THECXSTICK joystick performance

[Sean_1970]

Mine seems to be okay after a couple hours of play, but I decided I don’t need two of these given I have an idle PS4 controller so I cancelled my standalone order of the CX40 stick. I suppose if there’s confirmation that’s superior to the pack-in (ha!) I could get another one, but I’m more focused on getting my .car files to work or finding .atr equivalents.

[Jetboot Jack]

@infinite.pies - Plaion are a publisher/distributor - Retro Games the developer AFAIK

 

sTeVE

Edited March 31 by Jetboot Jack

[TampaBay]

On 3/29/2024 at 7:09 AM, JetmanUK said:

You do have the option of buying a Mayflash USB joystick adapter, that's what I use with my laptop, Stella and CX40/CX40+. Works flawlessy and is cheaper than buying the stand alone USB stick too.

MAYFLASH SEGA Genesis Mega Drive Controller Adapter for Nintendo Switch & PC Windows SEGA Genesis SEGA MD Adapter MF104: Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games

 

You will need to update it to the latest firmware.

 

I saw your post about this the other day, so I bought the Mayflash adapter and it works *perfectly* with a 9 pin CX40 and my Batocera emulation setup.  Thanks so much for posting this.  Getting that joystick set up on my mini-PC console was on my to-do list, and this works incredibly well.  Awesome.  

 

Assuming it works with the 400 Mini, it could be a great solution for anyone with an existing 9 pin joystick. 

Edited April 1 by TampaBay

[JetmanUK]

5 hours ago, TampaBay said:

 

I saw your post about this the other day, so I bought the Mayflash adapter and it works *perfectly* with a 9 pin CX40 and my Batocera emulation setup.  Thanks so much for posting this.  Getting that joystick set up on my mini-PC console was on my to-do list, and this works incredibly well.  Awesome.  

 

Assuming it works with the 400 Mini, it could be a great solution for anyone with an existing 9 pin joystick. 

No problem, I'm glad you are enjoying the set up. 😊 It's worked great with Stella and other emulators for me. 

 

I haven't tried it on the 400 Mini yet, I do plan too, i am away with family so I can't currently. I kinda expect it not to work, but hope I am wrong! 🤞🏻

[Sean_1970]

The 5200 controller emulation using the CXStick is definitely a problem, but I’m wondering given the VCS controller is analogue and can be used as a paddle for a whopping two games, has anyone tried it with 5200 games and does it perform adequately? If so I would consider getting one of those…

[+Torq]

9 minutes ago, Sean_1970 said:

I’m wondering given the VCS controller is analogue and can be used as a paddle for a whopping two games, has anyone tried it with 5200 games and does it perform adequately?

 

I've not tried the VCS controller (don't have one), but I can say that using the analog sticks on both PS/4 and PS/5 controllers does not make any difference.  The 400 seems to be reading those as if they were not analog OR the way the 5200 settings are handled is resulting in it feeling that way.  But there's still significant (up to half a second) lag there, it still treats holding the stick in one direction as if you're progressively moving it further (even if you're not), and its still, for me, unplayable for 5200 games.

 

Maybe the VCS controller will be treated as a "special case" and solve the issue.

[Sean_1970]

1 hour ago, Torq said:

 

I've not tried the VCS controller (don't have one), but I can say that using the analog sticks on both PS/4 and PS/5 controllers does not make any difference.  The 400 seems to be reading those as if they were not analog OR the way the 5200 settings are handled is resulting in it feeling that way.  But there's still significant (up to half a second) lag there, it still treats holding the stick in one direction as if you're progressively moving it further (even if you're not), and its still, for me, unplayable for 5200 games.

 

Maybe the VCS controller will be treated as a "special case" and solve the issue.

Yeah I just tried Beamrider (5200) with PS4 controller and it was pretty much the same as using the CXStick. I mean it’s possible the game just sucks too 😂 Adjusting any of the analogue settings made things worse.

 

I honestly don’t get why we cannot choose a straight digital option for 5200 games. Other than paddle ones (I can imagine Super Breakout was pure joy with that non self-centring stick) what would actually require analogue input on that monstrosity of a console?

 

Given these games should generally be available as 800 cart ROMs and not have janky analogue support I’m going to try replacing them as much as possible. I went the other route simply because I found it easier to deal with 5200 games on the emulator I used to use, but given how the 400Mini deals with 5200 controller emulation it’s easier to use floppy images 😅

Edited April 1 by Sean_1970

[scitari]

I do not like the joystick provided with the 400 mini. I find it lacks fine control and it is too easy to accidently press the extra buttons and disrupt the game. Not sure why they felt the need to re-engineer the CX40 that we have loved for decades...... 

[suspicious_milk]

I didn't buy the 400 mini but did get the joystick.  I'm having sensitivity & diagonal issues as well (Linux emulators & Evercade).

 

Though what I've seen on Youtube, I may get the 400 after all.  It looks like the emulation & overall capabilities would be win for me.  Despite being Extremely Disapointed with its Joystick.  I was gonna holdout for an XL/XE mini/maxi but I'm not a patient man 😅

[Sean_1970]

27 minutes ago, suspicious_milk said:

I didn't buy the 400 mini but did get the joystick.  I'm having sensitivity & diagonal issues as well (Linux emulators & Evercade).

 

Though what I've seen on Youtube, I may get the 400 after all.  It looks like the emulation & overall capabilities would be win for me.  Despite being Extremely Disapointed with its Joystick.  I was gonna holdout for an XL/XE mini/maxi but I'm not a patient man 😅

Working with Evercade is a definite plus for me, I’ll have to give that a go for one button games 👍

[pjedavison]

Been giving the stick a good workout this evening with a variety of games and have had no issues with it. I've also found my own personally reliable means of holding it without pressing any of the extra buttons. It's all to do with where you put your fingers underneath.

 

Thats what she said, etc etc

[FifthPlayer]

12 hours ago, Sean_1970 said:

 

I honestly don’t get why we cannot choose a straight digital option for 5200 games. Other than paddle ones (I can imagine Super Breakout was pure joy with that non self-centring stick) what would actually require analogue input on that monstrosity of a console?

 

?? The 5200 uses an analog joystick, so just about everything in the system's catalog requires it.

[Pac-Man Senior]

8 hours ago, suspicious_milk said:

I didn't buy the 400 mini but did get the joystick.  I'm having sensitivity & diagonal issues as well (Linux emulators & Evercade).

 

Though what I've seen on Youtube, I may get the 400 after all.  It looks like the emulation & overall capabilities would be win for me.  Despite being Extremely Disapointed with its Joystick.  I was gonna holdout for an XL/XE mini/maxi but I'm not a patient man 😅

Oh, this isn't good news. I thought (or hoped) the seperate joystick has gone another way of manufacturing. But there is still hope. My screw loosening action has improved the diagonal behaviour. My biggest problem is now the accurate "down" control. Always difficult to go simply down and not diagonal. And sometimes down is kind of blocked for a while after some minutes of gameplay. It seems that the problem depends on how the joystick parts are screwed together.

[Spanner]

Same thing happen with `THEC64 Red Joystick`, it broke where its red stick came off, it needed a long screw, it could not handle heavy use, THEC64 Mini was only thing that was any good in the end, you can feel its not made the same as the original Atari CX joystick because its got extra buttons on it so changes the way its made, all the Joysticks and controllers RGL make are the same and come from `THEC64 Red Joystick` they just moved its buttons, it has 8 buttons too.
They are not great at making them, the only thing good RGL made was `THEGamepad`.
`THEC64 Microswitch Joystick` stick unscrews itself so can come off and can get stuck in a position too, THEC64 Joystick is a copy of the C64DTV joystick, no one used it, they would put a DB9 Port on it so they could use older joysticks with it.
Problem with these consoles is they are pre-order consoles so do not know what they are like until you have it in your hands and I never go by reviews online because some can be bios.

Edited April 2 by Spanner

[Sean_1970]

7 hours ago, FifthPlayer said:

?? The 5200 uses an analog joystick, so just about everything in the system's catalog requires it.

I mean practically. There is no purpose to analogue control in Beamrider that I can see: you can only fire down grid lines. The .atr version is actually playable with the CXStick, unlike the .car. and doesn’t suffer from a lack of analogue controls. I could see how a game made for a paddle or trackball interface might utilise analogue stick input, but after years of playing those games on consoles with joypads I rather doubt the 5200 was offering an experience any better than an Xbox or PlayStation joypad and without self-centring probably a lot worse.

 

if I didn’t have a 2600+ with CX30+ paddles for Breakout, Super Breakout, Kaboom, etc I’d probably get the VCS controller for the two games it appears to work with on the 400Mini, but they’d need to expand support to include downloaded ROMs for that to make sense to me. Even then I can’t imagine there’s too many paddle games on 5200/800.

[+remowilliams]

11 hours ago, FifthPlayer said:

?? The 5200 uses an analog joystick, so just about everything in the system's catalog requires it.

Most of the 5200s library doesn't make use of analog control.

 

Regarding THEC64 stick - that thing is a complete piece of garbage.  THE400 mini sparked my interest enough to pick up a now inexpensive C64 mini in the last few weeks.

 

With the addition of a little hack utility to actually switch the thing to 50hz when needed - I'm thinking so far that it makes a quite nice little C64 emulation unit. 

 

After slightly loosening the two THECXSTICK screws and adjusting how I hold it, I can get along with it fairly well.  THEC64 stick on the other hand is just absolute trash.

[pjedavison]

12 minutes ago, remowilliams said:

Most of the 5200s library doesn't make use of analog control.

 

Regarding THEC64 stick - that thing is a complete piece of garbage.  THE400 mini sparked my interest enough to pick up a now inexpensive C64 mini in the last few weeks.

 

With the addition of a little hack utility to actually switch the thing to 50hz when needed - I'm thinking so far that it makes a quite nice little C64 emulation unit. 

 

After slightly loosening the two THECXSTICK screws and adjusting how I hold it, I can get along with it fairly well.  THEC64 stick on the other hand is just absolute trash.

I see a lot of people say this about the C64's stick and I just don't feel it myself. Are the sticks between the C64 Mini and "Maxi" different? 'Cause the one I have with the Maxi just feels like a Competition Pro from back in the day with a few extra buttons and seems to work just fine.

 

The GamePad that comes with TheA500 Mini (and is available separately) is quite nice if you prefer joypads.

[+Torq]

1 hour ago, remowilliams said:

Regarding THEC64 stick - that thing is a complete piece of garbage.  THE400 mini sparked my interest enough to pick up a now inexpensive C64 mini in the last few weeks.

 I did the same thing right after getting my 400 Mini ... mostly out of curiosity and to get a THEC64 stick to see if it was any better.

 

THEC64 stick for the C64 Mini is TERRIBLE.  Very stiff and awkward, and no more precise.

 

1 hour ago, pjedavison said:

Are the sticks between the C64 Mini and "Maxi" different?

 

Yes, very.

 

The "Maxi" uses a micro-switched joystick, the "Mini" is similar to the CXStick in that it uses rubber domes over pads like a gamepad.

 

[+remowilliams]

I now can use a regular DB9 (Slik Stik, of course 😅) controller with the assistance of the 2600-daptor D9 as my primary - and use THECXSTICK for controls only.

 

 

[Pac-Man Senior]

I have to come back to the "screw number". I've got a new theory I want to share with you - perhaps good news for some of these lemon joysticks. The fixing of my joystick didn't work when I only loosen the two screws that hold the PCB. My two problems stayed: 1. No proper control for down 2. Nearly complete block for down after a while playing (for example jumpman level 4+)

 

So I started an experiment concerning the four main screws on the bottom of the joystick. I tightened the two screws inside again but let them only a bit loose without space. I pulled out all four screws off the joystick bottom and tested the commands in the windows settings. All controls were precise. I put the four screws back into the joystick bottom and tightened them only so far that the box isn't rattling. Now the joystick behaviour is ok for me. Whenever I tighten the four screws as intended by the manufacturer the problems are back. For the moment I'm happy to have a workaround because in general I like the feeling of THECX40.

[JetmanUK]

40 minutes ago, Pac-Man Senior said:

I have to come back to the "screw number". I've got a new theory I want to share with you - perhaps good news for some of these lemon joysticks. The fixing of my joystick didn't work when I only loosen the two screws that hold the PCB. My two problems stayed: 1. No proper control for down 2. Nearly complete block for down after a while playing (for example jumpman level 4+)

 

So I started an experiment concerning the four main screws on the bottom of the joystick. I tightened the two screws inside again but let them only a bit loose without space. I pulled out all four screws off the joystick bottom and tested the commands in the windows settings. All controls were precise. I put the four screws back into the joystick bottom and tightened them only so far that the box isn't rattling. Now the joystick behaviour is ok for me. Whenever I tighten the four screws as intended by the manufacturer the problems are back. For the moment I'm happy to have a workaround because in general I like the feeling of THECX40.

This is interesting, as when I screwed mine back together after loosening the circuit board screws I did leave the bottom ones a tiny bit looser, I think I'll loosen them a little more and see if it helps. Perhaps I already have the best that it will be, hope not as improvement would be welcome!

[ErikDavid]

Just received my console along with an additional CXSTICK. After trying both controls, I may have gotten lucky as they seem to work OK. Granted, they're not the best, but at least seem functional so far.

[JetmanUK]

3 hours ago, JetmanUK said:

This is interesting, as when I screwed mine back together after loosening the circuit board screws I did leave the bottom ones a tiny bit looser, I think I'll loosen them a little more and see if it helps. Perhaps I already have the best that it will be, hope not as improvement would be welcome!

So I loosened the screws on the bottom of the joystick a little, it's hard to say, I think there is a little improvement, I have to push hard in the test screen in Windows to make it happen, or if I am in a stressful game it can happen, but it's mostly OK now. Here's hoping they revise the hardware slightly in the next production batch.

[chad5200]

Don't waste your time loosening screws... here is the real fix from @tyke:

 

 

[pjedavison]

22 hours ago, Torq said:

The "Maxi" uses a micro-switched joystick, the "Mini" is similar to the CXStick in that it uses rubber domes over pads like a gamepad.

Aha! That would explain it. Yeah, the Maxi's one is pretty nice in my experience, all things considered.