If you like fighting games, you will want light punch, medium punch, and heavy punch in a row. But consider what each button does in the games you will be playing. Most people will just put them in the standard Capcom layout – 2 rows of 3 buttons. I put the buttons in a cross like the Dreamcast controller, with the two shoulder buttons put above them on a slant. The arcade buttons came with big plastic bolts that hold the buttons onto the boards – which will be perfect to use as a stencil for where the buttons will go. You should start out by measuring and drawing the button layout on the first piece of wood. Most are 1 1/8, like the ones described above. The drill bit should be the size of the buttons. Home Depot also carries the piece of plexiglass (or Lexan) you’ll need to lay over the controls. If you want to build a two-player unit, be sure to buy a long enough piece of wood for two people to sit comfortably apart.

These instructions are for one-player controls. You can really build the box out of anything you want.

You’ll also need the angle brackets and plenty of screws. If you find the right size, two pieces should be enough for the box. Make sure the wood is no thicker than ¾”, so the buttons can go all the way through. I found these pieces of wood that were used for shelves – already covered in a white tabletop-like coating. I’m sure any hardware store would have these parts. (For a real custom look, go to their site and buy separate colored buttons to match the Dreamcast controller – like a red for the “A” button, a blue for the “B” etc…)įor the box, I went to Home Depot. I bought two new joysticks and 12 new buttons for about $27 shipped, and they came from California to Florida in 3 or 4 days. Whatever kind of buttons and joystick you choose be sure to get ones with microswitches. Do an ebay search for “arcade buttons” and you’ll probably find them. Dream Arcades also sell their buttons on ebay, usually for less money. You can use any kind of arcade buttons and joystick you want for this (convex, concave, ball-top etc…).

Do you think it's clear/useful enough to post on the blog? What modifications should be made to it?īuilding an Arcade Stick for the Sega Dreamcast I'm gonna post it here to get some feedback on it. (I can still use them, but they're among my leas favorite group of modern controllers)īut back on topic though: I wonder if combining the 2 adapters would work: It should work and that would certainly be interesting to see done.I found this old guide in a Word Document that Jemsic had sent me a while ago. at very least in terms of general ergonomics for a broad array of hand sizes and preferences. (I've noticed my thunk gets sore faster on the GC stick than the N64 ones -due to the thicker and more rounded edges and the D-pad and face buttons are generally far better, but the GC grips definitely cater much better to a wide range of hands and the triggers are excellent)Īll of those are better than the Playstation controller though. I agree on the GC controller though: Nintendo managed to come up with something that works very well with a wide range of hand sizes and in that respect it's definitely better than the N64 controller. Too much heft is definitely NOT my problem as the Xbox Duke is near perfect in terms of ergonomic design. The triggers would be fine as they are if it weren't for the bulky expansion port bay bumping into my fingers. The DC controllers would be fien for me, but the grips are a bit too narrow and especially the triggers are considerably too low for the layout.

Astropad dreamcast