GunCon2 driver here!!! (Bacon is tasty)

[screaming]

It tracks very nicely vertically but horizonally the cursor moves way too fast in relation to the guns motion so its WAY off horizontally.

  You're running at 640x480?

-sab

[AlanS17]

What's the hardware configuration needed? Hook the Guncon2 up to the PC via a USB playstation-to-PC converter?

I know alot of testing has been done on PC's with TV out, but how about regular PC monitors? I thought I read something about someone trying it in 640X480. How would you hook the Guncon2 into a VGA signal? I thought this thing was only made to support TV output.

Basically, how would I make this work on a PC monitor running at 640X480?

[spiffyshoes]

It doesn't work for PC monitors.  You have to either use a TV or Arcade Monitor.  Also you don't need to use a converter since the GunCon2 is allready USB.

[AlanS17]

Damn I have a PC monitor...

Maybe I was looking at the wrong gun. I thought I saw a PS2 connector and a USB connector.

[Timoe]

I have a PC hooked up to a regular TV via an S video cable.

Will this GunCon work for me right now?

Or is the fix still in development?

[Timstuff]

I have the PS2 mission light gun (got it off ebay for $26 shipped). It's a good looking gun!  Also, my 27" TV is the old "cable" input. I'm running an ATI Radeon 9250 TV-out card with s-video.  The s-video cable runs to a "converter" which in turn sends the signal to the cable tv.

The converter also happens to have the RCA inputs so I have the yellow video connector from the mission gun plugged into the "video in" yellow plug on the converter.

So far with smog's driver, XP will recognize the gun but I'm not having good luck being able to see the mouse pointer.

Here's a pic of the mission gun.  I'm gonna mess around with the driver some more tonight.  Let me know if you think this absolutely will not work!

Thanks,
stevodevo

I've been considering buying two of those guns from Liksang.com. Do all lightguns for PS2 work the same way as the Guncon 2 in terms of 2 player compatability, or are there some snags that I need to know about?

[spiffyshoes]

Damn I have a PC monitor...

Maybe I was looking at the wrong gun. I thought I saw a PS2 connector and a USB connector.

You were probably looking at a Third Party Light Gun and not an Official Namco GunCon2.  Some of the Third Party Light Guns have a regular playstation plug on them in addition to the USB plug and have a switch on them to toggle between GunCon2 Mode, GunCon Mode, and Regular Light Gun Mode.  I haven't used them personally but some people have reported them to not be as accurate as the Namco brand guns.

[Dexter]

Bit confused here guys. For the purpose of the driver, is a WG9200 monitor classed as an arcade monitor or a VGA/PC monitor. I take it that it will work, can anybody confirm before I buy a couple of guncons??

Ta!

[vibez]

I'm a bit of a n00b when it come to electronics. Can anyone explain how to build the interface to attatch the guns to an arcade monitor. I couldnt make sense of the instructions on http://lightgun.splinder.com/

[Billkwando]

No, that sounds about right. I don't think it's you. The curcor is always 6 to 8 inches to the left of the gun's lense, even when I touch it to the screen.

I can't get to the last two inches on the right side of the screen and it's kinda flakey at the top. Plus it keeps jumping up to the top left corner of the screen.

Still, it's pretty cool to play with and I'm sure it will get better. It definitely has potential.

[brandon]

No, that sounds about right. I don't think it's you. The curcor is always 6 to 8 inches to the left of the gun's lense, even when I touch it to the screen.

I can't get to the last two inches on the right side of the screen and it's kinda flakey at the top. Plus it keeps jumping up to the top left corner of the screen.

Still, it's pretty cool to play with and I'm sure it will get better. It definitely has potential.

does the cursor wrap all the way around and come back on the other side?  it does with my.  I thought the lightgun was set up as a mouse with absolute coordinate.  I dont see why it would be set to wrap around like that    oh well, at least there is a driver in the works.  Considering what the Actlabs guns cost right now and the fact that Guncon2 is superior (even though I've never used and actlabs gun )  I'll just wait for this driver to improve.

[sofakng]

Do TWO guns work or can you only use a single Guncon2?

There is no way I'm buying the Act Labs guns for $100 a piece but I can definitely afford two Guncon2 at $20 each!

If two guns work, is the driver working enough to play games in MAME like Area51, etc...?

[Billkwando]

does the cursor wrap all the way around and come back on the other side?

Yep it sure does! If I move it too far to the left, it jumps over to the right side, until the lense reaches the edge of the screen then it simply stops. Doesn't do this for up and down.

I thought the lightgun was set up as a mouse with absolute coordinate.

I wish I knew what that meant....I'd say something. LOL

Do TWO guns work or can you only use a single Guncon2?

Smog is working on a way to incorporate two guns. The problem is that XP doesn't even want to work with 2 mouses, much less 3 (don't forget about the regular mouse). He does plan to make it work but it's hard since mame mainly supports guns as mouses.

If two guns work, is the driver working enough to play games in MAME like Area51, etc...?

Not unless you naturally aim 6 inches off to one side. If your shot is that bad it might work great for you!

Seriously though, the current driver has alighment issue as I stated previously and isn't ready for actual gameplay yet, it's strictly for testing purposes at this point, until he makes a few more changes. Not really time to run out and buy Guncons yet, unless you just want to play around with it.

In fact I borrowed the Guncon I'm currently using JUST to seek out a driver. I didn't even own a PS2 at that time. Luckily I do now and the working driver is just over the horizon.

Time for me to pick up Time Crisis 3 and a Guncon2......

[brandon]

does the cursor wrap all the way around and come back on the other side?

Yep it sure does! If I move it too far to the left, it jumps over to the right side, until the lense reaches the edge of the screen then it simply stops. Doesn't do this for up and down.

I thought the lightgun was set up as a mouse with absolute coordinate.

I wish I knew what that meant....I'd say something. LOL

Do TWO guns work or can you only use a single Guncon2?

Smog is working on a way to incorporate two guns. The problem is that XP doesn't even want to work with 2 mouses, much less 3 (don't forget about the regular mouse). He does plan to make it work but it's hard since mame mainly supports guns as mouses.

If two guns work, is the driver working enough to play games in MAME like Area51, etc...?

Not unless you naturally aim 6 inches off to one side. If your shot is that bad it might work great for you!

Seriously though, the current driver has alighment issue as I stated previously and isn't ready for actual gameplay yet, it's strictly for testing purposes at this point, until he makes a few more changes. Not really time to run out and buy Guncons yet, unless you just want to play around with it.

In fact I borrowed the Guncon I'm currently using JUST to seek out a driver. I didn't even own a PS2 at that time. Luckily I do now and the working driver is just over the horizon.

Time for me to pick up Time Crisis 3 and a Guncon2......

what brand of TV do you have?

[IntruderAlert]

patience everyone ..

these are exciting times

the driver isn't ready for "prime time" yet but it's still fun to be a part of the development of a new arcade control

Please join in and participate in the beta testing of Smog's GunCon2 driver

He can use the input

http://lightgun.splinder.com/

[Billkwando]

what brand of TV do you have?  because what you describe is EXACTLY what mine is doing.

I have an RCA 36" non-HD TV. I think it's not your or my TV. I think the issue is universal.

My TV (still so new they still sell it at Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1077629884991&type=product

The focus went blurry one day so I had to take it apart and adjust the focus potentiometer on the flyback, then after I put it back together the focus went out again and I had to turn the pot back to where it was.. then it went out again!  finally I had to take my 1 1/8 holesaw and drill a hole in the side of the TV case so I could adjust it from the outside   then after than it quit acting up.  I guess it realized I meant business!

My 27" bedside RCA just crapped out (mostly cos it's from 1994-1995). The whole image is smooshed down into a line that's about 1 centimeter tall and runs accross the center of the screen.

Any idea how to fix that??

oh and for everyone that doesnt know.. EBAY is the place to go for getting these guns.  I year of so ago I bought 2 official namco guncon2 guns, and Time crisis 2 & 3, Vampire Night, and Ninja Assault all brand new for about $40..

Yeah I need to check Ebay more often.....

[clanggedin]

My 27" bedside RCA just crapped out (mostly cos it's from 1994-1995). The whole image is smooshed down into a line that's about 1 centimeter tall and runs accross the center of the screen.

Any idea how to fix that??

It sounds like you have a Vertical deflection problem. If you have experience fixing a monitor then it's easy to fix a TV.

 I bought parts from this guy to fix a problem I had with my Vertical ICs on my projection TV.

http://www.fixyourowntv.com

Here's info about RCA directview tvs and he sells cap kits for it.

http://www.fixyourowntv.com/rcaeprom.php


Hope this helps.

[Billkwando]

Thanks alot! 

[IntruderAlert]

MORE GREAT NEWS!!!
Smog has added autocalibration!!!

AND NOW:

Version 0.03 Out:

Fixed handling of mouse button 4, now it is associated to B button on guncon2

 
Lightgun control panel DEMO:

Just to show anyone that reading 2 mouse lightgun  is possible using rawinput, I've release an alpha demo of guncon control panel in developing.

If you already have all the VB6 library download the version without VB6 runtime, download the full installation pack otherwise.

If you have 2 guns installed you will be able to read buttons and coordinates selecting the source gun from the list box, be sure the gun is properly connected. For the time being this application only shows you the pressed buttons (just the 5 that rawinput can recognize forget about the DPAD) and the actual gun coordinates. Nothing else.

In the near future this panel will allow you to :

    * Remap gun's buttons
    * Turn autocalibration on / off
    * Insert custom edges values for calibration
    * Center the gun


Postato da: SmogDragon a 21:38 | link | commenti
domenica, 08 maggio 2005

http://lightgun.splinder.com/

[Flinkly]

so...hows it work now?

[DaemonCollector]

Just ordered a GunCon from ebay, when it gets here I'll give it a shot with my arcade monitor and let ya know how it all is working...because I havn't seen anyone try this with an arcade monitor yet.

[NIVO]

http://midwest-games.com/pcarstligunl.html  im curious to know if anyone has this model, and if so how does it work? Good Bad? Having a WG9100 puts me in an interesting place as this monitor is a hybrid pc/arcade monitor.

[vibez]

Just ordered a GunCon from ebay, when it gets here I'll give it a shot with my arcade monitor and let ya know how it all is working...because I havn't seen anyone try this with an arcade monitor yet.

Can you post details of the interface that you will have to build, so you the right syncs for an arcade monitor. I've no clue how to do this myself

[DaemonCollector]

Its posted just on his site

Both these images are the same circuit, one is the schematic. The other is a PCB setup, I plan to just build it on a bread board and use patch wires.

[vibez]

i'm not sure what the parts are  & cant really understand the wiring diagram fully

[Billkwando]

http://midwest-games.com/pcarstligunl.html  im curious to know if anyone has this model, and if so how does it work? Good Bad? Having a WG9100 puts me in an interesting place as this monitor is a hybrid pc/arcade monitor.

You can't buy a PC lightgun without reading this article:
http://www.retroblast.com/reviews/lightgun1.html

[Billkwando]

I had no luck installing the new control panel thing...it doesn't seem to be working for me.

Anybody else have any luck?

[stevodevo]

hi billkwando,

i haven't even had a chance to try the auto calibration driver out yet but i will (hopefully) tonight... sounds like these latest posts (thanks to intruderalert) are piqueing a lot of people's curiosity!

I haven't been over to splinder yet this morning but am headed there next!  Let me know if you get that control panel thing working, if not I'll let you know tomorrow what happened to me!

btw - my mission lightgun on my old magnavox 27" (with cable out and all those converters/adapters you remember) is only about 1.5-3" off center - not 6 inches.  I have yet to notice the wraparound but I do have issues with locating the top 2inches and leftmost 2inches of the TV.  When I hit a "deadspot" like that the mouse pointer jumps to the top left hand corner like it does when you first plug the gun in.

hope smog can get this working soon I'm really looking forward to blasting away on my cab!

stevodevo

[Billkwando]

btw - my mission lightgun on my old magnavox 27" (with cable out and all those converters/adapters you remember) is only about 1.5-3" off center - not 6 inches.  I have yet to notice the wraparound but I do have issues with locating the top 2inches and leftmost 2inches of the TV.  When I hit a "deadspot" like that the mouse pointer jumps to the top left hand corner like it does when you first plug the gun in.

The deadspot thing is interesting, because there are ALOT of dark areas in Area 51 and Revolution X. I really wonder how well the gun will be able to handle them, once the driver's reliable enough to actually play with. BTW you can get Area 51 at <<<no rom pointers -- saint>>>

If the cursor is going to keep jumping up to the top corner, at least you can turn the cursor off with F1. Hopefully the "jumping up" issue doesn't affect the fuctionality....

Oh can somebody email me the ctrl panel exe @billkwando@yahoo.com?  Thanks!

[brandon]

btw - my mission lightgun on my old magnavox 27" (with cable out and all those converters/adapters you remember) is only about 1.5-3" off center - not 6 inches.  I have yet to notice the wraparound but I do have issues with locating the top 2inches and leftmost 2inches of the TV.  When I hit a "deadspot" like that the mouse pointer jumps to the top left hand corner like it does when you first plug the gun in.

The deadspot thing is interesting, because there are ALOT of dark areas in Area 51 and Revolution X. I really wonder how well the gun will be able to handle them, once the driver's reliable enough to actually play with. BTW you can get Area 51 at <<<no rom pointers -- saint>>>

If the cursor is going to keep jumping up to the top corner, at least you can turn the cursor off with F1. Hopefully the "jumping up" issue doesn't affect the fuctionality....

Oh can somebody email me the ctrl panel exe @billkwando@yahoo.com?  Thanks!

Since Terminator 2 and revolution X werent actual lightgun games they dont have a white screen flash to help the gun out.  Games like Area 51, Lethal Enforcers, and Operation Wolf (believe it or not) did use lightguns and flash the screen when the trigger is pulled.  This should help a lot for dark scenes.  Maybe at some point the Guncon2 driver could incorporate its own screen flash when the trigger is pulled and the gun "thinks" its off screen.  This is what the guncon2 does one PS2.  The gun tracks in realtime and the screen only flashes when the gun detects darkness.  Something like this could probably be added to Adv. Mame quite easily.

[Timstuff]

Anyone know if the Mission Light Gun works comparably to the GunCon 2? I'm interested in it because I'm not a big fan of the brightly colored US guncon 2s, and Liksang is out of stock for the Japanese versions (which are more realistically colored, but use the same mold). Also, the Mission Light Gun has kickback action, and all around looks like a bad@$$ piece of equipment. Is it pretty good in terms of accuracy, and does it work with the Guncon 2 PC driver correctly?

http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=266&products_id=1603&

[stevodevo]

I haven't tested with the latest driver yet, but from my previous testing the mission gun in guncon2 mode functions just fine.

If you can get the kickback action working let me know! I'm wondering if the gun gets power for that from the ps2 pluggin? or, would the driver need to send a command to the gun for it to kickback?  anyhow, it is non-functioning for me at the moment.

But the gun does look great and apart from the annoying handle grip button I don't have any complaints.

stevodevo

[Billkwando]

Since Terminator 2 and revolution X werent actual lightgun games they dont have a white screen flash to help the gun out.

Ok that explains it! Area 51 is just KINDA dark. RevX was insanely black....which is really ok cos it doesn't look that good....

[stevodevo]

billkwando - check your email...is that what you were after?

[brandon]

Since Terminator 2 and revolution X werent actual lightgun games they dont have a white screen flash to help the gun out.

Ok that explains it! Area 51 is just KINDA dark. RevX was insanely black....which is really ok cos it doesn't look that good....

Yeah in those games (T2 and Rev X) the guns were actually just fancy joysticks that were calibrated to the screen.

[SirPoonga]

i'm not sure what the parts are

[Billkwando]

If you can get the kickback action working let me know! I'm wondering if the gun gets power for that from the ps2 pluggin? or, would the driver need to send a command to the gun for it to kickback?  anyhow, it is non-functioning for me at the moment.

Does it just "kick" when you pull the trigger? Is this one of those guns that expects to be plugged into the PS2's controller port as well? If so I doubt it will ever work with the PC unless you keep the other end plugged into a PS. LOL

If it doesn't require the PS2's controller port for power, it would probably be a "simple" matter of determining what signal the PS2 sends to get the gun to "kick", then just just telling the driver to transmit that signal every time you pull the trigger.

If it's that simply I'd honestly be surprised that it needs any feedback from the console/driver at all. I'd think it would be hard-wired to vibrate when you pulled the trigger.... unless it has different vibration effects......

[Flinkly]

couldn't you add recoil to any lightgun if you had a solenoid and the trigger was a momentary switch?  then you could wire up power fromt he pc to the solenoid through the switch, so that when you pulled the trigger, you got recoil.  of course this wouldn't work for automatic gun games...you'd have to start sending pc signals for games like that.

also, it's called recoil, not "kick".  i'm not mad or forcing the term, just letting you guys now.

[Billkwando]

also, it's called recoil, not "kick".

[vibez]

i'm not sure what the parts are  & cant really understand the wiring diagram fully

Part symbols meaings
http://www.diystompboxes.com/cnews/FAQ.html


You can get all the parts form mouser.com or digikey.  Except for the IC chip.  I don't know what that is.  There doesn't seem to be a Us distributor that carries that.  I don;t know what an equivilant to it would be either.

You don't need to make the circuit board.  you can get the perfboard from radio shack (the ones witht he copper holes).  Then you can place the parts on the perfboard like they are in the pcb pic.  Then run a bead of solder to make the connections.

Cheers, I'll email the driver dev & ask about the IC