dreamcast "panther dc" flight stick minifaq

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Macabre
Feet of Fury
Posts: 572

dreamcast "panther dc" flight stick minifaq

Post#1 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:17 pm

Here it is sitting next to a Saturn Mission stick.

And here is the pretty "Panther Mode" light.

This was made by madcatz and is the only flightstick naturally designed for the dreamcast. It is possible to make a workaround using other systems' sticks with adapters such as the total control series and playstation 1/2 or the saturn missionstick.

In short, the trackball only functions when the stick is in "Panther Mode" (a switch on the bottom of the stick switches from normal to this), and this "Mode" has to be programed for in each game, thus it will only work for those games listed below (possibly more, but without advertisement they wouldn't be known).

The box claims support of "Panther Mode" with these games;
Unreal Tournament
Quake 3
Outtrigger
Kiss: Psycho Circus
Railroad Tycoon
Soldier of Fortune*
Half-life**

(* soldier of fortune does not work. I found an article where madcatz apologized for the claim, stating that the beta of the game they programmed "Panther Mode" to was altered drastically before the game launched. In theory, if anyone has the beta of Soldier of Fortune that has the internet connection information then that beta would work with this stick.

** Again half-life is said to work by some individuals, and not by others, depending I guess on which version/mod you have downloaded.)

I have also tested the "Standard Mode" with these games to much success;
Starlancer (by far the best reason to own this stick!)
Aerowings 1 & 2
Iron Aces
Airforce Delta
Armada
Looney tunes space race
(Basically all flight sims).

Games it does not work on appropriately;
Soul Calibur
(The trackball doesn't work with) Centipede (which is a damn shame!)

The flight stick part is flawless, very smooth and very accurate in flight sims like aero dancing/wings, and even in armada. It's a shame the trackball isn't a mouse re-build, which would make it much more fun.

Upon reading reviews of this, it seems to be common for the stick to break down due to weak buttons. Those reviewers also claim that before it was broken, the stick was perfect for quake and unreal, both fps type games where the stick would be under.heavy and very rapid movement. With that fact, and the fact that the stick is a decade old, hard to find affordably, and the in-game adjustment from the forced trackball being on the left, I wouldn't recommend using the stick for fps games, even if it is an excellent experience.

Also, it should be noted that other than the trigger points, all buttons are tactile, so they could be replaced with ease. Even more interesting, is madcatz also released in the same year a PC flight stick, remarkably similar to this, called the Panther XL. This flight stick is black with red highlights (trackball, buttons), and seems to he mostly the same mold. I'm currently trying to find one of these for spare parts, as I'm not too fond of white and blue, and think the red and black would be a more appropriate look for my personal sega rig.(currently a seller on ebay has a lot of 5, but he won't split the lot, ill bug him when his auction fails and see if he will split one out then).
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The Ndo
rebel
Posts: 17

Re: dreamcast "panther dc" flight stick minifaq

Post#2 » Fri Apr 30, 2021 1:16 pm

There are a few other games I found that have added functionality in Panther Mode and allow for extensive button mapping:

Atari Anniversary Edition- Centipede, Millipede, Crystal Castles, Missile Command (Trackball & C, D, Z buttons, controller can also be flipped upside-down to simulate arcade for Missile Command)
4 Wheel Thunder (Trackball can be used for steering & C, D, Z buttons)
Vigilante 8 (C, Z, L, R are independent buttons, digital pad can be mapped)
Star Wars Demolition (C, Z, L, R are independent buttons, analog stick and digital pad can be mapped)
House of the Dead (D button)
Guilty Gear X (C, Z, L, R are independent buttons, Analog stick does not work)

Teuton1379
lithium
Posts: 43

Re: dreamcast "panther dc" flight stick minifaq

Post#3 » Thu Sep 01, 2022 8:40 am

Hi,
I just bought one of these Panther Flightsticks, but have not received it yet. Does anyone have the manual in pdf that they would share, or at least button mapping instructions so I can make use of this to its fullest? I have searched online for the manual, no luck.

Thank in advance,

T

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itsthinkingstill
Vagabond
Posts: 787

Re: dreamcast "panther dc" flight stick minifaq

Post#4 » Thu Sep 01, 2022 4:01 pm

Teuton1379 wrote:Hi,
I just bought one of these Panther Flightsticks, but have not received it yet. Does anyone have the manual in pdf that they would share, or at least button mapping instructions so I can make use of this to its fullest? I have searched online for the manual, no luck.

Thank in advance,

T


I actually maybe 2 weeks ago picked it up in the box complete, i can scan it, its not that useful of a manual, all it does is give presets for some game, some of which dont even support the panther mode like SOF.

I can scan it in the coming days but when in normal mode, the trigger is A, the bottom button on the back where your pinkie rests is B, facing you the one next to the d pad knobs is X and the one below that on its own is Y.

Word of caution with them i know iv heard over the years that they are prone to breaking, luckily my buttons work but one of the cables berried inside it has frayed so the Y button only works when moving the stick to the right. Im going to have to splice and redo one of the wires inside (its a pain to open too BTW) So for anyone buying one in the future, make SURE you confirm with the seller all the buttons work when the stick is at any angle, so you can get money back.

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