How To Best Play Virtual On, Xbox 360 Style

@Sammo21: I wouldn't know that's not my bag, baby.

@Sammo21: I wouldn't know that's not my bag, baby.

I haven't played a Virtua On game but judging from what I hear, and the pic above it should be easy to replicate on a 360 controller just use the bumper and triggers instead of the face buttons.

Flyhawk

I haven't played a Virtua On game but judging from what I hear, and the pic above it should be easy to replicate on a 360 controller just use the bumper and triggers instead of the face buttons.

Flyhawk

Looks like some crazy penis pump controller. Are you sure this isn't a controller for some erotic community game?

Looks like some crazy penis pump controller. Are you sure this isn't a controller for some erotic community game?

Think this is crazy? Imagine if they were to put Steel Battalion on XBLA.

Have fun modding a controller for THAT.

Think this is crazy? Imagine if they were to put Steel Battalion on XBLA.

Have fun modding a controller for THAT.

Think this is crazy? Imagine if they were to put Steel Battalion on XBLA.

Have fun modding a controller for THAT.

@Kazzahdrane: Then how do you explain this book, "Swedish-made Penis Enlargers And Me: This Sort of Thing Is My Bag Baby", by Kazzadrane.

@Strider-Kojiro: Hehe, I imagine for a modder that actually would be fun. Also, to this day, I have yet to play Steel Battalion. I came very close to buying a copy with the peripheral, but it was just out of my price range.

Is it still worth tracking down, these days, or is it mostly a novelty at this point?

That's crazy cool.

Sega, only you can prevent people from modding crazy contraptions like this.

@Uzumaki_Kiba: I can only imagine modding for S.B. is a mecha-freak's spring break right there.

Ehhh... I'm gonna go half on that. It wasn't really bad game, hell, it got pretty realistic for how things operated in that game, right down to the whole 'eject-or-lose-your-entire-campaign'... threat. But At this point, it's pretty much a novelty.

I'd say pick it up on the cheap. It's not a bad game, but if it's less than 200 bucks, you're getting a steal.

I'm going to buy a ps3 controller converter for the 360 just because its a bit more conducive for VOOT.

vitrium

@Kazzahdrane:

Bag is my middle name.. my first name being mr.t

Dancing Ketchup

@Kazzahdrane:

Bag is my middle name.. my first name being mr.t

Dancing Ketchup

@vitrium: Um, Bluetooth?

Or does the converter convert the DS3 into a digital signal?

@vitrium: Um, Bluetooth?

Or does the converter convert the DS3 into a digital signal?

@BountyHead: You kidding? That book was a fucking best-seller.

@BountyHead: You kidding? That book was a fucking best-seller.

@Flyhawk: its really not the same, but if you never played the arcade then I guess you wouldn't understand.

ButterToast

@Flyhawk: its really not the same, but if you never played the arcade then I guess you wouldn't understand.

ButterToast

A very interresting mod indeed.

Im glad that SEGA has decided to release VOOT and I thought it was a no-brainer to release this now that consoles have the dual analog controller.

That said, I can understand big time fans creating such mods and wanting twin sticks. In the end I'm just happy to already have a controller that can mimick all the functions of it's arcade counterpart.

There are good XBLA games that have little to no community left playing them for w/e reason. I would hate to see that happen to VOOT because it's a fun game but even more so because the thought of wasted time and money many players that spent replicating, buying, or modding these expensive controllers.

Ok, honestly... I don't understand the big deal about needing a twin stick controller. Why, as the article suggests, are you "stuck using the control pad?" The 360 controller has twin sticks. It's not like the Dreamcast where there was only one joystick to work with.

greyseal

Mmmmmm... Choco Baby! ^_^ Nom nom nom!

@Strider-Kojiro: yeah that crazy game with an external controller with like 40 buttons or something! that would awesome if someone could do it.

Hahahahaha. Ownage!

Wahrheit

@Sammo21:

you have a rectangular penis?

@Flyhawk: No you clearly never played Virtual On, saw it being played or have any inkling in your tiny casual gaming brain on the different reaction times between analogue and digital, or the notion of mastery of Virtual On. Now get outta my sight, imbecile. Without Twinsticks, VOOT is not VOOT, its something inferior. Thanks again Sega...

robinthakur

@hiryu3: It wouldn't be terribly hard to mod the controller to work with the 360, since the original xbox controller plugs were just modified usb plugs - all you would have to do is splice on the correct end and it would plug in.

The real problem is that Microsoft isn't about to make Steel Battalion backwards compatible. :(

I'll just stick to my SEGA SATURN version with authentic twin stick controller

@Uzumaki_Kiba: Steel Battalion is still one of a kind, 100 percent awesome.

It's worth it.

lineofcontact.net
steelbattalion.org

There's still a small online community.

@greyseal: Have you ever played Virtual On? It's designed for a twin joystick gameplay. For the dreamcast, you can buy a twin joystick peripheral. The 360 controller may have twin stick but the position and design makes it a bit awkward to play.

UltimateIdiot

Oh man, with M$' 3rd party lockout on the controller and the Saturn's crazy pinless plug, that's gonna be a nightmare.

@greyseal: Clearly not a VOOT player. You need to play the original with twinsticks and gain some level of mastery before you realise why VOOT without the proper controller is like anal sex without lube...just painful. A poorly designed analogue scheme on a badly designed pad (the sticks aren't even side by side!) on what was a digitally controlled game will not work. Period.

robinthakur

I'm hoping to buy (or make) a 360 to Saturn adapter, if Sega doesn release twin sticks.

@SAKY: Umm, except that you're playing an arcade game originally controlled digitally where twitch timing is everything, with 2 shitty wrongly placed analogue controllers and analogue buttons for the triggers? Has the whole world gone insane? When you see what I would politey call idiots playing things like VF5, Tekken, SF4 and now the holy VOOT with analogue controllers, its clear that alot of people playing games today simply don't know what the hell they're doing. Its like going to a 3 Michelin starred restaurant wearing only your underwear and eating everything with your hands while barking for Ketchup, it makes you look foolish to those that know how the game should be played, and its inappropriate.

Mind you judging by the quality of digital controllers on PSX, PS2, PS3, Xbox360 neither do the manufacturers. Have some goddamn dignity Sega and release a proper controller for your fans. /Rant

robinthakur

Not too bad, but I'd love to see what Ben Heck could do to make this game have a twin stick controller.

天

@4nonymo: No mines an octagon, is that bad?

Oh my god I love Choco Baby chocolate. :D

@dh4645: You don't?

@Scorch3: clearly it was rendered by the Dreamcast ... not enough polygons

@robinthakur:

I'm a sucker for a well timed anal sex analogy.

Kazaam_McFresh

Just roll your own. Get a set of DC or Saturn sticks and marry it with a 360 PCB. I plan to use either that Mad Catz montrosity with the spinner or *maybe* sacrifice a FightPad, since the triggers are digital on them. Blasphemy right? No.

For VOOT, no sacrifice is too great.

Great job thining out of the box. Madcatz is stealing the prototype as we speak and will probably stay with the current materials except for adding the logo and $19.99 price.

@robinthakur: It's been awhile since I've played, but I think you're exaggerating. The standard DC controller with one stick- now that's painful. The staggered sticks might not be optimal, but everything's there to be able to pull off any technique. It's not like you'll have to hold A to be able to turn or something like that.

@robinthakur: Superiority complex?

Freetime000

good god, gaming sites are sourcing Gamerbook (the gaming equivalent of Uncyclopedia if you've read any of the articles) now? Wonder how long till some sites 'rediscover' the Clannad box art...

Hope a real TS controller is made available for the states, but if not the pads don't seem to be too much of a hassle to use. Never got into VO/VOOT during its heyday anyway, and trying out DC emu with a 360 controller it's already my head not keeping up w/ whatever that needs to be done and not the fault of a controller setup that seems swanky at first.

@Derek Rumpler:

... xbox doesn't do bluetooth. I don't know if its wireless tech is based on bluetooth, but something proprietary is tossed in there to prevent third parties from connecting via wireless without getting authorization from Microsoft first.

HA! these replies have made my day.. well played sirs and maddams

+1 for evvverybooodyyy

@robinthakur: I can tell this is very important to you.

@robinthakur: yeah, what a d-bag

At first glance, I thought somebody turned the controller into a self lighting bong. Imagine my disappointment when the truth was learned.

ThickSkinned

@Flyhawk: Pretty much. The game will only use the sticks, bumpers and triggers.

@robinthakur: Are you for real? Buy a cabinet and stop worrying about the XBLA port if you're that caught up your own ass about it.

Unfortunate...his troubles will be copyrighted and stolen before we know it.

J.D.

Unfortunate...his troubles will be copyrighted and stolen before we know it.

J.D.

@robinthakur:

Chill out man. Not everyone likes to spend $80 on a DC peripheral that was released only in Japan. The default control scheme is already a hell of a lot better than using a Dreamcast controller with 1 stick. I had the game on Dreamcast and it was a pain in the arse to play without Dual Sticks.

mellowspaz

@[www.amazon.com]

I'd like to join the club of people who don't see a need for twin sticks. It seems to me like the dual analog would approximate the effect pretty nicely. Granted, I've never played Virtual On, but I was a huge fan of the Cybersled arcade machine, and I think that would play quite nicely with just the dual analog.

waitinthecar

@darkgodofdeath: It's not that crazy. He can still revert that into a working controller with no problem.

@LittleDeadEpic! ....Hunting Akuma: Aw, I'm too late to the party. =(

@J.D.: You can't copyright that. So no, he's safe from that.

@Knoxximus (XBL/PSN): I was thinking of that, but... I'm not going to have fun dealing with the analog sticks' potentiometers.

@bigd7387: $19.99? More like $99.99, seeing as that's what they've done with the shoddy arcade pads.

@Billkwando bought his tickets for Hyde's US tour: Oh Capcom. You guys love making one-shot entertainment, don't you? (God Hand, Under the Skin, etc.)

@Izkariot: VOOT 360 has a config where u map the right stick to the d-pad and the left stick to the face buttons. So, no potentiometers will be harmed in the making of this mod. ^_^

I have the ps2 game, and play it in Twin stick emulated mode(with the two analog sticks and shoulder buttons). It OK if its the only way you have. but Twin sticks gives the player a completely engaging experience. Think of it like this, yeah you could play sports games on a controller, but why do you think Wii sports was such a huge selling point for the Wii? or Why Guitar Hero sold so much better than Frequency or Amplitude. The controller is Part of the entire experience!

Simkin-phd

@Strider-Kojiro: I managed to get a copy fully boxed with both the original and line of contact for £30 (about $44) recently :D
I had to travel to some train station in the middle of nowhere to do the exchange but it was worth it

redpikmin

@vitrium: If anyone knows of a way to convert PS2 controllers to 360, I'd be very appreciative if you'd tell me how.

n8n8baby

Oh hell yes.

That is how it should be done.

@darkgodofdeath:
This, as it turns out, IS the official Virtual On 360 controller. Personally, I think it is quite quaint.

@darkgodofdeath:
This, as it turns out, IS the official Virtual On 360 controller. Personally, I think it is quite quaint.

Anyone actually check out the link? The image they ahve for Temjin is ... temjin from art of fighting. hilarious.

taiki

@angelangelv2: Me too!!

@Flyhawk: 'I haven't played Guitar Hero but from what I hear it should be easy to replicate on the 360 controller using the shoulder buttons.'

@redpikmin: Dude, NICE.

Come on Capcom, make a new mecha game, hell? I'll settle for Tech Romancer, too.

@Izkariot: never to late to party with the party pig in tow! wooooo! spring break! *throws underwear*

@Madeira: Thank you, Madeira.

This is exactly the point. Most arcade games can't be perfectly reproduced at home -- we'd all need separate controllers for each one. But in this case, it's completely functional, and requires a minor adjustment to enjoy. Players who never played the original won't even notice something is wrong, but everyone is going on like this version is going to be a disaster. We've gotten to the point where the problem isn't just the twin sticks, but the fact that they're staggered on the controller??

Video game snobs are almost as annoying as wine snobs. Sometimes, it tastes just as good out of a box.

greyseal

@Dancing Ketchup:
Bag Mr. T? OH, sorry MIDDLE name. My mistake. XD

sentroshi

@waitinthecar: The only real problem is that the twins ticks are digital, not analog. Analog sticks won't be as responsive.

@KeWLMoNkX: Have fun playing that online! I bet it looks sweet in HD, too.

@Simkin-phd:

amen

@Strider-Kojiro: I really wanted to play Steel Battalion, but it was the only game I wanted on the original Xbox. So I never got to play it. =(

@HighSpeedIndeed: Go back to playing Halo or GTA, if you're that retarded.

robinthakur

@Freetime000: Well I would challenge you to an online VOOT to settle this, but sadly there's no respectable way to control it...

robinthakur

@Madeira: I've already approximated the cabinet thanks very much. I have at least 7 pairs of Twinsticks on DC (stock piled from Ebay), and I am very familiar with Virtual On. If you have never played the game or have not even heard of it, then don't presume to judge someone who took the time to play, enjoy and master it. I am a gamer and I am passionate about games. I make no apology for this. I'm sure most supposed gamers these days would be satisfied with the bastardised version.

You're right, that it was a pain in the ass to play without dual sticks on DC ;) The full setup was expensive but worth it in the end.

robinthakur

That indeed is the problem, Eastx. I suppose if you didn't ever play Virtua On, you wouldn't get why its pissing in the wind to use analogue controllers.

robinthakur

@Knoxximus (XBL/PSN): Nice to know there are still proper gamers out there :)) Might grab some more twinsticks for this mod...

robinthakur

@HighSpeedIndeed: OK, that last reply might have come off a little angry :) I already keep a permanent stock of 7 twinsticks in case any of mine need spare parts for the DC version and have built a permanent setup of 2 flat screens, 2 dc's and and approximation of the arcade setup. I like to think I do know about the game unlike some of these hippies that comment to the effect that "In the end I'm just happy to already have a controller that can mimick all the functions of it's arcade counterpart." Yeah right.

Nail them up I say!!! ;)

robinthakur

@Simkin-phd: Finally, somebody who gets it!

robinthakur

@greyseal: This version won't be a disaster, it will look very HD, the design will be as strong as ever, the textures might have slightly more resolution and the sound will probably be in surround. It will also have online play. If you have never played VOOT before you might even enjoy it despite the borked control scheme.

To illustrate what I mean, SF4 on 360 is playable with the godawful Dpad after all, but playing it with Sanwa components is how its meant to be played, this is a similar case.

Anyways, its not snobby really, its just painful to watch people playing games like VF5 and VOOT with analogue control schemes, as if they don't know any better, which they often don't. Now you are right that the DC control scheme was absolutely the pits, and I guess this is a modest improvement on that. But not by much...

Erm. Your statement on wine indicates you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder about supposed wine 'snobs'. Most of the civilised world which drinks wine from bottles and glasses and has even a basic knowledge about it wouldn't touch boxed wine. Its like someone who lives in a caravan on a trailer park saying that people who live in houses are snobs. Just because you have the misfortune to have been raised ignorant and uncultured, in some respects, do not presume to lecture us on how we may aspire to your mediocrity.

robinthakur

@high-end:

I think Wii could somehow pull this game off with the use of the Wii-motes...using the d-pads on each with the B trigger

@Flyhawk:

2 wrongly placed ananlog sticks and a couple of analog triggers CANNOT replace 2 digital sticks with attached digital buttons

@high-end:

I think Wii could somehow pull this game off with the use of the Wii-motes...using the d-pads on each with the B trigger

@Flyhawk:

2 wrongly placed ananlog sticks and a couple of analog triggers CANNOT replace 2 digital sticks with attached digital buttons

Pez would have been cooler for the joy sticks. lol

D4RkNIKON

Pez would have been cooler for the joy sticks. lol

D4RkNIKON

@robinthakur: Check your messages. ^_^

it might just save few hundred bucks,

orgil220