Good modular controllers?

[diggeloid]

I have a habit of breaking the joysticks on my controllers when playing Street Fighter. I'm not a pro gamer or anything (maybe because I keep breaking my damn joysticks!!) but I do go pretty hardcore on fighting games lol. It's so bad that I don't even try to play SFV on my Steam Deck because I just know it's going to end in tragedy. I got my ass handed to me last weekend when I tried playing again for the first time after a long hiatus, but the only working gamepad I had was an old Steam controller, and that actually bruised my thumb.

So I started looking into modular controllers and was wondering if anyone here had experience with them/recommendations? It seems like a good value to have modular joysticks that can be replaced when they break, although everything I've seen is very expensive. Sony's DualSense Edge for example is $200! I could buy like 4 brand new PS4/5 controllers for that price.t)

Also, it's surprisingly hard to find a list of modular controllers. Here's what I've found:

• Astro C40: $169 for a refurbished unit (their store doesn't seem to sell new ones?) + $20 for a replacement stick
• Thrustmaster Eswap: $130-$180 for the controller + $25 for a replacement stick
• Random ones Aliexpress: $?? but probably cheap
• PS5 DualSense Edge $200 for the controller + $?? for a replacement stick

Besides soldering, it seems like it's smarter to just keep buying cheap/knock off PS3 controllers on ebay whenever I need a new joystick.

Or maybe I should invest in one of those hall effect sensors I've heard so much about? Gulikit sells some, and they even have a kit for the Steam Deck! But that still seems like it won't survive my casual SFV sessions.

 

[FAST6191]

Not worth hitting up some arcade cabinet shops and going that way, maybe making some floating boards that mean you only have to worry about those rather than weird effects from strain on the board proper?
Bound to be cheaper than anything there too, and will give that classic fighting game feeling as well if you want that (I found a board someone made a while back going as scrap, was a wonderful experience and forgot what a proper arcade was like even compared to fight sticks you see on consoles).
UK site but the sort of thing you will find everywhere people build MAME cabinets
https://www.arcadeworlduk.com/categories/Joystick-And-Button-Kits/

Not sure what hall effect sensors will do for you here as it is more likely to be the mechanical failure of the stick that gets to things. For gaming purposes unless you are in an arcade where the kids constantly spill their soda pops while playing ze asteroids down your nice cabinet (being magnets they can be isolated from the electronics more easily than physical switches) then this seems like a gimmick to me. H.E. sensors are wonderful things (they are used in car wheel speed, engines, drills/tools and such for a reason, and more than fast enough to do things for any human input purposes) but seems more like a visit from either the fashion fairy or the nerdly good idea fairy for this sort of thing.

 

[Deleted member 194275]

the hall effect sensors things is an advancement of conductive pads, the sticks function just like a regular stick, with the pin that holds the stick cap and springs in each axis. Those controllers try to be long lasting, but not together, so it will not solve your problem.

If I were you, I would not bother with modular controllers either, as their replacement parts would cost about the same, or even more than a brand new budget controller.

My suggestion is go on cheap route and replace when the thing breaks. 8bitdo have the SN30 USB that is cheap and the Pro2 wired that is fully featured and don't cost too much, Betop have a 6 face button style controller that is also good and also cheap (but it is d-pad only, it seems that is not the way you play).

There are also a ton of PS3 clone controllers, I don't know them, but they are all on a very familiar shape, and dirty cheap obviously.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I have a habit of breaking the joysticks on my controllers when playing Street Fighter. I'm not a pro gamer or anything (maybe because I keep breaking my damn joysticks!!) but I do go pretty hardcore on fighting games lol. It's so bad that I don't even try to play SFV on my Steam Deck because I just know it's going to end in tragedy. I got my ass handed to me last weekend when I tried playing again for the first time after a long hiatus, but the only working gamepad I had was an old Steam controller, and that actually bruised my thumb.

So I started looking into modular controllers and was wondering if anyone here had experience with them/recommendations? It seems like a good value to have modular joysticks that can be replaced when they break, although everything I've seen is very expensive. Sony's DualSense Edge for example is $200! I could buy like 4 brand new PS4/5 controllers for that price.t)

Also, it's surprisingly hard to find a list of modular controllers. Here's what I've found:

• Astro C40: $169 for a refurbished unit (their store doesn't seem to sell new ones?) + $20 for a replacement stick
• Thrustmaster Eswap: $130-$180 for the controller + $25 for a replacement stick
• Random ones Aliexpress: $?? but probably cheap
• PS5 DualSense Edge $200 for the controller + $?? for a replacement stick

Besides soldering, it seems like it's smarter to just keep buying cheap/knock off PS3 controllers on ebay whenever I need a new joystick.

Or maybe I should invest in one of those hall effect sensors I've heard so much about? Gulikit sells some, and they even have a kit for the Steam Deck! But that still seems like it won't survive my casual SFV sessions.

The Steam Deck sticks are easy to replace, and also, you can get hall effect sticks for it, so I wouldn't worry too much about breaking them.
The 8bitdo Ultimate also has hall effect joysticks, i don't know how easy the sticks are to replace, but in theory, they'll never wear out so you shouldn't need to replace them, at worst you should only need to replace the stick caps when those wear out. Seems like only the model with a charging dock has hall effect sticks for whatever reason, it's $70 which is quite a bit more than the version without a charging dock.
The GuliKit KingKong 2 Pro is another option with hall effect sticks, I don't know what the quality is like though. GuliKit makes the sticks for both controllers, but they don't have as much experience making controllers as 8bitdo which in my experience have great feeling buttons and D-pad and generally good build quality apart from the sticks they have been using in the past not being very durable. So 8bitdo Ultimate might be the better option.

the hall effect sensors things is an advancement of conductive pads, the sticks function just like a regular stick, with the pin that holds the stick cap and springs in each axis. Those controllers try to be long lasting, but not together, so it will not solve your problem.

If I were you, I would not bother with modular controllers either, as their replacement parts would cost about the same, or even more than a brand new budget controller.

My suggestion is go on cheap route and replace when the thing breaks. 8bitdo have the SN30 USB that is cheap and the Pro2 wired that is fully featured and don't cost too much, Betop have a 6 face button style controller that is also good and also cheap (but it is d-pad only, it seems that is not the way you play).

There are also a ton of PS3 clone controllers, I don't know them, but they are all on a very familiar shape, and dirty cheap obviously.

I wouldn't recommend 8bitdo, their sticks are not durable at all even under normal usage. Rough/heavy use in fighting games will wear them out in no time. I like their controllers otherwise, but the stick durability is a huge achilles heel, and they're not even that cheap, so they are the worst option for someone who already has a habit of wearing out more durable sticks.

That is with the exception of the 8bitdo Ultimate, which has hall effect joysticks (but only on the model with a charging dock apparently?)

 

[diggeloid]

Thanks all, I think the cheap replacement option is the way to go. Even though I kill them relatively fast, they do last me a couple of months which isn't too bad. The ewaste isn't great, so it's a shame there isn't something better. I think I'll just throw them up on ebay in case someone wants to fix them.

A fightstick is something I've been resisting for a long time because a simple gamepad is just way more convenient.

I didn't know about the 8bitdo ultimate. I think I'll go with that one if I ever decide to try out the hall effect sticks. The gulikit looks good, but I've seen bad reviews about latency and QA issues.

...or maybe I'll try to connect my old dreamcast controllers to my PC and test them that way

 

[hippy dave]

Idk man have you tried not breaking them?

 

[diggeloid]

Idk man have you tried not breaking them?

Where's the fun in that?

 

[hippy dave]

Where's the fun in that?

The fun comes when you save all that money not having to buy replacement controllers, and you can instead spend it on blackjack and hookers.

 

[FAST6191]

I am not one for breaking my controllers but having to try to play modern games with a Dreamcast controller is a sure fire way to make me go there.