps, all of them work. Stinks when you boot directly into GameEx and none of your joysticks work- you have to plug in a keyboard, start a game, and then you are fine. I have GameEx configured to download maps on startup, but this doesn't seem to solve the problem. At least now one joystick is recognized on startup, so I can get the initial game started and exited in GameEx.
4) For downloading maps, there is a command line tool you can add to a batch file to run on game launch. There is a tool to create custom mappings. These seem to work really well. Someone is bound to write a cool GameEx plugin for this, but now I manually configure a batch file for each game.
5) There is a new Beta firmware for the U360s that allow them to work like mice/trackballs. I haven't tried it yet- still trying to get basic operation to be reliable. I think this would be great for 2-player Rampart though.
6) I love being able to reconfigure Player 1's second stick to be the main stick for single player games- nice to be standing directly in front of the screen.
7) Some people say that there is too much play in the sticks as compared to a digital stick. I'm not much of a purist and I'm not bothered by it too much. You can order stiffer springs and longer handles. I'm using the longer handles (I have a wood CP) and medium springs. The hard springs were REALLY hard, the soft ones are REALLY REALLY soft). The mediums seem good, but the tension seems to vary somewhat between springs so they all feel different from each other.
8) I guess the sticks are modified Sanwa sticks. I'm not too familiar with them, but that might tell you something if you are.
9) I've had trouble getting the tops to stay on the sticks. They come with little lock washers, but they don't seem to work too well. They come loose easily and quickly during play (have to be retightened after each screen of Ms. Pacman). I've been having a little success with teflon thread tape (plumber's tape) applied liberally to the threads. Maybe LocTite?
10) The Ultimarc Forum may be a good source of info, but I haven't had much luck there with U360 questions. http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/postl...;Board=ultimarc
11) You can plug up 8 buttons into each joystick- made wiring things a bit cleaner.
I'm really hoping to get these working reliably- they really solve a lot of customization problems for a control panel.
Just a bunch of random stuff, but maybe that will help out with your question.
-TP

Holy Cow, now thats what I call input....About the only thing that scares me is that usb detection problem and of course the fact that Gameex might have issues. Thanks alot for all the info it definatly helps with my decision.

**Time Pilot** · December 12, 2006

It doesn't feel like a GameEx issue as it was working earlier. Just dunno yet... It seems like downloading new maps has an effect on detection at certain times... Too bad we don't have source for the drivers or download utility...

I'm running XP Home on my cab right now. I did see a post somewhere for the IPAC that indicated that USB support was different and better in XP Pro. Hmmmmm.... Might be worth investgating...

-TP

Holy Cow, now thats what I call input....About the only thing that scares me is that usb detection problem and of course the fact that Gameex might have issues. Thanks alot for all the info it definatly helps with my decision.

**Quixote Quest** · December 13, 2006

That's amazing feedback Time Pilot. Thanks for making the time.

While I really want to use GameEx for my frontend your input leaves me concerned about stability. Supposedly the Config files, based on the map files, make loading configs for the stick on the fly on a game-by-game basis a snap. (Though I'm not sure whether you can create configs on a genre-basis or rom parent family basis.) I'd like to make my sticks default to an 8-way except where I indicate special on an individual game-level. But if I have to jump out of GameEx in order to run the Config files--or even just to get the USB to recognize the sticks properly-- that's a major stability roadblock to me.

But I do need to give a spin just using MAME32 for starters--probably best to do that before jumping into a frontend. My cab builder says the 360s work like a breeze. But once I get into using GameEx he has no input for me.

**cupid** · December 13, 2006

I had the same detecting issue with two ultrasticks at my passive USB-hub. As I made it active my issues were gone (using XP-Pro). It seems to me, that they use more than 100mA...

I have installed the firmware with beta Mouse support, but i had to set the mouse-speed to minimum to control the mouse with the sticks. This resulted in a ultra slow trackball (from ultimarc) and spinner in my machine (OK, you can set the speed in Mame to, but i couldn't control windows with my trackball anymore because it was so slow). So I'm not using the Mouse function with my joysticks. I tried several mouse drivers, but found no driver where you can control the speed of one device and not the others.

Although i have not much spare time, I'm planning to write a plugin to auto-set the Ultrasticks depending on the Game. But at the moment i ran into several problems using VC#Express and the Templates. I'm into it, but don't expect any pace on this project.

I'll try to solve the problems at first by myself (to learn some more about it), but if I can't solve them i'll ask the community.

If I have the first version running, I will upload the sources here in the forum.

Ah... and yes! I love these sticks. 4 way mode works great. I too like the soft springs (they are just like the soft sanwa springs originally installed in my Sega Naomi).

**vuduman67** · December 14, 2006

I had the same detecting issue with two ultrasticks at my passive USB-hub. As I made it active my issues were gone (using XP-Pro). It seems to me, that they use more than 100mA...
I have installed the firmware with beta Mouse support, but i had to set the mouse-speed to minimum to control the mouse with the sticks. This resulted in a ultra slow trackball (from ultimarc) and spinner in my machine (OK, you can set the speed in Mame to, but i couldn't control windows with my trackball anymore because it was so slow). So I'm not using the Mouse function with my joysticks. I tried several mouse drivers, but found no driver where you can control the speed of one device and not the others.
Although i have not much spare time, I'm planning to write a plugin to auto-set the Ultrasticks depending on the Game. But at the moment i ran into several problems using VC#Express and the Templates. I'm into it, but don't expect any pace on this project.
I'll try to solve the problems at first by myself (to learn some more about it), but if I can't solve them i'll ask the community.
If I have the first version running, I will upload the sources here in the forum.
Ah... and yes! I love these sticks. 4 way mode works great. I too like the soft springs (they are just like the soft sanwa springs originally installed in my Sega Naomi).

Is it easy to switch from 4 way to 8 way?

**cupid** · December 14, 2006

vuduman, at the moment you have to use an application to switch from any to any other mode. Look at http://www.ultimarc.com . Everything is explained there.

Just to be clear: you dont switch the hardware, just the software in the joystick. It has no hardware switches like other joys, but is an analog joystick with some logics to simulate a dedicated 2,4,8 way or diagonal joystick. You can even design own templates to make a 3 way joystick or other weird things.

I'm trying to write a plugin for GameEx to set the joystick modes according to a game. So from gameex this could (if i'm successful) be very easy.

Cupid

**vuduman67** · December 15, 2006

vuduman, at the moment you have to use an application to switch from any to any other mode. Look at http://www.ultimarc.com . Everything is explained there.
Just to be clear: you dont switch the hardware, just the software in the joystick. It has no hardware switches like other joys, but is an analog joystick with some logics to simulate a dedicated 2,4,8 way or diagonal joystick. You can even design own templates to make a 3 way joystick or other weird things.
I'm trying to write a plugin for GameEx to set the joystick modes according to a game. So from gameex this could (if i'm successful) be very easy.
Cupid

I ordered a set yesterday Keep me posted on that plugin and thanks for your help.

**Ricci** · December 15, 2006

ultra stik 360 any good?

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