How Arcade Restrictor Gates Work (Joystick Restrictor Gates)

[@TheGeekPub]

Arcade/Joystick Restrictor gates should be an important consideration in your build!

[@joaopedroalbernaz]

hey man. I miss your videos. I hope you are doing well.

[@pacificostriker]

Whats the best for a circular gate for fighting? 1mm, 1.5mm or 2mm? On sanwa jlx or jlf

[@CynicVash]

you just BLEW MY MIND! i did not know my square gate could do this!!!! years i've had this fightstick! pac-man is about to be fun again! THANK YOU!!!!

[@KatieandGil]

How was it? Did you mod? Do you regret?

[@CynicVash]

@@KatieandGil it works fine. nope, dont regret

[@KatieandGil]

@@CynicVashsame just installed an 8 gate for MvC and it was so easy

[@MeppyMan]

I built myself a joystick for my ZX-81 back around 82/83. It was made out of a bolt, spring, and some copper plates that acted as the switches (the bolt was earthed). Worked a treat and you could do diagonals too.

[@ohnoitschris]

One reason Gamecube controllers are so beloved is that they have octagonal gates built into their sticks, which is something you almost never see on home console gamepads.

[@tz8785]

The Wii Nunchuk and I think N64 controller have them as well.

[@lousterzenbach7235]

Great video! I built a retro game console over a year ago, and now I'm going to check [and probably replace] my restrictor gate. Thanks for posting this!

[@oddvertex9429]

I took apart my Atari joystick in like 1984. Knew exactly how to program for it. Built my own 4 button controllers and just messed about. Been into electronics on and off for forty years. All this to say I learned a ton from this video. The four states makes so much sense. The existence of eight button sticks? And the reason for and name for a restrictor plate. Great production. Great information.

[@aytviewer2421]

Great info. Just discovered your channel a few weeks ago and am hoping you continue to add content. Your videos are top notch!

[@UltimaJC]

The arcade stick I bought came with both a square gate and an octagonal gate. I installed the Octagonal gate because that feels best for me with Tekken.

[@Junaidizhar1234]

Do you play.mishima or random character?

[@UltimaJC]

@@Junaidizhar1234 Reina and Jun

[@Junaidizhar1234]

@@UltimaJC bro i played drag and feng

[@EinhanderPilotSantos]

Very informative thank you! I eventually want to build my own arcade and this gives me more confidence!

[@Faiqal_x1103]

my local arcade have tekken tag tournament 2 with the diamond (45 degree square) gate. Truly diabolical

[@MGlBlaze]

I kind of wish octagonal gates were more common on modern controllers. A round gate is good for a lot of things but an octagonal gate makes it easier to have the stick in a consistent direction and avoid slowly drifting out when you don't mean to. I think the last octagonal gates in semi-recent memory were the Wii's nunchuk and classic controllers. That and the new Switch N64 controllers, but those are based on the pre-existing N64 design with a squared-octagon gate, and there's some argument to be made that the new sticks don't take advantage of the extra diagonal range of motion properly for the new ones. Unfortunately for people like me, it seems circular gates are the preferred way to go, so I just have to kind of live with the occasional annoyance of having the stick tilted on a not-quite-perfect vector.

[@johnathansmith1003]

sanwa stick with circular gate, 1mm actuator and 2lb spring is magnificent.

[@pacificostriker]

Im looking whats the best for fightings. I have circular gate on a sanwa jlx but i feel the stick like long distance. How do you feel 1mm? I dont know if 1mm, 1.5mm or 2mm are best for fighting.

[@johnathansmith1003]

I went with 1mm, it's so short, I feel like anything bigger would make the game unplayable. 1mm reduces the stick movement by like 65%@@pacificostriker

[@sumabich721]

Those are pretty much Japanese style Joysticks that have become the most common worldwide. Sadly no one ever talks about korean style joysticks and how they differ in throw, return to neutral and their way of restricting through a collar rather than a gate below. Also, no springs, just rubber grommets. Check em out.

[@125scratch2]

Same with classic American style leaf switch sticks

[@yurykhalevitsky382]

The schemes are real cool, good work!

[@dallase1]

It's Not Easy to swap out the Restrictor Gates because the last tab gets jammed due to the pressure on it from the other 3 corners of the Restrictor Gate being raised, you have to remove all 4 tabs equally.

[@Alex.mueller.781]

Thank you for your explonation. Got an F500 and Metal Slug wasn´t good playable with the round gate. Now i try the square one.

[@StopSocialismUSA]

thanks for making the video Mike!

[@AE-bm4no]

this is really important to know even if you are just emulating with a USB micro switch joystick. I was playing mrs.pacman with a friend and something was off. now i know why and how to fix it. thanks.

[@Tapoutime79]

Excellent Video! Thank's!

[@joeschmo5171]

I have a joystick (don’t recall at the moment where online I bought it) that allows me to switch between four and eight way, simply by pulling up on the stick and rotating a few degrees in one direction or another. Overall it works really well.

[@thomasbalzer3179]

Great video. What type of gate is typically used for Shmup cabinets?

[@Allen-by6ci]

I will build my own cabinet game... someday

[@petergrudge189]

I found a new tech gaming channel I love!!! 🥰🥰🥰

[@bm63]

I started with square and then turned it 45. Next I went with octagonal but didn’t like that either. I settled on round in the end.

[@rodneydaub3812]

I always loved the smell of Pizza, combined with the smell of the arcade

[@cirobermudez]

Love square gate to play Tekken 7 Kazuya and circular when playing Paul

[@fennkell]

Burger Time 🍔 Rompers 🕹 Pirate Ship Higemaru 🏴‍☠️ Pac-Man 👻 Dig dug 🕹 I would definitely say a 4 way gate is required at all times 😂. Great vid

[@Moodoo20]

Great video

[@cirobermudez]

Nice video, love the show.

[@HD-mm1iz]

@TheGeekPub, is there a way to change out a HORI Hayabusa restrictor gate for a Sanwa or Seimitsu restrictor gate and joystick? If so, do you guys have any tutorials on how to change those parts out? Please respond, thanks!

[@Colin_Ames]

Useful information.

[@gsomv]

Is there a legitimate risk to taking out the gate? I'm used to eurojoystick so hitting the gate feels awful. I considered getting an octo gate, but it feels miles better to just take out the insert and have a big circle with the remaining gate. I almost never hit the limits when i play without the gate, i feel more in controll since i'm never hitting any corner by accident, but I'm kinda worried it might affect the switches, has anyone had a problem with this? I've heard all the "I havethe FEELING it'd destroy the whole lever and also catch on fire and friking explode" thing, but I'm looking for legitimate experiences with this type of thing, not bruh science. I mean, american and korean don't have a gate as far as i know.

[@franciscopinho2103]

Hello, is there a way to tighten the joystick to make it more rigid when using?

[@Jaibuuuu]

yep, the usual way is to change the tension spring.

[@crankyhead1089]

that is some good ass content right there!

[@MrMcavoy80]

Why does the Plus Gate diagram show 33% in each position, for a total of 165%?

[@TheGeekPub]

OOPS. ;-)

[@RandomBitzzz]

Common Core Math - j/k 🙂 I found the diagrams a bit strange because the micro switches are either engaged (closed) or not (open), so I would think it would be 0% or 100% in any direction. I don't get what they're intended to represent.

[@MrMcavoy80]

@@RandomBitzzz I think they're just showing how large each section is in relation to the entire area that the joystick is allowed to move in. If that makes sense. I'm not really sure why anyone would need to know that though. Maybe I'm missing something 🤷‍♂️

[@TheGeekPub]

It was sort of intending to show how the different gates change the probability of going to a certain position. I guess I should have spent a little more time on that topic. ;-). Thanks for the feedback!

[@magoid]

Those would also help protect the switches from players that use too much force on the input right?

[@jamess1787]

No

[@Baunzy68]

I built a 19 in 1 with stargate and defender. Is there a restrictor plate that can be changed from the top of the cabinet or am I supposed to open up the cabinet every time I go from Stargate to Robotron?

[@Shawario]

fascinating 🕹

[@lukefisher1347]

Thanks for the great video! I am about to buy some stuff off of your website and just wanted to know if there is and active coupon code I don’t know about thanks!

[@Cosmo-rt9us]

Just a minor note, the original Space Invaders arcade game had left and right buttons rather than a joystick. I imagine a joystick would would fine for playing the game on an emulation cabinet.

[@frudolf5999]

Hi! Nice video! I have a question regarding the graphics in the end, e.g. the round gate: Parts of the diagonal "pizza slices" are inside the cardinal "tictactoe fields". Are the percentages really correct or is the switch engagement actually slightly different than shown?

[@janet.snakehole]

do happ style gates support them? the ones I bought don't register the corners well. could this be fixed with a restrictor gate?

[@VenomStryker]

Now that I hear your voice, it's pretty obvious that you're David's brother. I learned about this channel from the 8 Bit Guy. ;-)

[@alat_ka]

FGC knows everything about gates, buttons... :D

[@cubeflinger]

I need to improve the tension of my buttons. Do they use the same spring as they joystick?

[@hamzadesidragonsarwar]

I think I have either the circular or octagonal gate I installed it myself when I got a bigger arcade stick

[@dalejones2108]

Oscilliscope when measuring house voltage do you use both leads on probe?

[@Muldrf]

When I built my arcade, I found out about Pacman.

[@jorgepais2876]

Lets imagine a multi-game arcade machine. Is it possible to have a restriction gate that can be electrically rotated? Or modified - like a diaphragma of a camera - to be adjusted to the game or player's personal preferences?

[@TheGeekPub]

I wish!

[@jorgepais2876]

You can do it! 😉

[@jeremygazaba]

You're onto something man 😂

[@andrewsprojectsinnovations6352]

With an Arduino / RasPi and some servos you could probably come up with something

[@meleniumshane90]

The ServoStik from Ultimarc does exactly that. I thought about buying a set to put in my bartops, but it only takes 30 seconds to flip the lid and swap inserts. Plus the octagonal 8-way seems to work ok in Ms. Pac-Man.

[@samiRetro777]

i want the stick to behave as the analog on controller is it possible ?

[@poleythepolarbear9706]

I can't find a source of where to buy a Plus Restrictor Gate for playing games like Pac-Man. The Square turned sideways just is not cutting it for me. It registers diagonals, and it is a pain lol! Please help me! Note: I have a Sanwa JLF

[@AshKast]

Then there are analog joysticks that have a range of values from 0-100%. As opposed to these which are basically on-off.

[@combatwombat594]

Wish I knew where to get them so I could make a flight stick and throttle...

[@lasskinn474]

@@combatwombat594 get some old pc ch flightsticks or something. old pc joysticks are basically just potentiometers.

[@Sarge92]

dont they make a joystick thats both 4 and 8 way? i remember seing one where all you did was pull up on the strick twist it and it changed the restrictor below between 4 and 8 way mode

[@dallase1]

What about AtGames Controllers like the AtGames Legends Gamer Mini Arcade Console ? Where can I buy a Square Gate for it's Joystick? All the Gates on E-Bay either don't say what brand of Joystick they work with or say they are for a specific brand of Joystick, I guess a Professional Arcade Machine Brand?

[@Dukefazon]

yeah, joystick throw, I know that from playing games like Ghosts N Goblins and Dark Souls... :D

[@FenixPajarito]

I wonder if ET or Xiaohai use a bigger ACTUATOR and spring. Maybe they just use stock Sanwa.

[@cagethelonewolf]

in googled and googled and no ine talked about restictior gates just that it had to be sqaure when theres mutable types

[@Bobvanksy]

I hate it when I accidentally engage the left/right micro switches when I'm going for up/down.

[@tyler-kn7vc]

where would someone get a square restrictor plate for a hap ball joystick

[@JopieHaargel]

I have octagonal gates on my Sanwa JLF's, but I can't throw a shoryuken to save my life...

[@HellTantrumbull]

I do find myself wondering if Sanwa sticks are as good as people say they are. I'm on my second Sanwa stick but I can almost never get the DP motion to work and even sometimes have a hard time with the FB motion. never had problems like this when I used to play Street Fighter back in the arcade days.

[@JAWSFREE]

what restrictor gates do your joystick come with? Don't see it on your website.

[@neccros007]

A lot of fighting game players use square gates so they can ride the gate for certain moves...

[@afaelr]

I use a Square restrictor just to play Tetris: the Grandmaster

[@guyincognito1985]

Nothing against my own sister, but I would have LOVED to born into this family!

[@radical_ans]

Been getting into fighting games lately and I haven't decided if I prefer a square or octagonal gate. I find quarter circle motions are easier w/ the octagonal gate, but blocking/finding the corners is easier with the square.

[@dav3yb]

Once you get used to them, Square is generally the way to go. Not to mention how nice square gates are for charge characters.

[@wxfield]

What I want to know is what happened that caused you to change shirts ~midway through.

[@TheGeekPub]

Several days passed by and I forgot to wear the same shirt again. I don't have a director of continuity. LOL

[@magoid]

He was passing too much information, so the arcade joystick syndicate made him change course, or he would be sleeping with the fishes.

[@wxfield]

@@TheGeekPub LOL !

[@MrMcavoy80]

He HAD a directory of continuity... Another victim of Big Joystick

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

and then you have to deal with worn out springs that leave the stick leaning.

[@TheRealDustinNunn]

Eight-way restrictor gates are meant for fighting games and beat'em ups and four-way restrictor gates are meant for Pac-Man, Dig Dug and shoot'em ups.

[@TheTomac]

I cant actually imagine a need to show this video to anybody whos ever handled a joystick

[@CaladorPTN]

GG

[@RedRanger2001]

Hmm... Sanwa JLF has round, square and octagon. Sanwa JLW has square and round. Seimitsu LS-32 has round and square. Seimitsu LS-40 only has square (which means you'll do more engage than throw). Seimitsu LS-33, LS-55, LS-56, LS-58, and LS-62 all have square and octagon.

[@dav3yb]

I've never seen an LS-32 with round... they usually come with a plastic plate to allow for square, a more plus shape 4 direction, and 2 direction restriction.

[@RedRanger2001]

@@dav3yb I was talking about restrictor gates, not the whole joystick.

[@MichaelHarto]

Experiment with different gate and actuator sizes. Using bigger actuator shortens the activation, compensate with bigger gate size to prevent misfiring inputs. Where to get bigger size gates? 3d print or chinese knockoff gates. Those knockoffs have bigger gate. And they have semi circular(squarish) gate too. Helps with hitting diagonals.

[@pacificostriker]

You are very handsome my friend

[@stevecummins324]

Rather than microswitches (which wear out) "Constant current" Programable unijunction relaxation oscillator with variable capacitor sensing for each direction. Outputs pulse chains of variable frequency for analogue position sensing. Bit of signal processing with say arduino if want digital direction switching.

[@TheGeekPub]

Sure. If you want to pay $150 per stick instead of $5.

[@stevecummins324]

@TheGeekPub OK then... joystick akin to old pc analogue joystick interface (as was provided by say sound card).. timing element for each axis of variable RC circuit, driven by 558 quad monostable. 556 to provide both a regular trigger for sampling, and a threshold monostable to handle adjustable deadzone. 74 cmos Comparators and a quad clocked flip flip small should complete digital output