My Arcade Gamestation durability of the joystick?

[ComputerSpaceFan]

Since we Canadians have to wait till tomorrow to actually be able to buy a My Arcade Gamestation Pro, I've got my finger on the "purchase" button right now but I'm just curious: those of you who have had the unit for a while, how durable is that joystick?

I busted a FlashBack 2 joystick on Saboteur years ago so I'm adjusting my play style not to be so rough.

Are the Gamestation joysticks flimsy?

 

Also, anyone able to confirm the sync issue a Reddit guy posted about below?

 

 

[suspicious_milk]

I've had it for a few days.  My 5 & 8 yo have been quite abusive & so far so good.

 

Personally, I was initially impressed but after playing many games my enthusiasm waned a little.  Control on some games is spectacular (Millipede, Spider Fighter) while others it's horrible (Ms Pac Man, Donkey Kong VCS).  Either way, they appear sturdier than they look; so far.

[ave1]

Has anyone tried to play Ms Pacman with a wired Xbox 360 controller?

[suspicious_milk]

If you are attempting sideloading (sd card) any 5200 games ...

 

L1 with this controller brings up an OSD numpad.  The default sticks have no way to access.

 

The included 5200 roms are fine, but sideloding 5200 roms have weird control issues (pole position behaves as though you're using a non centering stick, for example).

 

Idk if just any ps4 controller will work cause the Hori is the only one I have.  It is also the only controller that functions out of the box with the gamestation pro, pcengine mini, evercade vs, ... 

 

Games also recognize the dpad or left stick simultaneously.

 

I don't care for its "feel" for any pacman games, just my preferences ymmv.

 

My pc (iirc) recognizes the evercade vs controller as an "xbox 360" controller; however the Atari GSP doesn't see it.

[Jfcatari]

Does anyone know of a wired controller that will work 100% with the Gamestation Pro?

[suspicious_milk]

On 12/30/2023 at 7:11 PM, Jfcatari said:

Does anyone know of a wired controller that will work 100% with the Gamestation Pro?

PS Works wired aOK.  Wireless (using various dongles) and the button mapping makes it useless.

 

Hori PS mini controller (wired only) works 100% but AB are slightly awkward as square.circle vs x.circle on a regular ps controller (pictured)

 

8bitdo NeoGeo pad (bt & 2.4)  works great ... If you buy their newer bt dongle.  I couldn't make it work wired, but I haven't tried again since it's last firmware.  

 

Some jackass on YT claims it only works with BOTH the newer dongle AND a Mayflash Magic adapter (and his left shoulder button is mapped as "A" 😝

 

Just the newer dongle only is needed.

 

A&B are flipped (nes style)

C is C

D is Menu

Shoulders are X & Z (no Y)

Start & Select are Start & Select

8bitdo logo button is Home

Star button is nothing.

 

Make dure the dongle & controller are the latest firmware.  Adjust Directional; if needed.

 

Hold for 5 seconds (top light will flash) & autosave:

 

Select+up

Select+left

Select+right

 

Switches the thumbstick mode to hat/left/right stick accordingly (this is its manual that no one reads).

 

I believe it was select-up that did it.

Edited January 2 by suspicious_milk
Just tried to NG wired. No dice. It'll only play nice wireless with bt adapter 2. Probably overkill; but the NeoGeo Arcade Stick Pro also works 100% (wired only) out of the box. If you don't like the button layout just take it apart and arrange.

[suspicious_milk]

If you have issues with games like 2600 ms pac man qbert etc with the included sticks...

 

It is because as you play you are pushing down (towards the base) on the stick & its regersting nonsensical direction combos (up+down) and causings glitching (geting stuck in walls) or simply missing a turn.  Some games appear more sensitive than others.

 

Im going to replace its tension spring with a heavier one when I get around to taking it apart again to measure the spring.  Hopefully that'll fix that.  Being mindful of the issue & its cause made a big difference.

[Jfcatari]

Thanks for the tip on the 8bitdo NeoGeo pad.

I just ordered one up from Amazon to test it out.

[Jfcatari]

I got the following 8bitDo controller and it does not work wirelessly on 2.4 or wired.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C9BZR395/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

I did update the gamestation Pro to the latest firmware prior to testing.

 

Any ideas here?

 

 

[suspicious_milk]

On 1/1/2024 at 10:58 PM, Jfcatari said:

Thanks for the tip on the 8bitdo NeoGeo pad.

I just ordered one up from Amazon to test it out.

As stated & pictured, you need the 8bitdo dongle 2.  Make it's at the latest firmware as well as the gamepad ... both.

 

https://www.amazon.com/8Bitdo-Wireless-Compatible-Controller-Bluetooth/dp/B09M8CVMYF/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=2JVQ7J43HS72L&keywords=8bitdo&qid=1704460884&sprefix=8bit%2Caps%2C466&sr=8-3

 

The controller must be in BT mode, not 2.4 (switch on bottom).

 

As an aside, the original dongle works with Evercade VS (sans home button) the dongle 2 doesn't.

Edited January 5 by suspicious_milk

[Jfcatari]

Thanks for the clarification and finding my mistake!  😃

[Jfcatari]

I got the Wireless adapter 2. Updated it's firmware to the latest.  I also updated the firmware on the controller to the latest.

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09M8CVMYF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I tested it on Windows using adapter 2 and the controller set to BT....all good.

 

I plugged this into the gamestation pro....no luck whatsoever...some combination of buttons got me to a few screens but nothing really worked.

 

I do have the latest and greatest firmware on the gamestation pro.

 

What firmware are you using on the gamestation pro?

Edited January 10 by Jfcatari

[suspicious_milk]

Sorry I've been away.

 

https://www.myarcadegaming.com/pages/atari-gamestation-firmware-upgrade-to-v-1-3-only

 

The only one available afaik.

 

The adapter 2 Is the beta update.

 

https://support.8bitdo.com/firmware-updater.html

 

Have your pad switched to BT.

 

Plug the dongle 2 into the gsp (w usb c to b adapter) obviously.

 

The dongle light will flash; press start on the pad.  The flashing light will now be solid.

 

At this point, press a few buttons they should work.  Go thru the steps to change the directional mode if it's not working.  I had to do it a few times for some reason.  I've been using it everyday, it works great & I don't ever have to re pair it.  After it worked the 1st time its just automatic.

 

Not sure where the problem is for you, but you'll be very pleased when it hits.  There is absolutely no reason it should not work.

[Jfcatari]

Thanks for getting back to me.  I gave up on the efforts and returned everything to Amazon.

 

I see there are new controllers on the way.  They were just shown at CES 2024.

[zuke]

On 1/13/2024 at 10:27 AM, suspicious_milk said:

Sorry I've been away.

 

https://www.myarcadegaming.com/pages/atari-gamestation-firmware-upgrade-to-v-1-3-only

 

The only one available afaik.

 

The adapter 2 Is the beta update.

 

https://support.8bitdo.com/firmware-updater.html

 

Have your pad switched to BT.

 

Plug the dongle 2 into the gsp (w usb c to b adapter) obviously.

 

The dongle light will flash; press start on the pad.  The flashing light will now be solid.

 

At this point, press a few buttons they should work.  Go thru the steps to change the directional mode if it's not working.  I had to do it a few times for some reason.  I've been using it everyday, it works great & I don't ever have to re pair it.  After it worked the 1st time its just automatic.

 

Not sure where the problem is for you, but you'll be very pleased when it hits.  There is absolutely no reason it should not work.

Confirmed, I really thought it wasn't going to work completely, but I was able to use the GSP stick to select stuff, I went and played a few games of Arcade Asteroids with the NEOGEO stick, and the GSP stick timed out and shut off, then the SNK buttons just slowly all started working as stated, I ended up with Select + Right as the setting that works best...

 

I kind of bet people get frustrated thinking it isn't going to work after about 5 minutes of the stick acting screwy, and never get to the point of it actually working right... but patience will pay off...