The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Lightguns => Topic started by: BadMouth on August 23, 2016, 11:49:51 am
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I'm not sure if I still have it around somewhere, but I started throwing together a gun info thread a while back. I never posted it because there were so many aspects of it that I didn't personally have any experience with.
I still think we need a gun sub-forum.
What I'd like to do for now is to gather all the info in one place, even if it's not organized yet.
What I want to do in this thread is post links to every gun thread out there, along with a description of what the thread is about.
From there, we can start to organize things.
This will be a somewhat disorganized roundup of info, but it is the first step.
example:
Discussion and videos of which light gun games are playable:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,119925.0.html (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,119925.0.html)
Converting guns to Aim-Trak:
Namco recoil gun
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,119610.0.html (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,119610.0.html)
General recoil discussion
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,134584.msg1388174.html#msg1388174 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,134584.msg1388174.html#msg1388174)
General
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,134961.msg1392686.html#msg1392686 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,134961.msg1392686.html#msg1392686)
(I will add to these as I get downtime at work)
General discussion of people's thoughts on Light Guns and if they're worth it:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,137578.msg1419656.html#msg1419656 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,137578.msg1419656.html#msg1419656)
Area 51 grenade button:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,150679.msg1574788.html#msg1574788 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,150679.msg1574788.html#msg1574788)
Projectors and IR guns:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,150491.msg1572856.html#msg1572856 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,150491.msg1572856.html#msg1572856)
Positional (mounted) guns:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,151458.msg1583272.html#msg1583272 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,151458.msg1583272.html#msg1583272)
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,109833.msg1163276.html#msg1163276 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,109833.msg1163276.html#msg1163276)
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,137809.msg1422775.html#msg1422775 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,137809.msg1422775.html#msg1422775)
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,143814.msg1493022.html#msg1493022 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,143814.msg1493022.html#msg1493022)
AIM-Trak issues:
Both guns recognized as gun #1
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,151084.msg1578779.html#msg1578779 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,151084.msg1578779.html#msg1578779)
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,150332.msg1570806.html#msg1570806 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,150332.msg1570806.html#msg1570806)
Sega Type II IR arcade hardware setup:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149019.0.html (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149019.0.html)
USB2Gun (arcade hardware from America's Army machine):
JollyWest's build:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,138723.msg1433282.html#msg1433282 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,138723.msg1433282.html#msg1433282)
Original Topic:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,114406.msg1213680.html#msg1213680 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,114406.msg1213680.html#msg1213680)
Production run interest:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,140666.msg1456709.html#msg1456709 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,140666.msg1456709.html#msg1456709)
Software:
Troubleshooter 2: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,130784.msg1339402.html#msg1339402 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,130784.msg1339402.html#msg1339402)
DemulShooter: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149714.0.html (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149714.0.html)
Guncon 2 in mame.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=105461.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=105461.0)
Using Wii controllers:
DolphinBar - supposed to handle Bluetooth pairing in addition to being the IR LED bar.
https://www.amazon.com/Mayflash-W010-Wireless-Sensor-DolphinBar/dp/B00HZWEB74/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472052689&sr=8-1&keywords=dolphinbar (https://www.amazon.com/Mayflash-W010-Wireless-Sensor-DolphinBar/dp/B00HZWEB74/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472052689&sr=8-1&keywords=dolphinbar)
Glovepie scripts for wii controllers (not needed with dolphinbar):
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122350.msg1298765.html#msg1298765 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122350.msg1298765.html#msg1298765)
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reserved
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reserved
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Agree on a gun subforum. I would include info for the following topics for your master thread:
CRT vs LCD for gun games
Common problems/misconceptions
Aimtrack config
Pro's and Con's of IR based solutions
List of supported titles for MAME, Demul, console, etc
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Great idea.
I would also include the things like demul shooter and the other one (forgot name)
Plus also how to configure demul shooter to boot with HS etc.
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Great idea.
I would also include the things like demul shooter and the other one (forgot name)
Plus also how to configure demul shooter to boot with HS etc.
Added links to the demul shooter and troubleshooter 2 threads.
The idea of this thread was to get you guys to look the links up for me though. ;)
Really, I expected people to remember threads that they found useful.
I'm not going to remember those threads because although I've experimented with various setups, I've only ever really had Act Labs guns on a cab.
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I would but I am on phone and its a bit tricky :p
I will see if I can find my HS setup tut for demulshooter later
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Here is the link to get demul shooter to work with the Sega M2.
Should work with others if the code is modified.
www.rlauncher.com/forum/showthread.php?3589-Launching-Demul-Shooter-with-SEGA-M2 (http://www.rlauncher.com/forum/showthread.php?3589-Launching-Demul-Shooter-with-SEGA-M2)
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The idea of this thread was to get you guys to look the links up for me though. ;)
And steal all your thunder?! Would never do such a thing.
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Guncon 2 in mame.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=105461.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=105461.0)
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You might want to put a link to the dolphinbar as well considering neither of us knew about it. I think I'm going to use the pbj cheapskate method and go ahead and order one. I lost interest in troubleshooter 2 because of the convoluted method that had to be used to pair wiimotes.
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You might want to put a link to the dolphinbar as well considering neither of us knew about it. I think I'm going to use the pbj cheapskate method and go ahead and order one. I lost interest in troubleshooter 2 because of the convoluted method that had to be used to pair wiimotes.
Agreed it's news to me and sounds convenient.
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You might want to put a link to the dolphinbar as well considering neither of us knew about it. I think I'm going to use the pbj cheapskate method and go ahead and order one. I lost interest in troubleshooter 2 because of the convoluted method that had to be used to pair wiimotes.
Mine will be delivered today, so I'll actually be able to comment on it from experience. ;D
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Man that's fast shipping!
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Old topic, but this seems like the place to post this question: it's 2017. Many people using GroovyMAME now, and CRT TV's (well, Sony PVM/BVM's at least) seem to be having a renaissance moment right now (as evident by their skyrocketing prices in the last year or so, and people even posting their 1995 consumer Sony Trinitron TV's on Craigslist for ~$250 I see all the time now lol).
I'm about to pull the trigger on an AimTrak light gun - which uses (sometimes) crappy IR to track the gun's moment. I'm all about my old consoles using actual lightguns on 15khz CRT's, so I wanted to ask if there's any commercially available (i.e. not out of production for 10+ years) actual light guns – as in one which works like the light guns of old did on 15khz CRT's, which is USB compatible with a Windows 7/10 computer (even with a special board/interface I have to use), and able to run the latest GroovyMAME 0.190/0.191???
I'm going through the 20+ links above right now but thought I'd cut to the chase and just ask you guys. If IR is the only way to go moving forward so be it - but this light gun (for gun, recoil kit, 36v power supply, and holster) is going to cost me over $200 for one single gun setup, so I just want to be sure before I pull the trigger so to speak ;)
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https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=271012
^Notes on a multijamma lightgun setup using a 6 way jamma switch
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See the USB2Gun threads in the first post.
That's for use with an arcade monitor.
Sony Trinitrons and other high end CRT TVs sometimes had built in processing such as line doublers, which can't be turned off and prevent true light guns from working with them.
If using a CRT Television, you're actually better off using a lower end one.
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https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=271012
^Notes on a multijamma lightgun setup using a 6 way jamma switch
That seems to be for using real arcade PCB's, along with a JAMMA wire harness, correct? (or did I miss something there? I searched through all 7 pages for "USB" and "Guncon" and didn't find any hits).
I'm using a Windows PC, running GroovyMAME 0.200, on a 15khz CRT. The only 'real' non-IR light guns I know of which use a USB port are the Guncon 2's which I could –maybe– use on my Windows PC for light gun games on a CRT...so that's the kinda thing I'm looking for, although buying a different USB light gun which will work in this regard (again, NO IR) I would also be totally up for.
See the USB2Gun threads in the first post.
That's for use with an arcade monitor.
Sony Trinitrons and other high end CRT TVs sometimes had built in processing such as line doublers, which can't be turned off and prevent true light guns from working with them.
If using a CRT Television, you're actually better off using a lower end one.
I'm using Sony PVM and BVM professional CRT monitors (some multiformat even which do 480P+ as well as normal 240p/480i), which have zero processing done to them, and usually use RGBS (or merged sync RGBHV) connections.
For the USB2Gun, would you mind walking me through this? It's as though I'm reading greek here...
The first post seems to be about an America's Army arcade cab, which has an LCD screen installed, which means these guns are IR ONLY? (which I don't want...).
The second post from 2011 is about the USB2Gun board, the third post is from 2014 about the USB2Gun as well, and mentions how it's not being produced anymore and they're trying to get a group order going (which it doesn't say if that order ever went through, and if these will ever be available again - no USB2Gun's up on eBay that I see)? ...but what confuses me here is they specifically mention the USB2Gun is for an optical light gun (which is GREAT) which connects to a traditional "Happ" light gun (from $75 to $105 on eBay it looks like). Mentions of having to re-calibrate the gun for every GroovyMAME light gun game if it has a different resolution?
...so i still can't tell if this would work for me. The hardware doesn't seem to be available anymore? (again, totally new to all this and still learning!).
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I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out how to use real arcade light guns with Mame until I realized a few key things:
- 1) To work with mame, guns have to be recognized as a mouse. This applies even to the old Act Labs light guns which found a way to make real light guns function as a mouse. The Aimtrak guns are just an Infrared mouse. I.e. a positional device. The sensor bar tells the computer the position of the gun rather than the gun reading the screen to see where you are aiming. It is no surprise that any change in position causes the crosshairs to not line up with the gun sights anymore....
An IR gun could work well if a decent arcade quality camera was used (like those used by RAW Thrills) but so far, all of the home versions have been the cheap, slow and innacurate kind.
So.... rather than trying to replicate the light gun experience badly with cheap IR sensors, it makes more sense to use a more reliable fixed positional gun with a pair of pots. This way, you can use a real arcade gun off eBay.
-2) A lot of my favorite gun games used positional guns instead of light guns anyway. In my personal list of favorites, light guns are the exception. So, a positional gun is ideal in Mame for a large portion of games and, while it is not 100% ideal for light gun games, the experience in Mame would probably be no worse than using an IR mouse like an Aimtrak.
-3) It is a lot easier and cheaper to find real light guns and compatible games for old consoles like the PS2, PS1 and Dreamcast. These machines had arcade quality (or close) ports of games like Time Crisis 2 and House of the Dead and used light guns on eBay start at $10.
I just bought a real arcade Operation Thunderbolt gun and an A-PAC from Ultimarc to connect the pots. I believe this will give me the best arcade experience with Mame.
I also plan to buy a used PS2 or Dreamcast with a couple of guns soon to scratch that real light gun itch.
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:bump
I moved this and a few other light gun threads from the driving cab subforum to here.
There are quite a few threads linked here that could also be moved, but my powers are limited to the driving cab subforum. (and I would not have time anyway).
Congrats on finally getting a light gun subforum. :cheers:
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I wonder how well the LeapMotion sensor would work for a 3D IR point tracker:
http://blog.leapmotion.com/leapuvc/
It's designed to track multiple points simultaneously, so maybe get position from an IR led on the end of a gun that's fitted with a few buttons going to any regular input board.