Why do some manual shifters feel rubbery and others feel like bolt-action rifles?

I'm relatively new (~2 years, 2016 ND Miata) to driving a manual, and I love it, but I've driven my friends' manual cars (2008 Boxster, 2011 Mazda3), and I can't help but notice the huge difference in shifter feel between my car and those other cars. The Boxster and Mazda3's shifts feel very vague and rubbery, whereas my car's shifts feel like they slot right into place.That made me wonder what exactly makes the shift feel so different. Is it because the Boxster and Mazda3 use cable linkages? I plan on driving other manual cars in the near future, but I'm interested in how the engineering of the transmission is related to the feel of the transmission. Are the shifters in front-engine, rear wheel drive (FR) cars going to feel more similar to each other than to, say, MR or RR or FF cars? via /r/cars https://ift.tt/2LGXWwJ