Light guns and FPS games

[Zub]

hey new here, hi to all 

Just got interested into playing with light guns on my PC once i remembered me old NES Zapper and duck hunt (good times man!).

anyway i was just wondering what the deal was with USB Light guns and trying to play any FPS games like battlefield 2 or Counter Strike. I know they work very well with games which are suited to them, like house of the dead and what not but what about other games???

I wondered about this because i heard about Gun2Mouse and using the gun as a mouse pointer and it got me thinking. I searched the forums a bit and i cant seem to get a diffinitive answer on the matter with FPS games.

However i'm not sure if its possible to work becuase most FPS games have the 'mouse look' locked to the centre of the screen so i cant see how a gun could be used properly. Surely you'll just end up dragging the laser sight of the gun across the screen as if it were still a mouse or something (?). not too sure hence the questions.

But then i think about games like Red Steel on the Wii and they manage it somehow, also the WiiMote hack for PC with HL2. So i thaught maybe its possible to use it properly with FPS games.

I know there are two types of guns, one standard light gun only working with CRT displays and the other is the one that works off of LED lights so it can work on any type of screen.

What i want to know is are both types of guns compatible with functions like Gun2Mouse? Also how viable is it to play an FPS game with any one of them?

Your input would be mucho appreciated guys.

I also had a thought perhaps you could use the analog stick on the back of the EMS TopGun in conjunction with the keyboard to move the character fully (including rotation) and then use the gun to aim and shoot. But then the sights are locked in the middle of the screen so i'm not sure at all.

[steveh]

these games are not designed to use a light gun. 

The biggest drawback will be the buttons.  you will not be able to control or move your char in a way the game was ment to be played.  you will have a horrible disadvantage playing those games that way.

[Zub]

hmm...  do you mean something like one hand with the gun and the other on the keyboard???  but is it even possible to aim properly with the gun at all?

[ark_ader]

Hi,

Frys has a gun that you can play with a FPS game, but it is not a lightgun but a reversed mouse on a gun.

They have been reduced to $14.23 but I still think that it will replace my mouse.

I tried finding them on www.outpost.com but without luck.

[Zub]

do you have a link to the gun specs??? or more info? whats the name of the gun specifically?

thanks for your help.

[ark_ader]

Next time I'm down there I'll pick one up to "Review" it.

Who know, it might be an one off type of product.

[Zub]

wow man, appreciate the gesture!

[ark_ader]

I bought one today at Frys while I was spending like nobodys business.  Its hard to go into Frys and not buy anything....

Anyhow I have it here and will do a report in the Reviews section, sometime this week.

Here is a link:

http://www.monstergecko.com/products.html

Cannot say what you could use it for, but my mind drifts towards Counter Strike Source...

[Zub]

ahhh i see, i think i came by that before somewhere. Bet it feels nice to hold a gun, even though it is still very much a mouse.

only dissapointing thing is the dpi is pretty low at only 800    my mouse does 2000dpi.

But have fun with it and by all means leave a review