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Hori Battle Pad for Switch Tournament legal?

MufN Man

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Jun 9, 2014
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29
Do you guys think it will be or is the fact that it has a turbo button going to kill that chance? The idea of a USB Gamecube-esque controller with an additional trigger button seems appealing to me. Especially given the quality of Hori's fightsticks
 

Thompsinus

Smash Rookie
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Aug 20, 2018
Messages
7
I'd be keen to know about this too. The controller looks pretty interesting just for the added shoulder button. I thought because it has a turbo light it might be okay? But if the turbo is considered a problem, could you remove it to make it legal?
 
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MufN Man

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It's an extra trigger you could map something to like jump or whatever you think is best. Also the shoulder buttons are all digital.
 

MalanoMan

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It's an extra trigger you could map something to like jump or whatever you think is best. Also the shoulder buttons are all digital.
Does the fact that theyre digital make them potentially modifiable? Like you could map some sort of timed button press for perfect wavedashes?
 

MufN Man

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It would make wavedashes easier because there would be less distance for the button to travel when pressed but it also means if you're using it to play Melee on PC you won't be able to light shield. I don't think you would be able to mod a single button to multiple inputs. That is already confirmed to not be legal
 

Thompsinus

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Only if the turbo light is considered a problem.
Sorry, I'm not quite sure what you mean by this? Can you clarify? Thanks

Does the fact that theyre digital make them potentially modifiable? Like you could map some sort of timed button press for perfect wavedashes?
It's basically like using a switch pro controller in the shape of a GC controller. So I would think the digital buttons wouldn't be any more modifiable than those on a switch pro controller.
 

Thompsinus

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Aug 20, 2018
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Ah right. My concern is mainly that controllers with turbo buttons are usually banned for tournaments, but I know in street fighter if they have a turbo light they are legal because people can tell if you are using it. I'm just curious about what the smash community view of this would be.
 

Mogisthelioma

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Come to think of it, if turbo mode ever creates normally impossible combos, it will certainly be banned.
 

Thompsinus

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Aug 20, 2018
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Yes that's the thing. Turbo mode is definitely not legal in tournaments.

My question is that if you have a controller with a light that indicates whether it is being used or not, would this be acceptable to use in a tournament setting?

I would hope that people would be comfortable with having it in a tournament if the controller indicates whether it is activated or not, but I'm not sure whether there is a general consensus about this in the community.
 

Mogisthelioma

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Yes that's the thing. Turbo mode is definitely not legal in tournaments.

My question is that if you have a controller with a light that indicates whether it is being used or not, would this be acceptable to use in a tournament setting?

I would hope that people would be comfortable with having it in a tournament if the controller indicates whether it is activated or not, but I'm not sure whether there is a general consensus about this in the community.
I'm guessing they could simply ban it for having a second trigger button, manual dexterity could be cited.
 

Thompsinus

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Aug 20, 2018
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They wouldn't ban it for that. Wii U pro controllers had and extra shoulder button and so do the switch pro controllers and there has never been any consideration for banning either of the two from tournament play.
 

infomon

Smash Scientist
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Mar 11, 2008
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I tweeted @ the TO for Frostbite this question, and his response was "Super banned".

But you can rip out the Turbo button. I did it with mine, now there's just a big hole in its place. If I shove the button back in, it is capable of re-activating the turbo, but since that's not really something you could do mid-set, I hope that that would make it legal.

The thing to watch out for however with this controller is that the control stick works kinda funny. It "snaps" to the axes -- try it yourself in the Switch "Calibrate Control Sticks" menu. If you move the control stick up or down, even if you're shaking it horizontally somewhat, it will register as being stuck perfectly along the axis. That's probablly super useful for some platformers but I bet it will be awful for smash bros.

Otherwise I'd prefer this controller due to the button layout and the octagonal gate on the control stick.

I'm making a video to show what I mean, will have that posted up in a bit...
 

MufN Man

Smash Cadet
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Jun 9, 2014
Messages
29
I look forward to seeing your vid! Most of the video I have found on YouTube are from less informed people who seem to be more casual gamers
 

Thompsinus

Smash Rookie
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Aug 20, 2018
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Yeah thanks, that's helpful. Also keen for that video.

If you hear any further about whether removing the turbo button would change it's legality, I'd be keen to know. Thanks again
 

MufN Man

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Jun 9, 2014
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Definitely the best video I have seen so far. Very informative! The axis locking seems like it would be an issue. Especially if you main a space animal or any character that can angle their moves. The only way I could think to test it currently would be to try the controller with Melee on PC, but even that might not give accurate results as to how it will work in Ultimate. I suppose we should hope that the PDP controller is good!
 

infomon

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Testing the Hori BattlePad with PC-Melee is a great idea. I don't have Melee set up on my computer though, frankly this isn't important enough to me to not wait until Ultimate is out lol. I've already ordered my PDP Wired Fight Pad Pro so I'm crossing my fingers for that!!
 

MufN Man

Smash Cadet
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Jun 9, 2014
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Hoping for the best! Don't forget about this thread when the controller arrives. I want to know if it is worth the investment!
 

MufN Man

Smash Cadet
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Jun 9, 2014
Messages
29
Smash Studios did a review of the Battle Pad as well. Something to note is that while testing it in Melee they mentioned that Shield Dropping had a smaller window to execute in vanilla Melee when compared to the standard controller. This helps verify the info Infomon provided us that the sticks like to hug the X and Y axis and will make some tech harder to perform on the controller. Here is the video for anyone interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kwPngklJig&t=516s
 
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dav3yb

Smash Journeyman
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Dec 7, 2014
Messages
431
Finally done:

This is probably mostly due to the quality of the potentiometer joystick used. It might have fewer steps than the higher quality ones Nintendo uses, or it could just be because the stiffness of it makes it more likely to ride along it's axis, staying on that perfect line.

It'd be neat to see someone replace the stick with a better quality one to see if that makes any kind of difference.
 

MufN Man

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Joined
Jun 9, 2014
Messages
29
This is probably mostly due to the quality of the potentiometer joystick used. It might have fewer steps than the higher quality ones Nintendo uses, or it could just be because the stiffness of it makes it more likely to ride along it's axis, staying on that perfect line.

It'd be neat to see someone replace the stick with a better quality one to see if that makes any kind of difference.
I may order one and give that a try. Hopefully you can replace it with a standard Gamecube Controller Stick

Smash Studios also has a video for the PDP controller as well as a comparison video. They seem to favor the Hori Battle Pad. I wonder how big the turbo button is? I don't really just want to leave a hole in the controller if I get one and would like to at least put a plug in the hole where the turbo button is.

So I have this controller now and I gotta say that I think the Official controller feels better. I struggled to wave dash and shield drop with the Hori one. I haven't spent much time with it but sadly I think it is just worse. :(
 
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infomon

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If you have a Switch, can you please go to the menu to test the control stick and see if you have "snap to axis" type dead zones the way I saw in my video? I'd love to see if that's how they all behave, or if I just got a lemon. Thanks!!
 

MufN Man

Smash Cadet
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Jun 9, 2014
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That's actually the first thing I did lol. Yeah unfortunately mine did the same thing. I found it especially was more dead when tilted in the upper left direction when compared to the upper right. Such a drag. I also took the controller apart to see if maybe I could replace the analog stick? Nope. They are different. You can however swap most of the face buttons with official Gamecube parts. The Y button is the only one that doesn't fit strangely.
 

dav3yb

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Dec 7, 2014
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431
I'd be curious to see similar tests with the PDP Wired Pro pad, or whatever they call it, and the PowerA wireless one. I suspect it'd show similar results, but i'd still like to know (especially the PDP pad)
 

MufN Man

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Jun 9, 2014
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I might try the Power A one! I am curious as to if you can put trigger plugs in the triggers or not.
 

infomon

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Yipes, check this out. I did some more testing of my Hori BattlePad, and I'm also seeing some crazy snapback!

 
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MufN Man

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User was warned for this post; double posting(please edit your messages instead)
Man. The Hori just seems like a dud :/

My friend came over today and he has Smash Ultimate on his Switch already. Just a heads up for anyone who is curious tall trigger plugs don't really work right on an official controller. The short one however worked perfectly fine.
 

Toniek

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Dec 16, 2018
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Santa Monica, CA
For $25 I say it's a good alternative for a GameCube controller, but I highly recommend getting the PowerA GameCube Controller since it feels more accurate to a regular GC controller. PowerA goes for the same price as well ($25). You can also get the wireless version of the PowerA GC controller for $50, only flaw is that it runs on batteries (which I don't know why), I say it's worth it if you don't have the adapter choice though.
 

leejaybird

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leejaybird
I'm considering the PowerA because it actually has a left bumper button. All the benefits of a GC controller plus an extra button.
 

zipzo

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Dec 7, 2018
Messages
87
Posting in this late but check this video here from the Super Splat Bros tourney:

https://youtu.be/qaG12K-aXS4

Starting at 2:40 when it cuts to the players you can see the player on the left (which I believe is Mewtwo/Hitaku) is using the black Zelda-themed hori battle pad. I cannot see that he has done anything to modify or remove the turbo button however...good sign that maybe this controller isn't considered an issue...? Probably TO dependent which presents a complication maybe not even worth dealing with...
 
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