Author Topic: Announcing new, completely redesigned 3D printed DPAD and ABXY buttons  (Read 52883 times)

Quickman

  • Posts: 220
 Thanks for the write up @lunar !:)

arovane

  • Posts: 16
Hello, first time I post here, but I've done a lot of modding on the Zero for a year or so and followed the boards here. I've done the Gameboy D-pad mod, with also the extra pad under the membrane. The extra pad is what made the controls perfect I think.

Now I tried the new buttons and D-pad (all red), and I understand some of the complains here. They are good but not perfect. Lacks a little precision. And I think placing a 1 or 2mm pad under the membrane is what is missing for the D-pads controls to be perfect. Still have to test that out with new D-pad though, but I'm pretty sure that it will be as good as it can be.

Now regarding the 4 buttons, they are a bit better but still not good enough. The problem I think is that they are too small and/or too close to each other, something that is not easily fixed. But they work all right. The only thing that always bothers me is that the buttons patterns a-b-x-y doesn't follow the Snes ones nor the Xbox ones, so it's always difficult to know which one is which, something that is now even harder to figure out on the go since there is no letters anymore.

Old D-pad: 3/10 (really unplayable especially with Shmups)
New D-pad: 7/10 (might be an 8 with extra pad under membrane)

Old buttons: 5/10
New buttons: 6/10

Now one last thing. Like some people here have noticed, I too think that the feel of the new buttons are rough to the touch, don't feel smooth enough, something that has to do with the 3D printing process with painting on top. I'm now considering buying the grey ones, as it looks like they are made with a different texture (closer to plastic) than all the others. Does someone here can confirm that they are smoother?

Quickman

  • Posts: 220
@arovane  hi, saw your question. I haven't had time nor the ability/tools to install my new D pad and buttons on my zero, however I have ordered  both the gray and white D pads. They both feel exactly the same to me. The gray one however is not what I expected. It has flakes of gold in it that make it look sparkly like glitter.  It's unfortunate because the color is very nice, but the glitter gold that is not removable inside of the plastic of the D pad is very offputting and annoying. It makes it look more like a toy.


HOWEVER, I did order the purple buttons. And I can for sure say that the purple buttons feel more rough than both of the white and gray D pads. So I think your best bet is to go with white or gray being the smoothest when compared to the colored buttons I ordered. Assuming that if I got a purple D pad it would also be much rougher than the white and gray Dpads I bought.

 Hope this helps !


Also,  keep us posted on what membranes we should use in order to get the best feel! I would love to know what you come up with! Thank you!

arovane

  • Posts: 16
Thanks. I was about to buy the grey ones but now I know that I won't :)
I'll try the white ones then. Just hoping they won't get dirty in a second.

Quickman

  • Posts: 220
Thanks. I was about to buy the grey ones but now I know that I won't :)
I'll try the white ones then. Just hoping they won't get dirty in a second.
Yeah, it's so unfortunate about that glitter sparkle on the gray ones. Otherwise I love the color. Glad I could help!
 The white ones should be a bit smoother than the colored ones.

Surkow

  • * Administrator
  • Posts: 699
Before buying, remember you can get $10 dollar off via a coupon till April 15, 2016.

arovane

  • Posts: 16
That's too bad cause I already placed an order a month ago and the coupon is usable only on FIRST order :(
But thanks anyway.

care16la20

  • Posts: 178
For D-Pad, I highly advise the GB one with a iron ball on the bottom

Quickman

  • Posts: 220
For D-Pad, I highly advise the GB one with a iron ball on the bottom

@care16la20  sounds really cool, but have you tried the new ones in order to compare? That sounds like a lot of work to put in if these new D pads are nearly just as good overall. Would love to hear your opinion! Thanks for the recommendation!


Also, @arovane  did you ever say that the new membranes from @ithic.com  are better than the OEM membranes that originally come with the GCW zero?  Would love to know what/which membranes are best to use for both the buttons and the Dpads before installing these new parts! Thank you so much for your help!

arovane

  • Posts: 16
Don't know about the new membrane, never bought it. But I doubt there's a difference, if there is please let me know.
I was talking about the pad under membrane mod, "modifying your console for better diagonal inputs": http://wiki.surkow.com/D-Pad_Modifications

This is definitely something I can recommend you to do.

care16la20

  • Posts: 178
For D-Pad, I highly advise the GB one with a iron ball on the bottom

@care16la20  sounds really cool, but have you tried the new ones in order to compare? That sounds like a lot of work to put in if these new D pads are nearly just as good overall. Would love to hear your opinion! Thanks for the recommendation!


Also, @arovane  did you ever say that the new membranes from @ithic.com  are better than the OEM membranes that originally come with the GCW zero?  Would love to know what/which membranes are best to use for both the buttons and the Dpads before installing these new parts! Thank you so much for your help!

Yep, its a huge amount of work and ive had a small accident on my finger during the process; Havent tried the new dpad and have no plan to do since the GBdpad with the bottom sahved with a ironball on the middle is a winner

arovane

  • Posts: 16
Ok so received and installed the white buttons and D-pads. Same feel than the red ones, and they get dirty very fast. But it looks somehow nicer all in white, with the red buttons it looked a bit like a toy to be honest.

Now, I tried to put a small plastic pad under the D-pad in order to increase diagonals, as shown on the wiki. It worked beautifully with the GameBoy pad mod last time. Well, IT DOESN'T WORK AT ALL WITH THE NEW D-PADS SO DON'T DO IT! The diagonals register very badly, and you have to press the D-pad too hard for it to work.

So yeah. Conclusion, the best feel with the D-pad is definitely the GameBoy D-pad mod with the extra pad under it. The new D-pads are ok but not as good as think.

superfenix2020

  • Posts: 248
I said, they were rubbish.

retrogott

  • Posts: 42
I'm testing the 3D printed Buttons and D-Pad in my GCW Zero for a week now and unfortunately I'm not happy with them. The ABXY buttons feel good and they don't stick anymore but the D-Pad feels a bit inaccurate, which makes it difficult to play Fighting Games and Platformers. I came to the conclusion, that its the right half of the D-Pad which is giving me problems.

I made some tests with some Street Fighter Games: When I'm playing at the left side (1 Player side) It's very difficult to do ShoRyuKens and Super Hadoukens. When I'm playing at the right side (2 Player side) I can do ShoRyuKens and Super Hadoukens without any problems. Really strange...

Is here anybody who had the same problem? I will open my GCW Zero soon again to check the D-Pad. Maybe I have to replace the rubber membrane under the D-Pad?

Surkow

  • * Administrator
  • Posts: 699
I'm testing the 3D printed Buttons and D-Pad in my GCW Zero for a week now and unfortunately I'm not happy with them. The ABXY buttons feel good and they don't stick anymore but the D-Pad feels a bit inaccurate, which makes it difficult to play Fighting Games and Platformers. I came to the conclusion, that its the right half of the D-Pad which is giving me problems.

I made some tests with some Street Fighter Games: When I'm playing at the left side (1 Player side) It's very difficult to do ShoRyuKens and Super Hadoukens. When I'm playing at the right side (2 Player side) I can do ShoRyuKens and Super Hadoukens without any problems. Really strange...

Is here anybody who had the same problem? I will open my GCW Zero soon again to check the D-Pad. Maybe I have to replace the rubber membrane under the D-Pad?
If it's only the right half of the D-Pad which is giving you problems then it is likely for the rubber membrane to be damaged in some way (or maybe not properly aligned). Ithic used to sell replacement rubber membranes, but the website is currently down while undergoing an overhaul.

retrogott

  • Posts: 42
Okay thanks. I read that the Gameboy Classic rubber membranes match with the GCW Zero so I bought 2 membranes on ebay. I hope they will fix my problem.

Mar8

  • Posts: 103
Okay thanks. I read that the Gameboy Classic rubber membranes match with the GCW Zero so I bought 2 membranes on ebay. I hope they will fix my problem.

 @retrogott Sorry for your problems! But thank you for giving us the information, please keep us posted and let us know if everything gets slolved once you replace the membranes! :):) i am curious to know so that I'm more prepared for my botton/Dpad upgrade too. Thanks!

Atlantis_Risen

  • Posts: 535
Re: Announcing new, completely redesigned 3D printed DPAD and ABXY buttons
« Reply #97 on: August 01, 2016, 08:30:00 pm »
How does one buy one of each color button, so I can make my Zero look like all of the promotional images?

Surkow

  • * Administrator
  • Posts: 699
Re: Announcing new, completely redesigned 3D printed DPAD and ABXY buttons
« Reply #98 on: August 02, 2016, 12:27:46 am »
You will have to choose the plastic color and add each part separately to your shopping basket.

Don't forget to try the following promo code: SHIPITFREE

retrogott

  • Posts: 42
Re: Announcing new, completely redesigned 3D printed DPAD and ABXY buttons
« Reply #99 on: August 02, 2016, 07:54:06 pm »
Soo today I received my Gameboy Classic rubber membranes and I modded them for my GCW Zero:





The buttons and the D-Pad feel much better and harder now with the new rubbers. but unfortunately my problems with the D-Pad aren't solved yet. It seems like the down direction of the D-Pad is having problems now (before it was the right direction). I made the Street Fighter test again and now it's nearly impossible to do Hadokens and any Quarter or Half Cycle Moves. On the other hand, I can play platformer games very well now. I tested Donkey Kong Country and some Super Mario games and it's a huge difference now to the original GCW D-Pad. The D-Pad feels nearly like an original Gameboy D-Pad and I was able to do some precious Jumps, Attacks, etc. Then I made another test with Tetris and I recognized that when I'm holding the down button to speed up the Tetris blocks they sometimes stop.

So does anyone have the same issues with the 3D printed D-Pad? What else can I try? Is there something wrong with the D-Pad? Or did I made some mistakes with the modded rubber? 



 

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