See that lovely battle stick? It isn’t only a controller: it is a image. A logo of me operating out of excuses to git gud (or not less than crawl my means out of scrubhood) in Road Fighter 6. Earlier this 12 months I used to be so excited for the brand new Road Fighter that I made a decision to construct my very own Hit Field, AKA an all-button arcade field with out an precise “stick.” As with most preventing video games I am enthusiastic about, earlier than launch I vowed that this can be the one I dedicated to placing actual time into. I am the primary and solely preventing sport newbie to ever inform himself this lie.
When Road Fighter 6 landed in June, I solely had the mission half-finished, so I figured I would wait on diving in for a month or two, simply till I might end issues up. Contemplating I lastly attached all of the wires and screwed the field collectively on December 19, it is secure to say issues did not go precisely as deliberate. However 2024? 2024 would be the 12 months I undoubtedly pour some actual time into Road Fighter.Â
Constructing the controller was loads of enjoyable all by itself, although, and a course of I would advocate to any preventing sport fan who occurs to have loads of woodworking gear useful (or, like me, a buddy with that gear). Regardless of watching some YouTube movies and studying about people’ builds on-line, I nonetheless made a couple of small errors and got here away with suggestions for different first-time builders. This is the way it got here collectively.
The planning steps
I made a decision I wished to make a wood battle stick, and that I wished it to be comparatively small in order that storing it wasn’t an enormous ache. I purchased some sturdy half-inch plywood from a neighborhood store, and whereas on a trip journey to Tokyo got down to discover an arcade elements retailer to purchase buttons. I figured they’d be a bit cheaper in Japan than on-line, although I ended up erasing any financial savings I would gained for myself by panicking in regards to the colour mixture and shopping for extra buttons than I wanted.
For my major buttons I went with Sanwa’s OBSN 24mm, Â which I would examine to Cherry MX Reds. They’re quick, gentle contact buttons that you’re going to discover throughout arcades and in lots of, many battle sticks. For a contact of colour and textural selection I additionally picked a couple of Seimitsu PS-14s, which require only a tad extra strain to activate, to function the triple punch / kick buttons.
That left the stick’s controller board and wiring.
Whereas I am going to principally be taking part in on PC, I additionally wished the persist with work on consoles. There is a funds choice within the $25 Brook Zero-Pi, however I requested Brook to ship me its $80 Common Preventing Board in addition to a small add-on board for PS5 assist. For anybody constructing a battle stick going ahead, although, I would advocate the brand new UFB Fusion, which integrates the PS5 add-on; it is the plug-it-into-anything-and-it’ll-just-work board to decide on now. In case you’re constructing a leverless controller like me, you may additionally need the preventing board cable and hitbox cable, which make the wiring course of actually, very easy. Brook gives bundles for getting the cables collectively and/or with the UFB that knocks fairly a bit off the value.
The following steps of planning my construct at this level revealed many complexities I hadn’t actually thought of.
- Even good high quality plywood is not going to have completely squared edges, which makes excellent measurements powerful. This may be pretty simply solved, however solely in case you have the proper woodworking gear.
- The saws you have got entry to will dictate the way you go about constructing your controller. As a result of we did not have a desk noticed or skilsaw (or a laser cutter, which might be even higher), we determined it was going to be tough to construct a box-style controller like on this YouTube video. As a substitute we went for a “sandwich” method, reducing the plywood into a number of items and layering it to create the thickness wanted to suit all the inner elements. This could allow us to cope with the not-square edges later with an orbital sander.
- When discovering a button template on-line, be sure that the spacing will work for screw buttons (higher for thicker bins) quite than push buttons (constructed for skinny metallic/acrylic panels). I used this template that was modified to suit screw buttons, they usually simply barely match, so I actually wanted one other couple millimeters of spacing in between. If I would used one among these official templates, it probably would not have match my buttons.
- Until you have already got a totally stocked woodworking store, prices are undoubtedly going so as to add up—I spent practically $30 simply on the 24mm and 30mm Forstner bits used to drill the button holes, about that a lot on the wooden, and extra in a while brushes, stain, and polyurethane for the ending steps.
Drilling button holes and take a look at becoming
Ideally, you’d use a drill press to rapidly and cleanly make the button holes utilizing the round Forstner bits, however a handheld drill really did the job completely advantageous right here. One essential tip: use the purpose of the drill bit to make a small indentation within the wooden at your middle level to anchor it as you drill, making certain it would not go skittering throughout the floor.
The advantage of this half-inch piece of plywood is that it is extraordinarily sturdy and would not bend in any respect, but it surely comes with a draw back: it is too thick for the screw buttons. That meant that on the again facet of the highest panel I had to make use of the 30mm bit to drill all the way in which round every gap, greater than doubling the quantity of labor for this step of the method.
At this level we did a take a look at becoming, and all the pieces match! However later, after I stained the wooden and needed to tighten all of the buttons to make sure they did not wiggle, it was an especially tight squeeze.
Assembling the layers, gluing, and reducing
With the button holes executed, we drew a tough diagram on the highest panel to determine how the PCB would match and the place the facet buttons (for Begin, Choose and so forth.) would match, in addition to the place the outlet for the USB plug would go. This helped us decide how thick we might make the perimeters and the way a lot additional wooden to depart within the corners to offer screws for the underside panel loads of safety. With all that sketched out, we lined up a number of extra items of the plywood and glued them collectively to function the physique of the controller.
Our course of right here was dictated by the type of noticed we had readily available—on this case we used an oscillating multi-tool to chop by way of the stacked wooden vertically. We used a bit of tape on the blade to mark the depth we might be reducing to, however utilizing some low-cost particle board as a backstop made it fairly straightforward to inform after we’d damaged by way of the more durable wooden.
The reducing course of was surprisingly painless, and  as soon as the inside block was gone we might use the Forstner bits once more to drill the facet button holes after which glue the highest panel in place.
Sanding, sanding and extra sanding
We’ve a field! The controller just about appears the half at this level, however refining is a prolonged course of. At this level I had to make use of the orbital sander to scrub off that overhanging lip on the highest panel and start sanding down the perimeters, too, which is trickier than it sounds. Some sides would slope in direction of the highest or backside and/or left or proper; others would bulge or dip barely someplace in between. Wooden appears fairly straight till you scrutinize it from all angles after which it actually doesn’t look straight in any respect.
After an preliminary hour or two of energy sanding to get the perimeters roughly sq., I additionally did a ton of sanding by hand to spherical off all the perimeters, making them way more nice for wrists to relaxation towards. As you’ll be able to see within the completed picture, there is a fairly clear inward slope on the proper facet—I did my finest to imitate it on the left, and until you are actually squinting on the remaining product it appears even. It is undoubtedly not an ideal rectangle, however I am okay with that: it feels extra handmade and would not compromise on the usability of the stick in any respect.
Staining and polyurethane
I wished a wealthy reddish brown, so I utilized three coats of pink chestnut wooden stain. I cherished the way it appeared when moist, however naturally when it dried the colour was a lot much less vibrant. A number of coats helped, although, as did the ultimate step: making use of a transparent semi-gloss polyurethhane. I did an especially advantageous grit sanding in between to make sure no particles or bits of stain roughed up the end. The poly actually helps carry out the vibrancy of the wooden in good lighting.
Closing steps: Wiring all of it up
Securing all of the buttons proved to be more durable than I anticipated—throughout my take a look at match I hadn’t grappled with getting the screws firmly lodged in place towards the wooden. I needed to chip away some additional room with a screwdriver and use needle nostril pliers in a couple of circumstances the place my fingers had been too massive to get a grip. I additionally wanted the pliers for the left facet buttons the place we might saved the wooden fairly thick—there was no means my fingers had been becoming in there!
Wiring was fortunately a straightforward step: I simply adopted a information for the 20-pin harness displaying which coloured cable corresponded to every button. Brook additionally provides a information for its hitbox cable. Because the cables are preconfigured with feminine connectors, they only slide onto the buttons and the job’s executed. The one “handbook” wiring I needed to do was for the PS5 add-in board, which required two wires be hooked up to the proper terminals on the Common Preventing Board and screwed in. With a small Philips screwdriver, that took all of a minute.
I additionally wanted to connect the Neutrik USB feed-through with a pair small screws, so I drilled tiny pilot holes first after which secured it by hand. Since I would already splurged on this mission I purchased each Sort-C and Sort-A cables to be prepared for any scenario.
The ultimate step was securing the board in place. I had some heavy responsibility adhesive velcro leftover from one other mission, so I hooked up that to the underside of the UFB after which caught it to the highest panel. I determine this fashion it’s going to keep in place however nonetheless be pretty straightforward to take away and reuse if I ever need to swap it out or transfer it to a different stick.
Just a few extra suggestions and classes realized for constructing your individual hitbox
After placing this factor collectively, listed below are a couple of takeaways:Â
- This information on FocusAttack is a good start line for figuring out what elements you want, and what elements you may need (deciding between button sorts, for instance)
- Getting a wonderfully straight edge is an actual problem with out the proper instruments, so in case you’re an newbie builder like me, having a extra skilled buddy is invaluable (thanks, John!)
- There is a motive most battle sticks are usually bigger than the one I’ve constructed. A deeper field offers you a bit more room to relaxation your wrists, and a wider one sits extra stably on the lap. I do not remorse constructing a extra compact field, but when I had it to do over I would in all probability go a bit larger.
- In case you’re on the fence about constructing your individual, there’s undoubtedly a extra inexpensive customized choice: an acrylic enclosure from Everlasting Rival. These nonetheless require you to produce your individual buttons and PCB, however provide you with a case to construct in, no sanding required. You may as well get customized prime panel art work executed for these, which is loads of enjoyable—check out the r/fightsticks subreddit for inspiration from some unimaginable designs.
- It is at all times going to be actually laborious to not name this a “battle stick” each single time although there is no stick