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Hey there TL smashers,
I recently procured a new GameCube after about five years without (my last one died from too much loving). I got a fantastic deal and I still had my old copy of smash+ memory card so I was all set. But all I have in the way of controllers is one solid, working official one, an official one with a janky semi usable joystick, and two totally shit third party ones that are unusable in any way.
So here's the point of this thread: where is the best place to pick up reliable controllers? Or do most people in the smash scene just repair old ones? I'm curious about that process for people here, since playing SSBM competitively seems to be a good way to burn through controllers I figure there must be a decent market somewhere.
I've found a bunch of videos on YouTube that talk about joystick repair, but that doesn't seem like the way to go since most of those mods are temporary and will have to be replaced every few weeks of hard smashing, which is my intended use. Amazon and eBay are where I'm looking for controllers as of now, all the third party ones are complete shit, and I'm wary of used controller purchasing via the web, as there's no guarantee that "lightly used" means what I want it to mean. So right now I'm looking for new ones online, or refurbished/used ones in person so I can check out their quality myself. I've got requests out to all my friends who still have or know people who have NGC stuff lying around to see if any of them will donate or sell me their controllers, otherwise I'll be checking out some used game shops in Denver this week to see what's around. I'd REALLY like to avoid paying $50 each to get a guaranteed quality controller.
What are your guys' thoughts/experiences? I haven't found a SSB specific market for this yet on smashboards or otherwise, but I may just be looking in the wrong places.
Thanks
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You can get them from Play-Asia or Amazon. I'm pretty sure you could pick one up for about $30 when it's on sale so it's not like you have to shell out a lot for them. They will be new as these are the white ones that have longer cords and were made for the Wii
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I'm on it Sson
Shalt learn the way of GameCube
When I learn this, I will make a thread.
Edit: NOPE. I cannot solder
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With the replacement cap, does it fix the looseness and misfiring? I just assumed those were for worn off grips and such, and that fixing the misfiring and looseness from overuse you'd have to replace the whole joystick housing.
I'll check out those sites, and definitely wait until they're on sale. I've found some legit looking used deals on eBay, that are around that sale price, but I'd rather have a new controller obviously.
Thanks for the input guys, now to learn how to not play this game like a scrub..
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On April 26 2014 14:58 Kommatiazo wrote:With the replacement cap, does it fix the looseness and misfiring? I just assumed those were for worn off grips and such, and that fixing the misfiring and looseness from overuse you'd have to replace the whole joystick housing. I'll check out those sites, and definitely wait until they're on sale. I've found some legit looking used deals on eBay, that are around that sale price, but I'd rather have a new controller obviously. Thanks for the input guys, now to learn how to not play this game like a scrub..
I feel you on playing like a scrub. I act like I know what the difference between playing as peach is from playing as like "lol you really need that recovery man- u just trying to survive?"
(btw no one has said that to me. I like to make proverbial people jerks.)
Frankly I will just shell out the $45 for Nintendo OEM from Amazon when I need new controllers, but since I have a job and play more 64 that's easier on at least three fronts.
+ Show Spoiler +
Think my math sucks? Nope.
Job means more money, 1
Job means less time spent wearing controllers, 2
N64 means gamecube controllers last longer, a whopping 3
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lol nice. I have at about 5 friends that I play with almost nightly who are able to BYOC for the time being. But as soon as those white ones go on sale on play asian or amazon I'm all over that. I NEED them lol
Just finished my first 6 hour session in a decade. So wonderful. This game is so radical
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My white gc controller just came in a couple days ago and I'm in love with it.
I still can't short hop laser in the direction I want though, so I guess I falsely blamed my old controller for no reason :S
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On April 26 2014 17:38 Kommatiazo wrote:
lol nice. I have at about 5 friends that I play with almost nightly who are able to BYOC for the time being. But as soon as those white ones go on sale on play asian or amazon I'm all over that. I NEED them lol
Just finished my first 6 hour session in a decade. So wonderful. This game is so radical
MAN DUDE u for to make me jealous
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PSA: White controllers have fewer springs, so the triggers don't press as easily.
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On April 27 2014 16:21 Moobla wrote:
PSA: White controllers have fewer springs, so the triggers don't press as easily.
Hijole
Isn't Nintendo making them?
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On April 27 2014 17:13 Alakaslam wrote:Show nested quote +On April 27 2014 16:21 Moobla wrote:
PSA: White controllers have fewer springs, so the triggers don't press as easily. Hijole Isn't Nintendo making them?
Yes. I don't know if the triggers are actually problematic. It's just what I heard. There may be no noticeable difference.
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I bought a White controller, but changed the back side with a clear purple one so I have the original L, R and Z buttons.
Works really great!
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On April 27 2014 18:27 Moobla wrote:Show nested quote +On April 27 2014 17:13 Alakaslam wrote:On April 27 2014 16:21 Moobla wrote:
PSA: White controllers have fewer springs, so the triggers don't press as easily. Hijole Isn't Nintendo making them? Yes. I don't know if the triggers are actually problematic. It's just what I heard. There may be no noticeable difference.
so in the white controllers, the spring on average is longer than in (at the very least) the old black and indigo controllers, as well as the early platinum controllers. if the tension is different, that could account for the relatively common opinion that the shoulders are "mushy" or "weird".
some people have also noted that L/R will "lock" or stick sometimes, usually if you don't push them in completely straight (e.g. if your particular grip pushes them back towards the back of the controller body slightly in addition to pushing them in). this is related to a minor difference in the actual parts used in the shoulder button assembly on the white controller, as far as i can tell.
my personal sample is pretty small—i've only taken apart and examined 4 white controllers—but they all had the same "defect":
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ZQ5lxhw.jpg)
the grey shoulder button has a peg on its underside, which fits into a hole on the black base. on the white controllers, the diameter of the hole in the black piece is slightly smaller, which seems to explain the stickiness. swapping it with the corresponding piece from any other controller, and leaving the rest of the parts (the grey shoulder button, the spring, the metal piece and the actual button) the same, gets rid of the locking problem.
i did this a few days ago and my white controller feels almost identical to my previous favorite spice controller, where last week, L/R would lock maybe once or twice per match and just felt noticeably different in general.
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the white gamecube controller has been solid for me so far!
LOVE IT.
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Belgium6774 Posts
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Maybe it's to make uptilting easier...? I dunno, lol.
Maybe the guy just plays hardcore alldayerrday. Then again, when my control stick takes abuse, the whole pad flies off rather than having one huge gash on the side lol
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Belgium6774 Posts
To me it looks like undesirable wear and tear. I have no idea if they're leaving it in intentionally, but as soon as that starts happening to my control sticks I start looking for a replacement.
But yeah if you play a lot of smash that kind of damage is inevitable.
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I mean I guess it could be a result of throwing it against the wall, but especially in the first two images, the marking looks almost identical, like it was crafted into the controller as a mod in itself.
Good question to ask Ken/KDJ next time he gets interviewed... :D
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probably a result of fast falling and shield dropping all the time ;P
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Guy owns a 3rd person game and plays a lot.
Just me (a scrub) switching to more smash has me removing the whole thing.
When I played mostly Windwaker and my 4 Zeldagames pack, it looked like one of those but orange.
You hold up almost exclusively with rapid minor adjustments- it wears, that gets uncomfortable, you unconsciously tear it eventually
Or when you are better at smash you use up more? FEH
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I definitely understand now what Smashers mean now by having to wear in a controller. I bought two White Gamecube controllers from Amazon a month ago and have used both of them with varying amounts. The one I like (and have been using more) feels like I can click the R button easier than the other one. I tried waveshining with both of them, and I can do it much more consistently on that one than the less used one. The downside to that is the control stick makes a squeaky noise when I dash-dance sometimes. Additionally, the Z button is a bit less sensitive from all the rapid z-aerials I throw out. Do you guys think I could fix these problems by simply opening the controller up and cleaning it up, or will I have to replace the springs?
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Belgium6774 Posts
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I am currently substituting an x-box controller through dolphin for now. My major problem is that it is very directional sensitive (it is hard for me to maintain looking the same direction) and also it is impossible for me to low jump. Is there a fix for this? Or do I have to hold off till the NGC controller comes in?
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Try modifying the deadzone for the control stick. I just loaded up melee for the first time on dolphin to test the xbox controller and was instantly able to shorthop, you are using the buttons for jumping correct?
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@OP: Standard routine is buying a new one. Used ones from local listings for ~12$ or 10€ can be fine too, but it’s a bit of a gamble. I bought 6 of my controllers from local listing and they all work well, but very technical things like Fox’s dash away → reverse short hop double laser don’t work as flawless as on new white controllers. So unless you play Fox, used ones will probably be enough.
Repairing is possible and kind of permanent, if you pay attention to what you are doing. I wrote a guide on this (and other technical things) here: http://smashboards.com/threads/technical-knowledge-compilation-gamecubes-controllers-tvs-recording.335040/
On May 15 2014 22:37 Athos wrote:
I definitely understand now what Smashers mean now by having to wear in a controller. I bought two White Gamecube controllers from Amazon a month ago and have used both of them with varying amounts. The one I like (and have been using more) feels like I can click the R button easier than the other one. I tried waveshining with both of them, and I can do it much more consistently on that one than the less used one. The downside to that is the control stick makes a squeaky noise when I dash-dance sometimes. Additionally, the Z button is a bit less sensitive from all the rapid z-aerials I throw out. Do you guys think I could fix these problems by simply opening the controller up and cleaning it up, or will I have to replace the springs?
You can decrease shoulder button tightness by taking the rubber plates out and perforating them with a scissor or knife at multiple spots. I did this two times and the result was perfect on both of them. Just like the very weakest shoulder buttons you can find on Gamecube controllers.
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On May 16 2014 17:44 Reuental wrote:
Try modifying the deadzone for the control stick. I just loaded up melee for the first time on dolphin to test the xbox controller and was instantly able to shorthop, you are using the buttons for jumping correct?
I use X to hop (b on xbox). How do I modify the deadzone?
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Belgium6774 Posts
Options > GC Pad settings
http://i.imgur.com/4jxFev4.png
edit the deadzone values until it works better
Youre probably pressing the button too long if youre not shorthopping. Might be the xbox controller, not sure.
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so its essentially like the mayflash wiimote to gc controller just without the adapter in between?
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Ya, seems like it. Though I think the most important aspect to this is that they may be going more towards melee style play which was best with the gc.
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Eh did you click the links because this doesn't look too appealing
http://nintendoenthusiast.com/news/pdp-partners-nintendo-release-gamecube-controller-inspired-pad-wii-u-time-smash-bros/
I mean it's still going to use bluetooth though wiimote so might as well use wii u pro controller. "wired" is a bit silly to say when it's wired to a bluetooth transmitter.
Straight up data by wire USB would be much more interesting. Assuming a higher pooling rate than the bluetooth, not sure what the Wii U bluetooth modulation demodulation is, i'd assume same as wii as it uses the same controller.
I know the 360 wired was 125hz polling rate wired so 8ms and it's wireless(non bluetooth) was 10-12ms, so wired was clearly better. That was removed with the xbox one where they pushed the wireless down to 6-8ms. I have no clue what the wii and wii U are at. Granted even for games that do 60fps (16.6ms between frames) that's a frame time well above 8ms. But wired is about reliability as well.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/zVjbDu6.jpg)
I never liked that kind of control layout anyways, doesn't look at all like GC controller just looks like a typical "fightpad", it doesn't even have notches for 8 way movement, it's just a smooth circle. So i don't get where this GC inspired controller got any inspiration from GC.
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Belgium6774 Posts
Lol that reminds me of
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Sega_Saturn_Controller_-_Type_2.png)
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On May 24 2014 06:51 semantics wrote:Eh did you click the links because this doesn't look too appealing http://nintendoenthusiast.com/news/pdp-partners-nintendo-release-gamecube-controller-inspired-pad-wii-u-time-smash-bros/I mean it's still going to use bluetooth though wiimote so might as well use wii u pro controller. "wired" is a bit silly to say when it's wired to a bluetooth transmitter. Straight up data by wire USB would be much more interesting. Assuming a higher pooling rate than the bluetooth, not sure what the Wii U bluetooth modulation demodulation is, i'd assume same as wii as it uses the same controller. I know the 360 wired was 125hz polling rate wired so 8ms and it's wireless(non bluetooth) was 10-12ms, so wired was clearly better. That was removed with the xbox one where they pushed the wireless down to 6-8ms. I have no clue what the wii and wii U are at. Granted even for games that do 60fps (16.6ms between frames) that's a frame time well above 8ms. But wired is about reliability as well. I never liked that kind of control layout anyways, doesn't look at all like GC controller just looks like a typical "fightpad", it doesn't even have notches for 8 way movement, it's just a smooth circle. So i don't get where this GC inspired controller got any inspiration from GC.
im sure the controller they develop will look more like GC controller. im using the GC into mayflash into the wiimote to play PM atm and it works pretty well. Maybe there is some delay (2~3ms according to raphnet but not sure on mayflash im gonna assume they are similar though) but its unnoticeable :S
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I did not in fact, click the link in my link...
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won't there be some sort of issue with the control sticks?
i thought the reason nintendo stopped selling first party GC controllers was due to a copyright law on their control sticks
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EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Tohz0p9.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/OhnBTYo.jpg)
