Cut the crap - Is the Aimtrak any good?

[Ginsu Victim]

It's not on trial.

Objection!

[Neverending Project]

You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!

[Turnarcades]

It's not on trial.  It works.  No one has said any differently. 

It's on sale, but still being field-tested and amendments made based on user comments. Is everyone this week a follower to the religion of pedantry?

[Ginsu Victim]

Yeah, it's definitely still a work in progress.

[KonkeyKong]

Got an AimTrak mounted in a Nerf gun...

Still original firmware, NO on-screen crosshairs, 19 inch (4:3) LCD Monitor.

Hogan's Alley - hit everything, including innocents.  
Ghoul Panic - rock 'n rolled, no problems
Operation Wolf - felt just like the arcade
Cheyenne - was a little tough without a crosshair, although looking at screenshots I realized this game originally had a crosshair, and was difficult with the gun mounted inches away from the screen, I was 3 feet back.

Conclusion:  Set-up is easy. Price is great. Aimtrak is fun.

[Ginsu Victim]

Operation Wolf - felt just like the arcade

Well, that can't be completely true.

[Turnarcades]

Got an AimTrak mounted in a Nerf gun...

Still original firmware, NO on-screen crosshairs, 19 inch LCD Monitor.

Hogan's Alley - hit everything, including innocents. 
Ghoul Panic - rock 'n rolled, no problems
Operation Wolf - felt just like the arcade
Cheyenne - was a little tough without a crosshair, although looking at screenshots I realized this game originally had a crosshair, and was difficult with the gun mounted inches away from the screen, I was 3 feet back.

Conclusion:  Set-up is easy. Price is great. Aimtrak is fun.

That's my kind of review - specific to games, with a conclusion that gets to the point. Can anyone please tell me how well the  Point Blank series is played with the AimTrak? This is the ideal benchmark (and my favourite shooting game ever) as it is just so well made with excellent collision detection and that 'tin can alley' feel.

[Ginsu Victim]

Point Blank is practically the only game I play with the Aimtrak, but I have to use crosshairs for everything. My gun has been out of order for the last three weeks or so, but as soon as I get off my lazy ass and fix it, I'll try to get a better calibration and try it without crosshairs.

[Turnarcades]

Point Blank is practically the only game I play with the Aimtrak, but I have to use crosshairs for everything. My gun has been out of order for the last three weeks or so, but as soon as I get off my lazy ass and fix it, I'll try to get a better calibration and try it without crosshairs.

Thanks geeza! Does it suffer from occasional tracking errors, such as jumping to the other side of the screen when grouping shots? I mentioned this elsewhere as this was a major problem on the TopGuns - very annoying if you're an avid Point Blank fan and formerly a crack shot on those shooting range levels with limited ammo (the target, the cow etc.)

[Neverending Project]

I have been playing Point Blank without crosshairs, and it is excellent. I am on a 29" tube about 4 feet back. It really feels like if I miss a shot, it's because I missed, not because the calibration is off. Oh, and I haven't been recalibrating my gun each time I play (on different nights). I just pick up the gun and go back to the same spot I was before and play.

I had forgotten Cheyenne had a crosshair in the arcade. Maybe that's why it seemed so damn hard. With some games (like Police Trainer) remember that you may need to do a game calibration in the service menu, independent of the gun calibration.

Edit: Haven't yet seen a tracking error or anything where it jumps to the opposite side of the screen.

[Ginsu Victim]

I've had no tracking issues at all.

[bkenobi]

Still original firmware, NO on-screen crosshairs, 19 inch LCD Monitor.

That's the only thing I'm concerned about.  I have a 27" CRT that I will be using.  If this is a wide screen LCD, then it's even smaller.  I just want to be able to use it like KK, but I don't know if it will work that well.  Maybe I'm just cheap, but I've already spent enough on sets of guns that I'm going to wait till the final released version is available.  Keeping my fingers crossed!  

[Ginsu Victim]

Oh, and I haven't been recalibrating my gun each time I play (on different nights). I just pick up the gun and go back to the same spot I was before and play.

Same here. I always stand in the same spot (or sit) and I never have to recalibrate and neither does my wife (4 inches shorter than me).

[RandyT]

Thanks geeza! Does it suffer from occasional tracking errors, such as jumping to the other side of the screen when grouping shots? I mentioned this elsewhere as this was a major problem on the TopGuns - very annoying if you're an avid Point Blank fan and formerly a crack shot on those shooting range levels with limited ammo (the target, the cow etc.)

While I don't recall seeing the described behavior on my TopGun, there does seem to be a bug in the AimTrak (or Windows) that rolls the cursor over to the top of the screen when it exits at the bottom.  It doesn't affect gameplay really, unless there is something at the bottom edge of the screen you want to shoot and something at the top you don't

[Ginsu Victim]

Hmmm, I've never experienced that, Randy. That's odd.

[KonkeyKong]

Operation Wolf - felt just like the arcade

Well, that can't be completely true.

Pretty close though, my gun has a stock and a secondary button on the foregrip.  The "sweeping" motions were a familiar feel, even though the gun isn't mounted to a pivot point.

[Ginsu Victim]

You're still missing my point.

[RandyT]

Hmmm, I've never experienced that, Randy. That's odd.

It could be a 98SE thing with the HID absolute mouse driver.  It's not that big a deal functionally, just an observation.

[Deadly]

First of all I like your objective view on this product Randy - bravo.
HAs anyone viewed the videos on youtube? There is one that shows the accuracy on the target at different angles and distances. That video makes me step back a tad and rethink. While people generally don;t care if a gun is off 1/4" it does really matter when you're playing the hunting games. My Act Lab guns are guilty of it as well. Just saying.

[Congui]

Btw guys, how's the gun's behavior with an angled screen.

[Malenko]

Btw guys, how's the gun's behavior with an angled screen.

screen doesnt matter, its tracking the LEDs in the lightbar

[Ginsu Victim]

screen doesnt matter, its tracking the LEDs in the lightbar

It still matters.

[extendedplayarcade]

Subscribing to this one too 

[Dartful Dodger]

Operation Wolf - felt just like the arcade

Well, that can't be completely true.

Pretty close though, my gun has a stock and a secondary button on the foregrip.  The "sweeping" motions were a familiar feel, even though the gun isn't mounted to a pivot point.

Operation Wolf is one of the few shooting games that feels pretty close with a joystick.

[Ginsu Victim]

What I was talking about is the "feel" meaning the ratchet style rapid fire feedback.

[CheffoJeffo]

Cheyenne - was a little tough without a crosshair, although looking at screenshots I realized this game originally had a crosshair, and was difficult with the gun mounted inches away from the screen, I was 3 feet back.

Cheyenne does not have a crosshair and the gun is mounted perpendicular to the screen, using a mirror to create what is visually perceived as about 3.5-4 feet of distance between the gun and the monitor.

[BamBam]

Yeah, I mean, if they see all those votes for YES and, at the moment, zero for NO, they had better not buy based on that alone. You've got BamBam over here saying, "I have been sitting on the fence waiting for the short answer," but a short answer is just not possible.

Why are you being that way?    My point is, if someone wants a short answer, come here.  If you want the long version, go over there.  That's all.  Nothing personal.

[Ginsu Victim]

My point is, if someone wants a short answer, come here.  If you want the long version, go over there.  That's all.  Nothing personal.

Yeah, you've made your point, and I, like a broken record, have made mine:

What you want does not exist. There is no short answer.

[SGT]

What you want does not exist. There is no short answer.

I disagree.  I think there is a short answer for many users.  And yes, I understand that there is not a short answer for you and some others.

[RandyT]

I think there is a short answer for many users.  And yes, I understand that there is not a short answer for you and some others.

I think the short answer seekers don't really want anything other than to hear someone tell them to buy it.  But that's not really an answer, rather an artificial act to make them feel good about risking whether it will suit them.  If that's what this thread is about, then it seems a bit masturbatory and unnecessary. 

The tools to make an educated purchase are far more valuable than a reassurance you are inextricably linked with the rest of the "hive".  The tools have already been provided (over and over, in fact.)  Man up and take the plunge, or wait until the thrill seekers have all reported in with their verdicts.  There's not much in-between.

RandyT

[BamBam]

What you want does not exist. There is no short answer.

I disagree.  I think there is a short answer for many users.  And yes, I understand that there is not a short answer for you and some others.

 

[Ed_McCarron]

I can't wait to see all of the people who just wanted a short answer come back bitching and moaning when they can't get it to work the way they want it to.

It works for me.  Since I could never get the guncon to work right, it definitely works better than my guncon did.

[CheffoJeffo]

Yeah, but you don't count -- you read and contributed to the other thread and worked out your own problems. 

FWIW, I think Aimtrak is great -- it's the "just tell me to buy it so I don't have to do all of the reading" mentality that bugs me -- there are PPlaces for PPeople like that!

[Malenko]

screen doesnt matter, its tracking the LEDs in the lightbar

It still matters.

the angle of the screen wont effect the tracking of the gun it relies on the LED bar not the screen, was my point.

if you have a cocktail table and you wanna play gun games, you have issues :p

[Ginsu Victim]

screen doesnt matter, its tracking the LEDs in the lightbar

It still matters.

the angle of the screen wont effect the tracking of the gun it relies on the LED bar not the screen, was my point.

if you have a cocktail table and you wanna play gun games, you have issues :p

I'm saying that how you aim at a sheer vertical screen vs an angled one will make a difference, since the mouse pointer / crosshair will not line up with where you point if the screen is angled too much. My friend has a Golden Tee-type cab and the monitor is far too angled for him to properly use a lightgun.

[Ed_McCarron]

screen doesnt matter, its tracking the LEDs in the lightbar

It still matters.

the angle of the screen wont effect the tracking of the gun it relies on the LED bar not the screen, was my point.

if you have a cocktail table and you wanna play gun games, you have issues :p

I'm saying that how you aim at a sheer vertical screen vs an angled one will make a difference, since the mouse pointer / crosshair will not line up with where you point if the screen is angled too much. My friend has a Golden Tee-type cab and the monitor is far too angled for him to properly use a lightgun.

Hm, I'd question that logic.  As long as the angle is consistent and the calibration is done properly, the angle should be a moot point - it'd simply be the equivalent of calibrating on a (numbers made up...  don't do the math...) 13" high screen instead of a 19" high screen, no?

Whether or not you could actually see the screen well due to the angle is another story, but thats an operator limitation, not a sensor one.

[Ginsu Victim]

I'm speaking from a user standpoint, not the technical side.

[SGT]

I think the short answer seekers don't really want anything other than to hear someone tell them to buy it.  But that's not really an answer, rather an artificial act to make them feel good about risking whether it will suit them.  If that's what this thread is about, then it seems a bit masturbatory and unnecessary. 

The tools to make an educated purchase are far more valuable than a reassurance you are inextricably linked with the rest of the "hive".  The tools have already been provided (over and over, in fact.)  Man up and take the plunge, or wait until the thrill seekers have all reported in with their verdicts.  There's not much in-between.

RandyT

Wow!  Again, I disagree.  What is wrong with someone wanting "to hear someone tell them to buy it"?  Some just want to know if others are happy with theirs.   If people are not happy with theirs, they probably won't spend the money to try it themselves.

There is nothing wrong with those who do not hold the product up to strict standards just like there is nothing wrong with people like you who are very critical while analyzing the product.

Seems like you are intolerant of opinions that differ from yours.  Calling the process "masturbatory and unnecessary" seems a bit anal.  If you had provided this product, would you be so critical of those who like the performance of this product even if it isn't perfect? 

[Ginsu Victim]

Some just want to know if others are happy with theirs.   If people are not happy with theirs, they probably won't spend the money to try it themselves.

But just because I'm happy with mine doesn't mean you would be with yours. There are things I don't like about it and things I do.

What I consider acceptable may be unacceptable to others.

[CheffoJeffo]

I think that we can all agree that the situation with guns with respect to MAME cabs is murky and confusing at best. My head still hurts when I think of that GunCon thread.

Having said that, there is a reason why these threads run long ... and a reason why people thirst for a short answer. The issue runs deeper than it does with many types of controls and the issues may not be clear to folks.

People should not mistake encouraging discussion and concious recognition of realities with dissing a product (really, how can you say that there is nothing wrong with being critical and in the next paragraph imply that there is ?). It is funny that some of the folks taking heat for suggesting looking beyond a simple yes or no are folks who actually own the product and are happy with it.

I, for one, am happy about the Aimtrak and think it is a probably a great product. I would prefer a solution that doesn't require a sensor bar and can be used at closer range. BUT, having a working solution is always a GoodThing(tm). For me, once I wade through my current projects, I will probably end up buying a pair of Aimtraks and turning my JAMMA gun cabinet into a MAME gun cabinet (and moving it somewhere where it has the clearance required to accommodate the sensor bar).

If you actually want just a short answer, I would suggest waiting a while ... it hasn't been long and your sample size isn't particularly large.

I seem to remember lots of people being happy with their Act Labs guns in the early stages. Same thing with GunCon.

The big difference here is that we have a responsive vendor who is dedicated to the hobby, so my hopes are high that we will have a solid solution (even if I might prefer another).