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is It Impossible To Get Arcade-Quality Guns For A Mame Cabinet?
RandyT:
--- Quote from: Nation on January 30, 2010, 02:13:06 am ---I have really searched everywhere and it seems that there is no way to get arcade quality guns for my mame cabinet. I'm using an arcade monitor in my cab. It seems the only options out there are the Top Gun which seems like the recoil is rather cheesy and requires led stands. I've seen the recoil guns at happcontrols but from what I can tell they are not mame compatible. They are also quite expensive however considering how much it has cost to put together this cab I'm willing to spend the extra cash for the real deal if it is out there. The only other guns I've found are lacking recoil which is really important to me. I used to love playing point blank in the arcade. Someone please tell me there is a solution out there! I thought I ran into a mention of an adapter for the happ guns but I never found any details.
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It's really going to boil down to your definition of "arcade quality". If you mean something that is "plug and play" and gives you all of the same benefits and accuracy of the Namco guns, then I would have to say no. Nowadays, the arcades are using the IR LED / camera solutions. The latest Time Crisis and HOTD games have their screens ringed with IR LED's. The arcade implementations are very accurate, track quickly, allow you to be close to the screen, don't get negatively affected by not holding the guns vertical, and are forgiving with different shooter heights. While IR solutions are available (you mentioned one) none of the ones available for a MAME cab will be able to give you that same level of performance.
I have no experience with the Opti-gun interface, so that may be something of interest. But don't expect to use anything but a CRT, even if it works well.
So, in short, the best you can do is define what it is you expect from a solution, consider what is available for the type of screen in your cabinet and be willing to make a few sacrifices to get something that will get the job done for you in your particular setup.
RandyT
Hoopz:
Nation,
Don't go off the prices on Happ's website. Contact one of the resellers here for better pricing. Divemaster127 is a great guy to deal with and his prices are lower than Happ's website.
That board also offers several advantages and may be used instead of an encoder depending on your setup. That could save some money. YMMV though.
Just buy the damn thing and tell us if it works or not. ;) And be aware that Nanotech has some issues regarding their service and leadership.
DashRendar:
Anyone remember the gun that came with the original NES? Is that something that could be modified to work with MAME?
smalltownguy:
No, the zapper's technology won't work with LCD screens, nor CRTs, without the NES. The zapper used a similar approach to the original light guns, but it was MUCH less accurate. It could be fooled by pointing it at a flashlight and pulling the trigger.
Dazz:
--- Quote from: DashRendar on January 30, 2010, 12:36:12 pm ---Anyone remember the gun that came with the original NES? Is that something that could be modified to work with MAME?
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Sure it can be modified to work with MAME... Just replace the insides with an AimTrack and there ya go. :D