Most Fighting Games executions are focused on the lower half area (down, forward, and back) for "up" direction only use for jumping, side stepping, and normal moves. It is because Fighting Games was designed for Arcade Stick controller, and inputting upper directions is harder compared to lower direction.
So we have an idea to make the restrictor for "up" direction shorter, make it easier and faster to inputs. Depends on the shaft size, the reduced throw distance is about 20% (for 7mm shaft) up to 50% (for 12mm shaft). Fortunately on Golden Lever every switch can be adjusted to have different spacing, and for this purpose we can adjust the "up" switch closer to compensate the shorter throw, especially when using Big Shaft.
We decide to use square shape for the upper half because it have corners and can help the user to input diagonals precisely, this is important since inputting upper diagonals is much harder compare to lower diagonals. In 2D Fighting Games, diagonal jumping is very important and this mod can help a lot.
We have 5 new combination that you can use on Golden Lever:
Mr. Nest make the detailed data sheet about this new collar, you can download it from this link
]]>We don't want to compress the silicone on it's neutral state, we want to keep it relax and free from tension on its neutral. So we find ways to make variation without changing this concept and only change how the user feels tension when operating the lever.
There are 3 things that we change to give different feels for this Black Base.
1. We make the hole under the silicone smaller, from 35mm on White Base to 30mm on Black Base. Smaller holes makes Black Base have wider area to support the silicone, it can reduce bouncing but will add more tension compare to white base.
2. Add 4 corner pins to hold silicone in place under heavy load. This feature make the Black Base only accept GL Silicone, silicone from other manufacturer won't be compatible.
3. Groove on the corners will make room for the silicone when compressed, the purpose is to reduce tension at corners. When doing diagonal input we actuate 2 switches at a time and the tension from the switch X2, we hope this groove can help to make balance tension for cardinal and diagonals.
Of course we keep the Variable Switch Spacing feature, but this time the switch spacer set is sold separately. So for user who already have switch spacer set you doesn't need to buy it again. Or if you need spare Switch Spacer set you can buy it again.
Black Base is not superior compare to White Base, yes it have more feature and positive feedback from tester, but it all comes to your preference. Overall Black Base will add more tension, please consider to use lower silicone tension to compensate it.
]]>We use the silver shaft design which have wider flange at the middle that have better support and stability. This feature is possible since we use bigger rod material, for more information about this feature please read Silver Shaft blog post.
Compare to Silver Shaft which use Stainless Steel material (density around 7.8g/cm3), ALU shaft density is less than 3g/cm3, so the ALU shaft weigh is less than half of Silver Shaft. But of course SS also much stronger compare to ALU.
At first 10mm shaft was enough for short throw in Korean setup, but since many Japanese players using GL with Japan Setup, they explore various setup especially for short throw and ask for bigger shaft size, so we provide bigger shaft up to 12mm. For Shaft that have size bigger than 10mm (Big Shaft) we will provide it with 2 variant:
1. Normal model for Battop handle, this model have straight surface so the Balltop user who grip their finger to the shaft will feels more comfortable.
2. Step model for Battop handle, the Battop handle was design for 10mm shaft and has 10mm recess so it is necessary to make step surface to keep it compatible. We will use "S" after shaft size to refer this Step model, for Example "ALU shaft 11.5mm S".
This two Variant "Normal and Step model" also implemented to the Big Silver Shaft.
Since early 2021 production, we make a revision for Battop handle (all model) to have bigger recess 12mm (left Battop) to support Big Shaft normal model.
So please check your Battop handle to decide which big shaft model compatible for it.
]]>Golden bearing as an actuator can minimize radial friction, but the axial friction to the switch hinge/blade can't be avoided. When using Metal Actuator including Golden Bearing it need small amount lubrication on the actuator outer diameter to reduce the friction against switch blade.
So we decide to make bearing actuator with using plastic sleeve. We choose to use POM plastic, it have low friction and perfect for free maintenance applications. Installation is the same as Golden Bearing, it need installed between Bushing and ring, but on Black Bearing it is easier since both face (top and button) have the same profile and doesn't need specific orientation to make correct installation.
Compare to metal, plastic is softer material and can wear out quicker than metal. please check regularly if the wear out is too much, consider to replace it to keep the lever performance optimal. You can also put small amount silicone lubricant to the outer diameter to reduce friction (oil based lubricant is not recommended since it can damage plastic in long period).
]]>So, by adding a Ring on the Bearing Actuator, this can help to prevent the e-clip from jamming the bearing in few cases, and it also make the Bearing Actuator sit shorter.
.
We adjust the actuator to be mount right at the middle of the switch. so it can actuate at the switch blade/hinge face, not at the edge of the switch hinge. This will greatly reduce axial friction when actuating also gives more consistent actuation.
when the actuator is higher than the switch blade, it will actuate the switch at the edge of the switch hinge, and this can create friction since some switches have sharp edges, and the stronger tension switch can make it worst. Many times this friction can cause noise (metal vs metal) and make the movement of the lever not smooth since you can feel the friction. To reduce the Friction, please do regular cleaning and lubrication is needed for metal actuator.
Because the actuator is lowered, the radius of the pivoting area also reduce, so we can compensate it using bigger actuator or closer switch spacing. I find 0.5mm bigger actuator is enough to compensate it (for standart GL 15.5mm switch spacing, we can use 16mm Golden Bearing) or if you want to get the perfect actuation distance to your preference, you can always adjust the switch spacing manually.
in 2019, wazwuz travel to some TWT event and meet many GL user and pro player, we find many of pro player prefer lightweight actuator. so we decide to add new material for the GL bushing and ring and named it silver bushing, aluminium is light and strong, perfect for this application.
Now since we have solved the Radial and Axial friction issue of actuation, please enjoy Smooth Movement of Golden Lever. Thank you for supporting, we will keep improving.
]]>Japan tekken player Mr “G” is Golden Lever user. Like most GL user, he love to tuning and do moding to his lever, he have strong big arms, so he put 45mm balltop he bought from Akibahara on his GL, he said it was good.
At first I saw it on Twitter, I have to admit it looks silly “No one use big Balltop before for Fighting Games”. When I visit Mastercup 2018, Mr “G” ask me to try his GL setup (with the big balltop of course). It blow my mind that it feels great, I feel comfortable to control the lever using bigger balltop, but 45mm is too big for my hand. When Mr “G” ask me to consider to make it from POM plastic since we already made battop using that material before and many user love it, and I have idea to provide it in various sizes. After back from Japan we start the prototype, and after couple months testing by Mr G, zachDVJ, Nests, and Yamasa Yuu (Yuu like the medium G battop and use it in TWT final), finally we have finish G Handle and excited to provide it to FGC starting EVO Japan 2020
left is standard handle size, middle is Medium, right is Big.
Handle is the first parts we touch, and the interface we interact to the lever, so it is necessary to find one that gives comfort. We know that every individual have different palm size, for most people standard handle size is ok and maybe can try Medium handle to get better grip. But for those who have big hand, they absolutely need bigger handle.
Here is the Variation of G model Handle :
When we moving the lever handle to execute movement, the shaft also doing radial movement (left, right forward, backward), but the tension from the silicone is created by axial (up and down) movement when the core is tilting. The Flange Disc will help to transform the radial movement form the shaft into axial (down) force on the core, this will create spontaneous tension and feedback for the user.
We got several request from GL user for bigger shaft than 10mm, since Silver Shaft we use bigger material, now we also can provide bigger shaft diameter. Big Shaft will benefit player who want to have shorter throw, especially for 2D Fighting Games and Japan Setup.
Don't worry, Silver Shaft is not replacing Golden Shaft. EVO and TWT 2018 was won using Golden Shaft, we will keep providing Golden Shaft so everyone can try.
update abour "S" model, please read about ALU Shaft Blog
]]>Golden Lever getting more popular, and many user installing it in various Fight Stick. Unfortunately some of the New Fight Stick is not compatible with GL. We noticed Victrix FS, Nacon Daija, Razer EVO can't mount GL without modification.
So as we all know, every person have their own preference, Including Fight Stick. Every player have their fav fight stick and we want to make GL compatible for most Competitive Fight Stick in the market.
So we decided to redesign the Golden Lever to enhance its compatibility. First we trim down the Golden Base outer dimension without sacrificing the feature (custom switch spacing and Noir cabinet mounting).
Then we redesign the Golden Plate to match the slimmer Golden Base. Adding some hole to match the JLF Plate holes, this holes is needed for Daija. We also make some improvement by adding countersink to make the lever sit flush in the Fight Stick. this is crucial for the Victrix because the space is very slim.
Last, we make the collar slimmer because in Razer EVO there is a small screw in dust cover/washer area, and this screw will hit the previous collar design.
Finally, with this 3 parts revised we can mount the New GL into most Competitive Fight Stick in the market (mini fight stick still not suported due to the thickness)
Then we include performance upgrade. Now GL will use Core with O-ring, and Golden Bearing. we choose 15.5mm Golden Bearing since it was the most fav size from the tester, and we set the switch spacing to 15.5-16mm on the golden base. We also make some small adjustment to other golden parts.
The New Golden Lever scheduled for the end of September 2019. thank you so much for the support, we will work hard to improve Golden Lever.
We want to maker Golden Lever not only Good, but also Pretty. We still have awesome thing to share with you, please wait ;)
]]>After a while using Golden Lever, Yuu sensei ask me if there is a way to make the Shaft/Battop not to be easily spin. At first my solution is simply giving special harder spring, it does pull the shaft with more tension and make the shaft harder to spin, but it also create more friction from the shaft to the core due to super hard spring.
As I said before, I got idea for the spring on Delrin Core from Anti Backlash Nut method usually found at linear motion in industrial machine. Spring on Delrin Core function is to control Axial/Vertical clearance between the shaft-core-actuator, so it can help to reduce hollow and wobble feeling. It was success and many user love it.
Couple month ago when fixing hydraulic sealing system, I got another idea to put O-Ring inside the Delrin Core, the purpose it to control Radial/Horizontal clearance between the shaft and the core. Having both axial and radial clearance controlled will complete our goal to provide more responsive feel when moving the lever. Turns out, having the O-Ring also have extra function to grip the shaft, and this perfectly complete Yamasa Yuu request.
Couple days ago, I got feedback from Yuu the he really love this update. So I decide to update the next Delrin Core with O-ring inside, I will also include the spare O-ring incase you need replacement. This new updated core will be ready in stock around early September 2019.
]]>
Many Golden Lever user love golden bearing and request for custom size. Since bearing size is already standard, we try to experiment making custom size bearing by adding brass sleeve covering the bearing then machine it into some diameters:
We have send some of this golden bearing prototypes to our testers and got positive feedback, the first batch will be ready for order around of July 2019.
If you feels some friction when actuating the switch, please put some grease on the outside diameter surface of the actuator.
For the installation Bushing + Ring is needed, please refer to this image
for more information please visit Bushing+ring blog post
If you use still using the old model busing (without ring) please install it to orientation as shown this picture bellow. if not it will be hard to remove the clip.
]]>