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Crazy Wiimote control ideas... anyone got info?
JKJudgeX:
Hey I was looking at some of the posts here regarding using the Wiimote as a light gun. The game "Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles" does this and proves that on the Wii, it's a very, very valid shooting solution...
However, has anyone had any luck porting that over to MAME? I use GlovePIE to use my Wii Guitar Hero guitar on the PC and it works wonders, so, this had me thinking "Maybe a light gun isn't such a bad idea" ... maybe get a battery powered IR Bar and mount it upside down from the cabinet overhang and play standing a few feet back?
The other crazy idea I had came about as I was playing Cruisin' USA and thinking about installing a steering wheel, and then realized that i am about to purchase Mario Kart for the Wii. Which, just so happens, uses a Wiimote for a steering wheel. Has anyone had any luck or mentioned that kind of usage for the WiiMote on the PC? I know it may seem tacky, but, a wireless light gun/Steering wheel add-on for my arcade machine would keep down clutter a whole lot.
Could it also be used in place of a trackball? I'm thinking it probably can with the appropriate glovepie/wiinmote scripts.
If I could knock out Trackballs, Lightguns, and Steering Wheels with a single device and intelligently implemented scripts, my arcade cabinet would really just need P1 and P2 setups, holsters for 4 additional gamepads (2 traditional style, ergonomic Saitek P220's, and 2 Xbox/PS2 style controllers for other emulators), and the controllers that go with them to allow me to access pretty much every single game...
Anyway, I just wanted to post my thoughts here in hopes of maybe someone throwing me a link or telling me why it's a good/bad idea, or telling me of their own success/horror stories to reduce my own development time :).
Thanks!
Ginsu Victim:
Other than the Wii lightgun already having several other topics this could've went in....why the hell would you ever replace a trackball with a Wiimote?!?
JKJudgeX:
Because, I also spoke about using the Wiimote as a steering wheel. Steering Wheel, Light Gun, and Trackball (classic controller, too, maybe?) are ideas beyond simply a "light gun", and there are multiple ways that a trackball wii control could possibly be implemented (using gyro controls, or, using mouse-pointer controls to replicate mouse-trackball in MAME for instance, which I wanted to discuss...)
Now, to address your question... as to WHY I would want to replace a trackball this way?
1) Space savings... without need for a trackball on my panel, I have more clean open uncluttered panelspace.
2) Wireless... I can sit back from my arcade machine and play centipede or arkanoid perhaps, in a more comfortable position if I am tired of standing/sitting directly in front of the machine.
3) Reconfigurability... a trackball is always just a trackball, for use in only select applications. I can bring over my guitar hero III guitar and plug it into my wiimote and play Guitar Zero on my arcade screen. I can also take advantages of many other peripherals that nintendo may bring out, and, if I get tired of it, I can always just retire it to playing games over on the Wii.
4) Money savings... for $50 I can have a trackball, or, possibly a device that serves as all 3, trackball, lightgun, wheel (Probably well over $100 if used independently).
5) Personal preference. I've never been a big fan of trackballs, honestly. I even prefer playing with a mouse in games DESIGNED for a trackball.
Ginsu Victim:
Try playing the trackball version of Track and Field with a wiimote....or Golden Tee.
JKJudgeX:
With clever glovepie scripting, I don't think it would be impossible to do a fun Golden Tee, I don't know about the track and field game though, it might have to go into the "wow, that specifically needs a trackball, why?" bin.
Can't very well play guitar zero or T2 the arcade game with a trackball, though can we? ;)