Terminator 2 GUNS Rumble &/or Recoil and more...

[codeena]

Hi all,

I just finished wiring up my T2 arcade guns to my PC using an old Thrustmaster wheel/pedal and Microsoft Dual Strike controller.  I've read that some users got the recoil to work and I think that'd be an awesome addition to the guns...but right now, I'm just looking to make the guns have a simple rumble whenever the trigger is pressed (therefore, the software does not need to support force feedback).  My Playstation light guns do this, and I was willing to use the insides for my T2 guns to make them rumble, if it's possible.  Has anyone else done something like this, or have a solution that would allow this?

My second question is which games do you guys/girls like to play with these positional guns?  I've used mine w/Mame's T2, Revolution X, Space Gun, Operation Wolf and Thunderbolt, Gun Buster, and the Exidy games.  Unfortunately, I cannot get them to work with Mame .61 correctly (w/Mechanized Attack and Beast Busters).  Are there any I'm missing besides the light gun games like Point Blank and Rapid Fire?  How about any non-emulated PC games like Beach Head?  

I've thought of trying to interface a Sony PS2 for Silent Scope, but I don't think it'd work well--anyone try this?

Lastly (for now), has anyone hooked up the green/red led lights on top of the guns?  If so, may I enquire how?

Thanks in advance!

[brandon]

I think 1UP got the recoil to work with his guns.  I think somebody made a hack build of MAME that would output the signal for the vibration through the parallel port or something.  as far as making to rumble all the time, that would be fairly easy.  You could just hotwire the recoil from the T2 guns to another microswitch inside the gun in the trigger and supply them with voltage somehow.  I dont have any T2 guns so I can't say much about them whether it;s a solenoid or a motor or how much voltage but Im sure you could wire it to "fire" everytime.  

[Generic Eric]

Does anyone know of a place to buy the dual strike controllers anymore?  Or did I just wait to long and miss the boat?
I would be interested in seeing pics of the your Terminator 2 control panel.  
I have searched quite a bit, and I can't see to find pics of the guns.  

[codeena]

Does anyone know of a place to buy the dual strike controllers anymore?  Or did I just wait to long and miss the boat?
I would be interested in seeing pics of the your Terminator 2 control panel.  
I have searched quite a bit, and I can't see to find pics of the guns.  

Howdy,

I think that the Dual Strike has been discontinued.  I bought mine used at a pawn shop for $10.  I also used a Thrustmaster T2 wheel/pedal set, and it works just as well.  

Sorry, but I don't have pics yet (no digital camera).  I built it to resemble the T2 arcade control panel (I made measurements at a local arcade that still has the game).  I was planning to build a replica of the dedicated cabinet, but decided to build a universal Dynamo Showcase-style cab that would hold different control panels.  The T2/gun control panel would be the first of several others, including a joystick/button cp that would be have playstation controls but work with my PC, Dreamcast, XBox and Gamecube using Playstation controller adapters.

[1UP]

I think 1UP got the recoil to work with his guns.  I think somebody made a hack build of MAME that would output the signal for the vibration through the parallel port or something.  as far as making to rumble all the time, that would be fairly easy.  You could just hotwire the recoil from the T2 guns to another microswitch inside the gun in the trigger and supply them with voltage somehow.  I dont have any T2 guns so I can't say much about them whether it;s a solenoid or a motor or how much voltage but Im sure you could wire it to "fire" everytime.  

You would also have to make a timer to pulse the recoil solenoid, or you'd just get one kick when you pulled the trigger, then nothing but a dull hum while you held it.  If you just want a continuous, machinegun-like action, it might be better to hack a gamepad that has built-in rumble feedback instead of the Dual Strike.  It seems that lots of gamepads use smaller resistance pots rather than the 100k pots used in analog flightsticks.  I prefer to have a real recoil that's synced to the game sound effects etc, as it was in the arcade, but that's going to take some MAME hacking as well.

Here's what the guns look like:

[codeena]

Thanks for the replies!  Yes 1UP, the ultimate would be guns that had the true arcade recoil--I just played T2 in the arcades, and the synced recoil adds a lot to the enjoyment of the game.  
By the way, your site/projects are really cool!

Are there PC gamepads that could rumble without the game software that supports force feedback?  I'd like my guns to rumble when the trigger is pulled, regardless if a game is even playing.   Anyone know if it would be possible to use the current Dual Strike connection AND a Playstation rumble conroller at the same time.  I would like to take board and the wires from rumble device of the Playstation gun I have and soder them to the wires of the Dual Strike and T2 gun's trigger.  If this works, does this have a possibility of shorting out a controller?

[1UP]

Thanks for the replies!  Yes 1UP, the ultimate would be guns that had the true arcade recoil--I just played T2 in the arcades, and the synced recoil adds a lot to the enjoyment of the game.  
By the way, your site/projects are really cool!

Are there PC gamepads that could rumble without the game software that supports force feedback?  I'd like my guns to rumble when the trigger is pulled, regardless if a game is even playing.   Anyone know if it would be possible to use the current Dual Strike connection AND a Playstation rumble conroller at the same time.  I would like to take board and the wires from rumble device of the Playstation gun I have and soder them to the wires of the Dual Strike and T2 gun's trigger.  If this works, does this have a possibility of shorting out a controller?

The Interact Hammerhead FX gamepad has software to control how the rumble is handled.  You can map any rumble effect to go off when you hold down a specific button.  It only goes for a few seconds, though, then you have to press the button again to get the rumble again.  (BTW, at the moment, the software doesn't work in XP, just so you know.)

Anyway, Dave Widel did a hack on the driver for T2 so it sends the recoil signal to the caps lock LED, which can be used to control the recoil in the actual gun with a little electronics hacking.  I've done this myself, and I'll post the circuit I used when my site is updated (very soon!!)  Meanwhile, you can get the driver HERE (right click the link and select "save file as" to get it).  You'll need to replace the one in the Mame source and recompile Mame to get it to work.

[Generic Eric]

1UP
Thanks for the pic!!!

I am confuzled.  I thought that the Dual Strike was the KEY to making a terminator 2 "joystick."  If that is not the case, what is key when looking for a controller to use as a donor?

Also, what is key to look for in a donor for the star wars yoke?

[1UP]

1UP
Thanks for the pic!!!

I am confuzled.  I thought that the Dual Strike was the KEY to making a terminator 2 "joystick."  If that is not the case, what is key when looking for a controller to use as a donor?

Also, what is key to look for in a donor for the star wars yoke?

I just used the DualStrikes because that's what I had available.  I was originally going to hack a toy gun onto the DS guts themselves, but then I found the T2 guns on ebay.  You just need a gamepad that uses pots with about a 20k ohm resistance.  Usually, the analog gamepads have restrictors that keep the sticks from reaching the full range of the pots, so they actually use about 5k-10k, which is close to what most arcade controls use.  This means you can connect extension wires from the existing 5k pots in the arcade controls, to the board in the gamepad, using it as an interface.

But one cool thing about the DS was that it had mouse emulation mode, so you could use it in gun games that didn't support a joystick.  Also, it has "spin zones" that let you keep moving in any direction as if you're continually spinning a trackball, so you could use a yoke as a 360[td]o[/td] steering wheel, for example.

[codeena]

Hey 1UP,

Did you try interfacing the Interact Hammerhead FX you mentioned to your T2 gun (or any other arcade controller)?  If so, is the process similar to the Dual Strike?  Does the Hammerhead's software allow you to calibrate the joystick(s)?  I'm asking because I have to calibrate my Dual Strikes (in the T2 gun) most of the time after I turn my PC on.  If not, the x and especially the Y axis don't move much.  In fact, I could not calibrate the Dual Strikes' x and y coordinates with the Dual Strike's software drivers, so I uninstalled them.  Do you experience this issue?

It'd be great if the Hammerhead could be easily used because I'd like to use the analog sticks in my Cybersled joysticks.

Thanks for your helpful input!

[1UP]

Hey 1UP,

Did you try interfacing the Interact Hammerhead FX you mentioned to your T2 gun (or any other arcade controller)?  If so, is the process similar to the Dual Strike?  Does the Hammerhead's software allow you to calibrate the joystick(s)?  I'm asking because I have to calibrate my Dual Strikes (in the T2 gun) most of the time after I turn my PC on.  If not, the x and especially the Y axis don't move much.  In fact, I could not calibrate the Dual Strikes' x and y coordinates with the Dual Strike's software drivers, so I uninstalled them.  Do you experience this issue?

It'd be great if the Hammerhead could be easily used because I'd like to use the analog sticks in my Cybersled joysticks.

Thanks for your helpful input!

I haven't tried hacking the Hammerhead myself.  I haven't had any problems with T2 calibration.  You need to make sure you have the pots pretty well centered on the T2 guns.  You might have to loosen the gear rack and re-center it to make sure things are working smoothly.  Also, the first time you run T2, you need to go into test mode and run the calibration in there, so T2 knows where you're aiming the guns.  Once that's done, I rarely need to do any recalibration when restarting the PC.

[Tiger-Heli]

Does anyone know of a place to buy the dual strike controllers anymore?  Or did I just wait to long and miss the boat?
I would be interested in seeing pics of the your Terminator 2 control panel.  
I have searched quite a bit, and I can't see to find pics of the guns.  

2 places on www.pricewatch.com (search for "dual strike", one wants $29, though which is too much)
11 sellers on E-bay, search for Dual Strike.