Yep. I've gotten the sense that a lot of folks treat any difference from original hardware as a negative. In reality, there's more nuance to it all than changes being bad.
Good video, thanks for making it. I haven't used it but I think there's a program/ROM one can use on N64 emulators to test whether a modern analog stick is capable of hitting the necessary ranges on N64 games. Can be useful for quicker testing. Analog stick modules are designed and calibrated for a different amount of "steps", or sometimes referred to as "resolution". N64 analog ranges were larger than modern-day analog stick ranges. You are correct that software dictates how the stick operates, but the software is married to the hardware. If 8bitdo did not specifically program their stick to operate like the N64 stick then it will not operate as such, and it can affect certain games or certain N64 game movements. I believe analog sticks are standardized to the same amount of steps since the PS2 era, but I'm just making a guess here. Amount of steps is still mandated or ruled by the game software: a 12-bit stick resolution isn't of any use if the game software doesn't allow making full use of it, so a very high-resolution calibration won't necessarily produce "better" results in a specific game than a lower-resolution analog stick if the game is tuned to a specific standard. Another issue are deadzones, and as you mentioned deadzones are governed mainly by the 'software' (both the controller manufacturer's firmware and the game software have a say in how the deadzones operate). There are some manufacturers, like for example Razer, who implement a "forced deadzone" (via firmware) on their Wolverine controllers which can prevent fine control or fine movement; they do this in order to prevent complaints about 'stick drift', as the larger the deadzone the less "drift" there can possibly occur, however the larger the deadzone the less able you are to control the analog stick in a game. As you showed, sometimes the controller manufacturer provides software which allows fine-tuning the deadzone, but this is not always the case.
Good info. 👌 I'm looking forward to trying one of these. I didn't care for the N64 stick even in the 90s, and that opinion hasn't changed over the years. This seems like a no-brainer.
I should buy a few for my controllers that have loose sticks. I hope to have a similar experience as you did during the testing. I mainly wanna use it for Mickeys Speedway USA speedruns
Im not sure if my unit is broken, because it's really sensitive, I barely touch the analog stick and Mario is already running. A good game to test the precision is Virtual Pool 64 and any FPS. In general it's a great mod, I wish it had rumble support on actual hardware though.
Everyone goes on and on about the sticks gates and the deadzones but never ever address the real problem. That modern sticks with perfectly octagonal gates and linear responses are not what n64 games are programmed to take as input. The N64 controllers weird gate is to compensate for the fact that the 2 axis of the stick are non linear on the response of the diagonals. So they reach the same values at the cardinals as they do at the diagonals. Modern sticks are designed with the implicit that both axis are totally independent values wise and this leads to overloading the cardinal directions with respect to the diagonal directions. This manifests in games as sticky feeling cardinal directions where it feels like you cant quite get the angle you want because the stick "pulls" in the direction of the nearest cardinal trying to snap to it. Either the game needs patching to expect a linear stick, or the linear stick needs patching to limit its range to the ratio expected between the cardinals and the diagonals. And no one talks about that. And thus using any round gate linear joystick in N64 gaming feels wrong no matter the physical properties of how the stick feels.
Any chance you're planning on testing the 8bitdo mod kit on an OG N64 via Blueretro adapter? Ive seen videos where people have some trouble both with pairing and inputs, but to be frank they dont seem as knowledgeable as you do; the fact that no one else even bothered to mention calibration puts me off them a bit. I also came across a reddit post from just about a week ago that said some of the issues with the blue retro adapter have been resolved via an update on the adapter. I've ordered two of the 8bitdo modkits, but im on the fence about waiting for the Analogue 3D or picking up an OG 64, a retrotink and some blueretro adapters. Would love some more related content. Cheers.
I considered including it in this video, but figured it would've been a bit unfair to single them out for not playing perfectly with another company's new product. In general, I was planning to see if 8BitDo released an adapter in the near future to coincide with their new controller for the Analogue 3D. If Blue Retro fixed their issue though, I might keep them in mind in the coming months if the channel budget allows. As for waiting for the Analogue 3D, it could be quite a while before Analogue even starts taking pre-orders. From personal experience with the Pocket and how the Duo shipments have gone, I wouldn't doubt it taking well over a year before regular consumers get their hands on one. It might be worthwhile to opt for original hardware and adapters until then. As long as you don't spring for the Retrotink immediately, it could be a relatively inexpensive way to see if the adapters work for your needs and decide where to go from there.
@miguelmercedes2209 The full mod kit comes with a new controller board and Bluetooth module. You'll need both to directly connect a controller to anything other than an N64.
3rd party controllers cost pretty much the same as original controllers with bad/broken sticks, i just wish the different colors wouldn't make these controllers so expensive.
Basically the stick is different by design but that doesn't mean its outright bad which is something i did heard from earlier reviews.
Yep. I've gotten the sense that a lot of folks treat any difference from original hardware as a negative. In reality, there's more nuance to it all than changes being bad.
I had no idea they had this available from 8BitDo.
I have several controllers I needed to repair and never got around to.
This seems perfect.
Good video, thanks for making it. I haven't used it but I think there's a program/ROM one can use on N64 emulators to test whether a modern analog stick is capable of hitting the necessary ranges on N64 games. Can be useful for quicker testing.
Analog stick modules are designed and calibrated for a different amount of "steps", or sometimes referred to as "resolution". N64 analog ranges were larger than modern-day analog stick ranges. You are correct that software dictates how the stick operates, but the software is married to the hardware. If 8bitdo did not specifically program their stick to operate like the N64 stick then it will not operate as such, and it can affect certain games or certain N64 game movements. I believe analog sticks are standardized to the same amount of steps since the PS2 era, but I'm just making a guess here. Amount of steps is still mandated or ruled by the game software: a 12-bit stick resolution isn't of any use if the game software doesn't allow making full use of it, so a very high-resolution calibration won't necessarily produce "better" results in a specific game than a lower-resolution analog stick if the game is tuned to a specific standard.
Another issue are deadzones, and as you mentioned deadzones are governed mainly by the 'software' (both the controller manufacturer's firmware and the game software have a say in how the deadzones operate). There are some manufacturers, like for example Razer, who implement a "forced deadzone" (via firmware) on their Wolverine controllers which can prevent fine control or fine movement; they do this in order to prevent complaints about 'stick drift', as the larger the deadzone the less "drift" there can possibly occur, however the larger the deadzone the less able you are to control the analog stick in a game. As you showed, sometimes the controller manufacturer provides software which allows fine-tuning the deadzone, but this is not always the case.
Good info. 👌 I'm looking forward to trying one of these.
I didn't care for the N64 stick even in the 90s, and that opinion hasn't changed over the years. This seems like a no-brainer.
hi, i just got the retrobit hall effect joystick and i noticed a bit of lag, is something i should be concerned with the 8bitdo joystick?
Great video. Thank you!
I should buy a few for my controllers that have loose sticks.
I hope to have a similar experience as you did during the testing. I mainly wanna use it for Mickeys Speedway USA speedruns
Im not sure if my unit is broken, because it's really sensitive, I barely touch the analog stick and Mario is already running. A good game to test the precision is Virtual Pool 64 and any FPS. In general it's a great mod, I wish it had rumble support on actual hardware though.
Everyone goes on and on about the sticks gates and the deadzones but never ever address the real problem. That modern sticks with perfectly octagonal gates and linear responses are not what n64 games are programmed to take as input. The N64 controllers weird gate is to compensate for the fact that the 2 axis of the stick are non linear on the response of the diagonals. So they reach the same values at the cardinals as they do at the diagonals. Modern sticks are designed with the implicit that both axis are totally independent values wise and this leads to overloading the cardinal directions with respect to the diagonal directions. This manifests in games as sticky feeling cardinal directions where it feels like you cant quite get the angle you want because the stick "pulls" in the direction of the nearest cardinal trying to snap to it.
Either the game needs patching to expect a linear stick, or the linear stick needs patching to limit its range to the ratio expected between the cardinals and the diagonals. And no one talks about that. And thus using any round gate linear joystick in N64 gaming feels wrong no matter the physical properties of how the stick feels.
Just ordered myself a kit
Any chance you're planning on testing the 8bitdo mod kit on an OG N64 via Blueretro adapter?
Ive seen videos where people have some trouble both with pairing and inputs, but to be frank they dont seem as knowledgeable as you do; the fact that no one else even bothered to mention calibration puts me off them a bit.
I also came across a reddit post from just about a week ago that said some of the issues with the blue retro adapter have been resolved via an update on the adapter.
I've ordered two of the 8bitdo modkits, but im on the fence about waiting for the Analogue 3D or picking up an OG 64, a retrotink and some blueretro adapters. Would love some more related content.
Cheers.
I considered including it in this video, but figured it would've been a bit unfair to single them out for not playing perfectly with another company's new product. In general, I was planning to see if 8BitDo released an adapter in the near future to coincide with their new controller for the Analogue 3D. If Blue Retro fixed their issue though, I might keep them in mind in the coming months if the channel budget allows.
As for waiting for the Analogue 3D, it could be quite a while before Analogue even starts taking pre-orders. From personal experience with the Pocket and how the Duo shipments have gone, I wouldn't doubt it taking well over a year before regular consumers get their hands on one. It might be worthwhile to opt for original hardware and adapters until then. As long as you don't spring for the Retrotink immediately, it could be a relatively inexpensive way to see if the adapters work for your needs and decide where to go from there.
Do these connect on Mac?
If you install the wireless receiver, yes. I've connected mine for use in OpenEmu in the past without a ton of issues.
@@GameXData wireless receiver?
@miguelmercedes2209 The full mod kit comes with a new controller board and Bluetooth module. You'll need both to directly connect a controller to anything other than an N64.
3rd party controllers cost pretty much the same as original controllers with bad/broken sticks, i just wish the different colors wouldn't make these controllers so expensive.
I did this to my n64 controller and the joystick is completely unusable it drifts worse than my v1 joy cons
retro-bit x 8bitdo rb8 n64 bluetooth controller
Not so sure you're qualified to tell us this 'feels mostly the same' as the original if you weren't even born when the console was first released.
I'm 30 years old.
Imagine trying to gatekeep the n64 lol
the dude with the sonic OC profile picture is trying to age shame someone lmao
People who weren’t born when the n64 came out aren’t capable of playing one later? Interesting (stupid) take