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Fitting an AimTrak in a Sega Light Phaser gun -- now with video :P

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smalltownguy:
Ok, so I had a chance to get the webcam set up today to shoot a quick video of my setup in action. Sorry I only showed just a tiny part of one game, but I'll post some videos of some of my other favorites as I get time. Terminator 2 has always been on of my favorites, so I started with that.

Trust me, any time I missed something -- be it robot or human -- it was my own crappy aim, not the calibration. Not to mention I was holding it off to the side with one hand, to allow room for the camera...  :blah:

My 2nd video will most likely be a target game (probably Hogan's Alley for NES)  and I'll position myself right behind the camera with my hands extended so you can see the gun in the frame. Hopefully that will provide a bit more perspective as the guns tracking and firing accuracy.

smalltownguy:

--- Quote from: Neverending Project on October 12, 2009, 11:11:20 pm ---
--- Quote from: smalltownguy on October 12, 2009, 10:16:38 pm ---I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out. Sega's Master System was my absolute FAVORITE console when I was a kid, so it's pretty cool that I can use this gun again.
--- End quote ---

That's the stuff BYOAC is all about, right there. Nice job.
 :applaud:

--- End quote ---
Thanks, NP! High praise coming from you. I appreciate it.  :woot

Ginsu Victim:
Holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---! Where's the monitor on that cab? Is there one hiding in that bezel?!?

 :lol

smalltownguy:
Yeah, I know. It's a 17" de-cased computer monitor. Not much room to work with in that Rolling Thunder cab, it's a squat form factor with an angled back. I really didn't feel like taking the sawzall to it or much else. That's the biggest CRT monitor I could get in there without running the risk of damaging the neckboard when I put the back on. Of course, now that I don't really NEEEED a CRT any more (thanks AimTrak!) I suppose I could start looking for a 21" 4:3 LCD. It'll fit.

What you DON'T see in the video is the 29" TV on the floor next to the cab. It's a behemoth.

--- Quote from: Ginsu Victim on October 13, 2009, 11:01:38 pm ---Holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---! Where's the monitor on that cab? Is there one hiding in that bezel?!?

 :lol

--- End quote ---

Oh yeah, one other thing -- the speakers in this cab are actually between my control panel and my monitor glass. That's the very large black area you see between the CP and my bezel. It's a big mesh speaker grille, behind which are my 2 speakers.

smalltownguy:
Okay, I had a chance to play with some of my other emulators with the AimTrak. My NES emulator is Nesopia. I had already taken time months ago to ensure that my settings were all correct with respect to a gamepad input, but I hadn't ever paid any attention to lightgun / mouse settings.

Right out of the gate, the AimTrak was recognized in both Hogan's Alley and Duck Hunt. Shooting ducks has always been pretty easy, but the clay shooting game in Duck Hunt has always been challenging for me, especially since my aim pretty much sucks.

I'm happy to say though that the AimTrak made it pretty easy for me to play these NES games. After a few seconds, my grip relaxed a bit on the gun, and I was able to hit targets with enough accuracy to progress past several rounds in clay shooting.

I apologize for the video not being close enough for you to accurately see the the cursor tracking while I'm shooting, but I was more interested in showing how a normal, non-marksman like me can use the AimTrak and have reasonable success.

My first round of clay targets I hit 6 of 10, and the 2nd round I hit 8 of 10. Considering my tiny screen (17" CRT monitor -- see above ribbing I've taken :)  I feel that once I move up to my 27" TV in my 2nd cab build, this will work very well.

One note: reading RandyT's review this morning made me remember that when I installed the LED bar in my bezel I forgot to bend the LED's so they were angled towards my gun. That pretty much solved my tracking issues on the bottom 1/4 of the screen. I now get no 'hooding' issues with my light phaser. I guess it's just more support for the old adage of 'read the @##^%^ manual, eh?  :angry:

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